Part 2 to Vampire x Human
--
The two spent more time together and gradually became close friends. Kaneki could tell that Touka was the type of human who wouldn't purposely hurt him and Kaneki's presence has also healed Touka's heart bit by bit. But as much as she opened up to him, she has always avoided talking to him about her family.
--
Watching as Kaneki talked so passionately about his books reminded Touka of her deceased father, who also loved books. How her father used to read her brother and her stories and how her mother would always come and join them in bed and they would all fall asleep together. The thought of never seeing her parents and younger brother again brought tears to her eyes and she felt a finger wipe them away.
"Sorry, did I make you remember something painful?" Kaneki asked as a worried expression overcame his face.
She forced herself to smile. "A-Ah no, just some dust went into my eye."
He frowned. Even he could tell that she was lying. Pushing her head to his chest, he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "You can tell me anything you know. I'm your friend."
Her lips trembled and she bit on it to stop herself from breaking down right then and there. "Idiot, I told you it's just dust."
"Stop lying to yourself, Touka. You and I both know that's a lie. Don't hold back, I'm here for you."
She doesn't know if it's the tone of his voice or because they were talking about her family but it made her feel like crying. And so she did, grabbing onto his shirt and crying into his chest. For the first time in a few weeks, she felt so much better after letting out all of her sadness.
Seeing her like this, it made Kaneki want to be by her side, he wanted to do something, anything for her. He waited for her to calm down and pushed her back gently to stare straight into her eyes. "Can we be lovers?"
Maybe she was vulnerable due to her sadness, maybe because he looked so determined in her eyes, maybe because she wanted to be closer to him, that she said yes.
--
At first, it was just Kaneki's feelings of wanting to be with her but as the time passed, he slowly fell in love with her. The way she talks, her expressions, her gestures, her habits, her hobbies. His mind was filled with her every day. The same went for Touka. She fell in love with his silliness, his jokes, his caring side, and his passion for books, everything. Being together with him had also made her forget about her grief. They had fallen hopelessly and completely in love with each other.
--
The couple laid in bed underneath the blankets and tangled in each other's limbs. Kaneki's hands buried in Touka's hair and his fingers played with her violet-colored strands while gazing at her. Her fingers were drawing lazy circles on his chest and she suddenly stopped her action as she looked up at him, expression turning serious. "Hey... I want to ask you something."
"What's with the seriousness? What is it?"
"Tell me more about yourself and vampires."
"Why this all of a sudden?"
Her eyes were downcast. "I just feel like I don't know much about you even though you're always by my side. You rarely talk about yourself besides books."
Maybe because he hasn't had a companion or partner for hundreds and thousands of years that he has never known how it feels like to tell someone about himself. So Kaneki smiled and told her all about himself and being a vampire.
"I'm a half vampire. My father was a vampire while my mother was a human. Being a half vampire meant that I only have half the powers of a true blood vampire. Half-vampires can do pretty much everything a full vampire can do, like turning into bats, flying, and transparency. It's just that we can only do it for a limited amount of time. We are also immortal unless someone kills us. So all my life I was ostracized, being one who was not a full vampire. My relatives all hated me and even my own father did not love me. Only my mother cared for me. After Mother passed away, I felt so lonely. I was all alone." He does not notice this but as the last sentence left his lips, tears dripped down his cheeks.
Touka wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a hug, in an attempt to comfort him. She could never imagine the pain of not being loved by one's own parent but she wanted, more than anything, for him to know that he is needed and that he is loved by her.
"You are not alone anymore. I'm here. I will always be by your side. I love you, Kaneki." As she said this, she made sure to make eye contact with him to show that she is telling the truth.
More tears dripped down and he thought, ah, I want this girl to be by my side for the rest of my life.
"Please marry me."
--
Their wedding ceremony was a small one since the both of them did not have any family or relatives to attend it. Watching as his beautiful wife clad in a white wedding gown and a veil atop her head walk down the aisle made Kaneki tear up a little. He believed that he was fated to meet Touka and thanked his mother for sending Touka to him.
