Sasaki Haise's morning was bad.
No, scratch that; his morning was terrible.
It had started, the second he opened his eyes. His head was rested against his desk, papers and documents scattered everywhere. It was a typical night, as he often found himself dozing off at work, too much paperwork to allow sleep. He was used to pulling all-nighters by now.
As frustrating as those nights were, it wasn't quite the cause of his bad mood. His stomach growled loudly, and he clutched it, hunger pangs assaulting him.
This was the cause. He was hungry.
Sighing, he got up from his chair, walking towards his untouched bed. Plopping down on his back, he ran a hand through his two-colored hair, the arm blocking his view. The half ghoul's stomach grumbled again, and his other hand unceremoniously rubbed it.
He felt like crying; he hated being hungry. It was an unearthly feeling, like torture being performed at the center of his stomach. It was hell for him, and it felt like starvation at best. And, as if that wasn't enough, his heightened senses made everyone around him seem edible. He hated himself for letting those feelings and thoughts cross his mind, but everything became quite different, when his ghoul side demanded nutrition.
And he wanted to eat. It clawed at him, his past self stirring from within. He wanted to tear into flesh, and eat the deliciously tender meat. He wanted to gobble up the insides of a person, to drink the delicious blood that accompanied it. The mere thought had him drooling, and his stomach once again growled, this time in approval of his thoughts. He sighed and cursed mentally.
This was getting bad. He felt like his previous self was creeping closer, roaming in the surface of his mind. He still couldn't remember anything, though.
Getting into a sitting position, Sasaki shook his head. He was going to talk to Akira-san about it…and perhaps his father (Arima) too. Surely, they would understand…
-Right?
His body shook lightly at that word.
The half ghoul briefly wondered how long, it had been since he last ate. Deciding it must have been at least a month and a half; he got up and dressed for the day, not bothering with a shower. He would take one later, after he had eaten, as it kind of got…messy.
He could only pray that he actually got anything to eat, as the CCG provided him with food once every second month. It hadn't been two months yet.
Stepping out of his room, he closed the door behind him. As he walked down the stairs of his apartment, he soon found himself in the living room. His sight was greeted by Shirazu, Urie and Tooru's worried glances. Well, Urie didn't look worried, but still…
Sasaki frowned. He scratched the back of his head, feeling nervous.
"Good morning! Are you ready for another eventful day?" Sasaki mumbled, trying to sound cheerful. His rambling only made him feel more awkward. Why were they all up before him anyway? Not counting Saiko, of course…
The Quinx Squad returned the greeting in their own way; one not saying anything, the other calling him 'Sassan', and the third being ever-so polite. Urie then proceeded to plug his earphones into his ears, content on ignoring the rest. Tooru fidgeted, and Shirazu kept staring, for some odd reason.
Sasaki began to sweat. The atmosphere was heavy, and he wanted to leave the apartment as soon as possible. Alas, he had to make breakfast for the young Quinxes, thus binding him to the place for half an hour, at most. He sighed. What was up with his team today? They acted like a big secret had been revealed, and that they were trying to keep it for themselves…that thought made Sasaki nervous again. They didn't know…did they? -About his plans for today…
"I'll begin making breakfast now…" The half ghoul announced, walking over to the kitchen. He put on his pink apron, still not too keen on the color (but it did its job nonetheless), and began to rummage through the fridge, fetching the needed ingredients. He decided on making omelet this time.
As he cooked, he felt Shirazu's lingering gaze on him. He sighed again, looking down at the seething eggs. The smell made him nauseous; any scent of human food made him want to gag. He really couldn't stand it, but did it anyway. His Squad needed the food, liked the food, and so he would be damned, if he didn't provide them with it. They could still live normally, after all. They were still considered normal.
He allowed himself a small smile at the thought. He would do anything for it to stay that way. No one should have to be condemned, like he had been. As Akira told him recently, he had to become stronger, so that he could protect, what was important to him. He intended to do just that.
The burning hunger in his stomach was briefly replaced by the nauseating feeling, and for once, he felt grateful for the foul smell of human food. This at least took his mind off of how good his subordinate's smel-
'NO!' Sasaki thought, scolding himself mentally. He felt ridiculous.
A few minutes passed, and he was soon done with the breakfast. He took out three plates, and put an equal amount of food on each, handling them with care in his hands. He walked over, put them down in front of the waiting Quinxes, and then walked back over to the counter, fetching the coffee he had made for himself. Walking back again, he took a seat across from Urie and Shirazu, sitting next to Tooru. He noted that his team hadn't begun to eat.
"Please, help yourselves. The food isn't going to eat itself, you know…" Sasaki commented, briefly contemplating whether or not to add in a pun. Though, he really wasn't in the mood, so he refrained from doing so.
