"You... you had another weapon?"

Ken wanted to respond, he wanted to make a scathing reply towards the bitch that had tried to murder him, but at that moment it took every ounce of his willpower just to stay conscious. Rize, if that really was her name, was collapsed on the ground next to him. Her black and red eyes meeting his glaring gaze as the blood pooled around them. The knife he always carried as a backup had found its way into her heart.

"Don't... don't look at me… like that," Rize managed to choke out, coughing up even more blood as she did so. "That look in your eyes... makes me... want to… eat… you… more." Rize strained one hand forward, desperately reaching for Ken before the light faded from her eyes completely, her lifeless limb falling to the ground with a soft thud.

Ken knew he was on the verge of dying himself; that creature masquerading as a woman had mangled his body too many times for him to just walk away. If he let himself drift into unconsciousness, he was certain that he would never wake up again. Ken stared into the dead eyes of the woman lying next to him, willing himself to stay awake just to spite the bitch that had tried to fucking eat him... but even in his delirious state he knew that determination alone wasn't enough to stave off death. The ever-widening pool of blood around him was ample evidence of that fact.

'Sorry, Hide... doesn't look like I'll be able to make it to your graduation ceremony in a few months...' Ken could feel himself fading fast. 'At least I took her out... with... me...'

Ken Kaneki opened his eyes to the sight of the hospital ceiling once more. The memories of what he had presumed were his final moments on Remnant fresh in his mind once more. He had dreamed of that evening every single night since he first came back to consciousness four days prior. Four days of not feeling like himself, four days of knowing for a fact that some of the organs in his body were not the ones he'd come into this world with. That alone wouldn't have been much cause for concern, but Ken knew who his organs had belonged to. It wasn't logical, but he knew part of her lived on in him… and it made him sick.

Ken's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the man that had saved his life as well as one of the nurses that had been taking care of him since that time. "Ah, Mr. Kaneki, good to see you're awake already, how are you feeling?"

Ken didn't know what it was about Doctor Kanou that made him so likable, but there was something about the middle-aged man that just made him approachable. Whether it was his genuine smile or the adept bedside manner, the doctor was one of the most personable people he had met.

"Honestly, Doctor, I feel like hell." There was no point in lying when he was still in a hospital bed.

Doctor Kanou offered Ken a solemn smile while the nurse, a young man with blond hair by the name of Sam, walked around the bed and double-checked Ken's vitals on the machines that continuously beeped in the background.

"Well, that is unfortunately not surprising given the injuries you sustained. May I?" Doctor Kanou gestured to Ken's wounds as he had every other day, asking permission before he checked them visually.

Ken gave his consent with a nod of his head and minutely readjusted his body to allow the doctor easier access to his bandages. Without hesitation the doctor looked underneath the bandages to the raw but healing wounds; his hands were gentle yet deft, barely adding any extra discomfort to his patient.

"How am I looking, Doc?" Ken asked, holding back a slight grunt of pain.

Doctor Kanou replaced the bandages before looking Ken in the eyes. "Good news, it is as we thought. Now that your body is stable enough to generate aura once more, your wounds are healing rather nicely. How does your stomach feel?"

"Still can't keep anything down," Ken replied. "Tried again last night and it all came right back up."

Doctor Kanou hummed as he made notes on his chart. "Interesting, it's not the most unusual thing for patients that have sustained stomach injuries to experience difficulties with food, and you did sustain quite a bit of damage in that area. For now, we'll continue to keep you on some fluids that will be able to provide you with the necessary nutrients to survive, but I'd encourage you to keep trying to some solid foods. Tonight, at dinner, start with just a few bites and see if you can avoid throwing it all back up. Our medicine is good, but it's not really a replacement for a good meal."

Ken was well aware of that simple fact. He'd already spent the entire previous day dealing with gnawing pains in his stomach as his body desperately sought something, anything, to digest. It was an experience that was sure to continue today as well, and Ken was not looking forward to it. At least he could keep down water still, small miracles and all. "I'll try again, Doctor... I can't say I'm optimistic about the results, but I'll try."

