Author's Note: Here's the final part of the main story. The epilogue will be up soon. Also, please don't hate me.

"I've seen him before. That's—that's Kaneki! The one who knew so much about ghouls."

There was a beat of silence as Akira and Amon digested his words. Hide was even silent, frowning at the screen as he tried to process what he had just said. His words had been impulsive, tumbling out of his mouth on their own volition.

Probably so someone else could see how weird this is.

But what did it mean? Hide sure as hell didn't know.

If I could see Kaneki…and he's a ghoul, does that mean I can see ghouls then? If that were the case, he could have been doing so much more than scribbling down notes. How come I never noticed ghoul marks then? Is it a one-thing-or-another kind of deal?

With a darting hand, Akira lunged forward and yanked the back of Hide's shirt free from his pants. He squawked in panic, reflexively dropping his hands to his waistband to keep the shirt in place.

"Hey! What are you-?"

The officer poked his head into the room, noticed Akira's fistful of shirt and Hide's blush, and promptly shut the door.

Akira paid no attention to the officer's hasty retreat. Instead, she continued to grapple against Hide's grip, successfully exposing his lower back. She cursed under her breath and Hide fell still, no longer struggling against such a humiliating position.

"What is it?"

Hide tried to twist around and see what she was looking at, but it was too difficult. He settled for a shiver and a huff.

"What is it?"

"I was right." Her voice held no satisfaction, only a hollow dryness. "It's a ghoul mark." She dropped her grip on Hide's shirt and stepped back. He quickly smoothed the rumpled fabric across his back, but left it untucked and loose. He had bigger problems than some cosmetic untidiness.

"What kind of mark was it?" Amon asked.

"A wilted one. It looked identical to the stains on the serial killer victims."

Hide blinked. That's not good. Does that make me a target?

Amon kept his arms crossed and his gaze on Hide. "The ghoul on the tape—"

"Kaneki?"

"Yes. You said he was the one you saw at the crime scene? That witness that no one else saw?"

Hide nodded and then frowned. He sensed what Amon was implying, that Hide only started seeing ghouls after he ran into Kaneki.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything. I could have seen other ghouls before and just not noticed. They look pretty similar to us, you know. Err, at least when they aren't glowing and sucking the life out of people."

"It's suspicious that he was at the crime scene. And why would he run when he noticed you watching?"

"He—he wasn't there long. Kaneki said he was late for work." As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Hide realized how pathetic they sounded.

Work? He thought back to Kaneki's panicked excuse and his career confession. What kind of writer has such strict schedules?

Wait a second—how could he even be an author anyway? Do they have ghoul book clubs or something? Can't imagine many lively discussions.

He shook his head to clear the distracting thoughts. He needed to focus.

"Nagachika-kun," Amon started, eyeing Hide with an impassive expression, "I think you need to stay away from this ghoul. He might be the one who instigated the serial killer."

Hide absorbed the words slowly, but he was struggling to comprehend them.

I asked him if he was the serial killer. He told me he wasn't. It was foolish to continue to believe Kaneki's words wholeheartedly, especially after what they had discovered, but there was something earnest in Kaneki's response.

He rubbed his chin, brow furrowing as he concentrated.

If he were the ghoul who marked me, then why would he keep talking to me? He would have had plenty of opportunities to kill me at the bench. He swallowed, realizing just how close he had been to death. He supposed he should have been more cautious, but it was too late now.

That's what happens when you approach strangers on a park bench. They turn out to be soul-eating monsters.

He reconsidered his words, feeling guilty for even thinking such harsh comments.

But he wasn't some evil monster. He wasn't really that bad at all. He tried to offer advice about how to catch the serial killer.

Hide gasped, gaze jumping from Akira to Amon. They had been discussing matters with low voices, using the same frustrating technique his parents used when he was younger and kept out of the loop.

"That's it! That's how we catch the killer!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Kaneki said that the killer comes after the target after a couple of days." Hide kept his tone light and breezy. It was easier than acknowledging that he was the target.

"Are you sure that you can trust him?"

Hide waved his hand, as if trying to brush off Amon's suspicions. They hadn't met Kaneki; it was only natural for them to be distrustful. He wouldn't mention it out loud for risk of being called naïve, but he did pride himself on his ability to judge characters. Kaneki was a bit strange, definitely. Downright jumpy too. But evil? Hide would never believe it.

"That part doesn't matter. What he said was true though. Now that we know I'm a target, the killer is going to come after me. That means we can catch him when he tries. Easy peasy."

Akira's expression suggested she thought it was anything but "easy peasy". Amon, likewise, was not pleased.

"I don't like it."

"I don't either." Akira's pursed lips slackened into a frown. "But I don't think we have any other options. If the ghoul is right, the killer will be coming for Nagachika-kun soon."

