time for the raid...
Hide was awakened by shaking. "Hide, wake up. We're leaving."
"Five more minutes," he groaned groggily. He had fallen asleep on the bed while reading a book in the middle of the day. Kaneki continued to shake him until he cracked open a sleepy eye.
"Hide, this is important. Get up." Kaneki's voice had a sense of urgency.
Hide sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What's going on?" he asked.
"The CCG. They're moving in on Anteiku."
The news was so sudden that it made Hide's head spin as the group made their way to Anteiku. Just yesterday he and Kaneki were betting how badly Hide would do as a waiter; now, it seemed, they weren't going to get to see who would win.
Yomo was already there, helping everyone move their things out. After Kaneki had heard the men discussing the attack at the coffee shop he had been in, Yomo was the first one he told. Touka and Kaneki passed each other wordlessly, Touka carrying a box of cups out. Her eyes were sad.
Why was this happening so abruptly? One day they had been fine, the next—this. Kaneki had been planning on returning to Anteiku, the rest would have followed, and everything would have been okay.
And then Hide remembered he was living in the world of ghouls, where nothing would ever be okay. Their position was constantly changing. Sometimes they were on the offense, sometimes they were on the defense. No matter what they were on, though, they were always in danger.
All of a sudden, the urge to break down hit Hide like a brick wall. He had only been involved with Anteiku for a few weeks and yet he felt extremely connected to it. He didn't want to think about the shop being destroyed, or the people in it being hurt. Suddenly, he understood Kaneki's wanting to become stronger to protect the things he cared about. While his wish had turned into somewhat of a delusion and he became misguided, Hide couldn't help but wonder if he should try to achieve the same thing.
No, it wouldn't do anyone any good. He thought back to what Touka had said to Kaneki. She worded it harshly, but she was right. Kaneki was a fragile, lonely boy who couldn't stand the thought of losing something important to him. Hide had known this for all the time he had known Kaneki; it was just a part of him. It became especially worse, though, after his mother's death. That had really hit him hard, and, unknowingly, he became progressively like her as the years went by.
Maybe the others couldn't see it, but Hide could. Loneliness was inscribed onto Kaneki's very being in permanent ink, and no amount of cleansing would make it go away. But that was okay, because it made Kaneki who he was. Even if he wasn't the most jovial and lively person in the world, Hide loved him no matter what, and he vowed to make as much of that loneliness as he could disappear.
Nishio passed Hide and Kaneki while going down the stairs. "Hey, shitheads, listen to me," he said to them. "…Don't get hurt when this thing goes down."
Normally, Hide would have grinned and teased him about his concern for them, but not that day. "Thanks. You too, Nishio." Nishio grunted and nodded in response before continuing on his way down the steps.
The rooms were barren. Most of the furniture and objects that could be carried had already been moved. Only beds, sofas, and chairs remained. Hide and Kaneki scoured the rooms, making sure nothing of importance had been left behind. Finding nothing, they went back downstairs. Hide bid a silent goodbye to the upstairs of the shop, where he and Kaneki had shared their first kiss.
Irimi and Koma were cleaning the downstairs. "Any idea when the attack is coming?" Kaneki questioned them. Irimi shook her head, smiling slightly.
"No, but when it does, the shop will be sparkling clean," she answered, then she returned to mopping.
The anxiety in the atmosphere was almost palpable. The impending attack loomed over them all, even if they hid it from one another. When was it coming? Hide almost wished it would just happen already; the waiting was killing him. Finally, they decided it was time to leave. Staying was only making it harder. Touka, forgetting her anger for a brief moment, approached them as they stepped out of the shop.
"Hey, don't do anything stupid or rash." She looked at Kaneki, who looked away. "Just…be safe and law low for a while, okay?"
"Okay, Touka. We'll be safe. Same goes for you," Hide replied. He nudged Kaneki to say something.
"Yeah," was all he said. Touka rolled her eyes, turned, and began to walk to away when Kaneki turned and spoke, "Wait." She stopped and looked back at him. He took a deep breath. "Touka, I'm sorry. You were right, I was afraid of being alone and I wanted to stop that at all costs. I didn't stop to think how it would make other people feel, though, and I just want you to know that I truly am sorry."
She turned away and sighed before mumbling under her breath, "Idiot, I can't believe it took him this long to realize how stupid he was being…" Then she walked away. Kaneki smiled, thankful she had forgiven him. Well, at least to some degree. It was a start.
