《One Eyed Ghoul; a Tokyo Ghoul fanfic.》


 Where Am I?

    The first bite came as something of a surprise. The boy screamed as teeth tore their way into his flesh, rending skin from muscle and drawing a stream of blood gushing from his shoulder. He turned and tried to run. For all the good it did him, he may as well have been standing still. She caught him again before he even made it two steps, sinking her teeth into his thigh and tearing another strip of meat from him. The boy''s whole body went into spasm as he tried and failed to absorb the pain, toppling from his feet and down onto hands and knees. Tears began to flow freely down Ken Kaneki''s face as Rize, the girl of his dreams, began once more to devour him. He felt fingers force their way through his skin as she tore chunks from the backs of his legs with her bare hands, stopping short his desperate attempts to crawl away. She laughed as he began incoherently trying to beg, pulsing tendrils of red arching forth from her back and pinning him face-down to the floor. Each tendril brought forth a fresh wave of agony as they drove themselves in, one through the knee, one through his lung, and one in his gut. The boy tried once more to scream, reached out a hand in some futile attempt to crawl away. Pointless. A pool of crimson was becoming more and more visible all around him, the energy draining from him like water from a broken glass.


    "Aww, too tired to run, Kaneki?" Came Rize''s disappointed voice from somewhere behind him, strangely soft and sweet; out of place in a nightmare such as this. "That''s a shame. I was looking forward to catching you again." The boy felt teeth once more dig into him, this time tearing strips from his back. He let out a piteous groan, lacking even the energy to cry anymore. He wanted this to end. He wanted nothing more than for the blackness to take him.


    The last thing Ken Kaneki heard before he blacked out was the clamoring sound of metal striking concrete. He felt what seemed to his dulled senses to be a tremendous amount of pressure around his midsection, then all was silence.


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    The doctors had told Hide that he couldn''t see him yet, that he wasn''t fully recovered. Hide didn''t care. He needed to see Ken, to make sure that he was alright, the poor guy didn''t have anyone else to be there for him.


    Hide waited in a bathroom until night time, well after visiting hours ended, before stepping out. He moved silently through the darkened corridors, trying not to alert anyone whatsoever of his presence. It was only a short distance to Ken''s recovery room and he slipped through the door thankfully unhindered.


    Ken was asleep, eyes open, but glazed over in the pure catatonia of hospital grade anaesthetic. The kid looked awful, dark bruises and bandages crisscrossing over his skin. If Hide hadn''t known better, he''d have said his friend had been run over by a bus or thrown off a building. None of that held Hide''s attention, however. He was far too busy staring at the single, solid black eye gazing sightlessly out from his friend''s face, a single point of glowing red marking its monstrous nature.


    Hide stood there for minutes, maybe even hours, trying to absorb the horrific sight and its equally terrible implications. After what felt like the longest silence of Hide''s life, broken only by the quiet beeps of hospital monitors in the otherwise quiet room, Hide spoke.


    "H-hey, Kaneki¡­" The teen paused, unsure of what else there even was to say. He felt a slight trace of cold as a thin trail of liquid wound its way down his cheek, but ignored it. "¡­Good to see you still kicking. G-gotta say, the doctors made it sound a hell of a lot worse than it was. You don''t look hurt at all." Hide tried to laugh at his own feeble joke, but it came out sounding pitiful and false. He fell silent again for a long time, staring at his toes. He couldn''t bring himself to look any longer at that eye. He felt more tears begin to flow down his cheeks. Hide moved his sleeve across his face, sucking in a long, shaky breath, before he spoke again. "Look man¡­ get well soon, okay? I don''t think I can take school without you¡­"


    Hide left quickly, not wanting to let his composure break in front of his friend, even now. He snuck his way out through an open window, before making his way home to think. When he finally made it back to his room. Hide opened up his computer and began searching, looking for every bit of information he could find about ghouls.


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    Ken lifted the chopsticks to his mouth cautiously, trying to ignore the smell wafting off the salmon. It was disorienting. Kaneki had inspected the food thoroughly when it was first brought to him, trying to figure out where that repulsive odor was coming from, but there was nothing wrong with it. For all the boy could tell, his meal had been cooked perfectly. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth, popping the first morsel inside and chewing once or twice before swallowing. Kaneki began to choke. The taste was indescribable. To call it vile would be to put his previous concept of the word to shame. The boy bent over the side of his hospital bed, coughing and spluttering as the tiny chunks of crushed salmon were expelled from his throat and out onto the floor. "W-why can''t I eat?" He asked of no one in particular, panting for breath after the sudden exertion. "What''s wrong with me?"


    "Where do I even start?" Came a familiar voice from behind him. Kaneki turned to see the grinning form of Hide standing in the doorway, hands held behind his back as he leaned against the frame. "You look awful, dude."


    Ken let out a dry little chuckle. "Wow, thanks man. I''m glad to see you too."


    Hide laughed. "Yeah, I knew you would be. That''s why I brought you a present." He stepped forwards as he moved a hand out from behind himself, producing what looked like a perfectly normal water bottle of the sort that people used when they went running. "Couldn''t just let you waste away on hospital food, could I?"


    The dark haired boy gave his friend a weak little smile. "Thanks, Hide, but it doesn''t really look like I can keep anything down right now."


    Hide paused mid-stride, a sad look crossing his face for just the briefest of moments, before he once again began to smile. "Yeah, I noticed. This should be a little bit easier to manage though. Give it a try?"Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Ken sighed, not really annoyed so much as touched. How could he say no when his friend went to the trouble of caring for him? He reached out a hand, taking the offered bottle, and brought it to his lips. He tugged the little stopper open with his teeth and squeezed the bottle slightly to pump a little of its contents onto his tongue. The taste was exquisite, bordering on inconceivable. It was sweet and salty and warm all at once. Ken let out a moan of relief as he drank greedily, forcing the sides of the bottle together as he pumped the contents into his mouth. When it was all gone, he sagged a little, letting the bottle fall from his hands and onto the bed. He slumped back onto his pillows, feeling better than he had since waking up a few days ago. "Wow," he murmured, turning his gaze to his friend and smiling a more relaxed smile than he''d managed in days. "What was that stuff? It was great."


    The euphoria of the drink was so great that it took Kaneki a few moments to register that Hide was staring at him, his eyes wide and face pale. By the time he''d become aware of it, Hide had already regained his composure. He gave a weak little chuckle, one hand unconsciously moving to scratch at a fresh bandage covering his wrist. "Ah, you know, just some juice from a place I know. I can bring you some more tomorrow, if you like."


    Ken cocked his head a little to the side, confused at his friend''s apparent shock, but decided to let it slide. "Yeah, if you could, that''d be great." He let out a relieved laugh. "Thank goodness. For a while there, I thought there must be something wrong with me. I guess the food just kinda sucks here."


    Hide laughed, reaching out and picking the bottle back up off the bed before kneeling down to stow it in his bag. "Yeah, I guess so. Well, being the stellar friend that I am, I brought your homework here with me from class. You don''t want to fall behind just cause of some hospital stuff now, do you?"


    Ken nodded, making a theatrical little groan as he reached for the papers his friend was beginning to unpack. He had to thank god for Hide. Just a few minutes, and the guy had already made him feel totally okay again.


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    Back at his home, Hide stood in front of his bathroom mirror, confused thoughts swirling in a jumbled mess through his brain. He held the kitchen knife at his wrist, wincing slightly as it nicked his flesh, drawing forth a thin trickle of blood which he quickly caught, holding the lip of the drink bottle underneath it. He had so many questions that had been left unanswered. If Ken was a ghoul, then why was he surprised that he hadn''t been able to eat food? For that matter, why didn''t he recognize the taste of the blood Hide had fed him?


    Hide shuddered a little as the memory rose back up in his mind, painfully vivid. Had Kaneki even been aware of what he''d looked like when he was drinking? His whole face had changed, one eye going that same black color as before, his whole face taking on a look of desperate hunger. That was another thing that bothered Hide. Why did only one of Ken''s eyes change? He''d been researching everything he could for days, and except for a few unconfirmed folk stories, no one had ever heard of a ghoul with only one black eye before.


    Hide shook his head with a sigh, sitting the now filled bottle down on the sink and setting about re-bandaging his wrist. This was not the time to get muddled over all his questions. He had nothing to work on and losing three quarters of a liter of blood wasn''t exactly helping his thought process. Better to just focus on what he could do. Hide finished binding his wound, being careful to do it properly as he didn''t want an open arterial injury, before closing the drink bottle and carrying it through to the fridge for tomorrow. Hide made sure to eat a little more than he normally would that night. He wanted to regain his blood supply as quickly as possible.


    For now, he would focus on helping Ken however he could. That was all there was to it.


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    Ken made his way through to the small toilet adjoined to his recovery room with only minimal effort. Whatever that meal was that Hide had brought him, it seemed to have done a world of good. This morning, he hadn''t even been able to walk, and now he was managing it virtually unaided, albeit leaning against a wall occasionally for support. He readied the brush that Hide had brought for him, and set about cleaning his teeth with the thankfully flavorless hospital grade toothpaste. It was remarkable how much he''d missed being able to do that for the last few days, the simple act of maintaining himself was strangely reassuring. He thought back to the attack, suppressing a slight shudder. He could still feel a ghost of a tingle in the patches of flesh that Rize had torn from him. Ken hadn''t told the doctors what had happened to him, piecing together what had happened in the aftermath from what they told him. Ken wasn''t a doctor by any stretch, but he knew well enough that his injuries had been severe, and that he was healing from them much too quickly. None of the doctors had seemed to have seen any of the injuries Rize had dealt him, so he had simply remained silent. Something was clearly wrong here, and if there were ghouls involved, he wasn''t sure he wanted anyone else to know.


    Kaneki sighed before moving the brush to the other side of his mouth, trying to shift his thoughts to happier places. At least Hide was there for him. He had no idea what he''d have done without that. His mom and dad were long gone and, true to form, aunt Tisane hadn''t made any effort to contact him since he''d landed in the hospital. At least he could always count on his best friend, despite the overabundance of energy the guy often brought to a situation. The guy even brought him food.


    Ken felt his mouth begin to water a little at the very thought of the sippy bottle. What could it have been that was that delicious? Hide had refused to say, but Ken was still curious. More than just curious though, he was thirsty. So very thirsty.


    The dark haired youth was so out of it thinking of the drink that he didn''t even notice his eye shifting colors in the mirror at first. It took him a few long seconds to become aware of it. He dropped his toothbrush into the sink with an aborted attempt at a scream, drawing in a sharp breath and, with it, a large quantity of the foam coating his mouth. He gagged, beginning to splutter and cough as he dropped forwards against the sink to steady himself. In retrospect, he was lucky. If he''d managed to scream, someone might have come to check on him. Ken stared, horrified, at his own reflection, the single, black eye staring back at him. "What the hell is this?" He asked himself quietly, tears streaming down his face as he utterly failed to come to terms with what he saw. Sinking slowly to the floor, Ken Kaneki began to weep, quietly crying himself out on the cold hospital tiles.


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    Hide made sure to fix a grin to his face before he opened the door to Kaneki''s room, the sippy bottle held tightly in one hand. Whatever he had been about to say died on his lips as he caught sight of his friend''s face gazing across at him, expressionless, even to his eyes. Whatever life Kaneki had ever had in those eyes, it seemed to have flickered out. The dark haired boy''s voice was strangely listless as he asked a single question. One to which Hide genuinely did not know how to answer.


    "Hide¡­ What''s in the bottle?"

 Am I a ghoul?

    Hide sat at the edge of the bed while Ken drank, pretty tired after the walk over. The dark haired boy did not take to the bottle with the same vigor as he had the previous day, instead taking only small sips. It had been a fight even to convince him to drink it at all, to be frank. Hide had had to repeat again and again that it wasn''t hurting anyone, that it didn''t make him a monster, before Ken had finally agreed to drink. Hide had closed the door so that anyone passing would neither hear their argument, nor see the changes in Ken''s eye as he drank.


    "So," Hide asked eventually, not wanting to look at his friend in that moment. "How''d you do it?"


    Kaneki didn''t answer right away, taking another sip before he spoke. "Do what, Hide?"


    "How''d you hide being a ghoul from me all this time?" Hide tried to hold the bitterness back from his voice, but didn''t quite manage it.


    Again, the answer was not immediately forthcoming. Ken gave a sad little laugh before he spoke. "I wasn''t. I don''t know what to tell you, Hide. This is new to me too."


    "Bullshit," Hide answered, without venom. "You don''t just become a ghoul, Kaneki. The world doesn''t work that way."


    Ken sighed, making a muffled little thumping sound as he let himself fall back against the pillows. "I¡­ have a theory. It''s probably gonna sound like a bad lie though."


    Hide shook his head sadly. "Doesn''t matter, just tell me."


    "You know that girl I went out with, Rize?"


    Hide chuckled humourlessly. "Now isn''t the time to be gloating, man."


    "She was a ghoul. She was halfway through eating me when the beams fell on us¡­ You know they used her organs to keep me alive, right?"


    "¡­So you think you''re¡­ what, some kind of half-ghoul now?" Hide asked, his voice wasn''t skeptical, he was too tired.


    "It''s the only answer I can think of. I mean, it''s not exactly something I could have kept hidden from you. I''ve stayed at your house. Eaten whole meals with you. How could a ghoul do that?"


    Hide nodded glumly. "Yeah, you''re right. That doesn''t make sense." The two were quiet for a long time, neither one certain of what to say next. Eventually, after a very sad silence, Hide spoke again. "So, what do we do now?"


    "I dunno," Ken admitted quietly. "I guess I''ll have to start looking for some way to feed myself¡­ Maybe I''ll get a job in a mortuary or something."


    "I can feed you," Hide offered. The prospect was not a cheerful one.


    "No, you can''t, Hide," Ken admonished sadly. "I can tell how tired you are just from looking at you. How much blood have you fed me over the last two days?"


    Hide shrugged. "I dunno, about a liter and a half?"


    "That''s not a lot, Hide, and you''re already looking pale. We both know you can''t keep this up, it''s not good for you."


    Hide felt a hand touch his shoulder gently, and sighed. "I know, but I can manage. At least for a while."


    "No, you can''t, Hide!" Ken replied angrily, raising a hand to his forehead in frustration. "And I don''t want you to kill yourself by trying! We need to find some other way."


    The two sat in angry silence for a while, Ken glaring at Hide, Hide glowering at the midday sky through the window. "What about the CCG?" He asked eventually.


    Ken raised an eyebrow at his friend. "The CCG? What could they do about this?"


    Hide shrugged. "Well, they keep an internment facility for ghouls, don''t they? They have to feed them something. Maybe if we went to them and explained everything¡­" He trailed off, glancing across at the dark haired boy.


    Kaneki, for his part, considered the idea. It wasn''t ridiculous. The CCG were supposedly ghoul experts, after all. It did make sense to go to them. "¡­But the fact is that what you said has another important factor too, Hide. They have an internment facility for ghouls. What''s to stop them putting me in there?"


    Hide took a moment to respond, choosing his words carefully. "And what are the odds that you''ll be able to keep this secret from them without committing crimes of some kind? If they''re gonna catch you, then surely it''s better to go to them right away, when you haven''t actually done anything wrong. Don''t you think, Kaneki?"


    The dark haired boy was silent for a very long time, considering his options. Go to the CCG, and risk imprisonment, or try to hide, and risk death at their hands. Considering how they were limiting his options, he was really beginning to dislike the CCG. The decision was too much, there were too many variables to consider. He let out a long, aggravated sigh. "Have you got a coin I can borrow, Hide? I need to flip something on this."


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    Koutarou Amon was five minutes off the end of his shift when a call came through from the front desk. "Investigator Amon? We have a young man down here who says he''s witnessed a ghoul attack. Are you free for questioning?"


