《Ravenous: Tokyo Ghoul Fanfiction OC [LitRPG]》 Chapter 1 The weight of my limbs felt strange, not just lighter but disturbingly weak. I tried to lift my arm but my muscles refused to respond with the force I remembered. What¡¯s wrong with me? No actually¡­ I blinked once. Then again before narrowing my eyes. I could see the ceiling¡­ vividly. A popcorn ceiling with all its texture when I wasn¡¯t wearing my glasses. I hadn¡¯t seen anything this clearly more than a foot from my face without my glasses in more than a decade. Years of writing webnovels with eyes glued to a screen does that. ¡°Ugh¡ªhuh?¡± I groaned through a dizzy head, lifting myself off¡­ a pillow? Wasn¡¯t I just slumped on the side of a road? I remember some blinding lights¡­ no, before anything, this wasn¡¯t my voice. I jerked upward, gasping as I realized I could barely move my head and neck, let alone my arms. An analog beeping increased beside me¡ªa heart rate monitor started beeping as my heart rate skyrocketed. My gaze shifted, and I spotted an IV line, pump, and stand. Deep red liquid flowed through the IV. Blood? The beeping sounded faster. ¡°Oh, fuck me this is bad,¡± I muttered through my raspy throat. ¡°I drank too much, hadn¡¯t I? What shit did I get myself into?¡± Looking around, it was plain to see that it was a hospital room of sorts. However, I couldn¡¯t be certain because of the dreadful state of the room. I had clinical hours in a hospital before as a student, so I¡¯m certain I know what the room should look like. Shattered glass which I presumed were the remains of the windows now boarded up by crooked two-by-fours. A flickering lightbulb, which is also broken. Tattered curtains. A grimy wash station and cabinets. Hey, and where is the damn emergency call button? Code blue, I¡¯m gonna have a heart attack! I scanned the walls and behind the bed, but it wasn¡¯t there. Any half-decent facility, even the dingiest rooms would have one within reach. My mind raced to piece together how I¡¯d ended up here, but all I had was¡­ nothing. Did someone throw me here? Are my organs going to be harvested!? The beeping turned frantic. Rightfully so. Moments later, the door creaked open revealing a¡­ doctor? ¡°Hey, doc where am I?¡± I croaked out. But no reply was given. A short grumble later, the doctor went to work. He took vital signs and some other things, oddly doing the work of a nurse or something else but I wasn¡¯t complaining. It wasn¡¯t until he pulled a syringe from a dirty cabinet atop the sink that my worries heightened. The beeping sped up. He came bedside and roughly shook my arm for a second before nodding with a grunt. Then he took the needle and jammed it into my eye. ¡°AHH FUCK!¡± I tried to flail my arms, kick my legs, or do anything. But they were too weak¡ªis that why he shook my arm? To ensure I was weak enough not to be fettered to the bed? But that was the least of my worries. The doc injected anesthesia. Fuckin¡¯ doc, always disliked those chaps. ¡ª I had learned a few things since I woke up again. One. I wasn¡¯t me. Or I was a me that wasn¡¯t the real me. It got complicated so I stopped thinking about it. I¡¯m a me that was either reincarnated, transmigrated, or in a dream. Actual, scratch the dreaming, that was just coping. Second. This wasn¡¯t my earth. My home. My people. After I woke for the second, I found the same silent doc but with a monstrous scaly tail emerging back his back and made me damn near pray for the first time and promise I wouldn¡¯t drink again. Third. The tail kind of explained the situation. It wasn¡¯t a tail, it was a kagune. The year is unknown, but I¡¯m 99% certain I was reincarnated into the fictional world of Tokyo Ghoul. Yep. This is bad. A friggin¡¯ ghoul doctor was examining me alone!? I wasn¡¯t in Canada anymore. No this was Tokyo¡¯s 14th Ward otherwise known as Nakano. Something the ghoul doc had explained gruffly after he realized I had ¡®amnesia¡¯ from my stint in a coma. Normally I¡¯d be pretty stoked about a trip across the world to Tokyo¡­ but in the world of Tokyo Ghoul though? Hell to the no! I knew all about Tokyo Ghoul. At first, I thought I¡¯d be eaten by the damn ghoul doc, but I was inclined to believe he wouldn¡¯t. That leads to the fourth thing I learned. I wasn¡¯t in grave danger. Danger nonetheless, but not grave. Why? Because I¡¯m also a ghoul. I should¡¯ve put 2 and 2 together when the doc poked me in the eye ¡ª where ghouls are weak enough for mundane needles to penetrate. Ah, also the blood bag being fed into my body, that was also telling. Sadly, my body was worse than atrophied. The ghoul doc refused to explain what had actually happened to me, simply telling me that my family would once they¡¯d arrived. That it wasn¡¯t their job. Damn ghoul doc, I had more questions! Thankfully my ¡®family¡¯ arrived about four hours after I woke up for the second time. I spent most of the few hours laying in bed unable to raise myself into a sitting position trying to activate my kagune. Hey, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I was struggling until the door creaked open and the ghoul doc came again. The doctor stared at me for a while before he spoke behind the mask. ¡°Rindo Shirogane, you¡¯ve been cleared for dischar¡ª¡± ¡°KYODAIIII!!!¡± Bewildered, my eyes were pulled to the sudden figure who burst past the door, roughly pushing the doctor aside before cursing at him in Japanese that my mind instantly translated into English without a thought. Ah, right, forgot to mention I have the privilege of the reincarnation gods giving me the ability to know Japanese. Nice. The wild man didn¡¯t bat an eye to the stumbling doctor. Thinly built, tall, with a blonde buzzed head, piercings, and striking black tattoos across his exposed arms and neck. Mid-twenties or so. Even with the rambunctious attitude and flashy appearances, nothing more was more striking than his eyes. Black sclera contrasted the man¡¯s blood-red pupils. Another ghoul. Made sense if the doc said it was my family. Though, did I also look like that scruffy delinquent? I didn¡¯t gain enough strength to pull myself to the shattered mirror by the wash station so I still didn¡¯t know my appearance. ¡°Kyodai, Sano-sama said you¡¯re awake!?¡± The bald man said as he trodded over to the bedside. My eyes were glued to the hanya mask around his neck. It jogged in my mind hard. Was there an organization, group, or gang that wore those? Argh! Although I love Tokyo Ghoul, it¡¯s been years since I finished the manga! ¡°Uhm-Who¡¯re you?¡± I asked before my stares turned awkward. Now it was the delinquent¡¯s turn to widen his eyes. ¡°Huh!? Dammit!¡± He cursed in Japanese as he sauntered over to my bed. Sano-sama, you weren¡¯t kidding!¡± The ghoul doc grumbled before stepping closer. ¡°Obviously I wasn¡¯t kidding, Iguchi-kun. If you¡¯d fuckin¡¯ listen for once in your life, you wouldn¡¯t be surprised. Matter of fact, it¡¯s a miracle for him to be alive at all.¡± ¡°Ah, Sano-sama sorry for doubting your genius! Ha!¡± The delinquent, Iguchi, laughed and roughly patted the ghoul doc¡¯s back. ¡°I¡¯m Iguchi. Iguchi Tatsuya!¡± Iguchi smirked. ¡°You can call me Aniki, my returned-to-life Kohai.¡± I blinked, raising my hand up to point at my face. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Of course, Kohai¡ª¡± ¡°Enough, Iguchi-kun. You¡¯re gonna be the death of me someday.¡± Doctor Sano sighed. ¡°Look, Rindo-kun. You had a bad accident on one of your hunts. You bit off more than you could chew and the doves got to ya¡¯ boy. Idiot. That¡¯s what brought you to me when Iguchi-kun came roaring through my doors when this underground place was closed.¡± ¡°Urm-sorry about that,¡± Iguchi said bashfully before his expression lifted. ¡°Ah, but I paid good, didn¡¯t I? I even took more jobs from the boss! I¡¯m keepin¡¯ ya¡¯ in business Sano-sama!¡± Doctor Sano frowned. ¡°As I was saying¡­ Rindo-kun, you seem to have short-term amnesia from the coma after the accident. I didn¡¯t detect any brain damage from our scans. So you¡¯ll likely recover your memories soon. Ah, then again I don¡¯t have the right tools to tell any better but you should be fine. You¡¯re discharged.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Doctor Sano turned around and headed out. Iguchi bowed his head and roared in delinquent fashion, ¡°Thank you Sano-sama!¡± That left us alone. ¡°So Iguch¡ª¡± ¡°Aniki.¡± ¡°Huh? ¡°Call me Aniki.¡± ¡°Oh. Okay, Aniki.¡± ¡°Pahahahhaha!!¡± I frowned and groaned. What¡¯s wrong with this guy? ¡°As I was gonna ask¡­ now what?¡± Iguchi didn¡¯t stop laughing before helping me onto his back. ¡°Get on. I¡¯ll take ya¡¯ to the hideout.¡± ¡°Hideout?¡± I asked genuinely. It did make sense though, ghouls were hunted down by the CCG or ¡®doves¡¯ as much as they hunted humans for food. ¡°Pahahah! You really did forget everything my wonderful Kohai!¡± Iguchi laughed again. Damn. I¡¯ve only met this dude for a few minutes and I¡¯m already tired of him. It¡¯s like he¡¯s straight out of those yakuza games. ¡°We¡¯re part of the Kurokumo Gang, one of the bigger gangs of the 14th Ward. We hold the west block of the 14th.¡± Iguchi said proudly, twiddling the fierce horns of his hannya mask. ¡°Ah, shit. Ya¡¯ lost your mask in the hunt. Dumass. I guess we¡¯ll head over to Kashiwagi¡¯s after the hideout. ¡± I nodded. Although this guy is a little loud, he¡¯s right in the head. I needed a mask if I was gonna survive. And a gang? It¡¯s to be expected. Most organizations band together to survive. To hunt food. Ghouls were mostly an unruly bunch, but the weaker of the kind had to make ends meet somehow. Hiding amongst humans could only go so far. Besides, we weren¡¯t in the 20th Ward where it was more peaceful like the manga¡ªwait. Right, the time period. Maybe Anteiku didn¡¯t exist? Or the major events didn¡¯t happen? Oh, brother! This is gonna suck. Not only am I stuck in a different world, but I know nothing. There was basically no information on the past! Much less in the 14th Ward! ¡°How big is big?¡± I asked, my feet dangling off Iguchi¡¯s back. Iguchi climbed the muddy staircase up from the literal underground ¡®hospital.¡¯ ¡°Ya¡¯ mean the gang? We¡¯re one of the four pillars of Nakano! A hundred or so strong! The CCG ain¡¯t got nothin¡¯ on us. They are more worried about the other three pillars near the center of the ward so we¡¯re a little recluse. Our Kurokumo Gang¡¯s nothin¡¯ to be trifled with though.¡± Iguchi boasted. I sighed. Yep, this is gonna be a long day. ¡ª ¡°Welcome back to Kurokumo¡¯s main hideout, Rindo-kohai,¡± Iguchi smirked. He told me after a rough ride on the back of his loud customized bike with a long flagpole behind it. The white flag with a black cloud in the center. Is this guy an idiot? Waving around our ghoul gang¡¯s symbol on a loud bike? Does he want to alert the doves?! I chose against to question him, maybe because I just didn¡¯t know what the norm was or maybe it was on purpose. But I have a sneaky suspicion that Iguchi was just an idiot. It felt super surreal as Iguchi drove past the sidewalks glaring at anyone who dared take a second look at us before he pulled into a dark alleyway and down into an underground parking lot of sorts. There I found tens of similar bikes. Oddly, my nose picked up a sweet smell in the air. It didn¡¯t take another second before I realized it was human flesh or blood I smelled and frowned. I¡­ I¡¯m gonna have to struggle like Kaneki did. I have to eat human flesh sooner or later. ¡°This is home. You remember it?¡± Iguchi asked again. Pulling me from the moments of ghoul introspection I had been in. ¡°Nah. It looks like everything else ¡ªnew and unfamiliar.¡± I told him. Looking over my shoulder I could tell he was frowning. ¡°This has been our home for years bro. I forgot to say but we met each other in a commercial high school. We fought and got kicked out, then we were bouta¡¯ kill each other on the streets before the gang took us in because we were dumasses.¡± He told me and I nodded awkwardly. Shoot. Was I really a delinquent as well? He dismounted the bike. ¡°You good to walk?¡± I tried to move my legs across to the side but failed. I shook my head. ¡°Nah. Need some time fore¡¯ my body gets back to normal.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you to your room first. Samo-sama¡¯s orders.¡± Iguchi said as he pulled a sticky note from his loose trouser¡¯s pockets. He nodded before helping me on his back again. We walked against the parking lot¡¯s wall toward the entrance to the multi-floored building. He carried me down a dim hallway, past the noise and chaos that seemed to leak from every crevice of the building. The sound of muffled voices, laughter, and glass clinking faded as we stepped into a quieter, more isolated part of the building. We stopped in front of a nondescript door, far from the crowd. Iguchi opened it, and we stepped inside. The room was gritty and grimy, furnished with just a small bed, a standing mirror, a cabinet, and clothes scattered everywhere. It didn¡¯t look like I had any belongings other than dirty, oversized clothes, underwear, and socks. To my discomfort, the clothes were... well, "dirty" was an understatement. The pair of pants and shirts were oddly stained, with a lingering scent of sweetness clinging to them. Ah, some jewelry and a flip phone were left behind as well. Nice. One, I had piercings in this life as well! The original Rindo had some good taste. Cool golden hoops. Two, the flip phone confirmed more information of the year than the car models we went by earlier. I could also check it out later to see. Iguchi set me down carefully before he handed me the pink sticky note. ¡°Tell me ya¡¯ can still read.¡± I took the note, squinting at the messy handwriting. The scrawl was a mix of hurried strokes and half-scribbled words, but I could make it out well enough with the help of my reincarnation translation. "Exercise orders, huh?" I muttered under my breath. I nodded. ¡°Yeah, I can still read.¡± Iguchi smirked at that, stepping back toward the door. ¡°Good. Sleep first or do them if you¡¯re well enough. Yell if ya¡¯ need something. I¡¯ll be solo hunting to stock the gang¡¯s stash soon and nab ya¡¯ a share if you¡¯re still hungry. Don¡¯t wanna see you out of this room until I tell ya¡¯ otherwise.¡± ¡°Cya later, Aniki. Stay safe.¡± I said weakly. It sounded right. I didn¡¯t know Iguchi well enough, but the original Rindo did. Anywho, he treated me well, so I¡¯d like to see him again. He¡¯s a nice guy, I wouldn¡¯t want the doves or rival gangs to put him under. Iguchi roared with laughter, even after closing the door behind him. Was calling him Aniki really so funny? Iguchi looked strong pretty put together in the gang¡¯s hierarchy. The laughter behind the door waned and I was left alone with some time to think. My fingers ran over the sticky note again and everything so far replayed in my head again. I was really reincarnated into Tokyo Ghoul. I let out a breath and collapsed back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. ¡°Might as well get my strength back,¡± I muttered before sitting upright again. ¡°Leg extensions it is.¡± Doctor Sano¡¯s sticky note was just a set of exercises to try and build up enough muscle. Honestly, just some basic bodyweight stuff I could¡¯ve figured out on my own, but I wasn¡¯t complaining. I started raising up my legs before grimacing at just how hard it was just to hold it out in front of me. Sheesh. My tiny stick-like leg might as well be nothing but bone and skin! After that, I let them down slowly and did it over and over. I continued until my quads were hot and exhausted. I rested for a while before I did the next set. 1 rep. 2 reps. 3 reps. Shoot, I really am weak. A ghoul should be stronger than a human yet I¡¯m struggling with these?! 4 reps. ¡­10 reps. [Ding!] ¡°Huh!?¡± I scanned the room. What was that? The phone? [100 Body XP Obtained] The line of text appeared before my eyes and sounded in my head. It was like it was typed out. Definitely not the work of a flip phone. What the hell was that? I blinked. Ignore the weariness in my quads, what is this? Wait, I was reincarnated, right? It didn¡¯t make sense since Tokyo Ghoul wasn¡¯t the world for these types of things, but I had an inkling. I grinned. ¡°Open, system?¡± Nothing. ¡°System?¡± Nothing. ¡°Status?¡± A digital whirr sounded.