By now, the afternoon sky was beginning to fade into the darker colors of evening. Hide and Kaneki decided to wander around the town for the remainder of the day, reminiscing about the things they used to do together. "Kaneki, look! It's Big Girl!" Hide exclaimed when they came upon the restaurant. They had shared so many good memories in that restaurant, like the time Kaneki asked for the rest of Hide's burger and Hide accidentally tossed it into his water glass. Hide couldn't stop laughing for minutes, while Kaneki embarrassingly tried to fish it out.
"You know, it's sad really. It's only been a few weeks and I've already forgotten what a burger tastes like." Hide sighed, his happy smile turning into a sad one. Kaneki halted. "Huh? Why are you—"
"Hide, you're my home. You have been, and you always will be," Kaneki blurted out. "I thought you being turned into a ghoul would change you…I thought I was going to lose my best friend—the person I belonged to. I…I'm so glad you're still you. I know I've changed, so I shouldn't even be saying this, but please allow me to be selfish one more time before I give it up. Please, Hide. Stay like you are. Forever."
"I'll always be me, no matter what, Kaneki. And you're still you. There'll always be a place for you in my heart, even if you decide to dye your hair purple and grow a mullet." Hide laughed when he pictured Kaneki with a purple mullet. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized when he saw the look Kaneki was giving him. But he couldn't hold his glare for long—soon enough, his friend erupted into laughter as well. "But really, thank you, Kaneki. It means a lot," Hide said when they composed themselves.
They began walking again, hand in hand, and Hide felt better than he had all day.
Kaneki decided they needed to check on the progress of Hide's mask. He adjusted their course to Uta's shop. "Ah, Nagachika," Uta said when they walked in without even turning around. He was bent over a table working on something. "A pleasure to see you. And you too, Kaneki."
"Hello, Uta," Kaneki said. "Is Hide's mask ready?"
"Yes, the mask is almost ready. If you could sit for a few minutes, I'll have it done in no time."
Fifteen minutes later, Uta brought out the finished mask and handed it to Hide. "Go on, try it. See how it fits."
The mask, as Hide had requested, was breathable in. It was a half-mask, as Uta called it. Covering the top half of his face, it had a long nose that resembled a beak and was colored black everywhere except around the eyeholes, which were outlined in orange and gold. The colors around the eyes almost matched his hair, which he found pretty cool.
"I like it!" he told Uta. "Thanks, how much was it?" He was informed Touka had already paid the money for the mask. "Oh. Well, I'll pay her back as soon as I get the chance."
Thanking Uta, they left, Hide's new mask tucked in his hoodie. It was a little uncomfortable, but he could deal with it until they went home. They continued walking, wanting to pretend everything was normal for as long as they could. But that time didn't last long.
It was night now. They had just come out of a random shop near a large intersection when they heard it. "The twentieth ward is under a large-scale warning net. As of the moment, it is a restricted area, and all citizens must evacuate immediately," an overhead speaker on a building spoke, loud enough to be heard even the bustling crowd of people and traffic. "The target is a coffee shop within the twentieth ward. It is highly probable that it is a den for ghouls. There will be a large CCG movement into the twentieth ward. Repeat, the twentieth ward is under a large-scale warning net. All citizens must evacuate immediately…"
Kaneki stood gaping. A sea of panic rose within Hide. He said he wanted it to begin already, but he hadn't thought it would be so soon. Now that it had finally begun, he wanted nothing more than for it to have not started.
Kaneki grabbed his hand. "Come on."
They scaled a tall building in the process of being fled in the twentieth ward a few miles from Anteiku. The people coming out of it looked at them as if they were crazy for not running away, but didn't stop to question them. Opening the unlocked door to the rooftop, Kaneki led them to the edge of the roof. A small column of smoke had begun to rise in the distance, presumably where Anteiku was. Hide sat down, figuring they'd be there for a while. Kaneki remained standing. They remained in silence for a while, until, suddenly, there were footsteps behind them, and then a voice spoke, "Are you going?"
Hide turned. It was Nishio.
"Nishio…" Kaneki said quietly.
"You two just can't keep out of trouble, can you?" He sighed and then took a seat beside Hide. "Those Doves…it's just some ghouls making coffee. Not that big of a deal. There's probably hundreds of them down there." He paused. "Funny how normalcy comes to a halt like this. Endings always come in the blink of an eye."
Nishio continued to talk for some time about what the manager had said to him. Then, he stated, "Yomo's probably gone to watch over Touka. She's too unpredictable to be left alone. She'd probably be out there fighting now if he hadn't gone."