    Amon sighed, he had been looking forward to a warm meal and some alone time, but the job had to come first sometimes. "Yeah, sure. Put him in interview room B. I''ll be down directly."


    With that, Amon stood from his desk, stretching a little to loosen his stiff muscles, and headed for the elevator.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


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    To say Ken was nervous would have been an understatement. Ken was terrified. His whole body was shaking like a leaf from nerves and he was sweating through the fresh clothes that Hide had brought him. He clasped his hands together on the table, eyes darting from the door, to the reflective mirror in the wall, to the table, and back to the door.


    It was after only a few minutes of this, that the inspector arrived.


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    Amon stopped at a vending machine on the way to the interview room, buying a couple cans of black coffee. It was a trick he''d learned early on. Even if the witness didn''t drink it, it helped them get comfortable. He opened the door and glanced down at the boy at the table. A fleeting surprise flashed through his mind. "You''re Ken Kaneki, right? The kid from the news. I heard you got pretty badly hurt."


    The boy nodded, staring intently at the table and seemingly trying his damnedest to avoid Amon''s gaze. "Y-yes sir. I uhh¡­ I discharged myself from the hospital about an hour ago."


    Amon nodded, not letting the surprise reach his face. From what he''d heard, the boy shouldn''t even be able to walk yet, but he seemed fine. "Well then, Kaneki, my name is Koutarou Amon, Investigator, second class. So, the desk clerk said you had a ghoul attack to report. Can you describe them please? Both the ghoul and the victim, if you can." He held out one of the coffees to the boy, but he shook his head.


    "N-no thank you sir, I don''t really drink coffee."


    Amon shrugged, opening his own coffee with a slight hiss of compressed air, and taking a swig. He placed it on the desk between them and took a seat. "Fair enough, shall we just get to the report then?"


    The boy wasn''t listening, his attention was caught by the coffee can between them, staring. "W-wow, that smells great."


    Amon smiled patiently. "Well, offer''s still open if you want the other one." The boy, after some hesitation, nodded, and Amon passed him the second coffee can. The boy opened it tentatively, sniffing the contents experimentally before taking a small sip. For some reason, he grinned.


    "Delicious," the kid said, sounding surprised.


    Amon chuckled. "Yeah, I think so too. Now, can you describe the ghoul in question?"


    Almost instantly, the boy looked terrified again, his shoulders hunching inwards and losing their relaxed posture. Just what could the kid have seen to scare him this much? "W-well¡­ she was in her early twenties, it looked like, a-and around my height. Long hair, kinda purple color?"


    Amon raised an eyebrow, confused. "You''re describing Rize Kamishiro, are you not? The girl who was in the accident with you?" The boy gave a shaky nod. "I¡­ I see," Amon responded uncertainly. "And the victim?"


    The boy took a deep, long breath, before bringing his eyes up to look at Amon directly. "She¡­ she was trying to eat me when the building supplies landed on us, sir."


    Amon''s eyes went wide and he gazed across at the boy, not sure how to respond. "¡­Well, Kaneki, if that''s true, I can honestly say you''re one of the luckiest kids I have ever met."


    The boy hunched a little further in his seat. "T-that''s n-not quite it sir¡­ You may have seen on the news¡­ The doctors who saved me used a few of her organs to do it¡­ I-I think I''m-"


    "You think you''re turning into a ghoul," Amon finished for the boy. He sighed quietly. This wasn''t too unusual. The mind could come up with all sorts of crazy things to help deal with trauma. He made an effort to ensure that his voice was sympathetic when he spoke. "Well, Kaneki, if it helps at all, I can assure you that if you were a ghoul, our sensors would have picked you up the moment you entered the building."


    The boy stared at the table, a single tear sliding slowly down his cheek. "Th-then why am I walking around and healthy just two days after getting hit by a steel beam? I was in a coma, sir, and now I''m fine, there''s something wrong with me, I know it."


    Amon paused for a moment. He had to admit, the kid had a point there. "¡­Okay, Kaneki." He placed his arm on the desk, resting on his elbow. "Arm wrestle me."


    The teen gave him a strange look. "Um¡­ why, sir?"


    Amon smiled wolfishly. "Because you''re a scrawny teenager and the only way you could win an arm wrestle against a fit and conditioned CCG investigator is by having the strength of a ghoul."


    The boy was still looking at him strangely, but, after some hesitation, placed his own arm on the desk, grasping Amon''s hand in his own.


    "Three," Amon began, smiling. "Two, one." He pushed down against the boy''s hand, meeting resistance. He had to give the kid credit, he was stronger than he looked. He pushed harder. Still, the boy resisted. Amon glanced up at the boy. The kid''s brow was furrowed slightly in concentration, pressing his hand against Amon''s with a force most well exercised adults couldn''t match. Amon pushed again, harder, no longer holding back. The boy''s hand moved back a little, then held firm. The boy gritted his teeth slightly in effort. Amon continued for a few more seconds, before easing off. "Okay, yeah, that''s definitely weird. You got me there. Give me a minute, I have to make some calls."


    Amon rose from the desk and stood, making his way out into the hallway and retrieving his phone, making sure to lock the door behind him. He stared at the phone screen for several long minutes, trying to figure out who he should contact about this. He could call his partner, but he had a feeling Kureo would start trying to dissect the boy if this wasn''t taken elsewhere first. He could take this to the branch chief, but it wasn''t certain enough yet. Then a thought struck him. He dialed in the number, waiting while the tone sounded. After a few moments, a voice answered.


    "Hello?"


    "Mister Shinohara?" Amon spoke quietly, "This is Amon Koutarou, Mado''s partner. You''re the investigator currently assigned to the binge eater case, correct?"


    "Yeah, I am," The voice replied. "You got something for me?"


    "I might," Amon answered. "I was told the binge eater exclusively targeted young men. I might have a survivor in the interview room."


    "A survivor?" Shinohara''s voice sounded surprised. "That almost never happens."


    "It''s¡­ complicated. Are you available, sir?"


    There was a long pause, before the voice responded, sounding tired. "Well, I wasn''t, but I guess I am now. I''ll be there in twenty."


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    Kaneki lay in bed that night, unable to sleep. He had told the two men from the CCG everything. About the attack, about the surgery, even about how Hide had fed him. The new investigator, a muscular man with a kind face, had initially been less than convinced, but had changed his mind on that when Kaneki had offered to show them how his eye could change. It hadn''t been too hard to do, he just thought for a few minutes about the taste of Hide''s blood. Amon had leaned back a little in his seat, Shinohara had barely even batted an eye. A medic had been dispatched to ensure his friend''s safety and provide a red blood cell transfusion. After the whole ordeal was done, he had been allowed to return home safely, escorted under the personal guard of Shinohara himself, who had continued to question him about the identity of his attacker well into the night.


    Investigator Shinohara now sat on a chair in the corner of his room, watching him anxiously trying to sleep. To be perfectly honest, the large man waiting to kill him at the slightest wrong move was the main reason why he was having so much trouble. After a few fruitless hours, Kaneki spoke into the silence, his voice quiet. "Mr Shinohara¡­ did I do the right thing, coming to you?"


    The figure replied with only a little hesitation. "I think you did, yes."


    Kaneki let the answer hang in the air between the two of them for a moment, then asked his second major question. "Am¡­ am I going to be okay?"


    That made Shinohara hesitate a lot longer than the first question did. Eventually, the older man replied "¡­ I''ll do my best to help you, Kaneki. That''s all I can promise."

 What is he?

    Ken Kaneki.


    Kaneki didn''t sleep a wink that night, his brain was too busy twisting itself up, trying to figure out the consequences of his decision and whether he stood a chance at surviving the coming weeks. Shinohara, for his part, seemed to fall into unconsciousness at some point in the early hours of the morning, his eyes drifting shut and his breaths slowing to an even rhythm. Kaneki let the man sleep, he had seemed exhausted throughout the half day they had spent in one another''s company, and it wasn''t as if Kaneki was actually planning to do anything. The teen lay in silent thought for a few more hours, glancing occasionally at his clock. 2:00 AM, 2:15 AM, 2:45 AM. The night stretched on for what felt like forever.


    At 5:40 AM, Kaneki gave up, rising from his bed and standing. Immediately, Shinohara''s eyes snapped open. The older man gazed across at him with a look of curiosity on his face. Kaneki was too emotionally spent to be surprised. "Want some breakfast?" He asked. Shinohara nodded quietly.


    Ken moved to his small apartment kitchen and began rummaging through his fridge for ingredients, trying to ignore the pang of regret gnawing at him at the realization that he''d probably never need to buy eggs again. Shinohara quietly sat himself down at the small dining table as Kaneki began to cook.


    After a few silent minutes, Ken placed the food down in front of the investigator and sat opposite him as he ate. He himself nursed a coffee between his hands, more to stop himself fidgeting than anything else.


    "Huh," murmured Shinohara after a few bites. "This is pretty good, kid. I wouldn''t have pegged you for someone who could cook."


    Kaneki chuckled bitterly. "Yeah, for all the good it does me now."


    "I think that might be the wrong attitude to take," Shinohara said with a small smile. "You can still make food that other people enjoy. That''s a useful skill to have, Kaneki."


    Kaneki considered this for a moment, then shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose so, sir."


    Shinohara winced slightly. "Please don''t call me sir, it makes me feel old."


    Ken chuckled slightly. "Sorry to break this to you, Mr Shinohara, but the phrase ''please don''t call me sir,'' makes you seem old, second only to ''Oh no, Mr Shinohara''s my dad, you can call me¡­'' uh¡­"


    "Yukinori," the older man supplied, grinning. "And you do not get to call me Yuki, so don''t even try it, kid."


    Kaneki snickered a little, standing to take the now cleaned plate to the sink. "But it suits you perfectly though."


    Mr Shinohara rolled his eyes, draining his coffee cup as he stood, picking up his attach¨¦ case with his free hand. "Yeah yeah, whatever, kid. Come on, I want to ask a few questions at that caf¨¦ you mentioned, the one where you said you met Rize. Since you''re under observation for the immediate future, I think that means you''re tagging along."


    Ken nodded, shrugging. It wasn''t exactly unexpected that they''d want to keep an eye on him. All things considered, he counted himself lucky that he''d wound up with someone like Shinohara for the moment. He was rather beginning to like the older man.


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    The two set off in a surprisingly comfortable silence, walking together through the busy early morning foot traffic.


    It did not escape Kaneki''s attention as they moved through the bustling crowd, that Mr Shinohara seemed to shift in front of him just slightly, positioning himself between the boy and the greatest concentrations of people. Kaneki wondered whether he should be offended by that. He couldn''t really blame the man for it, the precaution made too much sense. Sensible or not, the precaution was unnecessary. Kaneki was, admittedly, more than a little hungry, having last eaten, or rather, drank, about sixteen hours ago. But it wasn''t nearly intense enough to be an issue. A hundred little factors helped with that, chief among them being the fact that he could barely smell anything. In fear of much the same problem that Yukinori now seemed to be, Kaneki had decided on the temporary solution of applying a fairly hefty dose of aftershave to the skin beneath his nose. The powerful, mildly alcoholic scent was keeping most of the other smells at bay, at least for now.


    The two made their way to the coffee shop in good time, Mr Shinohara using his sizeable frame to carve them both a path through the morning crowds before they found their way there. Anteiku was a pleasant sight, even early in the morning.


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    Touka.


    Touka was serving tables for the first round of customers when she noticed the two figures approach, her eye momentarily drawn by a small flash through the window. The two seemed ordinary enough, one middle aged, one just a little older than her, vaguely familiar. Her attention quickly returned to her surroundings, before flashing back to the two men once more, a little niggle in her mind pulling her focus back. It was on the second glance that she saw it, glimpsed momentarily between the bustle of people around them. The older man was carrying a metal case.


    Touka felt her fingers clench impulsively, the clipboard creaking a little in her grip. She regained control of herself quickly enough, moving to the staff door immediately. Koma, working the counter, shot her a glance as she moved past, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. His unspoken question was answered by a brief hand gesture from the girl, unnoticed by anyone who didn''t recognize the code. ''Doves outside.'' Koma nodded, his expression not shifting an inch from that same calm smile he always wore.


    Leaving Koma to hold down the fort for a moment, Touka went to find Yoshimura. He was usually roasting fresh coffee beans at this hour, readying his next batch for the day. Touka found him in the kitchen, a serene smile on his face as he watched the oven tick over.


    "Yes, Touka?" The old man asked quietly, not turning away from his task. "What is it?"


    "I think we have doves outside," the girl replied, her own voice one of forced calm.


    The old man gave a slow nod, his smile dropping to one of calm focus. "I see. Watch the beans for me will you, Touka? I''ll go and handle the investigators." Yoshimura straightened up, and began making his way slowly to the caf¨¦, resting a reassuring hand on the girl''s shoulder as he passed. "We''ll be fine, young one, don''t you worry." Touka hesitated, but eventually nodded as Yoshimura moved past her. He was right, everything was going to be fine¡­ probably.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Yukinori Shinohara.


    "Good morning, gentlemen, may I take your order?" The elderly waiter smiled politely to the two as he offered them the menu from under his arm.


    "Two coffees, please," Yukinori replied immediately, taking the menu without looking at it. "Black, no sugar. And a sandwich, to take with me, if you can."


    The old man nodded slowly, a small smile touching his face. "I''m sure we can find a box to put it in, certainly."The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Yukinori nodded his thanks. "That would be appreciated, thank you. I would also like to speak to the manager of this place. There are some questions I need to ask him." He ruffled in his pocket for a moment, before pulling out a small, leather article and flipping it open, flashing his badge.


    The old man cocked an eyebrow at the badge, then glanced over his shoulder for a moment, looking over the crowded shop. "Well, I''m the manager here, and I can certainly speak with you both, but would you mind waiting a moment while we deal with the morning rush. It shouldn''t be too long."


    Yukinori shrugged amicably, sitting back a little in his chair. "That shouldn''t be a problem. Thank you."


    As the old man left, Yukinori glanced across at Kaneki, staring listlessly out of the window, and aimed a small prod at his back. The boy jerked to alertness as if shocked by an electrical current. Yukinori repressed a laugh. "Nice place here," he said conversationally, making a sweeping sort of gesture with one hand that seemed to encompass the entirety of the small caf¨¦.


    "Yeah," Kaneki replied quietly. "The coffee''s great, but my feelings on it are kinda bittersweet after the whole ''targeted by a cannibal'' thing."


    Yukinori chuckled. "You''d be amazed what can be forgiven if a place serves good coffee."


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Yoshimura.


    Yoshimura''s mind was racing as he stepped back towards the counter. Everything about the two new arrivals was off. The taller man was an investigator, no doubts there. Even if everything from the case he had by his feet, to his posture hadn''t pointed to his status, Yukinori recognized him. It was one of the doves he had fought years ago, in his attack against the CCG.


    As for the boy, his presence here was a whole other level of confusing. Yoshimura had kept an eye on Rize''s activities with his customers, and was quite certain she had chosen that boy as her latest target. Yoshimura watched the news enough to know that there had been some kind of accident, some poorly placed construction equipment had killed the unfortunate girl, presumably before she had a chance to kill the boy. That was an easy enough deduction to make, but the news had said the Kaneki boy had been badly injured, and yet he seemed now to be completely unharmed, less than three days later. None of this was even close to being as confusing as the fact that the boy, who, on his last visit, had borne the unmistakeable scent of a human, now smelled quite distinctively like a ghoul. Not just a ghoul, though, the boy smelled almost¡­ female. Yoshimura pondered his questions furiously in his head as he served, working his way slowly through the morning rush. After twenty minutes or so, the place began to clear. Yoshimura took the time to pour a trio of fresh cups of coffee, before he once more made his way over to the small table where the unfathomable pair sat.


    "Thank you for your patience, gentlemen," he said quietly, drawing the two from their quiet conversation. "Now then, what can this old man help you with?" Yoshimura set the three cups down on the table, removing the ones the pair had emptied while they waited. He set the empty cups to one side, and sat down opposite the two of them.


