Halcyon Days
AU As a simple bureau investigator, Hideyoshi Nagachika spent most of his time inside the safe walls of the CCG's 20th Ward Branch Office—that is until a certain eyepatched ghoul saves him from being eaten alive. Loyalties are strained as the detective is sent on a case to uncover the identity of the mysterious ghoul. Eventual Hidekane.
a/n: I have a lot of ships in tg and I'm honestly surprised I haven't written a fic for these dorks yet ^^' so yeah… I had this idea for a while now and needed to write it down. also, bc I'm in uni updates will be sporadic so apologies again for starting another fic when I have so many uncompleted ones ;-;
disclaimer: the angst-filled drama known as Tokyo ghoul does not belong to me, but to the brilliant Ishida Sui.
warnings: uh triggers for the usual: gore, language, cannibalism, the usual really in the tg universe. oh, Hide and Kaneki may be a bit ooc, but it's only due to them never meeting; this is how I interpret the characters to be like if they had never met till they were older, thus why Kaneki is colder and Hide comes off as being more withdrawn/lonely.
Chapter 1- The Greatest Irony
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Flipping leisurely through the catalogue, Hideyoshi Nagachika propped his legs up on the desk, humming to himself. It was Friday evening and most of the other paper-pushers had already left. The blond sighed, dropping the magazine and interlacing his fingers behind his head. He had promised some of his coworkers that he'd finish up the reports and then head home, but something kept him in his chair even after the minuscule task was taken care of.
Closing his eyes, Hide thought back to what had drawn him to join the CCG in the first place. Fresh out of high school and without any real plan in mind, he took an aptitude test for admission into the CCG Academy at the behest of one of his teachers. With his keen insight and natural investigative skills, he scored very well on the exam, and, a few weeks later was allowed admission into the Academy.
"So much for the dream…" The blond mumbled to himself, finally uprooting himself from the comfortable office chair. It groaned against the sudden loss of weight as he stretched out his arms, giving a great yawn. While he had great aptitude, his scores were another hindrance entirely. Particularly, the ghoul biology classes, which were core to becoming an investigator, made almost no sense to the boy. After failing two courses, the blond dropped out and enrolled into the Ghoul Countermeasure Training Center.
As a bureau investigator, unlike a ghoul investigator, Hide would never be able to handle a quinque. Instead, his job relied mostly on paperwork and reports, though the occasional field mission did occur. It was a much safer job, paid roughly the same as a ghoul investigator, and had better hours. For Hide, it had been a much better alternative than immediately ending up as a snack on his first mission. And, of course, the best perk: it didn't test his morals in the slightest. Human or ghoul, the blond didn't care; unless he or those close to him were in immediate danger, he was more inclined to ignore the presence of a ghoul than report suspicious activity—the sort of behavior which kept him at the very lowest investigator rank. His motivation lied in solving mysteries, not hacking apart ghouls who may have families or loved ones. If only the higher-ups knew that his loyalties were so thin… such thoughts would be considered treason by many, but the blond shrugged it off. It didn't matter, not when he was tied to an office desk most of the time.
Hide had considered working for the CCG because he wanted to be a hero. Plain and simple. All his life he had been the boisterous, loud-mouthed, eccentric kid who no one expected much of. He kept to himself, relied on no one, and kept an extroverted, slightly unmanageable demeanor which both drew people in, but kept them at a safe distance.
Or, at least, proving to himself and others that he could amount to something—to someone important, was what had drawn him to the CCG. But, the longer he worked within the branch the easier it became to see the flaws and breaks in his superiors' facades.
They were arrogant, power hungry, and saw bureau investigators as ghoul fodder. At times, it felt as if Hide were nothing to them but some wiggling imago, prematurely shaken from its chrysalis in rivulets of blood and amniotic fluid—just another insect to be smashed underfoot when he outgrew his usefulness. They didn't care if hundreds of investigators were slaughtered if there were more people to take their place.
Such hypocrites… they call ghouls monsters but they're perfectly fine with letting good people die if it means we're one step closer to eliminating the ghoul species.
Turning off his computer monitor, the blond hopped from his desk, a spring in his step as he patted his cheeks in an attempt to rid himself of such negative thoughts. No, bad Hide! It's Friday! That means you're free from this hell hole. Enjoy the freedom!
