I recognise that this work was produced on the traditional lands of the Kaurna and Ngadjuri peoples.
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…
Year Two.
Ken woke slow in the mornings; his body having relaxed into a new routine. He lay there, arm curled beneath the pillow, on his side at the edge of the bed, calm.
He could feel Touka's cheek and brow squished into his shoulder blade – her arm thrown over his hip where his boxer shorts had ridden down slightly.
He smiled; at some point in the night, she'd thrown the covers off them till they tangled around their feet. He stretched his legs, working against the knot of linins.
He looked over his shoulder, seeing only the crown of her head and the kinked nest of her brightly coloured hair, one of her legs kicked out to the far corner of their bed.
Ken smirked and stretched his back into an arch, dislodging Touka's face.
She groaned and weakly pulled at his hip to bring him closer. But they needed to get up: they'd have to get their kids ready soon.
Ten minutes later had them in the shower.
Twenty minutes past that they were dressing and talking about the day. Touka had seminars. Ken had to plan a school trip.
Ichika and Ayato were always easy to wake up – they were five and very excitable – bouncing off of each other in a race to get their school things together and settle down to play on Tou-Tou's PlayStation before Ken walked them to school.
If only they read with this much excitement.
Tou-Tou was less easy to wake up and organise. Both Touka and Yomo said that was typical for her age, that her kagune was beginning to develop into its adolescent stage. His wife explaining it as akin to a teenager needing more rest while their bones were growing. Never mind that she was eight.
It was difficult. What Ken knew of ghoul physiological habits and developments came from his families' experiences and what he'd been able to observe in the original time-line while organising their rebellion beneath the wards.
There had to be more information out there… He didn't know what he was going to do if his kids got sick.
He began to prepare "food" for himself, Touka, Tou-Tou, and Ayato. They couldn't eat it, of course, but they did need to blend in. If nothing else; cooking was an enjoyable activity.
He put a little more effort into Ichika's meal, however, seeing as she could eat it – even if she probably wouldn't. His youngest daughter was going through a phase where she pretended human food was nasty.
Ken rolled his eyes.
Forty minutes after he and his wife had dressed, he took Ichika's and Ayato's hands, Tou-Tou following at Ichika's side. If twenty-year-old me could see me now, he reflected, as he walked them all to school.
…
Year Three.
"Tou-Tou" her little brother mumbled.
Touka tried not to groan. "Ayao?"
"Do you have any spare pencils?"
How did he lose them this time?!
Touka didn't sigh. "Let me get them out my locker."
She stood from her spot on the bench and shivered, walking them both to her year levels lockers.
It was a cold day out – and their school's heaters were never up high enough. There was some old busybody who sat in the admin and "had a fit" if the temperature raised about 20 degrees, according to Ken.
It was winter – the school uniform didn't provide enough warmth. Its so stupid they won't let us wear our own clothes. She had to set the "example" because she was one of the teacher's kids – even if he was only her uncle.
"How did you even lose all of yours, Squidge?"
"I didn't lose them – I'm building something." Oh?
Touka stopped rummaging and shared a look with her brother, letting herself smile a little. Creative little toad.
"What are you making?!" their tag along, Tanata Yui, asked. She was her friend – they had grown close because Touka wanted a partner to better practice her English and Yui wanted one to practice her Japanese.
"A crossbow!"
And while Tanata was nice and all…
"Your little brother is so cute!" Yui gushed.
She didn't have any siblings – hadn't figured out they were annoying yet. Whatever. People can't be perfect.
Touka passed two of her mechanical pencils over to Ayato, trying to rush him along so he'd leave already. He nodded a rather serious thanks.
She sighed. She had to be polite: "Have fun Ayao; don't take anyone's eyes out."
He ran off.
Good. I'm not sharing my friends with him or Ichika.
She turned to Tanata. "He's not cute, he's messy and gross – he spills things on his chin all the time at dinner. It stains!" Blood often did. "You're really luck you don't have to deal with a brother." Not that Ichika was that much better.