    The investigator nodded appreciatively at the fresh drink, to which Yoshimura had to suppress a chuckle. Like all good investigators, this man liked his coffee. "Thank you for making the time," the investigator murmured. "My name is investigator Shinohara. We had a question or two about one of your former customers here, a young woman named Rize Kamishiro. I''m afraid it has come to our attention that she may have been using this establishment as a location to target young men for acts of cannibalism."


    ''Stranger and stranger,'' Yoshimura thought to himself. So they knew Rize was a ghoul, but the boy was nonetheless alive. There was something he was missing here, what was it? Outwardly, he responded with a quirked eyebrow and an otherwise neutral expression. "Is that so? Considering it''s the CCG come calling, I must assume she was a ghoul, then."


    The investigator nodded, picking up his coffee and taking a long sip. "Yes, I''m afraid so," he answered. "I was hoping you could tell me what you recall of her activities on her visits here. Any descriptions of people she left with would be helpful. It could help us cross off some unsolved cases and such."


    Yoshimura did not answer immediately, watching the odd smelling boy as he reached for his coffee cup. Yoshimura had chosen that cup especially. It had been badly chipped the previous day, the small porcelain handle missing a sizeable section of its material in a section that was surprisingly hard to spot unless one looked carefully. If the kid was a ghoul, Yoshimura reasoned, he wouldn''t cut himself on it. The boy grasped the handle between his fingers and made to lift the cup to his lips, before letting out a small noise of pain as his finger scraped against the jagged porcelain, a thin line of blood trickling gently down his hand. Yoshimura let his expression shift to a concerned frown, keeping his confusion carefully in check. He reached into his pocket and produced a small handkerchief, offering it to the boy. "Oh dear," he murmured. "Another broken cup." Interestingly, Yoshimura noted, he wasn''t the only one surprised that the boy could bleed. The investigator spared the injury a puzzled glance before returning his attention to Yoshimura. The boy, on the other hand, was staring at the wound as Yoshimura pressed the handkerchief against it, his own expression undefinable. The old man filed away their reactions for further note, before returning his attention to the investigator. "Well, I can certainly tell you who I remember seeing her with, although I''m not entirely sure how much that will assist you. I last saw her leaving with this young fellow, if I recall correctly, and he seems unharmed. For the most part at least." Yoshimura chuckled a little.


    "Indeed," Shinohara replied. "Mr Kaneki here was lucky enough to survive his own encounter with Ms Kamishiro due to a singularly well timed industrial accident, that''s how we came to know who she was. He may not have survived at all had it not been for the fact that the ghoul in question apparently enjoyed playing with her food."


    Well, that was one question answered at least. Yoshimura felt the confusion inside himself lessen fractionally. That only left about a half dozen unanswered ones to go. The old man sighed. "I see. It saddens me very deeply that my shop was being used in such a fashion." He turned his attention to Kaneki momentarily. "Please accept my deepest apologies. Rest assured that Anteiku will provide you with free service from now on as a small token of our sorrow for what happened to you."


    The dark haired boy nodded absently, still staring at his finger, the bloodflow now staunched by Yoshimura''s handkerchief. "Thank you," he murmured, not seeming to pay him much attention. "Sounds good."


    Yoshimura nodded, before turning his attention back to the investigator, and beginning to list Rize''s victims as best he could.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Later.


    "Why did you help them?" Touka asked quietly, her voice irritable. "They''re doves, aren''t they?"


    Yoshimura nodded. "The older one certainly was. One of the better ones, if I recall. As for why I helped them. It wasn''t as though keeping quiet about what Rize did would have helped keep her safe. She''s already dead. Those people''s families deserve to know what happened to them. Besides, I consider it a good policy to cooperate with the CCG where possible, it draws far less of their attention down on us."


    Touka folded her arms, glaring sullenly out of the window. "If you wanted to stop them paying attention to us, why did you offer that kid free service from now on? That''s just more likely to make him come back, right?"


    Yoshimura nodded again. "Yes, that was the general idea behind doing it. I wanted him to come back here again without the investigator so I could keep an eye on him, just in case."


    Touka cocked an eyebrow at the older man. "Why are you so bothered about keeping an eye on that guy? He seems pretty boring, if you ask me."


    Yoshimura let out a long, drawn out sigh, pulling a folded handkerchief from his pocket. "Tell me, Touka. What was that boy, a human or a ghoul?"


    The confusion on the girl''s face deepened. "What? I mean, he''s human, obviously."


    Yoshimura shook his head. "I''m not so sure about that."


    "Why?"


    "Well," the old man frowned slightly. "He seemed human enough before today. But when I served him this morning, he had the definite smell of a ghoul." Yoshimura watched as Touka opened her mouth to respond, hesitated, then closed it again, waiting to see where he was going with this. "And when I was talking to them, I arranged for him to cut his finger, to see if he could be injured like a human can. And while he certainly did bleed, the injury was healed over by the time they left, just a few minutes later." Yoshimura shook his head, his own confusion roiling in his head. "And then of course, there''s this," he tossed the handkerchief across to the girl, who caught it, startled. "I used that to help staunch the cut for him. Give it a sniff."


    Touka looked up at the old man with clear distaste. "Wow, old man, that''s gross. You nursing some kind of fetish?" Yoshimura didn''t respond, watching her impassively. Eventually the girl let out an irritable groan. "Uugh, fine!" She lifted the bloodstained fabric to her nose, and took a sniff. Immediately, Touka''s eyes went wide. "H-holy crap. That''s-"


    "The most delicious blood you''ve ever smelled, I know," Yoshimura finished for her. "So tell me, Touka, Just what the hell is Ken Kaneki?"

 Who is Juuzou Suzuya?

    Kaneki:


    The car moved surprisingly quickly through the mid-morning traffic, the early rush hour of morning commuters having subsided relatively fast. Kaneki sat uncomfortably in the passenger seat, wedged against the door. The aftershave had been a good trick, while it had lasted, but the overpowering scent was gone now, and the boy was trying his best to ignore the scent radiating off of the man sitting only a few feet away. Shinohara had noticed quickly, the occasional conversation between them dying away to be replaced by the occasional glance. Ken kept his breathing slow and tried to shift a little further away from the other man. The hunger he''d been feeling near constantly over the last few days was getting harder to ignore by the second.


    Minutes passed in uncomfortable silence, before the investigator reached down and pressed a small button on the car dashboard. Kaneki felt a movement behind his head as the window moved, the glass pane shifting downwards and allowing a flow of fresh air into the cramped vehicle. The relief was small, but it was something, at least. The teen gave a word of thanks, before craning his neck slightly and pressing his face against the gap in the glass, breathing as much fresh air as he could manage.


    When the boy was feeling a little more settled, he relaxed back into his seat with a groan. "Sorry about that," he muttered. "The senses are all kinda new, I guess."


    Shinohara shrugged. "My fault," he admitted. "You''ve been running on a liter and a half of blood since the change, I should have figured you''d be hungry. We''ll head over and grab you something from one of the prep houses."


    "Prep houses?" Kaneki asked, raising an eyebrow at the older man.


    "Where we store the meat we give to prisoners," Shinohara replied quietly. "Guess that''s where we''ll be getting you fed from now on."


    Kaneki nodded. "I... I see."


    The investigator cocked an eyebrow at the boy, glancing across at him for a few moments. "Problem? You don''t exactly sound thrilled."


    Kaneki cocked an eyebrow in turn, mildly offended. "Of course I''m not," he replied, his voice icy. "Would you be looking forward to eating person for the first time?"


    Shinohara shrugged. "No, you''re right. I wouldn''t be," he answered casually. "But you''re a ghoul now, at least partially. It was entirely possible that you could have been looking forward to it," Shinohara noticed the disgusted look on the boy''s face and amended slightly. "Don''t get me wrong. You seem like a good kid, but from what I''ve seen, a hungry ghoul can get pretty single minded about food. I guess you''re the first chance anyone''s had to see how much of what we know about ghouls is purely instinct based."


    The teen considered the idea for a moment, mulling it over in his head. "In that case... Look, I guess a part of me is looking forward to it, but it''s not really any different from the part of me that looked forward to meals when I was human. I mean, it''s stronger, but hunger is hunger, I guess."


    "Maybe," Shinohara replied, not sounding convinced. "To be honest, I think the hunger''s probably gonna be worse the next time you feel it."


    "What makes you say that?"


    "Remember how you cut your hand back at the coffee shop?"


    Kaneki nodded.


    "At a guess, I''d say you were able to cut yourself because whatever''s happening to you, this transformation thing, it probably isn''t complete yet. A regular ghoul couldn''t cut themselves on a china cup." Shinohara repositioned slightly in his seat, returning his eyes to the road. "I expect the hunger''ll be stronger when you''re more like a ghoul."


    Kaneki turned his own eyes to the road. He didn''t like the idea that this would all get even worse. Not one bit. "Maybe," he admitted after a few minutes silence. "But then again, like you said, I''m the first person like me anyone knows about. Maybe I got cut because this is just the furthest the transformation goes. Maybe I won''t get all the powers and maybe I won''t get all the instincts."Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    "Maybe," Shinohara conceded. "But I survived this long because I''m a plan for the worst kind of guy. I''m telling you that it could get worse, and saying maybe you should be prepared if it does."


    "... Thanks for the warning." Kaneki grumbled eventually, arms folded as he leaned once more against the window.


    The mildly awkward silence that followed was broken by the sound of the investigator''s phone chiming a text alert. Shinohara waited until they hit a set of traffic lights, before pulling it out and reading the message. "Hmm," He grunted, holding the phone out for Kaneki to take before returning his eyes to the road as the lights went to green. "That was my partner," he explained, a slightly disappointed tone to his voice. "Said they went to investigate the hospital where you got the transplant, but the place was cleared out. Can you text him back and tell him I got him a sandwich?"


    Kaneki nodded, turning his eyes to the phone. His thoughts turned to the doctors who''d done this to him, if they had disappeared already, that pretty much ruled out any chance that he''d been made this way by accident. His eyes skimmed briefly over the contents of the message before he began writing out Shinohara''s reply. Hang on a moment... His eyes returned to the contents of the message in the smallest of double takes. "Uhhh, Mr Shinohara? Did you say your partner wrote this?"


    "Yup," the investigator nodded. "Juuzou, nice kid."


    "... He writes like a third grader."


    Shinohara chuckled. "Yeah, it takes a little while to get used to. Juuzou never really did much reading or writing as a kid."


    "Well..." Kaneki said slowly, still very confused. "Okay, I guess... but this is borderline illiterate. And why are there so many emojis?"


    Shinohara shrugged. "Juuzou thinks it''s important to express emotion when he''s texting, the emojis let him do that."


    "So then why are they all cat faces?"


    The investigator snorted. "If you ever meet him, you''ll notice that my partner very rarely displays emotions that aren''t the cat emoji."


    "... Huh," was all that Kaneki could think to respond. Shrugging, he sent back a reply. ''Shinohara''s driving, he says he got you a sandwich.'' Ken waited for a moment or two, before experimentally picking the phone up again. Shinohara shot him an inquisitive glance as he typed in a very short follow up message, '':3'' and pushed send.


    The response was almost immediate. The phone pinged. Before Kaneki had a chance to look at the first message, it pinged a second time, then a third. He looked at the screen. Cat emojis. Kaneki scrolled up to view the previous two messages. Both messages were nothing but repetitions of the same set of symbols, again and again. In the time it took him to check, the phone pinged again.


    Shinohara sighed. "You sent him an emoji, didn''t you?"


    "Uhh... shouldn''t I have?" Ken replied, uncertain.


    "Which one?" The investigator asked, in a voice of deep resignation.


    "Um..." Ken hesitated. "The... cat emoji?"


    "Turn the phone to silent." Shinohara said with another sigh. "I''m gonna have to change his plan before he burns out his credit again."


    The teen fumbled briefly with the phone, the device continuing to ping every couple of seconds in his hand. He gingerly set it back down on the divide between their seats and resolved not to touch it again. The two were silent for a time, before he spoke up, mildly curious. "Do you always get his breakfast?"


    Shinohara nodded matter-of-factly. "Yeah, every day. We used to let him fend for himself, but then I found out that he was pretty much just living on a diet of stolen office lunches and bugs, so I started bringing him food."


    "Bugs?" Kaneki asked, mortified. "Why?"


    Shinohara shrugged. "Far as I can tell, that''s what ate as a kid, so he figured it was normal and kept doing it. We tried teaching him to cook, didn''t take. Kid kept disappearing every time we tried."


    Ken stared at the older man, appalled. "What kind of abusive asshole feeds a kid bugs their whole life?"


    "Oh, they didn''t feed him," Shinohara replied, his fingers clenching almost imperceptibly on the wheel. "That''s why he ate bugs."


    Ken sat in silence, staring at the older man and trying to figure out if he was lying. He couldn''t think why he would be, but the alternative didn''t seem any more likely.


    "Makes you think, huh," Yukinori murmured, eyes forward. "Even with what''s going on now, some people out there have it worse than you."


    Kaneki didn''t respond to that, primarily because he had no idea what to say. He gazed down at the phone, the screen still silently showing more cat emojis, albeit every few minutes now instead of every few seconds. Some time later, Ken was brought back out of the trance when he noticed that the car had come to a stop. He glanced up at the investigator questioningly, and the older man pointed out of the window.


    "We''re here," he said coolly, gesturing to the grey wall of the large building they were parked against. "Prep house two. Hope you''re still hungry."

 What do we taste like?

    Kaneki:


    The teen sat against the hood of the investigator''s car, staring at the small, paper wrapped bundle in his hands. Shinohara had gone inside the building alone, the two of them both having agreed that it may be a bad idea for Kaneki to go inside a building full of raw meat when he was hungry. The older man had returned after a few minutes with the small package the boy now held. It was weird, thinking about it. It was wrapped just the same as meat from the butcher. That seemed wrong, somehow.


    "Well?" Shinohara asked, leaning down against the bonnet beside Kaneki. "You gonna eat that or what?"


    The boy made no move to open the package, sighing a little to himself. "C-can I ask something that might sound weird?"


    Shinohara shrugged, glancing sideways at the teen. "Sure, what''s on your mind?"


    "Do you..." Kaneki hesitated, shaking himself a little before he continued. "Do you know who this was?" He lifted the parcel slightly, the kilo or so of its contents rustling gently against the paper. "I feel like I should know."


    Shinohara chuckled. "Thought you might ask that, so I checked with the guy in the prep house." He patted the packet slightly with a hand, settling Kaneki''s nervous jostling a little. "His name was Jouchirou Suraba. He was a businessman who died of liver failure at the age of forty seven. Too many parties with overseas clients. He left behind a wife, a dog, and two children, both in their early twenties. He was an organ donor. The hospitals got whatever they could use, and with the family''s permission, we harvested the rest to use as food for the inmates. So there you have it. What you have in your hand died of natural causes, was freely given, and led what seems to have been a good life." He patted the boy on the back reassuringly. "Now eat it. We have places to be and I don''t want you getting scraps all over my car."


    Kaneki sighed again, reassured, at least a little. He pulled slightly at the paper lining one end of the package, tearing a hole and exposing one end of the preserved lump. Closing his eyes, the boy brought the little parcel to his lips and opened wide, biting down on the contents and beginning to chew. A few seconds passed in tense silence before the boy swallowed, opening his eyes once more.


    "Well?" Shinohara asked gently. "You okay?"


    Hesitantly, Kaneki nodded. "I''m not gonna lie... That''s the best thing I''ve ever tasted. I''d almost prefer it if it was gross, you know?" He glanced at Shinohara and the older man winced.


    "Uhh, kid? Just in case you don''t know, your eye''s gone black again."


    Kaneki groaned. "Really? Damn. I guess that just happens when I eat now, huh?"


