After accompanying Touka for a while through the ward's streets, we manage to reach her house, which is still the one mom got her two years ago.
Turns out this house is near Rize's new place.
Touka opens the door and enters first, leaving her shoes at the entrance before walking to the living room.
"Come in. I'll make some coffee."
"Mm. Thanks."
I enter and sit on the couch while she glides toward the kitchen. I can hear the sound of cups moving and water boiling from here, and soon, the smell of coffee floating.
Looking around, I see there are some rabbit plushies. She really likes them, this girl, huh? Rabbits. There are also books on the corner shelf and some blue curtains that match Touka's hair.
While I wait, maybe because I'm close to Touka, my mind returns again to what happened at Sunlit Garden every time I've seen her these past few days.
Kirishima Arata.
Touka's father. Who once became a monster.
"..."
Even though I see Touka every day, I still haven't told her anything about that. I don't know how to do it, or if I should do it in the first place. How do you tell someone you killed their father? Though he was no longer her father when I did it. At that moment, he was a mindless monster that wanted to devour everything in its path. Even so...
"Hey."
Touka's voice pulls me from my thoughts. I look up and see her standing in front of me with two cups of coffee in her hands and a strange expression on her face.
"What's wrong with you? You're really quiet."
"Huh? No, nothing's wrong..."
"Don't lie to me."
She sets the cups on the table and sits beside me on the couch while our shoulders are so close they almost touch.
"I've known you for years. I know when something's bothering you."
"..."
I can't respond to that because she's right. Touka knows me pretty well after all this time, so it's hard to hide things from her.
She sighs and extends her hand toward me.
"Well, first things first. I'm hungry."
Touka also depends exclusively on my blood, just like Rize. Though in her case it started longer ago.
I offer her my wrist and she takes it with both hands while bringing her lips to my skin.
"Thanks for the meal."
She murmurs that before sinking her teeth into my flesh.
Normally this moment is quite intimate. After all, unlike when Rize does it, Touka does it in a softer and more careful way while savoring each drop.
But today I can't concentrate on that.
After a few minutes, Touka pulls away from my wrist and stares at me. Her brow is furrowed and there's concern in her eyes.
"Okay, now tell me what's wrong. You're not reacting like you usually do."
"..."
I slide my gaze from her face and avoid looking at her.
"Arata."
Accompanied by a firm voice, I notice it has a pleading tone. She wants to know what's bothering me.
I sigh and lean back on the couch while looking at the ceiling.
In fact, it might seem unnecessary to tell her about her father.
But I think she deserves to know. So she can understand what happened.
If I keep it from her and don't tell her, and she finds out later from other sources, she might get angry with me for not telling her.
"Touka... remember what I told you about my trip to the 1st Ward?"
"Yes. You said you went to rescue someone."
"Mm. Well, while I was there, I encountered a monster."
"A monster? What kind of monster?"
"It was a ghoul that had been experimented on by scientists from the V organization. They'd turned it into something that was no longer a ghoul. It had become a mass of flesh and eyes that wanted to devour everything."
Touka listens in silence, not wanting to interrupt me.
"I had to kill it."
It could be considered my fault. First, because the monster was attracted to my All-Seeing Eye, and since that eye was with Rize, it pursued her. Second, I was excited to fight a powerful monster and went to find it. Who would've thought it would be Touka's father.
"..."
"But when I did it, when I absorbed its blood, I saw its memories."
I sit up and look directly into her eyes.
"Touka, that monster, before being turned into that, was your father. Kirishima Arata."
"..."
Once that's said, I can see how Touka's expression slowly changes, going from confusion to disbelief, and then to a broken expression.
"What... what did you just say?"
"Your father was captured by the CCG years ago. They used him as an experiment subject until he became that monster. And I had to..."
I can't finish the sentence because Touka's no longer looking at me. Her eyes are fixed on some point on the floor, and I can see her hands are trembling slightly.
"Dad... dad was...?"
"Touka..."
"All this time... I thought he was dead. But he was... he was suffering all that time..."
With broken words, tears start falling down her cheeks, though she doesn't make any sound. It seems her body has frozen, but her tears haven't.
I carefully raise my hand and bring it close to Touka's cheek. My fingers find their way through her tears, drying them.
A few years ago, when I learned that parasite was Saya's father, I ended up killing it.
So even if I'd known beforehand that monster was Touka's father, even if I don't like it, I would've ended up killing it too. This ending wouldn't have changed.
In this case, though I don't like seeing Touka like this, I don't regret it.
