The Quinx of Change

Summary: When Hide miraculously wakes up near the end of a fight with his best friend and the CCG reaper, he does what he thinks he failed to do. Be there for his best friend. But as his injuries worsens, his will to keep Kaneki alive strengthens. He wakes up expecting the worst for his figure, but in the process intrigued the CCG reaper, in both him and his best friend.

There was a moment in Hide's brain when he realized the damage he had openly received, so openly agreed to take in, as he felt his best friend consume his left arm.

He hadn't realized it until he blacked out, thinking it was over for him. His journey was over, killed by his best friend. Somewhat ironic if he thought. He deserved it after not helping him at all beforehand, emphasizing the fact that the ghoul eating his left arm was his best friend.

He was thankful he had put his arm in the way of his cheek, as Kaneki had jumped, toppling, falling, and pinning Hide on the ground.

Drifting into a black vision, Hide's life flashed before his own eyes, recalling the events up until today.

Truth be told, despite his outgoing and somewhat energetic personality, he in many ways was like his best friend, he was also somewhat of a tragedy, at least in terms of the fate of his family.

He was born an only child, as his mother had died upon his birth. She was killed by him, something that his own biological father had repeated, tormenting Hide with this burden. He didn't know what his mother did prior, but he knew that his father was always out fighting ghouls for the CCG.

Those were the best times for Hide, as he would hang out with his peers in elementary school, something he enjoyed, being the energetic and social kid, he was. However, that changed whenever his father came, to pick him up. Whenever they were in the house, the atmosphere was always tense.

While he wasn't abused physically, Hide knew the message his father would repeatedly express: you killed my wife. He was mostly neglected or verbally tormented by his father, whom he put all his grief and despair towards. When a bunch of men in white clothing came to his elementary school instead of his father, he was confused.

When he was told his father wasn't coming back, he quickly shrugged, not caring too much as his relationship with his father wasn't strong. So when he went to an orphanage briefly, he befriended the others residing there. That is, until he was taken by a single foster father.

Learning about his foster father, Hide learned he was going through a difficult time as well. Apparently, he had been cheated into thinking a kid was his by his ex-fiancée, therefore after the breakup, he sought adopting a child to remedy the trauma of infidelity.

His relationship with him was better, as the foster father took care of him, but Hide never saw him as a parent, rather a simple financial check, to guarantee any financial struggles, such as school tuition and the sorts.

When Kaneki went missing, he sought joining the CCG to search for his best friend, who had mysteriously vanished. Because of his father's connection, he already had some history with the organization, even if he lacked experience.

However, even then, before, since the accident between him and Rize, Hide knew that something had changed in Kaneki ever since. He wasn't the same, and he knew it.

Looking over some files whenever he had the chance, he saw that they had taken interest in the situation as not only did they have Kaneki missing, but also the doctor who operated on him that night.

Then, there was the case of the Binge Eater. A dangerous ghoul known for eating multiple humans in a short amount of time. The attributes the CCG labeled were eerily like that of Rize, and it couldn't have been a coincidence. The timing of her attacks oddly matched that with the accident. Whereas she was prevalent throughout different wards, after the accident on the 20th ward, she had disappeared entirely.

Hide was smart when he was determined, and he quickly had a hypothesis to what happened. He knew and learned Kaneki was a ghoul after hearing him and Yoshimura comment about it, but knowing Kaneki since elementary, Hide knew Kaneki wasn't originally a ghoul.

Then, it wasn't until Hide found an arrest warrant for Kanou from the CCG, for human ghoul experimentation did he finally confirm his hypothesis.

Again, it was still a hypothesis, but he was certain about it, considering the evidence backed it up nicely.

He was certain that organ transplant did something to Kaneki, changing his body to a ghoul. The only thing that he had to confirm was whether Rize was a ghoul. Once that was determined, his hypothesis couldn't have any questions on it.

"So, this is the end-of-life world, huh?" he joked. Even near death he was still the optimistic guy he was, courtesy of the multiple times he left elementary school.

He could feel the slight movement of the air around his limp figure, which made him know he wasn't dead yet. Probably close, but not inevitable. He needed medical assistance, he told himself, as he figured the person picking him up was taking him there.

Despite his vision black, he still could hear the remnants of the outer world he was in.

The sound of sirens, the mumbles of people, even the footsteps of others. He even felt his body, aside from his left arm.

Multiple flashbacks of his memories began to race within what was left of his subconsciousness. From the moment he was born, to the death of his mother. Talking with kids his age in primary school, to being pushed in an orphanage after his father passed. Being taken in by his foster father, to now. Of course, meeting Kaneki was among the highest points of his life, a consistent friend who had stuck with him through all.

He had to still be alive, Kaneki would be facing against the CCG Reaper, or Kishou Arima. A threatening individual known for taking out even the most wanted ghouls. Hide knew Kaneki's life was on the line.

So was his, but if he were to die, he would at least want to die alongside his best friend.

Suddenly, he felt his body meet a cold surface. Despite it's cold surface it felt soft, and Hide only knew one specific substance that was cold, yet soft.

"The ground!" He quickly realized, as he pondered what it could mean.

It was somewhat annoying, not being able to see what was happening around you. He could still faintly hear, thought.

Hide quickly realized he was still in control of his body. Despite the damage, aside from his left arm, he felt his body, so maybe with enough strength he could get up, and see whatever commotion was going on.

The yells of two figures, however, were what made Hide realize who the contestants were in this battle.

The CCG reaper, Kishou Arima, and Ken Kaneki.

Their yells were something Hide had heard before, and hearing them simultaneously meant they were scuffling.

"No..." Hide mumbled, though it was only in his mind, unheard from those watching the battle. His fears had come to life, even if he knew it was inevitable.

A painful grunt from Kaneki made Hide even more worried for his life, as he knew, despite what he wanted to believe with Kaneki, that he stood no chance against Arima. He was just too experienced for the ghoul.

And so, Hide, grunted, saying whatever he could to maybe, just maybe, get up from his blackness.

Anything. He had to do something.

But no luck so far.

"Come on, Hideyoshi…" Hide was mumbling to himself, trying anything to get up. He had to.

He promised Kaneki he would be there for him, but he had failed at that, ever since the steel beam incident with Rize. He failed to help him, he failed to provide for him, he failed to protect him.

"NO MORE I will not fail you again Kaneki!" Hide mentally screamed, his desire to protect Kaneki, after so many failures finally paying off.

To, not only his, but everyone else's surprise, Hide found himself awake. It started with small twitches, before to actual movement. He eventually found himself gaining the strength to pick himself up.

He looked around, seeing the shocked faces of onlookers, the bright red and blue lights, and the weird white environment he was in. It was almost tranquil.

That is, if you took away the fact that the quinque IXA, held by Arima, was lodged into the skull of Kaneki, his right eye destroyed in the process. However, both of Kaneki's eyes were destroyed, Hide could see, and his mind went haywire.

"No… w-was I-" Hide didn't want to think about that.

He didn't care about what was going on, or who, all he cared about was defending his friend. The CCG may see him as eyepatch, a ghoul, a monster.

But he saw the person as Kaneki Ken, a person trapped in this never-ending cycle of violence. He had to do something now!

He slowly got up, realizing his left arm was completely missing, with massive amounts of blood staining his left shoulder, before he walked towards Arima, whose face was rather conflicted.

On the one hand, it looked like he wanted to finish the one-eyed ghoul off. However, there was also a tinge of impress and respect as if he saw something special within Kaneki. Hide took a closer look at Arima's face and noticed a small, but noticeable scratch on his right cheek, which was bleeding.

He didn't let the details stop him, he without any thinking, and with his only one hand, pushed Arima out the way, putting himself through Kaneki and the CCG reaper.

To say the crowd was shocked was an understatement. To say they saw Hide as a threat was also one. He didn't care. Even if he had hurt himself more in the process, he had saved Kaneki from another potentially fatal strike.

Despite the blood dripping out of him from his wounds, he was determined and standing with confidence.

Arima simply regained his footing, noting the new figure, without an arm, as not a threat, though was on guard, ready to strike down, with a look that stated, 'don't get in my way.'

"Please." Hide started, tears starting to run out of his eyes, his voice faltering, and his body shaking, as he leaned down, in an almost crouching position.

"I beg. Don't kill him. He's not supposed to be here." Hide's voice turned tearier by the second, as the crowd simply looked on in suspense. A boy without an arm standing up to the CCG reaper? How mad was he?!

"To you, he may just be a monster, but he wasn't! That ghoul! It's Kaneki Ken! You know? From the missing posture for Kami University? The guy who had the steel beams fall on him? The guy who had an organ transplant? The guy who disappeared?" Hide's revelation was heard throughout as they pondered on what he could mean.

Arima was no different, with a neutral expression, showcasing almost a blank face, as he looked at the boy below him, begging him to not kill him.

"He's my best friend. Since elementary school. He was the most human person you'd ever meet. He loved books, was a hermit, couldn't even beat a human child. He's not a killer. He's not a monster, and he's not a ghoul. He's more human than you all! But then! He had that accident with his date!"

For the most part, again, Arima simply didn't care what this boy was telling him.

For him, this ghoul he had just defeated was nothing special, just another one in the multiple he had already slain on this day.

Sure, that ghoul had managed to break his quinque, and cut his cheek, but it wasn't worth a different fate from the rest. Sure, Eyepatch intrigued him, and impressed him for his strength, but his treatment wouldn't be any different.

That is, until Hide mentioned a name Arima hadn't heard of in a while.

"Why did I tell you go on that date with Rize! Why? I should've tried harder to demotivate you from asking her out! I should've told you to go home, just go home and read a book! That's all I ever wanted! Was to go home! But you had to go with Rize, and get yourself in this situation!"

The mention of Rize Kamishiro, someone whom Arima knew surprisingly well, compared to most.

It wasn't anything noteworthy, obviously, but to know that this ghoul had some sort of connection to her, did paint a bit of light on Arima, who himself also knew of the incident and the boy.

The incident, that left a girl dead and a boy and its doctor missing? The more Arima thought, with the connection of Eyepatch and this incident, plus with Eyepatch seemingly originating from the 20th ward, where the incident took place, it did make sense. It did have some merit to it.

His face did take on a bit of interest, but nothing too worthy. He spotted the boy, blocking him from the injured ghoul. His orange hair, the CCG uniform, as well as his missing arm.

Arima could tell that he was roughly the ghoul's height, maybe slightly taller, he theorized.

Arima sighed, he was interested in Eyepatch, after during their fight, when the ghoul had chanted a poem, which intrigued the reaper. His strength was also noteworthy, as the reaper was able to wipe away thirty ghouls without injury. For one to have a small of a strike as he did was noteworthy.

He then looked to the boy, without an arm, and knew who he was. Hideyoshi Nagachika. The name also sounded familiar, specifically the last name.

This was indeed an interesting set of individuals he had run into.

However, Arima knew he couldn't keep on. He had a fight to instigate. The plan was simple. Fight the owl, whom he knew as the Eto Yoshimura, pretend he had defeated it, when allowing her to escape.

Probably the other ghoul he respected, as they shared many common goals.

And so, without any saying, he simply walked away from the two injured boys, as his biggest test awaited him.

The battle had been as devastating as it was expected, but it had merely been a performance, with the severed arm he had delivered to Eto being not fatal, as it would grow back within a minute. The impressive regeneration she had.

The small onlookers believed the battle as a genuine one, unknown to them the mere performance they had gotten instead.

With a simple stoic face, he walked back, to pick up the two boys who also interested the reaper.

He saw them in the exact spot he left them, much to his surprise. They were both unconscious, but breathing, indicating that they were still alive somehow.

He simply shrugged, putting his quinque in its hold, before grabbing the two boys by their hair, dragging them to get them the medical attention they needed.

…

Hide wasn't sure what to expect when he woke up. That is if he did.

He wasn't even sure what to expect in general. He had literally attacked the reaper in front of many CCG investigators, defending a ghoul, or a monster. They were probably talking about it.

But Hide doubled down on his actions. He didn't care, he hopefully saved his best friend. He wasn't sure what happened after he blacked out, seeing Arima simply walk away, but knew he had played a role in them getting the medical attention.

But it was only a week after the Owl-Suppression Operation, and Hide was still asleep. In a stark contrast to Kaneki, whom Arima sought ownership of the ghoul for him to be placed in Cochlea, as Prisoner #240. They had agreed, and Kaneki found himself, while physically healed, shot mentally.

Unbeknownst to his best friend, he had suffered total amnesia, not knowing anything about him. The only thing he could recall was a small little voice in his head, which he chose to ignore and suppress.

Suffering nightmares, going almost animalistic, and rejecting food, Kaneki wasn't Kaneki anymore.

He was a pariah of what he used to be, the damage to his brain severe to cost his memories.

As for Hide's fate, it seemed to be more interesting.

Two doctors, both females walked in the room, where Hide was sleeping. After a week of the operation, he was still asleep. His missing left arm, seemingly never to grow back. He would have to get it amputated many in the wing stated.

That is, except for a few intelligent minded individuals within the business.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Itsuki Marude, who was approached with an idea that seemed unethical.

"I mean, sure, but imagine the possibility of regeneration, with the ability to regrow entire limbs!" A mad, clad in white clothing with a mysterious aura around him, figuratively.

This was very unexpected for the organization, an experimental treatment for regenerative limbs? Sure some animals, like salamanders, axolotls, and even ghouls can regenerate, the last due to having more rc cells than a human, but to think they could simply utilize this to work on them? It was unheard of.

Itsuki simply pondered, "Why should I approve of this?"

The man simply chuckled, "Think about it, the powerful regenerative abilities of the ghoul, if we could harness the RC cells, perhaps we could bring forth a new era of regenerative medicine!"

Itsuki was still unsure about what he was told, "And who exactly are we going to experiment this on? And what are the complications of this?"

The man smiled, "It's simple, expose the body to a slightly higher RC count, so that they can regenerate their limbs, similar to other ghouls. Of course, we don't want to create ghouls by accident, as too much of these RC cells can result in that change, so instead we introduce the RC cells, sporadically, so that they can't accumulate and form kagune. Then, through RC suppressants we can get rid of the excess RC cells."

Itsuki nodded, at least understanding the procedure. "But what about complications?"

"Well, the biggest may be similar to that of other blood transfusions, with blood types and the so. However, the biggest complication may be ROS, which is why RC suppressants are recommended daily to circumvent it. Even then, this experiment is more related to blood transfusion, which if we are careful spells very little to no complications at all."

Itsuki pondered, it wasn't perfect, but the idea of being able to heal from missing limbs was something that he could get on board with. The problem was that this was still experimental, and thus not ethical.

"I understand, and despite us having an individual with a missing arm whom you could try it on, I am not willing to pay the expenses if it goes wrong." Itsuki firmly stated.

However, the man chuckled, clearly getting an idea, "Why do you respect him? I know him, the guy who defended a ghoul. Isn't he supposed to be transported to Cochlea after he wakes up? Why have dignity and ethical values for someone who has done wrong? If he dies, just make the story that he died in custody, or while struggling. Besides, he isn't going to get back his arm, so unless you want a hassle to deal with down in Cochlea, then you should approve of this experimental treatment."

Itsuki sighed, he did bring up some good points. That's not to say he supported using prisoners for some inhumane practice, but the experimental treatment that he was shown was promising. It was in the early stages of development.

Ever since the development of technology, humans had always been intrigued in regeneration, especially when looking at ghouls. What made humans unique is that they would look at something, and ask why does that happen?

If a human or other mammal lost a limb, they would lose if forever, but a ghoul could regenerate. Humans would ask, 'What makes it possible for them to regeneration, but for us not to?'

The experiment had a long history, but early trials began more recently, and now they wanted to test actual humans who had previously lost limbs or even their senses. They have tried a former investigator who lost their eyesight in their right eye after a ghoul attack, which had miraculously worked, albeit with a slight rc cell count boost.

However, there was significant backlash, by the broader CCG, and thus they needed someone, a human they would not care for. Hide fit that position perfectly, currently.

While human prisoners were rare, as Cochlea was meant for ghouls, there were some humans who would end up there to be interrogated for defending or harboring dangerous wanted ghouls.

This boy, Hideyoshi Nagachika, was no different, had defended and harbored a knowledge to a ghoul, and was missing his left arm. The possibility for him to grow back his arm would make treating him better, and he had already committed a crime, and so was to be locked up once the hospital had deemed him healthy.

With his mind made up, Itsuki simply asked, "Give me the papers."

The man chuckled in glee, giving him the approval letter and a pen, which he signed with his signature, before nodding to them.

They were now assigned to Hideyoshi Nagachika from now one, until they gave him the greenlight for him to be transported down to Cochlea, where he would stay to be interrogated, at least until he was feeling better.

And so, another week went by, with the two females, operating on Hide, while the man looked on in glee, watching his experiment go by smoothly.

He had what appeared to be a rc scanning device on him, to see the rc factor he was dealing with.

It seemed that, for the most part, this boy was no different, a rc factor of 452, it was high for a human, but not abnormal, it seems.

If anything, this made it better, the interval between the injection won't produce a strong reaction as anticipated.

"Blood type O, we'll have to sample a ghoul. Excuse me, but can you give us a ghouls' remains with a blood type of O?" The man asked, taking note of Hide's blood type other matching ones, and all the other stuff needed to ensure his body didn't treat it as foreign, and thus, damage it more than heal.

"Understood." One of the assistants asked. Unfortunately for Hide, that assistant decided to take one from a specific ghoul remains with the words "Caution!" bolded.

They were using ghoul remains that the CCG kept, which they would categorize based on their type of kagune, blood type, and former rank before defeat. However, this specific ghoul prototype was marked as caution, for a reason.

The assistant cared very little and moved on, giving the man the prototype, for Hide's regenerative arm.

While it may seem that this mysterious man had ill intentions, it wasn't necessarily the case. He was a good-hearted man, wanting to help those, and decrease suffering, and so the idea of regrowing lost limbs due to freak accidents was something he was passionate about.

What he was in for, however, was being revered. He wanted the notoriety, the popularity, to be seen as the father of this medicine, so that he could go down in the book, so that he would be taught and thanked by generations, thanks to his research and experiments.

The process of experimentation was necessary to prove his works, and thus was eager when was told about a boy who had lost his arm. This was his chance, and he wasn't going to ruin or hesitate.

With precise caution, watching over his two female doctors, he let them perform the procedure that would hopefully, if all worked out, see an arm grow anew.

Obviously, it wasn't perfect, the boy would have to take rc suppressants to ensure the rc cells don't accumulate and cause ROS, and some complications, like a change in taste for different foods may occur, however, those were fine if it meant regrowing a lost arm.

It was also better that this boy was a criminal, as if it wasn't for his injury, he would be sent to Cochlea like the rest of them. He may not have been a ghoul but harboring and defending one was often seen as bad.

Meaning, that there wasn't as much as an ethical hurdle as you would expect. Against a normal person, their would-be objections over ethics, however, if said person was tainted with a bad reputation, then most wouldn't care what happens. Regardless of any ethical questions, for this it was thrown out the window.

It was sad, but that's how society works now, and was why the man, who was smart, was looking for a prisoner, who had committed something seen as irresponsible and bad to the public.

That's why Hideyoshi Nagachika was the perfect test subject for this. It wasn't like Dr. Kanou, turning humans to ghouls, but rather using the biology of the ghoul, and to sort of trick nature into working the human body for health benefits.

If a ghoul was able to regenerate lost limbs incredible efficiently and quickly, then a simple mimic of some sorts, with the rc cells being the main, not only, target for this method.

If this worked, however, this man would be seen as a hero for those who had lost limbs, the chance of moving and using their hands. Those who had an organ issue, like lung, heart, or pancreas problems, and so much more. It could, if used correctly aid with slowing aging. The outcome and possibilities were endless, and he was only scratching the surface.

Many CCG investigators, who have gone to check on Hide, were definitely shocked to see three relatively unknown individuals' operation on him, but reassurance from Itsuki, telling them he had given the figures approval for their procedure, prevented them from questioning further.

The most notable was the reaper, Arima, who had wanted Hide to answer a question about Rize. That name, Arima hadn't heard about in years, and the curious as to her whereabouts.

After "fighting" with Eto Yoshimura, it was eventually revealed that her father, also the manager of Anteiku, had gone missing. Further evidence by the CCG detailing that they had a sample of his kagune and his rc cells, which made Arima believe he was deceased.

Not much was known about him, other than the fact that he was detailed as a dangerous ghoul capable of forming a kakuja.

For the CCG's side, many smaller investigators had gone missing, but it was Amon and Seidou that seemed to be the most significant losses, with Akira in particular taking their disappearance to heart.

Akira had cried after Amon and Seidou's confirmed death by the CCG, her anger towards ghouls intensifying in a more exponential way. First her father, and now her friends, all killed by ghouls, despite their environment, it made her angry at them, while sad for her fallen friends.

Arima was the one who had to encourage her to a mental health checkup, as the raid had been relatively costly.

As Arima simply watched from a distance the two doctors complete their procedure and the man taking notes, they noticed the reaper, but seeing as he was merely observing, they let him watch, not seeing him as an annoyance, not that they would say that to him of course.

Once they finished, he bid them a farewell for today, expecting to see them the next time they had to repeat the procedure.

However, that was before they stated to him, "Make sure he gets his Rc suppressants by the end of the day, we'll check on his progress tomorrow."

Arima simply nodded as he looked and spotted the suppressant, in the form of a syringe, noting the time it was, noting that he would have to return to Hide's room within six hours.

Before he left the room, however, he noted a faint grunt from the boy, which despite waiting a bit more, did not wake up.

Arima sighed, he had no time for this, when he had to check on the mentally unstable ghoul, he had defeated a week ago.

Regardless, Arima himself knew that the next couple of weeks, or even years were going to be an interesting one to him.

And so, grabbing some books on some shelfs, Arima made his way to Cochlea, for a temporary visit, just to check on the ghoul he and Eto had an interest in.

It was to be expected, whereas the white-haired ghoul was thrashing around, saying unusual quotes, like a deranged traumatized individual, now he was calmer. More nervous, more aware.

Still, he was a pariah of his usual self before, but he was now talking, with a quiet voice, his nightmares fading, and his character showcasing itself behind the confusion.

But this wasn't Ken Kaneki anymore, because he didn't know. The strikes and injuries to his head had caused total amnesia, as if he had woken up in a dark room with no previous knowledge, aside from the voice inside his head.

"I see your doing much better." Arima stated, and the white-haired boy nodded.

"Y-yeah, I'm b-better, I-I think." The young adult answered and Arima nodded. He was still stuttering, in part due to distrust. However, through visits and giving him new books to read, the reaper had become a sort of father figure for the confused white-haired figure stuck in his sell.

Arima nodded, "So, you're going to need a name if you want to get out of here."

The white-haired eyes widened, "Really?"

"Yes, do you know your name?"

The jailed figure seemed to be thinking his best, but unfortunately his smile dropped, "N-no, I d-don't."

"Well, how about we give you a new name? Based on what you like?"

The young adult began to think, with the little voice in his head muttering coffee to him. He decided this one time, he would listen to him.

"C-coffee."

Arima smiled, "I see, well-" he said, opening the cell door.

"Welcome to the CCG, Haise Sasaki."

A.N / So, this is my first Tokyo Ghoul story, as for my knowledge on this series, I had watched the anime, both Toyko Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul:re. As for the manga, I am in the process of finishing the first part of the manga, however, this story is a sort of AU, where essentially a small change in detail changes what happens to Hide entirely. Hide will be the main character in this, however Arima and Kaneki will play a major and minor role respectively.