    "Guess so," Shinohara replied, watching as the boy took a second, slightly larger bite. "Wanna hear something gross?"


    "... That depends," Kaneki said cautiously. "What is it?"


    "The butchers in there divide the meat into cuts based on where in the body it comes from. What I picked up was a rump steak. Long and the short of it, kid... You''re eating a butt right now."


    Kaneki snickered slightly in spite of himself, turning the packet slightly to examine the flesh. "Huh... There''s virtually no muscle here. This guy needed to work out more."


    Shinohara snorted. "Wow, way to disrespect your elders, Kaneki."


    The boy shrugged. "Hey, if he had a healthier lifestyle, maybe I wouldn''t be eating him right now." He took a third bite, the two of them falling into a surprisingly comfortable silence as he finished his meal. "Well," he murmured eventually, wrapping the remains of the package up into a little ball in his hands as he stood. "At least I''m not hungry any more. That''s a plus."


    Shinohara stood, stretching slightly. "Yup. Now, I''ve arranged to have them courier a package like that to your apartment every morning, okay?"


    "You can do that?" Kaneki asked, one eyebrow slightly raised.


    Shinohara shrugged. "Took some explaining, but yeah, I can do that. Unusual circumstances and all that. Now come on, it''s time for a shift change."


    "Shift change?" Kaneki asked quietly. "What do you mean?"


    Shinohara shrugged. "I mean that I''m tired. I was too busy watching you to get any real sleep last night and I was up all day yesterday. We need to do a changeover before I collapse where I stand."


    Kaneki nodded. "Okay, makes sense, I guess. Who''s taking over for you?"This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    "No idea," Shinohara admitted. "I''m gonna take you home and leave you there until someone''s free to watch you, okay?"


    Kaneki cocked his head slightly. "Umm... okay? I mean, it''s fine with me, I guess, but weren''t you guys supposed to be watching all the time in case I went postal?"


    The investigator shrugged. "Not really. We were going to figure out what to do with you as we assessed the risk you pose. You seem like a nice enough kid to me and you got fed just a few minutes ago. There shouldn''t be any problems. Besides," Shinohara chuckled. "No offense, kid, but you really aren''t that dangerous. You barely pulled even with Amon in terms of strength and you aren''t even immune to regular damage yet. Without a real understanding of tactics, we could take you out pretty easily."


    Kaneki nodded, opening the passenger side door of the car and moving back into the seat with a squeak of leather on wool. "No skin off my nose. But you said yourself, I could be getting stronger all the time."


    Shinohara shrugged, settling back into the drivers seat. "Yeah, I guess we''ll need to keep an eye on that."


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Touka:


    The girl finished her shift early in the afternoon, meandering slow as she pleased up to her room on the second floor. She wanted it to look like she wasn''t nervous. The girl pulled out her laptop from its slot beside her bed and sat down, flipping it open on her knees. Touka drummed her fingers impatiently as she waited for the thing to load up. She wanted information, and having to wait for it was infuriating.


    Eventually, the outdated old laptop finished booting, opening to her desktop with a series of musical trills. Touka wasted no time in opening up her facebook feed. Touka loved facebook. The site allowed her access to the daily lives of her friends despite how little time she spent at school. This time, however, she ignored the latest happenings in Kana''s life and even skipped leaving the habitual like on Yoriko''s latest food blog post. Instead, she checked her friend requests, remembering one from a boy she''d met a few days ago. After a few seconds, she found it. Hideyoshi Nagachika. Touka had planned on ignoring the request, not having been very fond of how the boy flirted with her, but needs must as the devil drives. She clicked on the accept button.


    The screen pinged a little message. ''You and Hideyoshi are now friends, Congratulations!''


    Touka groaned. Thank you, facebook. The girl checked her new friend''s status and grunted in satisfaction. Good, he''s online. Guess I won''t have to wait very long.


    Touka opened up a message window and started typing.


    ''Hey. Hide, right?''


    The response was not short in coming.


    ''Yup, that''s me! Nice to hear from you again.''


    Touka shrugged. ''Yeah, nice to hear from you, too. Hey, can I ask you something?''


    ''Sure, what do you wanna know?''


    The girl considered for a moment. How much did she want to reveal? What approach did she want to take here? Eventually, she settled for ''I heard your friend got into some kind of an accident. He seemed nice, so I was gonna go check up on him and say hi. Do you know where I can find him?''


    The response was not as rapid as those that had come before, and as she waited, Touka began to wonder if she''d been too forward. Maybe she should have been more subtle, maybe she should have waited a little longe-


    ''Wow, that''s really nice of you! I was just about to head over to check on him myself. If you want, I could swing by and pick you up.''


    Touka let out a breath she hadn''t even realized she''d been holding and replied. ''Sure, that sounds great. Gimme about ten minutes to change.''


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Kaneki:


    The teen slumped down on his couch, exhausted and yet, at the same time, strangely energized.


    Kaneki turned on the tv, staring blankly at the flickering screen without taking anything in for a few moments before turning it off again. Homework. He could do homework. The teen retrieved his bag from his room and dug out the assignment list Hide had brought him at the hospital. He checked the first item on the list.


    ''Twenty four hundred words on the central themes of Kafka''s Metamorphosis and the modern filmic adaptation The Fly. Identify at least seven ways in which the texts are pertinent to themes found in your everyday life.''


    Kaneki pursed his lips, deciding to skip past that one and move on to the second. ''Identify a literary device used in fostering character engagement and its more common implementations (one point five thousand words). Theorize a method of subverting common uses of this device and demonstrate said implementation in a written piece of a minimum of one thousand words.''


    The boy shrugged, digging out a pen and paper and starting to brainstorm.


    The work was simple, straightforward, and utterly mundane. Exactly what Kaneki needed at that moment. He whiled away a solid hour working on his concepts, outlining them all through a short story about a boy named Jun. He was about halfway through when the bell rang. Kaneki stood, his spine cracking slightly as he shifted from his acclimated position on the couch, stepping over to the doorway to buzz the intercom.


    "Hello?" He murmured, curious.


    "Hey there!" Replied an unfamiliar, voice enthusiastically, the small video screen flashing on and showing an androgynous, white haired youngster who looked to be of an age to Kaneki. "Nice ta meetcha, Kaneki! Mr Shinohara''s told me a lot about you!"


    Kaneki raised an eyebrow. This person knew Mr Shinohara? Not too surprising, the older man had said he''d be sending someone. Kaneki just hadn''t been expecting someone so... bubbly. "Uhh... hi," He replied automatically. "Are you the one on guard duty now?"


    "Yup!" The youngster replied, taking a step or two back from the camera to snap a flamboyant salute, a hand brushing up against what appeared to be a series of red stitches embedded in their forehead. "The name''s Juuzou Suzuya. We talked on the phone."


    Kaneki chuckled in spite of himself, the strangeness before him reconciling suddenly with his previous understandings. So this was Juuzou, then. Somewhere else in the back of his mind, Kaneki was finally able to place the newcomers gender. His look and his voice had left the matter ambiguous at best. "One sec," He said, smiling. "I''ll buzz you in."


    "Awesome!" The pale boy replied, lifting a small white plastic box to the camera. "Guess who brought MarioKart!"


    The line cut out just as Kaneki snorted with amusement. He liked this kid.

 Mariokart?

    Aogiri Tree:


    "Good to see you made it here in one piece, Doctor Kanou," the young woman''s voice said quietly, muffled by the many layers of bandages covering her from head to toe. "Am I to understand we have evaded detection thus far?"


    The elderly man smiled tiredly, giving the female figure a small nod.


    "It would seem so, miss Eto. While my practice may be compromised, it would appear that Aogiri Tree, at least, remains as well hidden as ever." He let out a small sigh, closing his eyes briefly and allowing himself to sag slightly in his seat on the small bed he had been provided. "It would seem, however, that our test subject has gone to the CCG. I do not relish having to start again from scratch like this."


    "Nor do we," the girl replied. "Jason and Black Rabbit have already been dispatched to retrieve him. They should be back to us soon." The petite figure stepped forward, placing a reassuring hand on the older man''s shoulder. "Rest assured, Doctor, your work has our full support. We will provide you with every resource you require to see it through, including mister Kaneki."


    Kanou smiled, letting himself fall gently back against the mattress.


    "Thank you, miss Eto," he murmured tiredly. "Now, if you don''t mind, I''ve had a very long few days getting all my material here so fast. I could use some sleep."


    "Of course, Doctor."


    The old man watched girl take her leave before he closed his eyes, gradually feeling himself drift off to sleep.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Kaneki:


    Kaneki stepped away from the intercom, chuckling quietly to himself as he stooped down and began to pack away his work material. He''d just finished stowing the bag away in his room once more when a knock on the door alerted him to Juuzou''s arrival. Kaneki smiled slightly, standing and making his way to the door. To be perfectly honest, he was looking forward to meeting this other kid.


    "Inspector, Suzuya," Kaneki began politely, pulling the door open. "It''s a pleasure to meet y-"


    The switchblade struck Kaneki''s face with an ungodly degree of speed, the blade only digging a milimetre or so into his flesh before catching and scraping along his cheek, drawing a thin trail of blood. Before Kaneki had time to react, the white haired boy was already inside the room, shutting the door behind himself with a foot as he drew the blade back for a second thrust.


    Kaneki let out a small yelp of surprise and pain as the smaller boy forced his way inside. Acting on instinct, he grasped Suzuya by the shoulders, pushing him away as hard as he could, intent only on keeping the boy away from him. The shove was somewhat more effective than Kaneki had expected, and Suzuya''s feet momentarily left the ground as his body was thrown backwards against the door. It didn''t end there as, with a crack of splintering wood, the door exploded out into the hallway, leaving the white haired boy laying sprawled in a pile of jagged splinters in the hallway.


    Suzuya didn''t stay down for long, lifting his head to look at Kaneki with a wide grin.


    "Wow, you''re way tougher than Mr Shinohara said you''d be. My knife was barely even able to cut you!"


    Kaneki stared at the other boy, stunned.


    "You... I... What?" He mumbled, uncomprehending.


    The pale boy ignored him, climbing to his feet and dusting himself off casually.


    "I guess that means you''ve transformed further since you turned yourself in yesterday. Maybe it has something to do with finally having a decent meal? Speaking of which, I have to know, what does person taste like?" As he spoke, the boy retrieved his switchblade from the floor, clipping it closed and slipping it easily into his pocket.


    Kaneki shook his head, comprehension slowly starting to dawn in his mind.


    "Wait... were you testing me just now?"


    "Yup!" The other boy grinned, stepping a few paces back into the hallway and retrieving a small white box that Kaneki realized belatedly was a Nintendo console. "Fastest way of seeing how fast you were progressing."


    Ken closed his eyes as he tried to absorb the reason for his most recent assault. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself after the sudden and significant burst of adrenaline. The moment he did so, he regretted it. Juuzou was bleeding. That was probably, he realized, from the boy''s impact against the door. That wouldn''t be too much of a problem on its own, he expected. The recent meal had done wonders to subdue his growing appetite and he liked to think he had enough self control to resist temptation. The only problem was that Juuzou''s blood, as it turned out, was also the single most delicious thing Kaneki had ever smelled. Kaneki felt himself begin to salivate, his body preparing for the taste.


    "Suzuya," Ken muttered quietly, backing away from the seductive smell as quickly as he dared, feeling his way blindly along the apartment wall. "I think it''d be best if you use my shower. Like, right now please." He heard the other boy snort in amusement.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "That''s kinda pervy, don''t you think, Kaneki? Why do you want me in your shower?"


    "Suzuya," Kaneki replied, his voice low as he continued to slowly back away, the distance making the smell just a little easier to deal with. "I only just turned. All these instincts are very new to me and, to be honest, your blood smells amazing. Can you go shower, please?" Kaneki slowly allowed one eye to open, gazing apprehensively at the other boy.


    Suzuya''s response came as a small giggle.


    "Aww, thank you!" He said brightly, setting the console down on the sofa and, in defiance of any possible rational thought, stepping towards Kaneki. "That''s nice of you to say!"


    Ken backed away instinctively, his retreat stymied when his back hit a wall.


    "No, seriously, Juuzou, I need you to stay away from me right now. I don''t know how much control I have right now an-"


    "Nah," the other boy cut him off casually. "Trust me, Kaneki, if you were about to lose control, you wouldn''t be asking me to back off, you''ve got plenty of control. Besides, I''ve always wanted to know," the boy stopped about half a foot in front of Kaneki. Juuzou reached between the buttons of his splinter covered shirt with a finger for a few moments before pulling it back out, now dripping with fresh blood. "How do I taste?" With that, the pale boy lifted the blood covered finger to Kaneki''s face, smearing the a streak of red across the taller boy''s lips.


    Kaneki didn''t move, not even to push Suzuya away. He didn''t trust himself enough in that moment to do anything but stare, wide eyed, at the deranged investigator. What was with this kid? Was he insane?


    For several long moments, neither boy moved.


    "Well?" Suzuya asked, folding his arms impatiently. "Come on! Tell me how I taste!"


    Kaneki shook his head mutely, the movement just a touch shaky. The blood was right under his nose and the the scent wafting off was intoxicating.


    The white haired boy groaned, his whole body slumping sideways against the wall as he gazed disapprovingly up at Kaneki.


    "Well, I''m not showering until you tell me, so there."


    Kaneki gulped, barely even allowing himself to breathe as he stared, terrified, at the smaller boy.


    "If I tell you," he breathed, trying his best to avoid inhaling the scent. "Do you promise to go shower right away?"


    Suzuya smiled, his lips parting ever so slightly to reveal surprisingly sharp looking teeth, and nodded.


    Slowly, his whole body tensed to restrain himself at a moments notice, Kaneki allowed his tongue to slide out between his teeth, catching the blood that lined his lip and stopping for a moment as he let out a small gasp, the flavor was intense, to say the least.


    "Well?" Suzuya asked, eyes wide and shining. "What''s it like?"


    Kaneki took a moment or two to absorb the sensation, suppressing the not unexpected urge to eat, before finally answering.


    "I... feel like Edward Cullen." He muttered, trying not to laugh at himself as he spoke.


    "What?" Suzuya asked, confused. "Who''s Edward Cullen?"


    "A vampire from a story," Kaneki replied, stepping to the side a few steps and pulling away from the other boy who, for his part, no longer pursued. "He meets this girl whose blood is so tasty that he has to hold himself back every second he''s near her. The only difference is, I''m pretty sure you could kill me if I tried."


    Suzuya, surprisingly, went a little red.


    "Do I really taste that good?" He asked, seeming almost embarrassed to ask. "Honestly?"


    "Well," Kaneki replied, his voice a little shaky. "It''s probably just that I need to get used to the new instincts a little better, but yeah, you taste amazing. Why do you care?"


    "Personal reasons," Suzuya said with a shrug. "You set up the Mario Kart, I''ll go take a shower. Thanks for telling me that, Kaneki!"


    With that, the boy moved, pushing himself away from the wall and walking off towards the open bathroom door, closing it behind himself.


    Kaneki stood against the wall, panting, the flavor of the blood still clinging to his tongue. He raised his eyes, staring after the boy as he departed.


    "What... the fuck?" He asked breathlessly of the empty room.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    J?u?u?z?o?u? ?S?u?z?u?y?a?/?R?e?i? ?S?u?z?u?y?a?/?T?h?e? ?s?e?c?o?n?d? ?r?e?a?p?e?r?/?T?h?e? ?b?o?y?/? Thunderkitten :3


    The white haired boy stepped into the shower fully clothed, heedless of the chill spray of water soaking him through in seconds. He never bothered letting the water come up to heat, the cold was a minor concern. He smiled slightly to himself as he began undoing the buttons of his shirt, remembering Kaneki''s compliment to his flavor. It wasn''t the first time a ghoul had tasted him. Mother had often used to drink what spilled when she hurt him, but she had always told him he tasted foul, her face twisting into unpleasant shapes every time she drank his blood. Every time he asked, she had hurt him more.