"That's all we can ask, Ken," Doctor Kanou said warmly as he rose to his feet. "I do have other patients to see so I will leave you in peace, as always if you need anything feel free to page Sam here and I'm certain he or one of the other staff members we have on hand will be happy to help."

"Thanks, Doctor, have a good one."

"Always a pleasure, Ken, rest up and hopefully we'll have you out of here in the next few days," Kanou called back as he exited the room, leaving Ken alone with Sam as he finished up his own duties.

"So," Sam began, his deep voice filling the silence, "I heard the cops had quite a few questions for you yesterday, yeah? How did that go?"

Ken let out a small half-chuckle, though there was no humor to be found in it. "Murder accusations are a hell of a lot of fun, let me tell you."

"Ouch. That bad, huh?" Sam said in commiseration, seemingly unconcerned that he was speaking with someone who was at the very least a person of interest in the eyes of the police.

Ken shrugged. "Only one of the detectives seemed to not believe what I was saying, but the other one assured me that my wounds were consistent with the wounds they'd found on various corpses the past few months, so I should be okay." Ken hoped that was the case at least... if the police discovered that he had lied, then he was certain that he would find himself locked away in a cold, dark cell. Mistral wasn't Atlas, but still, you couldn't get away with lying to the police in this city unless you had a lot of lien, and Ken sure as hell did not have enough of that to help him.

"Not going to lie, I'm still surprised it was a person that did that to you and not a grimm. Must have been one brutal weapon to leave those kinds of injuries on you. And then there's that bite on your shoulder... Did that crazy bitch actually bite you?"

"Mmmhmmm," Ken hummed while taking a drink of water. "That was how our fight started, we'd been having a great time and so I didn't question it when she wrapped her arms around me, but then-"

Ken suddenly felt teeth dig into his shoulder, ripping and tearing into his flesh and muscle. "GAAAAAHHH!" He screamed out in agony, his instincts kicking in as he wrenched Rize back by her hair and sent an elbow flying towards her face, only to find she'd already stepped back, deftly avoiding his strike as she giggled lightly. Blood dripped from her grinning mouth… his blood; her gaze was fixed upon him, and she looked… hungry.

"You taste sooooo~ good, Ken... More! I want more of you inside me! Give me more!"

Sam looked torn between whether he should be amused or horrified by the date from hell. "Not the kind of end you were hoping for, huh?"

At that, Ken laughed more genuinely than he had since he woke up. "Not at all, no. After that though, she pulled out her weapon and just started attacking me, and honestly, I was in shock by that point, running off nothing but instincts, and I barely even registered what was happening-"

Her melodious laugh grated on his ears. "Keep dodging, Ken, I love playing with my food!" A red, barbed tentacle shot towards Ken faster than his eyes could truly follow, only his last second lurch to the side saved him from certain death. "Yes! YES! Play with me, Ken!"

On and on their macabre dance went; him barely staying alive while she giggled and moaned… a twisted mockery of what would be the expected end of a good date. Then, the fight took a turn as a second red tentacle leapt from her back and tore right into his shoulder, shredding flesh, sinew, muscle, and bone alike.

A whistle echoed from the nurse's lips. "Damn, I would have been dead for sure after that. You must be pretty well trained," Sam stated, clearly impressed. "You aren't a huntsman though, right?"

Ken shook his head. "No, not a huntsman, just a guy that's picked up a few skills over the years..."

A severed red tentacle flashed through the air courtesy of Ken's sword as he ducked under an attack that would have meant certain death. A split second later he was forced to side-step a third tentacle that sought to painfully end his life. On and on he pushed his body forward, fervently ignoring the burning agony in his shoulder as he slashed at the sadistically laughing woman.

"Damn shame then, the huntsmen could probably use someone like you. Being able to fight even after being injured without your aura up takes a hell of a person, you know?"

Rize slowly twisted the tentacle impaled in Ken's abdomen as another tentacle held him in the air. His bloody sword had been tossed away far out of his reach. The monster slowly licked at his collarbone and traced her tongue up his neck, savoring the taste of the blood that poured from his shoulder. In any other context Ken would've thought it sensual, instead he was disgusted.

