So, I've decided that I will do my best to update once a week, usually on Fridays or Saturdays, until the book is done. I also know that I say that now and will probably get distracted and skip a week here and there, but I will try.

Also: Thanks for all of you that favorited/followed/reviewed this story. I'm honestly surprised I got even one of any of those.

I hope you all enjoy.


As much as he angered Tony, Kaneki didn't regret saying what he did to the Avengers, even if he might regret it if he has to interact with Tony anytime soon. Then again, Kaneki doubted that it could make Tony's opinion of him much worse than it already is.

Kaneki found himself in a training room, or more like training floor. The entire thirty third floor of the Avenger's tower was full of training equipment. There were weights, weapons of all types, targets, a track, a wrestling/boxing ring, a basketball court, a simulator room, and more stuff that Kaneki didn't even recognise. It was a jock's dream and a nerd's nightmare.

"The tests are simple; we'll test your endurance, strength, reflexes, fighting ability on several different fronts, and your weapons skill," said Natasha.

"Well, I'll save you the trouble for one of those. I've never picked up a gun in my life and sure as hell can't fight with a knife. I don't use weapons."

Peter spoke for the first time since Kaneki had met him. The brown haired teen had been on his phone unless he was giving Kaneki nervous glances, so he hadn't been contributing anything to the conversations. This time, however, his phone was in his back jeans pocket and his attention was what was happening around him. His hands were balled up in fists and shoved in his sweatshirt pockets. He was uncomfortable, but not nearly as much as he had been before.

"Then what do you use to fight?"

Kaneki cracked his middle finger with his thumb. Just the sound was enough to make several of the Avenger's stiffen. "I usually fight hand to hand if I can get away with it, but if not I'll use my Kagune."

He cracked his ring finger in the same manner before Vision spoke up. He cocked his head to the side ever so slightly. "We were briefed about this, you also have a Kakugan right? Behind your eyepatch?"

Kaneki cracked his pinky finger and nodded. "I can't always keep it concealed, so-"

"Why don't you show all of us?" Tony cut him off. He was leaning against the wall by the elevator before he started to make his way over to the group. "Your Kagune too while you're at it, since you are confident enough to not learn how to use any other weapons."

"Weapons wouldn't have done me much good against other ghouls. As I mentioned before: blades and bullets don't have the ability to pierce a ghoul's skin." Even as he said it, Kaneki still felt hesitant.

He didn't want to show them. He knew that it was irrational on so many different levels, but there was still a small part of him that wanted to be liked by the Avengers. It was stupid and hypocritical and he knew it, but that didn't make him stop thinking that way.

'Fucking coward'

'For the love of god, why do you even care?'

'Do you think they are going to start hating you like Tony? Because-'

'If you are you really are stupid.'

'They are going to find out eventually any way-'

'Probably pretty soon if they plan on testing you-'

'So just get it over with.'

'Let them fear you if they do, let them hate you.'

'Mad Knight was never such a wimp.'

'Neither is Centipede.'

"Go ahead and show us this weapon of yours then."

Kaneki flinched out of his internal, one-sided conversation in spite of himself. It was easy to tell Tony noticed as a smirk found its way onto his face.

Kaneki unhooked the eyepatch from his ear and flared up his Kakugan. It was a weird sensation; almost like flexing a muscle, but also like relaxing at the same time. It was more natural for his Kakugan to be exposed, comfortable even, especially after his time with Aogiri where he had it activated constantly.

The Avengers, however, didn't seem as comfortable. Upon seeing Kaneki's eyes they all stiffened even further, except for Natasha, who had been expecting it.

"Well that's creepy," said Clint under his breath, to which Natasha elbowed him in the stomach.

"And your Kagune?" said Tony expectantly. This time it was his turn to get elbowed in the side by Natasha.

Kaneki looked uneasy as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants, due to a sudden lack of a better thing to do with them, and slowly began unfurl his Kagune. He didn't know how to describe the feeling. How would you describe what it felt like to wiggle your fingers to someone who was born without arms? You can doing without thinking, but for them it isn't comprehensible. He guessed you could compare it to having extra arms but it doesn't feel like arms. Maybe it felt like having a tail, or even wings, but he wouldn't know.

The Avengers gasped at the sight of the four, glowing, blood red, tentacles growing from Kaneki's back. They whipped around his body, though not aggressively, as if they had a mind of their own.

Kaneki had expected fear from them, maybe anger or disgust, but not awe. They watched his Kagune as if they were in a trance, as if the crimson appendages were enticing, as if they weren't the ugly, cursed objects they were. Even in spite of himself, Tony was in this trance as well. Kaneki looked at the floor.

"Beautiful." Kaneki flinched as the word escaped Wanda's mouth.

Kaneki looked up to meet her gaze while confusion took over his. "You find them beautiful?"

He scanned the faces of the people in front of him. There was no anger in his voice, only the pure confusion that he felt. Never had he thought of his Kagune as "beautiful". Call it a lack of confidence if you like, but Kaneki only saw his Kagune as a way for killing. It was a weapon, nothing more than a means for survival. Maybe confused was how Touka had felt when her Kagune had been called pretty, maybe she thought of her Kagune as nothing more than a weapon as well. Kaneki wondered if Hide had found his Kagune beautiful.

Tony's awestruck expression was slowly turning back into its original scrawl. "I might just agree with Kaneki on something. How can any of you find this… thing beautiful in any sense?"

