Hey everyone!

I've been sick, but my meds have caffeine in them, and that makes me super hyper. SO, that means that you get a chapter today!

Questionably edited (I did my best) and with lots of happenings, I present to you Chapter Two. This is THE LONGEST CHAPTER I have ever posted on Fanfiction. Tokyo Ghoul fans, you're welcome. :)

Also, I want to give credit to CrimsonUzumakiGod yet again. It's not quite ready yet, but they're making me a proper story picture to post alongside the story. So you'll get to see at least a profile pic of Aiko soon!

If anyone wants to draw a rendition of Aiko full-bodied, please be my guest. You would be the most awesome person in the history of forever (next to CrimsonUzumakiGod, who told me that my current pic sucks xD).

It should also be noted that the characters for this fic have changed now that I have a better idea on where I'm going with this. You'll see by the end of the chapter. Please enjoy!

Asymmetrical

Chapter Two

Straightway a forgetting wind

Stole over the celestial kind

And their lips the secret kept 45

If in ashes the fire-seed slept.

-from "Uriel" by Ralph Waldo Emerson

I woke up the next morning feeling dirty and sticky, and reeking of dried blood. I lay in my bed, confused for all of five seconds, before I leapt out from beneath the comforter and charged towards the front door to go visit Ken.

And then I realized that I couldn't go out in public the way I looked; it would only bring suspicion upon myself, and that was putting it lightly. I probably looked like a wreck; I certainly felt like one.

Quickly, I hurried to the shared bathroom after grabbing a nonsensical assortment of clothes from which I could choose a proper outfit. Just as I was slipping into the still-cold water coming from the showerhead, I remembered that I had school. A quick glance at my clock when I woke up told me that class had started three hours ago.

Fuck school, I thought viciously, my heart pounding at the thought of Ken all alone in his hospital bed, struggling for the organs to acclimate to his body and while also fighting against all odds to repel Rize's influence. I scrubbed my body furiously, flecks of dried blood falling from my skin into the stream of water and then swirling down the drain.

I washed my hair and the soap came away tinged pink. I was surprised that so much blood had gotten into my hair, but I supposed a head wound wouldn't be out of the question with how Rize had kicked my ass so thoroughly.

As soon as I could, I exited the shower, not caring that I was dripping water onto the tile as I toweled myself off. I inspected myself in the mirror as I hadn't before I got in the shower; I looked normal enough. My green eyes looked exactly the same as they always had, if not a little tired. Interestingly enough, my eyes had stayed with me from my previous life; they were the same shade down to every speckle in my irises. However, my second mother had had stunning green eyes as well—I knew from the pictures—so at least it hadn't been cause for any confusion about my parentage. I pulled my short white hair up into as high of a ponytail as it would go and then applied a meager amount of mascara and eyeliner. I didn't often wear makeup, mostly because I didn't see the necessity in it, but I wanted to look as put-together as possible when I showed up at the hospital so no one tried to sedate me again.

After what had happened last night, I would clearly have to be on my best behavior and could claim shock for my brashness. Being found out by the CCG would be a disaster and I was already pushing the bill showing up at the hospital at all, especially if they hadn't dropped the search.

I decided that I would text Kanou-sensei—I rarely ever spoke to him, but I had his number for emergencies—and let him know I was coming. Nothing like having a renowned doctor on one's side to prevent an investigation and detainment.

Pulling on an olive tank top, black jeans and some black boots that were good for on-the-go combat—or so I assumed, since I hadn't been in much of any combat until my fight with Rize the night before—I grabbed my cellphone, keys, and purse so that I could make my way to the hospital. It was a bit of a ways and as I walked down the sidewalk, I had to assume that the fact I made it back to the apartment the night previous was due to instinct and pure adrenalin. It would be better and faster to take the subway, but I needed the fresh air to clear my mind.

The sky was clear and blue, but the sun's heat was muted by gusty breezes that kept my skin chilled. I contemplated that I should have brought a jacket, but didn't even start to consider walking back to grab one. While my pace was more or less sedate, I didn't want to waste any time. Ken needed me, and I would be damned if I wasn't going to be there.

