Chapter 25: Blossoming Again

"My brother, Kaneki." he said. "We were close. Inseparable." He let out a bitter chuckle, his expression darkening. "Until we weren't."

Tsukiko leaned closer, her expression attentive, sensing the unspoken weight behind his words.

Haruki's voice softened as he recounted the night that would haunt him forever. The clock in his apartment had ticked past 10 p.m., the room illuminated only by the warm glow of his desk lamp. He'd been hunched over his computer, editing photos for a client, when his phone buzzed, its vibration breaking the silence.

As if on cue, his phone rang. It was Kaneki.

"Haruki," Kaneki's voice came through, sounding tense. "I don't know what to do anymore."

Haruki rubbed his forehead, fighting the urge to snap. He could feel the stress creeping up on him, but he didn't want to ignore his brother. "Kaneki, I'm swamped with work right now. Can we do this later?"

But Kaneki didn't back down. "I can't keep doing this, Haruki. I'm drowning in debt, my divorce settlement is eating me alive, and now I can't even pay rent this month. I'm stuck... just stuck."

Haruki leaned back in his chair, feeling the weight of his brother's words. He knew Kaneki had been struggling since his divorce, but hearing it laid out like this made it all the more real. "I get it, Kaneki. I really do," Haruki said, his voice softer now. "But I'm not in a much better spot myself. I'm working around the clock just to keep things afloat. We're both in a bad place right now."

Kaneki's frustration grew sharper. "But you're not really struggling, are you? You have a stable job, Haruki. You don't have to worry about whether or not you'll make it through the month. I can't even afford food most days. And don't pretend like I don't know you're just pretending things are fine for me. You're not listening to me."

Haruki's patience started to thin. "I am listening. But you need to stop making it all about me! I'm doing everything I can. I'm not a magician who can make money appear out of thin air, Kaneki!"

Kaneki's anger snapped. "It's easy for you to say. You've never had to deal with this kind of pressure. You don't know what it's like to lose everything, to go from a steady income to nothing. My ex-wife took everything from me—everything—and now I'm just barely scraping by."

The tension was palpable. Haruki's heart raced as his emotions boiled over, and he snapped back before he could stop himself. "Maybe if you were doing something more with your life instead of getting stuck in your miserable job, you wouldn't be in this mess!"

There was silence on the line, and for a moment,

Haruki's breath hitched, "I didn't mean that, Kaneki," he mumbled. "I'm sorry."

"No... you're right." Kaneki said finally, his voice barely audible. "Sorry for bothering you. Forget it."

"Kaneki, wait—"

But the line clicked dead. Haruki stared at his phone, guilt prickling at the back of his mind. He almost called back, his finger hovering over the button, but then he shook his head. He'll be fine. He always is. I'll call him tomorrow.

Tsukiko could hear the self-blame in his voice, the anguish that had never fully healed.

"I woke up late that morning, groggy and still wrapped in the haze of a long night spent working," Haruki continued, his voice low, almost hesitant. 

"The sound of my phone startled me awake. It was my Mom. And then her voice…it was trembling. I'll never forget the way she said it. 'Haruki, you need to get to the hospital. It's Kaneki. He's… he's in an accident.'"

"It felt like the world just stopped. I froze. My mind couldn't process what she was saying. Kaneki? Accident? Those words didn't belong together."

"I managed to ask, 'What happened?'"

"'There was a car crash,' she said. 'He's at Kiyoshi General Hospital. Please, hurry.'"

"The rest is a blur. I rushed to get dressed, every motion automatic, like I was on autopilot. The drive to the hospital… I barely remember it. My hands were gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles turned white, but my mind was spinning out of control."

"When I got there, I ran through the corridors like a madman" 

"And there he was. Kaneki… lying in that hospital bed. Tubes and wires everywhere. His face was bruised, his breathing shallow. He looked so small, so fragile. I couldn't move. I couldn't believe it."

"The doctor came in, and it only got worse. Kaneki had suffered internal injuries. Too many, they said. They'd done everything they could, but his condition was critical. They weren't sure he'd make it."

"I remember sitting there, holding his hand. It was cold, Tsukiko. I whispered his name, over and over, but he didn't respond. And then… he was gone."

"Afterward, I was in a daze. The hospital, the paperwork, the arrangements—it all felt like I was moving through a nightmare I couldn't wake up from."

"But then, when I went through his things, I found out the truth. He hadn't just been fired because he was late or because he made mistakes. No, his company had been cutting costs. They were laying people off left and right, and Kaneki was just… unlucky."

"He'd worked so hard. He didn't mess up. He didn't deserve it. But they let him go anyway."

"And you know what kills me? He didn't tell me. He didn't say a word about it. He tried to handle it all on his own, even as everything was falling apart."

"I stood at his grave, holding that termination letter, and it hit me—how much he'd been going through, how much I didn't see. I should've been there for him. But instead… I'd snapped at him. I pushed him away."

"I should've been there. I should've listened. But it was too late. He was gone."

"After that, I couldn't sleep. Dr. diagnosed me with critical insomnia. Nights became endless—just me, lying awake, staring at the ceiling, replaying our last conversation over and over. Every word I said, every chance I missed to help him… it consumed me."

"I threw myself into work, taking every photography gig I could find. I'd spend hours chasing the perfect shot, thinking maybe if I captured something beautiful, it would ease the storm inside me. But the quiet moments, they were the worst. That's when Kaneki would come back to me. In dreams, in memories."

"I ran. I lifted weights. I pushed myself until my body gave out, but my mind never stopped."

"I tried to make up for it in small ways. Volunteering, giving free photos to people who couldn't afford them. But it never felt like enough."

"I keep replaying it. Over and over in my head. Wondering if I could've changed something. If I'd just picked up the phone that night. If I hadn't snapped at him…" Haruki's voice faltered, his hands clenching into fists as he stared down at them."