"Ri-ight," Hide nodded, content that they were finally seeing the logic behind his plan. There was no point in wasting his potential as a decoy, especially if he would be at risk anyway.

He tossed a glance over his shoulder at the computer, Kaneki's profile still jittering and buzzing on the screen. The way he had nervously skirted around fascinating details, always one step above Akira and the other "ghoul professionals" with his knowledge, should have set off alarms in Hide's head. Now that his secret was out, perhaps Kaneki could share more information without worrying about his cover.

Maybe this whole thing will work out to our advantage. We could learn things about ghouls that the current investigators don't know yet.

Hopefully Kaneki would be at the bench already waiting. As soon as he had a chance, he would slip away from Akira and Amon—

"Which brings us to the next part of the plan."

"Huh?" Hide blinked. Akira and Amon had been talking between themselves again.

"You're going to be supervised at all times until the killer is caught."

"Eh?"

No good. They won't let me see him again.

Amon nodded at Akira. "We'll stay at Akira-san's apartment for the first night."

What?! He opened his mouth to object, because really. This was all a bit ridiculous. However, Akira's glare caused him to promptly shut his mouth.

"We aren't taking any chances. End of discussion."

SSS Squad sleepover at Akira's? Somehow, the idea didn't seem as fun as it had before this ghoul mark mess.

He couldn't remember a time when he had felt this anxious.

(That was a lie. Each time he saw Hide, he felt his stomach twist and tangle.)

Still, this wasn't a friendly, pleasant nervousness, like butterfly kisses along his esophagus. This was a writhing fear that swelled with the cold and the darkness when the sun dropped from the sky. Several hours had passed from when Hide was supposed to arrive. Although their meetings on the bench had been informal and slightly due to luck, Hide didn't strike Kaneki as the kind of person who would leave him waiting.

The last family left the playground. The screams of an unhappy six-year-old being carried home disrupted Kaneki's thoughts. He glanced around, utterly alone in the park.

Where is he?

Each passing moment only made the scenarios in his head darker. What if Hide had been injured and was struggling to breathe in the hospital? Or the human killer had stolen him away from Kaneki? Perhaps even worse, what if Hide had discovered that Kaneki was a ghoul and blamed him for his inescapable death?

He heard light footsteps behind him and spun around, eager to catch Hide before he tried to startle him. Instead, he saw Hinami, tight-lipped with eyes lowered.

Kaneki felt the smile on his own lips slacken. He couldn't understand the reaction. He cared for Hinami-chan dearly, so why was he suddenly disappointed?

"Hello Onii-chan." Hinami sounded sad as well. Had she noticed his less-than-enthusiastic response?

He poured an excessive amount of warmth into his words and smile to counteract the chill in the air and the cool numbness in his gut.

"Hello, Hinami-chan! What brings you here?" He slid over on the bench, nodding towards the spot where Hide was supposed to sit.

She smiled weakly before sitting. "Onee-chan says you sometimes wait here for your friend."

Friend? He still couldn't wrap his mind around the term. It seemed so human.

"Mmmhmm. Hide sometimes comes here."

"What's he like?"

It was a tough question. They had only known each other for a few days.

(At least, if Kaneki didn't count the time he spent watching Hide and the other investigators, back when everything was blurry and impersonal and safe. But he didn't consider that the real Hide. Not really.)

"He's very cheerful and friendly. He also knows a lot of funny stories, but sometimes he forgets that they have embarrassing endings until after he's already told them. Or maybe he tells them anyway to make people laugh." Kaneki felt the corners of his lips rise, drifting back to their first conversation. Kaneki had been a complete stranger—even worse, a potential serial killer suspect with a flimsy excuse—but Hide didn't seem to care.

Hinami mirrored Kaneki's smile, though the expression seemed a bit melancholic. "Onee-chan said he's a human."

Kaneki nodded.

"And that he's marked. That's why he could see you."

"Yes, that's all…true."

Hinami's nose wrinkled, drawing her face into a shriveled pucker. Kaneki frowned at the unnatural expression.

"Hinami-chan, are you all ri—"

"I'm sorry, Onii-chan!" A tiny sob escaped from Hinami's mouth and tears welled up in her eyes. Kaneki was momentarily taken aback. He hadn't known ghouls could cry. There had been moments where he was frustrated or lonely, certainly. But he had never known other ghouls to cry, even on particularly bad days.

She threw herself against Kaneki's side, jarring him with the rough action. He tentatively returned the hug, bemused.

"What's the matter, Hinami-chan?" He was starting to grow worried. She had always been such a happy girl, despite the loneliness and the strain from their duties. He wondered what could have made her so upset.

She pulled away, gaze downcast. "I was trying to make things better. She said everything would go back to the way it was."

"What? What happened?"

"You—you kept staring at the ghoul investigators. You would get so quiet when they were around. I thought—I thought you were scared of them."

