My mind is going to a multitude of places but nowhere specific to put them. All the brainstorming for altered episode 1 course left me with whatever became of this chapter.
"As a gamer, if you were to come across a game where you were to be with 2 variations of the same character, meaning you as an actual half demon and that of another version of you that was turned half demon by someone or something." says Saiko.
"Does that mean the white haired...?!" wonders Ken panicking.
"Calm down and listen. Hide told me that in this type of game life, he would always go for the human turned demon version with him knowing the outcome every time. From his point of view, he's hardly around the teen unless he comes to this place which seemed rare. Since he was rarely around said variant, that version was hell to search for even when turning to CCG headquarters to work there. There was no such knowledge of quinx that he's seen during his job. He never knew the crazy kid Juuzou either. Sounding familiar? I'm gonna assume for the most part." says Saiko.
An eerie silence filled the air.
"I got ahead of myself. In a sense, he's playing the role of a game player protagonist except he doesn't fit the role like you and your other self would. Story quotes that drag on and all. In the instance he's grown fond of and hates how it is represented around his character...can't fully prove it but that purple haired ravenous ghoul attack from...fuck I don't know how long ago...in that instance but the Rize both variants know of or in your case knew of, it blows up in his face both ways." says Saiko shrugging sighing.
"Life isn't a game." says Ken weirded out.
"How you and other you see it are completely different from how Hide sees your childhood friendships." says Saiko frowning.
"Elaborate better." says Ginshi looking at Saiko.
"To lazy." says Saiko.
"The way you put it, it being oddly worded and such, makes me believe we were set in a gamelike scenario. Was my existence before meeting Hide a lie?! Was my past just a prologue to a game where Hide as the game protag does everything that has to do with me. I thought it was creepy at first. No...wait...if this were a game verse Hide came to be part of...how would other me end up here from the alternate course of gaming? You can't push two versions of lifestyles into one setting. That would put everything I knew of our friendship...Hide and my time together was interfered with! Understandable I vanished from his side but to have the other variant appear soon after is utter craziness." says Ken awkwardly smiling.
"Ya should've kept your mouth shut." says Ginshi huffing leaning back.
"I had to give him a better insight to what I was saying about those abomination dating forever chitchatting lovey dovey games that you screw over if you choose wrong with an unsteady mind." says Saiko looking at Ginshi.
"Now he's freaking out gamer girl. Your gamer's instinct morphed his anxious toward ghoul hunters mindset into a reality distortion mindset if thats how gamers interpret different realms in games." says Ginshi pointing at Ken.
"I said Gamer's intuition not Gamer's instinct." says Saiko.
"Same thing." says Ginshi.
Ken's house...
"Care to chat with us now feisty noncaring boy and girl who oddly wears a medical eyepatch like our boy once did? You both have ghoul appendages yet you fight for the humans. Isnt our son like you two? Aside from different look on meal intake and such, is he not deserving of a better fate?" wonders Yuno walking up to the chair bound quinx duo from the dark side of the dimly lit basement.
"This is a hell of a time to start killing pinkette." says Urie angrily.
"I have been itching for the right time to butcher anyone who gets in our way. Why can't now be a good time? You can't do anything tied up like our boy once was?" wonders Yuno creepily.
"Where's your husband and Juuzou?" wonders Mutsuri.
"Yuki's preoccupied with Juuzou and those deadly doves humans cherish. Who better than to get us in without fuss? If they keep away from the white head, we can kill all the ghouls we please." says Yuno.
"How much longer are we staying down here? We only see you when you feed us or let us drink from water bottles." says Mutsuri shaky eyed.
"It's been a week since you came to this house uninvited. 8 nights down here if you include the day you barged in on us. 8 days if you include today. Wonder how much sanity you have killing machines. Is that appropriate for insects like you who do the CCG's bidding?" says Yuno grabbing Urie and Mutsuri's heads.
"Actually its been a week and a half miss Yuno." says Mutsuri.
"Details shmeetales. You were aiming to kill me and my hubby before you could set off to kill Ken in front of Hide. What's a young adult like him to do if that were to happen? He's finally gaining back his happiness and you plan to take it away. Awkwardness for being back together and getting back the friendship they previously had. Being super happy to stay by each others sides despite uneasiness be it slight since there's a weird feeling to the energy they had spotting each other after so long. You, wanting to keep two best friends apart after slowly easing back into enjoying their time together disgusts me." says Yuno tilting their heads back toward the end.
"Ghouls have no need to eat so how is this anything like your precious fake son's outcome?" wonders Urie.
"Jason tortured the teen by cutting his limbs for 10 days straight but I could never leave you 2 to starve for that long. I mean, sure I wanna torture you in as many ways as possible but merely leaving you down here without a way to contact CCG is bliss to the eyes." says Yuno happily.
"We've been down here for 10 whole days like the white head!?" wonders Mutsuri worriedly.
"Somewhere around there. Hard to say what a week and a half classifies as. Are we counting right? Jason loved asking math questions. Every day looks the same down here." mutters Yuno annoyed.
Outside Hides house...
"How about a belly rub when we get back? I gave into the dessert feast and breakfast buffet so I deserve that much." says Hide.
"With my hands or kagune tentacles?" wonders Ken paying more attention to the lingering thoughts on his mind.
"Belly rubs aren't perverted. I guess it depends on how you do it. Senile ghoul face or regular anxious face." says Hide raising an eyebrow.
"My ghoul face isnt senile. It only appears when I'm frustrated." says Ken looking at Hide.