Status Screen

Name: Rindo Shirogane Level: 0 Faction: Rogue Ghoul Kagune Class: Ukaku RC Cells: 501/501 Hunger: Peckish RC Matrix: 4.450838%

Core Attributes:

[Athlete: 0] [Head Hunter: 0] [Engineer: 0] [Meanuver: 0] [Scholar: 0] [Available Attribute Point[s]: 0]

Core Skill Levels:

[Body: 0] [Cool: 0] [Technical Ability: 0] [Reflexes: 0] [Intelligence: 0] Kakuhou Sac Count: 1 Type[s]: [Ukaku]

Perks:

Body ¡ª N/A Cool ¡ª N/A Technical Ability ¡ª N/A Reflexes ¡ª N/A Intelligence ¡ª N/A [Available Perk Point[s]: 0] Kakuja: [???] Affinity: [???]
¡°Woah!!!¡± I exclaimed and lay down. A status screen right before my eyes! A ghoul system! This is crazy. My eyes scoured everything. Name? sounded right. Level? I¡®ll figure it out. Factions? Sounded right. ¡°Ooooh.¡± I hummed as I looked at my kagune class. ¡°So I¡¯m a Ukaku type.¡± Ukaku types had the organ that released my kagune ¡ª a kakuhou sac, located by my shoulder. These types specialize in high-speed attacks, and the users have the highest explosiveness at the cost of lower stamina. My RC cell count kinda made sense. Everyone had them, even humans. Ghouls had many times more, but this was where I was a little worried. My count was dangerously low. If I recall correctly, a human had anywhere from 0-500. If mine is at a 501, I¡¯m weak. Plain as day. I could increase it. It wasn¡¯t a secret to how. Shit, I might¡¯ve even been at 500 if that arm I ate helped me hit 501. I needed to consume humans. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m gonna have to do it.¡± I ruminated under my breath. A shiver coursed through me. I ignored the next stat ¡ª my hunger. The following stat was even more mystifying. Was an RC matrix ever mentioned? And it was a progress type of thing? I had no idea. Moving on! Attributes, skills¡­ and perks? Wasn¡¯t this just the Cyberpunk-esque? I¡¯m just gonna assume I can¡¯t level attributes nor unlock perks without the respective points. Skills, though. I can work on them. It¡¯s been a while in my last live since I loaded up the game, but I remember well enough to make do. Body was self-explanatory. Cool and reflexes too. The grey zone was technical ability and intelligence. Unless I misinterpreted the world so far, I was reincarnated into Tokyo Ghoul before the main events. Hell, likely before some of the younger characters were born. Straining myself, I stretched towards the cabinet top. I nabbed the flip phone and flicked it open. May 17, 2005. 6:33 PM. Nice. Beautiful. No chrome. No corpos, no chooms, no gonks, no cyberpsychos. A shiver ran down my back as I imagined a cyberpsycho cannibal ghoul. Not fun to visualize. Moving away from those three stat categories, there it was! A kakuhou sac. I frowned at the sight of just one sac. Typically the stronger ghouls had multiple, but oh well. My eyes descended down the status screen and I felt a deep frown pull at my lips. A kakuja. Makes sense I didn¡¯t have that stuff unlocked. I gotta¡­ ¡°Urk!¡± I swallowed a heavy pit in my throat. Cannablize on ghouls. A lot of them. Moving on! An affinity? Now this confused me as much as the RC matrix, was this mentioned at all? I really don¡¯t know. I clicked my tongue and sighed in thought. ¡°But regardless, I can use this. If it¡¯s a system, I have an advantage here. I won¡¯t be prey to the doves or ghouls trying to murder me at every step. Hell, I¡¯m even in a gang.¡± I uttered to myself. Ignoring the horrid amount of 0¡¯s on my status, this was good news. Now, that experience I gained, body obviously means my body. Kinda like a strength stat in other terms? But that begged the question ¡ª how much XP does it take to level up the stat? There wasn¡¯t a progress bar or a percentage. And how do I gain my XP to level up myself? Well, one step at a time. My leg¡¯s recovered enough for another set. Grind time. Chapter 2 I was sweating. Panting and tired but I got another message with an XP notification. [100 Body XP gained.] I sighed. With no mention of how far I would need to go for a body level-up, I was left wondering how much more it would take. Gimme a progress bar! I did keep an internal counter though. After I recovered my breath, I decided to get up. I don¡¯t know if it was because of the blood finally circulating through my body or if the anesthesia finally wore off hours later, but I could shakily stand up if I was supporting my weight with my arms. Even if my quads were turned to jelly. ¡°Hup!¡± I got up awkwardly. A few seconds later, I got into the standing mirror¡¯s view. ¡°Sheesh. Rindo, you¡¯re a hunk.¡± I whistled. I didn¡¯t notice it early because I was carried by Iguchi, but I was pretty tall. Maybe 175-ish centimeters. Beats my previous life by a small bit. Unfortunately, I had a lean build. Definitely not deathly skinny. Yeah, definitely not. Even then, it sucks to see all those hours in the gym I spent in my previous life wasted. Wasted! A black overhanging mop for hair. Sunken eyes, pierced ears, and a few tattoos here and there. I didn¡¯t think much of them. Rindo had good taste, that was sure. It was hard to get a decent look under the dim lighting, but damn, I had a certain vibe to me now. Kind of like one of those early 2000¡¯s rock bands, you know? Honestly, I¡¯d look good drawn on a manga¡¯s front cover. Struggling back to the bedside, I grabbed the two golden hoops from the cabinet. Fiddling them in my palm, I realized that these were the same pair that Iguchi wore. Rindo and Iguchi¡­ they were pretty close, huh. Saddened, I hooked them onto my earlobes and felt them dangle as I collapsed onto the small old bed. Enough thinking, time to hit the hay. I¡¯m pooped. ¡ª ¡°Argh-huh?¡± I groaned and blinked awake. ¡°Who the¡ª¡± ¡°Yo!¡± Iguchi intoned as I jolted from how close his face was. ¡°You good, kohai?¡± I rubbed my eyes. Yeah, these two were close. ¡°I¡¯m feeling good. Much better actually, I think Doctor Sano¡¯s drugs wore off.¡± Iguchi grinned and rummaged through his coat. ¡°Nice. I gotcha¡¯ breakfast.¡± He said, pulling out a large package wrapped in butcher¡¯s paper. It smelled good for a second before I realized where I was and what I was. I know Kaneki got a lot of slack from some of the audience for refusing to eat humans after turning into a ghoul but being in person was a lot different. This¡­ was real. I gulped, feeling a little nauseous. Iguchi turned out to be an observant friend. ¡°Hey, hey! You sure you¡¯re fine?¡± He asked. Wrinkles appeared on his forehead as he scrunched his eyes and put a hand on my arm. I nodded, feeling something in my eyes shift. ¡°Yeah, yeah I¡¯m fine. I think I just need some meat.¡± I lied through my teeth. C¡¯mon, I told myself. You didn¡¯t even have to see the helpless sap die. Iguchi even brought a piece to my bed. I breathed heavily as Iguchi set the piece on the cabinet top beside my flip phone and unwrapped the paper. Blood. I sniffed. That weirdo Tsukiyama wasn¡¯t lying when he said that some ghouls were easily driven by food. It smelled better than any delicacy I could afford in my last life. But the sight. It was an arm. Cut at the should. Well, not really cut, probably ripped off by how jagged and torn it was. ¡°I saved ya¡¯ a nice part. I found this drunkard wandering from a bar to piss in an alley by our hideout. He was askin¡¯ for it at that point. What human wanders round these parts drunk and at night?¡± Iguchi laughed before handing the arm to me by the wrist. I obliged and grabbed it. I stared at it deadpan for a while before Iguchi found it odd. ¡°Can¡¯t eat? You used to scarf these down back in the day when we were much more wild without the gang. It was hard to come across safe meals back then.¡± He said with an almost sad face. I swallowed again. Saliva lined the back of my throat. [Hunger: Hungry] The system almost teased me about the necessity of eating. Trying to ignore the rising bile in my throat, hunger gnawed at me, but so did the nagging feeling that I wasn¡¯t the same anymore. Was this really who I was now? I forced myself to take a bite. The blood was hot, fresh, and it coursed down my throat, setting something inside of me alight. I couldn¡¯t stop. ¡°Good. Ya¡¯ need some meat to recover fast, man. I kinda lied earlier saying I took more jobs to pay for your recovery with the doc¡¯. I did take more jobs, but I also took a loan from the boss. I like the doc¡¯ but he doesn¡¯t run cheap, especially since he¡¯s the only one round these parts that''s a ghoul with the know-how.¡± I half-listened but that was enough to make me take another bite. Then another. Iguchi did all this to save his friend. Sadly, it was futile because I was the one who woke up instead of the original Rindo. But I¡¯ll return the favor. I¡¯ll live. I couldn¡¯t be the friend he couldn¡¯t remember, but I¡¯ll still live. How couldn¡¯t I after hearing that? ¡­The arm was almost gone now. I didn¡¯t even leave the bones. The last remnants of blood spiraled around my finger and I decided to look them dry. ¡°Did you eat too?¡± I asked. Iguchi pulled a chair from the outside in the meantime and was seated with the back facing towards me. ¡°Yeah. I had my fill already. Don¡¯t worry about me for now. Recover fast. As long as we¡¯re alive, we can keep workin¡¯ to our goal.¡± I frowned. Iguchi traced my expression and sure enough, he frowned too. I feel bad for him. It probably just hit home for Iguchi that the friend Rindo was to him simply wasn¡¯t there anymore. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Iguchi muttered. ¡°You good, Aniki?¡± I asked, earning a chuckle from him. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯m good. I just needa¡¯ while gettin¡¯ used to this.¡± Iguchi sighed. ¡°You have his voice, his face, his earrings, his everything, but it¡¯s not the same. Like I can hear and see little bits of him for a second then not in the next. It ain¡¯t your fault though. Nah, couldn¡¯t be.¡± I wiped the blood from my mouth with my arm. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind telling me, what were we working towards?¡± I asked. ¡°Heh. You¡¯re being so nice to me, kohai!¡± Iguchi snarked before he paused. It looked like he was reminiscing about something I couldn¡¯t remember. ¡°To be bigshots. The major leagues. Whatever ya¡¯ wanna call it. Run the 14th Ward together.¡± Iguchi finally said boastfully. ¡°Thank about all the good shit we¡¯ll have. We don¡¯t have ta¡¯ worry about the doves. Other ghouls. Anybody.¡± My face sank before my mouth opened and I blurted out laughing. That goal was just like Iguchi ¡ª that was plain to see despite how little I¡¯ve known him. Flashy and lofty. ¡°Whatcha¡¯ laughin¡¯ at?¡± Iguchi laughed with me. ¡°Nah, I was just thinkin¡¯ it¡¯s a little too big of a dream compared to now. Look at this room I¡¯m in!¡± Iguchi roared with laughter. ¡°You should see mine! I sold my fuckin¡¯ bed to one of the newer members sayin¡¯ I got a new one ¡ª I don¡¯t! I¡¯m sleepin¡¯ on rocks! We¡¯re broke!¡± If there was one thing cemented in my head so far, it was that Iguchi¡¯s a good guy. ¡ª A week passed. I was working out in my room and browsing my phone between rests while Iguchi was out again like usual. He said he¡¯d be back for the night with another meal if he wasn¡¯t to held up in other duties. It was a long and monotonous day, but I learned a lot. While it took a small while to work around the flip phone, it was pretty self-explanatory once I got the hang of it. A relic compared to the sleek smartphones I was used to, but functional enough. Then again, I did fiddle with my parents¡¯ flip phones when I was a kid in my last life. I scrolled through a contact list. It was only a handful of names, some were nicknames. Unfortunately, none of them hinted about my blood family. I sighed. It¡¯s a common fate in Tokyo Ghoul. Fathers and mothers dying to hunt and provide for their children and dying in the process. Or one family member being ousted as a ghoul and forced to go on the run either together or separately. Tired of brooding over bad thoughts, I kept going through more names. ¡°Boss Kiryu,¡± ¡°Iguchi,¡± ¡°Tatsu-san,¡± ¡°Kaname-san.¡± ¡°Shuuji (Kohai),¡± and ¡°Hannya-gal.¡± I hovered over the last one, curiosity piqued but decided against calling. Whoever Hannya-gal was, I didn¡¯t want to spring a call to them no matter how interesting the saved contact sounded. Though with this many people saved on my phone, it¡¯s a little weird that no one has knocked on his door yet. Did they know I was here? Iguchi didn¡¯t say if he told the rest of the Kurokumo that I was back. A whole weeks passed¡­ Then again, this room was far away from the rest of the gang as far as I could tell. BEEP BEEP BEEP Next set. I set an alarm on my phone. I shot up from the bed and got to my feet. I began to do some bodyweight squats. Turns out I was now strong enough to do basic compound exercises. While lifting my legs and working my horrible mobility gave me smidges of XP after a while of doing it, actual direct exercise was a whole other class. The system needed me to push myself. The first time I did an actual squat, I gained XP that rep and the five after it. Now obviously¡­ I could only do one rep at a time a couple days ago. Again, the system wouldn¡¯t reward me unless I truly exerted myself. Thankfully I figured out the cheat method to recover and do another set! Throw some naps in there and solid food to digest. Ever since then, I¡¯ve been banging these out without being put out of commission. However, that also heightened the amount of reps needed for XP. So here I am, positioning my behind over the bed in case I fell, I slowly squatted and then lifted. Over and over again until I hit fifteen hard-earned reps, the last rep had me shaking. ¡°Hoo boy, that¡¯s enough. Y-ya¡¯ did good, Rindo.¡± I grunted to myself.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I wheezed and plopped back onto the bed. Who cares about sweat on the already dirty bed at this point? I didn¡¯t. [100 Body XP gained.] I smiled as another notification popped up. Although I didn¡¯t know how much longer it would take, I knew I was getting closer. Like working towards beating a difficult boss in a Souls¡ª ¡®RING¡¯ ¡®RING¡¯ ¡®RING¡¯ ¡°Huh?