    Suzuya finished with the last of his buttons and, not wasting a moment, peeled the shirt off of himself, checking the damage to his chest by eye. There were a few shards of the door embedded in his flesh, one or two that might leave splinters. Suzuya shrugged, grasping hold of the largest of them and yanking it free, a fresh stream of blood seeping rapidly from the wound, before reaching into his pocket for his needle and thread so as to sew the wound closed.


    The boy raised a hand to the blood that flowed freely from his torso, wetting a finger with it and lifting it to his mouth. Salty.


    ''So,'' he thought. ''Mother lied, huh? I guess I really do taste good. That''s nice to know.''


    Suzuya returned to cleaning his wounds, his thoughts turning to a strange sort of melancholy as he stood under the icy water.

 Is Juuzou okay?

    Kaneki:


    Kaneki stared at the bathroom door for some time, unmoving. Then, with a mental effort, he shook himself, forcing his way through the sheer shock of the encounter. Pushing it from his mind as best he could, he moved to the television and, as Suzuya had requested, plugged the game console into his system. He shot the open doorway an anxious glance. His landlord was probably gonna kill him when he found out about the broken door. Once again, however, that was something that Kaneki could not currently help, and so he pushed it from his mind for the moment. His task completed, he stood, glancing over to the bathroom door where the faint sounds of humming could be heard over the gentle hiss of running water. Suzuya was a strange one, no doubt about that.


    More for something to do than anything else, Kaneki moved to the kitchen, pulling out a number of his cooking supplies and setting to work on preparing some food. From what Shinohara had said, he was pretty sure Suzuya didn''t tend to eat much, and it wasn''t as if Kaneki could eat any of this stuff himself anymore. He flicked the switch on the stove top with a sigh, and began to cook.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Suzuya:


    The boy stepped out of the shower and stretched, his muscles springing and snapping slightly as he pulled them taut. He searched the small bathroom for a few minutes, eventually finding a fresh, fluffy white towel, and wrapping it loosely around his waist to cover himself. He stooped slightly, taking his knees in his hands and using the leverage to shake himself like a dog, his hair flinging a spray of water throughout the otherwise pristine looking room.


    A faint smell wafted beneath the doorway, catching the boy''s attention. He raised his head, heading for the door and prying it open silently. He stuck his head outside, glancing around. The smell was stronger now. The smell of eggs and meat and frying things, enough to make his mouth water. Suzuya glanced from side to side, trying to find the source. The smell was stronger to his left. Suzuya grinned, stepping back out into the main room of the apartment on the tips of his toes. As he rounded the corner separating the small living room from the even smaller kitchen, he caught sight of Kaneki, pottering around with a frying pan that was apparently the source of the mouthwatering aroma. Kaneki had his back turned to Suzuya. He probably hadn''t noticed him. An evil little idea crossed the pale boy''s mind and he began to move forward slowly, making nary a single sound.


    Suzuya advanced on the unsuspecting boy, tying the towel around his waist in a knot so as to free up his hands to cover the eyes with. Four steps away, three steps away. Suzuya reached out his hands, fingers splayed as he coiled to pounce.


    "You know I can smell you there, right?" Kaneki asked, using a spatula to flip some unnameable little delicacy onto its other side in the pan.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Kaneki:


    "Awww! No fair!" Suzuya moaned, his shoulders slumping slightly in disappointment. "I wanted to surprise you!"


    Kaneki let out a small chuckle, shaking his head and turning to face the other boy.


    "Trust me, Suzuya, you''ve already surprised me plenty toda- ... why are you naked?"


    "I''m not naked," the pale boy replied, cocking an eyebrow. "I''m wearing a towel, see?" He pointed to the fluffy bundle fastened securely around his waist. Now that Kaneki had the chance to look, it became obvious that Suzuya was trembling slightly, his body shaking from head to toe.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "Jesus, Suzuya," Kaneki muttered, placing the pan back down on the stove and turning it off before setting off at a jog for his bedroom. "You''re shivering. Did you not know how to use the hot water?"


    "I don''t mind the cold," Suzuya replied brightly, his teeth chattering just a little as he spoke. "Hey, what are these? Can I have some?"


    "What?" Kaneki asked, rifling through a small set of drawers beside his bed before returning to the kitchen, a bundle of mismatched clothing bunched together in his arms. "Here, put these on, you''ll catch a cold going around like that, okay?" He stopped speaking when he saw that Juuzou was paying him practically no attention, eyes apparently fixed on the stuffed omelettes still sizzling slightly in the frying pan. "Oh," he muttered. "Those. Well, yeah, you can have some. I made them for you, after all, but you need to get dressed first."


    Hearing this, Suzuya grinned, his eyes going wide and surprisingly glittery.


    "Deal!" He hooted, turning and grabbing the assorted bundle out of Kaneki''s arms, before immediately moving to unfasten the towel around his waist and letting it fall to the floor with a soft sound.


    "H-hey!" Kaneki shouted, covering his eyes. "I meant you should get dressed somewhere else!"


    The other boy let out a lighthearted little chuckle.


    "What''s the problem, Kaneki? Afraid you''ll see something you like?"


    "I- What?" Ken asked, utterly back-footed. "No! That''s not the point! You''re not supposed to just get naked in someone else''s kitchen! It''s... I don''t even know what that is!"


    "Yup!" Suzuya replied, his voice taking on a musical, teasing quality. "That''s totally what it is! Don''t lie, Kaneki. I know you think I''m sexy. I''m dressed now, by the way."


    "For the love of all that is holy, Suzuya," Kaneki replied frustratedly, uncovering his eyes. "Are you clinically insane?"


    "Nope," the white haired boy replied with a grin. "Just borderline. And you can trust that diagnosis cuz I get a new one from my therapist every week! You have weird clothes, you know that?." He gestured to the loose grey hoodie and track pants that Kaneki had supplied him with, before shifting slightly against the fabric. "Comfy, though."


    "Okay, first up," Kaneki started, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut. "It''s good to hear you have a therapist. Secondly, sorry, those are the only clothes I had that were small enough to fit you." Once he had managed to restore what felt like a decent amount of his composure, Kaneki opened his eyes just in time to see Suzuya reaching a hand out to grab one of the omelettes from the pan, still sizzling away in a layer of boiling oil. Kaneki began to reach out to stop him, too late. Suzuya withdrew his hand from the hot surface, wincing. "... Would you like me to get you a plate?" He asked, managing for the most part to keep his voice free of sarcasm.


    "Why''s it hot?" Suzuya asked, curious, a small ice-pack pressed to his burned hand as he watched the other boy potter around the kitchen preparing his food. "I''d have thought it''d be eating temperature. You know, like most food is."


    At this point, Kaneki had made a decision. Suzuya was clearly an oddity, so he would do his very best to take the boy''s actions at face value, if at all possible. Even so, the question struck him as rather strange.


    "... Have you seriously never cooked food before?" He asked, glancing up at the strange boy.


    "I used to cook for my mom and her friends all the time," Suzuya replied with a shrug. "But I never really had to do anything besides cutting up the meat."


    "Well," Ken pressed on. "Usually, when you''re cooking, you need to get the food really hot to kill off germs before you let it cool down enough to eat it." After a few moments of searching, he found a pair of tongs, and began ladling the investigator''s food out onto a plate, which he handed to the other boy. Suzuya wasted no time, producing a small combat knife from somewhere on his person that, to Kaneki''s dismay, appeared to be a completely separate weapon to the one he''d used before to attack him with. Suzuya began to dig the blade into the side of the omelette. "Umm," Ken muttered. "You... know I have cutlery, right?" Suzuya ignored him, prying a chunk of the food free from the main body of the omelette and scooping it into his mouth in a single, quick motion.


    "Ow, hot, hot!" the boy mumbled, shifting the food around in his mouth and breathing through it loudly until it was cool enough to swallow. He gave a little sigh of relief, before turning back to Kaneki with a grin. "Wow, Kaneki. It''s really tasty!"


    In spite of himself, Ken chuckled, smiling a little in return.


    "Well, I''m glad you like it," he murmured. "Come on, let''s play some MarioKart."

 Whats going on here?

    Touka:


    "You sure this is the place?" Touka whispered to the boy as they crept along. "You sure we didn''t go up one floor too many?"


    "No," Hide murmured back, equally quiet. "This is definitely the place."


    "Then can you please explain why the front door''s exploded and the floor outside has blood on it?"


    "Couldn''t tell you," Hideyoshi replied, glancing at the girl with a shrug. "That''s not even the weird part, though. Can you hear that?"


    Touka craned her neck, her attention turned towards the faint sounds emanating from the open doorway.


    "Is that... Is someone in there playing MarioKart?"


    "Yup," Hide affirmed with a nod. "And that''s the weird thing. Kaneki doesn''t have a nintendo."


    Touka stopped, turning her best scowl on the orange haired boy.


    "Are you even gonna try taking this seriously?" She asked in a furious whisper. "Your friend could be in trouble and you''re talking about Nintendo!"


    "No, seriously," the boy replied, his tone completely level. "Kaneki doesn''t have a Nintendo, he has no friends who come to his place besides me, and he hasn''t had a chance to go shopping since I last saw him. So the question is, who''s in there playing MarioKart? If they''re the one who destroyed the door, then we could be like, ten meters away from someone very dangerous."


    Touka considered this for a moment, before begrudgingly admitting to herself that he had a point.


    "Stay here," she muttered, motioning the boy backwards. "I''m gonna go take a look."


    Hide opened his mouth to object, but Touka ignored him, creeping up to the hallway wall and pressing herself against it, before beginning to slowly sidle her way down towards the ruined doorway. Hide scowled, then followed suit.


    After a few moments, she was right beside the opening, the casual murmur of conversation echoed from inside, but Touka''s heart was beating just a little too fast to hear it. Whoever was in here, it was someone connected with Kaneki, and that boy still didn''t make a lick of sense. Touka reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, opening the camera app before poking it around the edge of the shattered door to peek inside. Two boys sat together on a small couch. One perched on the other''s lap. One of the boys, Touka recognized as Kaneki. The one sitting on his lap, an androgynous youth in baggy running gear, she did not. So Kaneki was safe, then? Confused, Touka began to withdraw her phone, before a small combat knife shot through the air like a dart, spearing the gadget out of her hand and pinning it to the opposite wall of the corridor, drawing a sharp line of pain across Touka''s finger as it passed.


    Touka let out a little yelp of surprise before covering her mouth with her hands to cut herself off.


    "See that?" Came a voice from inside. "See how well I''m guarding you?"


    "What... the fuck?" She whispered, her already healing finger pressed to her mouth. That knife had cut her. How had that knife cut her?This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "H-hey! I never said you weren''t guarding me well!" Kaneki''s voice replied, aghast. "Did you just throw a knife at someone!?"


    "Whoever''s out there," came the first voice, apparently ignoring Kaneki completely. "Show yourself before I start throwing more things."


    Touka stood still, rooted to the spot, utterly unsure of what to do next. The question was rendered moot when Hide took the initiative, stepping past her into the doorway.


    "Hey, Kaneki," he called out, arms raised by his side. "New friend of yours?"


    "Yup," The white haired stranger replied promptly. "We''re besties now! Who''re you?"


    "Hideyoshi Nagachika," Hide responded, eyeing the newcomer apprehensively. "Why are you sitting on his lap?"


    "He refused to sit anywhere else," came Kaneki''s voice, sounding slightly pained.


    "I was cold!" The pale boy protested. "And your body''s really warm and snuggly!"


    "Oh, you were cold, were you?" Kaneki replied, his tone heavy with sarcasm. "I wonder why that is."


    "Shut up," said the stranger playfully. "You know you like it."


    Cautiously, Touka stepped around the corner, waiting for her cut finger to heal and licking the wound clean first. Cautiously, she moved to the phone still pinned to the wall and grabbed the combat knife by the handle, yanking it free. She wiped the blade free of her blood before turning to face the others.


    "Who the fuck stabbed my phone?" She asked, trying to inject a note of rage into her tone in contrast to the confused shock that currently filled her mind.


    "You stabbed her phone?!" Kaneki asked, turning to his companion with an appalled look. "Suzuya, that''s not how we greet people!"


    "She was using it to peek on us," replied the one named Suzuya, his tone turning slightly sulky. "It was sneaky."


    "She was sneaking around a public corridor, Juuzou!" Kaneki replied angrily. "Probably trying to figure out why the doorway was such a mess. That''s no reason to stab her things! Apologize to her," he pointed at Touka. "Now."


    "What?" The white haired boy objected, his voice taking on a surprisingly high pitch. "Why!? I didn''t do anything bad!"


    "You broke her stuff, Juuzou," Kaneki responded, folding his arms. "Apologize or I won''t make you any food next time."


    There were a few moments of tense silence, the newcomers gazing bemusedly at the two boys, locked in a silent battle of wills as they stared one another down. Eventually, Suzuya relented.


    "... Sorry I broke your phone." He mumbled, lowering his head towards Touka and crossing his arms around his chest. "I promise I won''t do it again."


    Touka didn''t answer. She was too perplexed by this strange duo.


    "Uhh..." Hide asked quietly. "How long did you say you''ve known each other?"


    "About two hours," Kaneki replied tiredly. "Why?"


    "Uhh..." Hide tried, seeming to struggle slightly with his words. "No reason, I guess. Anyways... I uhhh... This is Touka," he gestured weakly towards Touka as he spoke. "You know, from Anteiku?"


    "Yeah," Kaneki replied with a small smile. "I remember. The girl you keep trying to hit on, righ-"


    "Yeah, anyway!" Hide cut him off, raising his voice slightly. "She heard about your accident and wanted to come make sure you''re okay."


    Kaneki and the Suzuya boy both turned their heads to look at Touka. She flushed, trying to think of something to say to break the silence, before eventually settling on:


    "Uhh... hi. Good to see you''re okay, Kaneki." She raised a hand in an awkward sort of half wave. Touka gave herself a mental shake. This was just too surreal. Operation observe Kaneki was off to a bad start.


    "Soo..." The white haired boy broke the silence after a moment. "... You guys wanna play some games with us?"


    Touka stared at him for a moment, then shrugged.


    "Sure, I guess. Only if I get to play Bowser, though."


    "Kay, that''s cool," Suzuya replied amicably. "I''m always Peach, anyway."


    "What?" Hide complained, ambling over to the couch and plomping himself down, "But I wanted to play Bowser."


    "Yeah?" Kaneki shrugged. "Well, I wanted to be Peach, so suck it up."


    "Are you still sour about that?" Suzuya laughed, letting out a giggly little yelp as Kaneki jabbed at his side with his fingers.


    "I am not, and never was sour about that, Suzuy-"


    Kaneki''s response was cut short, as is often the case, when the wall behind the television exploded, showering the apartment with rubble and bits of detritus. Where once had been Kaneki''s inexpensive, yet handily reliable old television, there now stood a tall, broad man in a cream suit, brushing dust from his white blond hair.


    "Right then," he murmured, gazing at the four youths clustered on the couch. "Which one of you is Ken Kaneki?"

 How strong are ghouls?

    Kaneki:


    "You broke my Nintendo."


    Kaneki glanced down from the stranger to the boy still perched in his lap. Suzuya was shaking, whether from rage or excitement, it was hard to tell.


    "Your Nintendo?" The tall man asked, pointing to the shattered console, his gaze turning to Suzuya. "So this is your place. You must be Kaneki, then. You''re coming with me. I can already tell we''re gonna be good friends."


    "You two," Suzuya spoke to Touka and Hide, his tone growing more and more excited by the second. "I''m gonna need you guys to run away from here as fast as you can, okay? And hot stuff," he poked Ken in the side. "I''m gonna need you to hold this guy off for as long as you can, kay?"


