BEFORE THE FALL// a TouKen fanfiction

O N E

-12 Years of Age-
"Hah?  Why do I have to stay behind to help him?"
Yoshimura's mouth thinned into a straight line.  "Kaneki-kun doesn't know how to make coffee yet and I have some business to do."
Touka narrowed her eyes and looked at Kaneki.  His raven black hair fell right above his eyes and he blushed when he saw her look at him, quickly turning his gaze to the wall.
"Please?"
With a hmph Touka turned and began walking to the back of the counter.  "Come here, Bakaneki."

-13 Years of Age-
Touka flipped her cellphone open and dialed Kaneki's number.
"Touka-chan?  Is something the matter?"
"I.." she panted, "I can't find Ayato, I looked everywhere and I can't seem to find him.."
She heard movement on Kaneki's side of the phone.  "I'll come to your room in a minute, okay?"
Touka flipped the phone shut and felt tears drip down her face until a knock drove her concentration back to the door.  With one free hand, she wiped the tears and opened the door.  Kaneki's eyes glistened with worry and he shut the door behind him.  Touka wrapped her arms around his back and sobbed softly into his chest.  Kaneki awkwardly patted her back.
After a few minutes they tore apart.  She climbed to the side of her bed and curled up into a ball.  Before Kaneki was about to leave, she tugged on his sleeve to turn him around.
"Can you.. stay with me?
"Huh?  Oh, yeah."
Kaneki sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her closer to him, tucking her head below his chin.  She smiled softly before drifting off into a slumber.

-14 Years of Age-
"T-Touka-chan, I was wondering since the Anteiku dance is coming, did you want to go with me?"
Touka felt a bright blush flush the entirety of her face.  "S-s-sure.." she replied, turning her face abruptly to hide the pink tint on her cheeks.  Kaneki's mouth widened into a smile.
-17 Years of Age-
Touka was walking outside with Kaneki, the cold sky beginning to drop snowflakes onto them.
"It's getting cold.." Kaneki muttered.
"Yeah.."
Kaneki and Touka turned to cross a street and found themselves in front of Anteiku.  "Another time maybe?" Kaneki asked.
"Yeah."
Kaneki them brought himself to place a peck on her cheek before leaving to go to his apartment.  Touka felt a blush spread on her face, not just from the cold, and covered her face with her hands.
"B-Bakaneki.."

-18 Years of Age-
The back of Touka's head hurt.  The pain pounded, her skull cracked against a wooden door.  She heard the door open as Yoshimura let himself in and looked at the scene around him.
"They took him, didn't they?"
Touka couldn't move her head to answer his question, but the tears in her eyes did.  Yomo lifted her up and set her on the couch, beginning to patch up her head.  Her blood seeped onto the side of her face and blinded one of her eyes.
Kaneki...

-19 Years of Age-
Touka felt her sand slip into Kaneki's as they walked down the street, his raven black hair swaying side to side.  He abruptly stopped and let go of her hand, causing her to turn around.
"Kaneki?  What is it?"
"I'm sorry Touka.. I have my own problems to attend to.."
His hair slowly faded into a white and he closed his eyes, tilting his head to the side and giving her a sad but cheesy grin.
"But- Kaneki!"
The white haired Kaneki began walking away, his mask in his hand.

Every carpet
Every floor
Everywhere I look I fall
Climbing up the walls, I'm climbing up the walls
What goes on behind these doors
I keep mine and you keep yours
We all have our secrets, we have all our secrets..

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Hi all!  This story doesn't have many views yet, but I hope that changes at some point!  Just to clarify, at the end that didn't really happen, it was kind of a thing that happened in both Kaneki and Touka's minds.  Kind of an internal thing.  This IS an AU where Kaneki and Touka met at a younger age.