Kaneki frowned. To an outside observer, he supposed he did act strangely. But it hadn't been fear. He tried to study the humans, to break through the blurred curtain that divided them and get a brief reminder of what humanity was like. Latching on to the ghoul investigators had been a sadistic twist of fate.

"I heard so many stories about the humans who tried to destroy us. I thought they would take you away too. I asked her if she could help—find a way to make sure the humans would never take you away."

Kaneki felt the evening chill seep deeper into his skin. "Who did you ask for help?"

"Rize-san," Hinami answered with a weak hiccup. "She told me she would fix it. That the human investigators wouldn't hurt us and that you'd be safe."

He could feel his chest grow tight again. "What did Rize do?"

Another soft sob broke from Hinami. "I don't know! She just kept saying that she would take care of everything She said we wouldn't have to worry about the humans anymore. And then Onii-chan was so happy and I thought everything was better but now Onii-chan is sad again because his friend is going to die."

Kaneki closed his eyes and pulled Hinami back into another tight hug. She trembled against his chest before falling still.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, Hinami-chan. It was an accident. You didn't mean for this to happen."

It had been Rize all along. Rize with her sharp laugh and sharp teeth and sharp gaze as it followed Hide out of the coffee shop. She must have been the ghoul instigating the other deaths, reaping humans before their time in such cruel ways.

And now Hide was her next victim. All because Kaneki had stared too long and tried to catch a glimpse of what it was to be human again.

"It's not your fault. It's not your fault." He kept repeating the phrase, unsure of who he was trying to console.

He supposed he wouldn't have met Hide if he hadn't been marked. After all, their bond didn't begin to develop until Hide tracked him down, convinced he was the missing witness in a serial killer case.

(In a twisted revelation, he realized he might be grateful for Hinami's fatal mistake that brought him closer to Hide. It was a disgusting and cruel thought and he hated himself for thinking it.)

Hinami pulled away from the embrace, her eyes bright and hopeful. "We can make it better though, can't we? We can stop your friend from dying?"

Kaneki swallowed, unable to answer. The Reaper's words buzzed in his mind. It was impossible for humans to be saved once they were marked. At least, not unless he wanted to defy fate.

(Seeing as how Rize had already disrupted fate once by marking Hide before his time, he wasn't sure how anything else could help. Two wrongs couldn't make things right again.)

"I'm not sure we can, Hinami-chan. I think… I think this is it."

Hinami shook her head, nearly dislodging her headband with the force of her conviction. "No! Didn't Onee-chan ever tell you the stories about Doves?"

Doves again? That's what the Reaper said too. He acted as if they didn't exist though. And Touka never struck me as being one for silly fairy tales.

However, he wouldn't say that to Hinami. Instead, he shook his head, waiting for her to go on.

"Mmmhmm! Onee-chan said they can erase the marks left by ghouls. If we can find a Dove and ask them nicely, then they can save your friend!"

It sounded nice in theory. Hide would be safe and the Dove could put an end to Rize's reign of terror. Once unmarked, however, Hide could never see Kaneki again. Everything really would go back to the way it was before, but Kaneki would be achingly alone with Hide lost among the living.

Stop being so damn selfish. Hide would be alive. That's more than enough.

"That sounds great, Hinami-chan. Maybe we can look for the Dove tomorrow. I'm sure someone as sweet as you could persuade that silly old Dove in no time." His voice seemed hollow to his own ears, but she giggled nonetheless.

It all sounded nice, but Kaneki knew it was impossible. Hide was going to die and there was no way to stop it. There was simply no escape from tragedy.

If Hide didn't know any better, he would have thought Amon and Akira were getting some perverse pleasure from his mandated house arrest. Each time he would come up with an airtight excuse to leave the apartment, Akira or Amon would counter with an equally valid though no less frustrating point. They would even team up, alternating between the snarky mother role and the gruff father role.

After a while, his pleas to leave were growing more ridiculous and his captors' responses were growing more succinct. Eventually, Amon just settled for a narrowed side-eyed look that shut Hide up with an exasperated groan.

Hide perked up when it was time for the evening meal. He even presented a flawlessly argued case on why he should accompany Amon to the store.

("I really should get some exercise. I can't outrun a serial killer if I'm all weak and flabby. What if they corner me in some alleyway?")

However, it was all in vain. While Amon ran out to pick up ingredients, Akira had moved into the kitchen to start the prep work. After getting a third-degree glare from Akira's beloved cat, Hide moved into the kitchen.

"I think your cat hates me," he sighed, leaning against the wall.

"Really?" Akira peeked around Hide to catch a glimpse of her cat. Maris Stella began to purr upon noticing Akira's fond smile. "I doubt it."

He glanced over his shoulder and the cat immediately stopped purring.

Figures. Always been more of a rabbit person myself.

