Chapter 1 – Heavy Rain

Rain drops whipped against the muddy ground and even with the thundering storm, the approaching footfalls of the ghoul investigators were still louder. While spitting blood, I prayed for my wounds to regenerate. I was licking my wounds like an injured animal.

"Over there!"

Loud gunshots came from behind me. I mustered to my strength to dodge sideways and keep running further. My speed was already greatly diminished. A sensation of sharp pain rippled across my back.

If it wasn't for their great numbers and the stolen power they possessed. At first hiding into the construction site seemed like a good idea. But now it was turning into my grave. Given no other choice I started ascending the building, while leaving a trail of blood.

"I see blood! He went over there! Fire – FIRE!"

The spotlights of the bloodhounds were not a welcome sight. And despite of having some luck in avoiding the hails of bullets; they kept shooting at my position. And a few found their marks. I kept dashing up from one floor to another. At least they couldn't match up to my physique but at the same time. . .

… I had already cut-off my chances for escape. Soon I'd have to make my final stand; to choose how I would die.

Seventeen. That was the final number as I counted the floors in the half-finished apartment. At least, I was no longer secreting blood. Unfortunately this did not remove the fact that the hunters were on the right trail. There was no escaping now.

From downstairs I could hear more gunshots; but I didn't see any projectiles hitting near me. They were probably playing it safe and shooting at every shadow on every corner.

I took the final steps to climb on the partially complete rooftop. Because of their cautious approach I probably had a few minutes left to live.

Why did this happen? I didn't kill people. I never ate a human that was murdered. This was never meant to be in the first place. My brother told me to never take a human life. He didn't kill people, he saved lives. In the eyes of the CCG it was all ignored.

I couldn't keep the tears away and I simply crumbled down on my kneecaps. Waiting, staring in the thundering sky. The city that I had always found so beautiful had now appeared melancholic and dark.

There was shouting one floor below me,

"This floor is all clear – "

"Stop!"

"What..?"

"This is a job for the investigators, stand back..."

"Y-yes sir."

The footfall sounded louder and louder, as an oozing bloodlust approached. The intent to kill terrorized my shocked world. I had felt burning pain in my chest, but the slowly lurking death brought peace; soon the struggle would be over.

I saw two men walking up the stairs, their eyes; with a single glance I could tell that they were monsters. I had never seen such of cold eyes in my life.

"Tch, is this ghoul for real? Crying that bastard..."

The man pulled out a long rod that suddenly expanded and coiled against my chest. It was a kagune. I knew they somehow managed to steal our kagunes, but still experiencing it first hand was overwhelming and scary.

I screamed from pain but worst of all – I was screaming of dread. The death I had expected, I thought it was to be serene and swift. However from the first blow and getting released from the crushing grasp of the kagune, their objective was clear; they were going to play with me. Coup de grace was nothing but a distant dream.

"Oh, the bastard is a bitch. Grhahahaha … This is the best. Was the man we killed previously someone dear to you? Lover, sibling, parent?"

The man holding the weapon stood there watching at me as I squirmed from the pain. The physical pain did not bother me at this point but his words punched a deep hole into my chest. A hole that felt deep enough to loose myself into that dark abyss.

"Why a-are you doing this..."

I pleaded only to be responded by laugh from the two. I could feel another slam from the kagune striking against me, choking on my throat before letting go again, forcing me to sit. I almost made the mistake of leaning backwards to lie down but there was only air behind me. Few inches backwards and I'd fall down to my death.

"Why..? Because you are a murderer. No worse, you are a ghoul."

His voice was filled with anger. He hated me with every cell of his body. That was clear. Somewhere deep inside my broken heart I could relate to the pain he had. He must've lost someone very precious to him.

The other man pulled a similar weapon from the suitcase but there was something familiar to it.

"This quinque is a special one. Just for you."

The other man laughed as he activated the quinque, I knew the smell and the appearance of it. It was my brothers kagune. For a fleeting moment I had imagined my brother was there.

"You thieving cats... Why!?"

I screamed with tears on my eyes and took a step up. The first man holding onto his quinque, launched the tendrils towards me. It slammed against my gut and sent me flying. I felt the shock all the way behind my head. Only to taunt me, rather than sending me down to the seemingly endless fall of over seventeen floors; the kagune coiled around my legs and threw me up in the air above the roof. In a moment I slammed painfully against the concrete floor of the roof.

