A cold presence enveloped First Class Investigator Haise Sasaki. He began to tremble as he felt a hand caress his wrist and intertwine with his own. A menacing breath tickled his neck paralyzing him.

"Hey. You want this right?"It hissed calmly waiting for Sasaki to drop his defenses, "Just accept me." The voice tempted.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey…"

"Shut up!" Haise suddenly spoke up silencing the demon that was threatening to overtake him, "I won't let you have me." Though spoken with confidence the look in his eyes betrayed a sense of defeat. This was it…

"Mutsuki… contact Akira." He ordered his young subordinate who nodded confused by the sudden urgency in her superior's voice.

Akira… Arima… Give me courage.

At once a powerful force overcame Sasaki and he felt his back being torn apart and healed over and over as his body's rc cells ruptured through the skin of his lower back. The cells changed and rearranged themselves multiplying faster than what Haise had expected. It had been so long since he had been forced to rely on the abilities of an actual Kagune. It felt… natural and his blood boiled with anticipation. He had wanted this and, wide eyed, the sudden realization struck him to the very core. For the first time in a long long time he actually felt, afraid. Afraid of his anticipation, afraid of the thing dwelling inside him, and most of all afraid of himself.

Sensing Sasaki's fear the ghoul inside him smiled gruesomely. It began to tear down his defenses one after another, slowly invading his mind and contaminating the investigator's psyche. Haise tried to fight back tried to protect himself from that thing's advance and yet it felt hopeless. He had made the mistake of dropping his guard and now he would be consumed.

"That's it." A soft voice lulled, "I can help you."

"Shut up…"Haise warned his voice trembling.

"You're afraid, Haise. I can get rid of that fear." It paused advancing further, "I know how you feel. Fear is a treacherous thing."

A sudden wave of emotions washed over him. Agony, pain, regret, anger, hopelessness, dread, sadness, loneliness, and fear. Sasaki was overwhelmed by the shear intensity, the extreme concentration of such negative emotions. He watched as memories that had once only belonged to his other half, memories he had locked away and long since forgotten, played across the dark recesses of his broken mind. He could feel the cold stinging metal of the pliers rip at his, no not his that thing's, exposed flesh. Smell the metallic bitter scent of blood emanating from the seemingly endless stream of crimson that had begun to die the black and white tiles laying silently at its mangled feet. He felt his bones snap, and shatter one after another. No longer convinced that this sensation was second hand. A pain so excruciating that it dulled and numbed every other sense. A bitter voice, his voice, cried out desperately begging for mercy, pleading for salvation at the hands of his assailant. Hands from which one was dangling but a single centipede…

"Enough!" Haise jolted screaming out. He didn't want this, "Please… please… " His entire body trembled as shivers rolled up and down, up and down his spine.

"We've been through so much, Haise." It drew ever closer reaching out to him.

"No, no… not me… It wasn't me. It wasn't me!" He grasped his head, eyes wide, trying to block out the memories. Tears streaked down his cheeks and off his chin, alighting on the soft fabric of his uniform and absorbing into its white folds, "It wasn't me…"

"Poor, Haise." He felt hands on his shoulders pulling him closer. They draped around his neck and the investigator unconsciously leaned into their peculiar comfort, "Your mind can't take the burden. Allow me to help you, Haise." the voice whispered sweetly, invitingly, "I can give you the salvation you so desperately craved. I can protect you."

The ghoul raised his hand and placed his thumb over his forefinger, Sasaki's very own followed matching himself movement for movement, gesture for gesture, "All you have to do… " The voice smiled expectantly, " … is accept me."

Crack!

Authors Note: Thank you for reading this one-shot. I hope you liked it! Please feel free to leave a review. Hearing your guys' opinions might help me determine whether or not to write a second chapter ^-^