Hide shrugged and turned back to watch Akira's progress. She eyed each prospective cut for a moment before slicing through the stalky vegetables with a deadly precision. She seemed so comfortable, so at ease. He wondered if she felt any apprehension about the newest development in their case.

Chop. Chop. Chop.

"Are you worried?"

"Hmm? About Maris Stella not liking you? Why should I be?" She didn't look up.

Chop. Chop. Chop.

"No, about the ghouls and the serial killers. About me."

She frowned and set her knife down. He squirmed, regretting his decision to draw attention to himself. Those focused eyes were now on him.

"There's a lot about ghouls that we don't know yet. We may never know. Even the ghouls may not know everything. Who's to say what will happen after we apprehend the human killer?"

"So that's your fancy way of saying you have no clue what's going on?"

Akira smiled faintly and nodded. "I thought about being blunt, but then decided you might appreciate some platitudes."

Hide whistled, low and lilting. "Wow. I must be dying if you're trying to cheer me up like that."

There was a brief pause. Akira resumed her slicing, but at the slower tempo. She was waiting for Hide to speak again.

"Do you think we'll ever learn everything about ghouls?"

Akira shook her head, setting the knife aside again. "No. I think it would be impossible. The only way to communicate with them is through being marked." She eyed him wordlessly. Hide understood the implication, how costly such a risk for information could be. "And there's no guarantee that they would be truthful. We're just a food source for them. Why tell us secrets that could jeopardize that?"

But Kaneki did tell me things. He also didn't treat me like I was some kind of steak. However, mentioning Kaneki only made Akira's mood worsen, so he refrained from bringing up his friend again.

"Then how do we know what we already know? Like, how do you know about ghoul marks? What made them so special that entire teams were formed around tracking and identifying them?"

"Other than the fact that only a select few people can see them?"

Hide shrugged with a surrendering grin and a bob of the head. "Fair point. What I'm getting at really is how did we learn about these things in the first place?"

Akira's gaze drifted towards the pot of boiling water on the stove. "My parents were killed by ghouls. I was eight at the time."

Hide remained silent. Akira had shared moments from her past over the last two years, but the tone of her voice seemed different this time. More wistful.

"I was supposed to die as well. I could see it in his eyes. But before the ghoul could mark me, an SS team found me. It was just a spotter and a striker." Hide nodded. His role as a scribe hadn't been added until later when law enforcement agencies had become irritated with limited cooperation. "They drove the ghoul away and brought me to Arima."

'Who?"

"Arima Kishou."

Hide's brow wrinkled. "Uh, again. Who?"

Akira shook her head with a smile, the nostalgia tinged with an exasperated fondness. "You've spent all this time not knowing who's been signing your paychecks?"

Hide blinked, stunned. He appreciated the money and the job, certainly, but he never stopped to ask about his employer. Sure, he must have wondered about it when he first started, but he hadn't been close enough to Akira or Amon to ask. After the first six paychecks cleared without a hitch, Hide's curiosity regarding a mysterious, faceless employer faded in favor of his new passion: ghouls.

"Uhm, not really I guess?" He grinned and scratched at his cheek. "I just figured it was some sort of commission that paid for us to investigate. I didn't know there was an actual boss."

Akira slid the chopped vegetables into the water. "There might be a larger organization, but Arima is the one who explained everything to me. He taught me about ghoul marks, what they meant, and assigned Amon as my partner."

He nodded slowly, digesting the words. He had never met the man, but now he wished he had been more curious about the world outside of his tiny team. Perhaps Arima could have offered advice on what to do.

Hide opened his mouth, but the sound of keys in the lock diverted his attention. He hoisted an eyebrow at Akira as Amon entered the apartment.

Amon has keys to your apartment? How interesting.

She gave him a stern look before turning back to the vegetables. He grinned, wracking his brain for a witty dig to make up for his forced house arrest. However, the quip died on his lips at the sight of an uninvited guest slipping through the door behind Amon. He drifted towards the corner, skirting around a suddenly irate Maris Stella, and noticed Hide with wide eyes and a backward step.

Hide swallowed. He tried to focus on the story Amon was telling, but his gaze kept drifting towards Kaneki.

"Nagachika-kun? Could you help me with this?"

He jumped and forced a smile. "Oh, right. Coming!"

He tossed another look over his shoulder, but Kaneki was still in the same spot with the same expression. No one had set a portion aside for him. Apart from Hide, no one had noticed him.

If I didn't know already, I sure would now.

Focusing on Akira's and Amon's words while knowing that Kaneki was behind him made dinner interesting, to say the least. Hide suppressed the urge to keep looking back over his shoulder. He knew doing so would attract unwanted attention from his teammates.

He glanced at Akira, lips pursed as she stabbed at her food. Her headaches must have been rampant for the last couple of days.