"Oi, now!"

"Stay down, bitch..."

I felt frustration. Being powerless. My brother who had always protected me, always. For some reason; the voice of the man sounded like I had met with him somewhere before. Like I had heard it somewhere before...

Six days earlier.

My brother and I lived in a big house in middle of Tokyo. My brother was an aspiring surgeon in the Red Cross hospital. He saved lives and was able to steal food from the hospital. Because of this, we managed to live safely. The social standing we had was perfect for staying away from the CCG and we also managed to keep it apart from other ghouls as well.

It was soon time to pretend playing house for one more time. I would ask my brother what he'd like to eat and he'd think of something. And then I would bring him the bento to the hospital before going off to the university. Of course this was all a ruse to appear as normal as possible.

I was following my brother's footsteps in education. Being second year in med school to become a doctor myself too. What I kept as a secret from my brother was that I secretly wanted to be a veterinarian.

…

The phone was ringing. I rushed in to answer, shouting in a cheerful voice.

"Tsukuyomi's residence."

"Hello, sis!"

"Nii-nii!"

"Could I ask you to make my favorite again?"

"Of course!"

"Thanks, I gotta cut it short there is a bit rush in the hospital. There was a ghoul attack today so I'm patching up survivors. See you soon!"

"See ya!"

I hanged the phone. A ghoul attack, I sighed. I had hardly met any other ghouls. Yet the image I had received from them was not a flattering one. I walked to the fridge and took a small tightly packed glass vial from there, staring at it. I opened the seal and drank the substance that tasted sweet like honey. It was a lot cleaner than eating human flesh and the concentrate made by my brother distanced us from the cannibalistic nature of the ghouls; despite the fact that it was still made out of people.

I opened the door and left home. Taking the usual route to the closest supermarket. My brother's "favorite" fake food was something that he could easily pretend to eat while getting rid of it, by mainly sharing it with others. An assortment of nigiri and gyoza. After the shopping, I rushed to make the bento and took off with my bike to drive to the hospital.

…

The hospital was always bigger than I had remembered, despite of getting there every day. It was awfully busy this time, I could see busy crowds moving in and out. I drove the bike to the entrance for employees and walked inside. I didn't get far off as I was stopped in the corridor. A man wearing a suit walked up towards me.

"What is a visitor doing up here?"

The man stared down at me. For some reason I felt a primitive urge to turn around and flee. I couldn't get words out of my mouth as I could feel the man's hands gripping tightly against my wrist.

"Come with me, girl."

"Stop, let go off me!"

I tried screaming and in the struggle, I dropped the bento down to the ground. All of it's contents rolled on the floor.

In a few moments people arrived to the scene and luckily, one of them was my brother. He had heard the screaming and had rushed in to see what had happened. He usually timed his breaks with my arrival on days when it was possible so it was not completely unusual.

"My lunch!" He shouted. The man holding my wrist released the grip. However I still felt the chill on my spine.

"Who is she..?"

"This lady, she is my sister! What are you doing in here in the first place you are not even supposed to be in here!?"

My brother shouted at the man.

"I am sorry. But because of the attack, we have to keep the security tight." The grunt bowed deep in front of my brother.

. . .

"What was that about..."

My brother looked at me with a worried look.

"CCG. This hospital was the closest one to the area that was attacked. It has been really hectic in the hospital and I am probably working really late today. Having doves all around here, doing security it's..."

"I see, Nii-nii are you going to be okey?" I looked at him.

"I'll manage. Besides don't you have somewhere to be?"

He was right; my school was about to start.

"Nii-nii, I'll see you later!"

"Yup, I'll call you when I can."

He gave a bothered smile at me. I nodded before rushing out from the coffee room, I was a little bit late. I suppose that CCG grunt helped my brother, as it was the perfect excuse to get rid of the bento.

"Keep on with good work," I shouted at the grunt who was still watching on the same corridor was before. He wasn't staring at me suspiciously anymore.

"Thank you."

I started biking to the university and kept going on with the day.

For the next few days I hardly saw my brother. And at home, the atmosphere was stressed.

Present Day, few hours earlier

I received a fax in the morning: "I'm coming home by the noon," it was from my brother. I felt relieved. Things at his work must've calmed down by now.

However my brother never showed up. After hours passed I became more restless until I could no longer take it. I rushed to get up on my bike and started moving towards the hospital as fast as I possibly could.

