Chapter 27

Untitled Part. 27

"She has… to die?"

Kaneki repeated the sentence. It felt so heavy to say it, like there was a large lump in his throat. His friend had to die. There was no way to save her. Was this all real? Was he too naïve to think that the three of them would be able to make it? Kaneki realized he was consumed by Kanou's sweet words, saying that the three of them were the most promising of them all. Maybe he lied. He probably said that to the past subjects too.

Maybe he would share the same fate the next day.

"No!" Shiki screamed. "There's no way…! There's no way Nami will become a monster!" He spoke in denial. It hurt the white haired boy to see Nami crawling on the floor, screaming inhumanly, and tentacles of kagune that he had never seen before sprouting like roots from her small hip.

"But she will." Kanou spoke coldly from the mic, "This will happen to anyone with any kind of personality, any kind of background. I know she is the most… confident, from all of you, but that doesn't change anything."

"What… will happen if this keeps up?" Kaneki asked, feeling scared of the answer.

"She will stay that way. Uncontrollable. She won't comprehend any words that we say. It's almost time for her to totally lose it."

No words could describe just how frustrated and angry Kaneki at the same time. The way the doctor said those to him, so coldly, so ordinarily, yet he couldn't do a thing. He began to imagine just how the kids before him felt the same way. It was terrible to think about. Now he had to witness his friend turning into a brainless ghoul. The Nami that both he and Shiki knew would be gone.

"Then what must we do!?" Shiki asked, "Louis doesn't do anything and just standing there like a damn rock!"

Then the next thing the doctor said lit the fire of anger inside of the little boys,

"Nothing but kill her."

"DON'T JOKE WITH ME, KANOU!" Shiki finally snapped, "YOU WANT US TO KILL HER!?"

"I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT!" Kaneki said too.

"Then which one do you want? Kill her who's ultimately helpless before turning into a monster with your own hands, or get killed by a monster whom no longer will recognize you? Which is it?"

"K-KUH-!" Shiki wanted to give a harsh comeback what Kanou said was right. "THEN WHAT IS LOUIS DOING STANDING THERE DOING NOTHING!?"

"This will be a major test for you two as well. I want him to stand aside and interfere only when things get beyond control." Kanou explained, "Please hurry up and make up your decision."

Kaneki was angry. For the doctor, killing Nami would be a major test for him and Shiki. The doctor felt nothing. No sympathy whatsoever. The two of them had to kill their own friend, the one who had suffered together with the, who was beyond salvation, and that would be a part of a test. In the first place they didn't come here on their own will. But Kanou had to make that burden doubled by this.

Kaneki hated himself for being powerless to retaliate.

"…Shiki-kun." He called out to his one and only friend left in this facility. "We have to do this. I won't let anyone else in this place kill her. Not Kanou-san, not Louis-san either. We will save Nami… before she completely transforms."

"…Shit…!" Shiki bit his bottom lip angrily and balled up his fist. He hated everything right at this moment. Not being able to save a friend, and not being able to retaliate against that doctor and escaping from that place either. His will was resolved. Kaneki was right. They had to do this. "Let's go… Kaneki." He said as his left eye turned red and he released his kagune.

"Yeah." Kaneki released his kagune as well and they were ready to attack. He took a quick glance towards Louis, still no sign of moving an inch. They really had to do this alone after all. "We're sorry… Nami." He spoke, praying that the girl would forgive them both.

Sounds of panting, drips of sweats mixed with blood, two remorseful boys, and a girl that was lying on the floor with blood oozing from under her small body, were the things that Kanou could see from his place. His cold eyes had been looking down at the whole fight that resulted in him smiling.

The boys succeeded in killing the monster.

Or at least that's what he thought.

"Huh?" His grey eyes focused on the slight movement coming from Nami. It seemed like the girl was still alive.

"Nami!" Shiki shouted. He poured every feelings and hope he had in his voice just trying to call his friend back. He still wanted to believe that he had a chance no matter how small it was. His released kagune were starting to go unwilling, hoping that Nami still could see his intention of bringing her back. Only if she could hear him.

