Humans are thought to be at the top of the food chain… But there are beings who hunt them as food…. They are called… Ghouls. After the Dragon Incident, humans and ghouls have grown into an uneasy peace in Japan. Although ghouls are now protected by the law instead of condemned, many humans have refused to accept my kind. And although Japan has accepted ghouls, they must stay in hiding in the rest of the world in order to keep from being hunted down and killed. Japan is now condemned by humans around the rest of the world, and many humans who disagree with the actions Japan has taken have left the country. And as ghouls flock to Japan in order to avoid prosecution, ghouls have become the majority in the population. It has been ten years since the Dragon Incident, and tensions between humans and ghouls are still the same since before. The only difference is now my kind is not hunted down to be killed. I am Hiroshi Kameko, also known as the ghoul called Cerberus, and I run a small homeless shelter for ghouls in the 20th ward called Oasis.
Alley on the edge of the 19th Ward: Saturday, November 13; 11:13 PM
The elderly woman stared at the ghoul standing over the body of her attacker. The body was that of another ghoul, and the one left standing had saved her from her fate of becoming a late-night snack. Her savior's left arm lay on the ground a few meters away from her. "Y-You… You saved me…"
The ghoul turned to look at her, and to no surprise he was wearing a mask. The ghoul wore a black apron over his white overalls, though both were now torn up and stained with blood. The mask is what got her attention, however. It a full covering of his head and had the appearance was dog, but what was strange about it is that it had three dog heads, one facing forward and two more on either side that were much smaller and faced 45 degrees to the right or left of the main face. It was no mistaking the mask. This ghoul was Cerberus, and he had been all over the news for the past few months.
The ghoul raised his arm, but quickly fell to one knee. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I didn't realize your mugger was a ghoul when I came in to help. Can you give me my arm?"
The woman slowly walked to the arm laying on the ground and picked it up. Hesitantly, she walked closer to the ghoul to give it to him. "You're not going to eat me?"
The ghoul slowly reached for the arm with his remaining one and grabbed it. "Of course not. I'm going to eat my arm." As the woman gasped, he went on to explain. "It is dangerous for ghouls to eat other ghouls, but I need to eat something to regain my strength. My arm should give me enough strength to get back to my place."
"Why is it dangerous?" The woman was genuinely curious. After all, the ghoul who had saved her life 13 years earlier in the Owl raid was one she never got to thank. This one she could talk to.
"Eating ghoul meat comes with its benefits for other ghouls. It can strengthen a ghoul's kagune, allowing for the ghoul's kagune to take on properties of the ghoul being eaten. However, it can also lead to paranoia, psychosis and lost of control when using their kagune. The Dragon ten years ago was one such incident, although that something of that scale has never happened before," the ghoul reached for his mask to take it off, but hesitated. "If you do not want to watch, you can leave now."
The woman didn't move as the ghoul took off his mask and started eating. After he reached bone, he looked up at her with a surprised look. "Most humans can't stand seeing this. You have a strong stomach."
The woman looked at the bone for a second and them looked directly in the ghouls red eyes. The faint sound of sirens was heard in the distance, signaling that the police she called during the fight were on their way. "This is not the first time I have seen a ghoul. In fact, a ghoul saved me from a human long ago. The least I can do is stay on the crime seen and explain to police that it you are not at any fault."
The ghoul frowned and went back to eating his arm. There was a loud crunch as he bit off a piece of the bone. "Well, then thank you for that. I appreciate it."
The woman tried to ignore the sound of chewing and looked at her savior. He seemed completely normal, minus the fact that he was eating his own arm and had red eyes. She still couldn't get past the fact that he looked familiar. "Your Mr. Kameko, right? You run a homeless shelter?"
The ghoul paused, not even looking up at her. "For ghouls, yes. How did you know?"
"I've seen the protesters in front of the building every morning. You almost always come out to make them leave. I heard one of them mention your name," the woman said recalling the building a few blocks from her apartment. There used to be a coffee shop there, but it burned down a long time ago, so it was very noticeable when construction started there again.
Before the ghoul could respond, a police car pulled up in the alley. A large man in a blue trench coat came out of the car with a short woman with stiches all over her body. Each of them carried a briefcase, but the man looked extremely old to still be in the police force. "I am officer Shinohara, and this is my partner Juuzo. We came as soon as we heard of a rogue ghoul."
"Thank you, officer," the woman said walking closer, using her cane for support. "This ghoul saved me but thank you for coming so quickly."
The officer who identified himself as Shinohara frowned as he looked behind her. "Ma'am, there is no one else here."
The woman looked back behind her to see only the dead ghoul's body. There wasn't even a sign of the arm the ghoul was eating. "B-But… He was just here. He saved my life."
Oasis, 20th Ward: Sunday, November 14; 2:36 AM
Hiroshi limped his way the homeless shelter's front door, leaning against it to put enough strength in to open it. As it opened, he fell inside on his elbow, door shutting behind him. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "That was too close."
If he was seen by those police officers, his identity would have been revealed and he would have been arrested. Although he only killed criminals, it was still illegal for ghouls to kill humans without being a member of the police force. But it was the only way to get enough food for the ghouls living in Oasis. Hopefully that woman wouldn't reveal his identity.
"Mr. Kameko? What happened to you?" A young girls voice interrupted his thoughts. He turned his head to see one of his residents, an orphaned 10-year-old girl named Airi Miho. "Your arm is missing."
Hiroshi forced a smile, despite the pain. "I'm okay, Airi. This will heal in time." He motioned to the fridge behind her. "Mind getting me something to eat? Look for the containers on the bottom, they are the oldest."
Airi turned around and opened the fridge, looking at the dates of the containers to make sure she got the oldest. She picked one out and opened it to take a sniff. Sealing it again and she turned around and started walking closer to Hiroshi. "Why do you always eat the old food?"
Hiroshi gave a kind smile as he took the container and opened it to eat. "The food we have expires in time. After a while it will become rotten and make us sick, so I eat the old food to make sure none of it goes bad." He started eating, feeling his strength grow back with every bite. "Did I wake you up?"
Airi just smiled at her friend. "No, I was coming down to use the bathroom when you stumbled in. Who attacked you?"
Hiroshi sealed the empty container shut and set it down next to him. "No one attacked me. I attacked a ghoul mugging some woman not realizing he was a ghoul. He put up a fight before I was able to…"
"You killed him, didn't you?" Airi asked the question with a disapproving look on her face.
"It was him or me, Airi. I had no choice," Hiroshi said with a sigh.
"I know, I know… It's just we don't have to kill anymore. Not to mention it's wrong," Airi said. Hiroshi knew fully well that she valued all life, human and ghoul. She thought that because she was a ghoul, she was just made to kill others. Several times she had tried to kill herself because of what she was. Hiroshi found her when she was five, about to jump off a building.
"It being wrong is not going to stop people from doing it. If you were born earlier, you would understand." Hiroshi struggled to stand up, picking up the empty container and taking it to the kitchen. "Go use the bathroom. Didn't you say that's why you're down here?"
Airi nodded, giving Hiroshi a weak smile and took the hallway that lead to the bathrooms as Hiroshi turned on the sink to wash up the container. Hiroshi watched her until she was through the door to the women's bathroom and then turned on the sink to clean the container.
Some new characters, and the return of three old timers! Did you recognize that lady from before? What ghoul was it that she mentioned having saved her? And do you think she will keep quiet on who Cerberus' true identity is? I felt like she may have come to like ghouls after she was saved by one, so I thought why not have her return! Let me know your thoughts, suggestions and comments and stay tuned for more Tokyo Ghoul:wara!
Fun fact: Wara is Maltese for after. This is keeping in common with Tokyo Ghoul:re, with re meaning king in Maltese.