That made everyone snap out of their trance. Thor was the first to speak up again, ignoring Tony's previous remark. "It's been awhile since I have last seen your species otherworlder. You are far from home indeed."

"The ghouls of this universe have been extinct for thousands of years. I remember seeing the last survivors in Asgard when I was a child. They never did make it to this Earth though as our versions could live off of the vessels of gods," commented Loki.

Another awkward silence enveloped them. The Avengers' gazes bore into him. Kaneki wanted to shrink, or disappear, or be anywhere other than there. Kaneki was never one for being the center of attention, but this was different, worse even. There was pity in their gazes, judgement in some, and he hated it. He didn't need their sympathy right now, and he definitely didn't need their eyes peering into him. He especially didn't need to be pitied for the extinction of a species that he wasn't a part of. Those ghouls weren't his people, only copies in a different universe. Maybe he should feel something, but he doesn't.

That wasn't the only thing though. Almost every single one of the Avengers smelt… off, or gave off an intimidating aura. It made every ghoul sense he had stay on edge. It made it impossible to relax. He just hoped that they didn't notice the extent to which he felt uncomfortable, though he knew that that hope was useless.

Steve clapped his hands once, snapping everyone out of the silence and Kaneki out of his thoughts. "Why don't we move on to testing?"

Kaneki let out a sigh of relief. He let his Kagune retreat into his back and put his eyepatch back on before following Natasha to the track. The rest of the Avengers followed in tow, obviously curious as to what was going to happen. Kaneki wished he wouldn't have to be tested with this many eyes on him. He shouldn't have expected any different though.

So much tension had left the Avengers it was quite astonishing. It seems that just the sight of his Kagune set them at ease. And it was weird, unexpected even. Maybe it was the irrationality of seeing 'beauty,' or maybe it was now that they thought they knew what they were dealing with, it wasn't as bad. Maybe it had nothing to do with his Kagune at all, and it was merely the story that made him seem more human. In other words, he seemed more real and less like the monster they expected him to be.

'Oh how wrong they are.'

Bruce then came over to him while holding something which made Kaneki take an involuntary step back, eyeing Bruce's hand.

'Calm down, Eyepatch.'

"I have to connect these sensors to you in order to check you heart rate and vitals as you run. It's part of the evaluation. It would help if you removed your shirt."

"If at all possible, I would rather not take off my shirt." Kaneki sighed. He didn't need this right now. There had already been one too many reveals for one day.

Of course, Tony had to jump in. "You got something to hide?"

Did he ever get tired?

'No.'

Natasha rolled her eyes and Bruce spoke again. "They won't stay on properly with the shirt over them, so I have to insist."

Kaneki hesitated, again, but this time he let slight worry enter his, until now, cold expression. He was hoping to avoid the inevitable question of how he got those scars until later, especially since he had already told them so much already. It wasn't only that he didn't want them to know, which he didn't, as it was that he didn't want to think about it. He… he can't let himself think about him right now, not after Kaneki spent over a year trying so desperately to get over it. Then again, it took more than that for the trauma of torture to fade. He just hoped it didn't trigger a panic attack, or worse.

'Just get it over with.'

"Don't say I didn't warn you," mumbled Kaneki as he pulled his shirt over his head.

Gasps escaped the Avenger's mouths. You would have to be delusional to think Kaneki's torso was a pretty sight. Most of the Avenger's skin tones turned to a sickly shade of green at the sight. Tony, Peter, and Clint actually threw up into a trash can. Surprisingly enough, Bruce was the only one who didn't look "green". He just stood there, shocked.

'Do you see their faces? That's hilarious!'

'There are the "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" for you.'

'Looks like you will fit right in Eyepatch.'

"Happy?" said Kaneki sarcastically before putting his shirt back on. "I'm going back to my room. We can do these 'tests' tomorrow," he mumbled. He couldn't do this right now.

Kaneki walked over to the elevator only to be, of course, stopped by Tony, who still looked sick. Kaneki started to let his self-consciousness and irritation turn to anger.

"What do you want, Stark?" Kaneki growled.

"Don't think that just because Fury trusts you-"

Kaneki curled his hands into fists. He spoke as evenly and as calmly as he could manage, practically hissing to keep himself from shouting. "Fury? Fury doesn't trust me! What the hell would make you think that? He trusts me about as far as he can throw me, but he understands the things that I will and won't do. He knows how I would react in certain situations, He knows what I will and won't do. He has been studying people for longer than you probably comprehend. He put me in an impossible situation and he knows it, he's proud of it even. And he knows that even if he is wrong about me, he just stuck me in a building with the world's most powerful beings to keep me in check. He has put me in a position where I am watched twenty-four-seven because of your cameras. You think I was put here because he trusts me? Fury doesn't trust me, he doesn't need to."

Whatever anger had escaped into his tone disappeared that moment. "Now, I am going to go to my room. I have had two hours of sleep and am getting over a shit hangover; not to mention I have been interrogated twice, once by an asshole and once by a person who scares the shit out of me, threatened numerous times, taunted, and put on display for a bunch of people I just met. All of this happened in a matter of twelve hours. I don't expect you to trust me, I'm pretty sure that I have said that before, but for the love of God, you don't need to know everything about me or my life. I'm not some trained dog that will answer you at your beck and call nor will I roll over and expose myself. I will be cooperative, I have been cooperative, even if I don't like it, but right now I'm done. Now move."

Tony reluctantly moved out of the way.

Kaneki turned to the other Avengers, who were standing in shock, with an obviously fake smile on his face. "We can pick this up tomorrow."