When his ritual of the night had assuaged him, there was no reason for the one eyed ghoul to wake, no reason to rise until the sun was up and the neighbors began walking their dog. But tonight was particularly difficult, the memories too vivid to seem a blur, the emotions too intense to fade into silence. It had become worse, the creeping aberrations, gnawing at him from the depths of death with corruption. Sometimes they were bitter sweet...other times they were condemning and cruel. And though he rarely paid them any mind, there seemed to be an urgency within, some ambiguous foreboding of which he could not account for this night.

Lying in the dark he stared blankly at the abyss, heightening other faculties, inspecting the area surrounding him, piercing through concrete and rock to hear the city beyond.-It was as plain as day. A distant yell, the scuffling of limbs, the labored pants of a being in despair. But these sounds were of benefit to the ears attuned to carnage; a symphony of impending death to drown out the orchestra in his head, something to muffle the noise into obscurity, until naught but unconsciousness remained.

But unfortunately, no peace would find him this night.

Tumultuously vicious, agony seized the relaxed muscles, a sudden migraine whipping his skull into a frenzy. In anguish, he curled up, taking refuge under the sheets, biting hard enough to chafe at the enamel of his teeth. It had seemed that the cruel lullaby was now a melody from hell, every scream the unseen human made, sending anguish through his body, grating at his mind like salt in a burning wound. The dark haired ghoul yelled in agitation, slamming his head against the headboard as he rose, stumbling towards the closet that held but a few outfits of regular clothes. He had to go out, to find the source that had ruined his night. Find the source of his pain... and silence it, forever.

When Nightmares Come, Good Things Follow

Kaneki murmured a slurred response, half crazed as the security guard inquired, worried for the pale resident now dragging himself outside. Night air, though fresh, brought no comfort to the investigator, his sluggish steps accompanied by agitated swears and threats of death. This the guard kindly ignored, his thoughts that maybe too much sake, had sent the man out for fresh air.

Unfailing in its glimmer the evening moon shown brightly, lighting the dim streets that seemed all but abandoned. Frantic steps, desperate as they pounded the pavement, wound their way through corridors of brick flanked alleys, a cadence of weakening breaths pushing out from fatigued lungs. Sweat drenched the wheat blonde locks, matting the brunette roots , seeping into the hazelnut eyes of the midnight sprinter. This would be the man known as unlucky human A, who had been stalked and on the run from a ghoul...for the last thirty minutes. Fate was not being kind this night, and hadn't been for some time, if he was honest. After all, he'd awoken homeless just two weeks past, and could no longer remember who he was. Left bereft in an abandoned morgue, he'd eventually caught the sights of an old man. He offered him work and three meals a day...but shelter was something he'd have to get on his own. Who he was and what he did, even his name had escaped all recollection.

It was hard to find clues when you were just trying to survive.

"You son of a bitch!"

Pain. Searing and hot it collided with his back, sending him to the stained walls and into the nearby dumpster. Feral, the glow of a ghoul's eyes pierced through shadow, three shades of pissed as it advanced on its prey. "I'll teach you to make a fool of me.." the ghoul hissed, releasing several membranes from behind.

...

The yell was violent, coming from a place of true agony as a single tendril pierced his side, raising him out of the filthy cocoon and into the open air, crimson streams staining the pavement, organs writhing against uncompromising pain. The man's head swam, his vision growing dark, the groans of agony accompanying cruel laughter, now hoarse and growing faint. There was nothing he could do, save for hope the end was quick. Possessing some of his mental faculties he reflected on his state; His would be a most pathetic death. No one to grieve for him, no one to search; And if this ghoul did its job right, there might not even be a piece left to show that hehad lived. Truly pathetic, he thought.

Weightlessness and his own screams ceased, his form battered as he lie on jagged asphalt, vision now red as the beast leaned in to feast on his face.

"Oi..."

