World : Tokyo Ghoul
Crossover : No
Link : https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12701369/1/Pieces
My opinion : A well done time travel fic. Although the anime ruined the manga, it's still one of my first and favourite work. And the fic here satisfies one of my wish of seeing a stronger kaneki from the start.
Words : 113k+
Chapters : 19
Summary : Kaneki sacrifices himself to save Tokyo. When he wakes up he finds himself back to where everything began. Will he be able to change the fate set in stone for him? Time Travel AU. Strong Kaneki. Kaneki x Touka
Chapter 1 : Lucid
He opened his eyes and saw what used to be his home.
Tokyo was in ruins. Not even the screams of panicked civilians could be heard. Everyone was dead.
Everyone was dead because of him. All that was left of the great city was debris and corpses.
He did this. He destroyed everything. It was all his fault! He killed everyone. He was a monster, he deserved to-
"Kaneki."
A voice cut him from his thoughts. The voice was familiar. It was sweet, it gave him comfort, it reminded him of…
He immediately looked to source of the voice and found her. She was covered in wounds and scratches, and was holding what appeared to be a bleeding wound on her arm.
"Tou-k-a" His voice sounded like a thousand people speaking at once.
She was crying now. Silent tears continuing to fall down her face as she broke into a smile. Then she started to break down as she repeatedly slammed her fists against his chest.
"I thought you were dead!" She screamed as she kept pounding her fists against him.
He tried to reach out to her, desperate to hold her against his arms but felt his arms bounded to something.
He looked and found himself attached to what was his kagune. A mass of bodies and RC cells all bound together into what seemed to be a massive centipede.
"I-I'm sorry."
She stopped pounding against him now and simply kept her fists against his chest. She was sobbing, not even holding her tears back anymore.
"What happened to you!?" She sounded like she was pleading. Desperate to find any answer to what caused him to be like this.
Memories surged through his mind. Him bloodied and broken in defeat. Him desperately trying to crawl his way to Furata. Him trying to recall the fight. Him losing control seeing only red. Then everything went blank and he was here.
"I-I don't know!" He said horrified as he couldn't recall what happened.
"I'm sorry!" He was breathing rapidly now. All his walls were gone and he was letting himself go.
"This is all my fault isn't it?!" Tear were falling from his eyes now. "I did this! I killed everyone!" He was sobbing. Apologizing over and over again as if it would bring everything back to the way it used to be.
"I'm…" He stopped as he closed his eyes. "I'm a monster."
His thoughts where cut off as he fault soft calming lips against his own.
It was Touka's. She had her hand cupped against his face.
She pulled from the kiss. "You're not a monster."
He looked at her. She had a sad smile on her face, it was the same smile she gave him when he first came into :re.
"You're a good person." She held him close now, he felt her hand wrap around his body so tight it was like she was scared of losing him. "You never belonged to this world."
He stared at her. His wife, pregnant with his child. Alive and well, realizing that it wasn't over for him yet. He still had a duty, he had to protect her, protect them.
"But I'm here now." He leaned closer to her, taking in her scent. "I have to protect you two no matter what."
Static caught his hearing. He looked around to find the sound coming from the body of a dead soldier.
"R—treat! I re—eat, All sold—rs r-treat. Th—yre going to n-uke it."
His blood froze, and his eyes widened. If that's true then… A nuke is headed towards Tokyo at this very moment and it was headed straight to his location.
"Touka!" He screamed making her snap her head towards him. "I need you to run as fast as possible and get out of Tokyo!"
"What!?" She screamed back at him. "I can't just leave you here!"
"Get as many people as you can and get them to safety!" He ordered her.
He needed to save her. He needed to save their child. He needed to fix this. And he was desperate to save everyone.
She froze at her spot. Her eyes wide in confusion as she stared at him.
"I just got you back and I can't lose you again!" She pleaded as tears continued to fall from her eyes.
"Didn't you hear me!?" He screamed again. He hated doing this to her. "I told you to go, a nuke is on its way here right now, headed straight towards me!"
Immediately understanding what he meant Touka's eyes widened.
"No!" She screamed. "There has to be another way! You can't keep trying to be the hero Kaneki!"
He gave her a sad smile. "My life has always been a tragedy." His voice was softer now. "But you gave me something to live for. You gave me a reason to be happy."
Suddenly he felt powerful. He felt massive. He felt his entire kagune under his control.
"And that was more than enough for me." He leaned in towards her and kissed her one last time.
He broke of the kiss with tears in his eyes. "Let's name the kid after the manager after all he did for us." He gave her a genuine smile.
"You idiot!" She screamed. "What am I supposed to say when he starts looking for you? For his father!?"
"Tell him I love him. And I'm sorry." He looked at her one last time. Taking in her features. Her lavender hair, her eyes, even the crinkles on her nose.
"I love you Touka." He said as he rose and started to move towards Tokyo bay.
He could hear her scream from behind him. It pained him to keep going knowing he was going to die.
He stared at the destruction before him as he kept going. Desperately keeping his mind focused on the goal. Trying not to hesitate at the sight of the carnage he created.
If he ever survived this he was sure she was going to kill him. For the short time they've been together, all he seemed to cause her was pain.
He wondered how lucky he was to get someone like Touka to be his wife.
He remembered the first time he saw her all those years ago. It was his date with Rize, where it all started.
After he turned into a ghoul, she was the one who saved him, the one who brought him to Anteiku.
How he wished to go back to those days. If only he could turn back time, maybe none of this could have happened.
He wondered where Touka was by now. Hopefully she got to safety, he prayed to whatever God was listening to him to keep her safe.
He felt water against him. He must've reached Tokyo Bay by now. He didn't realize how long he's been moving.
Even as he reached the shore, he kept going. He needed to get as far away from everybody as possible.
Kaneki wondered what would have happened if he never showed up during the Anteiku raid. Maybe he'd be working in Touka's café instead. They'd be at peace and none of this would have happened.
On his last moments he imagined what would have happened if he and Touka started a family. They'd start a café together just like her dream. It would be just like Anteiku, a home for ghouls like him.
He smiled at the thought as fire rained from the sky and everything went black.
Beep…Beep…Beep. The sound filled his thoughts.
Where was he? Was he dead? He was sure he died back there.
He opened his eyes and white light filled his vision. He looked around and found a nurse staring right at him.
She rushed out of the door for a moment before returning a few moments later.
"Glad to see that you're awake Mr. Kaneki." A voice, a very familiar voice caught his attention. He snapped his head towards the source as his eyes widened as he stared at the eyes of Akihara Kanou.
Where was he?