The Quinx of Change

Summary: Hide's illness prevents him from participating further in the Nutcracker case, but that doesn't mean he will not participate. With Dr. Shiba warning Hide of his rc fluctuations, he has more issues to deal with now. But Hide won't let that stop him from looking out for his friend.

To say Hide was somewhat glad he was not to be involved in the Nutcracker case was an over exaggeration, that he did not see any consequences of not going.

He merely did not feel comfortable and even though he watched as the rest of the group began dressing up as girls, he felt a bit upset that he was not participating with the group.

Considering how well they actually got along, in regards to fighting and cooperating, Hide felt himself actually enjoying the group he was in. So much so that not going to this event somewhat scared him, for their safety. He did not want them getting seriously hurt.

Though Hide did his best, encouraging the others, calling them pretty in their girl outfits which seemed to have had a weird effect on Mutsuki for some reason, he merely watched as the group left, feeling a bit awkward alone.

Hide sighed, as he oddly felt anxious alone.

Of course, going with the simple, "I'm not feeling well," was not a good enough reason to avoid this event, and so he had to get some strings done in terms of making it seem like he was in actuality sick. While sleeping the night before, he had a particularly interesting conversation with Amber, in regards to rc cells in general, and how they function in a ghoul's body.

Hide could have sworn that he felt Amber's presence growing ever since, and when he went to Dr. Shiba in regards to feeling a bit weird, he took a rc test, only for it to surprise both of them in the room.

"978..." Dr. Shiba's surprised face said it all, and while he was out informing Arima of the condition, Hide was given more rc suppressants and told to go rest and take his daily rc tests until they went back below 1000.

This was relatively uncommon for Hide, but his rc count did occasionally go near 1000, though only for up to a day, as if it had gone for around a week, no doubt would Hide begin to develop ghoul-like characteristics.

As for how Amber contributed to it, it somewhat made sense. She was, in a sense, the ghoul inside Hide. Surrounding in her own barrier of quinque steel, which prevented her from taking over Hide's sanity fully. All she could do was influence Hide in his decision.

Haise merely wished him a get well soon, alongside the others who went out. Mutsuki in particular, hesitant. Hide wasn't sure if it was because he was worried for Hide, or if he was worried for the mission, Hide wasn't sure.

Still, Mutsuki did look very good as a girl, Hide commented to no one.

Hide wasn't just going to stand there all day and look at the wall, while the rest of the Quinx Squad was out, he himself was going to visit some places.

His first thought was: re. It was natural. After his explanations to Touka, Nishiki and Yomo, Hide had gone back another time to answer any remaining questions they needed. Most involved around Kaneki, before Hide asked if Nishiki could spar him. It was weird, training with the same guy who previously once tried to eat him, but Hide digressed, letting bygones be bygones, instead joking about it in his typical manner.

Nishiki was tempted, but ultimately declined, in favour of Touka. While this confused Hide his explanation made sense: "You both are ukaku's, and you both have wings, so you'll probably learn the best from her. If you want fundamentals, ask Yomo."

He definitely wasn't wrong, Yomo was not to messed with in regards to actually fighting, without any weapons. Hide found himself overwhelmed, but at least learned some basics in fighting and overall reflexes. Touka helped him with his kagune better, while Nishiki watched.

It truly was strange, for Nishiki, seeing the under classmate, human Hide, whom he had attempted to eat once, now having a kagune, and fighting against a ghoul effectively. While Hide was technically not a ghoul, his right eye looked almost like a kakugan, with the exception of it being a greyish colour instead of black.

Nishiki could just say that he was a human with a ghoul weapon, a kakuhou, and with what Hide had told them the previous time, about how he had to in order to escape Cochlea, it was somewhat sad. You could say it was consensual, but also it was teasing in a sense. Giving someone a better life, you know they would accept for your own greed and selfishness.

"The CCG are just as cruel. Turning humans into fighting tools..." He merely mumbled, watching as Hide struck back at Touka with his own projectiles, crystallizing his rc. Nishiki had to admit Hide was relatively skilled for someone new. Though his physical strength could use a bit of work, his speed was impressive enough to keep Touka on her feet.

This wasn't including the fact that he had fire surround his kagune wings. Considering they were like a phoenix, it was only appropriate for Hide to have the aesthetics and attacks.

Of course, this continued for quite some time, as Hide would mainly come down for sparing matches that he stated he wanted, so that he could fend for himself and his friends. While it sounded familiar, they knew that Hide was safe, not just in: re, but also in the CCG, which made them somewhat envy the lack of fear Hide had to face, with the exception being Aogiri, with him mentioning the ghoul he had killed and strangled.

