The Pirate & The Princess [KaneTou]

5

Touka stopped trying to escape after that. She decided that could come after she got to know Kaneki better. He seemed like a tight-lipped kind of person, who refused to tell people anything about himself. Well, it was a painful experience so she can't help but understand why he acts the way he is. 

Despite that, she still tried to get him to talk and failed terribly each time. So she settled on just standing beside him on the deck and gazed out at the sea, in silence. That was the only time he wasn't chasing her away and didn't seem to mind her company. She noticed that whenever he stared out at the vast ocean like this, it was when he was deep in thought. 

"Penny for your thoughts?"

His eyes flickered to hers. "No matter how you try, I'm not telling you anything."

She shrugged. "Alright then. Maybe you could tell me about the stars? I've seen astronomy books in your cabin and I assume you somewhat know the names of the stars."

He stretched his hand out and pointed to the most left star. "That's Sirius—" He said, shifting his hand slightly to the right, "and that's Vega."

"Do you like stars?"

"I wouldn't say that I do, but when you're out at sea and there's nothing to do, you tend to find something to occupy your time." He replied.

"So I can see from your huge collection of books."

Silence overcame them again.

"Hey, what are your plans with me? When can I return to my parents?" Touka asked.

"..I don't know."

"I miss them."

This was the first time she has ever expressed her feelings openly ever since she got on this ship around 2 weeks ago. She can't recall a day where she was separated from her parents and missed them dearly.

"Saying that won't make me return you to them."

"I know, I just..wanted to say it. Being at sea like this, reminds me of the last time I went on a trip with my brother and my parents."

"I didn't ask to hear this—"

"I'm talking to myself." She interrupted.

He shut his mouth and she continued. "We were on a cruise ship and we were having so much fun. It was the last time we went on a trip before my brother was enlisted into the army and sent to war, not long after. We exchanged letters with one another for a couple of months until a letter from the army arrived. It said that he died in battle."

Kaneki remained silent, eyes still gazing out at the sea.

"I hate the war for taking him away from us but I hate myself more for spending the time together with him arguing and fighting with him and taking it for granted. He's an asshole sometimes, but he's still my little brother and I loved him." Before she knew it, tears brimmed in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks. She desperately tried to wipe them away with her hands but they continued falling.

The male brought out a clean handkerchief from his pocket and wordlessly dabbed her tear-stained cheeks with it. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry."

Seeing her upset made his heart ache and before he knew it, he thrust his hand into her hair, pushing her bangs back in the process. Her blue eyes widened up at him and he cursed, pulling her by the waist and allowed her to lay her head against his chest. 

Touka knew that she should push him away, and that she shouldn't get any closer to him but when he caressed her violet locks and soothed his hand up and down her back, she couldn't help but want to remain in his arms longer. Feeling the tenderness in his actions, she took advantage of it and sobbed into his chest.

Although Ken didn't have any family, he knew loss once a long time ago, when he lost his best friend at sea. He knew how painful it was to lose a loved one and that no one is exempted from the feelings of guilt, sadness, and misery.

Touka slowly pulled back from him and he saw that she wasn't crying anymore. "Thank you for listening to me. As I thought, you aren't completely bad on the inside."

His heart flipped at her statement and he clenched his jaw. "I am not a nice person. I kidnapped you and locked you in my room."

"And yet, you didn't rape me nor hit me."

"That's because—"

Her smile stopped him in his sentence and she bowed to him. "Thank you. I'll be retiring now as I'm tired. I'll see you tomorrow."

Kaneki watched her slowly disappear into the distance and looked down at his hands. He could still remember the warmth of her body pressed against his, how she had smelt of lavender and how he wanted to hold her in his arms again—He shook his head to stop himself from fantasizing even further. Cursing, he buried his face in his hands and closed his eyes. What was she doing to him?

—

Touka closed the door behind her and quickly put a hand over her heart. She felt her heart thump fast and her cheeks burned pink at the memory of his strong arms wrapped around her body and his gentle hand in her hair. He treated her as if she were someone delicate and she wished that she could have remained in his arms a little longer.

She gasped. She was starting to like him and that is really bad.