The construction site where the fight had happened wasn't far from the hospital, but I resolved to not go anywhere near the place. There would likely be a CCG investigation, and I wanted to stay out of that as much as possible.

It suddenly occurred to me that they might bring me in for questioning and the thought sent a zing of fear down my spine. If I couldn't hold myself against Rize, there was no way I could fight Mado and get out alive. After all, he had murdered my father, and I knew that it would be a miracle if I could see him again without having a terrible urge to kill him. Mado Kureo was not someone I wanted to encounter at all unless I was ready to kill him.

I was soothed a moment later when I realized that Kanou-sensei would do everything in his power to keep the CCG away from me and Ken. We were now both hybrids and that painted a bright red target on both of us, but unlike in the original timeline, Kanou-sensei had a particular fondness for me, which I hoped would extend to Ken, as well. I was never very sure why he would go to such lengths for me and not for the hybrid of his own creation, but his reasons were his own and I wasn't in a position to ask. All I could hope was that he would not withdraw his help now—not that there was any reason for him to.

I was thoroughly lost in my thoughts as I turned the corner that would give me a straight shot to the hospital, so I only had a second to recognize the scent of approaching ghouls before two were standing in front of me, seemingly from out of nowhere.

They knew that I was a ghoul, and I knew that they were ghouls. Our superior sense of smell was useful in that regard. They didn't, however, know that I was a hybrid. I was confused as to why they were approaching me until I recognized the teenaged male on the left.

Kirishima Ayato.

I paused in my steps, the polite greeting frozen behind my lips. Was Aogiri Tree formed yet? The question was a valid one, as in the anime, there hadn't been an actual date upon which the organization had been created, only that it had been. If it was active, maybe they were recruiting.

But why would they have any interest in me? As far I knew, they didn't just approach ghouls on the streets and ask if they wanted to join.

Gathering myself—I doubted they were here to harm me, not in the open like this—I said as politely as I could, "Can I help you two gentlemen?"

The one on the left snorted and looked at Ayato, apparently for a command. I soothed myself; that didn't necessarily mean Aogiri Tree was a thing yet. Ayato was a very powerful ukaku and not a person to be trifled with. My memories of him were even more vague than those of my brother and the plotline, but not so much that I knew I shouldn't mess with him lightly.

Ayato, however, remained silent, his eyes appraising me critically. I fidgeted under his stare involuntarily, not sure how to respond. I didn't want a fight, not when I had just gotten my ass kicked the night before. Now that Ken was a hybrid like me, we could spar with each other and get better at fighting so that we could defend ourselves. The theory of fighting was still fresh in my mind, it was simply that my body couldn't keep up with my mind's commands. I was sure that with Ken's help and the fact that I didn't have to keep my true species a secret anymore, we could better ourselves to stand on our own.

When the silence became prolonged, I grew annoyed. Ken was waiting for me. However, I kept my irritation hidden from my voice and joked, "It's very rude to accost young women in the middle of the street, you know."

"Come with us," Ayato said abruptly. I frowned.

"I don't think so," I replied, leaking hostility into my voice. "I don't know you, and with all the attacks going on recently, I'd prefer to stay alive."

"Don't make us force you, girlie," the other ghoul said tauntingly. "We just want to have a little chat, that's all."

I eyed them warily. I couldn't take them on in a fight. Maybe the nameless weaker-looking ghoul, but not Ayato, and definitely not both of them at once. That meant that I didn't want to be alone with them and I knew that staying out in the open was my best bet.

"We can chat right here," I said. "I have nothing to hide. Do you?"

Ayato's cool, apathetic expression hardened at my defiance. "Last chance: come with us, or I will take you by force."

Those were the last words I wanted to hear.

Even though my speed was laughable compared to an ukaku's, I was still going to make a run for it. I whirled on my heels and darted into traffic, narrowly avoiding being run over by a car that was going way past the speed limit. I vaulted over another car that screeched to a halt at the sight of me and blaring honks followed my escape. One driver even rolled down his window to give me a piece of his mind, but I was too worried about escaping my pursuers to give him the time of day.