Silently, the three began to eat. Haise raised an eyebrow, but just shrugged and chucked down his coffee in one large gulp, despite it being burning hot. He really was hungry, and the coffee didn't help at all in those times. No, he needed flesh.
Shirazu, still having his gaze on their mentor, noticed the far-away look he had, as he downed the contents of his mug. The Squad leader frowned, and cringed inwardly. How could he drink it all when it was still hot? In truth, though, he knew the reason, and he knew it very well.
The fact that Sasaki never ate anything, and only drank coffee was a dead give-away, if not for the fact that they recently witnessed his half ghoul nature. Another fact, that was painfully visible, was that once every month, he would begin to act a little different, being more distant and withdrawn, as well as seeming on end, and not being able to calm down. He would, like he had just seconds ago, drink his coffee much faster than usual, and usually he would leave for the day, only to return much later. While they didn't know where their mentor were (as he never told them), they had a fair idea, which was why they were on alert at those times. It still unnerved the Quinxes, but it was inevitable;
Sasaki Haise, the half ghoul, needed to consume human flesh, as it was his food source. Like everyone, he got hungry too, just not in the same way. Shirazu had once, and only once, seen the bloodied face of their mentor when he came home, after presumably feeding, and his black and red kakugan was still shining brightly in his memories. He would never forget the face of their mentor that day, but, respectively, he never once mentioned what he saw, which he was sure the latter appreciated.
He suspected, that Sasaki was able to stay in control, mainly because of the RC suppressants, that the CCG injected him with…and they were grateful for that. No one knew, what their mentor would do, if his RC level was at its normal. They didn't even know how high it was to begin with. Shirazu shivered at the thought, having a vague idea, that the half ghoul they knew, yet didn't know, would go berserk from hunger, and presumably attack one of them…
No, he couldn't think like that. It was Sassan! Surely, he was different from other ghouls…right?
So why was he so uncertain…?
Scratch that, why were they so uncertain?
Realizing that he hadn't touched his food in a while, Shirazu scarfed it down, and managed to finish it in time with the others, gaining some disdainful looks from Urie and Tooru. Sasaki stared at nothing, his eyes glazed over.
"Thanks for the breakfast, Sassan! It was great!" Shirazu said, breaking the silence that had occupied the room, and gaining everyone's attention. Tooru snapped out of it, and said his thanks as well. Urie was quiet, as usual, but had eaten everything nonetheless, indicating that he liked it.
"Sure…" The half ghoul replied, eyes still glossed over, and face indifferent. He did not notice the concerned looks he gained once again, as he was having an internal fight.
He was beginning to feel hazy, like he had been drugged, and that was never a good sign. Usually, when he felt like this, all rationality left him, making his past self stir within him, and whispering countless things to him. His voice, whispering his name, and telling him to accept it, to accept the ghoul part of himself, and ultimately, his memories. His hunger flared, and he knew, that he had gone too long without eating…it was too long ago. He needed to eat. He needed to eat, needed to eat needed to eateat-
He heard something, and his attention focused on the meat…-the flesh….no, the person in front of him, and it was then, that he noticed, the floor was shaking…
-No, the whole house was shaking!
Momentarily gaining the strength to snap out of his half-crazed hunger, Sasaki focused his attention on his surroundings. He realized that, the thing he heard before, were his subordinate's shouting, as the whole house shook greatly, from what he assumed to be an earthquake. And it was a strong one, as part of upstairs began to crumble and fall down. Tooru shrieked and fell out of his chair, Shirazu and Urie got up and took a defensive stance, and a confused Saiko came trudging down from the stairs, her eyes widened at the sight.
"Maman, the house is shaking! W-what is happening?!" Saiko yelled as she ran (yes, ran) over to the others, dodging frantically as part of the concrete fell. She joined them, helping Tooru stand up again, and Sasaki seemed to finally be able to move, as he stood up from his chair, and acted on instinct;
The concrete right above them had crashed, falling down where they stood, and before the half ghoul knew it, he had gathered all of his subordinates close to him, his kagune ripping from his back and the four tentacles forming a shield above them. His kakugan was now fully activated, the black and red eye pulsing from both hunger and the adrenaline rush, and as the heavy weight of the destroyed floor made contact with his rinkaku, he willed two more tentacles out of his back, aiding the other four with shielding his team.
While he protected his bewildered subordinates, he was extremely close to them, and as a result, he got a whiff off of their scent. His kakugan pulsed even more as he smelt blood, the black eye seeming to pull at his socket, red lines covering his cheek.
They were so close, so close-the flesh and meat was only a bite away, and he could just sink his teeth-
"Urgh!" Sasaki yelled, forcing his head away from Shirazu's shoulder, as he found himself wanting to tear into the flesh and eat, eateateat-
"Dammit!"
