[He doesn't have to ask. Takizawa already knows. He could keep the connection between them a secret for as long as he's there, but there are too many questions to ask. Too many things he needs to know. If this isn't a complicated trap laid out just for him, then he has the advantage knowledge-wise.
It's because those suspicions are still in place that he doesn't feel bad dropping this question on the poor kid. It might be a relief to him in some sense, knowing there's someone else who can relate to him.]
[ it's hard to register that question, at first. Kaneki's face is mostly confused because he is confused, not fully understanding what takizawa is asking for a split-second there. And that innocent confusion is soon replaced with panic.
His heart starts beating, so fast and so loud that he feels like everyone around them will hear it. His head gets loud too, like a strange buzzing suddenly going louder and louder, and he can't make out what is happening around him anymore just by listening. His hands are sweaty, but he has lost strength in them - or his legs. A cold shiver runs through his body and Kaneki forgets to breathe.
Ghoul. Ghoul ]
I... don't know what type of monster I am, they said no one knows until the full moon. [ this is the best way to get that question off his back - assume ignorance. And so he will pretend to be ignorant of what he is being asked.
This will also give Kaneki some time to figure out what to do next. He should try to get away from this person as fast as possible; he should just get up and get lost in the crowd, hopefully to hide away. There are so many questions running through Ken's head about who this person is and how does he know, but those are not a priority.
Whoever Takizawa is, he is currently a danger to Kaneki.
[Or he could scare the shit out of the kid. That was another possible outcome.
He sighs, rubbing at his eyes with a couple fingers in frustration.]
Ghoul isn't a type of monster here. If you've already figured out you're one then you should know that by now.
[Unless he'd been given bad information. Takizawa wouldn't know.]
Are you gonna run off like a frightened child or can we discuss this like the rational beings we are? ['Rational' seems like such a stretch in his case.] I wasn't mistaken when we met. I told you I know you.
[Takizawa just looks tired. This place has already worn on him mentally and he doesn't know how to deal with a situation involving unexplained time discrepancies between arrivals. If Kaneki decides to dash off he probably won't even chase after him.]
[ he absolutely wants to run off. he doesn't know this person; it could be an investigator or someone from Aogiri, or someone even more dangerous (who knows!) - he knows Kaneki but Kaneki doesn't know him and that is worrisome. Dangerous.
While he doesn't run away, he moves a little, to create more distance between him and Takizawa ] ... who are you?
[That hadn't been a lie. He'd avoided the full truth right away out of caution, and he's only giving it now because he doesn't think it's helping him any not to bring it up. He needs to know what's going on.
Takizawa remains slumped in his seat, but there's very little he can do to avoid looking threatening - especially now that he's frightened the boy.]
I'm the same as you, but you wouldn't have met me in person.
[ "same as you" doesn't actually explain it. Because to Kaneki, Takizawa is just another normal ghoul; only very few selected people know Kaneki's true nature and while word of the "Eyepatch who fought the Dove" goes around the Ward, all of them think Kaneki is just a ghoul. A stranger wouldn't know, naturally.
Maybe this person heard of him, then.
And if he is a ghoul, then... well, he was eating normal food, right? Rightplease tell him that bun was an actual bun ]
[That gets a short laugh out of Takizawa. How does he know Kaneki? How could he not know him? He'd only heard about how much of a success he was, over and over and over...
But it was far more than that now. He can't throw the future at this younger version of his King, no matter if he's the real deal or not.]
I was made to be like you. You get what I mean, right?
Made to be like me...? [ kaneki seems confused, but he gets there very quickly. His blood chills and the way is eyes widen, is obvious just how much that stunned him ]
You are... a half-ghoul?! But- how?! [ kaneki knows how - organ transplant - but how is this happening to someone else, too? ] Who did this?! [ Dr Kanou comes to mind, but Kaneki desperately wants to believe the good doctor is... well, good. He has thought about it, if it wasn't all a coincidence, but Kaneki wants it to be all just an accident that no one predicted.
But with Takizawa-san also becoming like this... can it really be called an accident? ]
Man, you really are far behind. You'll make me feel bad telling you any of this.
