Chapter 2: So, this is my life now.
"Dialogue"
"Zangetsu's dialogue"
'Thinking'
'Zangetsu's thoughts"
Published:04/21/18
20th ward~
"Bleh"
"Dammit, why can't I eat anything. It all just taste like rotting garbage." the strawberry moaned in dismay. Since waking his ghoul side he had been trying to see if he was still human enough to eat normal food. Sadly that wasn't the case.
Currently Ichigo was hunched over a toilet in his apartment, looking slightly pale due to vomiting his poor guts out. "Idiot what part of being a ghoul do you not understand!" the voice inside his head questioned, with obvious annoyance. The voice, currently dubbed as Zangetsu continued "I mean it's not like every binge eater you hear about on tv just goes over to the nearest McDonald's when they're hungry, because guess what, THEY DON'T EAT GOD DAMN CHEESE BURGERS"
Ichigowinced due to the shear volume of his voice. "You're a pain, you know that." Ichigo complained. "And why wouldn't I be able to eat regular food, wouldn't that be one of the perks of being half human? I've also been about to eat normal food just fine a few hour ago." He really didn't get why his entire food palet flipped to the opposite side of the spectrum.
"And some serious questions need to be answered, like I don't know, WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO FOR FOOD NOW!" Muffled shouting could be heard from his neighbor. They were shouting about how they need to get to work in the morning. Ichigo then realized he had been talking out loud.
That however didn't stop Zangetsu from responding. "I don't know king, I'm just your awakened instincts. I only know as much as you.". "But I thought you said that my dad was a ghoul an-" Ichigo was cut off by his bleached counterpart. "Your subconscious picked up on their weird vibes and your common sense filled in a few gaps, Geez your a moron" Zangetsu sighed.
"How would you ev-, you know what not gonna ask. You'll probably just insult me." Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Aww, King you know me so well." the imitation snickered. *Sigh* "I guess I'll check the internet for some facts about ghouls and try to separate fact from rumor." Which would be easier said than done.
_time skip_
"Okay, so after two hours of research I've only found out that ghouls have cool weapons called a kagune, they can only eat human flesh, and apparently the numerous reports that they wear masks when confronting the CCG. That's not to much too go off of" Ichigo rubbed his eyes, it was 12:00 now.
'While I guess I'll have to go to a mask shop, even though it's only August, and find some way to attain food without compromising my morels." Ichigo's strongest moral was to protect everyone he can, every since he was told what his name meant from his late mother, 'One who protects' or 'number one guardian'. He had fallen into despair, feeling that he failed when his mother died. It was still a pit he had yet to climb out of, but he didn't let his past haunt him to much.
Ending his series of depressing thoughts, Ichigo decided it was time to go to sleep and deal with the rest in the morning. 'I still hope this is some kind of sick dream I can wake up from. Finally being able to rest form that evening's events he drifted into a dreamless sleep.
_time skip_
It was around 9:20 when Ichigo woke up. He started his weekend morning routine, minus breakfast, and started to head out with his errands in mind. Get a ghoul mask and hang out with his new friends he had met at the coffee shop, Anteiku. He had found a mask shop called HySy ArtMask Studio ran by some guy named Uta that was located in the 4th ward. Surprisingly it ran year round.
Upon entering the shop Ichigo felt a chill go up his spine. The shop was dimly lit, the walls were painted black, and had many creepy and grotesque on display. 'And I'm not going to be sleeping tonight' before his thoughts could linger on the terrifying masks, he heard a voice from behind him. "Can I help you, sir" was what came from the individual behind him, assumed to be Uta.
When turning around Ichigo turned to see a man. His head was half shaven, while the other half and the back was long, enough to form a small ponytail/bun. He wore a white tan top and a black sweater. Around his neck was a choker. His neck had a weird tattoo around it, and his arms seemed like they were also covered in tattoos. Strangely he was wearing sunglasses as well.
"Uhh, yeah I was-" Ichigo started and was then cut off. "By any chance sir you a ghoul?" Uta asked out of the blue. Panic quickly spread, 'How did he know' was all that went through his head. "Don't worry-" Uta assured pulling down his sunglasses down "I'm a ghoul as well." Ichigo let out a breath he was holding. "How could you tell?". "All Ghouls smell different from humans." was Uta's response.
Now that he thought about it there was a scent in the room, he just thought it was the shop's natural musk. "So I was wondering if I could buy a mask?" Ichigo asked, still thrown off by the fact ghouls had such a great sense of smell. "Of course, sit over there so I may take your measurements" Uta responded,
The next few minutes where awkward to say the least. It started out normal, with Uta asking basic questions like "Are you allergic to any leathers or metals?' and 'what ward do you live in'. But after that he asked what his sexuality was, if he he thought Uta was attractive, and at some point he pulled out an eyeball offering it to Ichigo as a snack. He did take that offer because he had yet to find a way to get a steady supply of food.
When the process was over Uta said that his mask would be done in a week and that he could pay when he came to pick it up. With that interesting encounter over ichigo thanked Uta and began to walk out of the shop. 'Man that guy was weird, well I've got an hour to kill before meeting up with that blonde kid and his friend. Better make a move on.' that concluded Ichigo's time at the mask shop.
*With Uta*
" What a prudish young ghoul, but there was something off about his scent. Maybe I should tell Touka a weird ghoul is living in the 20th ward." After that statement Uta got started on ichigo's mask, while sending a message to Touka.
