Chapter 5: Chapter 6: Loss and Self-forgivness pt 1 and 3
As the sun crested over the horizon, a new day began in Tokyo. To most it was just another day with its average ups and downs. Nothing significant had happened yesterday and nothing significant would happen today. To ordinary humans it was going to be just another ordinary day. However things were much different for the denizens of the shadows. Especially in the supposedly peaceful 20th ward. A new age had dawned for the local ghoul population. For the tyrant Rize was gone. The monster who had held the entire ward under her thumb was crushed by a random accident of all things. The ghouls who had been terrorized by her all now gave a collected sigh of relief. Many of which were already planning to take her place as king of the ward despite the presence of Anteiku.
However not all were happy with this predicament. The Kaneki family were not among those that were celebrating. Even Ken, who had his issues with his supposed aunt, found himself missing the self-serving, powerful woman. It was like something important in his life was now missing. He found himself falling into a slight depression even as he was trying to cheer up his two grieving sisters. It didn't help that he still felt that it was his fault. Shiro and Kuro had tried their best to convince their older brother that it was not his fault but he just couldn't accept it. He had failed another member of his family and they had had to pay the price for it. Ken swore to whatever god would listen to a half and half like him that he would never let this happen again. He would protect his precious family, those two lovely girls, no matter what he had to do. Even if it led onto the path to Hell, he would protect them.
Thanks to the new situation in the ward Ken was already finding his resolve tested. With the threat of Rize gone, a portion of the ghouls that had suffered under her saw Ken and the girls as a perfect target to get their vengeance on. Both he and the girls had been attacked a couple of times in the days after the accident. Nothing too dangerous for them. Just a few street punk ghouls of low caliber that ran off after even a small show of strength. Despite the twins being easily able to handle themselves, Ken decided that he would always be there for them. He walked them to school and picked them up. If they had to go somewhere, then he went too. He feared that these thugs would get smart and decide to try to attack them all together. Even the weakest enemy could be dangerous when you were outnumbered.
Several days later, after he got the girls to school again, Ken started heading to the university campus. He rubbed his head to try to relax the headache that was aggravating him. Then someone grabbed him and forced him into an alleyway. Ken didn't really resist it. Though it somehow made the headache worst, he was too tired to really push back; deciding to just let them have their fun and blow off the anger they had from Rize on him. Hopefully it would end this harassment sooner and allow them to get on with their lives.
The biggest one of them immediately punched him in the face. Ken had to stop himself from laughing at how weak the punch was. It would barely leave a bruise for a few seconds till his healing fixed it up. He didn't even pay attention as the three started hitting him and chastising him. He was too busy trying to think of what excuse he'd use this time to get out of eating lunch with Hide this time.
However it seemed he would not be getting off that easy. The leader, Ken assumed, grabbed him by his hair and yanked Ken's face up to his. The thuggish ghoul grinned, thinking his target was too afraid to fight back. Ken just tried to figure out what this man ate to make his breath so foul. "Hahaha. I can't believe this. Don't tell me all the stories about the great eyepatch of the 13th ward were just fairy tales. Or was it just that you were hiding behind Rize all this time. What a disgrace for a man to hide behind a woman." All three of them laughed while Ken thought, 'Wow! even the way they laugh is cliché. Like one of those scenes in a manga' "How lame," another one taunted while the third one kept laughing.
When this still didn't illicit a reaction, the boss decided to try something different. As he held the male half ghoul, he mused, "Hmmm, how boring. Perhaps we should have gone after those little sisters of yours. I'm sure they would have been a lot more fu…." Before he could even finish, Ken had already backhanded the man's face. Ken didn't hold back either. The man lower jaw shattered under the impact. There were even pieces of his bones that got stuck in the half-ghoul's hand. The leader flew several feet farther into the alleyway before smashing into a dumpster and blacking out. Ken didn't give his lackeys any time to process what had just happened. He smashed his open palm into the solar plexus of the skinnier one; throwing him back as his entire rib cage shattered. As the last one realized the danger he was now in, Ken grabbed him by his head and slammed the third thug into the wall.
Calmly, Ken stated, "Ahh, you three just had to keep your mouths shut and finish our little game and we could have let bygones be bygones. You see I get why you're angry and you do have a right too. I mean Rize wasn't exactly the nicest when it came to sharing hunting grounds. She was a bitch; I know. But then you just had to bring up my precious little sisters. And that is something I can't let slide." He tightened his grip on the man's skull, "Now I want you to spread the word. NO ONE TOUCHES MY SISTERS. If I find out one of you has so much as flipped one of their skirts. Well I'll just have to force you eat your own intestines. You understand?" The captured ghoul nodded. Ken smiled and said, "Good" before he fractured the man's skull; the sharp cracking noise of breaking bones were only matched by the man's screams. Kaneki dropped him after that, grabbed his bag and headed off to college. The headache now crawling across his brain. Even his Kagune hurt as it crawled under his skin.
"Wow, you look awful. Did you get into a fight with someone?" Kaneki looked up to see his human friend's concerned face. At first Kaneki was confused. Till he remembered the earlier bought he had. While his body had healed his clothes were still roughed up and he still looked dirty from being thrown around. His lack of sleep probably added to the look.
