A crossover fic between another user and I. We posted it on Ao3 and are now posting it here.

Humans were thought to be at the top of the foodchain. If they could eat it, then they certainly would eat it. If it could be consumed, they would consume it. Animals, plants, fish. They ruled above all. At the top, unwavering. Nothing would be able to stop them.

But suddenly, they weren't at the top anymore.

Hundreds of years ago, came the appearance of a new species-one that looked exactly like a human, and thrived on eating them. There was no other way for these beings to survive-they could only consume the flesh and entrails of a human. Often thought to be mutated from humans and dubbed ghouls, the human race lived in fear of them. Not much was known about them until the second World War, when several were captured and experimented upon.

The only food they could share with humans were coffee and water. Water, because like a human, it too makes up much of their bodies. The reason for coffee, however, is unclear.

They have high Rc levels that accumulate as kagune, muscle-like extensions of their bodies that they use to-

"Blah blah blah, I already know all this," Yuuichirou groaned, flipping onto his back. Akane giggled as Mikaela shot the black-haired boy a look, and Yuu simply stuck his tongue out. The two twelve year old boys were currently studying for their school exams outside-both had taken a class this year that was sort of a preparation for the classes held at Shibuya High, which every CCG Ghoul Investigator must attend and pass in order to sustain a job there.

However, the class wasn't really all that Yuu expected it to be-there was less ass-kicking and more reading than he would have liked.

"This is all important, Yuu," Mika smiled, setting the textbook down as he did so, "Can you at least name all of the kagune that the-"

"Fast kagune , stabby-stab kagune , tentacle kagune, tail kagune ," Yuu listed, and Akane let out a full-blown laugh. Mika sighed, but there was no exasperation in his voice.

"Yuu-chan," He chided, but didn't say anything further. The orphanage children were all currently outside, playing on the playground. The three eldest watched the younger mess around on the swings and slides, screaming in enjoyment as they did so. Yuu gave a huff as he sat up, feeling bored. He didn't want to be here. He'd rather be walking through town or something-anywhere that wasn't this damn orphanage.

He was getting tired of seeing it everyday, with its bleak walls and creaking beds. It's not like it was a bad place. It was just dreary. The most colorful room in the orphanage was the playroom, and being inside it made him feel like he was five years old.

"We need to study, it's really important!" Mika said, and Yuu just huffed once again and rolled his eyes. Akane balanced her face in the palm of her hand, smiling at the two eldest. She was merely a year younger than them, but already much more mature.

"If you don't study, you fail. And if you fail, you won't be able to get into Shibuya High," Akane reminded him.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Yuu snapped, sitting up in annoyance, "You two tell me the same thing every single day!"

"And for good reason," said Mika, "You're so dumb sometimes, it's a wonder how you can even put your clothes on in the morning."

"Oi," Yuu barked as Akane and Mika exchanged a high-five, "You know this counts as bullying?!"

"We're just having fun," Akane said, uncrossing her legs and leaning forward, so her elbows were balanced on her knees. "We do care about you, you know. Which is why we always remind you to study! We know how much you want to work at the CCG!"

"Yeah, Ghoul Investigators needs to be smart, athletic, and quick-thinkers, Yuu!" Mika stuck his tongue out playfully at the boy, "You're none of those things!"

"Hey, if you're going to be saying all that trash, you're no better than I am!"

"Ah?! What?! But I, the Great Mikaela, have far more superior skills than Yuu does!" Mika boasted, placing his hand on his chest. Akane applauded him, and Yuu grumpily turned away, not at all amused with their antics.

"I'm going on a walk," Yuu said, getting to his feet and stuffing his hands in his jacket pocket. Mika got to his feet as well.

"You probably shouldn't go on your own. After all you, you'd probably get kidnapped." Mika said, and ignoring Yuu's "hey!, turned to Akane, "You'll keep an eye on everybody, won't you, Akane?"

"Sure!" She said, smiling and straightening up, "You can trust me, O Great Mikaela!"

"Please don't encourage him," Yuu groaned, "And Mika, I don't need you to come with me-"

"Hey guys, Yuu-chan and I are going for a walk!" Mika called to the other orphanage children, waving enthusiastically, "Also, Kouta, if you don't stop pushing Ako off the slide, I'll steal your dessert for the rest of the month!"