"Thank you for playing with me, Ken. You were sooo~ much fun... I'm almost sad we won't get to do this again sometime. Maybe I'll go on a date with your huntsman friend next. What was his name? Oh, that's right... It was Hide, wasn't it?"

"Fuck. You."

She never saw his blade coming.

"Ah, I appreciate the kind words, but I really don't think being a huntsman is the profession for me..." Ken said, fairly uncomfortable with the direct praise and suggestion.

Sam laughed and raised his hands in defeat. "Fair enough, fair enough, to each their own. Still though, you're a tough one for surviving, and a damned hero for getting that crazy bitch off the streets. I'll get out of your hair though, hit the button if you need anything."

"Thank you, Sam," Ken called after the nurse as he exited the room, leaving Ken to his solitude once more.

Ken let out a tired sigh. His entire story was steeped in falsehoods and deceit, and it was unfortunately going to have to be a lie he maintained forevermore. He couldn't tell anyone that Rize had actually tried to fucking eat him. He couldn't tell the police that her 'weapon' that he supposedly sent flying into the water was actually a series of tentacles that dissipated like a goddamn grimm after he stabbed her in the heart!

The description fit… Damn him for all eternity if he was mistaken, but the description fit! Ken had grown up reading every book he could get his hand on, a trend that had continued even as he got older, and he had seen numerous stories and legends on the supposedly mythological creatures. Ken was many things, but a fool was not among them. There wasn't a doubt in his mind as to what kind of creature Rize was, but he was almost afraid to say it out loud lest someone overhear his insane thoughts.

"Ghoul..." The word was barely a whisper on his lips.

Ghouls were real. The age-old fairy tale that scared children with the idea of human grimm was fucking real. Ken had accepted their existence as fact. The moment he woke up and realized the entire situation hadn't been a nightmare, he'd been forced to confront the reality of it all. If ghouls were real, then the odds were likely that the Councils were aware of it and deliberately avoided telling the public. By extension, the odds were likely that there were government bodies designed to help make sure the damn secret actually stayed a secret. Ken knew that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with any sort of conspiracy surrounding the existence of such monsters, and so he lied. He lied about exactly what had happened to him, lied about who Rize was, and lied how their fight had gone down.

Contrary to what he had told Sam, however, the assurances from the detective about other bodies with wounds akin to his own did the opposite of bring him comfort. Not only did it suggest that there were other ghouls out there, but if there really was a government body meant to maintain this secret, then it was safe to assume that they'd figure out he had been attacked by a ghoul and lied about it. Ken didn't know if that would lead to them leaving him alone or not, but he had no intention of sticking around to find out. The second he was discharged from the hospital Ken was fleeing Mistral. The city was the only home he had ever known but that didn't matter, he had to run. If no one came knocking on his friend's doors asking questions, then maybe he could come back in a few months... but until he knew for certain that he was safe, he needed to get out of the kingdom.

OoooOoooO

An endless sea of white flowers interrupted only by the lone woman walking among them. Every flower she touched turned to crimson, a matching shade to her painted lips. Her melodic humming was the only sound to be heard over the soft breeze. On and on she walked, occasionally changing direction or speed, but with every step she took more white flowers turned red... And then, she stopped. At first, she did not move, but only for a moment as she then turned, looking directly into his eyes with black sclera and red irises, a beating heart held aloft in her hand.

"What's the matter, Ken? Aren't you hungry?"

OoooOoooO

Ken woke up screaming; his body covered in sweat, his breathing ragged and strained. Without even having to think, his hand clawed for the blade he always kept hidden near his bed, but it was nowhere to be found… not while he was still in the hospital, at least. The pounding in his chest perfectly matched the rhythm of the heart that had been extended towards him.

"It was just a dream... it was just a dream." Again, and again the young man reassured himself but to no avail.

Ken had been conscious in the hospital for nine days now, and every time he closed his eyes, he saw her. Unfortunately, the cruel visions he was plagued with during his moments of rest were well aware of the reality of his situation… He really was hungry. Every day he tried to force some food into his system and every day his stomach responded with violence. Almost everything he tried to consume was thrown back up within minutes, and the one time he did manage to keep his meal down he had felt even more sick and weak than if he'd never tried.

