Anime Imagines

Ken Kaneki - Books

The hardest part of dating Kaneki wasn't him being a ghoul.  It wasn't about his unpredictable impulses.  It was fearing what he could do with those impulses, as a ghoul.

Many people asked you why you didn't just break up with Kaneki if you were scared of him.  You always gave them the same response, "I've seen the good in him, and I believe it's still in there."

You had known Kaneki since a young age, and had gotten together before he became a Ghoul.  You weren't afraid of him when he worked at Anteiku, because he would control himself and only ate the suicide victims they collected.  But once he left, he took you with him, and things changed very fast.

You found yourself sleeping in your own room with the door locked, and anything you could use to protect yourself sitting right beside your bed.  You often woke up with from nightmares in the middle of the night, all of which included Kaneki and his horrifying impulses.

"Hey y/n-chan," Kaneki said as he shut the door.  He hung up his sweatshirt and mask, then went to sit beside you on the couch.  He noticed a book in your hands, and tilted his head to read the title.  "What're you reading?"

You closed the book, keeping your finger in it to hold your page.  "Attack on Titan," you said as you pointed to the manga book.  "I've read so many normal books, I thought maybe throwing in something like manga could be interesting."

He smiled at you.  It was the same smile you fell in love with years ago.  The one that only came out for books, that made the old Kaneki shine through.  It was the smile that made your fear go away, and caused you to lean against your boyfriend's shoulder.  "Is it good?" he asked you.

You thought about telling him to read it, but pushed off the idea.  You were afraid it would give him some idea about trying to make a whole new version of himself, like he was already doing with the cannibalism.  "It's pretty good," you said as you folded over the page you were on, then put the book down.  "But I'll probably stick to normal books."

He put his arms around you and pulled you closer to him.  "Maybe we'll go to the bookstore sometime, get us both some new reading material.  You've been so distant lately, it'd be good for us to do something together."

This was the Kaneki you fell in love with.  Not the one he'd become, who was out all day and ate other ghouls all night.  You fell in love with the one who read books, and you could have a real conversation with.  "Sounds good," you said with a small smile.

The door opened, and Tsukiyama walked in.  You went to take your leave to your room, but Kaneki's grip on you didn't lessen. 

"Tsukiyama-san, what do you have for me?" Kaneki asked as he sat back in the couch, pulling you a little closer to himself.

"Nothing new," Tsukiyama announced with a dramatic sigh. 

You needed to find some excuse to get out.  Whenever they spoke about their ghoul business, it made you highly uncomfortable.  But, where could you escape to?

Then your chance came.

"Kaneki?" Hinami asked as she ran into the room.  "Do you think you could take me to the book store?" she asked with pleading eyes.

You gratefully took your chance.  "I think Kaneki has to talk about some business with Tsukiyama-san, but I can take you."

She smiled at you.  "Yay!  Thank you!"

"Actually there's no business to discuss today," Kaneki said as he sat up, finally removing his arm from around you.  "I'll go with you guys."

Hinami nodded excitedly, and once you got ready the three of you headed to the nearest book store.  Hinami ran off to look for her own books, while you and Kaneki stuck together as you always did.

"How about this one?" Kaneki asked, pulling a book off a shelf.  You two always bought books together, so you could compare and contrast your opinions and such.  It was one of the reasons you fell in love with him in the first place.  The book he pulled out was called Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. (Yes it's a real book, I googled books popular in Japan and that came up)

You took the book from his hands and looked it over.  You read the description then flipped through the pages quickly, before giving him a smile.  "I like it."

He smiled at you and grabbed a second copy, and you went off to find Hinami.

That one moment in the aisles of books made you feel more secure than you had in a long time.  In that moment, there were no ghouls, no cannibalism, no fear.  It was just you and the guy you fell in love with, picking a book to read.  You wished that it could always be like that, that you didn't have to live in fear anymore.

"y/n-san!" Hinami said as she ran up to you, waving a book in her hands.  "Did you find something you like?"

A smile made its way across your face, and you nodded slowly.  "Yes, I did."  Only, what you found was not a book