"Awwww! Fine!"

"You don't need to come with me," Yuu argued once again, but Mika merely laughed at this.

"Oh, come on, Yuu. You're too stupid to be wandering the streets alone!"

"H-hey!" Yuu cried as Mika raced back into the orphanage, and he quickly followed, not ready to let the blond get away with that remark.

"We're going out!" Mika called to the director of the orphanage, who merely smiled and nodded, busy sweeping up the mess left behind in the dining hall. The two boys slipped on their shoes, both wearing identical black sneakers with red laces. They shared the same shoe and clothing size, and weren't even sure which pair truly belonged to who.

The twentieth ward of Tokyo was busy and filled with people going about their business, talking to others or going shopping. Yuu and Mika walked through the crowds of people, which Yuu always enjoyed. There was something about walking with no destination in mind in the city, to admire the bright signs and stores that Yuu just enjoyed the feeling of. The cold air only made it better, so he wasn't sweating, nor was he shivering, clad in his warm jacket. Mika walked beside him, smiling and talking to Yuu.

"So, I heard that the Moon Demon Company really uses those special Quinques," Mika mused, ducking to the left to avoid a man who was gesturing enthusiastically, "They've found a way to use the kagune and turn them into weapons like swords and stuff so it's more efficient to kill ghouls."

"Cool," Yuu commented, conjuring a mental image of a glowing sword being wielded against the monstrous figure of a ghoul, "That sounds a lot better than carrying a huge briefcase around."

"Haha, but the downside is that they don't have a way to compact the weapons, so it'd be pretty obvious you're an investigator if you carry a huge weapon around." said Mika, bumping shoulders with Yuu on purpose.

"Still sounds better." Yuu stated.

"Haha, you would say that."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing at all," Mika grinned, before changing the conversation, "You want to go buy a board game?"

"Hey, don't change the topic, what was that supposed to mean?" Yuu half-shouted in irritation, but Mika didn't answer his question and instead skipped ahead of Yuu, smiling.

"Stop being so intense about everything and start joking a little more," Mika said, Yuu unable to see his face. "You're so annoyed all the time. You need to start being happy."

"I don't need to start being anything," Yuu said, digging his hands further inside his jacket pocket, "You just need to stop bugging me."

"Hmm," Mika hummed, coming to a sudden stop outside a café, blue eyes focused on the sign, "Hey, have you ever been in here?"

"Eh?" Yuu backtracked and looked up at the café sign, frowning, "No, never heard of it. Sang-Sang….Sangui...Uh…"

"Sanguinem!" Mika chirped, grabbing Yuu's hand and dragging him inside enthusiastically, the black-haired boy protesting as he did so, "The sweets here taste really good, I've been meaning to take us all here one day!"

"You come here often?" Yuu questioned, and Mika answered by racing up to the counter and practically shouting,

"Ferid! Can we have one of those cakes you told me about last week?"

"I don't want any cakes," Yuu muttered under his breath.

'Ferid' turned away from making coffee, and Yuu saw that the man had silvery hair and eyes that were nearly turquoise. Yuu paused, suddenly feeling uneasy. The man was tall, with long, flowing hair and an angular face that seemed handsome in an unnerving way. He didn't really like the way the man's eyes flickered down at Mika, smiling.

"Ah, dear Mika," said Ferid, leaning across the counter and giving Mika a warm look, turquoise eyes shining, "Only if you have the money to buy them this time. I'm not giving them away for free any longer!"

"Don't worry, I have some!" Mika grinned as he dug into his coat pocket, extracting the proper amount of yen and holding up the money to show Ferid. Yuu slowly slid up to Mika from behind, not liking this Ferid guy one bit. He had an unsettling air about him, and Yuu had noticed that a few of the other patrons were watching them with interest. Ferid accepted the money graciously and placed it in the register, humming some popular song Yuu recognized as he did so.

"Alright," He grinned, before turning to another worker with long blond hair and eyes that looked orange, "Sachiko, could you get the chocolate cakes? Two of them."