Up above the blinking lights of Tokyo's 20th ward, Kaneki Ken watched his city with keen eyes, red kagune rippling from his battle suit. Pulling his signature mask from his pants pocket, the ghoul allowed for his one right eye to turn pitch-black, iris a heavy crimson. Wisps of white locks fanned across his forehead at the sudden gusts of wind before he disappeared, plummeting to the ground from the top of the abandoned skyscraper in a single swoop.
The ward had been relatively peaceful for the past year, but slowly, more and more ghouls without any regard for others had been popping in and out, causing havoc to rock the city. It had made the Doves hover over the area, endangering those he cared deeply about.
My only family… those at Anteiku. I will not let them be hurt by other ghoul's careless mistakes.
Acting as a mercenary of sorts, the newly-made half-ghoul spent most of his time exterminating ghouls who caused too much trouble for the ward. It had been an easy way to distract himself from the encroaching hunger which had seemingly seeped into his bones.
Oh, he had eaten his fair share of ghouls, but something still caused a dark rumbling in his gut. He kept himself away from the general populace for the most part, in fear of losing control, in fear that the pleasant warmness of limbs, slick blood, and crunching bones of a human would make it impossible for him to eat another disgusting ghoul again.
Just one bite… A voice in his head echoed mockingly as his feet hit the empty street, the scent of a bleeding human in the air. Kaneki could pick out the voice of a man—yelping helplessly, giving petty bargains to whatever monster had cornered him in an alleyway. With it came the scent of sunflowers and liquid sunshine, such an earthy and summertime scent that the white-haired ghoul had never smelled before. It was the most delicious scent to ever cross his senses and before he knew it, his feet had dragged him to the alleyway.
Blinking, the half-ghoul's gaze traveled from the apparently unconscious human sprawled on the ground to the two ghouls who had been arguing on what body parts they were claiming as their own.
At his heavy footsteps the two ghouls turned, snarls emanating from their lips.
"He's ours! Find your own meal, brat!" The first ghoul muttered, bikaku-type kagune slithering around his leg.
"Yeah! Do you know how hard it is to eat in the 20th ward? The fucking Doves are everywhere—in fact," He paused, crouching over to the unconscious man and pulling his head up by tugging on his hair, "we saw this guy here walking out of the CCG building!"
It was for a brief moment, but the half-ghoul was able to see the face of the boy clearly even with the ever approaching darkness of night, making out a light dusting of freckles which dotted the bridge of his nose and under his eyes. Even his appearance reminded him of sunflowers— or something even brighter, like the sun.
It was then that Kaneki spoke, kagune pointing dangerously at the two ghouls unfortunate enough to cross his path. "Look, I've seen you two before. You've got to stop recklessly feeding. You're endangering the lives of every ghoul in this ward. I'll give you a warning this time, but leave the boy alone."
He's mine, Kaneki's brain supplied, already feeling himself salivating. The gnawing pain of hunger was forming in the way his gums ached, the pressure in his throat and teeth causing him to bite against his own tongue to relieve himself and sucking on the blood that followed.
No! Stop that! You were human once, remember? His hands shook at the thought, vision hazy as he felt something inside of him break.
Not human. Not anymore—never again.
Just as his skewered conscious returns, he sees the two ghouls muttering to each other, grimaces plain on their faces. They were attempting to whisper, but with all his cannibalizing, Kaneki's hearing had increased ten-fold.
"…I think we could take him."
"No, did you see that look in his eyes? He's bat-shit insane!" The other ghoul said a little too loudly, causing the latter to slap him upside the head and hiss at him to keep his voice down.
After a few more minutes of 'deliberating' the pair slinked away, eyeing the white-haired boy with both malice and fear. They disappeared as soon as they hit the junction between the street and alleyway, hopping building after building in search of another meal.
It was when Kaneki could no longer smell them that he allowed for his angry façade to slip, crouching down beside the pale human. Shallow breaths escaped his cracked lips as he was carefully rolled onto his back. Kaneki sucked in a gasp at the bruise forming above his right eyebrow, a monstrous bluish-violet that marred his otherwise porcelain skin. Blood pooled from a wound above his hairline, dripping in tandem against the rough asphalt.