"Hey! I'll clean up tonight! It's the least I can do." He grinned and stood up fast enough to knock the chair back.

Akira smiled thinly as she passed Hide her plate. She thanked him and excused herself from the table, offhandedly mentioning that she needed to get some rest.

Amon disappeared soon after, but not before fetching a set of spare sheets from one of the many cabinets lining Akira's hallway and handing them to Hide.

("Come here often?" Hide had remarked, noting how Amon immediately knew where to go. Amon shot him an unamused look but offered no clues as he left.)

Hide's smile remained on his lips as he smoothed the sheets down on Akira's sofa. Their little sleepover had been more enlightening that he had anticipated. When he forgot about the whole hiding-from-a-serial-killer bit, it was rather nice. A shift of movement caught his eye and he turned.

"Oh, so now you wanna keep me company, you little furba—" Hide broke off.

Kaneki. Oh right.

Hide tossed the extra sheets aside and strode towards Kaneki. Kaneki took a hesitant step back, almost if Hide intimidated him.

Something's definitely off if a ghoul is afraid of a 50-something-kilogram human.

"What are you doing here?" Hide kept his voice low, just in case Amon was nearby.

Kaneki's gaze darted around the room, but he avoided Hide's stare. He opened his mouth, possibly to explain or apologize, but nothing came out.

"You would have freaked me out if I hadn't already figured out you're a ghoul."

Kaneki looked up, finally meeting Hide's eyes. Hide softened and offered Kaneki a smile, hoping his friend would relax. He hadn't meant to come off so abrupt, but seeing Kaneki had startled him and he didn't want to think about what would happen if Amon or Akira discovered them.

"You knew already?"

Hide hoisted a brow. "I probably wouldn't be this calm if I hadn't already known." Granted, they wouldn't even have known he was marked if he hadn't seen Kaneki on that footage. He would be tucked away in his own apartment, none the wiser.

"You materialized on some security footage during a feeding." Kaneki winced, but nodded. "When I pointed it out to my team, Akira figured out I was marked." He subconsciously brushed his knuckles across the small of his back.

"Oh."

"Yep."

They fell silent again and Hide gently reminded Kaneki that he hadn't told him why he had followed Amon.

"Uh, I—I was... You didn't show up at the park bench."

Hide's grin widened. "Aww, so you were worried about me too? That's sweet, Kaneki."

Could ghouls blush? If Hide didn't know any better, he could have sworn Kaneki's face had taken on a reddish hue. Or maybe it was because he had strayed too close to the digital clock.

"I found out important information about your serial killer case. When you didn't show up, I planned to follow one of your coworkers until I figure out where you worked. I…I didn't expect to see you so, uh, soon. If I had known, I wouldn't have—I didn't want to scare you." His gaze drifted away from Hide's face as he trailed off.

Hide dismissed Kaneki's confession with a wave of a hand and crinkled eyes. "The park bench was my fault. I fully intended to meet you there. When Akira and Amon found out I was marked, they refused to let me out of their sight. I tried to sneak away, but Akira is relentless."

He paused, reviewing their first conversation.

(You aren't the serial killer, are you? Because that would be really bad.)

(Kaneki's sputtered denial and the shock in his eyes when Hide playfully accused him of being a murder.)

"You weren't the one who marked me, were you?"

You aren't the serial killer, are you?

"No, I wasn't, but—"

Hide silenced his objection with a firm slash of the hand. "If you didn't mark me, then it's fine. It doesn't matter at this point anyway."

"It's not fine though!" Kaneki leaned forward, finally breaking free from his meekness. "You're in danger, Hide! You shouldn't take this so lightly!"

Despite the harsh reminder of his looming fate, Hide had to smile. The Kaneki on the bench was back, the one who chastised Hide for his carelessness while concealing upturned lips behind a hand. The Kaneki that worried and fretted as much as he laughed.

"Nagachika-kun?" Amon peeked around the corner, hair damp and exposed skin red. "Were you talking to someone?"

Hide laughed, unworried, while Kaneki stiffened reflexively. "Just talking to Maris Stella! I think she's finally coming around."

He looked from the gently snoring cat to Hide. "You should get some sleep."

"Will do, Amon-san." Hide offered a messy salute before crossing to his makeshift bed and dropping onto it. "Going to bed now."

Amon paused, perhaps considering his next words, before shaking his head with a faint smile. He offered another grunted goodbye before disappearing. Hide could hear the wet, slippery sounds of his footprints fading down the hallway.

Kaneki followed him to the couch, crossing his arms as he stared down at Hide.

"You should rest."

Hide stretched his arms above his head, wriggling with a content sigh as he shifted into a more comfortable position. "So now I have three people fussing over me? How did I get so lucky?"

He hesitated before reaching over and twisting the switch on the nearest lamp. Darkness flooded the room.

"Besides, I don't feel like sleeping away the time I have left. However long that is."