"Nami…!" Kaneki did the same. They both deliberately did it. They didn't want to finish her off just yet. They still wanted to try despite what Kanou said about it being impossible. Could Nami still see them behind her clouded eyes?

"..Aah… Akh…" Her voice barely spoken. That monstrous sound overlaying her feminine voice, telling the people in vicinity that she wasn't herself. Her petite body moving up and down, breathing heavily over the loss of blood. From her eyes, she could witness what she did to her friends. Their clothes were torn, their skin painted with blood and scratches. All because of her. She knew she didn't have much time. Knowing that she did hurt her friends without her control made her despised herself more.

"Kill… me…" She barely spoke.

"Nami!?" Shouted the two. They definitely heard her!

Just when both Shiki and Kaneki wanted to get closer, Nami's limped kagune suddenly raised up and attack the floor near their feet.

"N-nami!"

"Please… kill me…" Said Nami weakly. It was hard for her to speak with blood oozing from her wounds. Even though her recovery ability was still there, the wounds were just too many for her to handle. It would take at least a day for her to fully recover. She was barely hanging on. "I… don't want… to hurt you guys…" She begged with her face was dejected.

"N-nami… no…!" Before he realized it, Shiki could feel a warm tear falling out from his eye. He didn't want to kill her. He said he would do it, but with Nami saying all this made him lose his desire to save her.

"Can't you fight it, Nami!? Please!" Kaneki added. He sounded as desperate as his friend and it made him crying as well.

"I… can't… it's… eating my… consciousness… They're moving… on their… own…" Nami answered bitterly, "Just… kill me…" She begged again. Tears formed in her eyes, knowing that she couldn't be helped. But all she wanted to just die by the hands of her friends rather than the people who made her become like this.

"SHIIIIIIT!" With all his might, Shiki ran as fast as he can to get closer towards Nami. The tentacles were moving on their own, protecting the body of a girl that had given birth to them, trying their best to kill anyone dared to destroy them. They were protecting Nami. Without her heart beating, they'd die alongside her.

"SHIKI-KUN!" Kaneki called out to his running friend. He wanted to move. He wanted to chase him. But for some reason, he was frozen in his place. He could only watch, watching Shiki ending the girl's life. It then became one of Kaneki's worst unforgettable memories.

Her body didn't move. It didn't breath. Any signs of life were lifted away the moment Shiki's kagune stabbed through her heart. All was silence but the boys' cries.

During their remorse, Louis was standing still in the sideline. He watched them silently. His quinque was already put away during their heated battle. His green eyes looked towards the dead girl whom couldn't be saved, then towards the master behind all this. Kanou was smiling as he instructed the men behind him to go down there. It was time for a clean-up.

Two men in mask and white garment appeared from a lift which was available for the ones upstairs to go down quickly. The iron barrier from outside its door lifted up, allowing them to walk outside. The barrier's purpose was to protect the lift from any forces coming from the kids' daily sparring. They were carrying a simple stretcher to carry Nami's lifeless body. Shiki was still standing near her. His trembling body refused to move even as the staffs were getting closer.

"Subject 1, we need you to move back." Said one of those masked men.

The boy didn't answer. His teary eyes looked up, fiercely glaring up at the one who dared to order him. Instantly the man felt fear. He was getting nervous. He was afraid of that kid.

The kid that was younger and glaring at him.

The kid who was a half-ghoul.

Immediately he stepped back and looked away. He decided to just focus on picking up the body behind his feet and quickly finished his job. He knew fully well that even though Shiki was just a kid, he was still capable of killing him in an instant.

"Tsk." The man looked away, decided to ignore him. He squatted down to turn her body to face up, then he picked her up, carefully, onto the stretcher.

Shiki quietly watched. He was checking how these man treated his friend. If they dared to treat her unpleasantly, he wouldn't waste his time not kicking that man who spoke to him hard into the white concrete wall.