I biked the way that my brother usually took from the hospital to home. After past halfway; as I got closer to my destination, I saw two men with suits and a bunch of guys in riot equipment and guns. 'What was going on..?'

"Brother?" I shouted as my eyes caught a silhouette that I knew. I tried my best to get closer. But one of the gunmen rushed forward, tackling me down to the pavement.

"Don't move." The man commanded. But I didn't have time to feel fear because as that happened I saw my brother's kagune. That sight had always filled me with a feeling of security.

He always told me to never kill people. But what happened there seemed to occur out of sheer desperation. The men with gun were sliced in pieces. I tried to get up on my feet as I watched my brother's chest become punctured by an alien kagune.

"Aki... Run" his voice was weak and I felt true terror, when I saw him like that. I started running with all my might. Crying as I kept running.

"Stop him!" I heard people shout from behind me. Gunshots filled the air. I couldn't avoid to get hit. But despite of the pain, I managed to slip away on the corner.

...

The sky was getting as dark as my heart. Running was all I could but I felt trapped. The hunters were coming after me. It was a hopeless game of cat and mice where my seemingly unlimited options were quickly reduced into nothingness.

My tears were already gone after hours of running away. Replaced by the cold raindrops. I didn't ask for any of this. I couldn't understand how my life could've been changed so dramatically in such of short moment.

It didn't take long until the girl had become trapped on the rooftop, lying down on the concrete floor. Beaten half-dead.

…

"My brother was a good person..."

I cried at the two men. The cold of the rain felt heavy and it became increasingly darker as the last few rays from the sun the glimmered in the distant horizon of the cityscape.

"Your brother murdered a lot of my good buddies."

I could feel another heavy slam coming from the kagune. But this time it coiled around my left hand. Like electric needles, I felt a pain that kept and kept increasing. My scream turned louder and louder; until I heard a snap. My hand was broken, dislocated and malformed; I was going to lose it to the pain.

"Huh... Did she break already? I didn't even get the chance to try my new quinque on her."

"Why do you even bother with that second-rate quinque. That kagune was trash, you'll get a better one from the HQ."

"Come on... Let me kill her with it."

"Tch, fine."

The man wielding my brother's kagune like a weapon was walking towards me. Second-rate, trash!? How could they sully my brother like that. He tried his best to keep me safe. And now; now I am going to be killed by that thing?

The walls of my reality started collapsing, the sky turned red in my eyes. The fear I felt was there no longer. This was something far more pure and innocent. I never felt like I had played out the next part. I simply had memories and strong emotions attached to them.

The next thing I recall seeing gave endless satisfaction for me. The man about to execute me was staring at me with a blank nonchalant gaze. I could feel warmth of blood on the skin of my hand.

"What the... Fuck it's a – ," the one who killed my brother was screaming. His voice was repulsive. I felt like I had to silence it.

A few steps, flashing forward; it was like time had frozen for me. I stared into the eyes of the man wearing that quinque he claimed superior to my brothers.

On my perception, it took a long time until his headless body slammed on the ground. Meanwhile, I had already thrown the head down the stairs. As the head fell, discordant shouting rumbled from downstairs.

The man that was wielding my brother on a stick, still stood on the center of the roof; holding to the quinque with one hand and the other hand was trying to hold his gut together. I walked towards him and stole back the quinque from his hands, before sinking my teeth into the armament.

One bite at a time; I gnawed pieces from the kagune. I didn't chew-I simply swallowed the pieces until nothing remained of it. And I still felt that emotion. That rage and hunger. I was brought down to a primal feeding frenzy.

After the quinque had been devoured, I started my feast on the investigators. I think the first guy was probably still alive when I sank my teeth into his throat. The memories were hazy but at least the mad feast was interrupted by gunfire.

The next scene I remembered was me, soaring high in the air. Coming down like a crashing meteorite. CCG shooting at me with guns blazing as I crashed on the roof of the building. The structure of the unfinished building crumbling like a house of cards.

And just like that, they were all gone: the building; the people, murderers of my brother. This was the power that ghouls had. No wonder they think we are monsters. After this, I had to agree. I was a monster. I hadn't become a monster, I had always been one.

That day the person known as Tsukuyomi Aki was gone, it was replaced by a monster, known as a ghoul. After that tragedy, the value I held for a human life was gone.