The Pirate & The Princess [KaneTou]

22

Laying down onto the big comfy king sized bed, Kaneki stared up at the high ceiling and closed his eyes as he recalled how he had cried half the journey home with his parents trying to comfort him the best they can but to no avail. 

While they could understand the pain of losing a loved one, they could never understand the exact pain he was going through as they weren't in his shoes. His eyes, his head and his chest hurt from all the crying and heaving but most of all, his heart was hurt. It was broken.

Staying away from her was a difficult decision to come to and while it was the best option, he hated himself mostly because he was a coward and didn't want to die. He abandoned her because he was a coward. He turned his back to her because he didn't want to see her cry. He left her because it was better than dying.

While his parents assured him that he made the right choice, he didn't feel like it was. She was right about how nothing in life would be good if they weren't together. He knew that and yet he had to leave her. For both of their sakes. For her to forget him and move onto another better man who suited her, and for him to make up for his sins by living his entire life alone.

Hell, he's been with almost every kind of woman, and he knew that he would never be able to love someone as much as he loved Touka. She was the only one for him, the only one who accepted him for the man he was and the only one who gave him a chance.

Tears brimmed in his eyes and they fell down gently on the bedsheets, tainting them.

—

It's been a few months since they separated and it was misery for the both of them. With Touka gone, the nightmares that haunted Ken's sleep returned, even worse and it woke him up screaming, thrashing until he has cold sweat almost every single night. He was never able to fall asleep after his nightmares and the only time where he would really sleep was when he was utterly exhausted from his lack of sleep, often falling asleep at his desk, where he did his work.

In bed, he often imagined her beside him, stroking his cheeks with a smile, telling him that it was alright, that she was there. But each time he tried to reach out for her, his hands would go pass her body and grasp air. Cruelly, he was brought back to reality where she was no longer his lover.

Whereas for Touka, she often cried herself to sleep and even if she did manage to sleep, she would wake up in the middle of the night, searching the bed for Ken. But each time, she would come up empty and sob quietly again. She missed his smell, his smile and the warm arms he always had around her body whenever they slept.

She would not come out of her room, taking her meals inside--barely eating much--and doing nothing every day but cry to herself in her bedroom. Her parents tried to talk sense into her by saying that he's not what she thinks he is, but she refused to listen because only she knows the kind of a person Kaneki was. The love they shared was indeed real.

Her father even tried to get her married by summoning several other princes to the castle and getting her to meet them, but she had rejected all of them without even seeing them. If they weren't Ken, she wouldn't consider them at all. She knew her father was worried about her getting too old and getting left on the shelf, but she didn't care. The only man she'd marry was Ken, no other.

—

Amidst his misery of being separated from his lover, Kaneki had been working very diligently in returning the jewels and money he stole from all of the kingdoms previously. While some had been understanding as long as he returned what he stole, some were not so lenient about it and insisted punishment for him, which he accepted.

It took around 6 months for him to settle everything before returning to the castle. Sitting at his work desk, he stared down at his clasped hands. He wondered how his crew was doing. Instead of punishing them, his parents allowed them new jobs under Kaneki's pleads. While the jobs weren't in the castle itself but outside, he hoped that they were okay. They did serve under him for more than 10 years after all.

His thoughts then strayed to Touka. He wondered whether she was alright if she was thinking about him every day like he did of her, or had already forgotten about him. His lips turned down in a frown as he closed his hands over his face. He missed her so dearly. Even after 6 months, he wasn't able to forget her and the moments they spent aboard his pirate ship.

The tears came again, flowing down his cheeks as he sobbed in sorrow at the loss of her. I miss her, I miss her, I miss her. He was too absorbed in his misery that he didn't notice his parents entering the room and standing at his side.

"Ken."

Looking up, he was shocked to see his parents in front of him and hastily wiped away his falling tears. His mother placed a hand on his shoulder and frowned. "Isn't it enough? You've returned everything that you stole to the other kingdoms and finished your lessons. You should go to her. Your Princess Kirishima."

"But her father wouldn't accept me, no matter what I do."

His father stepped forward with a grunt. "King Arata only wanted the best for his daughter. I know him. He lost his son to war and have made sure that his daughter had the best ever since. If you tell him that you have made up for your sins and have become a proper Prince with manners, he will come around and let you marry her."

"He said he'll kill me if he ever saw me again."

His mother slapped him across the head, earning an 'ouch' from him and put her hands on her hips. "You used to be a pirate, weren't you? I didn't know pirates were such cowards."

Now, he couldn't just sit there and let her insult pirates. They were the bravest in the lands and seas. He stood up, clenched his fists and stared at his mother. "I am not a coward. Pirates are not cowards."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go and grab your girl! If you can't even risk your life for her, you don't deserve her, you little rascal! After seeing how miserable you were without her, we regretted telling you that you made the right decision on that day. We should have asked you to stay with her. We were just so happy that you were finally back, and was selfish in wanting you to be with us. Please forgive us."

He looked to his father, who nodded silently in agreement. "We're sorry, Ken."

"Father, Mother..."

"Now we're making it up to you. Go to her." His father said.

So he shall. He will stop being a coward, face her father head on and beg him for her.