Kida was now 20 years old. She'd studied at a baker's college in ward 20, and with the little money that she had and from the earnings she got from Anteiku, she had set up a little bakery in ward 19. Mostly because of concerns about a cannibalistic ghoul on the prowl, that hasn't been apprehended by the CCG yet. If it ever jumped wards, could it be classed as a good ghoul or would it be an enemy to the Anteiku organisation? What was worse, they couldn't let the Aogiri tree get their hands on this ghoul either, otherwise all the wards would be put in danger. More danger from the sporadic patterns of this ghoul.
Kida was often provoked by her memories, hey terrorised her at night. Leading to her once blue hair to become a darker blue in colour almost black but in the sunlight it showed its once blue sheen.
She was also told to put her name to good use, giving something for the cannibalistic ghoul to chase. And Kida pulled that off so well. She became The Blue Death, sometimes unmerciful against binge eaters and pleasure eaters. She hunted the ward for all walks of life, not caring whether they were rich or poor, dead or alive anything was fair game. She'd often hunt for the suicidal ones too, to use them as ingredients. And she'd often sneak in a CCG investigator who got a little bit close for comfort. But they were often given to the poor orphaned ghoul children.
She also warded off any ghouls who dared attack children and also those who tried to steal her dinner. If a pleasure eater came her way, like Tsukiyama once did, she'd rip them apart like a rag doll. The rumours of the Binge eater Rize being deceased spread like wild fire. Kida took no notice of these rumours. Although she did detest binge eaters, she wasn't prepared to get mixed up in the wrong crowd just so she could take a swing at one.
Dead or alive.
Her bakery was very successful, through the week many customers would come there because it had a calming atmosphere through the terror they lived in. The shop front was covered in little blossoms that grew along the side of the building and there were always potted plants surrounding the many pastries, and a cool room down in the basement where she stored ingredients for her famous Ghoulish Cakes. She sold these to ghoul restaurants and Anteiku who in turn let her come in to freely help out around their own establishments.
People often found it odd that she didn't open on the weekends, but she told her customers that they could always come in over the weekend through the back alley way and they could take any goodies they fancied free of charge. This nice charitable young lady was certainly a ray of hope in such a desolate place. She worked on the Saturday at Anteiku giving them a weekly supply of Ghoulish Cakes and exchanging any information she heard through the area.
It was on one weekend that she noticed Kaneki. He smelt strange and new, She'd noticed that he didn't pick up her Ghoulish Cakes like other ghouls, he did attempt to try one but his lips quivered and he couldn't bring himself to swallow it.
'Touka, what's the deal with shakey-legs?' Touka smiled at the nickname as they sipped their coffees on a break. 'Remember that accident with Rize?'
Kida nodded her head happily that Rize was dead. It was the best news she'd heard in a long time. 'Well, he was in that accident too... Had her organs transplanted into him just so he could live. But he's now a ghoul'
'Poor kid. I wouldn't want to wish this fate on anyone, especially the insides of a binge eater. If he ever gets too hungry you can always throw a Ghoulish Cake at his face.' Touka smiled at Kida, who took a sip of her coffee, then proceeded to serve customers after her break had finished. Towards the end of her shift, two CCG agents came towards her. Asking for coffee. She served them the requested coffee not bothering to look up at them, 'Enjoy your coffee gentlemen' She looked up with a smile. She could see that one agent looked at her in a calm way almost as if he recognised her. The other agent a lot older than him requested that they sat down to which the younger one replied that he would but he had business to take care of.
'I'm sorry, for being up front but are you related to Kida Chiaki? Because you look very similar.' High cheek bones, jet black hair the sun couldn't escape from and unsettled emerald green eyes. 'Yes, I do know Kida Chiaki' She played along with his little game, he smelt slightly of cologne but he smelt tasty all the same.
He smells too good , I want to eat him!