The bride finally reached the groom and she placed her hand onto his waiting one. They recited their vows; to be together in happiness, sadness, sickness, and wealth. To make each other happy and love each other for the rest of their lives. They exchanged rings and finally met each other's lips for a kiss.
The ceremony ended with cheering from Kaneki's servants and the newlywed couple retired to their shared bedroom. They shared another kiss before Kaneki pushed her down onto the bed, getting on top of her. "Touka..."
Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him in closer and smiled. "It's okay, Ken."
The two of them lost their virginities that night, lovingly, gently and passionately in each other's arms.
--
They kept their vows, spending each day together blissfully. Since forever, Kaneki had wanted to end his life because he did not want to be immortal if it meant that he would be lonely but for the first time in his life, he wanted this time spent with Touka to last forever. But all good things will eventually come to an end.
One thunderstorm night, someone infiltrated the mansion, defeating all of the servants in one shot. Sensing that something was wrong, Kaneki slowly released Touka from his arms and got out of the bed. He walked along the corridors and thought that it was weird that not a single servant was to be found.
His feet brought him to the hall where he could sense someone was there. In the darkness of the hall, he couldn't see anything and so decided to activate his night vision powers. Before he could do so, something came at him and knocked him to the ground. He quickly got to his feet and jumped away to get some distance. "Who are you?! Name yourself!"
"Ahh, it's so sad... here I thought that he would have at least told you about me." The intruder stepped out into the light. "I'm Zorander Delarosa. Otherwise known as Zor."
That name rang a bell. A long time ago his father defeated a vampire named Zor! He was incredibly strong, recalling what his father told him.
"My father killed you! Why are you still alive?!"
Zor laughed evilly. "I reincarnated and now I'm back for revenge! Since your father's already dead, I'll kill everyone else dear to you!" He closed his eyes and scanned the house. "Let's see... There are no other vampires here... oh, what do we have here? A human!"
Kaneki's eyes widened. Touka! Shit, I shouldn't have left her alone!
But Zor was too fast. He was already flying at lightning speed towards the bedroom where Touka was at. Being a half vampire, Kaneki could not compete with a full-fledged vampire in terms of powers. But to protect Touka, he flew as fast as he could.
But he was too late. Zor was one step ahead of him as he took Touka into his arms and pointed a sword at her. Touka struggled to get away but he was too strong! "Ken!"
"Touka!" His eyes narrowed. "Zor, let her go. We can discuss this."
"Discuss? Discuss?? Thousands of years ago, I told your father that and look what he did to me! He killed me!" An idea popped into his mind and he grinned evilly. "I thought of something good. Let me kill you and I'll leave this woman alone. It's either you or her."
"Don't listen to him, Ken!" Touka shouted and kicked Zor in the crotch, making him groan in pain.
"You little bitch!" Zor roared as he threw her to the ground.
Seeing no response from her and blood coming out from her head, Kaneki's eyes turned red. How dare he hurt Touka! "I'LL KILL YOU!"
Zor smirked. That's more like it.
As the two vampires exchanged blows with each other, Touka could only watch helplessly as Kaneki kept on getting beaten up by Zor and throwing up blood. Zor then kicked Kaneki in the stomach and sent him flying into a wall. Kaneki slowly got up and clutched his stomach. He's overpowering me... what should I do?
"Tch... you're no fun... I think your darling would be more fun. I would love to know what her screaming sounds like." Zor said as he walked towards Touka.
No! The half vampire ran for his life to protect his dear wife despite his wounds. Once Kaneki was in front of Touka, Zor stabbed Kaneki through the chest with a silver sword. He coughed out lots of blood but he knew this was the only chance he had. He stabbed his hand through Zor's chest and crushed his heart with his fist. Zor dropped to the floor, dead and Kaneki collapsed as well.
Shit. I can't gather any more energy. My wounds won't heal. That stab earlier was fatal.
"Ken!" Touka screamed as she gathered him into her arms. Tears escaped her eyes and fell down onto his face. "Pull yourself together!"