Tanata rolled her eyes with a smile, unrelentingly happy.
Touka felt a pressure in her shoulder and hid a wince, scents of the humans in the courtyard getting to her.
Stupid kagune.
"Are we still doing the sleepover tonight?"
"Yeah? I was thinking we could watch horror movies!"
"Huh?"
"You know, some classic monster ones like Ginger Snaps and American werewolf in London!?"
"I guess?" that – she swallowed – sounded, uh…
"It'll be fun! We can start with Gremlins because that's a Christmas themed one!"
"Yeah, ok. Cool."
Tanata continued to gush. "Werewolves are just so bad ass."
Well… If nothing else Ken and Touka will be happy I'm hanging out with her again. And Yui's fun, so… even if its scary it'll be fun…
Touka nodded along as Yui led her back to their bench.
…
Year Four.
Ichika flew out of bed and sucked in a deep breath as she launched herself at her sleeping cousin.
"Happy birthday!" she made sure to yell it right into his ear.
He hit her with one of his pillows, then tried to push her off the covers, then out of them once she started wrestling back.
Her cousin Touka got it – she came into the room, already armed, and bashed him back under the quilts.
Their war was short, the three of them moving into the main room quickly to start rummaging in the kitchen – the squat kotatsu was ladened with cards and three presents.
Ichika smiled, one eye red and the other blue, cheeks bulging with the jellied metatarsals Tou-Tou had gotten out of the meat fridge: she loved birthdays.
Her parents were still in the shower, so she pulled Ayato and Touka to sit down in front of the TV, taking care not to spill or otherwise make a mess with their stollen snacks. They had to be careful; the neighbours were coming over to celebrate with them around lunch with their daughter, Akira. That would be cool because Akira was cool – and even older than Touka. She was like a teenager already!
Ayato pressed into her side as he leaned against her, settling in for the cartoons, at least until his aunt and uncle called them all over to the table. Mum had some words for them because they took meat out of the fridge – they were supposed to only take that when it was an emergency or if they were "destroying the evidence."
Ichika decided to not think about why they'd have to destroy the evidence. She'd had nightmares about that and about the 24th ward when she was six – but now she was seven, so she'd do what dad said and just not think about it.
Ayato opened his gifts, then his cards, then they went back to watching TV, before the Mado's arrived.
They were late, but they sent over Akira on time. She wanted to play chess, even brought the bord over, so they did. Well, Ichika played chess – Ayato drew, and Tou-Tou spectated between them and the TV.
The rest of the Mado's arrived on the third game, settling in around the kitchen island with her parents. Akira's mum teasing her mum into trying to cook. Stop distracting yourself, win the fight.
Ichika moved her knight to build additional pressure on her opponent's bishop.
There had been big news on the TV about two territorial ghouls destroying entre bits of the closed manufacturing sector in the 8th – but that seemed ridiculous.
"Akira, could that really have been ghouls? It's so much!" Ayato exclaimed.
"Of course, it was," Tou-Tou replied trying to look knowledgeable, "that's what feral ghouls are like, Ayao."
"Hm. It was unusual, but like many other animals' ghouls are often singularly focused on their hunting grounds – they'll destroy any threat to their territory. There quite thoughtless like that." Akria finished. Beginning their chain of checks.
Ichika tried not to argue back as she secured control at the end of the chain.
Her mum cursed, using a bunch of the words Ichika and her cousins weren't allowed to say.
She was bleeding from a cut on her hand…
"And this is why I do the cooking."
"You used to be a chef, Ken! Ugh, you should have been in here in the first place."
"Used to be?" her dad muttered, chagrined.
"Aw, baby – it's a small cut." Aunty-not-aunty Kasuka laughed. Akira's mum was weird.
"I'll give you a small cut!" Her own mum shot back.
"Uuhh" Kureo ured.
"Do you need a band-aid Touka?"
"I've got it. Gees."