The ghoul stopped short at the low and guttural sound, closing the mouth poised to tear into the human's face, turning ever slightly to glean the man who now inched towards them, leaning heavily against the wall. In dark denim and an olive green shirt, he seemed to be just an average citizen, some wayward drunk stumbling about the city in search of home. This, he didn't mind however; Now he'd have dinner and dessert.

...

No amount of words could describe the anger and confusion; the pain and aggravation, Kaneki now felt. His thoughts were a menagerie of voices, all tortuous in that they were one man's...a man he had once called friend, brother...and now... dead. Be quiet, Hide...be quiet... he whispered soothingly in his mind, unwilling to grow wroth with the one person who knew him best, knew his everything, and still called him friend.-The crimson pool slowly drying on the ground was heavenly, seeping into his nostrils, mouth watering in pleasure. He could tell that the human's blood was sweet...a sweetness that he hadn't known in awhile. Stumbling forward he tried to form the words, eventually giving voice to his previous grievance.

"You shit heads...woke me up...So I'll kindly kill you both."-No sooner the threat had been made, the ghoul was on the move, pushing off on lowered knee to careen the other's head clean off. No exchange of dialogue or heated rebuttals would follow, just the ever spouting fountain of dark blood, the fleshy thud of a headless body to the ground.

QUIET.

A deep exhale came from the ghoul still standing, the voices, the pain, all ceasing to plague him. It was strange how his body had reacted to the attack, but he was getting stronger by the day so maybe that would happen sometimes. For a brief moment, the satin red eye fell blankly on the corpse, an eventual grimace reflecting the being's unworthiness to even be eaten by him. The truth was, an even greater prize was now his, lying in the shadow of the alley, trying very hard to feign sleep. Sensing the consciousness, the man straightened, steeling himself against the urge to drink, beckoned by the blood freshly dripping from human wounds.

"You know, playing possum doesn't work on ghouls.." he gently informed, crouching before the prone body that now twitched in discomfort and grew pale. When only silence remained, the ghoul narrowed his eyes, poking lightly at the man's stomach. "In situations like this...when a ghoul is talking to you, when this ghoul might save your life...you answer. You answer quickly."

A watery laugh came from the injured man, derision and anger, plain in his tone.

"N...n..not much to talk about...when I'm dying, you shit head..."

...

FEAR.

It was only a few words. A phrase issued by an injured nuisance no stronger than a fly. And yet, the voice of that human, had struck him cold, robbed him of thought, and sent his heart racing. Very quickly the images formed in his mind, the dots connecting with painful precision. The reason why the screams of the human drove him mad, the reason why, even now he could barely resist the sweet smell. It was because he had had it before...long ago. A day where he was on the verge of death and torn in his mind and soul.

-A beaming smile- I already knew!

Hands that could crush skulls with little effort, reached shakily for the wheat blonde head, raising it into the light with all the care of a mother. "...but you're dead..." he whispered softly "..you're not supposed to be here.."

-A heart that could accept anything- Let's go home...

"I killed you.."

Rabbits can die from loneliness you know..

"Hide."

Dying he found himself cradled, gentle beads of warmth lightly falling on his cheeks. They were too salty to be rain drops and so he knew they were tears. Not his own but of the ghoul who hovered over him. Vision growing dimmer by the second, he could still make out a single jeweled iris; A luminous ruby that shown with affection; a thing which he'd never seen before in a ghoul. Not that he had seen many ghouls in his day...but maybe he had and just forgot...along with everything else in his life. Stranger still was the name spoken with a feather softness. A name the ghoul spoke with familiarity and a sure gaze. Cold infusing every bone, he shivered, summoning his remaining strength, reaching up to touch the dampened face.

"Is...is that my name?" he croaked dryly, voice a whisper. "...do you, know me?"

Kaneki's eyes widened, now knowing the source of foreboding, coming to terms with a fact that would change his life forever.

"Am I...Hide?"