Tokyo Ghoul: King

Chapter 17: A Miracle

  You had killed several Oggai squads in the last few days.

While you had been killing them, you had actually saved some ghouls from an early death. Some of them were even running away with their children.

They all now resided in the 24th ward, and many of them expressed profound gratitude for you.

In general, almost everyone in the ward now showed you some respect or admiration.

You had decided to take a small break from your routines.

Even if that break would be spent feeling miserable.

So there you sat again, looking at Eto.

The most painful thing wasn't that she was dead. It was obvious she was alice when you saw her body heal itself relatively quickly over some days after the Cochlea Disaster.

The worst part wasn't that.

It was the fact she was actually in a coma. It was just as heartbreaking to know that no matter what you did you couldn't tell her how much you loved her. When you first realized this you, you became bitter and angry over the fact that you could not have the one thing that you deserved.

"I should've just killed that squirt back then." you muttered as you sat on the rooftop of your den, reminiscing about how you spared Kaneki's life back when he was still going by the alias of Haise Sasaki.

To you it was obvious that Ken Kaneki, despite being the One-Eyed King who would bring a happier future to the ghouls of Tokyo, was at least partially responsible for your grief.

If that steel beam incident had not happened, Eto would possibly be alive.

"Or was I just too slow?" you ask yourself, considering the other possibility.

Any other outcome than the one this one would have left you considerably less bitter and angry.

But here you were. Nothing left but the task of keeping the 24th ward a safe zone. It was easy, as no CCG agent seemed to have the authority, balls or weren't insane enough to risk their lives to get a few ghouls who ran away into their new underground sanctuary.

Their gratitude felt pointless, empty even. They were just words, and words would not bring Eto back.

You couldn't appreciate any of it with such a burdened heart.

Your daily mourning was interrupted when your sense of smell picked up multiple ghouls getting closer. Their scents were familiar. They were the last remains of Aogiri Tree's ranks.