'Oh Good do you know where I can find her, my name's Mitayushi Obi. Can I give you some contact details to give to her?' He said that sentence so fast she wouldn't have gotten a word in. 'There's no need for contact details' he looked at her with a slightly perplexed look then she laughed.
'What's so funny?' He said in annoyance.
'You know, for a ghoul investigator you don't catch on very well do you?' she laughed and laughed and suddenly his eyes widened and he eventually started to laugh. 'Kaneki, could you please take the line I think we've got a lot of catching up to do.'
'R-Right Kida-San' Kaneki obliged taking control of the growing line of customers.
'Won't you join us?' Obi asked. She nodded and the other Ghoul investigator made room for her to sit. She noticed that both have grey suitcases. She'd have to be careful around them. 'Ryuu, this is Kida Chiaki, the girl I told you so much about!'
'Pleasure to meet you Mr Ryuu.' She shook his hand. He was more round and stubby than most people, an almost symmetrical circle with a round baggy necked head with dark brown receeding hair. 'Is it true that Obi used to cry every time a girl hugged him?' he said excitedly
'Yes, infact he'd cry even if it was his own cousin!' She jested the annoyed look on Obi's face said it all. 'I thought we had an agreement not to say things like that when we're on duty!' he said disgruntled, but then laughed all the same. How she'd missed being able to laugh easily around people.
'So you finally did become as crazy as your father!' She jested. She noticed that the happy atmosphere died a little. Ryuu looked down a little at his coffee. It suddenly became very quiet. 'My father died five years ago...' Obi then said.
Of course he died, because I was there, I saw him die in my arms, I know my actions were wrong...
The inner part of her mind shouted at them. 'Oh, Sorry I didn't know' She lied, looking down on the table. 'It's OK...' He took a sip of his coffee and looked to Kida. 'It was about the same time in which you left. Speaking of which. Where did you go?'
'Oh, me? Well I got a placement at a Cookery College in here in ward 20. I would have said goodbye but it was such short notice that when I visited in the summer months I found that you'd gone to ward 1 to train to become a ghoul investigator. My parents have also passed.'
I wish I could tell you that you're father caused this!
She took a bite of the Ghoulish Cake she'd saved as a snack. Hard like a rock cake, soft on the inside, like a muffin. The floury taste was no match for the sweet raw meat held inside her mouth chewed with joy. A firework display going on inside of her mouth.
'I'm sorry to hear about your parents...' She rubbed his arm understandingly and she smiled at him. Ryuu cleared his throat. 'Sorry to break this nice reunion up but we really have to head to ward 19' Her heart skipped a little.
'I live there and I get off of work soon. I can take you there and show you all the places that are safer for ghoul investigators. And my bakery is always open to gossip so come stop by during the week and I can tell you everything I know' Her words fluttered out within a heartbeat and before she knew it, she was walking down and out of the shop followed by a stubby Dove agent and her oldest of friends, a Dove agent.
'This is very kind of you Mrs Chiaki' Ryuu said, his stubby feat pounded against the city streets. Obi's green eyes widened. She laughed sheepishly. 'I'm not married or engaged but this is my mother's wedding ring. I wear it to feel closer to her.' she played with the simple silver ring on her finger. Thinking about her mother, her smile and Kagune the most prominent features.
'My mistake. So sorry' Ryuu apologised.
Kill him, eat him, dismember him piece by piece!
'It's alright, Mr Ryuu. We must be vigilant when we get there, ghouls around there aren't used to strangers especially CCG agents.' She walked in tow with the agents longing to idly chat with Obi. About half way into their journey an uncomfortable silence had settled, the two investigators walking behind the ghoul.
'So what are you looking for in ward 19?' She asked out of the silence. 'Oh, unfortunately that information is classified.' Ryuu said
Really, so can I take a guess? Does it have anything to do with me?
They walked a little further down a grey street, with grey buildings casting dark shadows on the road, not many cars passed. Up in front of them was colour, a colourful cream and green roofed shop surrounded by flowers. It stood out like a saw thumb. In between the grey uninteresting office buildings and apartment complexes.
On the shop front window there was a nicely painted label surrounded with little painted flowers and birds. 'Sukoshi Hachidori' Little Hummingbird. She opened the door into the dark shop and turned the light on. She waltzed from room to room to find that everything was in its place even the fat grey cat. She smiled, travelled down to the main floor and let the investigators in.
The smells, the aroma, the flowers, the deluxe nature around the place, it was like a green and cream palace surrounded with goodies. The two investigators picked up a bun as she drew up a table and three chairs, and they all sat down. 'What do you know about the ghouls in this area?' Ryuu asked.
' Well, apart from the small time ghouls... There is a rumoured cannibalistic ghoul but I've heard that he or she has started to eat human meat again, which is why I presume you're here but There's a ghoul called The Blue Death, all I know is that many a CCG agent have gone missing and she brings in good business, because many CCG agents come here to talk to me about the goings on around here.'
They'd chosen a seasoned bread loaf to try from her assortments, and the two investigators broke it up into three equal chunks. The two investigators ate like they were starved and Kida chose to eat in small bites. She couldn't remember the last time she had to do this, it didn't exactly please her mouth all she wanted to do was throw it away and spit out the food. It was torture.
'Well, that's news to us. We hope we're not intruding just taking the food like that' Obi said.
'No worries, my doors are always open to people over the weekend, even if I work in the other ward because I want people to know that they're welcome even if its just for some alone time.' She looked down at her bun, daring to take another bite.
Spit it out! Spit it out! It's torture!
'You've got a really kind heart you know that?' Obi said in awe. She would almost blush but her pale skin denied this.
'Anyway if you're staying in the area, head just a little further from here, there's a nice woman called Achka, she runs a hotel specifically for ghoul investigators. You can't miss it, it's got a big neon front with Achka's Hotel written all over it. Personally I think it's bad for my business even if she does sell my produce.'
They thanked her still chewing on their food. 'One thing I'll tell you, is that this ward is a little flamboyant, there are these things called Sing and Kills...' Honestly she enjoyed these shows, Ghouls would actually guide their victim into a back alley where there'd be another band of ghouls literally singing their heart out as they attacked their prey with their Kagunes. The screams of their victims blasted out by the song.
'Stay clear of dark alley ways, that's where these Sing and Kills will happen, and believe me they've killed more people than The Blue Death itself.' She looked at both of them.
'Right, Obi, I'll leave you to chat to kida, while I make a reservation for us both.' he put the rest of his bun in his mouth, nodding his head to Kida and exiting the building, briefcase in hand. He Waved Obi goodbye.
'Ghoul Investigator Obi Mitayushi...Wow, and I thought you'd be an underling' She jested laughing all the same. He gave an annoyed expression before laughing too.
'What happened in those five years?' Obi said a little exhausted.
'How do you mean?' Kida furrowed her eyebrows
'You know, if you knew where I was then you should have visited me? How do you think I felt when I found that you'd just packed you bags and gone?' He spoke in a calmed tone but she could tell that he was annoyed.
'I have my reasons, plus you were acting more like a stranger to me' She said calmly. His intense green eyes looked at her. Asking for more information he could digest.
'Plus, after the attacks in ward 9 I thought it best to keep away, otherwise I might become dinner myself' Something in his facial expression, the way his hair covered his eyes or the way his finger neatly fit on his chin when thinking, convinced her that he wasn't pleased with his answer.
She had a look at the clock, almost 6pm. Why did time have to fly so fast. 'You'll have to leave now, ghouls will be on the prowl shortly.' He nodded in agreement. The glass door was rapped lightly. Kida looked up to find Touka there. She smiled thanking her for coming now of all times. 'Come in!' She shouted towards her.
'I hope i haven't disturbed anything?'Touka said giving Obi a look of hate.
'No in fact, Obi was just leaving.' She urged Obi. he reluctantly nodded, shaking kida's hand and leaving the building quietly shutting the door behind him.
'You know this is a stupid idea?' Touka said angrily.
'Yes, I'm well aware of that, but I need some amusement in my life, and right now I'll take any means necessary to catch that cannibalistic ghoul' She put two Ghoulish Cakes on the table. An overwhelming feeling of sickness overrided every other thought process
Pale faced she ran into the public bathroom unable to keep the food down. She'd have to take another Ghoulish Cake, maybe two or three, to compensate and truly apologise to her stomach for putting it through the torture of human food. She made it to the stall, bile pushing through her teeth.
She was there, bent over the bowl for two to three minutes just coughing up the torture. She went to the basin cupping some cold water and swallowing some as she rinsed her face from the bile. There was a knock on the door 'Kida?'
She looked into the mirror, her Kakugan eyes blazing in the reflection. How she hated her odd eyes, why couldn't they be normal? why couldn't her Kagunes be normal? Hearing that her parents would have scolded her.
Obi, I want to show you differently, want to show you a different side to the ghouls because they are not what you see!
Once her eyes had settled to their normal state, she exited the bathroom. A pale smile settled on her lips as she sat down at the table. A worried look crossed Touka's face.
'Who's the guy?' Touka asked.
'Just an old friend... we used to go to school together...He's harmless.' She blinked her big grey eyes at Touka.
'He's a Dove!'
'I know that Touka, I'm scared that he'll end up just like his father!' She shouted back. Touka knew of that night. Almost everyone knew of that night at Anteiku.
I know I'm playing a dangerous game Touka, but these agents might be able to bring the cannibalistic ghoul out of the shadows!
'Well then I'm scared too, you're my friend and you've helped me out a lot over these years' Touka asked. Sitting down and taking a Ghoulish Cake. Kida shook her head. 'His father was corrupted by the time he died. If he's anything like his father, I'm going to have to take lighter steps now.' She took the whole Ghoulish Cake and gobbled it up, savouring the meaty taste.
'The only one i'm really worried about is Mr Ryuu,' Still chewing on the Ghoulish Cake she continued gulping some of it down. 'He's more suspicious he's much older and has probably been in a couple of battles.'
'Just don't do anything sudden or stupid.' Touka finished nibbling on the cake.
They talked through the hour Touka stayed there until they parted ways into the darkness of the night, leaving just Kida and her little shop.
That night, she tossed and turned, twisting her body in many shapes, sweat practically flooding the bed sheets. In the darkness, no one could see her tired eyes. No one could see the pain her body is tortured with. Wriggling away from the guilt that horrifically plagues her. Shying away from the monsters in her dreams. The owner-less arm coming back grabbing her by the throat, pinning her to the bed as Mr Mitayushi's corpse rises up to infest her with dirty insults, blood clung to his body like like termites to their hives.
He looks at her, the same way she imagined he looked at her parents that night. Thoroughly enjoying the torture. She tries to escape in her dream. The form of her body hangs limply off of the bed, an arm and leg clinging to the mattress for dear life.
In her dream she falls through a black wall, seeing many memorable faces flash by, instant fear crippling them as they clenched their eyes shut in fear. She fell into a door, which fell unforgivably open to a cold, cobbled, bloody surface. She was lying on top of a face, with prominent cheek bones, jet black hair and striking, glazed over, emerald eyes, his mouth wide open with crimson blood pouring out like little waterfalls against his dirty skin.
She screamed so loud she was afraid that he'd shatter, he felt so real, even his torn clothes felt real...
She jumped with a start, jumping bolt upright like a puppy to a fireworks display. Sweat beading prominently along her forhead. her Kakugan eyes staring back at her in the mirror. She wasn't the happy post-teenager she tried to uphold. Ghouls were thought to be the monster that plagues children's glorious sleep. But instead she was not that kind of monster...
She was a monster to her own emotions...