Ahhh... she's safe. I'm glad... Kaneki thought that he needed to tell her now before he's gone forever. "Touka... I love you. I'm sorry I can't keep my promise of staying with you forever. Promise me that you'll stay alive even after I'm gone. And thank you for letting me experience love. The time I spent with you was truly the happiest in my entire life. I wish we could have more time together, then maybe we could have had children."
She shook her head and her tears wouldn't stop. "You're going to be fine!"
He cupped her cheek. "Promise me Touka. Please. That you'll continue living on after I'm gone."
She nodded. "I promise. I love you too, Ken."
Kaneki's eyes drooped. As he heard his wife crying for him, all he could think of was not wanting to die and tears dripped down his cheeks. Touka... this is goodbye.
As his eyes closed, he disappeared into thin air, leaving behind his ring, his grieving wife, and his servants.
--
Touka mourned her husband's death for weeks or months, she doesn't know because she spent every single day crying while lying on their shared bed. Everywhere she went reminded her of him; the library where he would always talk to her about books, the hall where they always danced together and the bedroom where he would always hold her in his gentle arms and tell her that he loved her and that she was beautiful.
She thought she could do this but life without him is too painful. He was her salvation, her everything. It was only because of him that she became happy again, but now that he's gone, the sadness is coming back to her. So she decided to take her own life. I'm sorry Ken. I can't keep my promise to you.
Without the servants' knowledge, she stared at the bottle of sleeping pills in her hand and poured out some of it. Her hand trembled as she slowly brought it to her mouth and swallowed it. She then laid down on the bed, hugging a photograph of Kaneki and her to the chest. Closing her eyes, she wished for everything to be over as a tear dripped down.
But her stomach couldn't take the pills and she scrambled to the toilet bowl to vomit them out. Touka then started feeling nausea, dizziness and kept on vomiting. At first, she thought it was the side effects of taking the pills but it got worse after a week and she had to call for a vampire doctor.
The doctor analyzed her and congratulated her for being 3 months pregnant. Upon hearing this news, she didn't know whether to feel happy that Kaneki left behind this child for her or feel sad that the child would be born without a father. She could only weep, tears unsure for happiness or sadness.
6 human years later...
The half vampire opened his eyes once again. All around him was grass and he quickly got up. He brought his hand up and opened it and closed it repeatedly. I'm back... The first thing that came to his mind was his wife, Touka. I need to go and find her! He found that his memory was all jumbled up as he failed to recall the location of his mansion. And a sudden thought stroked him; how many years has it been since his death? Could Touka be dead already? He does not want to believe that and begun to make his way to her with whatever memory he has.
After many hours later, Kaneki finally reached his mansion and saw a woman seated on the grass in his yard. He hid behind a tree and eyes widened as the woman is revealed to be his wife. She has changed quite a bit, it was no wonder he couldn't recognize her at first. Her purple hair had grown to half-past her back, her features looking more mature and she wore a long dress that pooled down to her ankles. Tears welled up in his eyes. Touka!
As he was about to approach her, a young boy with black hair and blue eyes suddenly runs towards his wife and hugged her. Seeing that, he stopped to observe the two. They seemed really close. He didn't remember having a child with Touka. His eyes downcast, actually it wouldn't be strange if Touka had remarried since he had passed away for quite some time already. But what's this feeling? He does not like the fact of his wife belonging to someone else, even if it's her right. But he has no choice but to leave them. It would cause inconvenience to them if they saw him after all.
He left the place and goes to the nearby village, deciding to live there away from Touka for the rest of his life. A few days passed, with him sleeping on the ground, basically anywhere, even in a horse shed, as long as he had a roof over his head. As he walked around town, he suddenly heard a woman shouting for her son. "Kou! Where are you?"
Making his way in the direction of the voice, he saw Touka running around frantically and crying. He squeezed his palm shut and looked down. No, you can't. This is none of your business. The child is another man's son! But...But...he doesn't want to see her crying like this. He decided that helping to find her son would be his final gift to her before he departs this town.