Ken gave his friend a passable smile as he touched his chin. "Don't worry about it. I was just late so I was rushing here and tripped on the way over. Nothing to worry over." Something in his friend's face told him he didn't buy it. Like he knew that Ken hadn't been to sleep since 3 in the morning and was running mainly on coffee and fumes. Ken, trying to calm down Hide, asked, "Can you get me some coffee? I have a really bad headache and the caffine'll probably help." As he watched Hide leave, Ken laid his head back down. He was too tired and irritated to care about anything right now. Not to mention the headache was getting worse. He didn't know why, but it had come around the first night after they had lost Rize and had never left. At best it was like a dull itch on his brain. At worst, it felt like something crawling in his ear or nibbling on his brain. All of this was making him very irritable. He idle wondered if whatever was causing the headache was also what was causing his kagune to feel restless; like it wanted to move on its own.
Hide returned and handed him a drink. Ken immediately started to chug it, only to find the taste of cuddled fat filling his mouth. He spat what he could. "What the hell Hide!? I thought you were going to get coffee!" he yelped; still coughing. Hide smiled compassionately. "Its milk. You don't look like you're doing so well. Irritability is a sign of a calcium deficiency they say. Come on drink up. You'll feel better." Ken growled quietly. The milk bottle slightly crushed in his grip. The headache was now rapping around his brain. The pain making his left eye twitch a bit. 'You expect me to drink this filth?! Why?! If you are a true friend then you should just do as you're told! Aren't you my friend?! Or are you an enemy! Maybe he knows the truth and this is all a trick to get me to reveal myself.' Looking back at his friend, Ken slowly able to shake that feeling. He could tell that Hide genially cared for him. He forced the headache back to a dull thud with sheer willpower. Still even if he didn't know where that thought had come from, it was still something he feared beyond much else. And his new human friend had proven himself quite perceptive many times over. Deciding not to think about it, Ken powered through the disgusting drink and walked with his friend to their classes. He was able to make it halfway through second period before having to vomit behind some bushes.
Later that night, after a relatively uneventful shift at Anteiku he returned home. He still didn't feel well. Therefore he had decided to just go to bed after eating a light dinner. Unfortunately he found that once again a peaceful night would escape him. Ever since Rize's death, he had been having nightmares. These dreams became a horrible combination of his past failures and his future worries. He was certain that it was their fault that he was so tired and for the headaches he now suffered from.
Ken found himself in a room. It was his room. The room that he had lived in as a child. Before his parents had died. But there was something wrong. Like something sinister was in the air. It made the boy feel sick; as if every breath was filled with poison. Ken walked towards the doorway; into the hallway that seemed to be made of nothing but shadows. Once he passed through he found himself in an empty nothingness but slowly in front of him he saw his sisters wounded and struggling to run away from something. They pleaded for his help as he saw someone behind them. A figure who waved a halberd like device; a quinque he realized. Behind him another figure appeared with a blade of similar make. Ken tried to run to his sisters to save them from the two demons but he found himself trapped by chains that slowly changed into the arms and hands. He slowly recognized the ones holding him down as those he had failed. Those whose deaths were his fault. Among them he was pulled. The hands of Rize, of his father and mother held him back. Forcing him to watch as the enemy got closer and closer to his dear sisters; the last ray of hope in his life. He shouted and screamed and clawed to be let go. He begged anything to help him and in the darkness he heard it. A scratching noise like something unholy scuttling around in the shadows. As he turned to the side he saw his own face, demented staring out at him before it too grabbed at him. This time choking the life out of him. All while it begged for forgiveness.
Ken for another night, jumped up as he awoke from another nightmare. The images in it still so fresh in his mind that they made him sick. He ran to the bathroom and threw up. Once done, he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked horrible. The lack of sleep, the roaring headache that was once again in full force, and the stress of protecting his family was all wearing him down. The male Kaneki sibling took some medication to hopefully alleviate the pain in his head. He then went to the front room and started to watch some late night TV with a cup of coffee. He didn't really pay attention to what was on. Even the early morning talk show that was running a special on ghouls with the main discussion being around the binge eater only led to a moderate increase in his attention. Soon the twins were both up and though both of them gave him a worried glance, they didn't press the issue as they got ready for school. When they were finished, including a light breakfast to make sure they were up to full strength, Ken once again escorted them to school before deciding to skip classes today and just go back home and try to get some rest in with the house quiet and dark. He didn't succeed.
