The Quinx of Change
Summary: Sometimes the smallest changes in an event can change the future entirely. Sometimes a noble act of friendship can be seen by others as treason. That's exactly what Hide learns after defending the Eyepatch, also known as his friend best Ken Kaneki, when he is locked up, with only one way to get out.
CCG Headquarters, Medical Ward
After the event that had transpired, Hide wasn't expecting the unexpected. In this world that he had unexpectedly brought upon himself, he learned quickly the damage that can be dealt to you, and much more.
So, considering all the stuff he had gone through that caused him to land in the hospital, Hide wasn't expecting to wake up feeling normal. Strange, he thought he would be incredibly sore.
Heck, Kaneki ate his entire left arm, meaning he was suspecting an amputated arm for the rest of his life. While some may think poorly to this, Hide was more optimistic and energetic.
"A metal arm? That sounds cool! Imagine punching someone with it? Would it hurt ghouls?" He had mentally asked himself, as he drifted in his sleep.
He wasn't sure how long he would be asleep, but considering what the hospital must have been doing to him, he had expected it to be quite some time.
The black vision that he had experienced briefly, before waking up, was noticeably more sorrowful, and it gave Hide the expression that he wasn't as lucky has he had perceived.
"What is that?" Hide asked mentally, before moving on.
Still, Hide was hoping that something would happen.
He just had to wait, he told himself as he felt his mind drifting into the dark emptiness.
However, it hit him.
A thud. Almost like he was falling the entire time, without knowing, until he had hit the ground.
It was a weird feeling, and Hide could have sworn that his actual physical body had moved in reaction to that.
But he couldn't tell. It was strange, something he had never experienced before until now.
The next thing Hide knew, was that he was finding himself awake.
He opened his eyes softly, the bright light hurting his vision after seeing darkness for so long. He quietly moved his head around, to see his surroundings. His perception was correct, he was in a hospital, however, this one was a part of the CCG it seems, a sort of branchoff from the main building.
He then turned to see anyone around, but there was no one. Not even a passerby. Despite this, he could hear the commotion, the CCG headquarters were running business as usual.
To his rather surprise and shock, he looked down towards his body, to find his left arm.
His face was filled with surprise. He was sure Kaneki ate his entire left arm, how did it come back? Did he grow it back? Was he now a ghoul as well.
"W-what?" He silently moaned, after realizing his voice was hurting a lot, as he tried to move his arm, but with a struggle.
That was weird, Hide thought, he could have sworn he lost his arm, why wasn't it in a metal amputated limb? Not that he was complaining about having an arm, but he could barely move it.
"I see your awake." a soft female voice got Hide's attention, as he looked towards the source of it.
He turned his head to the right, to see Akira Mado looking at him, her face neutral, and he knew why.
"H-how long-" Hide was asking, but his voice was hurting, making it very difficult to speak.
Luckily, Akira knew what he was asking, and answered before she could watch him hurt his vocal cords more.
"About a month." She bluntly stated, and Hide's eyes widened in shock.
"A month?" He asked, making sure his hearing wasn't messed up. He couldn't have been asleep for that long.
He tried moving his body up, finding his left arm still unbelievably hard to move.
"Uh..." He mumbled realizing his state, and Akira looked closely at him.
She then spoke, "I wouldn't move too much. Your body is very weak, not to mention you are under RC suppressants."
That confused Hide. "W-why am I o-on RC s-suppressants?" He asked curiously. Not scared, just curious.
Akira nodded knowing he was going to ask, "Well, a scientist alongside his doctors had come in the CCG with a proposed experimental procedure for regenerative medicine. He quoted your arm, which I don't think you noticed, was missing when we retrieved your unconscious body from the Owl Extermination Operation."
Hide nodded in understanding, he knew his arm had gone missing, because he told his best friend to eat it.
"Anyways, the idea was utilizing and messing with the body's RC factor and count to enable some of the ghoul's regenerative abilities. You do know how your rc cells work, right?" Akira asked, looking to Hide.
"K-kind of?" He said, half asked, and Akira nodded.
"Rc cells are found in both humans and ghouls. But whereas humans only have around 100-500 within their bodies, a ghoul's can surpass 1000-8000 rc cells. They function like many of your normal cells, being able to travel through your body in special vessels, and is even linked to wound healing and regeneration. However, if a person's rc factor is messed with, they will develop certain characteristics. If a human's rc count surpasses 1000, they can develop ghoul-traits, like not being able to eat normal human foods. An example can be rc cell over-secretion disease, where the rc cells in the body divides and secretes abnormally. Likewise, if a ghoul's rc count drops below 1000, through rc suppressants, then they can be pierced by common metals, and dissected like any normal animal."
