I Won't Leave Again (Touken)

Chapter 19: Reunion

"K...Kaneki?" Nishiki was practically speechless. Kaya's jaw dropped. 

"That's me" 

"Well I'll be damned... Don't we all look foolish" 

At that moment, Yoshimura entered the room to see Kaneki standing in the doorway. A look of genuine happiness came over his face. 

"I... I can't believe it" 

"Yeah I can't believe it either" Nishiki found more words. 

"What happened Kaneki?" Yoshimura spoke while approaching him. 

"Short story, I was taken by clowns to a hideout outside of the city. I escaped" 

"Kaneki, for the second time, we thought you were dead" 

"Sorry I keep causing you all so much worry" Kaneki suddenly looked gloomy. 

"It's not us you should be worried about, it's what's upstairs" Nishiki pointed towards the doorway.  

Kaya walked over and gave him a hug while Nishiki filled him in. 

"When you went missing, we all searched the wards completely for like a week. We couldn't pick you up at all so we assumed the worst. Well, all except Touka. She's a mess man, she NEVER gave up on you and continued searching with every moment of free time she had. It was pretty sad" 

"I really want to see her. I hope she's not too mad" 

Yoshimura answered.

"Go see her Kaneki, you can tell us the whole story tomorrow" 

"Alright... I will goodnight. Also, thank you guys for looking for me... I'm sorry I'm causing you so much trouble" 

"Hey now, you're one of us and man be careful she might kill you " 

"I know" Kaneki smiled as he walked up the stairs. He got to her room and took a deep breath; he didn't know what kind of reaction to expect. He knocked on the door, but didn't get a response. It wasn't locked so he stepped into her dark apartment. He noticed a small light from under her bedroom door so he slowly approached. 

Touka was in the middle of her typical cycle of lying on the bed and staring out the window dully unable to sleep out of sheer worry. She heard a light tap on her door. 

"Go away" She weakly barked. 

Instead the door opened. She turned around. 

"I said..........." Her eyes widened as his silver eyes met hers. 

"I finally fell asleep haha I'm dreaming" She pinched herself. He still stood there smiling down at her. Finally it hit her. 

"It c-can't be" He walked towards her on the bed and placed a soft hand on her cheek. 

"It's me Touka" 

"K-Ke" 

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long, I didn't mean to upset everybody, but there wasn't much I could do" 

"Tch"

She stood up staring at him directly. What came next Kaneki did not expect. She raised her hand and slapped him flush across the face. 

"Y-you promised you w-wouldn't leave!" 

"Hey! it wasn't intentional. I was caught off guard and made the wrong call... I'm sorry" 

Touka was trembling uncontrollably now. 

"Y-you fucking idiot you said you wanted to protect us and the first thing you do is throw yourself under the bus!?! I care about you. People here care about you and don't want to see you die dumbass! I love that you care about us all so much, but please Ken value yourself a little more y-you fucking idiot" She cried.