¡± I wheezed out, still exhausted. It was my flip phone. It wasn¡¯t the usual alarm sound. I stretched across the bed and flipped it open. My eyes narrowed at the glowing contact name ¡ª Tatsu-san. Who¡¯s that? Well, no better time now to figure out. Exhaling sharply, I pressed the button to answer the call and brought it to my ear. "Yo, ''bout time ya picked up!" came a loud, gravelly voice through the speaker, so loud it crackled. I winced, pulling the phone away from my ear. The volume was maxed out, and the voice seemed to reverberate through the room. "Uh..." I grumbled, squinting at the phone as if it could explain anything. "Who¡¯s this?" The voice on the other end barked out a laugh. "Who¡¯s this?! Fuck, Ichi-chan wasn¡¯t lyin¡¯! Ya really lost it, huh? Guess you¡¯ll figure it out soon enough!" Before I could respond, the line went dead with a sharp click. I stared at the phone, brows furrowed. So much for Tatsu-san. And who¡¯s Ichi-chan? It sounded cute. It couldn¡¯t be this guy¡¯s nickname for Iguchi¡­ right? The thoughts that followed were short-lived. I heard the faint sound of hurried footsteps from down the hallway, growing louder and more distinct with each passing second. My stomach tightened as they approached my room. I swung my legs off the bed and stood up quickly, my body still aching from earlier. The flip phone was still clutched in my hand, and I already had an idea of what was coming behind the door. THUD. A sharp knock rattled my door. "Rindo-kohai, it¡¯s me!" a familiar voice hollered¡ªit was Iguchi. Relief washed over me for a brief moment before another, deeper voice followed. "Your callin him kohai!? Ha! I didn¡¯t believe it over the phone, but you weren¡¯t lyin¡¯, Ichi-chan!" The voice somehow managed to sound even more like a stereotypical Japanese delinquent than I thought possible. Also, that proved my earlier guess, I guess this Tatsu-san really was calling Iguchi a nickname. The door creaked as it started to open, unprompted. I hadn¡¯t locked it. Iguchi peeked his head in first, grinning nervously. "Hey, hey, don¡¯t freak out, a¡¯ight?" Before I could respond, a towering figure stepped in behind him. The man¡ªno, the beast of a man¡ªhad a shaven head and a scar cutting across his left brow and lip. His arms were thick, covered in tattoos that snaked their way up to his neck. He had the kind of presence that made the room feel smaller. "You." He jabbed a finger in my direction, his eyes narrowing. "You¡¯ve got some explainin¡¯ to do." "Explain¡¯ what!?" I snapped. ¡°Also quiet down. You damn near blew out my ear over the phone.¡± Iguchi stepped between us. "Relax, Tatsu-san. He doesn¡¯t remember ya¡¯.¡± ¡°That! Y¡¯all should¡¯ve told me yesterday!¡± Tatsu said. ¡°Geez, settle down ya¡¯ fuckin¡¯ baby.¡± Iguchi groaned. ¡°I already said I¡¯m sorry.¡± I sat there dumbstruck. Really? This giant guy was pissed because nobody told him just a week earlier? Actually, no that sounded bad. Just because he¡¯s big doesn¡¯t mean his feelings can¡¯t be. ¡°Tatsu.¡± The giant guy said bluntly. ¡°Just Tatsu. I¡¯ll show ya¡¯ the rest of our small group in a bit. We haven¡¯t forgiven you for what cha¡¯ did. We thought you died!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I blurted. ¡°Can you tell me more?¡± Honestly, I didn¡¯t know what happened with the original Rindo other than that he had an accident from the CCG. Those doves don¡¯t have anything better to do than seek out the troublemakers amongst ghouls. Tatsu frowned. That scar on his lip looked massive when his mouth was stretched. ¡°Ya¡¯ went solo. For a couple of weeks at least. We thought you went into hiding and left the gang, but Ichi-chan figured out somethin¡¯ from one of the higher-ups that you were doing something sketchy. He couldn¡¯t find anythin¡¯ else though..¡± Tatsu huffed and plopped into the chair Iguchi pulled in this morning. He almost broke the legs with his weight. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about it.¡± I sighed. ¡°Agh! Fuck. This is annoying. It feels like the western block turned to hot shit since ya¡¯ went AWOL. Just get better. Damn, Ichi-chan you tryna¡¯ take it easy on him? Keepin¡¯ him hold up alone?¡± Tatsu complained. Iguchi pulled another chair from god knows where outside and sat down. Is this going to be a meetup room from now on? Just who¡¯s gonna pop in tomorrow? ¡°He¡¯s weak. Really weak. Can¡¯t even stand¡ª¡± ¡°Nah, I could stand.¡± I cut Iguchi off, earning raised eyebrows. ¡°Really?¡± Iguchi looked satisfied. ¡°Nice, it¡¯s gotta be that arm I gave ya¡¯, it was high quality. Although you could last on that for a while, if you¡¯re trying to heal then you gotta overeat your fill.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help. Drunken hobos aren¡¯t gonna cut it, let''s get some good stuff. Our next job aint til next week anyway. Let¡¯s go.¡± Tatsu muttered. It looked like he was counting and putting together a small group to help. He looks like the caring type to go overboard quickly. Shoot, was he going to assemble a massive group just to hunt food for me? ¡°It wasn¡¯t no damn hobo! Also, don¡¯t bring too many, man. I can see the look in ya¡¯ eyes.¡± Iguchi eyed down Tatsu. Nice. Looks like we¡¯re both on the same page. ¡°Just the group. They¡¯re at Aku¡¯s Cafe right now, we¡¯ll join them there. Hopefully bring in some food for the Kurokumo¡¯s stash with some leftovers for Rindo too.¡± Tatsu said. Iguchi nodded and stood. ¡°See ya¡¯ soon, Rindo-kohai.¡± He grinned. Tatsu cringed. ¡°See ya¡¯ too. I¡¯ll ask ya¡¯ more later. With the others too.¡± He said before slapping Iguchi¡¯s near-bald head on their way out. I waved them goodbye. They looked fun. Rindo¡¯s made some good connections. I heard before in my previous life that you can judge the character of somebody pretty well just by reading their close friends and relationships. As far as I can tell, Rindo¡¯s pretty good. Well, obviously excluding the murder and sketchy stuff he did for the Kurokumo gang. Good as good could be for a ghoul in a gang. ¡°Hup.¡± I got to my feet. Gotta grind out these levels. ¡ª [Body Skill Level Up!] ¡°Finally!¡± I exclaimed, raising a valiant hand from the ground. I made sure to count all the XP I gained so far. 1000 in total. I couldn¡¯t even fall back to the bed after these hard sets. Unfortunately, the ground was gross. Damn it Rindo, you disgusting ghoul. I pulled my attention away from the floor and to the status screen, quickly throwing the alert to the side, opening my stats. [Body: 1] ¡°What does Body level 1 do¡ª¡± I clenched my fist and opened it. I did it twice before I uttered, ¡°Oooh? Oh ho, this is good shit.¡± Why did I clench my fist you ask? Because it stopped feeling weak. My legs felt tired, but not the same weakness as before. Only the wear and tear you get from exercise that goes away eventually. I got up from the dirty ground and proved my point. To put it plainly, I don¡¯t feel¡­ sickly. It¡¯s like I¡¯ve already gone through weeks of rehab instantaneously and reached ground zero. That''s great news! But the bad news was that I was hungry. I don¡¯t want to sound like a spoiled brat here, but that promised meal¡­ when is it coming? [Hunger: Peckish] I narrowed my eyes at the mention but as I inspected my status below, I found something new. Turns out the good news didn¡¯t want to stop and I got something pleasantly welcomed ¡ª a progress bar! It was fuckin¡¯ hidden somewhere in the dark HUD screen unlocked when I levelled. Weird, but welcome. I could see all XP¡¯s now, even my character XP. Hehe. Going back to Body, it¡¯s at 0 XP, but the max was at 2000 XP. Assuming this continues over and over, then the leveling system is pretty self-explanatory. Though what''s the level limit? If it''s the tweaked from the game, then 60? Actually, will I get bonus skill effect if I hit level 5 and the other increments of 5? No way to know unless I grind. I grabbed my phone to pull the time ¡ª 8:55 PM. No better time now than to finally do some upper body work. Pushups and some dips. ¡ª *RING RING RING* ¡°ARGH!¡± I grunted from my knees. I had one hand on the ground. My chest pounded and heaved in the air. Exercise never gets any easier unless you get complacent. My phone rang and I grabbed it. I lowered the volume in case a certain giant was trying to communicate, but it was just Iguchi. I answered. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Headin¡¯ in. Don¡¯t be naked or somethin¡¯.¡± Iguchi said bluntly. Thoughtful and considerate. I bent my legs up and down for a bit to stretch. I needed my flexibility to improve too. Lying down in a coma does not help your joints at all¡­ In moments I heard chatter reverberate through my walls along with a plethora of steps. The creaky door swung open with Iguchi heading the group behind him. ¡°Yosh! I got you a leg this time.¡± He grinned. ¡°Welcome in,¡± I said and looked at the handful behind Iguchi. The giant, Tatsu-san. Then a new face. It was a tall-ish man but not on the same level of Tatsu. Flowing bleached hair that reached his nape. Slitted eyebrows and a piercing there too. A sharp, handsome face. Maybe a little sleazy. Also in his early or mid twenties. Around his waist were four hannya masks¡¯, each differing in color and size. I recognized Iguchi¡¯s mask there. ¡°Rindo-san, you¡¯re back from the dead?¡± The blonde guy asked. He dragged in another crummy wooden chair behind. ¡°You are¡­?¡± I asked. ¡°Kaname-desuuuu¡± He said before lazily stretching out on his chair. I recalled that on my contacts and nodded. ¡°Yeah, back from the dead if you wanna call it that.¡± Kaname grinned. ¡°O¡¯course that¡¯s what I¡¯ll call it. Nobody told you yet? I remember seeing Iguchi-san runnin¡¯ to Doctor Sano¡¯s place while your hands and legs were flopping everywhere. Blood spillin¡¯ everywhere.¡± Before I could register Kaname¡¯s words, a skittish teen awkwardly stood between me and Kaname. Straight as an arrow. He looked like he wanted to say something so I just waited. ¡°Uh-Uhm, Rindo-Aniki! Congratulations on your recovery!¡± The guy chirped. Weirdo. I put together that this was probably the original Rindo¡¯s kohai, Shuuji. So I guessed. ¡°...Shuuji?¡± The chipper teen beamed. ¡°Yes, Aniki¡ª¡± ¡°Shut ya¡¯ trap Shuuji.¡± Tatsu smacked him on the head and slid a chair behind his ass. There was still one more face. A masked girl this time. A white-silver hannya half-mask was adorned on the lower half of her face. ¡°Hey¡­ Rindo-kun. Welcome back.¡± She said quietly. I narrowed my eyes slightly. No way, right? ¡°...Hannya-gal¨C¡± THRASH. SWIIIP. A kagune unleashed from her left shoulder ¡ª an ukaku. Immediately a projectile whizzled past my ear, clipping my hair. ¡°What was that for!?¡± I yelped. Looking behind me, I saw a glassy red feather embedded into the already dinged-up wall. ¡°Stupid.¡± Was all she said. Iguchi grabbed her hand. ¡°Atsushi. I already told you¡ª¡± A mistake. She whipped her hand away from Iguchi and threatened to launch another feather into Iguchi. She cursed him in Japanese as my befuddled head translated those harsh words I dare not think of. The fuckin gall of this gal. ¡°Stop messing up this room! It¡¯s already messed up as it is and I¡¯m broke!¡± I groaned. Thankfully she settled down as Tatsu pulled her a chair. Kaname look amused. Actually, no. He looked like he was holding back tears of laughter. Shuuji wasn¡¯t doing any better. He¡¯s still awkwardly twiddling his thumbs, somehow ignoring the senseless outburst of hannya-gal¡ªno, Atsushi. I wonder what it means ¡ª outlandish mood swings, maybe? ¡°Well,¡± Iguchi sighed and sat on his backward chair. ¡°Rindo-kohai, this is the group¡ª¡± ¡°Kohai!?¡± Atsushi screamed. She wanted to say some more words but Tatsu eyed her down and she settled. I wasn¡¯t surprised. Look at the size of the fella! Let alone that scarred and rough face. Was he the same age as me and the others, excluding the younger Shuuji? No way, right? RIGHT?! ¡°As I was sayin¡¯... this is the group,¡± Igushi said before Tatsu tossed me something from beneath his black leather jacket. ¡°A leg.¡± Tatsu sighed. ¡°We found some more drunkards so it might not taste as good but it''s the best we could do. The doves are prowling our western block a lot more now.¡± I was going to open my mouth to ask something but Shuuji went first. ¡°Atsushi-aneki got it. It was a lady she led to an abandoned warehouse.¡± He answered my question before I could ask it. It¡¯s a little weird, but I¡¯d like to know about the person before I eat a part of them. ¡°Thanks.¡± Shuuji smiled again. ¡°No problem, Aniki!¡± A stifled a sigh and got to eating. I was starving. The others chatted amongst themselves while I occupied myself. Same thing as last time, the limb was wrapped in butcher paper. Was it the last means of concealment in case they were found with meat? I unwrapped the string and took a deep whiff of the sweet scent. I felt something stir in my eyes ¡ª at this point I figured it was my kakugan, or eye shifting from normal to black sclera and a striking blood-red pupil. My ears perked when I heard a quiet sniffle from Atsushi as the others bickered and chatted. Okayyyy¡­? I brought the bloodied thigh to my mouth and started eating. It wasn¡¯t anything special but I guess the group effort among them made it so. After a week of eating, I¡¯ve gotten used to it. Instead of pushing the fact it was human flesh aside in my head, I accepted it. I acknowledged it. It wasn¡¯t right any other way, it simply was the world I woke up in. ¡°Hey, Rindo-san, do you really not remember much? Are our faces familiar?¡± Kaname asked as I ate. I shook my head and scratched my head. ¡°Nah. Sorry, but I can¡¯t sieve you guys through any memories.¡± ¡°Huh. I was meaning to ask, and so were we, but¡­ do you know anything about how you got into that incident with the doves?¡± So it was the doves who rendered the original Rindo to this state? Or I guess in a way, killed him? The five of them looked at me curiously. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± I frowned. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know anything. I woke up in a weird place and I saw the doc¡¯ and Iguchi. That¡¯s all I know now.¡± Frowns pulled at the lips of everyone. Well not Atsushi, but even behind her half-mask I could tell she was frowning too. I felt bad for these people. They lost a dear friend and I took his place. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Kaname said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t remember who did it.¡± Wait, what? ¡°Mm.¡± Atsushi hummed. ¡°I¡¯ll find them and send a feather through their necks.¡± Huh? ¡°I¡¯ll fuckin¡¯ tear their guts out,¡± Tatsu mumbled. Wait, wait, calm down you guys. ¡°The doves will pay for what they did to Aniki!¡± Shuuji muttered through gritted teeth. Even this timid fool?! ¡°Yep. We¡¯ll get ''em.¡± Iguchi nodded. You too!? From me to the original Rindo ¡ª you have some interesting friends. Chapter 3