Hide nodded, it was a lot to take in but he was confused, why was she telling him this exactly?
"So why are you telling me this?" He asked, his voice feeling a bit better, but still hoarse.
"One of the ghoul-characteristics we have been interested in is their rapid regenerative abilities. The ability to regrow lost limbs, organs, tissues, anything, which makes even a sure fatal wound to a human nothing to them. Those doctors were experimenting with the rc levels, and seeing how the regeneration worked. They had small success in the small trials they were able to perform, but they needed a human experiment."
Hide's face turned to realization, his eyes widening in shock, just like Kaneki, he was experimented on as well.
"Are you saying, they experimented on me by putting rc cells in me?" He asked, wanting to be angry, but his voice just couldn't, it didn't have the strength after being unconscious for a month.
To his shock, Akira replied with a neutral, stoic, "Yes."
But she continued, "Anyways, they came in daily to check your progress, and to their surprise your body was taking the change well. The rc cells successfully allowed you to regrow your left arm completely, though you may notice that it is hard to move it." Hide nodded, "Yeah, hurts a lot to move it."
"That is understandable, as a result, you will be going through at least six months of physiotherapy for rebuilding muscle memory and strength on that arm."
Hide's eyes widened again, "w-what?"
Akira rolled her eyes, how many times did she have to say this?! "Some experimental procedure allowed you to regrow your arm, and now you will go through physiotherapy to get it back to strength! Oh, and also you will need to take rc suppressants in a pattern to keep an eye on your rc count."
Hide could simply nod, before Akira left, leaving him with what appeared to be two female doctors and a male scientist.
"W-what's going on?" Hide asked, eyeing the man's smile with a hint of skepticism. Was this guy like Dr. Kanou? Using his brain for greed?
"I see your awake." He simply stated, and Hide nodded.
The anonymous male character simply chuckled, "That is great, how is your arm?"
"Very hard to move." Hide mumbled, and to his fright the man had kept that same smile throughout.
"That is to be expected." He replied, looking towards his paper. "Do you realize how lucky of a man you are?" He asked Hide, who simply shook his head.
The man laughed, "Very well, you have become my first successful experiment for regenerative medicine. Utilizing the ghoul's ability to regenerate lost limbs that humans can't regrow back, it's a miracle how fast your arm, which was entirely incapacitated, grew back. Of course, with daily procedures, checkups, rc tests, and rc suppressants, you will be able to live your life with an arm!"
Hide simply stared at the man above him, smiling at Hide like he was his perfect subject, his success story. How scary would it be if that wasn't the case. If something worse ended up to him.
But to his surprise, he continued, "Of course, with the blood and rc type, we had to make sure we didn't give you the wrong donor, but thank existing methods for that! By the way, your arm may feel impossible to move, but with some physiotherapy and exercise, you'll regain function in your arm in no time!" He chuckled, looking at his notes in pride as if he had scored a perfect mark in his exams, before leaving Hide to his own devices.
"You may also worry about potential side effects, the most common is weakness in the arm which can be mitigated with physiotherapy. There may be some rc cell count issues, but that can be mitigated by taking rc suppressants over a six month to a year trial, twice a day."
Hide sighed, thinking about the events that had transpired while he was gone. What happened to Kaneki? What was going to happen to him now? Where was Arima?
There were a lot of questions that needed to be answered for Hide, who lost a month of information.
The days went by relatively smoothly, with the doctors coming in the monitor Hide, alongside the three anonymous individuals that Hide could never get their names. He was still confined to his hospital bed, while his arm was moved around and poked for function testing.
It wasn't fun, as there were some pains as they made sure Hide was healthy. Being unconscious for a month took a strain on Hide's body, which was now skinnier and resembled more or a lanky built.
In addition to his lost arm, his right hip had been bandaged up, and was now fully healed.
It wasn't exactly healthy, but thankfully the staff had brought in multiple different foods for Hide to eat. To his relief, he was able to eat them normally, and he didn't really seem to have any striking changes in his taste, with the exception, oddly to milk.
Anything milk-related, in fact. It appears that one of the complications Hide had developed was lactose intolerance. In addition to taking rc suppressants, he also hypothesized that he was probably developing ROS, which was fun, Hide thought.