Drip. Drip. Folding his kagune into his lower back, he kept his kakugan activated, using his thumb to rub away the trail of blood which threatened to seep into the blond's eye. The crimson liquid smelled ridiculously sweet and impulsively, Kaneki brought his thumb to his lips. Closing his eyes, he took a languid lip, a shiver of pleasure creeping up his spine. Absolutely delicious. It was better than the fine fermented wine that Itori had dumped on him the first time he came to Helter Skelter.
I want more. I need more—
"Heh, do I really taste that good?" A weak voice pulled him from his blood-drunk reverie, stunning the white-haired youth into silence. No words could escape him as the human let out a groan of pain, a grimace replacing his once bright smile. Honey-colored eyes bored into his own, revealing that he'd seen the ghoul lap at his blood.
"Oww, that one guy really threw me like a rag-doll. I think I may have broken a rib." He commented more to himself than to the now mute ghoul. His plan of playing dead had worked well enough when the ethereal ghoul had shown up, and perhaps half-stupidity and half-intrigue had caused him to stop pretending and attempt a conversation with the man who had saved his life—well, there was still time for him to lose it and eat him, but he imagined that if he came all this way to scare the other two off, it'd be a waste if it were just to claim their meal as his own. Besides, no one would be so careful with their food if his attempt to lightly roll him onto his back proved anything.
Hide could tell that the ghoul was powerful—there was a rippling sense of electricity in the air that caused a light shiver to wrack his frame as he stared up into the boy's dark sclera. He was still terrified—it was the first time he had ever truly interacted with a ghoul (not counting his run-in with the two who just wanted to eat his insides). But, he could feel that the ghoul was holding back and that had to count for something.
"So, you've got a name? I'm Hideyoshi Nagachika. But my friends call me Hide. Thanks for not letting them eat me; I'm actually really stringy, you know. Not exactly the best meal for a ghoul, I'd imagine." He joked, hoping to rouse some reaction from the masked boy. His silence was scary—it was as if he were nothing but a ghost, a trail of smoke that could be blown away in an instant. If it weren't for the fact that the ghoul had stroked his cheek Hide would have wondered if he was hallucinating the entire thing.
"…Hide." Kaneki parroted back, still not believing the situation at hand. Since turning into a half-ghoul he had zero contact with humans. And now here he was, talking to an injured human he had saved not on a whim, but out of selfish hunger.
The guilt was clear in his eyes as his kakugan faded, returning his iris to a stormy grey color.
"Kaneki… my name is Kaneki." He mumbled back, folding his hands in his lap and tipping his head down.
How easily I forgot my own humanity… Pathetic.
Hide watched in awe at the change in color of the boy's visible eye, mouth agape. So pretty… Ah, what's getting over me? Now's not the time to be gawking like a fool!
"H-hey, Kaneki, don't worry 'bout it! I'm sure you're a good guy! Everyone gets hungry; it's just natural. And wow, me bleeding out here must not be easy for you to take and—whoa, hold on!" He let out a cry of surprise as Kaneki draped his arms around his shoulders, forcing the bureau investigator to hold on at an impromptu piggy-back ride.
"…You're hurt. I'll help you get home." Was all the ghoul said as he carried the blond, moving in the direction of the city.
The scent of sunflowers tickled his nose as he took a deep breath, calming himself. The warmth on his back was nice and from their position he could easily make out the gentle thump, thump of the boy's heart as blood drummed through his veins. It was comforting, in a way. Even after everything that had happened, from his surgery to being tortured by Jason, he had kept at least a shard of his humanity. All it took for him to realize this was a very, very talkative Dove.
"T-thanks… but I think I could have just walked—"
"No, you would've attracted more ghouls." Kaneki interrupted, taking the back alleys as to not rouse suspicion. He had unzipped the mouth part of his mask so his voice wouldn't be so muffled, but dared not to remove it entirely.
Hide was a member of the CCG, after all.
"..Say, Kaneki, I'm grateful and all, but you heard from the other ghouls, didn't you? I am a part of the CCG. I'm just a lackey, really, I don't even have a quinque, but…" He trailed off, unable to see the widening of the ghoul's visible eye. He felt the fingers around his ankles tighten briefly, but other than that, all the boy replied with was a sigh.