Status Screen

Name: Rindo Shirogane Level: 0 Faction: Rogue Ghoul Kagune Class: Ukaku RC Cells: 510/510 Hunger: Peckish RC Matrix: 4.450838%

Core Attributes:

[Athlete: 1] [Head Hunter: 0] [Engineer: 0] [Meanuver: 0] [Scholar: 0] [Available Attribute Point[s]: 0]

Core Skill Levels:

[Body: 0] [Cool: 0] [Technical Ability: 0] [Reflexes: 0] [Intelligence: 0] Kakuhou Sac Count: 1 Type[s]: [Ukaku]

Perks:

Body ¡ª N/A Cool ¡ª N/A Technical Ability ¡ª N/A Reflexes ¡ª N/A Intelligence ¡ª N/A [Available Perk Point[s]: 0] Kakuja: [???] Affinity: [???]
It was the next morning. I was standing across my standing mirror focusing. On what exactly? My kagune. How did they release it so seamlessly in the show!? Okay, probably because most of them were ghouls since birth and it was second nature to them. I let alone my kagune, my kakugan eyes were difficult to appear. It was like I was trying to control a mysterious new limb and sense at the same time. Difficult. But I also figured out this control was something vital. [20 Reflex XP Gained] Yep, that. I was wondering how the cyberpunk-esque system worked but I figured a lot out this morning. So each skill corresponds to an attribute. Body to athlete. Cool to cold blooded. Technical ability to engineer. Reflexes to maneuver. Intelligence to scholar. While technical ability and intelligence were kind of a grey zone in this world because of the apparent lack of technology compared to 2077, I figured out reflex also encapsulated my everything with my kagune. However I did wonder if it also covered guns and blades like it did in Cyberpunk 2077. I¡¯ll find that out later. The systems starting to make more sense. In due time, me. ¡ª I grew tired of the mental gymnastics of my kagune. Back to body, I guess. But staying in this room was out of the question. Although numbers and XP made me happy, it was a little too much right now. So I put on Rindo¡¯s old boots. I couldn¡¯t tell if they were originally black or if it was smeared with so much old blood and mud that they turned black, but oh well. They were designed well. Yesterday, Iguchi and the others said it was cool to walk outside of my room if I was alright, just not to go too far. With that, I stepped out of the cramped room littered with clothes and chairs for the first time since I entered it. I decided to take the stairs downwards. Hopefully, I could handle them without supporting myself on the rails. And I did! It felt nice to not be trapped inside anymore. I was starting to go a little mad. If it wasn¡¯t for the flip phone or the window, I would¡¯ve lost my marbles. Moving further, I decided against going to the source of the music and bickering deeper into the main building and settled for the dimly lit parking lot. The corridor that led to the parking was short and I took in the fresh-ish air with hints of diesel. Eyeing the many bikes I whistled. They looked cool. All of them were heavily customized and most had the same flag attached with the Kurokumo gang¡¯s symbol of a black cloud. Were they fronting as a biker gang? I did some laps around the massive underground parking lot. [10 Body XP Gained] Nice. Real close to Body 2 now. I sped up and tried some maneuvers like pivoting, small lunges, hops. [50 Reflex XP Gained] I grinned. Just as I thought. Slowly I was even gaining Reflex XP as well and I was gaining Body XP. Made sense too, as I was training to move very quickly and do different movements as opposed to just conditioning my body. But before I could revel in the XP I heard roaring bikes echoing in the distance. Flashy bikes and loud chatter came into view as they drove down the ramp from the outside. ¡°Is that Rindo-san!?¡± An unfamiliar voice asked from the small group of three. ¡°Nah, it couldn¡¯t be ya¡¯ friggin idiot. He died¡ª¡± ¡°Oh shit it is Rindo-san! The hell!? Is that why Iguchi¡¯s been rucking round that empty hall recently?¡±I waved to the trio, all of whom were unmasked. As usual, they looked like the unfriendly kind, but you can¡¯t judge them based on looks¡ª Oh. One of them had blood trickling down the back of their bike. It smelled sweet. Gee, I wonder what it was. I felt my eye twitching and my kakugan threatening to appear, but I¡¯ve been training myself to control it when I¡¯m not in combat or directly eating. I can¡¯t oust myself in public in the future. ¡°What¡¯s up!¡± I nonchalantly yelled and sped-walked toward them parking together. ¡°Risen from the dead? How come I haven¡¯t heard of it?¡± One of them asked. He had short black cropped hair. His clothes matched the other two¡¯s grungey look. ¡°Sorry y''all, I got amnesia after an accident. Iguchi didn¡¯t tell anybody because I was weak as bones. Who¡¯re you guys?¡± The three of them shared puzzled looks before bringing their attention back to me. ¡°Seriously?¡± The same one asked but a little quieter. ¡°Seriously. I forgot everybody. Can barely walk too.¡± I responded. ¡°Does the boss know?¡± I rummaged through my memories and frowned. ¡°Boss¡­ Kiryu?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Iguchi or someone else might¡¯ve told them.¡± I shrugged my shoulders. ¡°Nah, you¡¯re good. Anyways you were always bad with names. Try to remember this time. I¡¯m Tsuu and he¡¯s¡ªoh shit speakin¡¯ of the boss we gotta go!¡± Tsuu yelped before grabbing the other two he didn¡¯t get the change to name inside the building. That was fun. Tsuu¡­ huh. I wonder if the original Rindo had any relation to Tsuu. But before I could ponder anymore, I heard some more bikes in the distance. Hey, might as well greet whoever came next. It¡¯ll be better than barging inside the main building at a bad time and being bombarded with names. However, I was wrong because the next group was a familiar one. ¡°Feelin¡¯ strong today?¡± Iguchi yelled over his insanely loud bike. Kaname was on his back. Tatsu was sporting a pretty wicked bike too. He modded the handles and seat to help him fit. The younger kohai, Shuuji was latched behind him nervously. Hannya-gal, Atsushi was on her own cutesy bike. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Tatsu echoed. ¡°Good work, Aniki!¡± Kaname smiled. Atsushi¡­ she just stared at me. A small shiver ran down my back in case she decided to use her kagune on me again. Creepy. ¡°I¡¯m feelin¡¯ a lot better.¡± I grinned. Numbers go crazy! ¡°Nice. Y¡¯know what I mentioned when I first brought you here? About Kashiwagi¡¯s?¡± I frowned. Did I forget something? ¡°I don¡¯t know. My head was a little weird back then. Drugs and all.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s all good. We gotta get you a mask. Probably a new wallet too. Gotta hold your bills somewhere.¡± Iguchi muttered. I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Right now?¡± ¡°Might as well. We¡¯ll stop by for coffee too. Maybe that¡¯ll bring back some memories. You used ta¡¯ love Aku¡¯s Cafe.¡± Iguchi replied and the others nodded synchronously. I¡¯d kill for a coffee now! Theirs no better pair for an amateur novelist than caffeine! Banzai for coffee! I smiled. ¡°Lets go!¡± I looked down. I was wearing the boots, some black jeans a little too big and an old plain brown sweatshirt. Not the best outfit, but the cleanest out of what I have. I¡¯ll take it. The rest of them revved up their bikes. But I frowned. Kaname was behind Iguchi. Tatsu had Shuuji.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Only Atsushi had a free spot. ¡­This sucks. ¡°Hurry up, man.¡± Tatsu said as he wore his helmet. Iguchi and Kaname were already beginning to head out of the parking lot. Atsushi was staring at me deadpan. Did she want to kill me? I met her gaze and she rolled her eyes. ¡°Come on, Rindo-kun.¡± I shuffled over awkwardly. Yeahhhh, I¡¯m okay. She didn¡¯t have a helmet on herself, let alone a spare one so I just climbed on the backseat. ¡°Did your accident turn you dum?¡± She scoffed a question and wiggled. ¡°Hold on, you¡¯ll fall with those skeleton legs.¡± I cleared my throat and gently obliged. We started rolling, tailing Tatsu and Iguchi at the front. Atsushi had a killer bike, cute too. The paint job was a flawless white, but it had intricate silver accents and etchings all over. She didn¡¯t have the Kurokumo¡¯s flag though. A good choice, it would¡¯ve ruined the aesthetic. Eventually we left the underground parking lot and the afternoon sun was revealed. Finally, not through a window. But more importantly, Atsushi was driving like a maniac! She caught up to Iguchi before she passed him. I heard him scream something like ¡°Slow down,¡± but she didn¡¯t listen. At least the guys in this group understood I still needed time to grow stronger! I gripped her jacket tighter and brought my head closer to her back. This maniac! She¡¯s going to be the death of me, not the doves! In moments we were zigzagging through a bustling mainroad. Cops eyed us down but couldn¡¯t chase. Then we illegally swiped past a sidewalk! Once we reached a more empty road she broke her silence. ¡°You¡¯re an idiot, Rindo-kun.¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± I yelped from behind. The audacity of calling me an idiot after that! ¡°I thought you died for real.¡± She continued. ¡°And that¡¯s what you say after coming back? Stupid.¡± I felt my earlier frustration sink a little. Did she want to get a little payback on the original Rindo? Gosh. ¡ª ¡°Welcome to Kashiwagi¡¯s,¡± Iguchi smirked at me. ¡°Our Kurokumo¡¯s mask maker. Well, not really ours, but the only one in the ward. This place is a gang-free zone, Kashiwagi¡¯s demands. One time some sucka¡¯ messed ambushed a guy outside the shop and killed a guy. Kashiwagi hunted the guy down and slaughtered ten ghouls from the same gang in return. So don¡¯t piss him off ya¡¯ hear?¡± I was bent over the garbage can outside the mask store. A puddle of reddish vomit was inside it. Am I bitch for puking? Maybe. Screw you. Tatsu patted me on the back. ¡°Atsushi, did ya¡¯ really have to go that fast on poor Rindo?¡± Kaname whistled from somewhere behind. ¡°Don¡¯t mind her, it might be that time of¡ª¡± SLAP. Kaname quieted down. Iguchi sighed and waved us all in. ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± I spat out whatever was left and cleaned my lips. Shaking my head a little I said I was fine to Tatsu. ¡°Helllllo? Kashiwagi-san you here? It¡¯s Iguchi.