"S-Sassan…" Shirazu whispered, fully aware of his mentor's problem. Tooru had backed away as far as he could, terror written on his face, and Saiko was likewise as scared. She had not seen her Maman like that before, and it honestly frightened her, but she didn't back away. Their mentor was doing his best to save them! Urie held an impassive expression, but he was clearly shaken, both from being saved by Sasaki, and also from apprehension. The current situation was getting dangerous.
Shirazu shook his head, and set his firm gaze upon Sasaki. He had decided on what to do, in order to help, as the Squad leader! Their mentor was clearly suffering, and he was going to change that!
"Sassan, bite my shoulder! Take some flesh, so that we can get out of this situation!" He yelled, stunning the rest of the room's occupants. The other Quinxes' eyes had widened, and the half ghoul had slowly turned his head, to stare into Shirazu's determined eyes. His mouth had watered considerably, but his eyes held not only hunger, but concern, uncertainty and self-loathing as well.
"What…? N-no! I-I will not harm you…!" Sasaki said weakly, his will to resist not as strong as he would have liked. This situation was really the worst. Why would Shirazu say something so…unfair?
"Come on, Sassan! It's alright, I heal quickly, remember? Just a bite-"
"-I said no." the ghoul calmly interjected, his tone threatening. The others gulped. Urie, Tooru and Shirazu had heard that tone only once before, in the fight against Serpent.
Still, the Squad leader wasn't ready to give up just yet.
"But-"
"SHUT UP!" The cracking of a finger could be heard, and they all looked at Sasaki's now bended forefinger, the sound making them cringe.
No one, not even Shirazu, dared utter a word after that, and the room seemed to stop shaking, only to be replaced by a sudden, blinding light which engulfed them. As soon as the light had appeared, it disappeared, and it was quiet once again, the broken concrete now done falling.
Without looking at them, Sasaki used his rinkaku to throw the broken pieces away, and allowed himself and his squad some space. Immediately after, the half ghoul's kagune dissipated into the air, and he proceeded to fall flat on his face, out cold. The whole ordeal, along with his starvation, had been too much, and the voice in his mind had taken its toll.
"Sasaki!" The four Quinxes shouted as they rushed back over to his side. Shirazu rolled him over, so that he was lying on his back. The red lines around his left eye were present, meaning that his kakugan was still activated.
Some shouts suddenly echoed throughout the room, snapping the Quinxes out of their worrying states. They looked around, and realized with a start, that they weren't in the living room any longer. In fact, they weren't in a room at all, and several thousands of eyes stared at them.
They had somehow appeared in a hall full of black-clad people, who were lined up on four long tables. The whole place in itself was breathtaking, and everything confused them. This wasn't possible.
The hall was old-fashioned, made mostly of stone, and there were quite a few torches lined along the walls, angel/animal-like statues holding them fashionably. The whole setting screamed 'castle', and the squad were pretty sure of that fact. The long tables, with the black clad occupants, were made of dark-wood tree, and they noticed another high table at the end of the hall, where there was only a selected few people situated. They briefly noted that they were considerably older, than the other humans in the room.
While this was all surprising, especially considering that they had no idea, how they ended up there, the thing that really got to them, were the hundreds of floating candles above them, along with the bright night-sky inside. Shirazu dropped his jaw, Saiko had stars in her eyes, Mutsuki looked confused beyond word, and Urie merely raised an eyebrow (yet, he didn't like the situation one bit. None of them did).
Sasaki had fainted on them, and putting the unfamiliar (and quite grand) hall aside, several of the black clad people had weird sticks pointing at them, in a way that almost felt threatening. Still, the Quinxes didn't particularly feel that they were in danger. After all, what could they do with sticks? Poke their eyes out?
The stares of them all, though, unnerved them to no end. It made them feel unwelcome, almost alien. They probably were unwelcome, but still…
"…The hell is this?" Shirazu finally managed to mutter, his shark-like teeth gaining a few gasps from the crowd. Come to think of it, the on-lookers were staring at them oddly, their hair and eye color to be exact.
"[Bullshit, that's what.]" Urie muttered under his breath, glaring at the nearest people with the sticks.
"No, it's…kind of magical…" Saiko interjected, having heard Urie. She still had stars in her eyes, and she was unusual attentive.
"G-guys…What about Sasaki..?" Tooru said nervously, forcing himself to look away from the strangers, and back to their mentor.
"Halt! Who are you and what are you doing here?! State your business!" One of the people, who were slowly circling them, shouted. His intense glare burned holes into them.
The man was tall, and dressed in black from head to toe. He wore, like the rest of them, a long cloak, and his shoulder-length hair was as black as coal, his eyes just as dark. He had a menacing aura about him.
The others, who came to stand beside the black haired man, were all the older humans they saw at the high table. They were presumably protecting the hundreds of young people occupying the hall.
Really though, how should they answer those questions?
This truly was a bad day.