Author's Note: So, in celebration of Tokyo Ghoul week, in particular its first day, Villains Day, I thought I'd post the first part of my Naki story! I've been working on it for a while, and I was really excited about it but had to put it on hold for school. Now, I'm really hoping to finish it! Well, enjoy~

Chapter One: The Deal

Your head throbs. It's like it's filled with thick, milky pudding, and all your thoughts move sluggishly through your mind. Your body feels heavy and stiff, like you haven't moved for hours, and your mouth is so dry you have to peel your tongue from the bottom of your mouth.

"Oi! Hey! Why did you bring me down here?! I have errands to run!" A voice, high-pitched but distinctly male, sounds from somewhere nearby. You try to open your eyelids, but they feel so heavy, and the dark is cold but familiar and comforting. Even through the heavy mist in your mind you can sense that whatever you see when you open your eyes will be like nothing you've ever seen before…or want to see.

"…Someone needs to guard her." A deep voice, clearly annoyed, replies. There's a moment of silence, and the man with the high voice speaks up again.

"From what?! Why am I guarding her in the first place?! She's a human! Since when do we guard food?!" He yells.

This time his voice is so loud it sends a sharp stab of pain through your head. You try to raise your hand to your forehead, but it's so heavy. Food? The word briefly echoes in your mind, but before you can understand its significance the word drowns in the mist. Food did sound nice, as your stomach felt painfully empty.

"She's NOT food. Don't eat her, or the higher-ups will have your head." The other man practically snarls. "She's for trading."

"Traiting?"

"TraDING, you idiot!"

"Trading? Trading for what?" The high voiced man's tone lowers slightly, and you're very grateful.

"Tch." The deep voiced ghoul sighs exasperatedly. You hear him take a deep breath, before he starts speaking once again. "Look, there's this ghoul. He has some information the higher-ups want. But he's a shithead and won't give us the information for free. And he's a crafty bastard, and a pain to find."

A brief pause, and there's a loud knocking nearby. You make a small whimper: the sound sends a shockwave of throbbing pain through your skull.

"But he's got a thing for this human. Was hunting her for days before we got to her." He pauses, and snorts. "She was much easier to find, and capture too." He sounds…mocking? You're not quite sure, but as he continues, you get a strong feeling he's smirking as he speaks.

"And so we made a deal: he gives up the info, we give him the meal he wants so bad."

Another brief pause. The mist is dissipating, just slightly, and you begin to wonder who they're talking about.

"But if anything happens to her the deal's off. He wants to eat the whole thing, and one missing bite will screw everything up. You understand, Naki?" The angry voice finishes, finally.

Naki…what is that word? Does it mean something? No…not to you…then…it must be a name…?

"Humph." Naki, who must be the other man, snorts loudly. "But why am I the one who has to guard her?!"

"…We need someone strong to make sure this ghoul doesn't try to grab her and make off without honoring his end of the deal." The angry voice suddenly turns kind of amused. "And I'm sure that's why they chose you."

Even through your haze, you can guess that the angry voice man doesn't believe that at all. But when the other man speaks up, he sounds pretty pleased.

"Well if they needed someone strong, I guess it's okay." Naki says proudly. Another brief pause. The tips of your fingers twitch, and you slowly curl your fingers into a fist.

"…But why are we making a deal with this guy anyways? Why don't we just get the information him out of him the fun way?" Naki continues.

Fun…way? What is he talking about…

"Cause they need to make sure the info is 100% legit. And if it works out they want to be able to use him again." The angry man responds.

"Tch! If Big Bro were here…" Naki's voice goes even higher, and you can hear him sniffling. "If—If he were here—"

"Yeah well, he's not." Is the other man's curt reply. "And these are our orders. Make sure the girl stays in the cell, is fed and alive until we can give her to the guy."

More sniffling. You hear an annoyed scoff from the other man, and after a while Naki speaks up again.

"How long do I have to do this?"

"Don't know. The ghoul is stalling, probably trying to see if he can get her himself and then trade the info to another group, or something like that. As it is, consider you and your men stationed here until you get the word."

"Hmph. I guess it'll be fun to be on the other side of the cell door." You hear Naki mutter.

"…This is an easy job Naki. Just makes sure nothing happens to her. Then we make the trade, and you're free." The other man's voice is deep and serious, brokering no room for argument. You can hear Naki grumbling in annoyance, but the deep voice man ignores him, and leaves him with one last order.

"Don't screw this up."