¡± It was dim inside the store. Mounted mannequins scattered the center hall while masks of all kinds lined the surrounding walls behind the vast glass counter which also displayed masks. They were separated into similar styles. The six of us shuffled over to the section of hannya masks. Totally not conspicuous to any CCG dove that may wander inside to investigate the dozens of ghouls wearing hannya masks as a gang trade mark. Tooootally not. I stepped away from the others and towards some of the mounted mannequins. These hannya masks were pretty cool. Most were full masks instead of Atsushi¡¯s half-mask, so I started thinking about which one I wanted. I narrowed my eyes at a mounted mannequin with cloth draped over it. That¡¯s a person beneath. I sighed. Did all mask makers in Tokyo Ghoul do this to their new customers? Actually, I technically wasn¡¯t even new! ¡°Uh. Kashiwagi-san?¡± I asked. The cloth didn¡¯t move. ¡°I know you¡¯re under there.¡± The cloth still didn¡¯t move. I groaned and walked over to the cloth and pulled it off where it should¡¯ve covered a mannequin¡ª ¡­it was a mannequin. A little on the bigger side, but a mannequin. ¡°Huh?¡± In the next moment I felt a tap on my shoulder that sent a tingly shiver down my back. ¡°You were dead the last I heard.¡± A quiet voice hissed. I jolted, the cloth still held in my hands. A new face. Just like his voice, the older gentleman had a snake-like appearance. Was it just the forked tongue? Yes. Iguchi and Tatsu came from behind the man. ¡°This here is Kashiwagi-san¡± Iguchi grinned. ¡°Best maskmaker in Nakano!¡± I bowed my head a little respectfully and the mask maker returned one back. ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± I said. ¡°Meet?¡± Kashiwagi frowned. He opened his mouth to speak but Tatsu filled him in. ¡°Huh. Amnesia¡­ rare.¡± He slowly nodded. ¡°Did you guys tell Rindo-kun what mask he used to wear?¡± Iguchi and Tasu looked at each other and then shook their heads. ¡°Good. I want to see if his preferences change with a loss of memory.¡± Kashiwagi clapped his hands and grabbed both Tatsu and Iguchi back to leave me alone. Really? Was this an experiment? I sighed before turning around to browse through the other hannya masks. Weird maskmaker aside, this place is cool. I was geeking out because it looked kind of similar to Uta¡¯s mask shop in the Tokyo Ghoul world. A shame I couldn¡¯t enter it because it¡¯s too early in the timeline. The others were chattering away. Probably because they didn¡¯t need any masks and were just catching up with Kashiwagi. Anyways, I moved along the selection toward the half-masks. They seem more my style. Eventually my hands were pulled to the glass counter. I poked my head up and looked around for a while before I called for Kashiwagi-san. ¡°This one?¡± He asked as he made his way behind the counter. He reached inside and pulled out a sleek black half-mask and handed it to me. It looked pretty solid and obviously well-made. Felt it too. My hands brushed along the silver accents on the fierce gold teeth. ¡°Yeah, I like this one.¡± Kashiwagi nodded and brushed his chin. ¡°I¡¯ll use the same measurements, doesn¡¯t look like your face changed that much. I don¡¯t have many orders right now so it¡¯ll be ready tomorrow at the earliest. Swing by.¡± I nodded. ¡°...And the price?¡± ¡°Free. I only charge humans.¡± He answered firmly. Huh. I guess that makes sense if he wants less trouble among ghouls. Plus it gives more incentive for ghouls to get masks from him to keep the ward safer for them. What a nice guy. ¡°Thank you, Kashiwagi-san.¡± I responded with a smile before I remembered what he said earlier. ¡°So-uh, about your experi¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s the exact same.¡± I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Did I actually have a connection with the original Rindo? Or was it great minds think alike? ¡°Really!?¡± ¡°Yep. Pretty interesting if you ask me.¡± He said, skimming through a large notebook. ¡°Ah, nice. I still have your measurements.¡± Iguchi spotted them. ¡°Yo, you all done¡ªHuh!?¡± Iguchi and the rest them came beside me and peeked over at the glass sitting atop the display. ¡°Brilliant choice, Aniki!¡± ¡°Nice.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so funny.¡± I caught a surprised meep from Atsushi but ignored it. Didn¡¯t want trouble in the store. Iguchi patted my shoulder and brought me into a loose headlock. ¡°C¡¯mon man, really? You had to choose the same one to match Atsushi again?¡± He sighed. Wait what? Just because it¡¯s a half-mask? ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You kiddin¡¯ kohai? Look over ere¡¯.¡± Iguchi said before swiveling me to face Atsushi. I studied her mask. White-silver¡­ oh. Go figure. His mask was just the opposite of her white and silver. It was black and gold. Also a half-mask. Nice one, me. Friggin idiot. ¡ª- ¡°Hey, hey, heyyyy!!! You¡¯re gonna kill me! Atsushiiiii! Chill!¡± I screamed as she drove past another red light, somehow her reacting well enough to weave the traffic. The idea of jumping off sounded better but I¡¯m too much of a wimp to do it. She¡¯s a wicked woman and a maniac driver. Of course the way to Aku¡¯s Cafe was short with her. It didn¡¯t take long for Iguchi and the others to catch up. He once again scolded her and she just scoffed. Damn it girl, take some accountability! I ran over to the nearest trashcan, already feeling the bile rise up. Luckily I managed to swallow it down. There was a nice smell in the air so I¡¯ll just attribute it to that. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Iguchi called before opening the door for us. The moment I stepped inside, the rich aroma of coffee hit me, mingling with the faint sweetness of something freshly baked. Aku¡¯s Caf¨¦ was dimly lit, with wooden furnishings polished to a warm sheen and mismatched chairs that gave the place a cozy, lived-in feel. Despite the chaos that led us here, the cafe had a calming effect. Is this why a certain old Manager decided to run a coffee shop? I could see how it could bring together people. Good going, Anteiku! Should I start my own coffee shop in the 14th Ward? Iguchi waved us toward a corner booth, one that seemed to be unofficially reserved for his crew. Atsushi strutted in behind me, smug as ever, while I tried to shake off the lingering dizziness from her driving. Wicked woman. Atsushi plopped down across from me, kicking her legs up onto the table like she owned the place. ¡°You¡¯re soft. Next time, drive yourself if you¡¯re gonna whine.¡± I glared at her. ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll take the train.¡± A server approached, a young man wearing a crisp white shirt with sleeves rolled up, exposing tattoos that peeked out from underneath. "Your usual, Iguchi?" he asked Iguchi, not bothering with a notepad. ¡°Yep. All black.¡± Iguchi said. I eyed the server as he turned away to the counter. I pulled closer to Iguchi and brought a hand to cover from the outside, ¡°Is that a ghoul?¡± I whispered. Hey, gotta be safe. ¡°Nah. Can¡¯t you smell it?¡± Iguchi responded. ¡°Is your nose alright?¡± Kaname asked from beside Tatsu and Shuuji. I rubbed my nose. ¡°Maybe? Hrm, I guess my senses got dull as much as my body has over the coma.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be your nose in the meantime, Anik¡ª¡± ¡°Shut ya¡¯ trap kohai. You can¡¯t rise the ranks if ya¡¯ bootlick.¡± Tatsu slapped Shuuji¡¯s head. Poor guy. The talk about my senses did make me wonder what it feel like. Cool, probably? It was all about headhunting and assassin typa stuff. Rad. I pulled up my status and silently apologized to Atsushi whose head was poking through the screen in my vision. Thankfully she couldn¡¯t sense it otherwise I¡¯d have a glassy arrow sent through my head instead. It¡¯s a shame I don¡¯t have any perk or attribute points, but if it''s like the game then I have to level myself up to obtain them. How I would level? I have a sneaky suspicion¡­ that I have to kill somebody. Ghoul or human. Also, it''s likely the method I do will probably also give me Cool XP, Reflex XP, hell maybe even Body XP. And if it is really pulling from the cyberpunk game, I¡¯ll need to optimize my build and not waste my attribute points. That''s because some perks won¡¯t be unlocked no matter how many perk points I have stored if I haven¡¯t hit the prerequisite points in that respective attribute. Gah, numbers and more numbers. ¡°Enjoy!¡± The server announced, breaking down my internal numbers rant. Six fancy glasses of black coffee. It smelled incredible. While I used to enjoy a double-double from a drive thru, at least I¡¯m able to enjoy coffee as a ghoul. ¡°Thank you!¡± We all echoed. Iguchi sat on the outside and handed us our cups. "Drink up," Iguchi said, taking a long sip from his own mug. "We got business to talk about." I nodded. These glasses looked great. If I had a smartphone, I would¡¯ve pulled it out and snapped a photo of the six of us and some over-the-top photos of the coffee. I sighed, I¡¯m missing smartphones. ¡°You all right?¡± Kaname asked before he sipped. ¡°Yeah, it just smells real good.¡± I smiled before grabbing it by the handle. I took another deep inhale before bringing it to my lips. ¡°Ahhhh.¡± I exhaled. It tasted great. I looked across to Tatsu who looked serious. Actually, he always looked stern and serious. ¡°We were all out earlier together near central Nakano to see what¡¯s brewing with the CCG patrols and the other gangs. We stayed up overnight to do it. Haven¡¯t slept.¡± I raised an eyebrow but didn¡¯t say anything. Kaname nodded. ¡°It¡¯s bad out there, Rindo-san. Some lone, but strong ghouls were actin¡¯ up outside Meiji University. One of the other gangs had their sights to recruit them but things fell through. Boss had eyes on them too. They started killin¡¯ each other. A shame, I saw a really beautiful ghoul, she was the picture-perfect Shibuya gal¡ª¡± ¡°Get serious Kaname.¡± Tatsu flicked Kaname¡¯s temple. Kaname frowned and rubbed his head. ¡°As I was saying, they caused a ruckus and killed some students too. Doves got involved. A First Class investigator from their headquarters in the 1st Ward came across them and now decided to make the 14th his home for now.¡± ¡°Strong fucker with a giant hammer.¡± Iguchi nodded. ¡°I already called the boss about it and he said to come back to our block and lay low in case.