Kaneki then visited all of the places he thinks that a child would go but could not find him. He also went around asking people but no one knew where he was. Looking up at the sky, he cursed, it was getting dark and any later would be dangerous for a child. Think! Where would a child be if he was lost? He would be crying somewhere...but where?
His ears then picked a sound like crying and he ran over to the sound. He found the exact child he saw with Touka that day and slowly walked over to him. "Good evening."
The boy screamed and scrambled to his feet, ready to run away but Kaneki quickly grabbed the boy's wrist and stopped him. "Don't be scared. I'll take you to your mom."
"No! Let me go! Mother told me not to talk to strangers!"
Kaneki brought a sweet out of his pocket. "I'll give you this but you need to let me take you to your mother."
The child's big eyes stared at the sweet and he took it. "Okay."
They then walked together, Kaneki's hand holding the boy's tightly to make sure he doesn't try to run off. Approaching Touka, who was still shouting for her son, Kaneki pulled his hood over his head. "Um... is this your child?"
She spun her head over to them and ran towards them. "Kou!"
The boy released Kaneki's hand and ran into his mother's open arms. "Mama, I'm sorry! I won't run away anymore!"
"It's okay." Touka dried her tears and hugged her son tightly. She then held her son's hand and stood to face the stranger who had just saved her son. "I can't thank you enough. Is there anything you want? A reward maybe?"
Kaneki shook his head and bit his lower lip to hold in his tears. Standing there talking to Touka should have been a happy dream to him but hearing her talk so formally to him like he's a stranger just makes him feel extremely sad. He knows this is very selfish of him, but he wants to be with her again even if she has another man.
He pushed his hood back, revealing his face. "Touka, it's me. Ken."
She gasped and tears escaped her eyes. Her hands moved to cup his cheeks. "Is that really you? I-I thought you died!"
Smiling, he continued. "I reincarnated and came back to find you."
Touka threw her arms around him and cried into his chest. "You idiot! You have no idea how much I missed you!"
He hugged her back. "I love you, Touka. Will you stay by my side once again? I'm aware that you have another man in your life and if it's not possible to get married again, it's enough as long as I can be your friend."
"Another man? What are you talking about?"
"Am I wrong?" He asked, confused.
"You are. But I wouldn't blame you. You didn't know. Sometime after you died, I realized I was pregnant with your child." She placed her hand on Kou's head. "He's your son. 6 years old this year."
"I had a son?" He found it very hard to believe that.
Touka then introduced them to one another. "Kou, this is your father. Kaneki, this is Kou, your son."
Hearing that, Kou ran towards his father. "Yay daddy!"
For once since reincarnating, Kaneki felt happiness that he got his wife and his son back.
--
Sitting on their old bed, Kaneki smiled as he stared at the photo he took with Touka and Kou. Touka entered the room and settled down beside him, leaning against his shoulder.
"How's Kou?" He asked.
"He was too excited to see his father today and fell asleep fast."
Kaneki smiled. He's a father now. All of this was making him dizzy with happiness. There's one more thing left to do. "Touka, will you marry me again? I want to be with you."
She moved in to kiss him. Tears staining her cheeks, she gave him his answer. "Yes."
--
Watching his bride walk down the aisle the second time, Kaneki couldn't hold in his tears and cried. No matter how many years have passed, she still looked so beautiful to him and his love for her will never die.
Touka finally reached him and placed her hand onto his waiting one. At this point, she also cried together with him. They recited their vows and exchanged rings again before ending the ceremony with a kiss.
The married couple then retired to their shared bedroom after finally putting overly-excited Kou to bed. Kaneki guided Touka to bed and gently laid her down, getting on top of her. This will be their second marriage night together as they pressed their lips onto each other's.
The two of them made love again that night, throwing away all of their loneliness and sadness, and welcomed happiness.
This time, I will be by your side forever.
Happily ever after.
---
Finally done with this idea which has been on my mind for months! By the way for writers writing tragedy stories, I found that listening to sad songs and OST make the writing even sadder.
Hope you guys enjoyed this 2 part story! Moving onto the next one-shot! :D