Sachiko shot Ferid a look, before moving to the back, and coming out shortly with two cakes in hand. Mika cast Yuu a gleeful look, who only raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Ferid took the cakes from Sachiko and handed them to Mika, who said,

"Thank you very much, Ferid-san."

"No problem, Mika," Ferid's smile was only getting wider, eyes closing as he leaned over and gave the top of Mika's head a pat, "You should bring the orphanage children with you next time."

"How do you know we're from the orphanage?" Yuu asked before Mika could say anything. Ferid's eyes slid to Yuu, and he felt unsettled once again.

"Young Mikaela told me, of course," Ferid nearly purred, resting his chin in his palm as he scanned Yuu with his eyes, making Yuu feel violated in some way, "You must be Yuuichirou? Pretty green eyes and black hair. Just as Mika described."

"What?" Yuu rounded on Mika, who was holding one of the cakes out to Yuu, that annoying cherubic smile still on his face, "You told him about me?!"

"I just talk to him whenever he's free and I'm bored," Mika said, with a shrug, "It's not like I've told him what orphanage we're from. I'm not stupid, Yuu! Not like you. The Great Mikaela wouldn't make a foolish mistake like that!"

"Hey! Piss off, Mi-"

"Haha, shut up and eat the cake!" Mika laughed, stuffing the sweet into Yuu's mouth. Yuu nearly stumbled backwards, glaring angrily at the blond-haired boy before him. He didn't like the way this place felt-an indescribable feeling in his stomach told him that this place was crawling with bad things, and the fact that Mika had been communicating with this Ferid guy didn't sit well with Yuu.

"Can't you feel it?" Yuu whispered harshly to Mika as they left the café. Yuu could feel Sachiko's orange-ish eyes following them out the door. Mika merely gave Yuu a look of confusion, licking the chocolate off his fingers.

"Feel what?" Mika asked curiously, brow furrowing in concern as Yuu's frown only deepened. Maybe Yuu just wasn't feeling well…? Mika usually had good instincts when it came to things like this-maybe Yuu was just imagining things, and needed to lie down. That was it.

He didn't eat the chocolate cake, though, because he wasn't a big fan of that.

"Why you looking so sour?" A voice asked later that evening. Yuu looked up from his book to see Akane standing before him, smiling.

"It's nothing," Yuu mumbled, turning a page, "Just not feeling well."

"Aw, why?"

"Just a feeling, Akane. Have you had a feeling like that? That something wasn't well?"

Akane paused, thinking for a moment. Her hand twiddled with a few strands of her hair, before saying,

"All the time, I feel like something bad is going to happen."

Yuu shook his head. "I'm not talking about being paranoid, I'm talking about, like, a gut feeling. Something you just feel inside, you know?"

Akane only stared at him quizzically, and Yuu sighed, shutting his book.

"Guess not."

"I'm sure Mika would understand better," Akane said apologetically. Yuu thought back to the café, and the chilling aura surrounding it. Surrounding that man. And Mika hadn't felt it…

"I'm not sure he would," Yuu said, staring off into the distance and not seeing Akane's concerned expression.

Yuu returned to the café with Mika twice after that, when the blond had insisted in that manner of his that made Yuu more and more frustrated. The bad feeling was still there, but not as prominent as it had been when he had first told him he'd gone to the café many times because of how nice the staff and customers were. Despite what Mika said, Yuu still felt the eyes of the patrons on them as they talked and ate goodies, and still felt uneasy around Ferid, who talked dramatically and with inhumanly graceful movements.

"Why do you look so uneasy? Is your stomach hurting?" Mika asked on their second trip to the café, after asking for more of the chocolate cakes. Sachiko had brought them to him, looking thoroughly unhappy as she did so. Yuu didn't like that.

"Are you kidding? Doesn't that Sachiko girl look so unhappy?" Yuu asked, gesturing to her. Mika just shook his head.

"Sachiko always looks like that, she says she hates working."

Yuu just sighed, not knowing how to translate this feeling into comprehensible words. When they went home that time, the orphanage children smelled the sweets on them and instantly crowded around them.

"You two smell like cookies!" Taichi, the youngest, cried out indignantly, his hands tugging at their sleeves, "I want sooooome!"

"Me too!" The rest shouted, save Akane, who shook her head, smiling.