"Hide—"

His eyes were adjusting well to the darkness. He could pick out the rough spackling along Akira's ceiling and the shriveled silhouette of a forgotten houseplant. He rolled his head to the side and studied Kaneki. There was a faint glow about him, illuminating his solemn from.

"Wow. That got dark real fast, huh? My bad." He kept his voice light. "But, in all truthfulness, I'm not used to going to bed this early. Mabe we can just talk till I fall asleep?"

He felt like a small child, begging his mother for a glass of water or another bedtime story. It was ridiculous and he opened his mouth to counter his own request with another self-depreciating joke.

"That would be nice," Kaneki's voice was hushed even though no one else could hear. Hide squinted, no longer able to see Kaneki where he had been standing before. He turned his head and found Kaneki sitting by his side, arm resting on the sofa, a few centimeters from Hide.

Hide felt himself relax, the stress from the day's discoveries slipping away. He knew he should be afraid. Hell, he should be angry or upset, raging against the unfairness that might be his unavoidable death. But he wasn't, instead content to just lie there next to Kaneki and listen to the muted rumble of passing cars.

"Hey, Kaneki. Did I ever finish telling you the story about the fireworks?"

Hide gave Kaneki his life, offering stories about his childhood and whispering confessions with the darkness to cover his pleased blush. He kept his own tone quiet, but he tried to provoke Kaneki into laughter with each ridiculous comment, knowing that only he could hear the sound.

Kaneki gave what he could remember, admitting his lost love for reading and his overwhelming loneliness. He told Hide about Touka-chan and Hinami-chan and how it was nice to at least have them. He told him about the Reaper, which prompted Hide to speculate about his own mysterious employer.

He even told him about Rize, the ghoul who caused this nightmare that brought them together.

"So, she's the one who instigated the serial killer then?"

"Yes."

"How does it work then? The, uh, let's call it 'remote control reaping.'"

Kaneki blinked. "Remote control reaping?" he echoed.

"Yeah, are there strings attached that lead them to the victims? Something that pulls them together? How does a ghoul convince a perfectly sane human to go off and kill other people?"

Kaneki fell silent, considering the question. He didn't have to mince words as he had before, but he still wanted to approach the subject delicately. Especially considering Hide's personal tie to the answer.

"The human killer is marked. You already know that, right?"

"Right. And the victims are also marked. Akira says the ghoul marks look identical, which makes things a whole lot easier to work with."

"To convince a human to kill, the ghoul has to offer an alternative to reaping. If the human performs some task for the ghoul, they can keep living."

"Like, follow your gut and kill this person and you can live another week. Do nothing and you'll die?"

"Yes. Just like that." Kaneki hated it and he was glad Touka was similarly opposed to the technique.

"Makes sense. They're killing to live." Hide swallowed before nodding. "Glad we don't have to mess with the legal bits tied to ghoul blackmail. We just stop 'em from murdering people."

He glanced sideways at Hide. Ghouls didn't follow the same code that humans had, but it was wrong nonetheless to reap those who still had life left to live.

"What you do is still important. It isn't fair that people should die so others could live."

A sleepy murmur of assent from Hide. His breaths slowed and deepened; Kaneki assumed he had finally fallen asleep.

"Kaneki?"

Or not.

"Hmm?"

He heard Hide shift and his hand dropped onto Kaneki's. Kaneki stiffened at the contact, feeling Hide's sweaty palm overlay his icy knuckles. He kept his eyes closed, focusing all his senses on the touch.

"Your hand is cold."

Kaneki smiled. He would argue that Hide's hand was too hot. The skin of the living tended to be warm, clammy even, but Hide's skin radiated with a different heat.

"Do all ghouls have cold skin?"

Kaneki considered this. They were creatures of death. They could still touch and feel, but the emotions themselves felt like poor carbon copies without a proper body to experience them with. Anger, but without blood to pulse. Anxiety, but without lungs to burn.

"I guess so. I've only touched Hinami-chan and Touka-chan before, but they were both cold."

"Well, that's too bad then. Here I was, thinking that this reaping thing might feel kind of pleasant. Now it looks like I'm going to get smacked by a cold fish." He laughed, an abrupt and jagged sound.

Kaneki adjusted his position to get a better look at Hide's expression. He could only make out a glassy brightness near his eyes and a darkened shadow where his lips would be.

"Hide, we don't—"

"I'm not saying this to get pity," Hide interrupted, his voice taking on a neutral, matter-of-fact tone. "I'm curious and this might be our first chance to learn more about ghouls. What does it feel like?" A pause. "I've seen a bunch of different facial expressions on the bodies. They aren't exactly consistent."

Kaneki remained silent and Hide tightened his grip on his hand.

"Come on, tell me."

He relented with a puckered frown. "I don't know what it's like for the human. There's never been a chance to ask."