Kaneki stood far behind him. He was only watching the men in charge carrying her limp body. Once they had safely put her on top of the stretcher, Kaneki watched them walked away from that place into the lift. They were bringing her upstairs.

"Where are you taking her?" Kaneki asked them.

They didn't answer.

"Where are you taking her!?" Shiki asked again. This time with anger, knowing that question left unanswered.

"We will analyze her body. We will need to check on our mistake." Louis answered, finally raising his cold voice. He had stayed silent the whole time.

"NAMI IS NOT A MISTAKE!" Kaneki shouted. It angered him, the word "mistake". Nami wasn't a mistake. Name was a friend. Her positivity and strength wasn't a mistake.

"That's it…" Shiki gritted his teeth. He began to walk closer towards Louis, his kagune stretched out behind his hip. He didn't care. He was gonna kick that arrogant guy's ass. He wasn't thinking about their difference in strength. He was only thinking of getting Louis on his knees. And the same went for Kaneki too. He was angry and starting to have enough. He had enough of being ordered around. "We're going to kick your fucking ass!"

The green eyed man only sigh. He equipped his quinque and his bored eyes bored towards the two young boys.

"Fools." He said as the last word they remembered before falling unconscious.

After what happened to Nami, Shiki and Kaneki were discharged from their training session. They had been staying inside their room. Kaneki was scribbling on his notebook, Shiki played with his tennis ball by throwing it on the glass and catches is after it bounced back. Yes, a tennis ball. He wanted one and his wish was granted by Kanou. The doctor was being generous as well by giving one for Kaneki too, even though Kaneki didn't ask for it. But the boy still appreciated it. Every object that serves as his entertainment would do well for his mental health. It had been 2 days since what happened to Nami. That day was the going to be the pinnacle. Would they survive? Would they make it? Both of the boys couldn't sleep at night. They had been feeling anxious about the outcome. Would their fate be the same as Nami? Or would only one of them survive and they would have to kill each other again? Both of them didn't talk about it. They were too scared to touch the subject. They had decided to just accept whatever the outcome was going to be.

10:00 PM

Two hours until the end of the day. Both Shiki and Kaneki were still okay. They both leaned down toward the glass that separated them, waiting. Just waiting. Kaneki's heart was racing. He was beyond nervous. He knew he hadn't experienced any anomalies in his body. His head wasn't hurting at all. He had been okay for the whole day. But what if it was just a fluke? What if the symptoms kicked in by the last minutes? Poor boy just couldn't control his anxiety, and the same goes for the boy who sat behind him beyond the glass.

"Kaneki." Shiki called out.

"Yeah…?" Kaneki answered. There was a subtle hint of his voice wavering.

"…We will be okay, right?"

"…I can't tell… It's not twelve yet…"

"Come on… You're smart. Of course you can tell…."

"I'm not the doctor, Shiki-kun…"

"Shut up… All those notes that you've been taking should be able to tell our fate by now."

"We can never be too sure, Shiki-kun… I'm really nervous right now…"

"You think I'm not? Dammit why does the time feel so slow…"

11:30

"All subjects please go to the test room."

"F-finally!" Kaneki couldn't help but say that out loud. He really wanted to get out of that room. It had been suffocating. He walked outside together with Shiki. They were looking at each other before they stepped down towards the stairs.

"Are you okay?" Shiki asked as he gulped. He was worried.

"Y-yeah. I think so. You?"

"So far I don't experience any headache…"

"Same as you…"

"…"

"…"

"Let's go, Kaneki."

"Mm." The raven haired nodded.

As soon as the two subjects stepped inside the test room, they were greeted with a warm welcome.

"Good evening, Shiki-kun, Kaneki-kun!"

"G-good evening…" Kaneki answered out of habit.

"Idiot, don't answer him! He'll think we're starting to like it here, dammit." Shiki reproached as he lightly elbowed his friend.

"S-sorry!"

Kanou chuckled from inside his safe observation room. Those two kids were hilarious. For a lot of reason, Kanou was feeling happy. It was the last day. Both of his precious subjects hadn't shown any complications so far. He didn't even expect two. He thought it was too much. But they had exceeded his expectation. For that, he was delightful for tonight.

