kid: facing consequences
I wanted to put this together with the Pregnancy part, but I’m afraid it will get too long, so I decided to put this into a separate page instead. This page will focus on how Touka and Kaneki face the unplanned pregnancy.
facing consequences; touka
In spite of Touka’s rash attitude, she seems to have a soft spot for kids. She has always been close with children. She takes care of Ayato after their father’s disappearance. She carried Ayato on her shoulder because Ayato said that his legs hurt, eventhough her body wasn’t much bigger than him!
Before Aogiri arc, she also takes care of Hinami after her mother’s death, and Hinami stays in her apartment. Hell, she even went after the CCG who took part in Ryouko’s death, alone, for the sake of Hinami. In Tokyo Ghoul:re, we also get to see her closeness with the orphaned Aogiri ghouls. They cling to her, and when Touka tells them to hug Akira, they obey her. In the 24th ward, Touka is often seen keeping the kids company, reading books to them, and protecting them. We may realize it too late, but Touka has always been a motherly figure!
Touka’s sex with Kaneki is probably done more like in a spur of the moment, hence the missing presence of, uh, contraceptive means. She might think that the chances of pregnancy are slim, but a flashback shows that she brings up the topic with Kaneki anyway. I believe that Touka’s past—losing her parents in such an early age, and then having her brother distance himself from her—makes her long for a loving, functional family of her own. Maybe she doesn’t expect to have kids now, but I’m assured that she would like to have them eventually.
Touka: “The One-Eyed Owl was... the manager’s child, wasn’t it? How did her mother keep the unborn baby alive?”
Kaneki: “I asked Yoshimura-san, and he said that... the mother provided the child what it needs.”
It isn’t clear when does this conversation take place, but Touka and Kaneki are shown to be sitting next to each other while being wrapped in sheets, so the safest assumption would be sometime after they make love for the first time, in that abandoned building.
Touka doesn’t feel burdened bearing Kaneki’s child, but it seems like she is worried that their baby may be born different. Eto’s mother, Ukina, was a human and the father was a ghoul. For the sake of her child, Ukina consumed human flesh, so that the half-ghoul foetus could develop. In Touka’s case, it isn’t clear for me yet... will it be half-ghoul like Eto, a three-quarter ghoul, or a demi-human like Arima and the Sunlit Garden kids? But Touka considers that her condition is the opposite of Ukina, whereas she is a pure ghoul while the child’s father is half-ghoul (some fans theorize that his DNA would still be that of a human), and she chooses to eat human food.
Although Touka has already decided that she wants to keep the baby, she seems to feel insecure about Kaneki’s point of view. It is a common concern in unplanned pregnancy—if the mother wants the baby, then the next problem is whether the father of the child is okay with it. Touka is seen constantly troubled thinking whether or not should she tell Kaneki.
Then Touka learns that Yoriko, her best friend, is facing a death sentence for becoming friends with her as a ghoul; she realizes that it might be a trap laid by Mutsuki. CCG has grown stronger (and more violent) ever since Furuta takes the lead. GOAT, in comparison, is thin in numbers, thus saving Yoriko would be suicidal. Kaneki initially thinks of saving Yoriko without telling Touka about the letter, but when he tries to talk to her about it, Touka tells him about the pregnancy instead. Unlike her past self before Anteiku raid, she has decided not to act based on emotions alone. She sets her priorities straight by choosing Kaneki and their child, instead of saving her best friend, no matter how painful it is for her. This is another time where she has to “live while losing things” because she knows what matters to her the most. Afterall, she’s lost Kaneki for almost four years, I dont think she’s ready to lose him again.
facing consequences; kaneki
To be honest, at first I am worried about how Kaneki feels about the child. He is 23 years old by the time he conceives a baby with Touka. It is an age where one can be considered as an adult and legal, but we know that Kaneki also has his own issues. His childhood wasn’t exactly rainbows and sunshines, and sometimes people with troublesome past have the tendency to not want kids, terrified by the idea that he kids would also have a dysfunctional family. But it is also possible that Kaneki would dream to have a happy family of his own, where he and his wife would love their kids the most instead of sacrificing their happiness for someone else.
Kaneki finds out early about Touka’s pregnancy (thanks to Nishiki’s blunder), eventhough she is trying to hide it. Sometime later, Kaneki helps the orphan ghouls to find Touka—he’s not avoiding her, which is a sign that he doesn’t hate the idea of being a father. He’s just pondering if she’s still mad that he’s looked at the calendar. I am fascinated by how he observes Touka reading the picture books to the ghoul kids—could it be that he’s imagining her doing the same to his child?
Later, Kaneki tries to talk to Touka about Yoriko, but he is unable to bring up the topic. Touka tells him about the child instead, and Kaneki isn’t surprised about the news (because he already figured it out in the previous chapter). His main concern at the moment is about Yoriko’s execution, and how Touka is probably deliberately ignoring the fact. His inner voices emerge, telling him to choose what to do about it. Kaneki then decides to do nothing about Yoriko, in response to Touka’s determination. He asks her about the child’s due date, and says that he’s happy.
We have already aware that Kaneki touches his chin when he’s hiding something, but we don’t see this habit whenever he talks about the kid. I think we can safely say that he genuinely does want to keep the baby! ♥ Furthermore, he holds Touka’s hands, and boldly says that he wants them to get married.
And then we get to see Kaneki, on his wedding ceremony, tells Touka that he will do what she’s asked of Nishiki before—to get her some human food. It is a proof that Kaneki’s taking responsibility, and he wants to be actively participating in their baby’s growth. He even asks Touka if she has any requests, what food would she like. There is not a single hint of doubt in his face, only sincerety.
Kaneki may not expect that his relationship with Touka would effect in conceiving a child (in all honesty, none of us did—and it happened in such a short timeframe, too), but when they really are pregnant, both Kaneki and Touka are accepting and excited about the baby, despite the grim condition they are in now. In fact, the kid gives Kaneki the motivation to secure a better future for ghouls and humans alike.
It is further proven in TG:Re chapter 144, we see a conversation between all of Kaneki’s persona, which includes the Kuroneki, Shironeki, Sasaki Haise, the Black Reaper, and One-Eyed King (+2 child version of Kaneki, and the amnesiac Kaneki who was imprisoned in Cochlea, but they don’t participate a lot). And one of the topic of conversation that comes up is their baby’s name.
“We haven’t even decided the name on the child yet...”
“Child...?”
“Our child with Touka-chan!”
“Touka-chan is really bad at Japanese.”
“What if she gives the baby a bad name?”
“Ahahaha!”
“Don’t make fun of Touka-chan!”
While it looks comical–one version of Kaneki making fun of the Touka and the other defends her–this inner conversation displays that Kaneki is concerned about the child. He wants to be the one to give the baby its name. It also becomes one of his source of strength–after this conversation, all the Kanekis come up with a decision that they will have to do whatever it takes to survive.