However, I could hear from the mad pitter-patter of footsteps behind me that crossing the street had been easier for them than it had for me, probably because the cars were already prepared for obnoxious teenage antics—if only that was what they really were—and I forced myself to run even faster, still in the direction of the hospital.

I hadn't texted Kanou-sensei yet, unfortunately, so he would not be expecting my arrival. However, I didn't dare get within twenty yards of the hospital grounds before talking to him, so I decided to multitask. Running as fast as I could—a quick glance over my shoulder revealed that they were gaining on me—I searched for a crowd to disappear into.

Luckily, there was an intersection up ahead that had a large cluster of people waiting to cross the street. I quickly melded into them, hiding myself among the scents of deodorant, body odor, and natural human smell. Ayato might be bloodthirsty, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to attack what was essentially a horde of humans in broad daylight.

Would he?

Hurriedly fishing my phone out from my purse, I pressed the speed dial that would connect me to Kanou-sensei. It was a little silly to have an as-of-yet unused phone number on speed dial, but it was technically an emergency number in my case. I pressed the phone up to my ear and took a deep breath, trying to locate the scent of any ghouls closing in on me. Surreptitious looks in all directions showed that my pursuers were not in my immediate vicinity, but that didn't mean they weren't still following me—my sense of smell hadn't lied yet and it was telling me that they were close.

There were four rings before it went to voicemail and I cursed. However, I left a rapidly-spoken voicemail that I hoped was intelligible in the crowd.

"Kanou-sensei, it's Murasaki Aiko," I said. I decided to use my birth surname because the packages were always sent under that name, even though I was technically Kaneki Aiko after Ken's mother adopted me. "I'm heading over to the hospital right now to visit Ken and I'm sure you heard that there was a little bit of a…mishap last night. I was hoping you could help get me some kind of clearance and maybe prevent me from being bothered. Also, I'm being pursued right now, so if I don't show up in thirty minutes, I'm probably…" Well, I didn't want to say dead, because I didn't honestly think that that was what Ayato's intentions were, nor did I want to sound dramatic. "I'm probably in a bit of trouble. It's 11:37 a.m. right now. Arigatou gozaimasu."

Just as I was hanging up a phone and starting to move with the crowd across the street, a hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed my wrist in a vice-grip. I was about to scream when I was pulled back against a hard chest and a low, masculine voice caressed my ear.

"Make a scene and I'll kill everyone here. Or don't you care about that?"

These people were nothing to me, but I did care because I had to be there for Ken, and if I was a wanted criminal and recognized ghoul, I would not only be useless to him, but I would actually be a detriment to his safety. Therefore, I took a deep breath, swallowed the lump in my throat, and allowed myself to be guided away from the crowd.

I didn't so much as receive a glance, even when I looked pleadingly at the people surrounding me. A dark thought crossed my mind. Stupid humans.

Ayato had apparently pursued me by his lonesome because we met back up with the other ghoul by an alleyway two blocks back from where I had run, unfortunately moving in the opposite direction of the hospital. I frowned and tried to tug my arm away from Ayato's harsh grip, but he only tightened his hold until it felt like he was a pascal away from shattering my wrist bones. I scowled and followed more quickly. I doubted they wanted to kill me, I really did—why kill a hybrid with the potential to be extraordinarily powerful? And even if they didn't know that, why kill another ghoul for no reason?—so I could only hope to make this encounter as short and sweet as possible.

We met up with the other ghoul presently and then walked deep into an alley. Ayato told the other ghoul, "Torino, secure the perimeter. I don't need your help with this."

Torino didn't seem surprised and part of me was glad that I wouldn't be dealing with an unknown element. It wasn't that Ayato was really someone I had been dying to meet, or that he was even a favored character of mine at all—even though he was even more attractive in real life than in the anime—but it was that, on some sick level, I felt safer with the bloodthirsty killer that I knew as opposed to the one that I didn't.

Ayato finally released me and I took a breath as he turned to face me.

"Activate your kakugan," he commanded imperiously.