"Something has to give," Ken growled quietly as he slowly pulled himself out of the bed. The clock on the wall informed him that it was only three in the morning, but Ken didn't care. The young man was determined to get some fresh air even if it killed him, and simply opening a window wasn't going to cut it.

The many days of careful treatment supplemented by Ken's Aura meant that he should have been back on his feet and able to walk without too much issue. Given the initial severity of his injuries, he was still a far cry from the fighting shape he was in before he was repeatedly impaled in the stomach, but by all rights, he should have at least been able to move around without risking a prompt meeting with the floor. However, the fact that he was unable to keep down any food was impacting Ken in a multitude of ways, including his bodily strength. Every single step was a struggle for the young man, but still he pressed on.

Ken's brief stop at the bathroom allowed him to get a good look at himself in the reflection of the mirror. Damn, I look like shit. His former mop of black hair had turned stark white. Dark, heavy bags resided underneath his eyes; his toned, muscular body that normally stood near six feet tall looked emaciated and small, an effect that was exacerbated by his decrepit posture as he leaned over the sink for support.

"At least the white doesn't look awful," Ken remarked to himself, turning his head from side to side to try and catch his new hair at a variety of different angles. Hide will have a laugh or two, but it's not that bad, all things considered.

Ken wasn't certain why his hair had rapidly changed colors over the few days while he had been unconscious, the doctors weren't certain either, but he considered it a small price to pay given that he'd survived… For now, at least.

Slowly but surely, relying on walls and door frames the entire time, Ken was able to amble his way out of his room and down the correct hallway. It only took a few moments to wave off the staff working the night shift that tried to insist he either return to his bed or at least use a wheelchair. The malnourished young man appreciated that they were trying to help, but he'd been given clearance to walk on his own two legs and damn it all, he was going to. Ken had almost reached the exit when he suddenly froze mid-step.

"That smell," he muttered quietly.

Ken had been trying to eat the best food the hospital had to offer all week long, but none of it even began to compare to the glorious scent that he'd just caught wind of. It smelled… delicious! In spite of his logical judgment telling him that whatever he found would just be another thing to throw back up, Ken immediately changed his destination from outside to wherever the source of that mouthwatering, delectable scent could be found.

A sense of renewed life entered Ken's body as he desperately sought out the source he craved. Climbing the stairs might have been an impossible task a few minutes prior, but with only one thought consuming his brain, he accomplished the hurdle with ease. Ken paid no mind to his location as the scent led him into the inpatient surgical ward of the hospital. The hastily called out inquiries into what business he had in that area fell on deaf ears.

The scent he was after, the scent he craved, he could tell it was just through a few more doors! He knew he was almost there and when he found it, he'd be able to partake of the delicacy himself! Food! Food would finally be his once more.

Food.

Food.

Eat.

Eat!

Eat!

He wanted to EAT!

"HEY!" A strong hand latched onto Ken's arm, snapping him out of the trance that overtaken him. A young woman in a nurse's uniform was the source of the surprisingly forceful grip. "What the fuck do you think you're doing trying to walk in there? Can't you read? It clearly says they're in the middle of performing a surgery!"

"I..." Ken's eyes widened as he realized what exactly had smelled so good. "No, no, no, no..."

"Oi, speak up, I can't hear what you're saying when you're mumbling. What's your name?"

This can't be happening... there's no fucking way!

The nurse looked at him with sympathy. "Hey, Su', do me a favor and call the psych ward and see if they're missing a patient, will ya?" The nurse placed a hand on Ken's shoulder and gently guided him to a seat. "Try and focus for me, alright? What's your name?"

Is that really what I smelled? No... no it couldn't be!

The nurse sighed after successfully leading her newfound charge to a bench. "Damn, of course it would be on my shift when shit like this happens."

Her words fell upon deaf ears.

WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING TO ME?!

Ken wasn't sure who he was asking. The nurse? Himself? The gods? Anyone? He just wanted answers. He wanted help. He wanted to not be spiraling into mania by himself

"Am I still… human?"