"I know."
That won't stop me from doing the right thing.
"Heh, a ghoul helping a human from the CCG… my superiors would have a fit if they knew—ah, don't worry though. I'm not gonna tell them; I wouldn't want to ruin our blossoming friendship~" The blond teased, happy to hear a light chuckle from the ghoul.
Ah, so he can laugh! There's hope yet!
"You talk a lot for someone who was apparently thrown around like a rag-doll." Kaneki retorted as he carried the youth up the steps to his apartment. At the door, he helped Hide to the ground, immediately turning around to leave.
"W-wait a second, dude!" Hide called out, fishing his key from his front pocket.
Kaneki didn't turn around, but stilled in his movements, waiting patiently for the human to continue.
"If I left you a gift here, outside my door, would you accept it?"
The ghoul paused, suddenly unsure. I've meddled enough. No need to drag another person into danger. Yet, the word still passed his lips despite his inner mental protests. "…Sure."
The bureau investigator silently fist-pumped the air. "Awesome! What would you like?"
"…Coffee." With that Kaneki disappeared, plummeting from the 3rd floor balcony and onto the ground.
Looking over the railing, Hide could only shake his head and sigh as the dark figure retreated into the nearest poorly-lit alleyway. "Kaneki sure is weird… but that's okay, I guess. At least he didn't eat me!"
And all at once, the weight of his treason fell upon the blond's shoulders.
Oh shit—I'm gonna get arrested.
It was bad enough harboring a ghoul as a regular citizen, but being a CCG member? He wouldn't be surprised if they skipped his trial and made it a public execution.
In an attempt to distract himself by his possibly very imminent death sentence, the blond took to the kitchen, opening his refrigerator. Shuffling around, he found an unopened can of iced coffee—his favorite brand. Getting a sticky note, he scribbled a little doodle of the ghoul and a few gracious lines: 'For Kaneki. Thanks again. I really owe you one. I have a spare key under the mat if you ever need a place to stay. You're more than welcome to stop by.'
Leaving the gift outside his door, Hide sighed. If he was going to die, he was going to die in style. One of the first rules he had learned at the Academy was that a human should never under any circumstance trust a ghoul. They were keen manipulators and could easily fake human emotion; however, Hide was a great investigator (when he tried to be), and he could tell that the boy's reactions were genuine. Especially the look of guilt he had given him. It had been so raw, as if the entire weight of the world rested on his shoulders. The blond wondered just what could have happened to make a person so young appear that broken.
Ah, no use dwelling on it. If Kaneki hadn't showed up I'd currently be digesting in some ghoul's stomach. Eww.
Shaking his head, Hide busied himself with a first-aid kit, applying bandages and ointment to the cuts and abrasions on his face.
It was later the next morning that Hide checked his email, brown eyes staring unbelievably at the contents of his superior's request.
Staring back at him was a blurry picture of the same white-haired ghoul with his mask on—Kaneki, he corrected in his head.
And after all the time he spent behind his desk at the office, he was finally getting a real job. His mission was to uncover the whereabouts and origin of 'Eyepatch', an SS~ ranked ghoul residing inside the 20th ward.
A sick feeling bloomed in the pit of his stomach. "Ughh, this sucks!"
a/n: this is probably the longest chapter I've ever written lol. any feedback would be lovely—you know we authors feed on reviews like ghouls feed on human flesh :3
also, in case you were wondering:
ghoul investigators are what Akira/Amon/Arima/etc. are. They can use quinques and went to the CCG Academy.
Hide in this story is a bureau investigator. Once completing training at the Ghoul Countermeasures Training Center, they become Rank 3's and generally are in charge of doing paperwork or being 'extra ghoul fodder' so to speak whenever big raids go down. They are not allowed to use quinques, but are given Q bullets in their weapons, which can hurt weak-leveled ghouls but nothing more. The reason Hide is given the job to search after Eyepatch (which would normally be reserved for a ghoul investigator) is bc all other investigators are predisposed w/ other cases and Hide scored so highly on his aptitude exam.
Review?
-isis