Chapter 16: Sidestory
••The sky had never seemed so
beautiful••
Recap on Kaneki's Background:
Good friends with Isuju. Then Touka, a girl he really liked, confessed to him but he rejected because he had mixed feelings about dating since it was the exam period.
Isuju left him alone because he would shoot down anything she said and she thought he needed some space.
Then Gakuho 'counseled' him and convinced him that he loved Isuju. The next day, he went to Isuju's house and the following is what happened.
---
There was a knock on Isuju's door. The atmosphere in her house had suddenly turned eerie. The air was still and there was a high pitched sound in the air.
Turns out that putting her hand on the handle of the door was the biggest mistake she ever made.
A figure stood there. The light shone in behind him, so it was hard to see his face clearly with the shadow on his face.
"Kaneki?" Isuju muttered in shock, she had never expected him to show up at her door since he had been shooting down whatever she said," are you feeling better now? Do you need some water?"
Isuju turned her back and proceeded to the kitchen but was held back by a pair of arms around her waist. His hands were cold and his presence felt some what foreign.
"I just need you," Kaneki whispered into her ear. His voice didn't sound like him in the past at all. It was filled with hunger and need.
"With you, there's no need for water at all," he smiled," or even the basic necessities."
Isuju was filled with fear. Her breath sharpened as she slowly turned her head to look at him closely.
His left eye was as red as blood.
His smile was gentle yet hostile.
His touch was the same yet unfamiliar.
"Who are you?" Her voice wavered, but she didn't stutter. She pulled away from him.
Kaneki placed his right hand on his chest and said the words she was afraid of hearing.
"You can see who am I, right? Isuju?," he said.
The shadow on his face became lighter and his eyes stood out more than before. The red one especially glowed.
"I am Kaneki Ken."
---
Day 69
Isuju put her ear up against the door, listening to any sound or vibrations. She then slowly turned the knob of the door and peeked through the gap.
She didn't dare to swallow her saliva, as there would be a sound. She didn't dare to scratch an itch, as there would be a sound. She didn't dare to breathe, as there would be a sound.
Once Isuju had confirmed that Kaneki was asleep in his room, she quietly took her school bag and headed out of the room. She climbed out the kitchen window, taking her shoes and socks with her.
She was never happier to have her bare feet come into contact with dirt and small rocks. She was never happier to see the sky without any boundaries. She was never happier to leave a place she once called home.
"Finally," she sighed as she started sprinting towards school.
As Isuju reached school, she greeted some of her friends who all asked her the same question.
"Why aren't you with Kaneki?"
Isuju and Kaneki had been going to school together for the past two months. Kaneki had stuck with her wherever she went. He had even waited outside the girls toilet for her and had only let her go to the bathroom on the third floor so she couldn't escape from the window.
So when the third floor was out of bounds to them as exams were taking place, Isuju had to hold in her pee for a whole day. It was either that or she could let Kaneki watch her pee on the grass, and she wasn't that desperate.
It was lucky that he had slept late the night before as he was up for who knows what.
For the whole of today, she had decided to avoid Kaneki and stayed in the girl's washroom next to the staffroom during lunch and recess. Isuju immediately ran away after class ended to avoid seeing Kaneki.
Although it wasn't obvious, Kaneki was frustrated and angry that he couldn't find Isuju. And Isuju was definitely in deep shit if Kaneki caught her.
"Isuju!" A classmate of hers, Kyuno, called out. Isuju whipped her head around, worry suddenly washed over her. She had to get away from her, and fast. It was during lunch and Kaneki had a full hour to look for her.
"Sorry, Kyuno! I gotta go," Isuju said as she started to run.
"Wait! Miss Hareri told you to meet her in the staffroom!" Kyuno shouted.
"Noted and please do not tell anyone where I went," Isuju said it loud enough so Kyuno could hear. She was planning to head there anyway, well, to the toilet next to the staffroom.
As Isuju went into the staffroom, she greeted Miss Hareri. Miss Hareri talked to her about Isuju spacing out a lot lately. It was due to Kaneki, however, she didn't want to rat him out.
Isuju replied that it was probably fatigue that got to her and it wasn't a problem. As soon as Miss Hareri and finished talking to Isuju, she dismissed her. Isuju carefully opened the staffroom door and aimed for the toilet that was around 5 meters away.
Isuju ran straight for the toilet without thinking too much, only to be pulled back halfway by a strong grip. She looked up at the person, only for her eyes to meet a pair of heterochromatic eyes.
"H-How did you find-"
"Kyuno told me," he said with a smile.
"But I told her not to tell anyone," Isuju said.
"I smiled at her, then she told me," Kaneki replied.