"…What are you going to do, Nishio?" Kaneki asked.
"I'm running away, of course. No point in letting old man and the others die in vain." He stood. "But first, I'm going to meet Kimi one last time. I can't leave without saying anything. It'd just be sad if she waited for me until she was an old hag. Aside from that…I need to be with such a good woman until the end."
A breeze rustled Hide's hair as he listened to their conversation and looked over the city. The view would have been beautiful if he hadn't known what was ensuing so close to them.
"Nishio…I shouldn't have brought you into the shop."
"Don't say such stupid stuff now; it'll only piss me off," Nishio scoffed. After a moment, he added, "You don't have to go, you know. There's nothing wrong with living normally. You have people waiting for you."
Kaneki hesitated before answering, looking at Hide. Hide looked back at him. No, don't do it. Don't relapse, Kaneki, please.
"…I did my best with everyone, but, I think I need to try doing my best by myself just one more time," he stated quietly.
Hide stood up. "Kaneki, there's no need for you t—"
"I won't let you go."
All three turned and saw Tsukiyama, who had somehow also found his way to where they were. The large man stepped closer to them. Kaneki placed himself in front of Hide. "I can't hand over the two greatest gourmet dishes I've ever laid eyes on. If something happened to either of you…then all of my control would have been for nothing!"
"I know the dangers, Tsukiyama."
"Then you'll have to die right here!"
In a flash, Tsukiyama brought out his kagune and charged them. Nishio pulled Hide out of the way while Kaneki dodged the attack. Tsukiyama yelled desperately for him not to go, for him to think about what he was doing as he slashed like a madman with his kagune. "Nothing can be done, can't you see that?!" he screamed. "I won't allow anyone to get in my way of feasting on you and your friend, Kaneki-kun—not even you! I WON'T ALLOW IT!"
And, just like that, he collapsed, his large kagune retracting back into his body. Hide stood, too shocked to even move. His own kagune had come out on impulse, but seeing that Tsukiyama had given up the attack, he manually brought them back in. "Please, Kaneki-kun…" He was crying. Hide had never seen someone looked so dejected and torn apart. "The afterlife does not need another. Stay, mon ami, please…"
Kaneki smiled softly. "Thank you for trying to stop me, Tsukiyama, but I don't want to be unable to do anything." He turned to Nishio. "Nishio, could you take Hide with you?"
"I—"
"No, Kaneki. I'm going with you," Hide stated. There was no way he was letting Kaneki take on this big of a job alone. He was bound to get injured and no one would be there to help him. He had to go.
"Hide, please. I don't want you to get hurt."
"If you're going, I'm going. I don't care how much you argue; that's how it's going to be."
It had been a long time since Kaneki had seen his friend so serious, so stern. His austere manner was something he was going to have a hard time arguing against, but he was going to try anyways. Trying to appeal to Hide's logical side, he stated, "Hide, you hardly have any fighting experience other than with Touka. You haven't fought a real battle yet, and down there…it's as real as it's going to get," he tried to explain, but Hide wasn't having it.
"I'm a firm believer in learning on the job, Kaneki." Damn his stubbornness. At this rate, Kaneki was going to get nowhere. He was at a crossroad: if he left now without saying anything further, Hide would just follow him, and he couldn't trust that he wouldn't break out of Nishio's grasp if he somehow convinced the other ghoul to hold him down. But letting him go was a danger in itself. Not only could Hide wind up getting seriously wounded, but Kaneki could as well while trying to protect him. There was no telling what was going to happen down there.
If only Hide weren't so loyal and protective. As much as he hated to do it, he finally told Hide that he could come—but on one condition. It was his last-ditch attempt to persuade him not to.
"You have to eat some meat if you're going to come," Kaneki stated. "It'd be bad for us both if you ran out of steam in the middle of a fight."
Nishio nodded in agreement. "For once, he's right. You need to build up some Rc cells before you can even think about waltzing into the middle of a battlefield."
Hide seemed a bit discouraged at that, but he nodded anyways. He was unable keep the grimace off his face, though, at the thought of having to eat some 'real food.' "Where will we even…?" And then he remembered that there would be plenty of fresh corpses for him to choose from, both ghoul and human alike.
Oh, god.
Kaneki began walking towards the door that would lead them downwards. "Let's go, there's no more time to waste," he said. Hide followed, Nishio watching as they went.
"Idiots, all of them…" he murmured when the heavy door slowly shut behind them. "But I'll never meet another pair like them again."
thanks for reading!
