Not a Ghoul [Kaneki Ken x Reader]

Chapter 9: Latebloomer

Because.

You didn't want people to judge you badly.

You stopped screaming. The iron taste of blood spread throughout in your mouth. The pain came from your chest. You were stabbed. Right through the heart. You fell backwards onto the floor. No matter what, you couldn't move and every second you felt that your body was getting colder.

It was only a blur, but you could tell that the one who stabbed you was the unconscious ghoul. He was still alive after dealing with Kaneki.

Kaneki...

Kaneki...

You longer have the ability to speak. You felt your body turn as stiff as possible and your lips turned dry. Your vision failed you and you closed your eyes as you head towards a deep sleep. The only word you heard was...

"...Latebloomer."

You opened your eyes. The sounds of gunshots and noise disappeared. You were inside somewhere dark and scary. You felt your surroundings and the ceiling was removable. You pushed your way upwards and you were at the same place where Kaneki had left you. The ghoul was gone, but the trail of blood was still here. You touched the surface of the blood and realized that a lot of time had already passed.

Seeing all that blood reminded you of your wound. You unbuttoned your shirt and you couldn't believe your eyes. There's no scar or anything. It was as if nothing happened! You looked at the wound the Ripper gave you and it was gone as well.

"What happened...?" You were very confused. Then you thought... what if you were a ghoul?

You couldn't be a ghoul no matter what. From what you know, every ghoul have only ghoul parents. When a ghoul and a human produce, the baby will die. Unless there are special situations like Kaneki or something. However, you don't remember anything that made you turn into a ghoul. Besides, unlike a ghoul, you ate food perfectly normally.

You shook off your thoughts. Maybe you weren't a ghoul but something else instead. However, you are still convinced that you were born as a human.

You exited the building. You tried searching around for people but no one was there. You looked at your appearance through a reflection on a glass. You looked like you died and came back to life. Which... really did happen.

Your clothes were soaked from the blood and your hair was a complete mess. You picked up an abandoned clean cloak and wore it to cover the signs of blood as you head to the city.

"Latebloomer..." you mumbled to yourself. What could it possibly mean? Then, a sudden memory popped into your head.

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"(First name). Do you remember when we first met?" A man sat right next to you while holding your hand. This was a memory from when you were a child. He was someone you don't know but your past self seemed to be familiar with him. You nodded and touched the man's face to wipe the warm tear that dropped from his eyes. Why was he crying? It is something you can't understand.

"Being a latebloomer....is something to be appreciated." He quietly says as he patted your head. "You start as a human and you could experience the joyful lives that we never experienced. But when the right time comes, your body changes the way back it originally was." Tears still streamed down his face. He...had a sad expression as if he was about to leave and go somewhere far away. He turned his face away from you and looked down, trembling.

"I'm sorry, (First name). I don't have much time..." He grabbed your tiny hand and brought you outside a house. He rung the doorbell and looked at you. "Live with these people, (First name). I hope you live to your fullest." Then he ran off.

You turned around upon the door opening and saw your dead father. Ah. This must be the moment when you were going to be adopted...

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Was that your real father? You had no idea. But it was quite clear. A latebloomer was a rare ghoul that was born as a human and when the right time comes, they turn back into a ghoul. That would explain why you could recognize the sudden smell of blood.

You stopped on your tracks as you smelled something from behind. What is this smell? It's sweet and it makes you hungry. You wiped your drool away and walked towards the source. 

Wait a minute.

What is this?

You walked right into an alley as you followed the traces of blood. In that alley, you found a ghoul pursuing a human man. He didn't need to use his kagune. He only needed his superhuman strength to pierce through the weak man's body. He tore the man's eyes out making him blind, leading the man step back  a few steps and fell down on his bottom. Finding this hilarious, he kept torturing the man by slowly ripping apart his flesh and inputing it inside his mouth.

For the first time in your life, a glow of red light and heat appeared in your eyes as you watched the scene. You felt..a power fuse up within you. Something you never experienced before as a human. Your desire for food had never been this strong. It made you think of the workers in Anteiku. Touka must've felt this way too. Every ghoul... Kaneki too.

No!

Somewhere in your heart wanted to believe that you are not a ghoul. Is this what Kaneki had to deal with everyday when he turned into one? In between the line of humans and ghouls? Couldn't decide which one? 

Nothing can change it now. You've been deceiving yourself your whole life already. You're a ghoul and not a human. Nothing can change that fact. 

Nothing.

You turned away from the bloody scene and headed towards Anteiku. The only place where you can go which is safe is Anteiku. Maybe they can help you and maybe Kaneki was just joking about leaving.

Luckily the cafe was still open even though it was dark. There seemed to be no one in there as you peeked through the windows. Strange. Where was everybody?

"(First name)?" You heard Touka's voice near the back. You quickly ran up to her and hugged her. "You..." Touka's voice sounded shocked and in disbelief. She quickly grabbed hold of you and made you look straight in her face. "W-What happened to you? Why...do you smell differently?!"

Touka slowly shook her head with a cringed face. "Don't tell me they did the same thing..." You took Touka's hand and comforted her.

"Nothing happened. It's just that I...was already a ghoul since I was born." 

You told Touka the whole story about your past and she hugged you. "It's okay. I've heard about latebloomers but to think one was this close..."

You cried a bit as you hugged her back. "Touka...where's Kaneki-san?"

You thought she didn't hear you from her silence and tried to ask again, but when you saw her face, you knew the answer already. 

Kaneki's not here.

He really left...

Kaneki...where are you?

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A/N: Hiiii thanks for waitingggg :D I'm kind of running out of ideas eh. lol 

I still haven't watched season 2 yet OTL. BUT. I WILL SOON.

Check out my new story: Insanity [Reader x Yandere]

I'm also drawing a manga so check out here: http://thelastgod.smackjeeves.com/

Thanks for reading! Remember to vote, comment, and add this to your reading list. SPREAD THE LOVE. lmao. <3