Chapter 1: Encounter
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Kaneki Ken. A boy, barely the age of twenty, ran through the narrow streets of 17th century, Tokyo. Countless number of people, have always mistaken his age to be younger, or, worse, thought that he was a girl due to his 'cute'and feminine-like features. It did not bother him anymore, though. He was used to it. He sighed at the thought and returned his focus to the murky path ahead of him.
The dim lighting, coming from a few street lamps that hung near infamous premises, were his only guide through the darkness. The intense smell of smoke, due to heavy industrialization in the country, mingled with a tinge of blood and sweat, hung in the cold, night air.
The only sound to be heard, were the heavy steps of his sandal clogs, on the paved way and the occasional, distant laughter of the drunkards. The book deliveries he did today had ended later than he expected and it was getting awfully late, but that was not his concern.
His concern, however, revolved around the safety of a young girl whom he cared for as his younger sister, named, Hinami. His only hope was that nothing harmful would come to her during his long absence.
His legs were getting tired, as he had nearly ran a mile. His breath, ragged and fine wisps of air were visible in the cold, dark night. A sudden high pitched screech that seemed to belong to a woman stopped him on his tracks.
A few good feet away in front of him, stood a looming figure. Kaneki squint his eyes, trying to make out the visage of said figure. Bright red eyes with black irises, met his onyx, black ones. His heart beat faster and he gasped in daunting realization, as he saw the half moon mask that the man wore. A Ghoul. . .
The 'Gourmet' Ghoul.
In mere seconds, his mind recalled all of the dreadful stories revolving around the 'Gourmet' Ghoul, of how he often hunts in the night, preying on his chosen victims silently, with the intent to devour a certain delectable part of their bodies. He was also notoriously known for performing ghastly mutilations on them. Kaneki shuddered.
"P-please, no, don't kill me! Please!" the woman who lay, sprawled on the ground, begged. A soft, melodic chuckle escaped her soon-to-be murderer's lips before it abruptly stopped. His kagune, in the form of a spinning drill, stabbed through her guts. The sound made Kaneki wanted to throw up, but he held it back in.
Instinctively, he fled from the murder scene with all his might. He knew that if he stayed any longer, he would share the same devastating fate as the unfortunate woman. Even if he used his own Kagune, Kaneki was sure that he would not be able to control it. He needed to stay alive for the sake of Hinami.
Beneath his mask, the Ghoul's lips curved into a smirk. His garbs and mask, stained with blood. His eyes gleamed, as he looked at the boy, running away till his figure was no longer on sight.
'Oops, looks like a mouse just escaped,' he thought. He sniffed the air, taking in a whiff. A tinge of sweetness and . . . oh, heavenly harmony entered his senses. His scent was truly phenomenal, unlike all of his previous victims. He closed his eyes, relishing in the fine scent once more.
'The scent of that boy is so...delicate,' he mused, before he returned his gaze to the body of his lifeless prey. A sharp knife with the French words of 'C'est La Vie' chiselled on its handhold with detailed intricacies, revealed itself from the Ghoul's dark garbs.
"Now, mademoiselle, may I take your beautiful eyes?" His red eyes turned to the colour of violet. His query was only to be answered with silence. His smirk grew wider, "Then, I take that as a, oui," he spoke sadistically, before twisting his knife and gouging out the woman's eyes with an expertise that could par that of a Chef's.
He looked at the eyeballs covered with fresh blood in his hands, in wonder and mild curiosity. A hum of satisfaction escaped him.
"Ah, what a lovely gradation you have,"
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-Shuuneki-
When Kaneki arrived at the quaint, little home of his, he banged on the door with more force than he intended. The sound of Hinami's footsteps were heard from inside.
"Hinami, it's me," he said, looking around anxiously, making sure that the 'Gourmet' Ghoul had not followed after him. Hinami opened the door, a small smile on her face, but, it faltered as she noticed that Kaneki looked very pale and his eyebrows furrowed in worry.
"N-nii-san?" she called out, concerned.
Kaneki passed by her, and took long deep breaths, calming himself down by moving his hand on his chest in circular motions, hoping to soothe his tensed nerves. He felt a slight discomfort, as his sweat drenched his body and his black hair sticking on the back of his neck. He turned his head to the young girl, putting on a façade;
"Oh, Hinami…it's alright. I'm fine... I'm just tired. The deliveries today are a lot more than I expected," he half-lied, a fake smile on his face. Hinami sensing that there was something wrong, ran up to her brother figure and gave him a hug, embracing the older boy tightly.
"Nii-san, I'm happy that you are all right. Very happy. When Nii-san didn't come home as usual, I got very worried...I don't want to lose you too, like...M-mom," she spoke, her voice cracked at the mention of her mother. Tears welling up in those bambi brown eyes.
Kaneki's smile faltered. His mind remembering the face of Hinami's mother, embracing Death and withered away into oblivion, as she took the harsh blows of the Emperor's Ghoul Hunters. He shook his head, as if the motion could erase that painful memory from his mind. His gaze softens on Hinami, cupping her face with both of his hands.
"Hinami-chan, please don't cry, I'll always stick by your side and protect you like a big brother should...Don't worry about me, I'm alright," he soothed her, wiping her tears away as a mother would to her child.
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-Shuuneki-
On a fine morning, where Tokyo's sky was clearer than ever and the sun shone brightly, both mother and daughter walked hand in hand, while a teenage boy trailed closely behind them, a smile on his lips as he felt the warmth of the sun on his skin. It's been a long time since the weather was this good. The weather had been very gloomy and the sun seemed pale, for a few weeks.
"Kaneki-kun," Hinami's mother, Ryoko, called out to him softly, stopping his train of thoughts. His eyes flickered to her face, giving his attention. "Are these all we need?" she asked, gesturing to the straw bags containing their goods that they bought with the little amount of money they had.
Kaneki looked into the bag, momentarily, checking for anything that they might have missed from their list. He nodded his head. "Yeah, this is all we need Fuegachi-san," he replied.
Ryoko tsked at him. "Kaneki-kun, just call me Ryoko-san, we've been living together for two years now, there's no need for such formalities," she chided.
Kaneki gave a soft boyish laugh. "All right, Ryoko-san," he rubbed the back of his neck, shyly.
They continued their walk in a comfortable silence, the only sounds heard were that of a pair of birds chirping as they perched themselves on the branch of a great Sakura tree. Often, its petals fell down softly to the ground. The occasional ruckus of young children goofing around was also to be heard in the calm day.
They turned into an alleyway. Kaneki sensed something . . . was off. "Ryoko-san, are you sure it's safe to pass through here?" He inquired.
The older woman gave out a hearty laugh. "Why not, Kaneki-kun? It's a beautiful morning. Don't worry, we're going to be all right, silly," she reassured him, giving him one of her motherly warm smiles. But her smile dropped as she heard the loud footsteps of an unknown pair of men.
"Are you sure about that…ghoul?" one of the men said vehemently. His eyes were mismatched, one smaller than the other which made him seem manic. To top it off, he had a crazed gleam in his eyes and he had a messy mop of long white locks. His companion beside him, however, was a young man who was the complete opposite of his senior. He had a well-built body, dark, short clean cut hair and deep coffee brown eyes void of anything but to do his duty, his hand resting on the sheath of his Katana.
As the older man unsheathed his Katana, it turned into a tail-like creature similar to Kaneki's Kagune. He realized that they were the Ghoul Hunters. Ryoko was fast to act and quickly pushed both Kaneki and Hinami out of harm.
After that, everything happened like a blur to Kaneki – too fast and quick for his eyes to see. He soon found himself standing behind a nearby wall with Hinami, while the battle between Ryoko and the Ghoul Hunters went on. He did not know what to do, he knew that if he tried to help, Hinami would not only lose her mother but him as well. So, he remained in his hiding position, keeping Hinami in a tight embrace. Fear keeping them both rooted.
Kaneki took a quick peek, and saw how Ryoko struggled to fight agaisnt her opponents. Her stamina is getting weaker and so are her hits. All of a sudden, the older Ghoul Hunter struck Ryoko with a powerful blow. Her screams filled the air. Kaneki let his tears fall down his cheeks, he closed his eyes to blink back the tears and covered Hinami's mouth as she sobbed in distraught.
The assailant gave a low chuckle. "Now, die you bitch!" he yelled, raising his weapon once more and with a swift movement, Kaneki saw blood. His eyes widen in shock - Ryoko's head was decapitated. He quickly looked away, holding Hinami tighter as she sobbed harder in his hand.
"Kukuku, you Ghouls are all the same, blending in among our kind and killing us one by one…how worthless," Kaneki heard the man say.
He gritted his teeth. If they were in a different situation, he would have shouted and screamed his anguish at the heartless bastard. Screamed and rip him apart for taking away a young girl's mother. For taking away the woman whom he considered to be his own mother. But, instead he ran away with Hinami in tow like a coward, eventhough she was reluctant to leave. He needed to make sure they were both alive for the sake of Ryoko, he reasoned as they began to ran further away.
And as he ran, he realized that he could barely remember his way, Ryoko was always the one who lead them and he would always be the one to just follow her and it pains him now, to know that she won't be leading the way anymore . . . to know that, the person who took him in when he was left bruised and broken, helped him accept his new tormented life as a half-ghoul and gave him an unconditional love of a family is now . . .
Dead.
And. It was all his damned fault.
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-Shuuneki-
After sending Hinami to sleep, Kaneki went into his own bedroom. Once he did, he slid down his back to the floor, letting suppressed tears and fear, take a hold of him. He was shaking as he sobbed. He felt anger; angry at himself. Why was he so damn scared and weak? If only he was stronger back then, he would have been able to save them all. Hinami's mother, and even that poor woman back then.
How could he even protect Hinami if he couldn't even protect himself or anyone else? He slammed his fist on the floor. More tears welling up in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks, blurring his vision.
"I'm sorry Hinami," he whispered, as he felt his head starting to ache and swirl.
He laid down on his futon, wiping his tears away. He tried his best to be optimistic and positive, but the images of Ryoko and the woman kept on plaguing his mind.
That night, had been hell for Kaneki.
A seemingly never ending cycle of nightmares; screams of pain, hands pulling him back as their voices screamed for his help, but he couldn't do anything.
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He hated himself; weak and worthless.
To be continued
A/N: Hope you like it. No hateful comments though, constructive criticism is much appreciated, its been a long time since I write again.
PS: Tsukiyama without French is so weird, hehe.
Index:
Mademoiselle - Lady.
C'est La Vie - It is the life, a French expression.
Katanas - Japanese swords used during the oldern times.
Nii-san - A Japanese word for, older brother.
Futon – A Japanese bed.