¡± I silently nodded and took another sip. ¡°Speaking of the boss, did you tell him about me?¡± ¡°Yeah. After the day I brought ya¡¯ back here.¡± Iguchi said. ¡°Oh, okay. I ran into uhm¡­ what was his name?¡± I muttered. Shoot, am I just as bad as Rindo with names? ¡°Uh, Tsuu. That¡¯s right. I ran into Tsuu and he was surprised I was alive?¡± ¡°Oh that, Aniki? Don¡¯t worry about them. Only us and the Kurokumo higher-ups knew you were alive. After Iguchi-aniki told the boss, they agreed to not have you thrown into that mess. They¡¯re a rowdy bunch.¡± Shuuji said. I eyed his glass. He¡¯s already wolfed down his coffee. C¡¯mon, you gotta savor it! ¡°Rowdy and ugly.¡± Kaname agreed. ¡°I tried talkin¡¯ to Misa-chan again and she almost yanked my ear off.¡± Atsushi scoffed and jabbed a finger in Kaname¡¯s direction. ¡°Obviously no girls that know you would like you. You''re a dirtbag. She shoulda¡¯ yanked off your¡ª¡± ¡°Okay, okay. Hold the brakes.¡± Tatsu interjected. I snorted. ¡°Okay. But did you guys need to bring me into the fold?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± They all hummed. ¡°Whatcha¡¯ mean? Once ya¡¯ get better again you¡¯re gonna lead us, Rindo-san.¡± Kaname said as if it was the most natural thing. I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Not Iguchi? I thought I¡¯m his ko¡ª¡± ¡°He¡¯s been fuckin¡¯ with you.¡± Tatsu sighed. ¡°...Oh.¡± That fucker. Should¡¯ve known the moment I heard him laugh. I scoffed. ¡°Hey, can one of you guys teach me how to control my kagune?¡± I asked as I continued to slowly savor my coffee. ¡°What? Really? Ya¡¯ can¡¯t feel it no more?¡± Iguchi looked surprised. I nodded. Not before I spotted Atsushi genuinely looking concerned. Alright! I get it! A ghoul that can¡¯t use his kagune. Kinda like a bird that can¡¯t use its wings. ¡°Hmmm¡­.¡± Kaname hummed. ¡°You strong enough to head out with me tonight, Rindo-san?¡± ¡°Yeah, should be.¡± I nodded. It sounded nice. It was due time I could get an idea of what Tokyo Ghoul¡¯s nightlife was like. I had to get used to it. Besides, I also wanted to get to know the others in our group aside from Iguchi. Kaname sounded pretty cool. SLAM! We all jolted at the source ¡ª Atsushi¡¯s fist hitting the table. Our cups rattled. Even the faraway server at the counter glared at us. Iguchi got over his jitters and turned to the counter. He clasped his hands apologetically while the culprit didn¡¯t look like she cared. ¡°No!¡± She cried. Kaname poked his head forward and met her deadly gaze head-on. Right on, Kaname! I¡¯m rooting for ya¡¯! ¡°Hoooo¡­? What¡¯s the problem, Atsushi-chan?¡± Kaname raised an eyebrow. ¡°He¡¯s not well enough.¡± She said, jutting a finger to me. I frowned. ¡°But I just said I was though¡­¡± Kaname nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what he said.¡± Atsushi looked flustered. ¡°He doesn¡¯t even have his mask! What if you guys get into some hot shit?¡± Oh. That was actually a good point. I glanced over to Kaname who nodded slowly too. ¡°Huh. I forgot. Sorry, Atsushi, you¡¯re right. My bad.¡± He said, brushing his luscious hair. ¡°A shame. There''s a mixer I¡¯m heading to tonight. I can¡¯t invite any other guys to fill in the missing spot. Tatsu-san¡¯s too big and bald, he¡¯ll scare them. Same thing with Iguchi-san. Shuuji-kun¡¯s too young.¡± Kaname sank back into his seat and took the last sip of his coffee with a pout. I did too. That sounded fun¡ª Oop. Atsushi¡¯s staring daggers at me. Nevermind. ¡°Y¡¯all done?¡± Iguchi asked. We nodded and Iguchi pulled up to pay our bill. Eventually we headed outside to the bikes again and it looked pretty late. ¡°Ahh! Sorry Rindo-kohai. I wanted to get ya¡¯ a new wallet. The shops probably closed.¡± Iguchi said, fastening his helmet on. I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I had fun.¡± ¡°I know a girl¡¯s store that opens til 10,¡± Atsushi said as she hopped onto her bike. ¡°Huh!?¡± Kaname exclaimed from behind Iguchi. ¡°I thought you said he¡¯s too weak to head out late, Atsushi-chan!¡± ¡°I can protect him better than you. If you took him, you¡¯d be too busy frolicking with those sleazy girls¡ª¡± ¡°Okay, okay. Hold the brakes Atsushi.¡± Tatsu said from his bike. ¡°Just be safe. We¡¯ll head back to Kurokumo¡¯s.¡± I nodded. ¡°Sure. See y¡¯all then. Thanks Iguchi-aniki!¡± Iguchi put a finger above his lip and grinned, ¡°Of course! I may be broke, but I could always afford my kohai¡¯s coffee.¡± He roared with laughter, somehow overwhelming the sound of his exhaust. I shook my head with a smile and hopped behind Atsushi. ¡°Ready?¡± She asked as I waved the four of them off. Weird. Why¡¯s this demon being so nice? ¡°Uh. Yeah. Ready.¡± I muttered. ¡°Where¡¯s the shop again?¡± ¡°Not far. Small shop south of Nakano.¡± She said. Huh. Didn¡¯t sound too bad. I exhaled in relief before I flipped my phone and read the time ¨C 8:55 PM. Chapter 4 ¡°ATSUSHIIIIIII!¡± I screamed. This is getting ridiculous! She¡¯s gonna kill me someday! She zoomed through the nightly traffic. Billboards whished through. Traffic lights and people did too. Groaning against the wind pushing me back I grabbed her waist a little tighter and used one hand to check the time. 9:10. ¡°How much longer!¡± I yelled over the blaring horns and wind. ¡°About 3.¡± She yelled back. Three!? Three what? Three minutes? Blocks? Traffic lights? Lives? Turns out it was three minutes before she pulled into a small strip mall in a sketchy shopping district and parked. She hopped off and shrugged her shoulders. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± I bent over and grabbed my knees. Just breath, me. Breathe and calm yourself. Zen. ¡°Hurry, we gotta pick one out.¡± She waved me inside. I looked up. The store¡¯s sign flickered faintly in neon blue. It wasn¡¯t the most inviting place, but it had a charm to it¡ªthe kind of place you¡¯d find a hidden gem if you looked long enough. Well, looking hard in a rough place. Following her lead, I entered. Inside, the air smelled faintly of old leather and metal polish. Shelves were crammed with accessories of all kinds ¡ª tarnished rings, chunky bracelets, and pendants that looked like they¡¯d seen more than a few lifetimes. There was even a corner dedicated to belts, some with worn-out studs, others with shiny skull buckles. Beside them were the wallets. I shuffled over to the small collection. ¡°Is this a second-hand boutique shop?¡± I muttered as I ran a finger over different cracked leather wallets. Atsushi ignored me. I lifted my head and saw her at another shelf grabbing a necklace with a broken chain, inspecting it closely before setting it aside. ¡°I was hoping this could jog some memories.¡± She said quietly. Damn. I winced, that was a real kicker. First Iguchi and now her. C¡¯mon Rindo, how could ya¡¯ leave them like this? I didn¡¯t know what to say so I continued browsing. It wasn¡¯t until I found a tacky deep blue, almost grey, leather wallet that I responded. ¡°How about this?¡± I held it up. ¡°Pshh.¡± Atsushi laughed from a distance before sliding over. She came close, grabbed it, and opened it. ¡°Tacky, but cute. Sure.¡± ¡°Were you buying anything for yourself?¡± I asked. She shook her head and gestured for the shopkeeper. ¡°I already have something from this shop.¡± I squinted my eyes away from her view. Was she referencing something she did with the original Rindo? ¡°Just a £¤1000.¡± The shopkeeper said. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you, Atsushi-chan. Rindo-kun, too?¡± ¡°Hi Oba-san, we¡¯re just finding a wallet for him,¡± Atsushi said a smile I had never seen before. The old woman behind the counter adjusted her glasses, giving us a warm smile. ¡°You always bring the noisy ones, don¡¯t you, Atsushi-chan? And Rindo-kun, it¡¯s been a while. You¡¯re looking...¡± She paused, glancing at me with a hint of confusion. ¡°...different. Have you been eating well? You¡¯re a little thin.¡± I managed an awkward smile and a bow. ¡°Uh, not really. Been a rough couple of days.¡± Atsushi tossed the ring onto the counter along with the £¤1000 bill. ¡°Just this today, Oba-san, nothing for me. Gotta get him started with somethin¡¯, y¡¯know?¡± The woman chuckled, ringing it up. ¡°Still dragging people around, huh? You¡¯re lucky you have such a loyal friend, Rindo-kun.¡± Oh right, I chose one without checking the price earlier. Damn it. I keep forgetting I¡¯m dirt-broke. So I didn¡¯t respond, unsure of what the original Rindo¡¯s reputation here had been. Atsushi took the bag and nudged me toward the exit. As we stepped outside, a chill breeze swept through the narrow alley, making me pull my sweatshirt tighter. Atsushi was already fishing in her pockets for her keys when her head tilted slightly as if she¡¯d heard something I hadn¡¯t. Which she probably did. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked. ¡°Shh.¡± She motioned for me to stay quiet, her eyes narrowing as they scanned the street. Then she pulled me beside a large car to peek. [10 Cool XP Gained!] I ignored the notification and followed her gaze. We noticed two figures moving toward the neighboring closed shop from the one we just left. They weren¡¯t subtle, shuffling in a way that made them seem both impatient and on edge. One was tall and wiry, wearing a hoodie pulled low over his face. The other was stockier, with a scar running down his cheek. This district was bound to have thieves. Especially now without widespread smartphones. I was skeptical that this rundown strip mall even had cameras¡­ Atsushi muttered under her breath, her voice low. ¡°Both human.¡± My stomach twisted regardless. ¡°What do we do?¡± ¡°Depends. If they¡¯re just here for trouble, we deal with it. If they¡¯re hunting...¡± Her words hung in the air as the two men reached the shop¡¯s door. Scarface tried the handle, but it didn¡¯t budge. He glanced around before pulling out a crowbar from his bag. It was clear they were bound to move onto the old lady¡¯s shop. ¡°It¡¯s good you can¡¯t use your kagune. I don¡¯t have to worry about you accidentally revealing we¡¯re ghouls.¡± She muttered. Shit. We¡¯re really gonna stop them. She tugged at my arm and brought me to my feet before she took lead. ¡°Hey!