Author's Note:

So originally this chapter was going to be a lot longer as I planned to have it cover all the stories in Tokyo Ghoul: Days I thought would fit well in the story. These short stories are The Bible (which is mostly explored in this chapter), Lunch Boxes and The Bookmark but you don't need to know these stories in order to read this one. Anyway, as I re-read the book and thought of what I wanted to include, I concluded that if I were to do that then this chapter would be super long.

Living felt like pain for Morie. The morning light shone harshly through her blinds and onto her face. Normally she would wake up before the sun had its chance to shine but today was different. She didn't want to move at all.

The day prior she managed to roll herself out of the bed and lazily wandered into the bathroom where she peeled off her bandages and inspected her back in the mirror. It was full of jagged red circles all scabbed over and excruciatingly painful. After preparing a cup of noodles and eating it she went back to bed for the day.

Today she was beginning to feel like she could actually do something rather than laze around in her room even if it was just to set up camp in the living room. With an annoyed kick of her feet Morie flicked the sheets off her body and onto the messy floor of her bedroom before grunting and leaving it.

Out in the living room Shirozumi squeaked and paced around in its cage eagerly awaiting food. The rodent was ignored as she walked into the bathroom. The lights flickered on as she walked up to the mirror and once again inspected her back. The circles had disappeared leaving behind smooth skin but everything constantly ached. Every slight movement still sent stabs of pain through her spine. Today she would continue to take it easy.

After splashing her face with water and brushing her teeth Morie walked back into the living room. Shirozumi's paws tapped against the glass, eyes wide and gleaming with hope. With a heavy sigh Morie walked up to the cage and grabbed the tablet bottle next to it. She tapped out a single red pill into the palm of her hand before opening the cage and dropping it inside. Shirozumi instantly ran up to the pellet, grabbed it in its paws and started gnawing on it viciously.

She needed food too…

Morie's stomach growled. Within the span of two- and a-bit days she had only eaten one instant ramen cup. The first day she spent completely in bed. Her only action was picking up her phone to inform her lecturers that she would not be present for their classes.

Not wanting anything fancy she simply took out her rice cooker. As it heated up Morie took the opportunity to go back into her room where she picked up a random set of clothes to wear. She took off her pyjamas, throwing them on her bed and swiftly slipped the tracksuit pants on. Her fingers then started buttoning up a white dress shirt and as she did so she shook her head. White was not her most favourite colour to wear but she couldn't be bothered bending back down to pick up another shirt not with her back still aching.

Once her rice was cooked, she began to gingerly eat it. A cup of instant coffee sat on her desk as she watched Shirozumi go in and out of an empty toilet paper roll. When the rice was cooking, she turned the kettle on and prioritised the coffee over her food so when she scooped it into a bowl the grains stuck together in a mush. When she started shoving clumps of it into her mouth it felt like she was eating glue. At least the coffee was there to wash it down even if she was growing sick of tasting the drink.

With a stretch which she soon regretted doing, it was back to the kitchen to place her dishes in the sink. The tap was turned on to fill the bowl with water in order to prevent any pieces she missed and any bits of mush that stuck to the sides.

There wasn't much for her to do indoors apart from lying in bed, lying on the lounge, watching television or reading. She was growing tired of just sitting around but nonetheless she skulked back into her room, grabbed her pillow and a blanket before lugging them to a spot just in front of her small TV where she began arranging them on her black couch. Once she was satisfied, she bent down with a huff, turned the TV on and opened up the cabinet beneath it revealing her small collection of Disney DVDs and her DVD player. Her fingers traced along the collection's spines with her finger lingering on Finding Nemo before switching to One Hundred and One Dalmatians instead. Once everything had settled, she would invite Hinami over so they could watch the Pixar movie together.

When the song Cruella De Vil started playing, she closed her eyes and hummed along with the characters until there was a knock at the door. Her eyes snapped open. Fumbling around for the remote she hit pause on the film before getting up a bit too fast. Her muscles tensed as she hissed complaints to herself.

Eventually she made it to the door. When she opened it there stood a tall man whose frame blocked out most of the natural light. Covering an eye was a square of cut cotton loosely taped as a wound still needed time to heal. His eyes were cold and matched the sad frown he wore.

"Good afternoon," he said as Morie blinked a few times before darting her eyes to glance at a clock. The day had started slipping away from her. "Do you mind if I come in?"

She took a step back and allowed the man to enter. "Investigator Amon if I remember correctly was it? I wasn't expecting any guests today so forgive the mess."

The visitor stepped inside and looked around the room. His eyes fell upon the television and the blanket that had been kicked to the floor when Morie got up. It was pretty dark inside too as the only light which entered came through the kitchen window. Morie flicked the lights on and as they illuminated the room, she noticed that clutched in one of Amon's hands was a silver briefcase.

"Would you like a drink?" she asked just to play the role of a good host.

Amon denied the offer as he took off his shoes. Once his business shoes were neatly lined up together in the small gekan, he stepped onto the wooden floor making up the living room. "It was Investigator Mado's funeral today," he stated as Morie took a seat on her office chair.