Isuju had forgotten, Kyuno liked Kaneki. It could clearly be seen by her actions even though Isuju was 'dating' him. Many girls had fallen for Kaneki over the past month.
Why? Because he dyed his hair white and somehow, it made him look more attractive. And it did. Kaneki made the girls swoon, and using that 'power', he got information out of the girls as long as he smiled.
He dragged her into the female toilet, closed the door, and pinned her against the wall with the perfect kabe-don that anyone, no matter male or female, would faint. His face remained the same. He wasn't smiling with a sadistic intent as he usually did.
Instead, he was looking into her eyes with plain anger, which Isuju hasn't seen before.
"Why did you run," it was more of an order than a question.
"I'm sorry-"
"I said," Kaneki closed the distance between them, their foreheads barely touching, he then shouted," WHY DID YOU RUN!?"
"I... I was scared," she looked down, slowly starting to tear up. She hated herself so much, for acting like this.
Kaneki gritted his teeth. Scared? What did she have to scared of? Kaneki gave her all his love he had.
"Scared of what?" Kaneki tilted her head up to make their eyes meet. He could the see the fear in her eyes. Her pupils were shaking as she looked straight into his eyes.
"Me?" Kaneki was confused," you're scared of me?"
"Why? I love you, Isuju," Kaneki pulled her into a hug," I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, so much."
He squeezed her harder with every word he said. It was as if the amount of tears that came from how hard Isuju was being squeezed.
Kaneki pulled away but hovered his lips over hers.
"Did you know that I love you?"
And she was out.
---
Day 79
Isuju sat at her study table. It was 11.40pm and she was rushing to finish half of her homework. She would then finish the other half in the morning on the next day.
She leaned back as she relaxed her hand, letting go off the pen.
"Finally," she muttered, standing up to proceed to the toilet. However, she was held back by a metal chain around her ankle. A metal chain with scratches and marks all over it.
Isuju pointed her middle finger at the chain, while muttering a profanity. She had forgotten about the metal chain that had held her back and made a scar around her ankle whenever she moved.
The metal chain had lost its colour after Isuju had been clawing at it for a week. There were a few blood stains that were unsightly and it had came with the chain when she was first being locked, so she wondered what Kaneki had been doing with it. However, after pondering for a while, she felt that she had rather not know.
There was a bloody and metallic smell in the air, which Isuju had been trying to get rid off but couldn't since Kaneki locked the windows to prevent her from communicating with anyone.
---
Day 169
Isuju had given up, losing all the thoughts of trying to escape. She gritted her teeth and blinked her eyes, letting tears drop.
Her eyes had turned red from bacterial infection. She wasn't able to wash them as she couldn't go to the toilet. There was pee and vomit on the floor.
Isuju's room was filled with a particular odour of sweat, blood, vomit, and pee.
She sat up against the wall, closing her eyes, losing all hope.
As Isuju cried, she screamed, venting her anger and sadness on a wall. She stabbed the wall in the same spot over and over again, the amount of strength she used got more and more.
"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! YOU FUCKED UP PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT! I HATE YOU, I LOATHE YOU, I FUCKING HATE YOU!" She stabbed the wall harder and harder, to the point where the brick chipped and the scissors broke.
"Ah that felt a lot better," Isuju said, smiling. She knew that Kaneki wouldn't hear as he made her room soundproof so that she couldn't scream for help.
Then something caught her eye. The chain was connected to the wall, and the piece of metal that connected the chain to the wall was loosening, as she had continuously jabbed the wall with the scissors.
Reaching for the broken blade on the floor, Isuju clawed and jabbed the wall over and over again. Her hands started to bleed after five minutes as she held the blade tightly. She trembled with excitement at the thought of escaping hell which was once her home.
When the metal detached from the wall, Isuju's mouth curved up. She hadn't been this happy in ages. She carried the chain up and quietly stepped out of her room, trying not to make a sound.
Isuju climbed out off the kitchen window on the first floor as the window in her room was locked.
Isuju looked up at the bluish and pinkish light in the atmosphere. The sky had never seemed so beautiful to her in her entire life.
She ran as far as possible before looking for a public phone. And she literally begged a passer-by to lend her money.
When she the number she dialed picked up, she heaved a sigh of relief.
"Irina-nee, I need help."
---
Heyo
I have been trying to keep it PG13 by not saying 'fuck' but meh
I hoped you enjoyed this side story even though I think you guys didn't;-;
Remember that Kaneki is only a name and a person I'm using so please please please do not hate on him after reading this. I used his name and looks as I liked how he looks like. So basically, take it as he is acting in this fanfiction with his name.
BY THE WAY, HE'S FROM TOKYO GHOUL. SO GO WATCH IT.
;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;
^that emoticon looks cute