"Anyway" Akira muttered, worming her way out of a check. "What did you want for your birthday, Ayato?"
"Sweets," Ayato muttered. "And paper and pencils and games."
"Did you get it?"
"Kinda."
Akira shrugged and gave a slow smile. "Better some then none."
…
Year Five.
It was a grown up's night out – the kids were with Mr. Yoshimura for the weekend!
She, Ken and "little brother Yomo" were going out to the bar Yomo's friends in the 4th ward had set up – Helter Skelter – to celebrate her official start as a lawyer: her hard ass work, her time, her internship, all of it had paid off big.
She was starting fulltime with the Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise as of Monday, a prodigious firm specialising in both criminal law and civil rights law.
"To prosperity!" Touka hollered; her fourth toast that night.
"To the Future!"
"To civil resistance!"
"To being a slave to the wage!"
The three of them gave their unsolicited bartender a look – it only encouraged her to laugh.
Touka straightened her back in her stool and threw her shot back – a blend her husband and Yomo had supplied to the bar.
Ken drank at a more sedate rate from his blood wine, happy to see her flushed and smiling.
"You were stunning today, in your graduation gown, darling."
"You've being saying that all day, sweet."
Yomo cringed a little.
Ken smirked while Touka laughed at him; trying to garner another response, the bartender joining in. He didn't rise to the bait.
It was a very relaxing night; even after Yomo's other friend, Uta, joined them. The Kaneki's and Uta had sorted out the full payment for their masks some time ago, on a cold night out on the bay.
They'd moved through that ward, in mist, on top and underneath the docks within a large, abandoned structure, something that may have once been a warehouse, or a market, or a birth.
Ken had done everything he could to make clear the gap between them, but Uta was a rather interesting person. His nature was contradiction. Flexible and stalwart. Kind and cruel. Agreeable…
Until he wasn't…
Kakuja.
They'd never really be able to trust him.
But that didn't mean they couldn't drink with him or lend a hand when he needed help.
Touka sat back, letting herself hunch over the bar and enjoy the largely calm atmosphere of the room. This early into its establishment it was calm on a weekend night.
Small luxuries, she mused. Heavens know the rest of my nighttime activities aren't so relaxed. But establishing control over the ghouls of a ward was no simple feat.
You had to establish your strength, then your ability to provide. One must have direction and the spirit to enforce it.
Still, the Red Rabbit had a firm grip over her warren.
And the ninth ward only benefited from her generous attention.
…
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…
Tsukiyama Shū was rather annoyed to be starting at a new school; after all, this was his final year – the last year he'd have with his year-mates and teachers. And now it all the moments he could have had with them had been burned away – the disruption was unacceptable!
Frankly that the school was unwilling to look past his actions for the sake of his final year was simply embarrassing. They ought to be ashamed of their ruling. I mean the gall! I hardly even cheated.
And since when was gambling even that serious an infraction.
That the school had discovered both those activities at once was rather suspicious, in so far as he considered. But then He had begun to develop a reputation over the last two years in the international schools.
An unfortunate series of events – oh, I shall miss Chie Hori; who will support her wildly reckless behaviours now?
He sighed and tried to let the scenery passing the window pull him into a distraction.
It didn't.
I'll have to make new friends… Shū could feel his mouth trying to pull down into a frown. English Friends…
He gagged.
To be placed in an English focused school? He was a Tsukiyama for Christ's sake! The only thing about the family that wasn't French was their name! His farther was being incredibly creative in this punishment, that much had to be said.
And while she could appreciate the opportunity to hone his English-speaking abilities and the advantages this would engender in his future ventures as the family head it was still very ich.
He'd have to find someone to keep him entertained – someone there wouldn't be English, right?
There was some hope, right?
Shū grimaced.
He was doomed.
…
Authors note: That, right there, was the last time-skip in the stories plan aside from a theoretical epilogue… It was also the end of the beginning: we're entering civile resistance and disobedience territory and proper plot from here on out.
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