I stand still in front of the principal's office door, still wearing the training hoodie.
I take a deep breath.
"Knock knock." I knock twice on the door.
"Come in," I hear a soft, muffled voice from the other side.
"Tec." I crack my fingers and open the door.
"Excuse me… Nemuri-san?!" I exclaim, surprised by the presence of a familiar figure inside the room.
She gets up from the sofa and walks toward me with a smile, then gives me a tight hug.
"It's been so long, Kaneki-kun~" She sings.
I give a gentle smile; I haven't smiled with anyone other than Himiko in a long time.
"What are you doing here, Nemuri-san?" I ask curiously.
"I became a teacher here a few years ago," she says with a smile.
She releases me from the hug and gives me a few pats on the head.
"You've grown so much… you got really handsome, hehe~" I roll my eyes at her teasing tone.
"And you haven't changed at all." She seems happy with my comment; I make a mental note not to ask about her age.
"Sorry to interrupt the reunion, but we have matters to discuss," Nezu says while sipping some coffee.
Nemuri and I sit side by side on the sofa, with Nezu in front of us in an armchair.
Nezu is a… "something" of short stature, wearing a suit and orange sneakers.
"It's me, Nezu, the one who could be a dog or a mouse or a bear, but more importantly... I'm the principal!" He says in an animated voice, posing slightly.
"..."
"So, Nezu-sensei, what did you need to talk to me about?" I ask cautiously.
"You don't need to be so formal, and don't worry, you're not in trouble or anything."
I let out a relieved sigh, which makes Nemuri giggle behind her hand.
"I know you went through something unpleasant when you were three years old."
I nod my head.
"How have you been, Kaneki-kun?"
I notice how he has been observing me since I entered the room, watching my behavior.
"I think I'm doing well. Himiko has helped me a lot to get through all of that.
Nezu seems to nod in satisfaction, and just as he is about to say something, Nemuri exclaims beside me.
"Ara ara~, only a few years have passed and you already found another girl, Kaneki-kun…" She wipes away fake tears.
"You start dating and already forget your big sister~"
"..."
"Wait, she really is your girlfriend?" She widens her eyes and puts a hand over her mouth when I nod, confirming it.
"I figured, hehe," Nezu laughs.
"You're even living together, you didn't even hide it in the records." Nezu's words make Nemuri gape like a fish.
"Kyaa!! I haven't even met my sister-in-law yet! You use protection, right?! I'm not ready to be an aunt!"
Now it's my turn to look like a fish.
"Nemuri-san…"
"Midnight, let the boy breathe. Let's get back to the matter at hand," Nezu comes to my rescue.
"Alright… but I want to meet her outside the classroom." I agree with that.
A few seconds of silence pass, and then I feel the atmosphere in the room grow heavy.
Sigh "I know how it is, Kaneki-kun, being trapped against your will, serving as an experiment." He points to the scar running across his face.
Unconsciously, I touch my chest, where my surgical scar is.
"I also know how challenging it is to return to society after going through something like that, and according to your records, even before that you didn't have a decent life."
"…" I can't think of any words to reply.
I did have a good life before, one that kept me grounded, but there's no way they could know that.
"I want you to know that you can trust the teachers and me. If you need anything, we at U.A. will do our best to make it possible." I feel Nemuri's hand rest on my shoulder.
"I was going to offer therapy… but I think you've been handling things well. Still, if you ever feel like you need it, don't hesitate to ask."
"I've been trying… and thank you, Principal Nezu."
─── ◆ ───
Just before the gates, I find Himiko leaning against a pillar, waiting for me. When she sees me, her smile widens and she comes running toward me.
She hugs me, takes a sniff of the air, and then, despite still hugging me, she narrows her eyes in a way that sends a chill down my spine.
"I missed you, Kaneki-kun…"
"But why do you smell like another woman?" She says in a dangerous tone.
"I missed you too, Himi," I say quickly.
"Calm down, it's not what you think. I'll explain." She seems to calm down a little, but she's still quite threatening.
I swallow hard and start telling her what happened in the principal's office.
When I mention that I ran into Nemuri, she finally relaxes and listens to the rest with curiosity as we walk together hand in hand.
"She wants to meet me?" Himiko asks, a bit confused but excited.
"Sigh Yeah, she said she wants to meet her sister-in-law…" Himiko just lets out a small laugh.
"She'll probably teach some classes for us first, but she said she wanted to meet you outside of school." Himiko nods in understanding.
Almost home, I decide to buy an ice cream cone for both of us. She gets strawberry, and I choose vanilla and chocolate.
"What did you think of the people in our class?" I ask Himiko as I take a bite of my cone.
"I don't know about the boys, but the girls are nice, and at least for now, they don't seem to care about how we are."
"Yeah, I didn't get much of a chance to talk to anyone because I had to go to the bathroom."
"Hehe, people seem to have a good impression of you because of that. It helped break the tension after the teacher suddenly called us to the courtyard."
I chew the last piece of the cone and toss the wrapper into a trash can.
"You think so? I hope I didn't accidentally activate my Kakugan at some point…"
"Relax, you didn't activate it today..."
"To be honest, I thought you were going to when the guy with the glasses called you out." She frowns slightly.
"He was right, though. I shouldn't have fallen asleep, at least not after the bell rang." Himiko pouts but doesn't say anything else.
"Let's try to get along with everyone, Himi. Most of them seem nice." I wipe a bit of ice cream from the corner of her lips.
"Hm… I'll try." She tosses her wrapper into a trash can next to our apartment.
Finally, we enter our apartment. I stretch my arms a little, wondering what the next day will be like.