"Fair enough. What's it like for you then?"

"It's different for each of us. When we reap, we don't just steal a person's strength or youth. It's more complicated than that. It's like… It's like we feed off their life—in all possible ways."

He thought about the various reactions his coworkers had. Touka treated it like a job, but there were moments when it took an emotional toll and she hated it with a passion. Conversely, he knew Rize reveled in reaping, treating each stolen second as a tasty morsel. The fear and anger were like spices to her.

And how did he feel? Like a thief, unable to feel anything himself so he had to rely on poaching emotions from others.

Kaneki glanced away, almost embarrassed by the confession. "Usually memories and emotions will come with the other bits. We can experience what the person feels and sometimes even get a sense of what their life was like. Usually, it's not pleasant."

"So, you're like a deadly vacuum cleaner? Sucking out the disgusting parts inside of people?"

He winced at the imagery. "Ye-es, I suppose so."

"But that's a good thing, right? If you're taking away those bad feelings and thoughts, then they should feel relieved, happy even."

"Or empty," Kaneki countered. Still, Hide's words caused him to consider his past cases. How many times had he pulled away from a victim, noting smooth brows and faint smiles? How they sometimes would lean deeper into his hand after the reaping had begun?

"Yes. It seems some people find peace with death," Kaneki admitted carefully. He could feel Hide's grip on his hand slacken.

"I bet it's just like falling asleep," Hide murmured softly, his breaths slowing once more.

Kaneki remained silent as night shifted into dawn, wondering what his own killer pulled from him. Was that why he still felt empty?

The man found Hide while he was alone, waiting outside Akira's apartment for his partners to emerge. He had promised to remain on the stoop like some well-trained dog for the few moments it took Akira to grab a spare file and for Amon to collect his jacket. However, when the man approached him, stained hand clutching his side, Hide broke that promise and rose from the step.

"H-help! You-you have to h-help me!" His eyes were wide, his chest heaving with suppressed sobs. "They-they're after me. They tried to ki-kill me!"

Hide held out his hands and took a cautious step towards the man. "Who's trying to kill you?"

"No one can see them except for me!"

Ghouls. He must be marked.

"Were they coming after you?"

The man shook his head. "They watch me. I can't get away!"

His teammates would be back soon. He just had to keep the man calm for a few moments more.

"Please… I can see them everywhere. The monsters with wings!"

He flicked his gaze over the man's shoulder. Kaneki was a few meters away, discussing something quietly with the female ghoul from the tape. That must be Touka, his partner.

Hide swallowed. If this man noticed Kaneki and Touka, he would flee and they would lose another potential witness. Worse, he might be caught by the serial killer and they would be back at the starting line.

"I can help you," he began, using his softest voice possible. "But first you have to take deep breaths for me. Try to calm down."

The man turned his gaze on Hide, a spark of recognition replacing the glassiness. Hide shivered, wondering if he would have been driven to such fear without the support from his team and Kaneki.

"H-he's going to kill me. H-he's going to find me."

"If you'll wait for a few more moments, my partners will come and help. Amon—he's really big and scary. I promise no one will—hey! Wait!"

The man gave a strangled yelp before leaping off the step. Hide reflexively reached out to snag his jacket, but he had already moved out of range. He disappeared around the corner, fleeing into an adjacent alleyway.

Dammit. Akira and Amon are going to kill me for this. Hide hopped off the stoop and crept towards the shadowy entrance. Kaneki and Touka had been startled by the outburst, Kaneki's head turning as he followed Hide's tiptoed progress.

Ehh, it's okay. Kaneki saw me. He knows where I'm going.

"Hello? Uh, sir? Please come out!" Hide's movements were slow and deliberate. He didn't want to startle him any more than necessary. He spotted the man, trembling in the center of the alleyway. Hide took another step forward, but froze when the man uttered another fearful squeak.

"There! Can you see it? He's going to kill me!"

Hide turned to see what the man was gesturing wildly at.

"Oh, him?" Hide relaxed when he recognized the figure standing between them and the exit. "He's a, uh, friendly ghoul. Yo, Kaneki. Can you give us a wave?"

"Hide, I thi—"

"She promised. She promised he couldn't get me. She promised. As long as I did what she told me to."

Hide froze, feeling ice flood his veins. She? His gaze snapped back to the man and he took a hasty step backwards.

"Nagachika-kun! Where are you?"

He opened his mouth—to reason or to scream, he hadn't worked out which yet—but only a soft gasp came out. Suddenly the man was centimeters from his face and he felt cold, so very cold.

Hide didn't feel the knife go in, but he felt it as it was yanked out. It hurt, but not as much as the fire in his lungs as he swallowed the scream. His heart pounded, pumping more and more blood out with each beat, staining his hands and his favorite shoes and was he really going to die—oh god he was going to die.