    Kaneki glanced briefly at Hide, then at Touka beyond him, and nodded uncertainly. Whoever this guy was, he was certainly strong, and by his smell alone, Kaneki could tell he was not to be messed with, but there were very few other options.


    "How long do you need?" He asked, his voice quavering just a little.


    "About three seconds," Juuzou answered.


    "Oh," the newcomer murmured, his lips pulling into a wide grin. "You''re running? That''s wonderful. I love it when they r-"


    "Now!" Suzuya yelled, pushing off of Ken''s lap with a speed that was nothing short of astounding and darting towards, of all places, the bathroom.


    Quick as a flash, the stranger made his pursuit, crossing the room in a movement half way between a leap and a run. Kaneki moved to interpose himself between the two, only to be batted aside with all the force of a run away freight train. He felt his body strike the opposite wall, the plaster cracking beneath the impact. To say it didn''t hurt would be a flat lie, but it was nothing compared to the pain of being eaten alive. He pushed himself off the wall with a grunt, glancing around.


    His eyes found Touka and Hide just as the latter made it to the hole through which the taller man had made his entrance. That was good, the primary goal was complete. Hide and Touka were safe.


    Suzuya, on the other hand, was in trouble. He''d made it to the bathroom untouched, slamming the door closed behind him, but the large man was only a short way behind him, and the bathroom had no exits. With a sound halfway between a groan and a scream, Kaneki launched himself once more at the unknown ghoul, just as said ghoul grabbed hold of the bathroom doorway and quite simply wrenched it out of the wall. The teen collided with the larger man''s midsection, wrapping his arms around him and heaving with all his might. With what felt like a herculean effort, he lifted the larger man off his feet and swung him around, throwing him across the room.


    The large man laughed, twisting in the air and landing on his feet with surprising grace, the uprooted doorway falling to his side, forgotten.


    "So you survived my first hit, huh? That''s funny. You don''t smell like a ghoul, but no human could last that lon- Ohhh," he chuckled. "So you''re Kaneki, huh? Nice to meet you, kid."


    Kaneki didn''t respond, shifting his body to block the bathroom door, a grim determination filling his mind.


    "Wow, Kaneki," Suzuya murmured from behind him as he began maneuvering his slim form around the barrier he posed. "You held him off for seven whole seconds. I''m kind of impressed. Good job."


    "Why did I need to hold him off at all?" Ken asked, wincing through what he thought might be a cracked rib.


    "Forgot my jacket," Suzuya replied, gesturing to the garment now slung over the top of his loose fitting hoodie. Quite abruptly, the stranger lunged, only to be stopped short when a small blade embedded itself deep into his shoulder. "Can''t fight without my Jacket," Suzuya continued as though there had been no interruption. "It''s where I keep my knives. Most of em, anyways."


    "Kid, I like you," the stranger chuckled. "Which is just gonna make this so much more fun. Time to die."


    Upsettingly, Suzuya grinned.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Hide:


    Making it out into the hallway, the two teenagers ran like their lives depended on it. Along the hallway, down countless sets of stairs, and finally out into the main street. They didn''t stop there. Touka banking a sharp left and taking the lead as Hide hurried to follow. The two ran in silence for a good few minutes, coming to a halt in a thin alleyway nestled between two large apartment buildings, when Touka held up a hand for him to stop.


    "Here, take this," she muttered, pulling a small knife from her pocket and handing it to him. "That weird kid stabbed my phone with this. It''s probably better than nothing if there''re more of those guys."


    Hide nodded, grasping the blade with a short word of thanks, and slipping it into his pocket.


    "Now, can I borrow your phone? I wanna call someone and let them know what''s going on, okay?"The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "Uhh, yeah, sure," Hide muttered, fumbling with his phone, before handing it over.


    "Thanks," Touka muttered, grasping it and beginning to type in a number. "I just need to-"


    "Just need to what, sis?" Called a voice from behind the pair. Hide swung around instinctively, his nerves rubbed raw by the last few minutes. The speaker was a young man, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, if Hide were to judge by his height, with dark blue hair of a color with Touka''s. "And who''re you calling? If I were you, I''d just let this whole thing be, okay? You''re dangerously close to getting in my way."


    "Ayato," Touka growled. "So this is Aogiri, huh? What do you guys want with Kaneki?"


    Hide glanced between the two, utterly perplexed.


    "Umm," he murmured. "So... you have a brother, Touka?"


    "Hide," Touka spoke, her voice dangerously quiet. "I''m gonna need you to shut up for a bit and get behind me. This guy''s dangerous."


    "Touka," Ayato responded, his own voice sinking to match his sister''s. "You don''t want to fight me right now, trust me on that. I am angry enough that Jason let people get away again, and I don''t want to take it out on my precious big sis. Why don''t you just help me kill this witness, and then we can never speak of this again." He gestured towards Hide, taking a step forward. Touka grabbed Hide by the shoulder, jerking him back onto his hindquarters and stepping in to block her brother''s path.


    "Start running, Hide," she murmured. "I can''t protect you and fight him at the same time."


    Hide stared at her, his mind spinning wildly as it tried to figure out what was going on.


    "What''s the point?" Ayato asked, taking another step forwards. "If you refuse to fight me, he dies. If you fight me and lose, he dies. And if, by some miracle, you manage to beat me? Then, Touka, you''ll just have to kill him yourself. You know why? Hey," he turned to Hide, jerking a thumb towards himself. "I''m a ghoul, and so''s Touka here." He turned back to his sister. "See? He has to die now."


    "Oh," Hide mumbled, feeling a hollowness sinking into his chest. "So that''s what''s going on here, huh?" So this was what it felt like to know you were going to die.


    "He''s lying," Touka growled, desperate. "We''re not brother and sister, and I am not a ghou-"


    Ayato''s fist caught her around the jaw, knocking her stumbling back past Hide.


    "You will never deny who you are in front of me again," Ayato said icily. "Do you understand me, Touka? You can pathetically play at being human all you like, but pretend you aren''t my sister again and I''ll throttle you."


    The girl dragged herself shakily to her feet, glaring coldly at her brother all the while. Her only response was to spit blood at his feet.


    Ayato moved so fast that Hide didn''t even see the transition, grabbing Touka by the throat and slamming her against the alleyway wall.


    "See, Touka?" He growled. "This is just pathetic. You used to be as strong as me, stronger even. But now you can''t even defend yourself, and why? Because you refuse to stop choking down that disgusting bile your human ''friends'' make you eat!" As he spoke, a lump began to bulge out beneath his shoulder blade, tearing through the fabric of his jacket to reveal a pulsing, wing-like appendage, its form seemingly caught between raging fire and jagged glass. It shifted, the tip coming to a stop less than half an inch from Touka''s eye.


    Touka, for her part, was fighting, albeit weakly, her hands scrabbling at the one holding her throat. She managed to push him away for the briefest of moments, taking a gasping breath, before he once more slammed her against the wall. His free hand punched her in the gut and she let out a sound half way between a groan and a gurgle.


    "How can I make you understand that this is ridiculous, Touka?" Ayato yelled, striking her again and again, everywhere he could reach. "How can I show you how weak you are now, huh? When will you let me have my sister back?!"


    Touka moved her mouth, but no sound escaped, her throat blocked by Ayato''s hand. For a moment, his expression softened, and he loosened his grip.


    "What?" He asked quietly. "What can I do, Touka? How can I fix you?"


    Touka let in a breath, gagging and spluttering as it caught in bruised lungs and shifted on broken ribs. Eventually, she managed to hold it in long enough to speak.


    "G-go fuck yourself, Ayato."


    Immediately, the softness left the boy''s face, replaced by rage. He once more tightened his grip, opening his mouth to retort. Whatever he had been about to say was cut short when Hide drew the blade of the knife across the backs of his legs, cutting deep enough to sever his hamstrings. He let out a high pitched scream of pain, and dropped to the floor, his legs no longer able to support him. He landed on his back, the pulsing, winglike thing moving jerkily to counter, before Touka''s foot caught him in the face, sending him sprawling along the concrete floor. He pushed himself up on his hands, growling madly, and sent a spray of what seemed like shards of glass at the pair of them.


    Touka shoved Hide to the side, grunting in pain as a number of the shards caught her torso, before turning an icy glare on her brother. In a single moment, a wing, almost identical to Ayato''s, sprang from her back, arching around her towards her brother. She gazed balefully down at him.


    Ayato, quite sensibly, gulped.


    "Uhh, sis, let''s be reasonable here, okay? I-I admit I was a little harsh when I said you were weak, but you know this kid has to d-"


    She cut him off with a hail of shards which, deprived of his legs, Ayato had no means to dodge. He wailed for a moment under the deluge of cutting barbs, then went quiet.


    Hide pulled himself to his feet. He wished he had some wicked one liner, something cool to impress the cute girl with, but all he managed was:


    "Wow... your brother''s an asshole, huh?"


    Touka didn''t respond at once, her body sagging sideways against the alleyway wall.


    "Yeah," she sighed, letting herself sink to the floor. "Yeah, he is."


    "Is, uhh... Is he gonna be okay?" Hide asked.


    "Yeah, I didn''t kill him," she replied. "You okay?"


    "I think so," Hide swallowed. "And uhh... are you... are you gonna kill me?"


    Touka chuckled, a sound cut short by a fit of ragged coughs.


    "I can''t even stand right now, buddy," she muttered. "Ball''s in your court."


    Hide gazed down at her, a thousand different thoughts running through his mind. He shook his head and brought a hand to his eyes, allowing himself a groan at the complexity that had become his life.


    "Well, is there somewhere I should take you to recover?" He asked after a minute or so. "Somewhere safe?"


    No response. Hide glanced down at the girl. Her eyes were closed, her breathing steady and slow. Unconscious.


    "Well," he muttered. "Shit."


    Lacking anything else to do, Hide retrieved his phone, moving to pocket it before catching a glimpse of the number dialed in. Touka had still had two digits to go before Ayato had interrupted them, but nonetheless, Hide recognized the number. He''d seen it before on Anteiku''s business cards. He pocketed his phone with a sigh.


    "Well, I''m fucked if I just leave a cute girl like you here for that psychopath''s friends to pick up." He gestured to Ayato''s unconscious form. "Guess I''d better take you home."


    With that, he knelt down, hoisted the unconscious girl''s arms around his neck, and stood, making his way slowly towards the coffee shop.

 How strong are humans?

    Suzuya:


    The new toy was fast; surprisingly so, given his bulk, and strong enough that Suzuya knew a single solid hit would be all that was needed to end his life. That said, he was still faster than his foe, and he wasn''t planning on making it easy to land that single necessary hit. He stepped forward, driving a knife into the meat of the big ghoul''s thigh, then placed his foot against the hilt of it, kicking off to both force the blade in further, and take him out of reach of the man''s retaliatory swipe. The boy cartwheeled through the air, dodging the attack by a hair''s breadth, and came to rest on the couch, recently overturned, although he wasn''t quite sure when. He bounced slightly on the balls of his feet, taking a moment to retrieve another knife. The foe was grinning. Perfectly understandable, Suzuya was grinning too. It was the natural reaction when you were doing something this fun.


    Chancing a glance behind himself, Suzuya saw Kaneki, still standing in the bathroom doorway, gazing between the two of them. Probably for the best. Suzuya wasn''t entirely sure he wouldn''t just get himself killed if he tried to intervene. He returned his attention to the intruder, just in time, as the blond man planted his foot against the side of the couch and pushed, sliding it back with Juuzou still atop it. He wobbled slightly, losing his balance for just a moment, and trying as best he could to avoid the man''s follow up strike. To his credit, Juuzou did manage to evade most of the blow, and instead of punching a hole straight through him, the attackers fist only tore a long, shallow wound in his side. The boy winced, momentarily distracted by the pain, before training and experience once more overcame base instinct, and he returned his attention to the fight. He crouched, dropping off the couch and keeping low to the ground, a knife in each hand, wary.


    The stranger saw the momentary look of pain, and giggled, a surprisingly high pitched noise coming from such a large man.


    "Try counting backwards from a thousand by sevens," he advised, his tone almost giddy. "I hear it helps keep you focused."


    Suzuya laughed, and nodded.


    "Kay, I''ll give it a try!" He shifted around, maneuvering around the blond man, trying to direct his attention away from Kaneki. Best to try and give the guy a way out of this before the fight escalated further. "Nine hundred ninety three, nine hundred eighty six."


    It worked, for the most part. The attacker turned, his attention turning towards Suzuya and leaving him, at least for the moment, blind to the other boy. He charged, both arms extended, and the boy ducked away, placing a long gash along one broad wrist for the larger man''s troubles. The ghoul swiped out at him with a leg, and again, Suzuya dodged by mere inches. The man took a deep breath through his nose, and let out another manic chuckle.


    "Wow there, don''t you smell delicious," he murmured, his fingers clenching and unclenching on themselves reflexively. "Makes me wanna take a bite."


    Suzuya''s grin widened.


    "Sorry," He replied, backing away quickly for distance. "I only let people I like taste me." In his peripheral vision, Suzuya could see Kaneki moving behind the assailant. Not towards the exit, aggravatingly, but towards the kitchen. Suzuya rolled his eyes. Of course the civilian wasn''t going to take the exit Suzuya was giving him. Why would he ever do something smart like that? "Nine hundred seventy nine." The numbers helped. Not so much to cope with the pain, that didn''t bother Suzuya much, but they seemed to help keep the attacker''s attention focused on him, and away from Kaneki. Every time he said a new one, the man''s face contorted slightly with what Suzuya had to assume was pleasure, his breathing speeding up ever so slightly. Tunnel vision, hopefully.


    It was then, unfortunately, that Juuzou messed up. The ghoul rushed forwards for another swing, and the boy moved to dodge, when his foot caught on some small object that lay on the floor, and he tripped. The fist caught him around the waist, the force only reduced a little by his change in angle and his motion away from it, and he felt something pull loose. His body hit the floor with a thud, and Suzuya let out a frustrated little groan. In some forgotten corner of his mind, Suzuya knew it hurt, knew that he was probably dead, but that didn''t matter, there were other things occupying his mind at that moment, like how the world was beginning to fade and swirl around him. Blood loss? Already? No. He was sure he hadn''t been injured that badly. He glanced down at his injuries. Sure enough, the light gash along his side was not near bad enough to be causing this. The fresh wound on his upper thigh, on the other hand, was a different story. The cut was deep, the flesh broken and mashed where the ghoul''s fist had caught it, and it practically flowed with fresh blood. Well, that''s not good.


    Feeling somewhat sluggish, Juuzou turned his face towards the blond man, who, for his part, took a step forwards, standing over him with a wide grin.


    "Time to count some more, little buddy," the man said, not unkindly, and began reaching out with a hand, before a glass bottle struck him on the side of the face and exploded over him, the contents of it splashing both him and Suzuya. The boy felt the pain intensify where the liquid met his wounds. Both Juuzou and the assailant turned towards the kitchen as one. Kaneki stood there, expression determined, utterly doomed. "On second thought," the ghoul grinned. "Hold on for a sec. Something even more fun just came up."


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Kaneki:


    He had just enough time to raise his fists in front of himself, before the blond man struck him, charging into Kaneki in a full rugby tackle that bore him hard into the kitchen cabinets. He felt them break beneath him as the gargantuan man bore him onwards, driving the air from his lungs until, finally, his back met a surface that refused to give. The boy felt his ribs crunch agonizingly under the force of the attack. He would have screamed, but he lacked the oxygen with which to do so. Instead, he doubled over, his body curling reflexively into itself, around the attacker''s shoulders, letting out a pathetic wheeze.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    The ghoul did not let up in the slightest, turning his face towards the boy''s so that they were nose to nose, still forcing him bodily against the wall.


    "Good of you to join in," he laughed. "Two is always way more fun than one at a time! I tell you what. Cuz you''ve been such a good kid about this, I''ll let you decide which hand I''m gonna tear off first."