At least he could still eat a good burger and Ramon noodles, Hide thought, trying to look at the positives, of course, with his left arm almost never moving, he couldn't eat properly, and needed to be careful not to drop his food, instead using it more as a balance tool.
He was also, during those times, made to be interrogated by the three individuals whose names wouldn't be released to Hide. They scared him, as he feared they wanted to do something unprecedented to him. But thankfully, all they asked was any notable changes in his body.
Like diet changes, personality, like mood swings, body changes, like random joints, or something. Hide just mentioned his sudden lactose-intolerance to them, which they took note of.
Of course, when he asked about the potentials of developing ROS regarding the procedure, they had done to him, Hide only got a reply of, "It's a possible complication, but the rc suppressants will aid in lowering that chance."
It wasn't good enough in Hide's opinion.
However, before he could ask them for more information regarding the procedure, Hide was eventually allowed to be discharged from the hospital.
It took around another month after he had taken up for him to finally walk around, but before he could wander the headquarters like usual, he was stopped by Itsuki, who had a serious face, that told Hide he was in trouble.
"Is there something wrong?" Hide asked the taller man, who simply sighed.
"Yes, you have been arrested for harboring and defending a dangerous and wanted ghoul. You will be sent to Cochlea." He stated in a stoic tone, which made Hide freeze.
"W-wait, but what about my physiotherapy?"
"Akira had mentioned it to me, and she will be sending one down to Cochlea, alongside Arima to watch you, as you develop your muscle memory and strength on your arm. However, your crimes will still be inflicted, so you will spend your time down in Cochlea."
Hide was understandably confused and enraged, but looking back at it, he had told himself he didn't care about the consequences. Considering this was due to his act, he knew this was a consequence.
If it was to save Kaneki, then he would do it again. As much as he did want to ask about his wellbeing, he knew speaking to maybe Arima would be a better choice.
Cochlea
And so, without further hurdles, Hide was sent down to Cochlea as Prisoner #300.
The room Hide was given wasn't anything marvelous, or noteworthy when compared to a jailcell. It literally looked like one. Apart from a different textured wall that Hide couldn't confirm what it was exactly, it seemed to function as barrier for the ghoul prisoners.
"So, this is my life now? Being a prisoner? Who would've thought?" Hide stated as he simply sat down, picking up his orange headphones.
To Hide's relief, he was allowed a CCG approved smartphone, with prevention from any contacts to anyone else besides a few CCG members themselves, who had a location chip on his phone. With a charger and a plug, he was at least given the ability to listen to music, something that Hide was glad about.
After all the screaming, fighting, gunshots, and just gore, it was nice to hear some simple music for a change.
So much so, that despite possibly being stuck in Cochlea, with another prisoner ghoul's who were probably starving, and could eat Hide if they really needed to, Hide found himself smiling.
At least the CCG were smart enough to put one of their human prisoners a distance away from the ghouls. Hide thought, realizing that his prison was probably different, considering he was in a human wing, separated from the ghoul wing, which was larger, for obvious reasons.
His jailcell then opened, and he spotted Akira.
"Akira!" He stated, standing up, before she rolled her eyes.
"I told you to use your phone to message me about your rc suppressants, you do realize what happens if you stop taking them."
Hide nonchalantly replied, "What is theorized to happen, it's not well known, as I'm the first case of this surgery."
"Whatever, better safe than sorry, now where do they usually inject needles in you?"
Hide chuckled, "In the mucous region of my eyes, obviously, duh my shoulder."
Akira looked at Hide in confusion, as to why the energetic human was still as outgoing as ever, despite being locked up. "I should take your offer on that, stick this needle in your eye."
Hide raised his hands in a no fashion, "No, I'll take the shoulder, it's the left arm specifically."
Akira simply nodded, injecting the rc suppressants into Hide's regrown arm before leaving.
But not before mentioning, "Your first physiotherapy appointment is tomorrow at 9 AM, Arima and a physiotherapist will come and collect you, so be ready!"
"Alright, got it." Hide said, before he put on back his headphones and let the music power his mind.
Before he knew it, it was morning, he had been so caught up in his music he had unexpectedly fallen asleep. Perhaps it was the inability to do something else, he didn't know. He didn't even realize the dinner he had been given as he had slept through the night.
He looked to his phone and saw it was 8:00 AM, he had physiotherapy in one hour.