"I have a good news for you two." Said Kanou with his mouth smiling wide. "You have 97,5% chance to survive. You both might become our very first successful subjects after 16 painful years!"

"F-for real!?" Shiki and Kaneki couldn't hide their excitement. At that moment they felt free, as if that heavy feeling inside their heart had finally lifted away.

"Hopefully so. The chance is very high, I doubt you'll fail. Let us wait patiently here. After the time passes twelve, I declare you two as safe." Kanou smiled. "Best of luck."

"We'll have to wait for half an hour huh…" Shiki mumbled. "Oi, doc. Can I train? With Kaneki too." He called out as he looked up, "Rather than doing nothing it's better to move some muscles instead."

"I didn't say I wanna train…" Kaneki muttered. He didn't really mean it though. It was better to move around than to just standing nervously.

"Good idea." Doctor Kanou said. With just a brief glance, he signaled the boys' tutor behind him to do his work. The green eyed man bowed and walked outside. He entered the lift that led to the white room below, his quinque suitcase in his right hand.

As soon as Louis stepped in, Kaneki and Shiki released their red glowing kagune. Their left eye changed, taking battle stance, they were ready. With determined mind and hope to survive, they began their training that possibly could be their last.

"Congratulations!"

"Huh-Whoa!" Surprised by Kanou's voice, Kaneki almost had his leg shot if only he didn't dodge by the last seconds. After he landed, he relaxed his body knowing that the practice was halt. His dripping sweat fell to the floor. He used the hem of his white shirt to wipe the sweat off his small face. The kagune behind his hip retracted back inside as his kakugan reverted back to normal.

"What?" Shiki asked in disbelief.

"I said, congratulations!" Kanou exclaimed happily. His usually calm voice was higher than usual, didn't bother to hide his excitement and happiness. "Subject one, subject two, you both passed! You both are the first ones who've made it this far! You have no idea how blessed you are right now! If you can hear us from down there, everyone's cheering for you!"

Kaneki widened his eyes. His mouth gaped, speechless, but a smile slowly formed. He felt free. He felt safe. He was too focused on sparing that he had almost forgotten about surviving by the last minute. That burden had finally lifted off his chest. He didn't want to admit it but somehow Kaneki felt proud. After all, he survived as the very first subject of this whole experiment. He was happy that he wasn't alone. Together with Shiki they made it. Uncontrollably his mind tracked back to Nami. He wished that girl could be there with them, celebrating the moment.

"WE MADE IT, KANEKI!" Shiki yelled aloud as he ran towards his friend. The spiky haired boy gave Kaneki a tight hug, his very first ever hug. He was that happy. "WE MADE IT!"

"Y-Yeah!" Kaneki was a little bit baffled at first, unused of getting warm touchy treatment. Hide had always been the one who dared to act like this. In his absence, Kaneki glad he could find another friend. He hoped one day Kaneki could introduce Shiki to Hide. Behind that wish lies his desire to get out of that facility.

Shiki let go of his brief tight hug. His innocent smile was still plastered on his face, looking up to the observation room.

"What's next!? When are you going to let us go too!?"

Kanou chuckled, "Hold your horses, my boy. You've only passed phase two… It's time for the third phase." The old doctor smiled widely, "It is time to finally get serious."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I AM BACK AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR OF HIATUS. GODDAMN I'M DEEPLY SORRY!

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF YOU WHO STILL FOLLOW THIS STORY DESPITE ITS CONTINUATION STATUS HANGING. I'VE BEEN BUSY AND LAZY AND WONDERING IF I EVER WILL CONTINUE THIS AGAIN BUT THANKS TO ALL OF THOSE REVIEWS COMING ASKING ME TO PLEASE CONTINUE THE STORY, I PUSHED MYSELF TO WRITE AGAIN. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I WILL TRY TO WRITE MORE AND FINISH THIS STORY. I'M STILL FOLLOWING TOKYO GHOUL AS WELL! POOR KANEKI! D: