"Man this bacon is delicious..." A quiet grumble. "What's taking that guy so long?"
Sudden tapping, light and crisp, rapping on the tinted window. "Hm?"
A tall figure, bears a smile too perfect to be sincere. White lab coat flowing in the wind, tar black locks trailing below his back. A strange and out of place man, watches with vibrant eyes. He waits there patiently, pleasant guise unwavering, and for a moment the boy is entranced, his movements instinctive and not his own.
Rolling down the window, whether by his own will or something else, the blonde would find himself face to face, with the grinning oddity who had summoned him. Half lenses in black frames sat fashionably on his face, features seeming to be Japanese but also a foreign edge. The man's skin was ghostly, brilliantly porcelain in the sunlight. And Hide had to blink a few times.
"Um. Can I help you?"
"You already have, my boy. By coming to a place I might find you."
...
The hairs stood up on the back of his neck, His body remembering the cadence and rhythm of 'that' tone. Even if his mind could not there was some internal force that did. Breakfast once peacefully in his stomach, churned in upset. His heart rate quickened. A prologue to doom. Are these the guys Kaneki was talking about?
"Oh." he said simply, finding himself at a loss for words. There was no way he could escape without notice. And whether he was surrounded or not still remained to be seen. Kaneki knew that he was still in the car, but were he to take off into the eventual crowds, He might not be found in time. Yes. Staying in the car might be his best guarantee of safety. And he couldn't even tell whether this was a human or not.
"Sounds like you've got me mixed up with someone else." He spoke once more, much calmer now, eyeing the amber eyes that danced with flecks of blue. "Mind telling me your name? It might jog my memory."
Sly and mischievous, he smiles, eyes all knowing in their icy assessment. Its not hard to tell that whatever plan he concocts, this stranger will see right through it.
"Ever the detective, I see.."
The Advent, of Next Genesis
"I could never be confused. Not about this." the man continued, folding his arms as he surveyed the youthful face. "I am doctor Naoto Hige. And you, I am aware, are called Hide."
"..."
Wickeder still is the face that he makes, the low laughter, the cynical gaze. "But you and I both know that's not entirely true... is it? At least not in your mind. As of now your mind is blank...you live a lie."
Pupils dilate, laden with confusion...and an unspoken desire. "..What did you say?"
"I can tell you how you came to be. Who...and what, you are."
Of all the things that could run through Hide's mind, he found himself painfully unresponsive. The desire to rekindle a past once lost, was not even remotely within him. That fact alone had terrified him. Kept him up at night sometimes. Behind the veil of ignorance all was darkness. And he worried in his heart of hearts: Why can't I remember? Why don't I want, to remember?
Was I a bad person? Did I kill others? Am I hated by those who knew me? Did I suffer a cruel fate? What am I hiding?
...from myself...?
Bewildered, Hide swallowed, throat now dry and tight. "I won't listen." he said determinedly, eyes hardened as they stared at the Cheshire glint of the other's. "Maybe you know more than I do about me. But I'll find out those things when its the right time. And on my own."
The doctor known as Naoto seemed unperturbed by the callous rejection, mind elsewhere as he casually contemplated. Finally, he smiled, bringing slender hands together in joy. There was something unnerving about the man's excitement.
"Let me tell you a story, then...dear Hide." the man began, ignoring the protest. "About a boy who looked like you. Talked like you. Smelled like you. AND, whose name was also, Hide."
"Nice try, but kindly fuck off!" the blonde growled, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach, the gradual blurring of his vision.
Agony.
Swift and violent, the man's fingers thrust towards his face, piercing the left eye, digging into it with merciless taste. Hide found himself caught off guard, the sensation of nails grating his inner eye, suffusing him with a pain that couldn't give rise to a scream. "It seems my organic prosthetic worked too well." the being said idly, casually sifting in the delicate socket, now moving with an unnatural elasticity. "Mm. This scene is familiar."
...
"As I said before, I am a doctor...but not just any doctor. A scientist." Pulling his fingers free the man looked closely at the bloodied eye, inspecting it carefully before producing a clean clothe. "As a scientist of a particular type, I am always looking for the perfect vessel...One that has every attribute necessary, to house a new gene."
Hide writhed in the back seat, struck by convulsions stimulated from the attack. In place of the brown eye was a gaping hole, flesh loosened as blood trailed down his cheek. He could not find his voice, neither scream for help as it burned. Amid the anguish and darkened eye,his senses held fast to the words being spoken, feverish images distorting his mind, taking over the morning, drowning him in darkness. "I positioned this eye so that pressure was applied to your frontal lobe. I needed to do something to keep you 'sleeping' for a time."
Grunts and gasps of agony were his response, and he regarded them lightly before continuing. "The project my companions undertook required the perfect host." He smiled. "All seemed lost, until we found... you."
"Well, until I found you."
There, was the sound of water. The grinding of teeth that brought him blinding pain, whenever he breathed. There was tearing, there was biting. He could smell iron. He was dying.
"Are you starting to remember? The watery grave I salvaged you from?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Certainly I waited until 'he' was just about finished with you. But to think a human would willingly offer himself as food...it sealed the deal for me. That you were indeed the only candidate." Euphoria infused the being as he recalled the brutal...and beautiful night. "I thought to myself, it must be love. Only love would drive a man to make himself prey. Only love would drive a man to lie there and be consumed, to stifle his screams, to cry 'Live, Please Live'...even as his own life slips from away."
Leaning into the open window, the doctor watched as his human shook, the flesh of his left eye no longer torn..slowly morphing, cells mending...regenerating, something else.
A smile of satisfaction. Humming in approval. "You never once told me how it felt, Hii-kun.." the man purred, eyes devilishly engaged as they stared into a fear stricken eye.
"...To be flayed by one you care for. How it felt being eaten alive."
Screaming.
It made him jump to his feet, startling the woman in front of him. She had heard it too but he seemed the more worried of the two. "Kaneki, who.."
"Its Hide." His voice sounded panicked. "I have to go."
Realization, and a soft frown. But only partly for the reason at hand. "..but Kaneki!" I need answers.
"I promise. I'll explain." Hands gently intertwined unravel. "I'll tell you everything...later."
Without waiting for a response he was off. Before she could say another word, before she could even say goodbye. Pushing aside her sheer curtains revealed the sight he had rushed to. A dark vehicle parked in front, a the lithe man leaning into it. The scene seemed casual, like two old pals chatting on the street. And then she witnessed the fury, with which the object of her love, reacted.
"Get away from him.." A demand laden with acid, an expression that could kill. "I can't guarantee your survival otherwise."
The doctor sighed, a pout on the mature facade. "..and here I thought I would be done before the king returned. My fault." The two were dreadfully close, and he could feel 'something' sharp, pressing firmly against his back. "For this one, you would gut me in broad daylight, wouldn't you?" he asked, seemingly pleased by the idea.
"Gut you...and then do other things...once I've hauled you to the nightmare room." It was a place that actually existed..In the Shadow Box. But only used on those rare occasions he 'needed' to interrogate someone.
A shiver. "Don't talk like that. You'll give me goosebumps."
Oh great. Another psychotic pervert.
"You are indeed perfect. The perfect knight for my Hii-kun.."
"What?"
"This boy, is of my own creation. I merely came to help him...and perform some psychological maintenance."
Kaneki frowned, taking stock of the being's demeanor. Even with the threat of death and torture the man remained calm. His heart rate showed no signs of fluctuating, his muscles weren't even tense. He hadn't shown any signs of fighting back from the beginning and had remained fixated on Hide the whole time. Add to that the fact that he smelled unlike any other, he simply pulled the man from the vehicle, throwing him to the ground. By this time a crowd had begun to gather, and though they were only nosy adults, it wouldn't be long before a younger crowd took interest. Then phones would begin recording, taking unnecessary photos. He couldn't have that, not with his reputation.
"Get up and get in." he ordered, wondering briefly where Rize had gone but deciding to throttle her for it later. A concerned look cast on his friend brought warmth to the scientist's eyes...if it could be called that. "Hii-kun is fine." he assured, getting into the passenger side and inspecting the other's gaze. Though the convulsions had stopped, he was still shivering, muttering things that had no translation, covering his face as if to hide from the world. "Its just a shock. Finding out the truth so soon."
It was hard trying to keep his composure. Hard to focus on the road with this ilk beside him. Clearly he knew something about Hide. Something he himself did not. That alone made him valuable enough 'not' to kill...but it would be hard not to do it anyway. He aimed for a quiet location; some place not too populated during the day. Once alone, his eyes changed, a single red eye blaring in the other's direction. "Get out. And start talking."
A light chuckle followed as Naoto left the vehicle, hands up in the gesture meant to show no harm. "You know, this setting benefits me as well." he said lightly, looking at the over grown grass, the graffiti on crumbling walls.
"How do you know Hide? And what do you mean he's of 'your creation'?" He was in no mood for games, releasing the mutated rinkaku which hovered ominously at his side.
The man smiled, unperturbed by the gesture. But he did clear his throat, speaking promptly as he was told.
"It began on a night I'm sure you never forgot. The CCG had raided the 20th ward, they were chasing your companions...and you. Hell bent on total annihilation. As fate would have it, you found your way into the sewers... but someone else had been following you."
The ghoul's eyes widened.
"I was there. Searching for a vessel. Something almost dead but not quite. A human would have been ideal but I would settle for a ghoul if I had to. Among the skirmishes and battle...no one would notice a few missing."
"..and that's how you.."
"Yes. That's how I found Hide. Along came a human to comfort the Abyss in his darkest hour. It was beautiful really."
A surge of nausea. A long past memory, flooding back in stark detail.
"You tore into him with all the passion of a lover, Kaneki." the man sneered happily "You bit and gnawed and ignored his cries. He told you to live...but eventually, told you it hurt."
"..." I don't remember. I don't remember if he said anything.
"Why you didn't just kill him is beyond me. You avoided all major organs, you spared his veins, his face you left completely intact. To think in that state of madness you had such control. Its amazing."
"You're lying.."
"..but you flayed him. Tore the skin off his legs and thighs and back. You devoured plenty of muscle without remorse...and drank plenty of blood."
"I.."
"And when you finished, you cried. Bashing your head into the concrete walls, screaming how good it was with tears in your eyes. You must have did this for thirty minutes...before knocking yourself out."
"SHUT UP!"
The rinkaku responded violently to the outburst, enlarging and striking with viper like speed. For Naoto however, it was as the swipe of a kitten. Without clear trajectory, simply a burst of energy with no real intent. "You'll have to try harder than that to stop me...my king."
A blank stare. Tears streaming down an ashen face.
"If you don't believe me, go and see. Go and see the mess you made of your 'best friend'. Without waiting to be told twice the car doors were thrust open, a feverishly sleeping Hide now held gently by the other. He raised the white shirt over his head, eyes blood shot as they beheld the scars. Scars that could only come from being bitten, from being bruised, from being torn...from being eaten.
"I...did this."
"I left them there...for aesthetic purposes. He's got more in fact...all over his body. You left his groin intact, thank god."
This was all too much to process. Too much in one day. He wouldn't look for the other scars. He couldn't. Facing the being who had saved his friend, bitter, but grateful, he spoke. "So that's why he wasn't there...when I woke up."
"That's right. Before the sewage entered his wounds, before he died a most agonizing death, I saved him. Months and countless dollars went into bringing him back. It was a labor of love. He became our child. We placed all our hopes in him and learned everything about his life...and the one he gave it for."
"We..?"
"Yes. We of the Next Genesis."
"So...you're another one of V's pawns, then."
"Quite the opposite. Our ideals...our, make-up...is fundamentally different. I've come only because they are trying to claim him for their own use. Something that rightfully belongs to Us." From within the white pocket of his lab coat, a prosthetic eye was removed, the light brown pupil familiar, bringing anger to the ghoul's eyes. "That's.."
"Yes, this was once in Hide's eye. I placed it there to control his development...and as a tracking device." He paused, throwing the organic device to the ground, crushing it under a polished boot. "..but other parties seem to have honed in on it. Were using it to follow him. Its now expedient for him to awaken. Ignorance is not an option."
Kaneki frowned softly, turning towards the car that housed his companion. "I won't let anyone hurt Hide."
A smile. "I know. That is why he is entrusted to you. It takes a king, to raise a king."
"..a king?"
"Just as you are an exemplar to many ghouls. This child, our most precious design...will be the exemplar to the beings to come."
Despite the feelings roiling within him, there was no time for emotional ramble. He needed the facts and he needed them now. The time to grieve for his mistakes would come. Before him was a fountain of unknown knowledge. And gratefully, he was willing to talk. "What, exactly...is the Next Genesis project.."
"It is an endeavor to right the food chain and balance this lawless world. By ensuring its rightful owners, take center stage once more."
A somber wind washed over them, and with it, the air became charged with a pungent scent. The scientist known as Naoto exhaled, the whites of his eyes now gone. "My kind is unlike any other in the world. We watch from a place more elusive than shadow. We have walked with you for centuries unknown."