I thought quickly. So apparently, there was a notion that I wasn't a regular ghoul, or else he wouldn't be asking that kind of question. However, how he knew that was not privy to me, as I had never been told I smelled any differently. Luckily, my hair easily covered the eye that remained human—by no means was this unintentional, I had actually been styling my hair like this at my foster family's request since I moved in with them—and easily acquiesced, certain that he would take it at face value.

My left eye's sclera turned black and my iris blood red. I looked at Ayato confidently, deciding that I had no reason to fear. He wouldn't kill me if I didn't provoke him, I told myself. There was no need for violence today.

Then Ayato lifted his hand and brushed my bangs away from my eyes. I immediately jerked away from him, unused to and not liking touch from anyone other than my brother. At the sight of my human eye, he didn't look surprised in the slightest; rather, he nodded once as though a conjecture had been confirmed.

"So you're a hybrid," he said apathetically. I was grateful for the lack of a different tone, as that would mean that he cared more than he should.

"Yes," I replied curtly. A thought struck me. "How did you know? Do I smell different?" I couldn't think of any other way he would have known.

"Several of my people witnessed your…fight last night," Ayato said, scoffing at the word 'fight.' It was clear what he thought of my offensive capabilities, and that was not much. "As pathetic as you were, your kakugan was hard to miss." I read between the lines and noted that he was referring to the lack thereof.

"Fantastic," I drawled, sounding much more confident than I actually was. The use of the term 'my people' obviously meant that Aogiri Tree had been formed, or at least was in its budding stages, and that meant bad things for Ken and me. I had to hope that this was a friendly neighborhood ghoul visit, but then it occurred to me that Aogiri Tree had started the human-ghoul war in the 11th Ward. That meant Ayato and his comrade had traveled all the way to the peace-loving 20th Ward just…to have a chat with me. I could only pray that they had other business here as well and were not here only for my sake.

"You're…unpracticed," he said, and he managed to make the word sound like a compliment, which meant that he really didn't think much of my skills in combat at all. "But we have an organization that could help you become very powerful. There's no reason to stay here and be hunted by doves, especially when you wouldn't last thirty seconds."

This was something like the spiel I was expecting. In order to spur him on, I asked him about what kind of organization it was with just the right amount of curiosity, even though I already knew, and he went off on a borderline rant about the great injustice against ghouls and how they needed to take over the city, and that Aogiri Tree was the best way to achieve that end. I let him go on while I hardly paid any attention, instead trying to think of a way to talk myself out of this mess.

I didn't necessarily disagree with him, though. The relentless hunting of ghouls, while understandable on the humans' part as ghouls removed them from the top of the food chain, was definitely not something I was fond of in any way. It put me in danger and now it was going to put Ken in danger, as well. That was something I wasn't willing to tolerate.

However, I also didn't believe that a mass takeover of Tokyo was the way to go, either. While I had no compunction about killing as long as it was for Ken's sake, or eating human flesh, as it was all I had ever known in this life, I didn't think that humans should be subjugated. I remembered how in Season One, Ken had believed himself to be the only way to bridge the gap of misunderstanding between humans and ghouls, as he was a hybrid himself. That train of thought hadn't lasted too long for him, but I did think there was some merit to it. It simply had to be started at a different point than fighting off a CCG investigator from helping his partner. It would take planning and thought, but I believed there was a way to end the suffering on both sides.

My mind forced itself into the present as I noticed that Ayato's fervor for the subject, while not waning, was starting to slow. I had been nodding at all the correct times, but I had to keep him talking to give myself more time to plan how to get out of this without committing myself to the organization.

"Isn't there a way to do it without bloodshed?" I asked, knowing that it would spur him into a full-on rant while not being particularly interested in exactly what he had to say.

He called me pathetic yet again before starting to meticulously find every fault with Anteiku that had ever and could ever possibly exist. It bought me the time I needed.

There were a couple of pros to joining Aogiri Tree, I had to admit. They could teach me to fight the best out of anyone I knew, and Ken's strength in the original timeline had been bolstered by Aogiri Tree specifically. The only way I could protect Ken was if I could fight and defend us both against multiple attackers. Another pro was that it would provide a certain amount of protection to both myself and my brother—as the saying goes, 'safety in numbers.' If I was on my own, I might have chosen to join, if only temporarily.

But I had to take into account Ken's feelings. I was hoping to make his transition into being a ghoul as painless and shameless as possible, but I knew that he would certainly protest against killing. The only reason that changed was because of the torture he went through with Yamori in the show, where he realized that it truly was kill or be killed in this world. However, this time around he had me, and I wanted to be able to protect the both of us well enough that Ken wouldn't have to make that drastic change; rather, I would have the blood on my hands for the both of us so that he wouldn't have to carry that burden.

Aogiri Tree was not right for Ken. They would want him to kill humans, and he would not want to do that. They would make him forsake Hide. They would train him to fight, which Ken was certainly not interested in. They would harden him, which was something that I did not want for him. Ken wouldn't want to join Aogiri Tree, and if I became involved with them in any way, Ken would be dragged into that. They wouldn't force him, I was certain, but we wouldn't make any friends saying by no to them.

Anteiku was what he needed right now. Anteiku, the 'human-loving pieces of shit,' as Ayato was so fervently calling them at this very moment. Ayato wasn't actually talking all that much, really, not enough that it would seem odd for him; I was just capable of thinking very quickly. However, I could tell that the time was going to come when I needed to answer him.

"…you see your best option," he was saying.

I clued in to the present. "No," I said. "I don't think I do. I don't want to fight."

Ayato's nostrils flared in irritation. "Then you want to die?"

"I hadn't fed in a while last night, that's all. I can defend myself," I lied rather convincingly. Ayato just looked at me hard, not impressed with my answer, and I went on to seal the deal. "My brother is a human." Another lie. He had been a human. "I have every reason to be a 'human-lover,' and that's not going to change. Am I supposed to pick all-out war over family? Because that's what you're talking about."

Ayato was looking at me condescendingly, as though he were talking to a very small child. However, there was contempt in that gaze, and I remembered belatedly how Ayato felt towards his sister—and she was family, too, all that he had left.

Seeing that I was getting nowhere with him, I sighed. "Look, I'm not going to get involved with this. I just want to live peacefully. No: that's my answer." My gaze hardened threateningly. "I'm not going to change my mind, so I don't want to hear from you again, got that?"

What I hadn't taken into account was that in Ayato's mind, I was about as threatening as a fly and probably just as annoying. It seemed like he was going to concede though, and I thought that I had been right. They weren't going to force anyone to join.

"Alright," he said. "We don't want an unwilling fighter. Torino!" The other ghoul, who had been standing watch a little ways away at the exit of the alley and smoking a cigarette to look leisurely, turned and face Ayato with a raised eyebrow.

Ayato looked back at me and snatched my wrist tightly. "But unfortunately, you're too much of a resource to leave out here in the open. You'll change your mind soon, I promise." The feral grin on his face worried me greatly, and it was then that I realized I was about to be kidnapped.

"Let me go! I have to go see my brother!" I snarled viciously, immediately calling upon my kagune and moving into a defensive stance. I knew that Ayato was an ukaku, and while he was definitely above my skill level, I was lucky in that I would have better stamina and healing than he would as a rinkaku myself. The problem was that this was exactly what I had wanted to avoid: two on one, because as Ayato vaulted into the air with his wing-like kagune holding him steady, Torino with his unknown RC type was behind me.

I inhaled deeply, hardening my kagune and preparing for a fight, when suddenly, a much, much better defense came to mind. I withdrew my kagune and deactivated my kakugan, looking for all the world like a terrified teenager about to be eaten by ghouls.

"Help! Please, somebody help!" I screamed, my voice cracking from the sheer volume. "Ghouls!"

I began to run towards the scent I had just caught—disgusting, bloodthirsty piece of shit—and while it wouldn't be enough to get past Torino, the blatant disregard to my own species' safety was enough to stun Ayato and Torino enough to buy me some time. If I wasn't injured, there was no reason to be suspicious when I healed too quickly.

I knew that the people I was relying on for help were more of the ambushing type than head-on combat, but the younger of the pair had an innate sense of justice, albeit misplaced, that would not allow him to leave a frightened girl to die to ghouls.