He stumbled a weak half-circle and caught a glimpse of Kaneki's horrorstruck expression. He tried to mouth an apology—really, was he that much of an idiot that he couldn't sense a trap—but his lips were too numb to function properly.

"Hide!"

I'm sorry, Kaneki.

Everything moved in slow motion. Kaneki's gaze shifted from Hide to the marked human. He could see the man's every feature, from his crazed eyes to his spittle-flecked lips. He didn't see the knife until it was too late.

"Hide!"

He surged forward and shoved the man against the nearest wall. He struggled weakly in Kaneki's grip, whimpering about her promises.

Kaneki didn't care.

His world burned crimson. The man's exposed gums and Hide's blood. The broiling rage in Kaneki's vision. His pulsing wings as they unfurled and shimmered with every last drop of the man's life, all his memories and fears.

Kaneki dropped the lifeless body and spun around to face Hide. He was still upright, but barely. The moment Kaneki's hand reached out to touch him, Hide collapsed, dragging Kaneki down, down, down as well.

"No, Hide... Please… Look at me…" Kaneki pulled Hide into his lap, feeling Hide's too-warm blood spill over his legs. Everything felt so real and vivid, from the gravel biting into his backside to Hide's gasping convulsions.

"H-hey…'neki…"

"Nagachika-kun!"

"No!"

Kaneki spared a glance at the two humans. Fueled by the murderer's stolen life, Kaneki was of their world now. He could see their emotions clearly, the same rage and fear that he felt.

"Get away from him!" The man moved forward, unlocking a latch on his briefcase. The woman yanked him back with a shake of the head.

"No, it's too late."

It's too late.

Kaneki dropped his gaze back to Hide. He could still feel a sluggish pulse, but Hide's breathing had slowed.

It's too late.

"Hide… Please wake up…"

It's too late.

"Please…"

A new wetness dribbled down his cheek, the foreign sensation momentarily startling him. He was… crying? Kaneki, the ghoul who stole emotions from the damned because he ached to be human, was crying?

He would have laughed at the irony, but the only person who would have understood was lying in his arms.

It wasn't fair.

Kaneki wasn't supposed to be reaped. He wasn't supposed to meet Hide. Hide wasn't supposed to die. Everything went wrong because someone tied too many knots in fate.

Kaneki sniffled, realizing there was a way to add one more knot. He could refuse to let Death take Hide. His wings were casting crimson shadows on their faces, throbbing with the same energy that tried to kill Hide. Kaneki squeezed his eyes shut and tried to channel that power.

What if he could give it back to Hide? That and everything else he had?

A pale light glowed where Kaneki's skin touched Hide. The light swelled, washing over them with a gentle warmth.

"Come back, please…." Kaneki whispered into Hide's hair.

Hide's chest stilled and his eyelids stopped fluttering.

No...no…no!

Kaneki's sobs grew louder and he pulled Hide's body closer to his chest.

It didn't work—why did he think it ever would?

There was a startled gasp from one of the humans. Kaneki looked up quickly, hope rising in his throat. Maybe they had seen something he hadn't. However, the alleyway was just dark, Hide just as still.

"Arima-san." The woman bobbed her head, brushing at her eyes with a sleeve. "How did you—?"

Kaneki's gaze settled heavily on the Reaper approaching them. Touka hovered nervously a few meters away, lips pressed and eyes downcast.

"Kaneki, what have you done?" The Reaper's words were calm, but they felt sharp enough to shred Kaneki's heart. "What did you do with that human's stolen energy?"

He glanced back at Hide's face, peaceful in death. Like he had fallen asleep, just as he wanted to.

"I tried to save him," he murmured. "I thought I could bring him back."

"And you thought you could defy fate?"

Kaneki looked up sharply. He wanted to scream back at the Reaper, demand to know why this happened in the first place, as if fate weren't fucked up enough. However, Kaneki's anger collapsed inwardly with another slump of the shoulders.

"He was a good person. It was a mistake. He shouldn't have been rea—" Kaneki broke off, eyes widening. If the Reaper was here, then that meant—

"He wasn't supposed to die! He was reaped before his time! That means he can be a ghoul, right?" He grasped at the chance, feeling hope bubble in his throat again. It was a dangerous emotion, but it beat the sorrow threatening to choke him.

He didn't know if Hide would ever want to be a ghoul, but like all selfish monsters, Kaneki refused to let go.

The Reaper's impassive gaze studied Hide. "He was marked, but he wasn't reaped. He was killed by another human."

"Oh."

"He cannot become a ghoul." Kaneki bowed his head, too exhausted to struggle against the impossible anymore.

The Reaper paused, considering Hide's pale body and Kaneki's tear-streaked face. He glanced over his shoulder at his stunned remnants of his human team with their adverted gazes and mashed lips.

"No, but there are other ways to grow wings."

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!