¡± She yelled. Great! Let¡¯s keep it verbal and scare them off. I¡¯d hate for this to get viole¡ªoh, look, they¡¯re heading towards us. The two men stopped in their tracks, turning their attention to Atsushi. Scarface smirked, tossing the crowbar over his shoulder. The wiry one with the hoodie darted his eyes between us. ¡°What do you want?¡± Scarface sneered. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ brats.¡± Atsushi didn¡¯t miss a beat. She rolled her shoulders. ¡°Just leave. We already called the cops.¡± Oh, she did!? Nice call, wicked woman! Short hoodie frowned and pulled at the taller one. Clearly the smarter of the two. But Scarface chuckled, his grin widening as he stepped closer. ¡°...You two called the cops and didn¡¯t run? Made shit easier for us. Empty your pockets. Now.¡± ¡°Atsushi,¡± I whispered, ¡°I think this one¡¯s gonna¡ª¡± ¡°Too late for that,¡± She muttered, cutting me off. She took another step forward, her posture shifting. It wasn¡¯t casual anymore. It was predatory. Before I could blink, she closed the gap between them, her fist colliding with Scarface¡¯s jaw. The impact was brutal¡ªhis head snapped to the side, and he crumpled to the ground like a sack of bricks. ¡°Ya¡¯ fuckin¡¯ dumass, lettin¡¯ down your guard.¡± Short Hoodie let out a strangled yell for his partner. Atsushi didn¡¯t give him the chance. She ducked low, sweeping his legs out from under him. He hit the pavement hard, the air rushing out of his lungs with a wheeze. ¡°Rindo-kun!¡± She snapped, her voice sharp. I shook myself out of my stupor and stumbled forward. Hoodie tried to scramble to his feet, but Atsushi planted a boot on his chest, pinning him down. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Her voice icy. ¡°You try anything stupid, and I¡¯ll make sure you can¡¯t walk out of here.¡± Scarface groaned from the ground, clutching his jaw. Blood dripped between his fingers. ¡°You... you fuckin¡¯ bitch!¡± Atsushi glanced back at me, her expression calm but expectant. ¡°Well? You just gonna stand there, or you gonna help?¡± Help? Help with what? My hands trembled as I looked down at Short Hoodie. His eyes were wide, filled with fear. ¡°Atsushi,¡± I stammered. ¡°I... I don¡¯t think I can¡ª¡± ¡°Hold him down, idiot. For the cops.¡± She said before pouncing on Scarface to keep him down. I flinched and rushed Short Hoodie. As I grabbed Short Hoodie¡¯s arm to pin him down, he thrashed under me, yelling and kicking wildly. His panicked cries mixed with the groans of his partner on the ground. I didn¡¯t realize how strong he was despite being damaged by Atsushi who was still wrestling Scarface. ¡°Stay still, damn it!¡± I growled, struggling to keep a grip on Hoodie¡¯s arm. He was wiry but strong, his adrenaline-fueled flailing making it harder than it should¡¯ve been. I was also immensely weak for a ghoul. ¡°Get off me!¡± Hoodie screamed, his voice cracking as he twisted his body. My heart pounded in my ears. Holding him down felt like trying to pin a live wire. ¡°Atsushi!¡± I called out, my voice shaky. ¡°What am I even supposed to do here!?¡± ¡°Keep him down!¡± she barked, slamming Scarface¡¯s head into the pavement for emphasis. ¡°Use your weight! Stop being such a¡ª¡± Her words were drowned out by Hoodie¡¯s sudden, frantic movements. His hand darted into his hoodie pocket. I didn¡¯t catch it at first. My focus was on his other arm, which I had pinned to the pavement. But then I saw his expression shift¡ªfear melting into something colder, more calculated.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. He squirmed and twisted over. I didn¡¯t have time to think. My instincts screamed at me to react, but I didn¡¯t know how. All I could do was watch as his hand emerged, clutching a knife. A cold dread swept over me. My mind went blank, a single, panicked thought taking over. I¡¯m gonna die. He swung the blade, and I felt the sting as it grazed my side. The sound of fabric ripping mixed with the metallic scent of blood that hit the air. I stumbled back, clutching at my shirt, waiting for the pain to set in. But it didn¡¯t. I looked down, expecting a gaping wound. Instead, there was barely a scratch, the blade having skimmed the surface of my skin. A thin line of blood, but that was it. I blinked, my mind struggling to process what had just happened. Then it hit me¡ªI¡¯m not human anymore. My heart pounded as Hoodie lunged again, but something deep inside me shifted. The scent of blood. This guy¡¯s blood. My kakugan flared, and the world around me sharpened. Colors burned brighter. Sounds became deafening. My pulse thundered in my ears. ¡°Agh. Really?¡± Atsushi¡¯s tired voice barely registered. But I wasn¡¯t in control anymore. My body moved on its own, a snarl ripping from my throat as I grabbed Hoodie¡¯s wrist mid-swing. He froze, his eyes wide with terror as I twisted his arm. The knife clattered to the ground. ¡°You... you¡¯re one of them...¡± He stammered, his voice trembling. ¡°Hey, hey, hey. W-we¡¯ll go!¡± His words barely registered. The scent of his blood consumed me. I slammed him against the wall with more force than I thought I had, his head bouncing off the concrete with a sickening thud. He slumped to the ground lifelessly. [Prey Slaughtered] [1000 XP Gained!] A blur of numbers, lines of text, muddled thoughts overwhelmed me, but I all I think focus on was the lifeless body beneath my feet. [You have leveled up!] [200 Body XP Gained!] [You have Reached Body 2!] [300 Cool XP Gained!] [You have Reached Cool 1!] [2 Attribute Points & 2 Perk Point Gained!] ¡°Really Rindo-kun? Should of told me you were hungry¡­ At least do it somewhere else. Oba-san¡¯s store is close by.¡± Atsushi¡¯s voice snapped me out of it. [10 Hand to Hand Combat XP Gained!] [Body Skill Branch Unlocked: Hand to Hand Combat] I blinked, my vision swimming. My hands were trembling, blood dripping from my fingertips. Short Hoodie lay crumpled at my feet. I stumbled back, my chest heaving. My mind raced, caught between relief and horror. ¡°Already that time? I thought you ate already¡­¡± Atsushi muttered, pocketing the knife before crouching to Short Hoodie¡¯s body. ¡°I thought...¡± My voice cracked. ¡°I thought he¡¯d kill me.¡± ¡°Huh? How? They can¡¯t even touch ya¡¯ without a strong gun or a dove¡¯s suitcase.¡± She shot me a pointed look. I eyed Scarface. He was already dead. His neck was crooked in an unnatural position. Atsushi shook her head solemnly before carrying Scarface and Short Hoodie. ¡°C¡¯mon, I know somewhere close we could go to eat.¡± ¡°O-Oh.¡± I stammered awkwardly. ¡ª The tension was palpable as Atsushi dragged both bodies toward her bike, her movements casual, as if hauling around unconscious or dead people was just another Tuesday night. ¡°Hey,¡± I muttered. ¡°Where... where are we even going?¡± She glanced back at me, her expression almost bored. ¡°An old warehouse. Close enough to walk, but quiet enough no one¡¯ll see us chow down.¡± My stomach churned at her nonchalant tone. Atsushi tilted her head at me. ¡°What¡¯s that face for¡± ¡°I...¡± My words caught in my throat. ¡°Nothin¡¯.¡± ¡°Wimp,¡± She whispered. We made our way through the back alleys in silence, Atsushi lugging the bodies like they were nothing. She didn¡¯t even seem winded. I, on the other hand, was struggling to keep my legs steady. The warehouse was exactly what I expected¡ªrusted metal siding shattered windows, and the faint scent of mildew and decay. The kind of place you¡¯d expect to find rats the size of small dogs or maybe a crime scene tape or two. ¡°Here we are,¡± Atsushi announced, kicking open the creaky door. The sound echoed through the empty space, sending a shiver down my spine. She dumped the bodies unceremoniously onto the concrete floor, then turned to me, hands on her hips. ¡°Well? You gonna keep starvin¡¯, or are you finally gonna eat?¡± She said. Her eyes¡­ a striking black, crisscrossed with red leading to a scarlet pupil. I hesitated, staring at the still forms in front of me. Scarface¡¯s head lolled unnaturally, his lifeless eyes staring into nothing. Short Hoodie¡¯s mangled skull. It was different from the meals delivered to me by Iguchi. Much different. My gaze flicked to her, then back to the bodies. The hunger clawed at my insides, and the scent of blood was suffocating. My throat tightened as my kakugan flared involuntarily. Atsushi crouched beside Short Hoodie, her expression softening just slightly. ¡°Y¡¯know. All this time I wanted to hear you apologize. For leaving without a word. I don¡¯t know why the other guys just buried it and glossed it over.¡± I stood motionless. ¡°I just thought after you chose that mask at Kashiwagi¡¯s that I could maybe hear it from the old Rindo-kun.¡± She muttered as she tore Scarface¡¯s left arm off jaggedly. The place was dark. Faintly illuminated by the streetlights outside the unfinished window space. Even so, I swear I could¡¯ve saw a glimmer run down her cheek as she ate. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it makes you feel any better but¡­ I¡¯m sorry. With trembling hands, I knelt beside Scarface¡¯s body across from her. ¡°Heh,¡± Atsushi said quietly, her voice almost gentle. ¡°Just close your eyes and let instinct take over. You used to scarf it all down without chewing.¡± I didn¡¯t close my eyes. I couldn¡¯t. Instead, I leaned down, my teeth bared, and took a massive chomp. For better or for worse¡­ it tasted good. Better than any other meal. Eerie sounds of flesh being torn, ripped, and chewed faintly echoed as we finished Scarface together. ¡°Can you tell me more? About¡­ me?¡± I asked quietly, trying to distract myself. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She muttered before dragging Short Hoodie closer and stripping him. ¡°When you and Iguchi-san were first picked up into Kurokumo, you two were half-dead. I helped feed you back then to recover.¡± ¡°Is that the first we met?¡± I asked. ¡°It was. You didn¡¯t trust me even when I handed you an ear to feed on.¡± She sighed. ¡°Eventually you warmed up to me. I want to say Iguchi too, but he was¡­drooling the first day we met.¡± I chuckled, wiping the blood dripping from my lips and chin. ¡°Then eating together is normal for us?¡± ¡°It is.¡± She replied before ripping an ear and offering it to me. I obliged. Even though tonight was spent indulging in an act I never once would¡¯ve considered in my previous life, together with another person no less¡­ Atsushi wasn¡¯t that bad. Her driving and attitude aside of course. ¡ª-