Even if she was one herself, but he didn't have to know that.

Ayato wouldn't know the scent that I had picked up on, so he spat, "Is that your best play, little girl?" Apparently I looked younger than I was, which was a little insulting, since I was much mentally much, much older than he. "Calling for help? You're even more pathetic than I thought."

And then he was nearly speared in the back by a quinque, wielded by none other than Mado Kureo. It was only his inhumanly superior speed that save him from a grievous injury, but I wasn't concerned that Ayato would be felled by these men. Torino, perhaps, but definitely not Ayato.

In that moment, I wasn't hoping for Mado's death. While I was not necessarily determined to kill him with my own hands, he was of better use to me alive at this point than dead.

If you can't win 'em, use 'em.

How amazing would it be if he ever realized that he girl whose life he had 'saved' was actually a ghoul? That was a kick in the balls for someone like him any day.

"You bitch!" Ayato roared at me, but I was keeping up the act of frightened girl and quickly darted behind the two investigators. With my dyed hair and natural green eyes, they wouldn't suspect me to be anything other than human unless I was wounded—which meant that all I had to do was stay back.

"Stay behind me," Amon Koutarou said to me urgently. "We'll take care of these two for you."

A miraculous idea occurred to me. If I could get in good with Amon—I would always hate Mado—then my and Ken's safety was all but assured. It would not be unreasonable to assume that I could arrange for Mado's death to happen as it had in the anime, even if it would mean that Hinami was orphaned and Ken and Touka lost someone they cared about. Mado was a bigger threat. However, if I could gain Amon's trust…

My thoughts moved to an even more grandiose scale. If I could gain Amon's trust and ingratiate myself with him, it would be the first step to revolutionizing the world as it was. An investigator and a ghoul, working together to bring peace to Tokyo, if not the world? It was ingenious, if I did say so myself. If it was possible for anyone to see both sides of the story in the CCG, it was Amon Koutarou.

Plan budding in my mind, I played a very convincing part as damsel-in-distress. However, my two 'protectors' were very efficient, and soon, Torino was mortally wounded. Now here was the question: would Ayato get his comrade to safety, or would he fight until both investigators were dead?

Apparently, he chose the former, although I could see that he was flagging, his stamina already greatly reduced after the initial ten minutes. He heaved Torino's wounded body from the ground, deactivated his kagune, and left, but not before shooting me a dangerous glare that shone with promise.

I decided that I didn't want to think about what that promise might be.

I sighed in relief as he fled before catching myself when Mado made to pursue. However, while Amon was the junior of the pair, his hand on Mado's shoulder reminded the bastard that they had a 'civilian' to take care of.

"Are you hurt?" Amon asked gently, kneeling down to be eye-level with me. Either I was very short, or he was very tall. Maybe both.

My hands were naturally trembling with adrenaline and also anger, a side effect of being so close to my enemies, specifically Mado, so I didn't have to fake that much. Jerkily, I shook my head in the negative.

"Got yourself into some trouble, eh?" said Mado, and I had to resist my urge to sneer at his lackadaisical attitude. However, I suppose he wasn't usually the one in charge of dealing with civilians. "Good thing we were around, don't you think?"

He was staring at me intensely and I fought hard not to fidget. I had been very young when I last saw him, it had been dark, and now my hair was a different color. There was no way he'd recognize me—although I had to admit that his instincts were killer. I'd need to be careful around him.

"Yes," I agreed, leaking some fear into my voice. Then I looked them both in the eyes and said, "Thank you so much!" Now was the time for some gushing and hero-worship, I decided. "I-I would be dead without you…oh my god, I-I-thank you so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I bowed deeply and repeatedly to show my gratitude.

"Our job is to protect people like you," Amon said kindly. I smiled at him genuinely. He really was a good guy. I needed to start changing his mind about the status quo before Mado died, or else he would be impossible to reach. "You're very welcome."

Mado was watching me keenly and I decided that an ordinary human girl wouldn't be bothered by that, so I ignored him.

