"All right. Kaneki, you see, if a human and a ghoul fall in love, what do you think you get if you cross them?"
- Itori, Tokyo Ghoul Episode 4
Many thanks to my wonderful beta: myheartsegg
Prologue
"Is that Mama?" a small boy said, tentatively looking at the bed-ridden woman.
She's very pretty, he thought.
Her skin was pale but he knew that it would soon slowly regain a healthy color; he just didn't know how soon, but he hoped that she would wake up quickly. Her long orange-brown hair fanned out on her pillow, coarse and greasy from being unwashed. He knew why. The people were too afraid to touch her or go near her, just like they were with him. They were afraid that she would spring up from the bed and unexpectedly rip their throats out.
He couldn't blame them though. They were both different from them. Papa said that humans were afraid of anything that they couldn't understand so he didn't blame them all that much.
Tsuna mentally shrugged. Honestly, he didn't care. Papa would protect him. And he knew deep inside that Mama would've too, if she was awake. They couldn't touch him. Not now, not ever.
"Yes," his papa said with a gentle smile. "Go on, Tsuna. Say hi to Mama."
Tsuna was a smart boy. He knew it and everyone else knew it, too. So, it soon became obvious that it was hard to hide anything from him without being the victim of his terribly freakish eye. His presently brown eyes glanced at the IV attached to his mother's arm, filled with the rich blood of an unfortunate human. He sniffed the air and resisted the urge to tear the bag apart to drink it all himself.
His hand unconsciously tightened around his papa's pants as he tore his gaze forcefully from the blood. "I - I don't think I can go, Papa."
He couldn't. He thought he was ready. He really thought he was, but the blood was too enticing, too tempting.
"I'll be right here," his father said soothingly, patting his hair. "Don't worry, Tsuna."
The brunet gulped and nodded hesitantly. He followed his papa over to the bed and watched as the man pulled a chair over and sat down on it. Iemitsu patted his lap and Tsuna climbed onto his strong legs.
He gripped his papa's shirt tightly, his eyes peering over to his mama. He had only ever heard stories about her from Papa, but he believed them with all of his heart. His papa would never lie to him. Just like when he told him about his special condition. He was honest and forgiving and understanding; he was the best Papa he could ever ask for.
However, guilt settled in. It was because of him that his mama was in a coma-induced state. If it weren't for him being created in Mama's belly, she would have been happy with Papa now - happy forever.
"Tsuna," his papa said, snapping him out of his troubled thoughts. "Here, hold Mama's hand."
Tsuna looked up at his handsome and weary papa. He slid down to the ground and walked closer to his mama. He huffed at his short height. It wasn't normal for a five year old, was it? Then again, he didn't know. Takeshi was tall like a giant he had read about in a book, though he didn't know if that was normal either.
He reached out to hold Mama's still hand, his eye taking in the calloused, gentle curve of her palm. Her nails were long and untrimmed, and her fingers were slim and delicate. It felt strange but pleasantly right, his small hand lying on top of her larger one. It was pleasantly warm and brought comfort to him.
It was the hand of a killer: the feared Binge Eater of Namimori. He had heard about a different one that resided in Tokyo, but could care less. He wrapped both of his hands around his mama's, the hunger merely lingering in the back of his throat.
"Mama," he said in a soft voice, "it's me, Tsuna. Today's my birthday. I'm five now. Papa told me that I could see you for my birthday present. He took really good care of me so far and I want you to wake up so you can take good care of me, too." He smiled brightly. "We can be happy together, just like how Papa was happy with you! Oh, I have a friend who lost his mama a long time ago and I want you to be his mama, too. He's very, very nice and he also takes care of me. His papa teaches me a lot of cool things like how to fight and stuff! So, yeah... Wake up soon, okay?"
The room became silent. The only sound was the blood dripping through the IV bag, creating soft plops in an eerily calm rhythm. Tsuna squeezed his mama's hand in comfort. He looked down in shock when there was a weak squeeze back. It was small, barely noticeable, but it was there.
"Papa, Mama moved!" he said in a stunned voice. "She moved!"
Iemitsu stood up quickly and checked to see if it was true. If he had been a second late, he wouldn't have seen the way his wife's fingers unfurled back to its normal position, lying limply on the bedside. He smiled and hugged his son.
Tsuna felt tears spring up in his eyes. "Does that mean Mama will wake up soon?"
"Yes, Tsuna," his papa said, hugging him tighter. "She'll wake up soon. She still needs a bit more time, but she'll be with us soon."
The brunet, too drunk in his bliss, never minded the mouthwatering smell of flesh and bone underneath his nose. His emotions were stronger than the beast inside him.
"We have to go now, Tsuna," his papa said. "Anything else you have to say to Mama?"
Tsuna pondered over it for a while before wriggling out of his papa's arms and walking over to his mama to kiss her gently on the forehead.
"Wake up soon," he whispered.
His papa did the same and whispered, "I love you always, Nana."
They lingered for a second or two more and soon left the room, closing the door behind them. Together, they walked down the hallway side by side, holding hands.
"Do you want to go home or do you want to go somewhere, Tsuna?" Iemitsu asked as he led him to the car.
"I want to go to the park!" Tsuna said excitedly. "Takeshi told me that he saw a lot of pretty flowers there. I want to make something for Mama."
Iemitsu laughed as he helped him into the waiting car. "Sure."
Tsuna pouted. "It's not funny, Papa. You're gonna give Mama roses, too, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, don't get too uptight about it. Namimori Park."
"Yes, sir," the driver said, heading towards their designated location.
A/N I couldn't resist, guys! Don't hurt me. TT^TT
I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter.
Thank you for reading! I'll see you in the next chapter. ^^