    Kaneki let his face fall, trying as best he could to emulate defeat. The pain in his chest was sharp, and it kept him focused, at least for the moment, on what he needed to do. He moved his lips, mouthing the word rather than speaking aloud in his crushed, air deprived state.


    "Left," he said, silently.


    "Left it is!" The ghoul replied, with a degree of enthusiasm Kaneki had yet to experience in any aspect of his life. Kaneki felt a hand find his wrist, and the man raised the boy''s arm between them. Kaneki tried to pull away by instinct, and in his weakened state, he may as well have been fighting god himself. "Now then, watch closely, okay?"


    Mutely, Kaneki nodded, a weight falling into his stomach. With his right hand, however, the boy groped along the counter beneath him, searching desperately for a single object that may, just maybe, be enough to save him.


    He tried not to be distracted from his goal when the ghoul opened his mouth, took the smallest finger of Kaneki''s hand inside it, and bit down. Perhaps it was an act of mercy, or perhaps it was sadism, but the man let up the pressure on the boy''s lungs as he bit off the finger, allowing him just enough air for a ragged scream. Through it all, Kaneki''s hand continued to search.


    The attacker took his thumb next, and Kaneki nearly blacked out from the pain. His hand continued searching. Just as the man took his middle finger, Kaneki finally found what he was searching for.


    "Count backwards for me, would you?" The ghoul smiled, swallowing the finger whole. "From a thousand? By sevens?" He lowered his face towards one of the boy''s two remaining fingers, and opened his mouth, when a fresh blade caught him in the back. He grunted, more from the interruption than from the pain of it, really, and turned his face towards Suzuya, still laying prone on the floor, fumbling weakly in his jacket for another knife. "You''ll get your turn, little buddy, don''t worry." He turned his face back towards Kaneki, just in time for the dark haired boy to flick the switch on the lighter clutched in his right hand. The flame caught on the blond man''s sleeve, not normally particularly flammable, but the litre and a half of vodka currently soaking the larger man''s upper torso probably helped somewhat in that regard. For the first time in his life, Kaneki found himself feeling grateful that he wasn''t that much of a partier, and that the vodka bottle had been nearly full, despite Hide having given it to him over a year ago. The flames caught and clung to the large man''s skin, and he reeled back instinctively, swatting at his arm. The flames spread, and soon the ghoul''s shoulders, neck and head were all aflame. He howled in pain, tearing the suit jacket from his frame and beating it against his head in an attempt to smother the flame.


    "You little shit!"


    Kaneki might have grinned, had he had the energy. As it was, however, it was all he could do pull himself upright, his eyes fixed on the burning man. He knew he was still more than likely to die. The flames weren''t likely to kill the ghoul, and he doubted he could manage much more than a slow hobble in escape, but at least he''d done something. At least Hide and Touka had gotten away. He was willing to accept that, he thought.


    It seemed Suzuya, on the other hand, was less willing to accept it. The boy was standing again, holding his body upright against the side of the overturned couch, and using it to hobble, virtually one legged towards their momentarily blinded foe. The boy had a knife in his free hand, another in the one that gripped the couch, and he had a determined look in his eyes.


    The ghoul finally managed to pat out the flames around his eyes, pulling the jacket away from his face just in time to watch Suzuya plunge the blades into his chest.


    The ghoul reeled, his back colliding forcefully against Kaneki''s bedroom wall, staring at the white haired boy aghast, his mouth open in some semblance of surprise.


    "Hey," the boy mumbled, his face turning towards the larger man''s, his body swaying slightly where it sat, leaned against the couch. "Can I ask something? What''s it feel like, getting stabbed in the lungs? I''ve always wanted to know." Before he''d even finished speaking, Suzuya was falling, his body sliding off the sofa and collapsing against the carpet with a light thud. In the distance, Kaneki heard something. The stamping of feet, the wailing of sirens. Reinforcements? They were close.


    ''Well, waddya know?'' He thought absently to himself. ''I guess we do get to survive after all.''


    It seemed the blond man noticed them too, turning his gaze momentarily away from the two blades embedded in his chest. Then, with what looked like a surprising amount of effort, the man pushed himself off of the wall, lumbering oddly towards Kaneki''s apartment window. He spared Juuzou another, slightly confused glance, before pushing himself through it, no doubt tumbling down towards the pavement three stories below.


    Neither boy spoke as the stamping sounds grew louder, a team of men in body armor rushing through the hole in the wall and fanning out, two of them leveling their guns towards Kaneki, the others moving to search the apartment. Kaneki would have objected, but he lacked the energy. A few, barely audible words from Suzuya were enough to direct their attentions elsewhere, once assured he was not the source of the threat.


    The response team began to break away, presumably moving on to their pursuit of the fleeing ghoul, leaving behind a field medic, who began tending to the worst of Suzuya''s wounds. Kaneki found himself sitting slumped opposite the white haired boy, gazing at the floor.


    "So," he murmured eventually, breaking the silence. "Were you flirting with me for real before, or just trying to make me uncomfortable?"


    "... Bit of both, I guess." Suzuya replied, the words taking quite a long time to find their way sluggishly out of his mouth. "Why? Gonna finally ask me to stop?"


    Kaneki chuckled, then regretted it, his ribs protesting at the sudden movements of his lungs.


    "Ow," he grunted. "No, actually. I was just wondering if you might like to go out some time."


    Head pressed against the floor, skin even paler now for the extreme loss of blood, the white haired boy chuckled.


    "Sure, sounds like fun."

 What is Anteiku?

    Hide:


    It was about halfway back to Anteiku that Hide realized just how bad of an idea it would be to walk in during business hours carrying a bloodied girl on his back. He leaned himself against an alleyway wall, resting Touka against it as gently as he could, and dug in his pocket for his phone. He typed in the numbers and made the call. The phone rang for a few seconds, before, with a small click, a voice sounded on the other end.


    "Hello, you''ve reached Anteiku cafe, would you like to place a pick up order?" The voice was a female, the tone polite, yet Hide couldn''t help but feel a sense of dread upon hearing it.


    "Uhh," he started awkwardly. "This uhh... this is, umm... a friend of Touka''s... She got into a fight. She''s pretty badly hurt."


    There was a moments hesitation at the other end of the line before, eventually: "How bad?"


    Hide took a moment, then opted for honesty.


    "She''s unconscious and I''m carrying her on my back because even though we beat the dude who did it, his friends are probably coming soon and I wanted to get her far away."


    There was silence on the other end of the line, stretching long enough that Hide checked just to make sure he hadn''t been disconnected, before a man''s voice asked: "Did you see who did this to her?"


    Hide recognized the man''s voice; the elderly manager. Hide liked the old guy. He made good food.


    "He said he was her brother," he admitted, before pushing onwards. "Look, some stuff went down, and I wanna stay out of the way, but it felt wrong leaving her there with him. So where should I take her?"


    Hide heard the old man sigh on the other end.


    "We''ll clear the shop. You can bring her there."


    Hide swallowed.


    "Uhh... I kinda don''t wanna do that."


    "... Why not?"


    Hide was quiet for a few long seconds, contemplating the problem at hand. Touka had tried to call Anteiku when the ghouls attacked, so it was a fair bet that they were already aware of what she was. Hide nodded to himself, and proceeded.


    "Cuz I''m pretty sure you''ll kill me to keep me quiet about her being a ghoul."


    The old man winced.


    "So, you saw that, huh? That''s quite a shame. Not to worry, though. No one here is going to kill you for saving Touka''s life. We like to think we have more honor than that."


    "Sorry to say, sir," Hide muttered. "But I don''t believe you. You think you have to kill me because you think I might tell the CCG about you. I''m not gonna, but you have no way to know that. So here''s my idea. I''m gonna leave Touka in an alleyway, and I''m gonna give you the address to come pick her up. Then, I''m gonna run away and hide in my apartment for a few days. In the time it takes Touka to wake up and tell you who I am, I''ll have had time to call the CCG if I wanted to. The fact that you aren''t gonna be attacked by them will be my proof that I don''t wanna turn you in, so you won''t have any reason to come after me." Hide tried to sound confident in the plan, he really did. It had flaws, holes in logic that would likely render it untenable, but it was the best idea he had been able to come up with in the time he had. Before he''d even finished speaking, the old man was chuckling.


    "You''ve got a good head on your shoulders," he said gently. "And it''s a good enough plan, given how fast you probably had to come up with it, but you don''t need it. We really do mean you no harm. You helped Touka. That alone makes your life worth more to me than my own is. Believe me when I say that I do not intend to hurt you."


    "Yeah, well," Hide grumbled. "We''ll see about that. For now, we''ll go with my plan, okay?"


    "If you insist." The man murmured. "If that''s the case, though, please smash your phone, and leave it with her so we know you aren''t going to call anyone about us for at least the half an hour or so it takes us to get her somewhere safe."


    Hide considered this for a moment, then nodded.


    "Will do." He agreed. Then, he knelt down, moved Touka gently into the shadow of a nearby dumpster, and stepped out into the street to check a sign, before telling the old man the address. He hung up, dropped the phone on the floor, and stabbed it with the anti ghoul knife until he was quite certain that it was destroyed. Then, he began to run.


    Yoshimura:


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    The old man placed the phone back in its holder with a sigh, before turning to Yomo, stood impassively behind him.


    "How is she?" The man asked, his voice even, in spite of the strain he doubtless felt.


    "Your niece is fine, I think." Yoshimura replied. "You come with me to pick her up, then get her to a safehouse and see to her injuries. I don''t expect the boy will be making any calls, but it''s best to be safe about this. Agreed?" His friend nodded, and Yoshimura made his way to the coat rack, retrieving his hat and coat, before heading out into the city streets.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Touka had been left only a few blocks distant, and Yomo wordlessly scooped the girl up, covering her with a jacket brought along for the purpose, before departing at speed. Yoshimura remained in the alleyway for a few minutes, utterly still. To all observers, he would have just seemed an old man standing quietly. In truth, he was searching. With every deep breath he took, he caught new scents, new traces of people who had passed this place in recent hours. He saw the broken phone on the ground, and bent down to take a sniff. It was covered in the boy''s scent. Hands tended to sweat quite a lot when people were nervous. He stood, took another deep breath, found a trace of the same scent leading away from the intersection between the alleyway and the street, and began to follow it at a light jog. It took him less than half an hour to trace the boy back to his apartment.


    Hide:


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Hide returned to his home out of breath; he''d been running flat out practically the whole way there. He fell down into his sofa with a groan, then stood up again. He couldn''t lie down. Too much energy. He began pacing the length of the room, arms folded over his chest, trying desperately to work through the ramifications of everything that had just happened. He decided to make himself a pack of supplies, just in case he needed to leave in a hurry, and spent about ten minutes stuffing every conceivable object into his rucksack, before it became too full to fit anything else inside. He decided he needed to calm down, and went to his room, opened a cupboard, retrieved his headphones, lay down on his bed, and resolved to force himself to listen to an entire playlist before he moved again.


    He grabbed his old, outdated Ipod, found the playlist in question, pressed play, realized his headphones weren''t plugged in, swore, and fumbled with the cord, before having his attention wrenched away by the sound of the doorbell. He stood, took a deep breath, forced himself to at least look outwardly calm, and moved towards the doorway into the hall. He leaned forwards, pressed his eye to the peephole built into the door, and looked out into the hall.


    Hide recognized the man standing out there immediately. The old manager he''d spoken to on the phone. He resisted the impulse to let out some noise of fright, and took a step back from the door, as quietly as he could, making his way to the supply laden backpack.


    There was a small coughing noise from the other side of the door, before a voice spoke.


    "Young man, I know you''re in there. I can smell you. Please let me in. I promise I''m not going to hurt you."


    Hide didn''t reply, simply hoisting the bag up onto his shoulders, and tiptoeing his way over towards his kitchen window. His apartment was on the fourth floor. It was a long way down.


    There was a sigh from outside.


    "Hideyoshi, if you don''t let me in, I''m afraid I''m going to have to break the door down. There are no escape routes, you are completely trapped and, I repeat, you are in absolutely no danger. If I wanted you dead, I''d have broken in already. Please let me in."


    Hideyoshi moved to the landline phone positioned against the kitchen wall. He pulled it from its socket, and began dialing.


    "I''ll call the CCG," he replied, trying to sound tougher than he felt. "I swear to god, old man. I''ll call them before you kill me."


    There was another sigh from outside, before, with a surprisingly quiet snapping noise, the door swung open. The old man had apparently chosen to simply rip out the locking mechanism rather than kick through the door, and now held the small metal contraption in his hand. Hide''s eyes went wide, and he hastened to dial in the last few numbers, his thumb just millimeters from the call button, when the man threw the locking mechanism with surprising accuracy, at the bracket of Hide''s landline. The old, outdated machine fractured with a crunch of broken plastic, and the phone went dead in Hide''s hand. He stared at the old man, wide eyed.


    "I-I''ll scream," he started. "S-someone''ll hear m-"


    "Just stop." The manager groaned, taking a step inside and closing the door behind him, the knob now hanging slightly loose from its socket. "I''m not here to kill you, or hurt you, or anything else. I came here to thank you for looking after my employee, so will you please stop acting like I''m some sort of monster?"


    "Okay," Hide replied, his voice quavering slightly. "Not a monster. Just a superhuman cannibal with a really good reason to want me dead."


    The man chuckled.


    "Well, yes, fair point, you do have plenty of reasons to fear me." He stepped forward towards the couch, leaned over it, took hold of the back of it with one hand, and lifted it, pivoting the heavy, four person chair towards Hide, before taking a seat. "But, like I said before, I am not here to cause you any harm. No, I came here to ask why you decided to help Touka. She''s a ghoul. You''re a human. The natural response is to call the CCG and leave us to our fate, so why did you put yourself on the line for her?"


    Hide gazed at him silently for several long seconds, then groaned.


    "Cuz I''d be an asshole if I let a pretty girl die for me." He said simply, trying to keep the note of bitterness from his voice.


    The old man stared at him for some time, his mouth open slightly as if surprised. Then, he began to laugh, a surprisingly cheery sound.


    "What?" Hide asked, unable to keep the irritation from his voice. If he was about to die, the least the old man could do was not laugh at him first.


    "Oh," the man replied, still chuckling. "It''s just rare to see such a straightforward view of right and wrong. I find it refreshing."


    Hide cocked an eyebrow, but said nothing. Soon enough, the chuckling died away, and the two were left gazing at the floor between them in silence.


    "I wonder..." The manager murmured, seemingly more to himself than anyone else. "Well... it would be nice to have an answer. Yes." He raised his head towards the boy. "Would you mind doing me a favor?"


    "... What favor?" Hide asked, uncertain.


    "Well, it''s hard to explain without showing you, but I''ve wondered for a long time what a human would think if they knew what we do at Anteiku. Your perspective is... Well, I''d go as far as saying you''re the sort of person who I would actually allow to pass judgement upon me. So, would you mind accompanying me? I think it''d be easier, knowing what a truly good human would think of us. It... it would help me see whether the future I want is possible."


    "... What future?" Hide murmured, genuinely curious. Something had changed in the old man in the last few moments.


    "Peace between the races." the manager said quietly, staring at his hands. "Just an old man''s dream, really."


    Hide wasn''t sure what to say to that. It caught him off guard. The old timer sounded sincere, but then again, he was a ghoul. Eventually, he gave a resigned shrug. It couldn''t be any worse than the death he''d been expecting.


    "What the hell," he muttered. "Sure, tell me what it is you guys do."


    The old manager looked up at him and smiled, the expression strangely gentle.


    "Thank you very much, young man."

 What is good?

    Hide:


    "So... You''re a soup kitchen?" Hide asked, gazing into the contents of the large, brushed steel industrial fridge.


    "Well," the old Manager murmured from behind him. "Yes and no. We fill the same function, certainly, providing sustenance for people who would otherwise be hungry, but the majority of those we distribute to aren''t homeless, although, there are some. These are people who have integrated with the human population to some degree, and are trying their best to live morally upstanding lives despite their needs. Most of them have jobs, hobbies, friends, that sort of thing; but they still get hungry."