"Give brother Mika and brother Yuu a rest, guys," She giggled, patting the top of Taichi's head. Mika swooped down and picked Taichi up, swinging him around in the air with a smile on his face. Taichi screeched with laughter.

"You guys want to go get cookies?" Mika asked, and everyone cheered their response, a loud "yes!"

"We can't, we have to ask-" Yuu began, not wanting to go back to Sanguinem again that day, but Chihiro was already racing up to the director, asking excitedly if they could go get sweets. Yuu prayed that the old woman would say no, but to his chagrin, she nodded, so long as they promised to be home before ten.

"It's almost nine, so we better hurry!" Akane said, and the children rushed to pull on their hats and coats, rushing out the door as the director called out to the three oldest children-

"Watch out for the young ones!"

"Don't worry, we got this!" Mika said, waving to her excitedly, "You guys are going to love this place, it's so yummy!"

Yuu jogged at the back of the group to make sure no one wandered off. The streets of Tokyo were full of late-night workers heading home and those going out to nightclubs or merely for a walk. Flashing lights and signs illuminated the sidewalk, though this didn't stop Kouta tripping repeatedly on absolutely nothing.

They arrived at Sanguinem at nine fifteen, and the children filed inside the nearly empty café with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Mika led them up to the counter, already extracting money from his pocket, smiling at Ferid widely. Ferid stopped, staring at the children, before smiling that smile of his that made Yuu uneasy, stomach churning.

"We're going to need a lot more cakes," Ferid chortled, turning to look at Sachiko, who was already heading to the back to get more, sighing in exasperation. Yuu wondered why she just didn't get the cakes that were on the counter display, where everyone else clearly got theirs, but decided not to question it for now, because all the children were rushing forward to grab a cake from Sachiko (save Fumie, who wanted vanilla instead, so Sachiko went to the back and got a vanilla cake for her).

"Alright everybody, sit down and eat quickly so we can return home quickly," Akane instructed to the children. Everyone attempted to scramble onto the same booth, shouting and pushing at each other as they did so. Mika offered Yuu a cake, smiling at him with amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"No," Yuu said, frowning at it, "I hate chocolate."

"Aww. Why don't you ask for vanilla?" Mika asked.

"Leave me alone," Yuu said, turning away from Mika and sitting on the edge of the booth, still not feeling right about this place. He didn't like the way that both Ferid and Sachiko were watching them intensely, eyes focused on their movements. Maybe it was just because they were a bunch of kids out late at night, as well as the only customers, currently. Maybe that was it. That made sense, right…?

Yeah, that had to be it. If Mika didn't feel anything weird about it…

"We should start heading home," Mika said when everyone was nearly finished with their cakes. Immediately, the orphanage children began complaining.

"I want to stay and have more!" Kouta shouted, and Ako and Taichi both screamed in agreement.

"C'mon guys, let's head home," Yuu said, grabbing Taichi and Ako's hands. They were the youngest and the loudest, so he ushered them outside quickly, wanting to take them away from the café as quickly as possible. Fumie followed, Chihiro dragging her feet along. Akane gave Sachiko and Ferid a smile before jogging to catch up with Chihiro. Taichi and Ako both yanked themselves away from Yuu and ran to Akane instead, screaming that they wanted to braid her hair when they got home.

"Hey, Yuu," Mika said, sidling up the black-haired boy as the other children continued to talk loudly, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Yuu responded, turning away from him, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. You don't ever seem happy when you hang out with me, anymore."

"When have I ever?" Yuu deadpanned, and Mika laughed, though his laughter ended shortly.

"It's just...I've got a feeling you're really not happy, Yuu-chan.

"A feeling? So you can tell when I'm not happy, but not when something is bad?" Yuu asked, turning to face Mika, who only blinked in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Mika asked, meeting Yuu's green eyes with his own blue, nearly stopping in his tracks. Yuu merely scowled, not happy.

"You don't feel it? I don't want you going back to that place, Mika. It doesn't feel right!"

"How so?" Mika asked, before turning to look at the other children, "Hey, remember, both ways before crossing the street!"

"It just…" Yuu crossed his arms, feeling goosebumps prick them, struggling to find a way to put it into words, "I just haven't felt this way about something in a long time. Just a really bad gut feeling."

"Really?" Mika's brow furrowed as he thought about something, "I don't feel anything like that when I visit, though."

"There's something bad there," Yuu assured the boy, "I haven't felt this way about something since those two ghouls came into…"

Yuu didn't finish his sentence. He didn't want to. Mika nodded in understanding, before looking at Yuu again.

"Well, why didn't you say anything before?"

"I trust you," Yuu said, shrugging one shoulder, and felt his face go red when Mika giggled.

"Awww, you do trust me! I'm so glad I've won you over like this."

"Sh-shut up, okay! I just had a bad feeling."

"I'm glad you told me, then," Mika smiled, wrapping an arm around Yuu's shoulder and bumping his forehead with his own, "I won't go anymore. Does that make you feel better?"

"Sure, whatever," Yuu huffed, uncrossing his arms and stuffing his hands inside his jacket pocket.

"Whatcha two talking about?" Akane asked, backtracking so she could slide next to the two oldest boys, "Exciting stuff?"

"Nah," Mika said, giving her a smile, "By the way, Akane, how's practice going?"

"Like you don't hear it," Akane laughed, "I'm sure everyone across town can hear how bad my viola skills are!"

"They sound just fine," Mika assured her, and Yuu tuned out the rest of their conversation, not interested. Mika had promised to not go back to Sanguinem, which should make him feel at peace, now, but there was just something that continued twisting in his gut, tugging at the back of his mind. Something buried deep within him, like the instinct coursing within him, told him something was off.

"Kitty!" Ako suddenly shrieked from the front of the group-she had skipped ahead of all of them whilst maintaining a grip on Chihiro's coat. The small girl was pointing down the alley to the left of them-they were still nearly ten minutes away from the orphanage, and ten o'clock was approaching fast.

"Kitty?! Where?!" Taichi demanded, and Ako gestured down the alley. The other orphanage children leaned in to see that a cat was indeed at the end of the alley, its fur bristling as it glared at them.

"I wanna catch it!" Taichi said, turning to look at Akane, and Akane shook her head.

"It's probably got fleas," She said, but Kouta was already rushing forward, smiling energetically.

"I'll catch it for you guys!"

"Hey, get back here!" Akane shouted, running after Kouta, "I just said no!"

Mika laughed as the youngest two of the orphanage took this as a sign to run after Akane as well. Chihiro gave a sigh as Fumie laughed. They could hear Kouta shouting after the cat, which had raced in the other direction down the alley, yowling in irritation.

"Oi," Yuu said loudly, hoping his voice reached the other orphan children, "Guys, get back here! It's almost ten o'clock!"

There was a sudden silence, and everyone else suddenly hushed, waiting for a response. There was a loud crash, followed by a scream coming directly from where the others had run to. Yuu felt his blood run cold as he exchanged a glance with Mika, whose face was full of despair-they both raced down the alley, with the others following.

At the end of the alley, turning the corner, they saw Akane, Kouta, and Taichi all staring at a tall figure that was leaning over Ako, holding her neck in his hand. It was the figure of a man, who lifted her high into the air, the moonlight briefly illuminating her face in the otherwise dark alley. One of her pigtails had come undone. Her head was turned at an unnatural angle.

"Oh, she's dead already," Said a familiar voice, and that gut feeling came back full force as Ako was dropped to the ground. Mika's eyes widened in horror as the man stepped forward into the light, and the long, shining silvery hair that belonged to the man who'd been serving him at Sanguinem for three months was revealed before them. But his eyes weren't the same-what had once been shining pools of turquoise were now blood-colored, the whites of his eyes black.

Taichi stared down at Ako's body, small frame trembling, unable to comprehend what had happened.

"Ako…?" He whispered, reaching forward to prod her body with his tiny hand. Yuu started forward, panic welling inside him.

"TAICHI, NO!" Yuu screamed, "EVERYBODY, RUN!"

The other orphanage stumbled backwards in shock and horror-Kouta raced forward to grab at Taichi, but Ferid swiped at the youngest first-knocking his head clean off his body.

Kouta shrieked in horror, tripping over himself as he hastily scrambled away. The other children began running for real now, Chihiro crying and Fumie shrieking at the top of her lungs-Yuu bounded forward, grabbing Kouta's forearm, feeling his heartbeat accelerate.

"MOVE!" Yuu shouted, thrusting Kouta forward-he scrambled after the others, but Ferid swept past Yuu quickly, and then Kouta was falling to the floor, a bloodied hole in his side-Ferid continued down the alley at a speed they couldn't comprehend, and Fumie went down as well, crying out as she did so. Mika lunged after Ferid, trying to grab at the back of his shirt, his horror-stricken face twisting as he missed.

"Stop it," Mika said quietly falling to his knees, before speaking louder, " Stop it, please! "

Yuu spun around to see that Mika had tears streaming down his face, on his knees and not moving an inch, shell-shocked. The absolute opposite of Yuu, who's body was pumped with adrenaline, his body trembling with the desire to run away.

"Mika," Yuu stumbled forward, his legs filled with so much energy it nearly caused him to trip onto his face, "Come on, we have to-"

"You're not going anywhere," A voice said smoothly, and Yuu looked up to see that Ferid was there, holding Akane's struggling body in his hands, holding her up high like he'd done to Ako, a smile stretching across his face.

"Put her down," Mika demanded, scrambling to his feet rapidly and shoving Yuu out of the way so he was standing in front of the man, "Ferid, put her down!"

"Darling Mika," Ferid crooned, squeezing Akane's neck. She continued kicking, blood rolling down her chin as it spurted out of her mouth. Her eyes found Yuu's, terrified, and Yuu felt as if his entire body had been plunged into frigid water.

This couldn't be happening.

They were just kids.

They were just…

His eyes swivelled to the right, hoping that everybody else had made it-but saw only all their bodies littered down the alley. Chihiro had apparently made it the furthest-she lay in a pool of blood almost ten feet from the alleyway entrance, nearly ripped in half, the intestines of her stomach trailing out onto the ground, pale skin flecked with blood.

"No…" He mumbled, before turning his attention back to Ferid, who was watching him with amusement glinting in his eye. He'd dropped Akane to the ground, for she had stopped moving. Her limp body stayed down, not even twitching, and Yuu's own body suddenly felt weak, as opposed to the energy it had held seconds before. Mika was still staring up in shock at Ferid's face, crystalline tears still streaming down his cheeks as he mouthed things wordlessly.

"You're...A ghoul," Mika whispered, voice trembling, "A ghoul…"

"Mika," Yuu whispered, but the feeling in his gut told him it was futile. They were dead. They were going to die. They couldn't escape this.

And as if acting on Yuu's gut feeling, Ferid's hand shot forward, entering Mika's chest. Yuu watched his fingers break through the fabric of the back of Mika's jacket, and Mika's body collapsed, Ferid's arm the only thing keeping him up. Yuu rushed forward to help, to kick at Ferid or punch or scream or-

"DIE!" Yuu shouted, delivering a kick to Ferid's back. Ferid didn't budge. He merely turned around, giving Yuu that smile of his that had made Yuu's stomach churn for so long.

"No...Yuu-chan…" Mika cried, blood escaping his mouth and running down his face, "Please run...P-please…."

"So precious," Ferid crooned, turning his hand in Mika's chest. Mika gasped aloud, eyes closing, body slumping, and Ferid yanked his hand out from his chest.

"MIKA!" Yuu screamed, backing away as he did so, trying not to hyperventilate. The boy's blond hair fanned out around his head like a halo, dull blue eyes flickering over to Yuu. His lips mouthed the word 'run.'

No. I'm not leaving. Not without you.

Yuu stumbled forward, wanting to reach out to, to help his last remaining family, but Mika yowled at him, screaming,

"RUN, YUU! RUN!"

Ferid darted forward as he did so, but to his great surprise, Mika lunged forward, grabbing at his leg and causing him to trip.

Yuu turned on his heel instantly, tearing down the alleyway, but soon felt Ferid's fingers snagging at the hood of his jacket, and Yuu's heart started beating even faster as terror consumed his entire being like some sort of awful, awful monster-

"What did I tell you?" A voice called from above. Yuu looked up, seeing a shadowy figure standing atop the roof of the building on the left, face obscured by a mask of some sorts, blue hair seemingly floating with the wind. But that didn't matter-because Ferid's grip on his hood loosened when he saw the figure, and Mika gurgled at Yuu, shouting at him to run once again, and Yuu darted forward, leaping over Fumie's body and skidding out of the alley.

Adrenaline carried him far, rounding the corner, and he didn't know where he was going, he just knew that he was running, running running running, getting away from the children's cold bodies-

He pushed people out of the way, screaming, crying, shouting because they were all dead, and Mika was dead, Akane was dead, Kouta and Chihiro and-

"Kid!" A hand shot out and gripped his upper arm, pulling him to a halt. Yuu's head snapped towards the source, heart racing, body trembling. A man stood there, with raven-colored hair and strange, purplish eyes. Yuu felt panic consume his entire being. Was this another…?

"What are you running from?" The man asked, gazing down at him. Yuu caught sight of the-sword-at the man's side, and his brain nearly short-circuited as he hastily recalled the conversation he'd had with Mika-about the weapons of the Ghoul Investigators-

"CCG?" He stuttered, and before the man could answer, flung his arm out towards the direction of the alley he had just run from, struggling to speak through his panic breathing, "My family, they're dead, a ghoul k-killed them and-"

"Alright kid, stay here," The man said, before turning to two women Yuu hadn't noticed before; they were both spaced behind the man, four feet apart from each other, and the closest one twelve feet behind him. They had approached him when he stopped, and Yuu saw that they too had weapons at their sides-the black-haired woman with several kunai in her hand and the woman with long wheat-colored locks holding a heavy briefcase.

No doubt one of the rumored Quinques the CCG supposedly possessed, if they were CCG as Yuu suspected them to be. Hope rose into his chest, because maybe-maybe these guys could fix everything, and save everybody, bring them back to life with some medicine and surgery and-

"Sayuri, come with me. It's just like Shinya's intel said-Shigure, escort the kid to our-"

"Got it," Shigure interrupted, leaning forward and placing a hand on Yuu's shoulder. He had stopped crying and hyperventilating, and instead stood there in absolute shock as she gently led him away, Sayuri and the man rushing to the direction Yuu had pointed towards. They must for sure be Ghoul Investigators-they had an air of determination about them, something Yuu himself had been striving to accomplish to kill ghouls. But…

"My family," He whispered, suddenly latching onto the woman's waist-so close, with black hair and green eyes like his own. He could almost imagine her as his mother, or an aunt, or somebody related to him and familiar-his twelve-year-old mind had still not quite grasped what happened, sending in smalls bouts of shock throughout his entire body, causing him to tremble. The foolish hope he'd had mere seconds ago was dashed as the full realization of what had happened settled in.

They were dead.

Akane was dead.

Mika was dead.

His family was dead.

He'd watched them die. Watched their blood spatters the walls and fleck their skin and pool on the ground, watched them fall limp and heard their voices die.

"My family," he repeated again, and he felt Shigure stroke the top of his head as she continued to carry him along, half-dragging him through the streets of the city, a sobbing child who felt as weak as he pretended to not be, as the absence of his family hit him like a bullet.

"You killed my precious children," The masked woman said, her entire figure blurry. He couldn't make her out, for some reason...No, it wasn't just her figure...Everything was blurry. His vision was blurry. He couldn't breathe. There was blood bubbling out of his mouth. Every couple of blinks his vision cleared, only to become blurry again.

His entire body was warm. But it was slowly becoming cold, starting at his core. He couldn't feel his legs or arms or face. He didn't know if he was alive or dead. He didn't care.

All he could think about was Yuu. He had run away. He was okay.

But the rest of his family. They were dead. He had aided in their deaths. He had brought them to that café late at night after the director suggested it and he had let them run off to catch the cat and he probably should have noticed Yuu-chan felt uneasy about the place and he probably should have…

"My dear Krul, take off the disguise and talk to me, face-to-face," Ferid crooned, and Mika felt intense hatred and regret well up inside his chest, mingling with the cold feeling beginning to freeze his insides. He felt like he had to throw up. Throw up all his blood. All his organs. Puke them all up and thrash around in them, because that was what he deserved.

The woman had long blue hair that flowed in the wind, and a strangely shaped mask that covered the upper portion of her face. Strands of pink could be seen from under the blue, however, so it must have been a wig. Mika barely made out all these details as his vision continued clouding over. He felt sleepy. Tired. Exhausted. Dead.

"I will deal with you later," The woman growled, pointing a finger at Ferid, "That boy has probably alerted the authorities already. We will have to start the experiment now, even if they're not of the mature age we wanted them to be."

She walked right over to him. Felt her hands on his body, picking him up gently. His blood soaked her shirt. Her eyes found his behind her mask. Her scleras were black, and her pupils bright red.

She was…

A ghoul.

He wanted to struggle. To run away.

A ghoul.

A ghoul had just killed his entire family.

A ghoul.

He needed to run…

And find Yuu-chan…

"Take the other one," The woman barked, and Mika heard Ferid chuckle, and it only increased the rage brewing inside of him.

Dead.

They were…

Dead.

All dead.

Pain. He could feel pain. But it seemed distant, and far away. As if his brain wasn't registering it the way it should be.

This is weird.

He is dead.

He shouldn't feel pain.

But he was fine with this.

He deserved it.

Deserved more than this.

Deserved to have his arteries ruptured and his veins cut, deserved to feel the pain his family did as they were brought to their deaths.

He could hear voices.

Voices?

The dead didn't hear things.

But the dead also didn't feel pain, did they?

Light…

There was light…

And coldness…

And then...

And then darkness.

The boy spoke in a monotone voice as he told them what happened and then he thrashed and screamed in his sleep while he and Sayuri watched, his tiny body shaking with terror.

"I can't imagine that happening to someone so young," Sayuri whispered, tears running down her face, "So many kids. All dead."

"Any word from the orphanage?" Guren asked, leaning against the bedframe as he did so.

"The director has disappeared," Sayuri informed him, turning to face him with a strange look in her eyes, "We are unaware if she is dead or...Something else."

Guren sighed, running a hand over his face, trying to ignore the headache that was pounding the inside of his cranium. He hadn't expected to deal with this, not when they'd been tipped that there was going to be a ghoul attack in the twentieth ward, today. Hadn't expected the victim(s) to be a bunch of kids.

"What do we do with him now?" A voice asked, and the two turned to see Shigure standing there, looking up at them with a blank expression, though her eyes were intense, hands curled into fists. She walked further into the room, leaving the door open as she awaited a response.

"We place him in CCG custody, for now," Guren said, looking down at the boy, "His name is Yuuichirou Hyakuya, right? Find out everything you can about him. See why a ghoul may have wanted to target him."

"Already done so," Another voice said, and Mito joined them with Norito following, looking tired, "His parents were killed by ghouls when he was eight. He joined the Hyakuya orphanage, where he lived. He went to school, and was in the pre-Shibuya class, with neither terrible nor excelling grades."

"Pre-Shibuya, eh?" Norito asked, eyes travelling over to his sleeping body,his own eyes half-lidded with fatigue, "Probably wants to be an Investigator, huh?"

"Possibly," Guren mused, crossing his arms as he thought for a few seconds. Sayuri read the look in his eyes, and gave a small sigh, eyes casting downwards. "We could consider telling him about the CCG program. He could join Shinoa in it."

"If he wants to do it," Everyone turned to the source of the new voice. Shinya stood in the doorway, smiling at them all. None of them had heard him enter the apartment, which frankly annoyed Guren. They ought to tie a bell around his neck. "He'd have to be crazy, though."

"I'd rather we not…" Sayuri muttered, though her concerns went unheard as Yuu let out another bout of screaming, turning over in his sleep. He had yet to wake up, amazingly. Must be the brain shutting down his body due to the shock

"Yeah," Guren said after nobody spoke for awhile, "But we work with all kinds of crazy. And he's got some strong motivation, now. We could work with that."

"How do we know he'll even be the type of person to wish for vengeance, though?" Mito asked, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing, "He might not want to do this."

Guren leaned forward as the kid started thrashing again, gripping his shoulder so he wouldn't fall of the bed.

"Oh, trust me." He assured, facing the rest of his team, "He will."