"There's only 1 sure fire spot I could go for and it would benefit both of us despite the perverted sight. Seemingly perverted or otherwise." mumbles Ken to himself frowning deeply.
"Riiight. You still never gave me a belly massage. You fled upstairs leaving me alone on the couch." says Hide.
"Its the urges that go with the massaging moron. I need to start doing it before they control me and I fucked up last night seeing you dozing off on the couch. I blew you off in all the confusion." thinks Ken face palming.
"Coffee is supposed to make people brighten up their mood. I thought it would include ghouls even if its the only drink able to be gulped down." says Hide tilting his head at Ken's face palm.
"I'm never sure how to go about our love life and it laughs at me every time I see him. And the laugh is Rizes as if it's toying with me." thinks Ken walking down the streets of Tokyo.
"Our chats looming the mind?" wonders Hide shrugging off the conversation, looking like he was shrugging off the face palm and followed close behind.
"When aren't they?" mutters Ken in annoyance.
"Bad day today?" wonders Hide.
"Since you proclaim manga love and gamer's logic to reality pathing, if we never met as kids and I got turned into a ghoul before our meeting, would that be our altered course as it stands now? Feelings of betrayal towards humans and all on my end and you...finding me after years of searching for friends you can count on for better or worse scenario?" sighs Ken.
"Maybe we should go to a different conversation topic." says Hide worriedly.
"You brought this upon yourself. Thats the thoughts I have toward our hasty relationship progress." says Ken.
"Sooner or later you will be thinking otherwise. When that will end up being is up to you Mr. Doubtful Pent Up Aggression Half Ghoul." says Hide.
"I ought to bitch slap you with my kagune. Let's see what all we can do today so we can get out of the house for a while." says Ken.
"Done deal." says Hide nodding.
"The month you were trying to get me to become friends with you shouldn't count but if we were to round up to today, you missed out on a month's worth of feedings. Would that count as 40 pounds of food or 80 pounds of food? We have to consider it but we could ignore it just the same. DOes the outing at Anteiku count with it or not? It was to oddly placed to tell but we had to get away from Juuzou somehow. For anyone to gain a pound they would have to gain the addition weight that the usual body needs for nourishment. 2,000 calories a day would be like any other normal day. Any more and that would result in the day's gain without you knowing unless it shows. One would need to consume an extra 3,500 calories to gain 1 pound of fat. Math is so troublesome when computing a weeks worth of pounds to a month's worth. Would be somewhat easier if we knew his current weight to compare it to tonight if we go out to restaurants." ponders Ken to himself.
"Hey Hide?" wonders Ken glaring at Hide.
"Huh?" wonders Hide.
"The whole month you were trying to get me to spend time with you and Juuzou...mostly you, was this a secret fetish thing you and other me came to enjoy given the circumstances?" wonders Ken with a twitchy smile.
"Could seem that way." says Hide looking up.
"SO I'm a replacement for the Ken you were buddy buddies with during your twisted escapes." says Ken.
"That's classified." says Hide.
"Classified and nothing more? Just curious given the shift from how you acted around Juuzou and now." says Ken.
"Where's the first stop?" wonders Hide nervously laughing.
"Anywhere as long as we get what we need. Just lead the way." says Ken.
"What do we need besides the scale and clothes?" wonders Hide.
"Nothing I suppose. Its hard finding anything black in the spring and summer for my taste in attire choices. You on the other hand, buying clothes that are larger than your current size would put people off until you actually fit the shirt you wear on outings." says Ken.
"Can't you show some form of happiness?" wonders Hide.
"Not with a bothersome mind like mine...ahhh screw it. You'd need endless amounts of clothes compared to me as we follow through with this bull." says Ken unamused.
"Let your hands be the magical action. They're all you need to distract you from the hells the mind bring up. Rize tormenting you in the past? She hasnt appeared in your head until we gave into the bullshit you call a ghoulish feeding session. What would Manga Kaneki do in this situation if he appeared to a gamer Hide who lived life the game way? You started the process now you have to finish all the way through. Rize filled regrets and all." says Hide itching his head.
"Be nice to know what both kanekis are to you. Which is Gameneki and Manganeki? Is the Kaneki you separated from in this instance a variation game persona you latched onto? Am I the Manga variant that managed to distort dimensions to get back to a form of Hide...be it the weirdest variant I can find. Would be fucked up for MangaHide to disappear from the Manga verse to appear in a twisted gaming variation you think you know me best in regardless of form and take on things." says Ken looking at Hide.
"Stop jumping to conclusions. I love you two equally." says Hide feeling offended.
"What are we to you Hide? A simple answer is all I need. Am I a manga verse variant in this two way Kaneki desire filled urge?" wonders Ken.
"Putting yourself in a manga doesnt really mean you arent a manga persona." says Hide.
"If this world's Kaneki were beside me you would have to tell us how you see our friendship turned kinships." says Ken.
"Lets focus on one thing at a time." says Hide sweat dropping.
"That reminds me, I forget which scenario I was on but I can see Yuno in Rena though I'm unsure of how much Yuno adores cute things. Keiichi's weariness toward the demonic ways the girls and villagers portray petrify the poor boy like Yuno does Yukiteru when she goes yandere mode. The twins, considering myself and the Kaneki of this world, I'd be more Mion while he's more Shion. That sounds most fitting of the characters as us. No idea who you'd represent but Keiichi would be you as much as Yukiteru since he's there for his friends even when in crazy mode." says Ken.