It wasn't a lie to say that there was no love lost between Anteiku and Rize. They had merely tolerated each other's presence and most at Anteiku had not felt that upset when the woman who had caused them so much consternation over the last few months to a year had been killed in a freak accident. They only cared as far as what it meant for their newest employees. The twins had been pretty upset but had slowly gotten over it over the days and weeks that went by. They already had tough skin from the harsh childhood they had had to suffer through after their parents' demise. However the one that seemed to be the worse off was their brother. For some reason, he seemed to be slowly breaking down after the accident. But it didn't seem to be just the accident. While it was the trigger for Ken's recent mood, the true cause seemed to be even deeper. Like something was broken was crawling to the surface. Touka, the twins, Yoshimura and the rest were all worried that something bad was bound to happen. They worried as the boy seemed be on edge and would try to hide away from everything. He also seemed to forget a few times where he was or what he was doing and could lash out at those who got close. Touka could still feel it in her wrist for a couple days. When she tried to get Ken's attention one time and he grabbed her arm hard enough to crack the bones. Yoshimura was also hearing from Hide, Kuro, and Shiro how he was skipping classes and staying held up in his room. The old ghoul was worried. He hoped that this wouldn't escalate.
Then one day, Ken found that he had forgotten to deliver a report into one of his classes. Unlike the other times he'd shirked school work, missing this could fail him. So, Shiro decided to take it for her brother as he still had a shift at Anteiku. Shiro made a nice hot cup of coffee for Ken and even drew a cute little bird in the foam; or at least tried too. Afterwards, she headed to the Kamii campus, where she easily found the teacher and delivered the report for her big brother. It was as she was leaving the campus that she met Hide.
He was talking to a bunch of other university students when he called out to her, "Hey Shiro!" She grimaced a bit. "Hello, Hide," Shiro answered. She always felt a little nervous dealing with this particular human without her brother. She wasn't sure why. He was just the goofy human friend that stuck around her older brother. But something about him screamed dangerous to her. She approached the table to see what Hide wanted. "Who's this?" one of the other boys asked. Being the center of attention was something Shiro did not like. Like her older brother she preferred being in the background or with at most, a few trusted friends. Hide must have noticed her feelings of uncomfortableness because he grabbed her by the hand and led her away from the crowd of other young men, "Sorry sempai. She's the younger sister of one of my friends. He hasn't been doing too well unfortunately. So I'm talk to her about if there is anything I can do for him. And don't worry I'll get that program you were talking about from Nishiki-sempai today ok?" Hide then dragged her away to safety. "Sorry about that Shiro. I bet it was uncomfortable being looked at by all those older guys but they didn't mean anything bad by it. If anything they were just curious why a young cutie like you was on campus." Shiro didn't know if he was being serious or just messing with her. And if he was serious, if she should take it as a compliment or as a threat.
Thankfully Hide changed the topic quickly. "So how is Ken doing? He hasn't really been around that much and when he does show up he has been looking rather unwell. I know he tells me not to worry but you'd have to be an idiot not to notice something is really wrong with him. Come on you can tell me Shiro. I want to help him too." Shiro thought for a moment. Perhaps it would be good to get some input from the boy. She knew that she couldn't tell him everything. So she tried to use half-truths to placate him. "To tell you the truth, we just had a recent death in the family. Not anyone too close but close enough to hurt. And it seems that big brother was hit pretty hard by it. For some reason, he sees it as his fault despite it being an accident. He's barely sleeping or eating properly and as you probably know he's been a bit testy recently. We really don't know what to do." Hide tried to pose in a way that came off as wise but to Shiro he looked ridiculous. "Hmmm, I can see the problem there. Maybe a change of pace would be good thing. Would be good for him. Get him to stop spinning his wheels and actually move on. Perhaps I could take him out to eat. Perhaps Big Girl. He seems like the kinda guy who'd like a nice American burger. They taste really good with an egg on top." Shiro did not think that was a good idea. She was feeling nauseous just hearing about it. 'What is it with humans and food? They always seem to use everything as an excuse to eat.' "I don't think that's a good idea. Big brother hasn't been able to keep down what he has been eating really. I wouldn't want you to waste your money on us." She replied. She sighed in relief when the human agreed. "Fine, I won't take him out to eat but we are getting you all a cake and we are all gonna eat together. And then do something fun. I'm sure it will get your brother back to his old self. Trust me." While Shiro nodded as if she understood, she was already trying to figure out how to escape from having death by cake written on her family's tombstones.
Hide stretched and then decided, "Come on we can get it after I finish up with what I have to do."
Shiro asked, "And that is?" Hide started walking towards one of the buildings; slowing down a bit to let Shiro catch up to him. "Nothing much, just need to get a DVD for those sempais from Nishio." Shiro followed; using this time to figure how to skip the cake and go straight to the 'fun' Hide promised. As they got closer and closer to their goal, a familiar scent reached Shiro's powerful nose. There was ghoul present. Trying to be discreet as possible, Shiro started looking around for the threat. Her kagune ready to pop out at a moment's notice. Granted she didn't think someone, especially in this ward, would be stupid enough to start a fight here but she thought best to be prepared for the unexpected. As they got closer Shiro realized that the smell was coming from the very door they were heading towards. The young man accompany her opened the door without even a knock.
She suddenly heard a woman scream. She then watched as some half naked girl ran off. Shiro idly thought that the girl did have a good fat to muscle ratio. "Damn it Nagachika, don't you know how to knock," a voice complained from in the room. "Umm, Sorry about that Nishio," Hide apologized as he entered. "I hate it when people barge into my territory. Is this how you respect your elders?" Shiro followed Hide into the room. The scents in the room, of coffee and ghoul, were almost comforting in their familiarity. On the other side of the room in front of the window sat the glasses wearing sempai. Shiro first thought was that he looked like just another prissy douchebag. However as their eyes met, she recognized that there was more to him. A threat to her and likely a worst one for her current companion. For in those eyes, she could tell what he saw her as. A remainder of Rize. And a way to get back at the dead woman.
Omake:
Ken and his sisters surrounded the table. "What is this supposed to be?" Kuro asked.
Ken grimaced, "A gift. From Yoriko"
"It looks like snot," complained Shiro.
Touka appeared behind Shiro and smacked her in the back in the head. "It's called pudding. Now come on. Eat." She handed each of them a spoon. Wanting to avoid the noxious slop, each of the siblings tried a different way to escape.
Ken, "I don't think it's appropriate for guys to eat sweets." Ken failed.
Kuro, "I'm on a diet!" Kuro failed.
Shiro, "I'm too young to die!" and Shiro fled. Only to get captured and force fed her portion by the irate Touka.
Just another evening in the current lives of the Kaneki family. Too much of which, if they had to say, included suffering from poisoning. All to please one irate Ukaku and her oblivious friend.
For the first few moments, nothing was said. The two, ghoul and half-ghoul, simply stared each other down; much like two cats. While their bodies were calm, their eyes as they met were both filled with venom as they sized each other up. The lone human cut this all short with, "Excuse me, but is there something the matter Nishio? You're really staring down poor Shiro here." Both man eaters broke off eye contact there. "No, just thought she looked familiar. Kinda like that bookworm guy I've seen you with," Nishio answered. He got up from his chair and walked over to Shiro. "So you're Shiro right? My name is Nishiki Nishio. A second year here in the pharmaceutical department. Pleasure to meet you." Nishio held out his hand to her. Shiro shook his hand and smiled before replying, "Believe me, the pleasure is all yours. And the name is Nashiro. Nashiro Kaneki."
The handshake between the two quickly became a hand crushing event as the two locked eyes again. 'Dammit,' Shiro thought, 'I only wanted to turn in big brother's paper. But instead, not only do I get stuck with following around Hide for who knows how long but now have to deal with this dick. You owe me big time brother. Big time!' Shiro's musings were broken up when the Hide ruffled her hair. "Come on now Shiro. Is that anyway to treat your elders after just meeting them? Keep doing that and you'll have a hard time finding a boyfriend. Guys don't like a bitchy personality you know," Hide teasingly chastised her. Her cheeks puffed out, Shiro thought, 'If you weren't my brother's friend I would end you! Besides no one but big brother is allowed to touch my hair! NO ONE!' Her irritation was further raised as she saw the smirk that Nishio had on his annoying face.
Nishio turned to Hide and asked, "You needed something from me right?" "Yeah I needed the data on the program from last year. The other sempais said that you were the one who held onto the disc."
"Oh yeah that CD. Hold on it's probably here; somewhere."Nishio started to dig around his the room for it and instructed Hide to check for it on some shelves. Shiro decided to just stand there and not help. She didn't expect this to take that long anyway. However, despite her growing frustration, they were no closer to getting the disk and leaving as the minutes ticked by. Shiro was thankful she had her phone with her. When Shiro was at level 37 of tetris, Nishio stood up and announced, "Well it's not over here either. Okay if we give up now?" Hide jumped up too and griped, "Nooooo, please keep searching." "I'm all for quitting," Shiro quipped. Hide turned to her and stated, "You didn't even try to help so you get no say in this matter." "Ah, I remember. I took that disk home yesterday. Sorry Hide," Nishio suddenly announced. After a few more gripes from Hide though, the ghoul brought about another proposition. "It might be a bother for you, but you want to go get it now?"
Something about this irritated Shiro. She didn't know if it was the way he said it or what she saw in his eyes, but something about this offer made Shiro feel instantly uncomfortable. As she tried to figure this out, Hide came over and started to nicely push her out the door. "Sorry about this Shiro, looks like I'm gonna be busy today. Why don't you go on home and we can figure out how to cheer up Ken-chan next time ok?" Instead, Shiro pushed Hide away. She had a feeling that it would be a bad idea to leave this man alone with a possibly hostile ghoul. Her brother was already suffering after Rize. She didn't like the possibilities that could come from another death of someone close to him. Even if he was just a human. So, Shiro put on her best little girl face. "But Hide. You said we'd do something fun today. It's not nice to break promises with girls. If you keep doing that then you won't get very far with Touka-oneechan." For now, she would just try to stick around. Hopefully it would work as a deterrent. At worst, she would just need to beat up Nishio. "Are you really sure? I mean we might start talking about some pervy stuff on the way. You know, the stuff that you might find offensive." Before Hide could continue arguing though, Nishio also offered, "It's okay if she comes along right? Not like its anything she has heard before. After all, she is a high school girl right?" With two against one, Hide was forced to concede to Shiro coming along with them. On the way out Shiro sent a quick text her big brothers cell.
Going with Hide and his sempai, Nishio, to pick something up from his house. Nishio Knew auntie Rize. Will be careful.
The journey seemed to be turning out to be uneventful. Shiro had been afraid that the moment they were outside the campus, Nishio would move them to a back alley and attack. Instead they had just walked on as previously advertised. Shiro was already regretting coming along. If she had just left, then she wouldn't have had to suffer through that dirt flavoured taiyaki. She had been able to get out of eating half of it at least by pulling the cliché diet excuse. "We're almost there," Nishio assured them as they headed further from the main street. Shiro sighed in relief. They reached a corner with Hide and Nishio in front as Shiro had fell behind a bit.
As the two men turned the corner, Nishio sprung his trap. Hide, stunned by the dead end in front of them, was caught off guard by the kick Nishio landed. Hide was launched into the alley way slammed into a pile of trash. "Hide!" Shiro shot forward in a panic; completely caught off guard by the attack. She had expected she would be the first to be targeted as the greater threat. As she got to the corner, Nishio grabbed her and she barely had enough time to roll into the throw to offset the attacks impact. "Sorry there Hide, I just needed you out of the way for now," the full ghoul stated as he snapped his neck. He now turned to appraise his second victim. "Now as for you, imagine my surprise. Not only to find another ghoul on campus, but a family member of that bitch. Hahaha. I don't know whether to be irritated that another one of you, no two of you counting your brother, thought it was a good thing to barge into my territory or be happy that I have someone to finally bring all my grievances to bear on." Shiro grinned back. "Your territory? I distinctly remember auntie Rize owning pretty much the entire ward. It's pretty hilarious to hear a beaten dog like you bragging. Acting like you own the place. If you were so strong then you should have held onto it in the first place, dumbass." She was rewarded with Nishio grinding his teeth. "You bitch. I'll make sure you regret messing with me."
Nishio made the first move. He shot forward and tried to round house kick the young girl. Shiro quickly brought her left arm up to block it while reinforcing it with her right arm. The kick shot her back a few feet and broke her arm. She however ignored the pain and let her rapid healing take care of it for her. With her left side momentarily out of commission, Nishio pressed his attack. Shiro was forced to dodge over and over and was not able to get a clear chance to counter attack. Even after her arm had healed enough to be usable. Shiro cursed her stupidity in letting Nishio take control of the fight. As a rinkaku type that was where she excelled. Instead now she was stuck playing defensive and being worn down by the bigger, stronger enemy. Her greatest weakness in this fight, her inexperience, could have set her on the path to ruin.
Luckily though, Shiro saw her out. Maybe underestimating the speed of her healing, Nishio was not keeping as tight a form on her left as he should. Taking a chance, Shiro dove for one of the more obvious openings. She put as much as force in her fist as she could and connected. She felt her foe falter under her deceptively diminutive fist. Nishio was thrown up by two inches and back half a foot while one of his ribs painfully cracked. Now with his offensive streak broken, Shiro pressed her own attack. She decided to ignore Nishio's counter attacks as that would put her back on the defensive. Instead she placed as much as she could on damaging her opponent while letting her rapid regeneration take up most of the slack. The battle soon became pitched as while Shiro got more hits off and connected more often, Nishio was able to better aim his and put more power in each strike.
Feeling worn down, Shiro jumped back a few feet to rest for a bit. She was still trapped by Nishio in the dead end and she also was too far from Hide for her liking. Also using the chance to catch his breath, Nishio whipped away the blood that leaked out of the side of his mouth. "Dammit. To think a cheeky little girl like you was able to push me this far. First Rize and now you. I can't believe that I have to deal with such a shitty family. Damn it." Nishio suddenly gained that same pretentious smirk that made Shiro's skin crawl again.
Nishio casually walked over to where Hide laid. Shiro felt her muscles tighten but didn't move. She knew that he was baiting her. If she moved to carelessly, then they would both be dead. Nishio stomped his foot on Hide's head. He then forced himself to throw up the taiyaki all over his hostage. "Ugh, taste like shit doesn't it Shiro-chan? Yet you always see these humans happily nibbling away at it all while judging us. Tell me what's so special about this human that you risked yourself to protect him? Why did your big brother let this one get so close to him? After all despite acting like a complete idiot, Hide's actually quite dangerous. You've felt it to right? That when he looks at you, it's like he's breaking down all your facades and seeing you for what you are; a ghoul. You should have been thankful to me. For getting rid of such a threat. Nah? Nah? NAH?" Several times during his "speech" he had slammed his foot on Hide's head. Shiro raced to formulate a plan. She needed to get him away to Hide; possibly she could grab Hide and make a run for somewhere with people or at least cameras.
Unfortunately, Shiro ran out of time. Nishio unleashed his kagune. The tail like organ wrapped around his leg as he brought it up for one more stomp. "So long Hide." Shiro leaped at Nishio while her own kagune popped out in the form of three tentacle rinkaku. She swung them down in a slashing move. But Shiro forgot an important rule of fighting with kagune. That a rinkaku shouldn't attempt to take on a bikaku of equal or greater power head on. Nishio's Kagune tore through the looser configuration of Shiro's and slashed across her arm and torso. Shiro screamed in pain as she crashed onto the ground rolled to a stop. Before she could get her bearings, Nishio kicked her hard in the solar plexus. Shiro was now starting to black out as she cough up blood. She felt like a fool. How could she have made such a rooky mistake? "I'm sorry Big brother," Shiro whispered as a tear formed in her one kakukan eye. However she then felt another presence behind her. "Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing to my sister?"
Kaneki was worried. Shiro was supposed to just turn in the paper he forgot and come back. Nothing too dangerous right. So why had she was she still not back yet. The college campus wasn't that far was it? Did she get attacked by that trash that had tried to mess with them before? But they had largely stopped after he had made an example out of a few of them. Could they have been waiting for him to let his guard down? Or what if the worse had happened and she had run into a dove? Did she get meet the same fate as their parents? Did he let another member of his family die again?!
"Are you okay big bro?" Kuro's voice snapped Ken out of his panic stupor. He tasted blood. He noticed that he had been biting down on his finger hard enough to draw blood. He tried to quickly cover it up as he turned to his sister. She looked really worried. Was her really doing something that would make her that uncomfortable? He put up a nice smile and answered her, "I'm fine Kuro. Just worried about your sister is all. She should have been back by now. Cover for me for a bit, I'm gonna go get my phone and try to contact her." Ken didn't wait for an answer as he ran to his locker in the back. He pulled out his phone and saw Shiro's text. His grip tightened; almost cracking the phone. His still constant headache reached deadly levels.
Immediately Ken ran to Touka and yanked her back from the table she was at. "What the hell is wrong with you Kaneki?" Ken cut her off from further ranting by shoving the phone in her face and demanding, "Who is Nishiki and where can I find him?" Touka's eyes narrowed. "He's a real jackass. Acts like some bigshot while terrorizing weaker ghouls. He was one of the ones Rize kicked out of their turf when she rolled in. He has a place somewhere just outside Kamii, I think." She took a moment to consider the issue. "I wouldn't put it pass him to try something though." Ken silently lowered the phone and simply stated, "I see." Ken turned to and headed to the front door. "Hey! Wait! Ken!" Touka wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Stop him. Or help him. Ken opened the door and left only coldly stating, "Stay here for a bit Kuro, I'm going out to pick up your sister." Touka clenched her fist. "Dammit. Kuro, I'm going after him. Watch the shop with Koma. And don't even think about leaving too."
The ukaku ghoul dashed out barely spotting Ken as he slipped into a back alley. She chased after him and with her superior speed was able to catch up but Kaneki didn't even acknowledge her presence. She wondered if he even knew she was there. Using the side streets and alleyways allowed them to avoid normal people and therefore use their full strength to reach the Kamii area of the ward. Ken's face seemed to get more and more twisted as each alleyway or abandoned yard or building turned up empty. But then the two heard the sounds of a fight. Ken launched himself towards a corner and stopped as he came across his sister bloody and wounded on the ground with someone standing over her. Ken felt something in his head snap. He would not, could not let this go. He would make certain that this fool understood the folly of hurting his precious Shiro. And only then, if he was feeling generous, would he finish him. Ken jumped stopped just behind his wounded sister. "Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing to my sister?"
The venom in his words was enough to cause even the haughty Nishio to freeze up for a moment. Shiro too felt disturbed by the way her brother said it. It's not like she wanted her brother to have sympathy for this jerk. But it made her worry. Added with the way he had been acting recently made her afraid that she was losing her brother. That something dark was growing inside of him. She fretted over this as Touka jumped in and yanked her out from between the two males. She laid the younger girl down just near the entrance to the alleyway and tried to see if there was anything she could do to help her. Shiro coughed a bit. Her body forced the blood and shattered bone fragments from the kick out as it already worked on healing it. Her wounds from the Kagune were healing too; though more slowly than the other wounds. Luckily it had been a light hit overall but it will still probably take her a few hours to fully heal.
Both of them were brought back to the other two ghouls as Nishio started to laugh. Ken's face twisted even more in rage. "And what's so funny?" Nishio kept laugh as he replied, "You. Isn't hilarious that you just popped in out of nowhere. Like some knight in shining armor from a fairy tale. Or were you always tailing us this whole time and only decided to intervene only after it looked like your precious little sister would lose? If so then you're one sick little shit. Tell me, are they really Just sisters to you?" Ken growled instead of answering. His Kagune sprung out from his back. But something was wrong with it. To Shiro, it looked sick. She always thought her brother's tentacles looked majestic. They reminded her of the powerful tail of a dinosaur or dragon. They had a good color and shape and he could control them well enough to pet her and Kuro on the head without even a scratch on them. However these ones he unleashed now frightened her a bit. They looked as if some black carapaces were growing over them in an almost parasitic way. Instead of standing at the ready like they should of, these new rinkaku seemed to twitch and jump around at their own violation. A couple of them even looking like they were snapping at each other.