She of course knew that a funeral would be held for the dead investigator and the CCG was always swift in the execution of them. Although with her writhing in bed, she failed to see the email that was sent out announcing the date.

"I've come to discuss his will on behalf of the CCG." Amon walked up to the woman and placed the sliver case on the coffee table.

Morie glanced at it. "A quinque?"

Without a second thought Amon clicked open the case revealing the weapon inside. It was jagged and a deep crimson in colour although it looked faded and grey in many of the areas. The blade of the machete looked like someone had grabbed a chisel and had chipped away at the material until it had been fully shaped. As for the handle it was wrapped in cream bandages.

Morie froze when she saw it. Her nose twitched recognising a long-lost scent. Images of her mother flashed in her mind. It felt like her body was back up against the hospital wall as blood from her father sprayed around her.

Amon kept his voice level to shield his sorrow as he continued to speak. "It is the Masuda." Morie felt her breathing becoming shallower as he talked. "According to the researchers who crafted it although it was made from a rinkaku kagune, it exhibits properties of koukaku quinque. They had to use special equipment just to shape the blade due to how hard the kagune was."

She grabbed the handle and lifted it into the air. The weapon was extremely heavy despite its size and although the researcher did their best to craft it, the blade was so scrappy that she doubted it could ever be used as intended. The longer she held it the more confusion and panic bubbled up in her body.

"I have done what I came to do," said Amon as he slipped his shoes back on. He closed the door as quietly as he could before making his exit.

Once she was sure that the investigator had walked a few meters away from her apartment, Morie let out a breath her body was holding as her hands began to shake. Her mother was in her arms. It hadn't been like that since the day she died in that hospital. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing as she remembered her mother buried underneath the coarse hospital sheets, gnawing at her own knuckles.

Soon anger began to seep from her heart and around her body. They turned her into this. They turned her into a useless weapon. Her lips curled up into a snarl. Mado had this for ten years without even hinting that he had it in his possession then had the gall to gift wrap it to her. Morie clenched the machete tighter at the reminder of the man's bulging face.

Knock. Knock. She was interrupted from her thoughts as the knocking made it to her ears. Her mind irritated by the actions of the deceased investigator, Morie shoved the quinque back into the case and marched to the door.

When she opened it there were two people standing outside none of whom she recognised. The one she spied first was tall and thin. Perched on his nose was a set of round glasses that matched his dorky yet chipper appearance. Next to him stood a shorter girl with long straight hair and a blank stare. In her hands she gripped a notepad and pen.

"Greetings," said the boy. "I am Kiyama from the Occult Research Club and this here is Sankou." The boy gestured to the girl besides him.

Morie's eyes narrowed as she analysed the two people in front of her with a still expression.

"We noticed that you were not in class today so we have come to ask you here," Kiyama smiled. "This month's topic for the club is ghouls and thus we are conducting research on said topic."

Sanko flipped a few pages of her notepad before asking, "Have you seen Ken Kaneki eat?"

Taken aback by the question Morie flinched and gritted her teeth. "I have," she deadpanned.

"When and where?"

Morie shifted her hands that rested on the doorknob as her mind raced. She hadn't actually seen her friend eat anything but if these people were investigating ghouls… "He works in a café and has tested the food they serve there," she lied. "Now if you would leave me be please." Morie started to close the door.

"Please wait!" exclaimed Kiyama. "Do you mind showing us your research on ghouls?"

The door was promptly closed in their faces. Morie had have enough. Her back was hurting more from standing up and honestly, she just wanted to be left alone.

The two individuals outside just glanced at each other before Kiyama tried knocking again. Morie didn't respond instead choosing to lie back down on the couch as the movie began to play again.

Sanko flipped a few more pages before tapping the tip of the pen next to two names, Ken Kaneki and Morie Masuda. There was more research to conduct.

"Let's get down to business to defeat the Huns..." The sound of Morie lazily singing made it to Shirozumi's ears even though it was heavily muffled by her cheeks pressed against the fabric of the couch. Mulan was the 3rd movie she decided to watch that day and she was growing restless.

As the movie continued to play Morie sat up and let out a big yawn. With a stretch of her arms she cracked some of her bones that had locked up when she was curled up under the blanket before getting up. Her stomach rumbled.

Just as she turned on her coffee machine her phone buzzed. With a sigh she grabbed it off her desk only to see that Hide had sent her a message.

I'm outside let me in!

Morie inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly. As she approached the door, she rolled her eyes. Surely enough Hide was there grinning like an idiot and holding a plastic bag full of takeaway. It was late enough that the sky had darkened so his figure was only lit by the faint lights that lined the pathway.

"Long time no see," he chimed. "I brought you some dinner." The plastic bag was thrust at Morie as she begrudgingly backed away from the door and let Hide in.

Morie peered inside the bag as she walked to the kitchen. "Big Girl? Isn't that a you and Kaneki thing?"

"It was." Hide plopped himself on the couch as he noticed the TV. "Ooo Mulan. Nice."

"What do you want?" deadpanned Morie as she got out plates and cutlery. As she bent down to retrieve the plates, she noted that her back wasn't feeling as sore. There was hope that she would be able to attend classes tomorrow.

Hide raised a finger high. "Well first of all, I haven't seen you at campus or around Anteiku for the past few days and I can't help but think to myself that something had happened to you. I'll tell you this, Kaneki is becoming really popular around the café and people are asking for you." Two fingers were then raised. "Secondly, I am currently in the process of figuring out how to save the two of you from certain doom. Oh, sweet is that a quinque?"

"What now?" Morie's mouth hung slightly opened as she questioned her friend's words ignoring that he had seen the machete.

"Yeah so this group of people called ORC think you and Kaneki are ghouls which I mean you totally are but you guys don't want the world knowing!"

Realisation donned on Morie as she remembered the two people who questioned her at the door. "I told them that I saw Kaneki eat." She handed Hide a plate with his order on it before she sat down at the desk across from him.

"Well that's a start then." Hide started to cut up the hamburger steak. "Speaking of which." He placed his cutlery down and reached into a pocket. There was soon a flash as he snapped a picture of Morie with a piece of lettuce in her mouth. "You should be fine now. It's Kaneki I'm worried about."

Morie bared her teeth at him before sighing and returning to her meal. "Listen here, Nagachika," she spat his name. "You can't just come in here and waltz around. Hey, don't you dare touch that!"

Hide was reaching for the machete. Morie leapt from her seat and grabbed his arm with both of her hands just before he could brush against the blade. Her eyes transformed into kakugan as she stared at him, heavily breathing before she falling to her knees.

"Woah, what was that for?" Hide gasped before leaning over Morie. "Aha, I knew something happened to you!"

She looked up at him as her kakugan faded, panting. "If you want to know, I got stabbed in the back by Kaneki." Before Hide could make a comment about her wording she added, "Literally, not figuratively."

Hide let out a low whistle as Morie picked herself up and began to eat again.

"Look, I'm not going to touch it but why do you have a quinque?" he asked as he too continued to eat.

"It's Mum…" replied the woman as she looked at it. "Well I should say that it was part of my mother. The investigator that was killed a few days ago left it for me in his will."

Hide didn't attempt to crack a joke as they both finished their dinners. He was the one to take the dirtied plates into the kitchen where he rinsed them in the sink. Before he sat down again, he reached into the backpack he carried with him. He flashed a book at Morie titled No Longer Human. "Kaneki told me to give you this for you to borrow."

Morie took it from his hands and analysed the cover. "Osamu Dazai. Even someone like you should know that name."

"I had to read the book once in high school," Hide told her before scratching his cheek. "Well… I read the first section…"

She opened the book and looked at the contents page. Nestled in between the pages was a packaged bamboo bookmark. It was simple enough. It just looked like a tag with pieces cut of out it to form a geometric pattern. There even was a cord attached to it with a small glass bead hanging at the end. As she placed it between her fingers, Morie looked at the thin plastic bag it was slid in. Inside was a slip of paper which had been folded so it would fit alongside the bookmark in the packaging.

Once Hide announced that he needed to use the bathroom and disappeared away from sight she carefully took the note out and began to read the neat handwriting.

As an apology for what happened I am gifting you this bookmark along with letting you borrow this book. It once belonged to my father so be careful with it. I saw the bookmark when Touka and I took Hinami to the library. She seems to enjoy it there. Let me know when you are better so we can buy you clothes to replace the ones I destroyed.

Ken Kaneki

"Hey, Morie mind explaining why this was in the bathtub?"

Quickly Morie hid the letter back in the book as she spun her chair around to meet Hide. Hanging from his hand was her mask. Dried blood was visible around the gap in between the lower and upper halves. She knew the inside was full of it too.

"I need to clean that."

"You sure as hell do! What if an investigator walked in and just saw it there?"

"Good point." She walked up to Hide and took it from his grip. He watched as she held it up to the light and looked at the shining metal beak. "The CCG is calling me Vulture apparently. Kaneki is Eyepatch. We both have low ratings as of now so we aren't high targets."

Hide pointed a finger at his friend. "Keep it that way, alright?"

Morie scoffed in response. "You think we want to die? The only reason we were seen was because we were saving a little girl."

Hide sighed. "I know I can't join you two on your ghoul adventures but that doesn't mean that I don't worry about you guys. Here." He gestured for Morie to hand the mask back to him. "I'll put it back for you but in all seriousness, you need to clean it asap."

She complied.

Once everything was sorted the two of them sat back down. Morie lifted Shirozumi from its cage and handed the mouse to Hide who watched it run across his fingers as Mulan played in the background. When the movie ended, he bid Morie goodbye and left for the night. Not long after, Morie also turned in for the night.

Author's Note:

Gekan: The gekan is the place in a Japanese home where you take off your shoes and it is located at the entrance. Normally there is a small step that leads to the other areas of the house.

No Longer Human: A book written by Osamu Dazai who is one of Japan's best know authors. The story is broken up into three different sections detailing different aspects of Oba Yozo's (the main character) life as he spirals into despair. It's a rather fitting book for Kaneki to own not just because of the title but because of the themes of the story.