Chapter 4 - Appointment Part. 2

"Excuse me?"

Hide was the first to react. He was up and out of his seat in an instant spouting curse words and all else. He would likely be saying something along the lines of: "What the fuck are you talking about?" Or: "Who the Hell do you think you are?" Or perhaps: "We've been through enough already, can't you see? Now isn't the time for shitty tricks like this!"

Kaneki let out a small sigh. He pressed his hand against his stomach, and winced as he felt the dull pain in his gut grow stronger. Could it be? Kaneki wasn't one to underestimate the power of ghouls. They were monsters, after all. How was it plausible that even one of them had survived the attack, let alone both of them? And with such a powerful ghoul as Rize… Kaneki closed his eyes and tried to remember back to the attack, back to pizza night.

He had returned home to find Hide tied to a chair with a bite in his neck. No, scratch that, bite was an understatement, his entire oesophagus had been ripped out. No way he could of survived that. Maybe he didn't die at first, but he would have surely bled out after a while. And himself: broken neck, twisted spine, several deep flesh wounds. That was only before he had blacked out. He couldn't be certain, but he could only guess what Rize had done to him. And then they had both awoken, in a abandoned hospital no less. Maybe this was one elaborate hallucination. A daydream. A death dream.

Kaneki wondered, if they were dead, what had become of their corpses. Were the devoured by Rize completely, or had they been whisked away by the government. News of ghoul attacks spread fast. They would no doubt be plastered on every newspaper in Tokyo by now. And who had found them? He doubted that was a pleasant sight. Perhaps that person was now in therapy. Perhaps it sparked no emotion in them at all. Or perhaps they had never been found. In fact, they were most likely still rotting away in Hide's apartment. The smell must have been awful.

"Kaneki, Kaneki?" Hide had taken him by the shoulders and was shaking him softly. "Do believe this?"

Kaneki stayed silent.

"Where we are now is a place called Purgatory. It where the dead wait for judgement." The voice kept a level tone; it was soothing.

Hide scoffed. "You expect us to believe that? What is this, some kind of prank? It has to be, this is ridiculous."

"You are dead, and residing in Purgatory whilst I decide what to do with you."

The voice paused.

"However, there is a way to reverse what has happened to you."

Kaneki raised his head, and heard Hide draw a solitary breath. A way to reverse death? That couldn't be possible, right? He coughed. He hadn't spoken to the voice until now, and he could only mutter a single word. "How?"

"It won't be easy, you will have to go to great lengths to recover your lives. There will be three trials. You complete them, your lives are returned to you, if not, you remain here."

Hide stamped his foot firmly upon the ground he cocked his head. "This sounds mystical and all, but how do we know your telling the truth?" As he stood with his hands on his hips, Kaneki felt pride swell in his chest. Hide always seemed to be his backbone. Here he was, standing up to some sort of terrifying gate-keeper of death. It probably wasn't a wise idea, but it was admirable nonetheless.

There was a noise in the darkness, like the voice was shifting it's position. "There is a specific time for every human to die. It is decided when you are born, a date of death, if you will. However, like every system, something is bound to go wrong. I will not disclose too much information to you, but your deaths were premature. You are being given a chance to redeem your lives. Do you take this opportunity."

Without knowing, Kaneki rose to his feet. He now stood with Hide, his friend, his friend who deserved life - whatever the cost. "We'll take it."

I hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for reading!

xxx