Nishio tried to end this in one blow by slashing with his bikaku but Kaneki used his superior speed to launch forward and under the attack while his kagune wrapped all six tentacles around the offending organ in a screw like fashion. Kaneki then, using leverage and strength, ripped Nishio's kagune completely off. Before the other could register that his weapon was gone, Ken had positioned himself right in front of his opponent. He grabbed Nishio and then struck with his kagune at point blank range. The tentacles ripped into their target and exploded out of his back. Ken yanked his opponent over his head and began to repeatedly impale him while ignoring Nishio's pleas to stop. Blood covered Ken as it splashed around him. Before he finished by flinging Nishio into the back of the alleyway hard enough to crack the concrete. Satisfied, Ken's face morphed into a maniacal grin; a dollop of drool landed between the spots of blood on the ground unnoticed.
But he was not finished. He then turned his head to look at the unconscious human behind him. Something in the back of his head started whispering to him. It was all his fault wasn't it? Hide had been the one to put Shiro, his precious Shiro, in danger! If he hadn't taken her along, if he hadn't met her at all, then she would have never gotten hurt! She would been perfectly healthy and happy while never having to deal with that Nishio trash. Yes it was all Hide's fault!
One of the tentacles swung out. Its target still laying there; unawares. As the tentacle came down though, two others jumped in to intercept it. Both Touka and Shiro had blocked it with their own kagunes. Both of them were surprised at the force the one rinkaku strike held. "Big bro! What do you think you're doing?!" Shiro screamed. Her wounds tore open again. Blood pooled a bit under her but she ignored it to stare down her brother. The look in his eyes truly scared her. It was like it wasn't her brother looking at her but a true monster. At that time, Touka used her kagune to throw Ken's off and then grabbed Hide and Shiro to carry them back from the now deranged looking Ken.
Ken's mind hurt. He couldn't think straight. He just knew he was angry. So angry! He needed to protect someone. His sister! But why had she stopped him?! Was she an enemy now too?! But why?! Had he not done this for her?! Why was she upset?! It was his fault again! The pain over took everything and Ken screamed.
"Big Bro!"
"What the hell is going on?" Touka gasped. She watched as Ken fell to his knees. She heard his scream morph into a frightening laugh. The half-ghoul's Kagune flung around as they started to grow for a lack of a better term. Slowly it dawned on her what was happening as the kagune started to become armoured and grow along his back; Its form now more insect like as it started to coil around the man's face. 'A kakuja. Ken has one?! But when and how. And why is it out of control now?!' She watched as Ken continued to jump between laughing manically and screaming in pain. The tentacles themselves started to lash out at everything. Gashes, inches deep, ripped into the concrete and asphalt. A pile of garbage nearby was basically vaporized by three of them. Their movements making clinking sounds that reminded her more and more of the noises of insects wiggling.
Touka needed to do something fast. At worst, he could kill them all or himself. At best, the doves would be drawn to the outbreak of a berserk ghoul and the twentieth ward would suffer the same fate of the thirteenth. She turned to Shiro and ordered, "Stay here and watch over Hide." She then charged at the out of control Ken. She wanted to get one good hit on his head. She was sure that if she could shake his brain before that freaky armor finished growing over his face, it would succeed in knocking him out. She would need all of the speed and maneuverability she could muster though, as one good hit from one of those rinkakus would rend her in two.
As she got closer the kagune reacted violent to her. However she was able to use the lessons from Ken and Rize's bout to counter them. She focused her attention not on the offensive parts of the predatory organ but on the parts that connect to his back. From there she was able to see how each tentacle was going to move much earlier than if she only watched the tips of them. Touka slid under one, then another. Next she used her kagune to push another off its lethal trajectory before using a wide spread shot of her crystal like kagune shards to force the lot of them back. She was within a few feet of him now. She barely dodged one last attempt to stop her before she was in front of her target. "WAKE UP KEN!" She all but screamed as she slammed her foot into his chin and yanked the male upwards by his face. The half ghoul landed in a heap at least a foot and half away. He tried to get back up but stumbled to the ground as the damage started to catch up to him. But the kagune didn't dissipate. Granted it did stop moving and growing but the freaky thing was still there. Touka figured she'd need to go in for one more hit until Shiro jumped on top of her brother. She hugged her brother hard. "It's okay big bro. It's all over. I'm safe. You don't have to fight anymore," she assured him in a soft voice. Her tears flooding out of her eyes as she brushed the side of his face. "So please, stop. Stop blaming yourself. You did nothing wrong. Please come back to me!" She tightened her hug.
It hurt. Ken's whole being was nothing but fear, pain, and anger at this point. Darkness surrounded him as a multitude of centipedes crawled around him, on him, in him. They wiggled around in his ears and nibbled on his frayed psyche. He could hear them in the distance. Or were they close? The screams and pleas of his sisters and the voices of his parents shouting at him to run away like they did all those years ago. Then he heard himself but not him. The darkness slowly started to close in on him as his other self started to speak.
"It's all your fault again. It always is isn't it? You led the CCG home! You ignored your sisters for revenge! You nearly abandoned them in this cruel world! You didn't even move to help poor auntie Rize after it was your fault she was there to be crushed! And now you let your precious Shiro get assaulted! You let a human led her to suffering because you let him get to close! You're at fault for everything. A selfish monster who doesn't want people to leave you alone but yet betrays them when the time comes right?!" That sounded correct to Ken. He was just so tired. His eyes started to close. Just let his other self take over and ignore the harsh reality.