[He already does, even if that nagging suspicion that he's being played is still there. But if someone had enough information to create this good a replica of Kaneki, then why would they need more from him?]
It shouldn't be too hard to guess. We had the same doctor, after all.
[Not going into full detail there. He'll work his way up to it. Takizawa is taking tiny steps, seeing how much this younger version knows. He can assume his place on the timeline, but he'd rather know for certain.]
[ As Takizawa mentions Kanou, Kaneki feels his blood turn cold. It's NOT an accident, then; Dr Kanou couldn't possibly accidentally make two half-ghouls like that. Was the man experimenting to see what would happen? Does he know that Kaneki became a half-ghoul? He should be able to tell, right? He did so many exams, Dr. kanou would be able to see that something inhuman exists inside Kaneki.
He covers his mouth with his hand, looking at the ground while his mind races. ]
Dr Kanou... is he... why is he making... things like us? [ "beings". "people". "half-ghouls". Strangely enough, Kaneki can't bring himself to say any of those words.
But then it dawns on him ] The food you ate just now...! [ is it something that kaneki can eat too, then/ he has been looking for it, something for him to eat without hurting others ]
Because he can, I think. He's working for Aogiri Tree, but he does it for his own scientific intrigue.
[Takizawa would never pretend for a moment that Kanou was a good person. Not in any way. He'd put him through too much.
He turns his eyes down to his hands, thinking of the treat he'd eaten just minutes ago. Has Kaneki been having the same thoughts as him? He'd claimed he'd eaten already.]
...What do you smell, Kaneki-kun, when you smell the food here?
Aogiri? [ kaneki had been kidnapped by aogiri tree before coming here. So this had been the Doctor's plan all along? Why? And why him?! Kaneki feels sick, frowning as he looks down at his hands. What was this? And what was going on?!
The question pulls him away from his own thoughts ] ... what I smell? [ the food is disgusting, to him. Shouldn't it be too, for Takizawa? If he was an half-ghoul like Kaneki, why was he able to eat that food? ] I can't eat normal food...
[The question of Aogiri is ignored for now in favor of a more current subject. This information seems to bother Takizawa greatly.] Are you saying it still smells foul to you?
[It doesn't make sense that this boy would remain a ghoul when everyone was supposed to be changed. Is it because his stay is more temporary? No, that doesn't make sense either. There isn't anyone else he knows of that hasn't been altered even when entering the city through the wrong mirror.]
You know, I thought... [He places the end of one index finger between his teeth absent-mindedly.] when I got here, and the food smelled normal that there had to be something wrong with it. That it all had to be made from human material of some kind or else it wouldn't smell that way. I hadn't even eaten until now. I don't like not knowing where my food comes from...
[He bites down on his finger until it bleeds, then licks at the blood with a frown.] But what I had there... it was just bread. It was a cinnamon bun and nothing else. Is it because I'm a witch?
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no subject
[He doesn't have to ask. Takizawa already knows. He could keep the connection between them a secret for as long as he's there, but there are too many questions to ask. Too many things he needs to know. If this isn't a complicated trap laid out just for him, then he has the advantage knowledge-wise.
It's because those suspicions are still in place that he doesn't feel bad dropping this question on the poor kid. It might be a relief to him in some sense, knowing there's someone else who can relate to him.]
no subject
His heart starts beating, so fast and so loud that he feels like everyone around them will hear it. His head gets loud too, like a strange buzzing suddenly going louder and louder, and he can't make out what is happening around him anymore just by listening. His hands are sweaty, but he has lost strength in them - or his legs. A cold shiver runs through his body and Kaneki forgets to breathe.
Ghoul. Ghoul ]
I... don't know what type of monster I am, they said no one knows until the full moon. [ this is the best way to get that question off his back - assume ignorance. And so he will pretend to be ignorant of what he is being asked.
This will also give Kaneki some time to figure out what to do next. He should try to get away from this person as fast as possible; he should just get up and get lost in the crowd, hopefully to hide away. There are so many questions running through Ken's head about who this person is and how does he know, but those are not a priority.
Whoever Takizawa is, he is currently a danger to Kaneki.
Kaneki needs to leave ]
no subject
He sighs, rubbing at his eyes with a couple fingers in frustration.]
Ghoul isn't a type of monster here. If you've already figured out you're one then you should know that by now.
[Unless he'd been given bad information. Takizawa wouldn't know.]
Are you gonna run off like a frightened child or can we discuss this like the rational beings we are? ['Rational' seems like such a stretch in his case.] I wasn't mistaken when we met. I told you I know you.
[Takizawa just looks tired. This place has already worn on him mentally and he doesn't know how to deal with a situation involving unexplained time discrepancies between arrivals. If Kaneki decides to dash off he probably won't even chase after him.]
no subject
While he doesn't run away, he moves a little, to create more distance between him and Takizawa ] ... who are you?
no subject
I told you my name.
[That hadn't been a lie. He'd avoided the full truth right away out of caution, and he's only giving it now because he doesn't think it's helping him any not to bring it up. He needs to know what's going on.
Takizawa remains slumped in his seat, but there's very little he can do to avoid looking threatening - especially now that he's frightened the boy.]
I'm the same as you, but you wouldn't have met me in person.
[Yet.]
no subject
Maybe this person heard of him, then.
And if he is a ghoul, then... well, he was eating normal food, right? Right
please tell him that bun was an actual bun]How do you know me?
no subject
But it was far more than that now. He can't throw the future at this younger version of his King, no matter if he's the real deal or not.]
I was made to be like you. You get what I mean, right?
no subject
You are... a half-ghoul?! But- how?! [ kaneki knows how - organ transplant - but how is this happening to someone else, too? ] Who did this?! [ Dr Kanou comes to mind, but Kaneki desperately wants to believe the good doctor is... well, good. He has thought about it, if it wasn't all a coincidence, but Kaneki wants it to be all just an accident that no one predicted.
But with Takizawa-san also becoming like this... can it really be called an accident? ]
no subject
[He already does, even if that nagging suspicion that he's being played is still there. But if someone had enough information to create this good a replica of Kaneki, then why would they need more from him?]
It shouldn't be too hard to guess. We had the same doctor, after all.
[Not going into full detail there. He'll work his way up to it. Takizawa is taking tiny steps, seeing how much this younger version knows. He can assume his place on the timeline, but he'd rather know for certain.]
no subject
He covers his mouth with his hand, looking at the ground while his mind races. ]
Dr Kanou... is he... why is he making... things like us? [ "beings". "people". "half-ghouls". Strangely enough, Kaneki can't bring himself to say any of those words.
But then it dawns on him ] The food you ate just now...! [ is it something that kaneki can eat too, then/ he has been looking for it, something for him to eat without hurting others ]
no subject
[Takizawa would never pretend for a moment that Kanou was a good person. Not in any way. He'd put him through too much.
He turns his eyes down to his hands, thinking of the treat he'd eaten just minutes ago. Has Kaneki been having the same thoughts as him? He'd claimed he'd eaten already.]
...What do you smell, Kaneki-kun, when you smell the food here?
no subject
The question pulls him away from his own thoughts ] ... what I smell? [ the food is disgusting, to him. Shouldn't it be too, for Takizawa? If he was an half-ghoul like Kaneki, why was he able to eat that food? ] I can't eat normal food...
no subject
[The question of Aogiri is ignored for now in favor of a more current subject. This information seems to bother Takizawa greatly.] Are you saying it still smells foul to you?
[It doesn't make sense that this boy would remain a ghoul when everyone was supposed to be changed. Is it because his stay is more temporary? No, that doesn't make sense either. There isn't anyone else he knows of that hasn't been altered even when entering the city through the wrong mirror.]
You know, I thought... [He places the end of one index finger between his teeth absent-mindedly.] when I got here, and the food smelled normal that there had to be something wrong with it. That it all had to be made from human material of some kind or else it wouldn't smell that way. I hadn't even eaten until now. I don't like not knowing where my food comes from...
[He bites down on his finger until it bleeds, then licks at the blood with a frown.] But what I had there... it was just bread. It was a cinnamon bun and nothing else. Is it because I'm a witch?