"I…I was just about to go visit my brother in the hospital," I said softly. "He was also attacked by ghouls, but it nearly killed him. He's still in the intensive care unit, and I'm really worried about him, but now…" I trailed off meaningfully.

Amon and Mado looked at each other for a moment. Despite my hatred for the latter, I had to admit that their partnership was seamless.

"We've got a lead on Jason to follow," Mado said with a shrug. I hid the stiffening of my shoulders very well at the mention, but either way, neither of them were looking at me. "Not time-sensitive, I'd say."

"I'll see you in fifteen," Amon replied. "Come on." This was directed at me. "I'm going to walk you to the hospital, okay? We'll get you checked out."

"A-alright," I said. This was probably more perfect than I could hope for. Time alone with Amon this early in the timeline could be game-changing. Mado wasn't supposed to die for at least another three months.

We left the alley, carefully sidestepping the pool of Torino's blood. It smelled terrible and I wondered vaguely why a ghoul would ever become a cannibal, as even in canon they said that their own kind tasted terrible.

Once we had walked out into the street and were in public again, Amon asked me casually, "So, what's your name?"

"Kaneki Aiko," I replied. "A-and, I'm sorry for my rudeness. I never asked your name."

"Amon Koutarou, Junior Special Investigator," he said, unmistakable pride in his voice. "You're very lucky we were in the area. You could have been killed."

"I know," I responded sadly. I looked up at the sky as we walked and the weariness that overcame me very much real. "I wonder why the world has to be like this, you know? All the bloodshed…"

Amon took it exactly the way I expected him to, and it occurred to me that it was possible I had been older than him when I died. "It's because of the ghoul's nature," Amon replied, his tone serious and self-righteous. "Their appetites and physical traits make them the most dangerous animals on the planet."

That was bold, and I had to think a moment on which fallacy to point out first. I decided it would be better not to start out with anything big, so pointing out that ghouls were as intelligent and sentient as humans and not all that different from them except in what they ate was not the way to go. I settled on something a little less obvious.

"Do you think they have to eat humans, or do they just choose to?"

I was proud of the phrasing; it was actually a very thought-provoking question, in my opinion.

"No one knows for sure," Amon deflected. That was bullshit. The CCG had studied plenty of ghouls, dead and alive, and I was certain they would know if ghouls could eat something other than human flesh.

I frowned. "My mom told me, before she died, that ghouls have to eat human flesh or they'll die. I think it's sad. Ghouls can speak our language, and learn in school, and be everything like humans, but they have to eat us or else they'll die. What if a human was friends with a ghoul? What if they had to eat them?"

Amon focused on the easiest argument, which I should have predicted. "That's why humans should never be friends with ghouls. The less you interact with them, the safer you'll be."

"I would hate to be a ghoul," I said. We were nearing the hospital now and I wanted to leave him with something to think about before I saw him again—and I had decided that I certainly would. It wouldn't be out of character to bring him a gift to his office to thank him for saving my life, now would it? "Even though they almost just killed me, I'm certain that it was just because they were hungry. I feel so bad for them. They're hated by everybody just because they're different."

We stepped in front of the hospital and Amon turned to me. I absently realized that the conversation I had started had made him forget to have the doctors check me out. He placed his hands on my shoulders and said, "Ghouls are not hated because they're different, Kaneki-san. They're hated because they're dangerous and a threat to the peace of society."

I nodded, knowing that there wasn't much more I could say. There was a clear tone of finality in his voice and I knew better than to push too hard all at once. "Thank you again, Amon-san."

"You're welcome, Kaneki-san. You have a good day, and I hope your brother gets well soon." He waved as he walked away, and then he was gone.

As I entered the hospital, I sighed in frustration. That hadn't gone nearly as well as I would have hoped, but according to the timeline, I had at least a month until Ken was recovered enough to come home. I began to make a mental list of the things I would have to take care of in that amount of time, but my thoughts were overshadowed by those of my conversation with Amon.

In the end I decided that in the end, it went as the saying goes: Rome wasn't built in a day.

That's a wrap! I hope it didn't move too fast or was confusing at all. Please let me know!

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