"Wake Up Ken!" A very old and very familiar voice commanded of him. He felt a powerful slap that snapped him back into consciousness. And there before him, appeared a truly comforting sight; the smiling visage of his mother. She seemed to be light and warmth incarnate. Her very presence began to burn away the cold darkness that surrounded Ken. His other self and the centipedes began to vanish into the ether as if banished by her will. The child Ken stared at his mom as tears started to fall. "Momma?" Ken's mother wrapped herself around him in a powerful hug. "There there my big boy." She reached into his ear and pulled out one last centipede. Ken's head finally cleared of the pain he had been feeling all this time. "You should know better than to listen to things like this." She flung it out into the void. "But what it said is true right? It's all my fault that isn't it." However, instead of comforting him, the image of his mother grabbed Ken by his cheeks and pulled on them hard; scolding him like she used to.
"So what? Do you really think me or your dad or sisters want you to tear yourself up over this? Even if it really was your fault. Listen Ken. You need to let go. Learn from it and move on. Not wallow in it and sink into despair. Remember Ken, you're still a big brother and you sisters need you. You don't have time to fret. So promise me that you'll take good care of your sisters as well as yourself okay." Ken agreed. She smiled once more. "Good. Be safe my sweet child." She gave him one last hug and kiss on the check before disappearing.
Ken woke up to find himself in the Anteiku break room. The sofas here were surprisingly comfortable. He felt sore and hungry but more rested then he had in the last month and a half. He noticed that the twins were with him. They had both fallen asleep; laying across his chest. But even more shocking was the fact that Touka was here too. She was also a sleep, with Ken's head in her lap. As he tried to wrap his head around this, the manager entered.
"You gave us quite the fright Ken," Yoshimura said. His voice was relaxing to Ken. Reminding him of how his father sounded when he was trying to cheer him up. "Sorry sir," Ken answered. To his surprise the older ghoul started to lightly laugh. "No it's quite alright. I understand. Still I hope you know that this is something we do need to address. We don't want to have a repeat of this incident." "Yes, sir." Yoshimura placed a hand on top of Ken's shoulder. "Now don't be so formal. Right now you need to relax. To a kakuja like yourself stress is can be, for lack of a better word, hazardous. If you don't want to let this happen again then you're going to need to learn to let stuff go and trust that things will work out. I mean look at this incident. Both your sister and friend are safe and no humans spotted your little rampage." Ken smiled as his heart felt lighter. "Good good," Yoshimura continued, "Remember, if you find yourself in trouble again, then Touka, I, and the rest of the staff here will be willing and able to help you. But before that we need you to get a handle on your kakuja." "But how?" the younger male asked. Yoshimura walked over to the window and looked out onto the streets for a few seconds before answering, "You don't have to worry. I'll train you. I promise you we will see you master it. But until then no using outside of training, no over stressing yourself, and no eating ghoul no matter what. Do you understand?" Ken nodded. Before he could ask how though, Touka began to stir. She saw that Ken was awake too.
"You're up Bakaneki."
"Yeah, thanks for helping with, well, stuff."
"Sure, but don't forget you owe me big for this."
Ignoring her threat, Ken began to snuggle his head back into Touka's lap.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Going back to sleep. You're plushy legs are actually really comfortable."
Shiro and Kuro were awaken by the sounds of Yoshimura laughing and the crunch of Ken's momentarily disappearing nose.
The clink of ceramic rung in the laboratory. Kanou idly watched the coffee in his cup settle as he contemplated his research. Another test subject had failed. He wasn't too worried. Even a failure had its uses and the clowns were more than available for him to acquire replacement materials. Still the fact that he was still unable to create a success was irritating. Was it really impossible to create a human ghoul hybrid? Perhaps not. Thanks to his associates he believed he had acquired the necessary pieces to solve the puzzle.
He pushed a button his computer and pulled up the new data. On one side of the screen were pictures of the three Kaneki siblings; including one that clearly showed Shiro's single kakugan and multiples of Ken's out of control kakuja. There were also several pictures of the three about their daily life or working at Anteiku. The other side showed results of the siblings' genetic samples. Granted due to the contaminated state of the ill-gotten samples: Kuro's blood from a coffee mug shard, and Shiro's blood and Kaneki's drool from their fight with Nishio, Kanou could not completely trust the data he got from them. But he had already been able to lock onto several genetic markers that he felt could be the key to stabilize his experiments. He also noticed that the fluids had slight chemical variations from human and ghouls that he had not previously accounted for. He smiled as he sent the message to his ghoul allies on his requirements for the next batch of samples.
He idly thought about trying to acquire Ken and his sisters. But decided to let them be for now. They were not going anywhere and he didn't need them; at least for this stage of the program. Perhaps with time they would come to him though. He didn't think it would be that hard to turn a couple of high school girls and their young guardian to his views of the world. Just nudge them in the right way and they would see the truth. Of how distorted this world was.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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200000000000000011 There are 3 parts in one!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone