Hiraeth (A HideKane/ KaneHide multichapter fic)

Chapter 18

I do not own this story. It is written by Aellia on FanFiction.net. All credits go to her.

Ways to reach the author:
ao3: Aeliia
http://www.fanfiction.net: Aeliia
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not sure how I feel about the way this chapter is written? idk I just feel like it could have been worded better in some places. well, anyways, the long-awaited interviews commence!

In the morning, Kaneki explained to Hide what happened when he went out to look for the abandoned apartment complex. After asking multiple sketchy strangers for directions, he finally found the bar Itori mentioned and asked if they knew where the apartment complex victim of a CCG attack was. The bartender told him right away when he said Itori sent him. He found it quickly and proceeded to scout out an empty room. Lots of ghouls lingered there, but none of them did anything more than stare nastily at him. Finding an unlocked one on the fourth floor, he went inside and made it look like they'd been living there for quite some time.

"I set out blankets, pillows, and left the backpack I took there," he said as he sipped his daily cup of coffee. "All in all, it looks pretty convincing."

The interview was the next day. Hide, as good as he was at hiding his nervousness, wasn't able to conceal it this time. It was obvious Kaneki was on edge as well.

Hinami sat down with them on the sofa. "Will Kaneki-onii-san and Hide-onii-san be okay?" she asked, looking down at her own cup. Sometime after his talk with Touka, Hide told the rest of the group what they were planning to do. Thankfully, they seemed to understand.

"Of course, Hinami! Don't you worry about us," Hide said, grinning and patting her head. "Your big brothers are strong, you hear?"

Hinami returned his smile. "Will we still be able to see each other?"

At that, Hide faltered. His smile became sad. "I'm sure we will eventually. We can't for a while, though. It would endanger you all too much."

She nodded. Hinami couldn't deny that she felt sad they were leaving, but she was happy for them at the same time. She understood the opportunity they'd been presented. "Okay," she said, doing her best to keep a happy expression on her face.

"Be safe when you do this, Kaneki," Banjou said, entering the room. "And you too, Hide."

"Thank you. We will," Kaneki replied.

There was a knock on the door a couple minutes later. Hinami opened it to reveal Touka, who greeted them and stepped inside. "If you two are going through with this," she said, "I have to at least beat you in cards before I don't have the chance to."

Much to her dismay, Touka wasn't able to beat either one of them until their final game, when she finally claimed victory. "Yes!" she exclaimed, throwing down the rest of her hand. "Now I can die in peace knowing I wasn't beaten by a bunch of losers who keep getting lucky."

Hide grinned. "It's not luck, Touka. What I have is pure skill."

Lie-all of Hide's wins had been pure luck.

"Keep telling yourself that," she replied, rolling her eyes albeit smiling.

Touka stayed over the rest of the day. Most of it was spent lounging around. Kaneki and Hide went over the questions they'd come up with once more, but ultimately ended up deciding it was better not to think about it right then. That day was about spending what little time they had left with their friends and each other.