Sitting on the floor with his legs folded in a meditating position, Kaneki fixed his eyes on the tranquil face. With the Meat Grinder case closed, he could finally spend more time with his family.
Kaneki leaned forward to draw away the purplish bangs off Touka's eye, careful not to disturb the newborn sleeping next to her. According to Yomo, the birth had gone smoother than they had expected. Still, the process remained taxing to a mother's body.
A tiny yawn drew Kaneki's eyes away and onto his son, who soon fell back to sleep. Kaneki remembered his daughter had the same thin layer of blue hair. If the child picked up his sister's trait, that color should fade before he experienced his third Spring.
A gentle rustle behind him brought a narrow ray into the dark room. Kaneki twisted to look behind.
Standing behind the door, his daughter was peeking at him.
Without a word, Kaneki stood up to tend to his daughter. He shut the door behind as slowly as possible before getting the girl to the living area.
"What is it?" He crouched before the girl.
"There's someone strange." The girl frowned.
"Where?"
The girl pointed him to the kitchen. There was no one.
Kaneki stood up. He walked to the sink and peered through the windows. His eyes narrowed at the empty street of their neighborhood. Behind the base of a lamppost, a dark fringe flaunted with the breeze.
He went back to his daughter and crouched before her. Smiling, he gently squeezed her shoulders. "Papa has to go out for a while. Can I leave your mother and brother to you?"
"Mmm!" The girl nodded her head with a wide grin.
"Good girl." Kaneki ruffled her hair as he stood up. The swirl to the door erased the smile he had. His thumb hooked onto the back of his index finger and snapped it.
Kaneki took his time to get to the street. If that stranger valued his life, he should appreciate the opportunity given to him and flee.
But there were always fools who thought to try their luck.
The man never moved an inch from where Kaneki last saw him. Instead, he looked Kaneki in the eye and laughed. "How did she know? Was it my scent?"
An eye dyed in black. The pupils glowed red. "Those questions should be the least of your concerns." The kagune fanned out behind Kaneki's waist. "It's a hassle if I go back with bloodstain. I guess I'll just have to be more careful—"
The tentacles lunged at the man's face, but the blade of his sword came between them to shun the strike. "I heard she can ingest human food." He leapt, right before Kaneki's tentacles smashed the brick wall next to where he stood. "Did she inherit Rize's kakuhou, or her mother's?"
"I'll tear your mouth!" The tentacles shot out.
The stranger ducked left and right. "Why? Why? You should be proud of having such a gifted child." The stranger missed one, just behind him, but the kagune that slipped out of his sleeve saved him. "Just think about her potential—" Mouth opened, he spit out blood. The rest came from his wound and splattered onto the floor. "Right… that is more like the One-Eyed King."
"You've dirtied my hand on my son's birthday." Kaneki threw his blood-soaked hand, sprinkling blood droplets onto the ground. He snapped his head at his opponent. "Now I have to kill you."
The stranger grinned. "This is not about you or me, Ken Kaneki." He wiped away the blood on his lips with the back of his hand. "Our world is coming to an end. Your children have the answer to reverse that process."
A clean cut through the neck, the stranger's head dropped onto the road and rolled along. "We are not the only one. You can't protect them forev—" A squeak was the last sound the stranger made.
Kaneki pulled out and retracted his kagune. He stepped closer to assess the hole he punctured on the skull. He hated bugs. Not only were they annoying, bugs always left a mess behind whenever they died.
And there were always more of them coming.
Kaneki took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Tokyo Security Committee. Have you witnessed a ghoul activity?"
"This is Ken Kaneki. I have a message for Director Marude—" He glared at the blinking red LED on the dead man's palm. That was when Kaneki realized he was standing right next to it.
Boom!
"Hello? Hello? What's happened? Are you all right?"
Groaning, Kaneki pushed himself up. His back stung like hell. He could not see how bad it was, but it felt like he had been skinned.
His temperature surged to burning, like the blaze behind him. That blast had thwarted everything he did to keep his wife and baby sleeping.
"Help is on the way. Please hang on!"
Kaneki picked up the phone. "Tell the Director: V is here." He stood up. The fuming flame glimmered on his eyes. "This is war."