One hygiene checks later, via brushing your teeth and a good shower, and Hide was cleaned up, and with a new set of clothes on. Contrary and a notable difference was that they were actually allowed to wear whatever clothes they wanted, instead of an orange suit. The only way up was through an elevator that would expose them to multiple CCG investigators would most definitely do something.
To his surprise, he spotted Arima, at his door, half an hour earlier than the expected time he was told.
"Kishou Arima, is there anything you need?" Hide asked, and while he seemed surprisingly hesitant, he shook his head.
"Okay?" Hide simply stated, half asked, before putting on headphones.
Of course, he was again called by Arima, this time his face was a lot more pronounced.
"Yes?" Hide replied, and Arima's face, almost glare shook Hide.
"How do you know about Rize?" He asked, and Hide knew he would have to explain.
And so, he shrugged, "He was Kaneki's date when the steel beams fell on him. From the reports I saw, they said she died, and Kaneki was severely injured, and in need of an organ transplant, and since they were matching blood types, Dr. Kanou transplanted Rize's organs into Kaneki's."
Hide then took another breathe, not seeing the shocked face of Arima, "But yeah, I had my thoughts ever since the incident that Rize was a ghoul, and so her organs must have messed Kaneki up ever since. The fact that Dr. Kanou has an arrest warrant for human-ghoul experimentation further proves what I think."
"W-wait, Rize's dead?" Arima asked, his voice somewhat surprised, and Hide simply looked on.
"Yes, unless the report was wrong. Why does this affect you if I may ask?"
Arima nodded, understanding, "It may be hard to believe, but Rize's actually my half-sister."
That shocked Hide, "Your half-sister?!"
Arima chuckled, "Yep, my half-sister, we have the same father."
"So, wait, you knew Rize was a ghoul?!" Hide asked, his mind not believing it.
Arima nodded, "Yes, Rize was a ghoul."
Hide's mind was shaking. For two different reasons. One, this gave Hide another evidence that backed what he was thinking happened to Kaneki. This explained the condition, like the severed shoulder he had. But the second reason, had to do with the man in front of him.
"So, wait, you're a half-ghoul? A hybrid?" Hide asked, and Arima shook his head.
He looked to the time, before back to Hide. "No, we both had the same father. However, Rize's mother was a ghoul, whereas mine was human."
"Oh, but wouldn't that make you like a hybrid of the two or something?" Hide asked, his confusion turned to interest.
If there was something else to take away from Hide, it was that he was very interested in learning things he wanted to.
"Do you know what happens when a ghoul and a human produce an offspring?" Arima asked, and Hide, while wanting to ask, knew he would be wrong regardless.
"I don't know, like I said I thought a hybrid between the two species."
Arima nodded, keeping his stoicism, "Well, you're not completely wrong, actually. You see, the pregnancy of a hybrid is very difficult, for both the mother and the baby. If the mother is a human, like mine, then she'll have to eat human flesh like a ghoul, but if the mother is a ghoul, then she'll have to force herself to eat human foods, to provide nutrients for the fetus, while weakening the ghoul's body, wanting to eat the fetus."
"Wait, so the ghoul, eats their own child inside of them?" Hide asked, disgusted.
Arima continued, answering Hide's question, "Only if it the fetus is a hybrid, as they are deemed very tasteful to ghouls. But anyways, in the small cases that the offspring are born, most are born as half-humans. Failed ghouls, I guess you could say, lacking a kagune. Instead, these offspring are more physically stronger than regular humans, but suffers from premature and accelerated aging."
Hide then looks to Arima, in shock, "So you're a half-human? So that explains your strength, but wait, premature and accelerated aging?"
Arima nodded, "Yes, we are brighter candles, we shine brighter, but don't last as long. Most half-humans are expected to pass sometime in their thirties, maybe our forties if we're lucky."
"Wait, but you're in your thirties..." Hide could only say.
Arima sadly smiled, indicating he had thought of his own morality before, "Affirmative, this means that I am approaching my deathbed, my life having already completed its course. But despite this, I am still living my life as I have every day, I will continue until I can no longer."
Arima points to his right eye, which Hide takes note of, "My right eye, its vision is slowly fading. It's not noticeable now, but in the coming years, it will inevitably become blind. It's glaucoma, and usually common in the elderly, but because of my premature and accelerated aging, is developing in me right now. Thankfully, it is in the early stages, so my vision isn't that impaired yet."
Hide could only look on in shock at the information he was given. The CCG reaper, a hybrid between the two species? Already on his deathbed? It was a lot to take in, but Hide smiled.