Status Screen

Name: Rindo Shirogane Level: 1 Faction: Kurokumo Gang Kagune Class: Ukaku RC Cells: 570/570 Hunger: Content RC Matrix: 4.450848%

Core Attributes:

[Athlete: 0] [Head Hunter: 0] [Engineer: 0] [Meanuver: 0] [Scholar: 0] [Available Attribute Point[s]: 2]

Core Skill Levels:

[Body: 2] [Cool: 1] [Technical Ability: 0] [Reflexes: 0] [Intelligence: 0] Kakuhou Sac Count: 1 Type[s]: [Ukaku]

Perks:

Body ¡ª N/A Cool ¡ª N/A Technical Ability ¡ª N/A Reflexes ¡ª N/A Intelligence ¡ª N/A [Available Perk Point[s]: ] Kakuja: [???] Affinity: [???]
¡°Huh,¡± I muttered, kicking my legs up and down from my bed. I couldn¡¯t sleep after a long night so my attention flowed through the available perks to me. Also that branch skill under Body I unlocked after Short Hoodie¡¯s head¡­ yeah, I don¡¯t wanna think about it. I¡¯ll deal with the branch skill later. Curious about how attribute points would work, I put them into Athlete. Turns out I had quite the selection of Athlete¡¯s respective perks available with just a single attribute point set in. This was good news. In Cyberpunk I had to put at least 4 points just to see those first few perks. For Athlete, I had a whopping four options, both costing just 1 perk point to obtain. One is called [Painkiller]. A 5% enhanced natural recovery on top of my base regenerative powers as a ghoul. Pretty good. It¡¯s a valuable perk considering it¡¯s levelable. I have a feeling that if it maxes out, I¡¯ll be a monster regenerator amongst ghouls like Noro. A shiver ran down my back as I thought of that ghoul¡­ I do not want to run into the young Noro at all. The second perk under Athlete is called [Red Brawler]. It gives a 1% Health Regen Rate for each percent of missing health but rapidly depletes my hunger bar. Nonlevelable. No complaints there. It¡¯ll work well with Painkiller when I have another perk point available. The third was called [Knockout King]. It enhances critical [2x Damage] hit chance by 5% when striking the head with fists. Nonlevelable. Huh. Is it because I used my hands to kill Short Hoodie? I tried skimming around the perks, but unlike the game, I can only see the choices available to me. The last for Athlete was called [Ground ¡®N Pound!] I grimaced at the name. It gives me better knowledge when pummeling a grounded enemy and a 5% increase in critical blow chance. Levelable too. I watched quite a bit of MMA in my last life, so I guess it will help with strikes and weight distribution to keep them down. Yeah. Moving on. Satisfied with the slight tweak in the system, I put my last attribute point into Cold Blooded so I could see what I could obtain there. For Cold Blooded, I had just one perk available. It also costs one perk point to get. [Hunter]. After killing a human or ghoul enemy, feel a cold wave of relief wash over my mind for five seconds and increase movement speed by 2% for the same duration. Stackable. Levelable. It was tempting. While the speed sounded nice, that cold wave of relief was equally or if not greater than it. I needed a placid mind in those situations. I blinked away for a while. Five options. Automatically I¡¯m just gonna strike off [Knockout King] and [Ground ¡®N Pound]. Sounded helpful but it¡¯ll just be a wasted point at this stage and too focused. Almost the same thing with [Red Brawler] in that it¡¯ll be better later once I have [Painkiller] locked in. But between [Painkiller] and [Hunter] as of now? Why not both? I affirmed myself and selected those two. Immediately, I felt a tingly wave ripple throughout my body for a few seconds before I felt¡­ a little rejuvenated? Like I had stepped out of a hot shower or something. I decided to go with [Painkiller] because it¡¯ll help me with everything leading up to when I need [Cold Blood], as in killing an enemy. Plus it¡¯s levelable. Plus it will help with exercise recovery which will speed up my Body XP. Lots a¡¯ pluses. Nice. With my level up settled I dismissed the status screen and rolled over. I eyed my cabinet. It held my flip phone, new wallet, spare jewelry, and Short Hoodie¡¯s knife. On the ride back I asked Atsushi for it. Although she did look at me weirdly, she didn¡¯t ask why. Which was great because honestly, I don¡¯t even know why I wanted it. I just killed my first human today. I even ate him not long later. It''s a cruel world, but I can¡¯t be complacent. So I guess it could be a memento of today. I shivered a little and pulled my raggy blanket tighter. I needed sleep.