I don't say anything, since there's nothing I can say to fix this nor are there words that can erase her pain.
Her eyes, which are fixed on the floor, rise to meet mine. I don't need to see her aura or feel her emotional frequency to know how she is right now, because in her eyes, I'm able to see there's pain, confusion and sadness.
And then Touka moves, throwing herself at me. She opens her arms and hugs me tightly around the waist while burying her face in my chest.
"Don't leave me... don't leave me too..."
While she whispers, I pat her head gently.
"First mom, then dad... and Ayato left... I don't want to lose you too... please..."
Lowering my fingers from her hair, I gently stroke her back while hugging her in return.
"I'm not going anywhere."
She presses harder against my chest. Right now, Touka seems completely vulnerable. Like a small child who's lost everything and fears losing the last thing she has left.
Since her mother died and her father disappeared, since her younger brother left home, Touka has been alone. Though she pretended to be strong, she's always been afraid of loneliness.
And I'm the only one who's remained by her side.
I run my hand from her head to her back, again and again. I can't tell her everything will be okay, because that would be a lie. I can't tell her I understand, because I can't imagine what she's feeling. All I can do is be here for her.
We stay like this for a long time while we embrace in silence.
Like this, the sun starts setting outside the window.
×××
The next morning.
Touka leaves her apartment wearing a white shirt and loose shorts down to the knee.
On her face is a serious expression. She's still affected by what Arata told her yesterday about her father, but she's doing her best to act normal.
While she closes the door behind her and starts walking toward the gate, she hears another door opening in the neighborhood.
Just as she exits to the street, a girl comes out of the house next door. She has long purple hair, eyes the same color, and a lazy smile on her face.
Touka stops when her eyes meet the other girl's.
'...A ghoul.'
She can sense it immediately.
The purple-haired girl also seems to have noticed her, because her smile widens slightly while observing her.
"..."
"..."
Neither says anything while staring at each other for several long seconds.
Finally, the purple-haired girl starts walking, exiting to the street, and passing by Touka.
Touka follows her with her gaze for a moment before starting to walk too. Curiously, both are going in the same direction.
The walk is silent, and as expected, also uncomfortable. Touka can feel the other ghoul's presence beside her, a few meters away, walking in parallel. Do they have the same destination? It gives the feeling that's the answer.
'Who is this girl? Why does she live next to my house? Maybe she moved in this week? And why are we going to the same place?'
The breeze blowing between them seems to collide with the tension that settled there.
After several minutes, both arrive at the same point.
Rei Miyamoto's house.
Touka stops in front of the house gate. The other girl also stops, a few steps from her.
"..."
The next moment, the purple-haired girl starts speaking, breaking the silence.
"Are you Touka?"
Hearing her name suddenly spoken, and by a girl she doesn't even know, Touka turns her head abruptly to look at her.
"And who are you?"
The other girl narrows her eyes, and a soft smile appears on her lips.
"Mm~ you don't deny it, so you're Touka. The girl I've heard about."
"What are you talking about? Who are you?"
"My name is Rize."
Without saying her last name, either because she despises the Washuu or simply doesn't want to say it, Rize tilts her head while observing Touka from top to bottom. She seems to be evaluating her.
"Being here, are you also coming to see Arata's master?"
"Arata? You know Arata?"
"Fufu~ You could say that. I know him quite well, in fact."
Hearing this, Touka feels something churning in her stomach. She doesn't like the way this girl she doesn't know talks about Arata.
"What relationship do you have with him?"
"Me? Mm... I'm his girlfriend, I guess~"
With a sing-song tone, Rize brings a finger to her lips while a huge smile draws on her face. At the same time, her eyes acquire a dark and dangerous gleam.
"What?!"
Touka's eyes open wide. Her kagune almost materializes behind her, but she manages to contain herself at the last moment because they're in the middle of the street where anyone could see them. And that would cause problems for Arata again.
Even so, roaring anger surges and embraces her heart. In the next instant, her pupils turn crimson, and her sclera are painted black while her face distorts with rage.
"Oh, does that bother you? How interesting~"
"Bitch..."
Pronouncing those words with hatred, she positions herself to lunge at Rize, with the intention of crushing her face.
However, the gate opens, and from there, a figure appears. It's a tall woman with shoulder-length brown hair and red eyes. In front of the two girls, she emits an intimidating presence.
Kiriko.
Both Touka and Rize tense up.
Kiriko looks at both of them with a bored expression before speaking.
"Oh, you're here already. Are you ready for training?"
×××
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