He had smelled nothing of this kind before...and likely never would. It was a powerful aroma..unique and somehow, alluring. Without realizing it his own eye had transformed, the ruby jewel fixated on the eyes that had now took shape. Within the dark sclera, a single blue jewel. Surrounded by a neon band that gave the pupil an ethereal glow. Kaneki had never seen such Kakugan before. At least, he 'thought' it was a kakugan. The truth was quickly revealed, six appendages manifesting from behind. Outfitted like a seraph, stone grey stalagmites emerged from his back. Like the spires of an ancient cathedral, like the daggers of a stone cavern.
"The time of the ghoul shall pass...and the era of the Gargoyle will resume."
It was only moments he had seen the strange being, and in mere seconds he had returned to his previous form. The once strong scent had vanished from the air and what the ghoul saw before him smelled like no more than a human.
"What you are...this, gargoyle. Did you..turn Hide into one?"
"Indeed." the man answered, seeming elated at this fact. "We have perished. Many of us, and for all our strength and wisdom could not figure out why. For centuries we survived by consuming the beings now known as ghouls. We called them something else, back then. For this reason the human race grew in numbers, as the other dwindled into obscurity."
...
"Our problem began when the women died suddenly; beset by an illness we do not give a name. The men soon after became sterile, and we realized that our time had come. The food chain was in danger so nature itself had turned against us. The apex predators left had to go into hiding...find a new source of food and a cure; Meanwhile ghouls began to increase in the world."
The information sounded far fetched. But the being before him was real, and so he listened. It wasn't as if stranger things hadn't already occurred.
"So fearful were the ghouls of our return, that an organization was created...to defeat the 'monsters', that were devouring so called 'humans' in the dark. They called it, The Commission of Counter Ghoul. It was a cover up of course. Agents trained then were bred to destroy my kind...not their own. Because, as you already know, the Washuu are ghouls themselves. Taking into account the fact that they knew one day an extinction would be upon them...The projects to create human/ghoul hybrids had begun."
It felt like being hit by a truck. Hit by a truck and tossed in the air...only to land on a pile of rocks.
Hide groaned from his back seat bed, twisting on the leather seats before righting himself. A single brown eye stared blankly at the car ceiling. At least someone left the AC on. In the other eye however a darkness had taken shape, and in the center would be a brilliant blue pupil. It glowed and moved as if beset by surges of energy. Out of this eye all was in striking detail...the color, the texture of everything...in the highest definition. He sat up slowly, gripping his head. He had got up too fast. Trying to speak was a bother too; His throat was a desert with no water in sight.
But closing his eyes dealt another surprise. He could smell...really smell; The sweat on his body, but also...water. Looking about him, he moved towards the front seat, taking a bottle from the side cup holder. He gave another sniff. Its Kaneki's, he thought, quickly guzzling the contents. With hydration came greater clarity and he found himself looking outside, Seeing two very familiar faces, in one sided dialogue.
"If your race is dying...aren't you just making him sick too?" Kaneki snapped.
"No. The gene responsible for the make up of a gargoyle, had undergone abnormal mutations. This mutation is rendered dormant however...when inside the human body. Thus, we needed to perfect the gargoyle genome by splicing it into a mechanism with virus like qualities. If the host is on the cusp of death the virus will activate, trying to preserve itself and repair the body...turning it into one of us. Simply implanting an organ of ours inside the host would do nothing beneficial. Transform them yes, but they would be beset by the same sterility issues; The same extinction."
"So Hide...is a 'perfected' Gargoyle."
"Yes."
"And you.."
"Soon I, like many more of my kind, will die. There will be no children to replace us and the ghoul population will continue to grow unabated. Your kind is a chaotic breed; Your bodies have evolved but your minds have not. Just as you are a king in the eyes of many ghouls, Hide is the king in the eyes of the few that live. In the eyes of the gargoyles."
"You asked me to protect him. Even though I'm now this being you seem to see as lower than yourselves.."
"Not lower...just, less beneficial. We can survive without killing humans; can mate with them and create perfect hybrids when perfected. You...can do nothing of the sort. On the cusp of our extinction we found a way to survive without killing your kind. Hide will need to eat...but he deserves the finest and so we leave him in your care. He will need a safe haven and the bridge between coexisting peacefully, lies in both your hands."
"What do you mean?"