"Alright, but you said most of the time, what about the other time?"
Arima was impressed by the small details Hide was picking up, "Huh?"
"You said most of the time the hybrids are born as half-humans, what about the small chance that they aren't?"
Arima then nodded, "Ah yes, right, sorry. While most are born without a kagune, in the smallest of chances, an offspring can be born with a kagune. However, these offspring aren't ghouls, and their kakugan's aren't, how do I put this, complete?"
"What do you mean complete?" Hide asked.
Arima responded, "Whereas a ghoul's kakugan's can be shown with both of their eyes, these rare hybrids only can show a kakugan in one of their eyes, hence the name, one-eyed ghoul. These beings are more dangerous than ghouls, they're a lot more vigorous, and only get stronger with every battle and injury they receive. They can even eat normal human food, at least, the natural ones can, like the case of the Owl, who is the only known one-eyed ghoul, until Eyepatch showed up that is."
Hide's eyes then widened, "So your saying, that Kaneki could've been a one-eyed ghoul this entire time? Even so, why can't he eat normal food now?" He was stating this more to himself, as the thought and hypothesis quickly dissolved as quickly as he thought about it.
Arima sighed, "The chances of a one-eyed ghoul are very rare, with the possibility of a stillborn, and a half-human out shadowing it. I've heard the probability is as low as 2%, but also that they are more common with a ghoul mother and a human father, but only around 5%. Thus, the idea of one-eyed ghoul's has often been considered a myth due to the sheer rarity of both a ghoul and a human falling in love, and their offspring surviving the tumultuous months."
This was a lot for Hide to take in, specifically as this felt more like a ghoul biology lesson, talking about anatomies and everything.
Like a teacher and a student, Hide had a lot of questions to Arima, but he didn't want to overwhelm him with these. It sounded so simple, yet so complex, with the ideas of hybrid, Arima's revelation that he is one and is near his inevitable death, to how a one-eyed ghoul is born, and how the mothers of these hybrid offspring's must suffer to conceive them properly.
"So-" However, before Hide could ask his question, his physiotherapist knocked on his door.
"Hide, this is your physician, it is time for your physiotherapy, you have two hours, and Arima will be watching." The new female stated, and Hide nodded as he got up and followed her, Arima not too far behind him, the presence of the CCG reaper enough to make even the human prisoners flinch at the sight of his figure.
Hide sighed, as he was going up the elevator, knowing the looks the CCG investigators were going to give him. It wasn't going to be a fun time, he realized, but with the reaper known as Arima next to him, after a while they'll probably ignore him, which he honestly preferred a bit more.
Once he had made it to the room, he was taught some training for his arm, which was incredibly weak. While today he was able to move it while he walked, he still struggled to move it swiftly. While he was able to life his headphones with it, anything above 15 Ibs would result in his arm shaking.
So, when he was told to a pendulum stretch, he was surprised at the weird feeling and how tiring it was.
But that wasn't all, as she also told Hide to do a simple finger walk, as she emphasized that it wasn't just his arm that needed strengthening, but also his shoulder and hands, so she worked that out as well.
Some weird armpit stretches, and an overhead lifting later, and Hide was finished my first physiotherapy appointment. He was sent down back to my prison cell, #300, to would spend the rest of his day listening to music, the only thing he could really do. The only thing he could do at all. Arima had followed him down, and while Hide wanted to ask him more about what he had told him, he knew he was a busy individual, and that he could ask the next time.
The rest of the day went by so, with the occasional stop by for meals. They weren't anything fulfilling, just enough to keep you from starving. He sometimes envied the ghoul's being able to go a month without eating, but also digressed, considering they could only eat human flesh.
He would also be visited by Akira, around 6:00 PM, where she would give Hide his next physiotherapy time, his rc suppressants, alongside a check in his rc factor and count.
"474, gone down from yesterday." Akira told herself, Hide hearing her before she injected Hide with another round of rc suppressants, before leaving.
The last drop Hide would get would be at 7:00 PM, which was nice as it got Hide to get over the feeling that rc test gave him, as his dinner and final meal would be given.
Just like his other meals, not fulfilling, but enough to not make him starve in this environment.
Little did Hide know, this would be his life for the next six months. Filled with nothing but that schedule of waking up, getting breakfast, going to physiotherapy, getting lunch, going down to clean up, listen to music, get his daily checkup from Akira, get lunch, and then listen to music until he fell asleep.
It wasn't the best schedule, but for someone who is jailed for some crimes, it was the probably among the more desired schedules. Some other prisoners probably, or definitely had it worse in terms of isolation, and he didn't want to imagine the sound of nothing but their minds as they sat there, lonely in their rooms with nothing. At least Hide was lucky to be able to listen to music through an approved phone, where music became the one thing that prevented him from falling into isolation like the rest.
He knew by the time he, hopefully, got out, he would probably be shot in terms of social interaction, but at least he had hope, with optimism, and in a world like this one, having hope was always desired.
After around three months of physiotherapy, the doctor had given Hide the progress report that his arm was doing well, considering the procedure he went through, and Hide himself could see it.
He was now able to move it around, and matched the strength of his other good arm. By all means, Hide felt like he had two arms again after all. Of course, that wasn't the end of his physiotherapy as the doctor wanted to check up on him for another three months, just to make sure his arm wouldn't go into remission. She stated how the rest of his body was weakened and so wanted to try other methods of physiotherapy for his body. This was also around the time where Hide's reliance on the rc suppressants were lowered quite considerably. With Akira now only coming weekly, to do so.
Despite this, she did daily perform a rc test to make sure his rc levels were normal, and well...
"598."
"623."
"874"
"758"
"722"
"688"
"444"
"387"
"290"
"355"
"424"
"502"
"672"
"826"
"974"
"1102"
"892"
"766"
"544"
"371"
"204"
"344"
"530"
"650"
"750"
"898"
"1078"
"967"
"857"
"737"
"695"
"710"
"712"
And so on. Hearing the numbers from Akira every day made Hide a bit nervous.
"Is that normal?" Hide asked, to which Akira sighed.
"I don't know, I will have to ask your surgeon."
Hide knew something was up, and he could even feel it sometimes, with different times of the day he either felt normal, or off. It was a strange feeling, one that he wasn't used to.
In short, his rc levels were fluctuating rapidly, with the highs reaching into ghoul territory, while the lows reaching even lower than normal human levels. It was strange, and even Akira agreed.
"Wait, if my rc levels are reaching over 1000, why am I not developing any ghoul characteristics?" Hide asked, clearly confused as he wasn't hiding the fact that he knew of the issue.
Akira looked at her notebook, with a graph of Hide's rc count over the months, resembling oddly a sin graph.
"Well, that part is simple, in order for it to happen, the rc levels need to remain over 1000 for a prolonged time, and even then, if it goes back down the progress begins all over. It takes about a week of over 1000 rc cells in the body for the ghoul-like properties to take effect. Thankfully with you, it only seems to be spike at random for a day."
That was a relief, Hide thought, as he looked at the graph Akira had drawn out, clearly meant at checking his rc level throughout the time. It was also clear that Akira wanted Hide to see this.
"So, your average normal rc level throughout these months is 750, which is abnormally high for a human, but not at ghoul territory. Spikes with lows of 200, and highs of 1100, seem to be relatively uncommon, and only last a day thankfully. With that being said, we may have to slow the progress of the lightening the dosage of rc suppressants, but even then, you may suffer from this fluctuating for the rest of your life. The best we can do is lower the spikes that we've been seeing."
"I understand." Hide simply stated, and Akira nodded, but before leaving giving Hide a reassuring statement.
"Despite the fluctuations, this is not a sign of ROS, so you have thankfully avoided that fate."
As Hide began to wait for his final meal of the day, all he could think of the future. Despite three months of this, he still didn't know the whereabouts of Kaneki, nor what would happen to him.
Would he eventually be able to leave? Is Kaneki still alive?
While during the time he had gotten to talk to Arima, he had stated Kaneki was fine, and his mental state had been improving, there was no more than that. No information about whether or not he was to remain in Cochlea, Hide didn't know.
Despite having his ears surrounded by his headphones and music, Hide found his mind surrounded by Kaneki, as he worried for his safety.
So thanks for the favourites and follows! Nice to see people liking this story. If you have any suggestions make sure to double R. Before you ask, no this is not a Kaneki x Hide romance story. They are best friends, who look after each other, no need to romanticize it. As I want this story to follow the timeline to the best extent, mix of the anime and manga. Remember this is a slight AU. With that being said, I do have an idea of giving Hide a love interest later in the story, but now, the focus and premise is about how Hide will get out of Cochlea and his worry for Kaneki, for now. The next chapter will delve more in an interrogation scene, with Hide's hypothesis being given the test, while the effects of being stuck in a small room for most of your day with no one to talk to taking its toll on Hide.