    "... Where do you get the meat?" Hide asked after a moments hesitation. "I mean, even if your customers aren''t killing people, someone still has to have died, right?"


    "A number of places," Yoshimura replied calmly. "Some of them more moral than others. A percentage is taken from locations with high suicide rates. We move in before the bodies are found, take them, and harvest what we can. In honesty, though, that only accounts for a fraction of it all. We have members working with mortuaries and other such establishments around Tokyo. When preparing the bodies for burial, our workers retrieve whatever internal organs they can without it being noticeable from the outside and bring them back here." The old man let out a long, tired sigh. "The problem is staying hidden, really. The need to hide means that we can only take a certain amount from every cadaver, and so, can feed fewer people. I think that''s a tragedy, myself."


    "So you don''t kill for meat?" Hide asked. "Not at all?" Yoshimura''s smile dropped slightly, a momentary strain edging into his expression.


    "No," he answered quietly. "We kill for meat. Sometimes, there isn''t enough food scavenged to feed everyone we care for, which is when the workers of Anteiku go to hunt. We try to limit ourselves to the dregs of society, where we can. Rapists, murderers, that sort of thing. You''d be amazed what an enhanced sense of smell helps you find when you''re searching for bad people to kill." He glanced sidelong at Hide before continuing. "Nevertheless, murder is murder, and we do kill people."


    "... Well," Hide admitted after a few minutes of quiet. "That answer could have been worse. It could have been better, but it could have been much worse. So why the coffee shop?"


    "Several reasons," came the reply. "Largely, it''s because it makes us easier to find. All of the members of our staff are ghouls, and that is a rarity. Most of our clients find us by noting our scents all collected around the shop. Most of them get close enough to verify what we are, before taking their leave. It may not surprise you to know that to most ghouls, a large gathering of others is not usually a good situation to be in, ghouls tend to be territorial, after all, but they get close enough that we can smell them, track them down, and explain to them what we do. It''s... advertising, I suppose." He stopped there for a moment, seemingly waiting to see if Hide had a response, before continuing. "But that''s only a part of it, really. The cafe helps its clients learn to mimic normal human behaviors, providing a place to observe ordinary folk at their leisure: eating, talking, that sort of thing. Other than that," he smiled. "I just rather like coffee."


    Hide thought on this for a long moment. It was a lot to take in, that was for sure. He stepped forwards towards the fridge, extended a hand to one of the shelves, an picked a small, paper wrapped slab up from its space. The meat was surprisingly weighty. He gazed down at it for several moments, the manager watching him impassively. Eventually, he sighed.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Look," he muttered. "Bottom line is, you help people, right? And at the end of the day, there''d be more dead on both sides if you guys weren''t here. It''s not... clean... but I''m not gonna pretend I know how to do it better, so I can''t really blame you for that." Yoshimura nodded, allowing himself a small smile. Hide continued. "Comes down to it... no, I don''t think you''re evil. I... I don''t really know what you guys are."


    Yoshimura closed his eyes, leaned himself gently against the basement wall, and let out a long breath.


    "Young man, you have no idea how much hearing that from you means to me."


    "Why?" Hide asked, confused.


    "To be honest, I like to think it means my wife would have approved. She was a good human, too."


    The ramifications of the statement hit Hide in stages. Realization, followed by a slight pity, followed then by a much greater realization. Slowly, he placed the wrapped meat chunk back on the refrigerator shelf, then joined the old man against the wall, allowing himself to slide down onto his rear, his knees poking into his chest. He chuckled absently.


    "Life sure is weird, huh?" He murmured.


    Yoshimura laughed.


    "Truer words were never said."


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Kaneki:


    "Wait, they gave you a job?" Ken asked, the phone clutched against his ear in his currently undamaged hand.


    "Yeah," replied Hide''s voice on the other end of the line. "The old guy said he liked what he saw in me."


    "... Does he know about how many times you came in there just so you could hit on that Touka girl?"


    "You can shut the hell up, Kaneki," came the chuckled reply, almost before he''d finished speaking. "So, how''s your new boyfriend doing?"


    "They''re still operating," Ken replied, shooting a brief glance down into the hospital theater where Suzuya lay, drugged off to his happy place while a medical team saw to his wounds. "Turns out fighting ghouls sucks when you can''t regenerate, which, apparently, I can do now. And don''t call him my boyfriend, you dick. We haven''t even been on one date yet."


    "... so there''s a yet, huh?" From the tone of his voice alone, Kaneki could tell that Hide was grinning on the other end of the line.


    "I really hate you sometimes, you know that?"


    "Hey, man, I''m just looking out for my bro," his friend responded, irritatingly chipper. "Your last date tried to eat you, remember?"


    "Vividly." He responded, deadpan. "So, Touka got out okay?"


    "... Couple scratches," Hide answered after a short pause. "They seem to think she''ll be fine by tomorrow."


    "Glad to hear it." Ken murmured. "So, only question left. Who the hell just tore my apartment to shreds?"


    "Well, that''s kind of the question of the hour," murmured a familiar voice from the doorway behind him. "By descriptions, it sounds like Jason."


    Ken turned, catching sight of the investigator who had first interviewed him, Koutarou Amon. He stepped forward, a hand extended. Kaneki glanced down at the mangled remnants of his left hand, before awkwardly wedging his phone into the crook of his shoulder so as to shake with his good one.


    "Jason?" He asked. "You mean the serial killer?"


    "Yeah," Amon replied, matter-of-factly. "The serial killer, and a known member of a ghoul terror cell. It looks like we need to put you under a tighter security detail." He broke the handshake, pointing back towards the hall beyond the doorway. "To that aim," he said, with a touch of what Kaneki could have sworn was regret. "I would like to introduce you to my partner, Inspector Kureo Mado."


    Standing in the hall was, by Kaneki''s estimation, possibly the single ugliest man in the history of creation. Unkempt grey hair falling down around a face that seemed constantly stuck between a grin and a leer. He smiled, at least, Ken assumed it was a smile, as Amon pointed him out.


    "Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Mado said cordially, stepping inside and extending a hand for Kaneki to shake. "You must be the remains of Ken Kaneki, correct?"

 What is strength?

    Hide:


    "Uhh," Hide mumbled, hoping he''d just misheard. "What do you mean by ''training'', exactly?"


    On the other side of the bar, Yoshimura smiled.


    "I''d have thought it was obvious, Mr Nagachika," he murmured, carefully wiping the cloth over the already pristine surface of the counter. "You''re a human being, taking on a job for powerful ghouls. We''re going to need to at least teach you some basic self defense.


    "Self defense?" Hide asked, an eyebrow raising. "From ghoul attacks? Uh... no offence, sir. I want this job... but that sounds kind of impossible. Humans aren''t built to fight ghouls... It''s like trying to defend yourself against a truck."


    "Nonsense," the old manager chuckled. "I happen to know that those fine young people of the CCG do it almost every day."


    "Well, yeah," Hide admitted, rolling his eyes. "But they have weapons! Like, real, powerful anti-ghoul weaponry!"


    "And you have a knife," chimed in Kaya, a youngish looking woman who had introduced herself to him as the senior waitress, as she carried an armful of china cups towards the sink. "You can beat a ghoul with a knife. Trust me."


    Before Hide had a chance to object to that, a third voice joined the argument against him.


    "Besides," Koma smiled, taking the cups from his fellow worker and dunking them in the water. "You''re off to a good start. You''ve got some of the strongest Ghouls in Tokyo for teachers. We shouldn''t have a problem."


    Hide opened his mouth to object, but saw that the other two were already nodding along in agreement. He didn''t like the sound of this. Not one bit.


    "We''ll take it in turns, I think," Yoshimura murmured. "You can start the day with Koma to work on your physical fitness-" behind him, the man at the sink gave him a thumbs up, that smile of his growing a touch wider. "Then, you''ll have afternoons with myself and Yomo, to work on your combat forms. And in the evenings, we''ll hand you off to Touka and Kaya."


    "... And what are they teaching me?" Hide asked, shooting a worried glance behind himself at the dark haired woman as she once more gathered china from the tables.


    There was the briefest moment of hesitation, before the old man murmured:


    "Reaction times."


    "And Pain tolerance." Kaya chuckled, shooting Hide a look that made his skin crawl.


    For a single moment, Yoshimura lost that calm smile of his.


    "Now, Irimi," he sighed. "Let''s not be frightening the boy any more than we have reason to."


    "... Do I have a choice in this?" Hide asked. "To, you know... Maybe not be horribly tortured?"


    Yoshimura gave him a sad smile, and shook his head.


    "I''m sorry, young Mr. Nagachika, but no, you don''t." He sighed. "All jokes aside. You put yourself in incredible danger by helping Touka like you did. There is now at least one very powerful ghoul out there with an extremely good reason to want you dead." For a moment, Yoshimura''s age seemed to catch up with him, the warmth seeping out of his features. Behind him, Koma too had stopped smiling. The old man leaned forwards on the counter, resting on his elbows. "We''re grateful to you for what you did for her, Hideyoshi. And as thanks for it, we''ll be doing everything we can to keep you alive. Unfortunately," he sighed. "That also means beating the weakness out of you as quickly an efficiently as possible. It won''t be pleasant. It won''t be fun; but it will increase your odds of survival a hundredfold."


    Hide didn''t have an answer to that. It was a lot to take in. He dropped his gaze to his hands, clenched together on the counter-top.


    "Hey," he felt a hand grasp him by the shoulder, and glanced around. It was Kaya. "Buck up, kiddo. We''ll try and take it easy on you." She winked, and gave his cheek a gentle slap. "Maybe if you do good enough, we''ll pretend to forget all those times you hit on Touka."


    Hide felt his eyes widen a fraction at that. Behind him, Yoshimura and Koma chuckled.


    "...You guys know about that?" He asked. His voice quiet.


    "Know about it?" Kaya grinned. "Buddy. We were this close to adding you to the emergency food list. Now come on. It''s training time."A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    <hr noshade="noshade" size="1">


    Kaneki:


    ... Well, this was awkward. Kaneki took a breath, and reached for his coffee can, trying to ignore the proximity of the inspectors to either side as he shifted on the couch. Why did it have to be a Disney movie?


    After their... Meeting at the hospital, Amon and his partner had escorted Kaneki back to Amon''s apartment, where he would apparently be staying until lodgings could be found for him that didn''t have ghoul shaped holes in the walls and blood all over the floors. Once there, he and his newfound protective detail had sat and... waited. In total silence. For three hours.


    It was only when the younger of the two investigators had grown hungry that Kotarou had spoken.


    "... Wanna call some takeout and watch a movie?"


    ... Ken had preferred the silence. The silence wasn''t awkward. The silence hadn''t necessitated them all crush up together on Amon''s minuscule excuse for a couch.


    Kaneki took a gulp of his coffee, before lowering the can to his lap, and returning his gaze to the movie.


    "Do you really enjoy that?" asked Mado, turning in his seat to glance at him. "The coffee, I mean."


    "Yeah," Kaneki murmured. "Better than I did before, to be honest. Why?"


    "It fascinates me," came the reply. "The way you must perceive the world. I was simply asking because I''ve never met something that could compare how ghoul senses work to those of a human."


    Kaneki pondered that for a moment, then shrugged.


    "Well, I mean, if you want a comparison, it kinda tastes like really strong espresso, with these weird hints of cinnamon and this... Almost honeycomb thing?"


    "Huh," Mado grunted, leaning in to examine the can. "This is just ordinary coffee, though," he plucked the can from Kaneki''s lap, and took a small swig. "... Nope. Certainly no honey and cinnamon. Interesting." He passed the can back to the boy.


    From Kaneki''s other side, Amon was watching, his box of delivery noodles held, half eaten above his chest. He looked... Almost worried.


    For a minute or so, no one spoke, eyes returning as one to the movie, before Kaneki voiced the question that had sat in his mind since his first meeting with Mado.


    "What did you mean before?" he asked. "When you said I was the remains of Ken Kaneki?" He forced his voice to remain cordial as he spoke, unsure of the emotion trying to break through to his words.


    "Kureo," Amon spoke, his voice stern. "Don''t. The kid doesn''t need your judgement right no-"


    "He asked, Kotarou." Mado cut his partner off with a scowl. "Besides, I''d have thought the answer was simple." He turned his gaze to Kaneki. "Ken Kaneki died three days ago." His voice was flat. There was no judgement to it; no kindness, either. Just honesty. "He was attacked by a violent cannibal, and his kidneys were crushed by over twenty tonnes of industrial grade steel." Mado sighed. "His death is a tragedy. By all accounts, he was an affable, kindhearted and studious young man. The only bright side to that tragedy is that his death also ended the life of a violent criminal and likely saved the lives of over a dozen like him."


    "Mado," Amon growled. "That''s not fair. The kid''s right next to you."


    "And this is something he deserves to know." Kureo replied, his tone flat, before returning his gaze to Kaneki. "You are not Ken Kaneki. You''re the remains of the thing that tried to eat him, that were placed in his corpse to finish the job. If there is any shred of justice to this world, kid, it''s that whatever kindness and humanity was possessed by the boy in whose body you now sit, it seems to have passed on to you." He chuckled. "Be grateful for that. If his mind had died along with him, I would have no qualms over putting you in the ground." Again, Amon opened his mouth to object, but Mado ignored him. "As it stands, however. You are to be afforded the same respect as I would give to any gravestone. Because just like a gravestone, a good person died to make you."


    In the silence that followed that proclamation, Kaneki thought. He wasn''t angry. It was odd. He''d have thought such a statement would make him furious. But it didn''t. He was calm. The investigators were watching him now, Amon concerned, Mado intent.


    "... Honestly, you''re not wrong." He murmured eventually, his voice quiet.


    "What?" Amon objected. "But he-"


    Kaneki raised a hand.


    "Sir? I''m sorry, but I don''t think you get it. I''ve been like this for days. You think I haven''t thought all of those things before myself? I''m a literature and philosophy student. I''ve studied this sort of idea before. Fuck, I''ve been reading Kafka for class for a month already. Excuse me for being okay with the guy who finally seems to get that I might not be fully human anymore."


    To Kaneki''s side, Mado was nodding, whatever unfortunate approximation of a smile his face was capable of flickering across it. Amon, on the other hand, was not.


    "Yeah," The older man sighed. "Sure. You''re not human. I think that one''s pretty obvious at this point." He gestured to the mangled hand by the boy'' side, the slowly regenerating stumps of his fingers clearly on display. "But that doesn''t mean you''re not still Ken Kaneki, does it?"


    Mado chuckled at that.


    "Really, Kotarou?" he asked. "Come on. I trained you better than that. Ghouls aren''t people, Amon. You know that. You need decency to be a person."


    For his part, Kaneki shrugged.


    "Well, I think he has a point," he murmured, turning his gaze to Mado. "So, I tell you what. If this transformation thing continues, and whatever human part of my brain it is that makes me want to be a person just dissolves, then sure, put me in the ground. I''d honestly kind of prefer that." Mado raised an eyebrow at that. Ken chuckled grimly. "I guess you could call it the last request of Ken Kaneki''s dying brain. To make sure he doesn''t go crazy and start killing people if this transformation goes too far." Kureo hesitated for a moment at that, then nodded.


    "... But," Kaneki continued. "If it turns out that I can handle it, and whatever''s going on in my body doesn''t take away who I am, then you accept that maybe, just maybe, Ken Kaneki might still be alive in here."


    The long silence that followed that statement was cut short when Mado snickered.


    "Well, you sure as hell had that speech planned out. Where''d that come from?"


    "Meh," Ken shrugged. "I told you. I''ve been thinking this stuff over for a few days already. I just gave you the same answer I gave myself."


    The inspector grunted at that, and the three of them once more returned their eyes to the movie.