The question was voiced aloud and then, there she was, standing right in front of him. The same white dress and heels, the same dark colored sweater. Her long, purple hair with the bangs pulled to the left side; the same red frame glasses... the same black and red eyes. Rize Kamashiro reached forward a hand and gently cupped his cheek. "Oh, Ken... of course you're not human anymore."

Ken recoiled like he'd just been slapped, his head slamming into the wall behind him and making the nurse next to him jump in fright. The pain now centralized on the back of his skull had surprisingly allowed him to get a hold of himself... at least on a surface level. Internally, he was losing his mind. After all, Rize was still sitting next to him.

"You scared me half to death!" The nurse exclaimed; her hand held over her heart. "Gods above... the sooner someone comes to get you out of my wing the better..."

"I'm sorry," Ken said, still trying to catch his breath after the shock to his system that was the past few minutes; the weakened state of his body had also finally caught up to him following his mad dash through the halls.

"Oh, so you can speak!" The nurse said, clearly agitated with him, understandably so if he was being honest.

"My name is Ken Kaneki," he began, his voice sounded hollow, even to his own ears. "I've been in recovery two floors down, but I've been dealing with vivid dreams all week, it's even on my chart... today I must have still been dreaming even in a semi-conscious state." A lie. He hadn't been dreaming at all, no, he had just been hungry.

The nurse looked at him critically, clearly dubious about his claims. "You really expect me to believe that crock of crap?"

Ken bowed his head to the woman, trying to convey his sincerity however he could even if it was a lie. At that moment, he would have done anything to avoid having her press the issue further. "I'm sorry, I know I caused you some trouble tonight but it's the truth. Give me just a second to catch my breath and I'll get out of your hair." Despite his duplicity, a part of him was still genuine in his apologies. Ever since he was young, Ken had been taught not to cause problems for others. The words of his late mother were a life motto he'd stuck by.

The nurse rubbed her eyes and sighed. "You're fine... you're fine. Sorry, it's just been a long night. You look dead on your feet so stay there, I'll grab you a wheelchair and get you back to your room. Just please... stay there."

Ken muttered his thanks to the woman as she walked away. It had been a long night for him as well.

"What a kind woman..." Rize said from her place next to him on the bench. One of her long legs crossed over the other as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "Despite the stress you added to her night, she's still going out of her way to help you."

Shut up...You're. Not. Real. And now he was talking to the voices in his head. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry. He wanted to do both.

"It really makes you wonder though, doesn't it?"

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!

"What does she taste like?"

SHUT UP! Ken screamed inside his mind, but Rize simply smiled at him. It was the same coy smile that she'd used on him in the coffee shop before he asked her out.

"Alright, Kaneki, your first-class ride is here, let's get you back downstairs." The nurse had returned with the promised wheelchair and was extending a hand to help him into it. She really was kind.

Ken offered his thanks and engaged in polite small talk with the nurse as she escorted him back to his room... but if asked, he wouldn't be able to recall so much as a single word shared between them. Rize didn't say anything the entire time they journeyed through the halls, but she was always there, always watching. The charming smile and enrapturing demeanor that had first prompted him to ask her out on a date never left her presence. If only the illusion wasn't shattered every time her soulless, black gaze met his own.

Sleep never came to Ken that night. Though he lay in the darkness for hours, he never could pass into the world of dreams. Not that it really mattered; whether awake or asleep, he knew he'd dream about her all the same.

It was a sad state of affairs that he wished that Rize was the only thought consuming his brain, but no, fate was not so kind. Despite the hallucinations that haunted his every moment, Ken was still hungry... and the worst part was that he knew exactly what it was his body craved.

As soon as the sun came up, Ken checked himself out of the hospital. Doctor Kanou protested his decision, as did the other members of the hospital staff that had watched over him since he was injured, but he didn't care. For their sakes and his, he needed to get out of that building as soon as possible.

"I really wish you'd reconsider, Ken," Doctor Kanou said, standing next to Ken as he signed his release forms. "Your injuries have healed enough for you to leave, yes, but you're clearly still very weak, and honestly, that has me concerned."