"When my kind discover the birth of a perfect progenitor, they will rally around him. Some will become reckless and begin feeding in earnest on the ghoul population as a sign. Our hunger is our one flaw...it is insatiable. Where you may eat but one human and be fine for weeks...We may need dozens of ghouls to find contentment. Serial murders would occur on a scale too large to ignore. War would be the eventual scenario. Between ghoul, dove, and gargoyle. And humans, well, they would just be collateral damage."
"So you want Hide and I to keep the peace. To create a balance between the two races."
"Yes."
Naoto fell silent. Watching the eyes that were watching him, his gaze shifting only when he noticed the sway of blonde locks.
"So you found me." Hide said quietly, leaving the car and stretching his limbs. Both men looked at him with turmoil in their eyes and he sighed, breaking into a small smile. "What? Don't tell me you both need a hug." he teased, approaching his companion who looked the most shaken.
"Kaneki.." he said clearly, a single blue eye looking at the red one staring back. There was a flicker, an angry flicker. "You jerk! Next time you're going to eat me, make sure you kill me first!" Startled, the investigator wasn't in time to save his cheek from the oncoming fist. His head turning slightly at the subtle sting. Hide had hit him. For the first time ever. "Because you didn't do your job right I had to suffer and get picked up by this creep." he grumbled, frowning at his already bruising hand.
"Though in hind sight, I guess its fine...since I can see you again."
"It took weeks for me to find you. Did you already know?" the doctor asked, interrupting the boy's reunion. "That our facility was going to be raided.."
"I had a hunch." the blonde answered, shrugging. "So I bailed before things got messy. I knew if I'd stayed you couldn't focus on the attack. Trying to play dad would get you killed."
"Well, it is my genes, my blood...that transformed you. I am your father." the man said, frowning that he could be seen as anything less in the youth's eyes.
Kaneki watched the two before speaking up. The words couldn't be contained any longer. He was overjoyed that 'his' Hide, had returned, and yet, the truths revealed to him brought no comfort.
"I'm sorry, Hide. For all the pain I caused you.."
A bright smile. A tight embrace to release the tension. "Don't worry about it. I got to hit you so its fine. We're even."
"So you remember me?"
"Of course, dummy. How could I.."
"..."
"Ah. Well, I won't forget as long as this eye is open." he assured, pointing to the glowing eye. A gargoyle's eye. "..but when this fades, it'll be back to the other me."
"I..don't mind the other you either, Hide." he said softly, a little embarrassed now that they were still hugging. "He's doubtful of me though.."
Patting his companion's back gently, Hide hummed, thinking nothing of the prolonged embrace, wondering more about how to mend the relationship between his other half. "Just tell him the truth." he finally said, pulling away gently, hands lightly on his shoulders. "I can handle the truth."
Kaneki blinked. "Is it really going to be that simple?"
"Sure it will?"
"Hide.."
The two looked at each other wearily before breaking into smiles. "It'll be fine. Since we're together."
Naoto Hige watched with a rather pleased expression. Saying nothing as the two exchanged their next course of action. It both bothered and comforted him to leave the other in his care, never once having the boy leave his side since he'd found him. Nevertheless, for a future that was prosperous, it had to be done.
"I'll be taking my leave." he announced, loud enough to catch their attention. "..but you will be seeing more of me."
"Yeah yeah, just don't get yourself killed." Hide snapped, giving the man a level look.
With a somber smile, the man took off, reflexes carrying him into the air, his profile fading behind the roof tops.
"He might be a sadistic genius...but he means well..I think." Hide noted, watching as the now empty space.
Kaneki frowned, unsure if it was a compliment. "Yeah, I think he cares about you. In his own way."
"Him aside...what are we going to do now?"
Falling silent, Kaneki thought. About everything he'd learned, about what that meant for them both. About the things to come, and what he wished to do. Walking back to the car, he bid his friend to follow. They needed guidance...they needed support.
"We're going to the CCG branch in Kyoto. I work there undercover." he explained "I need to run this by Arima-san. He'll likely have some intel on this too."
Next Time: The Reaper, Reborn
AN: This was in the old summary but I'll elaborate further here. So this is set a couple years after TG: re finishes. I said five years but Ishida-sensei might make another giant time skip. If that happens and I can't consolidate the manga into these events, then it'll end up an AU. For now though, its assumed to be the future of the manga and not AU. It will grow with new chapter updates...just in a future tense, kind of way XD