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Touka never expected them to show up out of the blue one day. She had been busy studying with Yoriko when Hinami came rushing through, claiming he was back, along with the blond haired boy she had seen him with.
To be completely honest with herself, Touka didn't really care all that much about Hide, and she felt guilty - especially when Yoriko went on and on about him, about how nice he is, how funny he is. If Touka didn't know better, she would've thought Yoriko had a crush on him, and when she told her this, she had only blushed and denied it.
"I don't like him that way, Touka! A-And besides...I have you." Thinking about that confession made the purple-haired girl blush, but she shook her head. As nice as it was, her main focus was the two boys that had mysteriously disappeared, only to reappear once again, and was supposed to be living with them? All of it made her head spin, and the next thing Touka knew, she was on her feet, rushing towards the coffee shop. Just barely nodding to Koma, who only smiled, Touka made her up the steps and enter the room where she knew Yoshimura and the others were waiting. She didn't wait, she just barged right in, slightly panting.
Hide just smiled at her as the old man sipped his coffee.
"Yo! Nice to see you again after all this time, Touka." He said. Touka barely stopped herself from shaking.
"You...you....you idiot! You knew where he was, why didn't you come back?! And with him, preferably?!" She yelled, marching right up to the human, ready to hit him, when a sudden scent caught her nose, making her pause. To most of them, Hide had always smelled sweet - sickly sweet, to a certain glasses wearing asshole - but this time it was different. It was sweet, yet tanged with a scent similar to Kaneki's.
Dropping her fist down, she sniffed again, tracing the scent back to Hide's stomach. "You're pregnant."
Hide grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah," He started. "I...was in a really bad spot when Kaneki found me. We're mated now, so..."
"So he kept you away from society because you're carrying his brat." She snorted, shaking her head in disbelief. Hide whined.
"To be fair, this wasn't exactly planned." He protested while Touka sighed. "He's been treating me very well since I got preggers, if not a little possessive."
"Figures. That idiot has been over the moon for you since I can remember, and probably even longer than that, before you two met us," She said, smirking warily at the human. Hide just chuckled, placing a hand on his still-flat stomach. "Where is he now?"
"Taking a walk, I think. He wants to make sure the ward is safe as possible as well as a new home for us." Hide beamed, and Touka couldn't help but feel blinded at the sight. She could now understand why Kaneki loved him so much, why Yoriko was so happy to have him as a friend. When he looks like that, she realizes she was staring into the sun, and while Touka's feelings for Hide would never be romantic like Kaneki's was (probably the only time Kaneki would fight her back, if she were to be honest, she thought amusingly), she does feel like Hide was worth protecting - in the same sense as to why Yoriko was worth protecting.
"I'm going to find him, if you don't mind. By the way, does Nishiki know you're back?" She asked, standing up and brushing off her skirt.
"Not really, it's a surprise!" Hide grinned again, and Touka had to roll her eyes, a smile finally coming across her face.
"He's going to hate you now that you're back." She said, but somehow, she got the feeling that Nishiki wasn't as bothered by Hide's presence as they're lead to believe. Sometimes, she thinks Nishiki has come to care about Hide during his absence than he did when Hide had still been with them.
"I know." Hide said, but somehow, she got the feeling that Hide knew that Nishiki wouldn't at all be bothered by him. Smiling one last time, she began to run out the door - bypassing her family - and continued to run. She tried to fixate on his scent, as small as it is, and when she caught it on the wind, she was like a bloodhound on the trail. Nothing else mattered, everything else seemed to fade away, up until she caught the shock of white hair - the last thing she had seen of him - and immediately, Touka followed.
"Kaneki!" She called out, making her way up the bridge just as Kaneki turned to face her - his right eye patched, and he was still wearing clothes that reminded her of a grandfather.
How ironic, that simile was, when she thought back to Hide and his pregnancy. She stopped herself a few inches away from the ghoul, both of them staring at each other. When she finally caught her breath, the first words that stumbled out of her mouth was -
"You got that human pregnant, you idiot."
Okay, Touka. Time to work on your tact.
Kaneki just blinked, though, she could tell he was fighting off a smile - knowing it would earn him a punch to the mouth.
"I did." Kaneki confessed, nodding his head.
"You were gone this whole time, months of people worrying about you, wondering when you're going to come back, and while we were worrying, you decided to have sex with a human." She snorted, folding her arms, feeling the same ol anger crawling up her spine, though a bit different. Sure, she was angry because Kaneki had up and left them with no word, and hell yeah she wanted to fight him because of it, but now....now...now she was pissed.
"It wasn't planned." Kaneki said, and once again, Touka snorted.
"Yeah, I know. Idiot number two told me that," She balled her hands into a fist. "What I don't get is why you got to be so damn selfish. You're bringing a child into this world full of hate, Kaneki. And along with the stunt you'd pulled, you decided to kidnapped a human and keep him with you for the time being because of it. What if they got hurt?"
"It's not like I wanted it to happen, Touka," Kaneki growled, feeling offended. "I tried to stay away. I did. It was just my luck I ran into him while he was in heat."
"You could've done something other than sticking your dick into him."
"And what could I have done, huh? Let him suffer? Get him on the pill as he squirmed in the alleyway? Allow another ghoul to take him?"
Crack.
Touka nearly flinched at the sound, staring at Kaneki's fingers with a slight horrid expression.
"No, I wouldn't allow that to happen. And it would've happened with three ghouls instead of one, had I not been there. Hide is mine." Kaneki hissed out, grey eye narrowing into slits. Touka watched him warily, unsure of what to do now. Obviously, Kaneki has changed. He seems so much more stronger now, stronger than her, and a lot more possessive of Hide now more than ever. It probably has something to do with Hide having a baby, but Touka was starting to realize it was much more deeper than that. "And besides, he'd chosen me. I wasn't going to deny him."
"And now what? You're the CCG's most wanted ghoul, you have caused enough ruckus in several wards...Kaneki, you do realize that things are going to become much harder for you in the long run, right? If you continue to do this, if anyone finds out about Hide-"
"They aren't going to," Kaneki interrupted, glaring at her. "Not if everyone keeps their mouth shut."
"Well, of course," Touka immediately agreed. She may not like Hide much, but she'll admit he's become part of their family now, just before he'd disappeared. And since Hide was Kaneki's mate, that was all the more reason why Touka would protect Hide as if he was one of their own. "You know you don't have to worry about that. It's just..." She bit her lip.
"Touka," She snapped her head up, violet eyes meeting a soft grey one. "I know what I'm doing. Yes, it is dangerous. Yes, I know there are some people, ghouls or not, that would want to hurt me by going after Hide. But I'm doing this all for a reason," He turned his back. "I'm doing it all...because I want to be strong, for them. For you. I'm done being the one who hurts."
Touka didn't say anything, and, just as Kaneki started to walk away, she called out.
"You...do realize you're putting Hide in a lot of danger, right?" She asked, still staring at the back of the ghoul she use to know. "Not to mention the baby. What are you going to do if the CCG comes? What if you can't save him from them?"
"I'm going to try." Kaneki said, tone leaving no room for arguments.
"You can't protect everything, Kaneki. I know you think you can - but you can't. You're...you're only human. Not superman." Touka whispered. At first, Kaneki didn't say anything, and she thought maybe she got some sense into him, but then, Kaneki spoke...
"Like I said, I'm going to try," He started to walk again.
"Or die trying."
Idiot.