Ken offered his thanks to the pharmacist that had just passed him his pain medication and turned to face the concerned doctor. "I appreciate you worrying about me, Doctor Kanou, but I really feel like a change in atmosphere will do me some good. You said it yourself, my issues keeping down food could have a mental connection, so maybe the change in scenery and a return to normalcy will help."

Doctor Kanou seemed to hold back a sigh as he extended a hand for Ken to shake. "If you're sure about this, then I won't press the issue further. Just promise us that you will return should your issues persist or if your injuries open back up again. You have aura so that is unlikely, but the possibility remains all the same."

The proffered handshake was returned. "Absolutely. Thank you again for everything. You saved my life," Ken meant every word.

He saved your life, but at what cost?

Ken dutifully ignored the insidious thoughts that he wasn't sure if they belonged to himself or his hallucination.

"It's been a pleasure, Ken. I hope you live a long and healthy life going forward."

The recovering young man waved farewell to the retreating doctor's back and waited until he was certain he was no longer in eyesight to let his carefully cultivated mask slip away. In an instant, the efforts Ken had been taking all morning to hide just how labored his breath was vanished completely. The proper and composed posture he'd forced himself to adhere to in order to disguise how weak his body felt devolved entirely. Every day he didn't eat brought him that much closer to death, and his body was an honest reflection of that fact.

"You could just eat, you know? Give in to your urges and feast upon the food your body craves so dearly."

Rize was there once more, but if he was being honest with himself, she never left him. Not anymore. Haunted by the memory of the date he stabbed in the heart... it was almost poetic.

Not content with being ignored, Rize embraced him from behind, one arm dangling over his shoulder while the other enveloped his waist as her full, pink lips hovered near his ear. "Give in already, Ken. You know you want to."

"No."

"Give in."

"No."

"Give in… and be like me!"

"I said no!" Ken snarled, thrusting out his hand as if to strike her, but as might be expected of a dead girl that existed only in his head, he struck nothing but air. "I'm losing my fucking mind..." He wailed quietly, frantically running his fingers through his hair.

Deciding that he had wasted enough energy standing outside the hospital, Ken phoned a ride service to give him a lift home. The driver thankfully took the hint that he didn't want to talk, so the half-starved invalid was left to check his scroll in peace, simply glad to be away from the overbearing antiseptic smells and distant but oh so enticing scent of blood.

'Hey man, how are you feeling today? Still having issues eating? Let me know if you're still having trouble, I'll swing by your place tonight and make my mom's super, special, secret chicken noodle soup recipe! You know the one, right? Noodles, vegetables, chicken, broth, and all the other normal seasonings! It's really not that super, special, or secret, but it's damn good and you always get seconds when she's made it before, so I'm sure you'll like it!

And hey, sorry again that I can't be there for you right now... with graduation coming up they're really putting my team and I through the ringer on the daily. I actually leave on another mission tomorrow morning and it's outside the city, so I'll be gone for at least a week. I don't know if I'll still be in range of the CCT towers, so please respond to this today. I know how bad you are about replying unless it's for work, but I want to make sure you're doing alright before I leave.'

Hide was too good for Ken. They'd been best friends for almost as long as he could remember, and Hide had always been there for him, even during the times when he hadn't deserved it. For Hide, he would respond immediately.

'Thanks for checking in on me. I still feel like shit but I'm getting better. Still having some issues with food but I can at least eat now. Stay safe on your mission, I'll see you when you get back in town.'

Ken looked at the lies blanketing his message and sighed despondently. Hide didn't need any distractions, not when he was headed for grimm infested territories tomorrow. The truth of Ken's life would be a burden for anyone to learn about, but for someone as empathetic and good-natured as Hide, it would be too much right now. Normally, a little lie to spare Hide some extra stress wouldn't even merit a second thought in Ken's mind. It was a running trend between the two friends, one of them would lie to protect the other, and then they inevitably learned the truth it would result in a mutual slap upside the head and the same speech about how they could each 'rely on one another.'

Both of them meant it to be a wholesome moment between friends who were closer than brothers… The sad reality, however, was that at the end of the day, neither of them wanted to be a burden on the other, and so their well-intentioned habit of lying continued. What truly pained Ken was the knowledge that his final words weren't the kind of lie that they would be able to brush off. The simple fact was that he wouldn't be able to see his best and oldest friend in a few weeks' time. By the time Hide got back into the city, Ken would either be outside of the kingdom, or he'd be dead.

The pain in Ken's stomach was perpetual at that point. An omnipresent gnawing sensation that left him feeling like someone had dug their claws into his stomach and twisted. It hurt. Gods above did it hurt... but what was even more terrifying was that he could feel his mental acuity slipping away. More and more with each passing hour his thoughts would instinctually turn towards food... a reality he was too terrified to fully confront. The worst part was that throughout it all, she never left his side. Through every pained moment, Rize stood beside him, taunting him with her melodic voice. A cruel seductress tempting him to just give in and act like her.

OoooOoooO

"You know you can't hold out forever, Ken."

"Watch me..." Ken said from his place on the kitchen floor where he'd propped himself up against his cabinets. Empty liquor bottles were strewn about the ground even as he desperately clung to the final fifth in his hand. It had been three days since he left the hospital.

Rize laughed condescendingly as she crouched down before him, her arms resting on her knees. "A lie you've told yourself for too long... Be honest, Ken. We both know how much your mind has already slipped away. Your every sane thought consumed instead by sheer hunger."

A hate filled glare pierced the black eyes of the purple haired woman. "Jokes on you, bitch!" He spat venomously. "I'll be too weak to do anything by the time my mind is fully gone!"

"Another lie..." Rize rose to her feet and looked outside to the busy streets below. "Not only are you not as weak as you claim, but even if you were, it would not matter at all. You are more than a match for the average person walking down there, even in your current state. After all, it's not like you really even have to fight them... one bite in the right place, one strike of a blade. That's all it will take."

Ken burst out into a pained, hollow laughter. "First you say I'll lose my sanity... and now you're expecting me to be aware of human anatomy? Nice inconsistency you have there."

In an instant Rize was seated in front of him on the floor, leaning forward and gently cupping his face with both of her hands. "Naivety doesn't suit you, Ken. Even when hungry, a predator always remembers how to hunt its prey."

Neither one of them moved as they looked into each other's eyes. Ken couldn't even begin to discern what sort of thoughts resided behind a mask such as hers when she was alive. Aside from her black and red eyes, she appeared to be like any other gorgeous girl, but that presentation couldn't be further from the truth.

Eventually, Ken wrenched his head away from her hands and she slowly reclined away from him. "Why am I even talking to you?" He bit out. "You're nothing but a hallucination, a product of me going fucking insane." Ken took another swig of his drink, feebly attempting to kick at her as he did so. "Just a damned delusion that won't leave me be."

Rize was suddenly sitting next to him once more, her head casually resting upon his shoulder. "Do you really think of me as nothing but a delusion, Ken? Is that really all that I am?"

Ken snorted. "What else would you be? I don't believe in ghosts nor anything of the sort."

"You didn't believe in ghouls either."

His breath caught in his throat. "That's different."

"Is it different, Ken? Is it really?"

The faux demure woman glanced up at him through her red framed glasses, her body still nestled into his side as her fingers slowly intertwined with his own… why could he feel her hands?

"Remnant is a big place. It's filled to the brim with mysteries, and the unknown lurks around every corner. Even if you don't think I'm a ghost..." Rize's hand brushed over his surgical scars. "It's undeniable that a part of me lives on in you. Can you say that we're not connected? Are you able to say for certain that a part of my aura, my soul, is not tied to yours?"

"No!" Ken clenched his fist around the neck of the bottle so hard it shattered. "You were dead by that point! Your black soul had already passed into hell by the time of the surgery!" He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince.

"And yet," Rize leaned upwards, her lips less than a hairsbreadth away from his cheek, "here we are."

Ken violently shrugged the purple haired seductress away from him, still seemingly unable to make physical contact with her unless she so desired. "Whatever you are, you're dead. Your body hopefully incinerated or thrown into an unmarked grave with the rest of society's scum."

Rize cocked her head to the side as she looked down on him from her place on the countertop. "Oh, Ken, if I'm scum, then what will that make you when you succumb to the hunger?"

Even as she laughed, Ken couldn't bring himself to respond.