Hiraeth (A HideKane/ KaneHide multichapter fic)

Chapter 18

After a while, Kaneki eventually retreated to their room, where he lost himself in a novel. Distractions were extremely welcome at this point; it was getting harder and harder to keep his anxiety at bay. He didn't want the others to see how much he was really stressing over it-especially Hinami. If it failed, he wasn't sure how she would be able to cope.

Touka would be devastated as well, but he knew she would be able to move on. While it would hurt her greatly, she'd push through and-hopefully-come out okay on the other side. He hoped Banjou and the others would fare without him. He was sure that, with Touka's help, they would be able to get on their feet. Maybe they could even help begin to get funding for a new shop.

Hide and Touka waltzed into the room together sometime later. "Hey," Touka said, walking up to Kaneki and lightly putting a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

Kaneki sighed and set aside his book, looking up at them. Hide offered him a melancholy smile while Touka stared intently at him. "Yeah, I'm okay," he answered. "It's you and the others I'm worried about. Are you're going to be alright?"

"Of course, you moron. Yomo and I will look after them. Don't worry about them right now. You should be more worried about yourselves," Touka huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

Kaneki smiled. "Thank you, Touka. Really. I know this must be hard for y-"

"Save it," she interjected. "Enough with the sappy stuff. Let's just enjoy the time we all have left together." He nodded and rose from the bed. Suddenly, Touka pulled both Kaneki and Hide into an embrace. Wrapping her arms around both of them, she murmured, "Be careful, and stay safe."

They hugged her back and promised they would.

The day came to an end too quickly for everyone's liking. Touka, who ended up staying the night, crashed on the couch in the front room, while everyone else slept in their respective spots. Kaneki and Hide both laid awake for quite some time, neither speaking but aware the other wasn't asleep. Ultimately, they moved closer together, Kaneki tucking his head in the crook of Hide's neck while Hide wrapped his arms around him and intertwined their legs. They eventually fell asleep like that, and when the morning came, they were ready to face whatever the day was going to throw at them.

The CCG main office was much bigger than any of the district offices. As promised, there was a squad of ready investigators awaiting their arrival. Akira wasn't among them. Kaneki and Hide allowed themselves to be led into the building. All of the onlooking workers stood to the side, making way for them as they moved towards the elevator. Murmurs followed them. Hide tried to tune them out as best as he could, but some were hard to ignore.

"There he is-that's the one. How dare he show his ugly face in here."

"What the hell are the higher-ups thinking? This is insane!"

"The second they go crazy, I'm out of here."

"They're letting two ghouls just waltz in here? Who do the higher-ups think they are?"

"That Mado woman needs to be fired. She's going to get us all killed. She must have inherited her father's craziness."

The investigators escorting them were more forceful than they needed to be. They practically shoved them into the elevator when Hide and Kaneki would've been perfectly fine simply walking into it. It's not like they were convicts or something. But, then again, Hide understood their anger. He and Kaneki had hurt investigators-their colleagues-in the recent past. A little animosity was warranted.