Of course, when asked about it, Hide had surprisingly remained quiet, instead referring to what he had previously stated. In particular, the fact that Aogiri is not aware of him at all. In fact, in the three times he had gone to their base, none of them had recognized them for some reason. Whether it was Amber acting as a sixth sense, or the fact that he was surprisingly hard to smell, the reasons were unknown, and the fact was that Aogiri did not recognize Hide or the costume he was in. Even the ghouls he knocked out, could remember what they had encountered, due to the dark skies and the blows to their heads.

Even Touka had been impressed with Hide's skills with his kagune. Even if it was suppressed, it was very strong. Despite being an ukaku, Hide's kagune was adept and specialized well in close-combat, as his kagune could cause slashing damage to others. Even then, he was still able to fire projectiles that could injure.

In a way, his flexibility was similar to that of bikakus.

However, he was also defensive like a koukaru, as his kagune wings were commented in being surprisingly sturdy, according to Touka.

And she did not want to get started with Hide's speed, she mumbled, which made Yomo and Hide laugh. Still, there was one problem, that Hide needed to focus on. Despite his potential as a strong individual thanks to the flexibility of his kagune, he still had weaknesses and inexperience, compared to the other ghouls around him.

Most notably, his endurance. Even by ukaku standars, Hide had poor endurance, and even the others, Nishiki and Touka began to understand why. Whilst the fire around his wings gave him the potential for a varied sense of moves, as well as the potential of explosive power he could show, it came at the cost of it slowly sapping away his rc cells.

It seemed that thankfully, it was manageable, and that there were ways to slow down the process significantly. However, with Hide being new to the overall process of kagune fighting, he was clearly overexerting himself, and using too much energy too quickly, the flames burning too bright, causing him to lose too much rc cells.

Most of the time, in regards to the Auction event, and the preparation, Haise had complimented Hide's fundamental fighting skills in regards to the rest of the Quinx Squad. Whom themselves were also impressed. Whereas some struggled noticeably, Hide had managed to get some decent hits on his leader, and amnesiac best friend, which made him grin, glad that Yomo and Touka's training had indeed paid off.

Jumping away after landing a simple punch to Haise's shoulder, he had successfully managed to get out of reach of Haise's counterattack.

Of course, he himself suffered more injuries than Haise, and eventually found himself defeated, though with noticeably more difficulty than the rest.

He gritted his teeth, as using his wings again, and lightening them with the fire, whilst he could at least it, working on with Touka, being in the training room, he had to be careful with his fire, since he could easily burn everything up. As a result, he only really used it in the open, otherwise it was only for melee attacks.

"Not good at all, without your weapons, you will be defenseless. No ghoul will see this as a practice fight!" Haise bellowed his fellow squad, before turning to Hide, who merely gulped, getting up despite the pain he felt.

"Hideyoshi." Haise started. His eyes emotionless looking to the blonde who had gotten up.

"Yes?" Hide replied, sensing a strange look from Haise, before he gave him a slight smile.

"You performed better than the others, I'm very impressed, though your strength is at its best now, it still needs more, your punch would've been a good hit if you struck more confidently, as it feels your also holding back."

Hide scratched the back of his head, somewhat surprised he could tell that, but merely nodded, "Understood, I'll train more."

Haise smiled, "Keep doing what you're doing, there's clearly some improvements, now if you excuse me, I got to confront Saiko for not even trying."

Hide laughed as he watched the white-haired investigator look at Saiko, who was on the floor, pretending to be dead. It was rather funny, Hide thought before he went up, ignoring the looks from Mutsuki and Shirazu, clearly interested in how he had gotten better at a quicker rate.

He decided to get a decent rest, considering tomorrow was the auction event. He had heard from Haise and Shirazu of their plans, however, was still not allowed to come, due to his rc fluctuation. Though it did give Hide the image that he could pass off as a ghoul.

It seemed that the odds were playing with him, as another rc test showed that he had a rc count of 982. Again, rc suppressants were given to him in an attempt to lower them, but Hide knew they would not work. They hadn't for the longest time because he had developed a resistance to it. Even then, his rc levels rarely passed over 1000 and when they did, it was only for a maximum of a day, whereas it would take a week before ghoul properties could take effect.

It was clear that this time, his rc levels were on the rise, and he was currently an uncommon peak. So, when the day of the auction came, and he assumed his rc levels would be high enough to mimic other ghouls. Hide sighed, knowing that even if he were to go in secrecy, he would undoubtedly be putting himself right in the enemy's territory. He needed a disguise.

He was worrying about his team and friends again.

"Hide-kun, when are we going? I want to see the faces of ghouls cheering for sweet human meat!" The noise of Amber yet again echoing in the back of Hide's mind.

Hide groaned, "I thought you liked eating ghouls..."

"Oh, I do, but I'll take human as well, Hide-kun." Well Hide learns something new every day, though a ghoul eating a human was not surprising in the slightest.

In truth, he was debating whether to follow them, but Amber's pleading was what made Hide make his decision.

He sighed, picking up his scarecrow costume, debating his choices, speaking to Amber, "If we go, you got my back, in terms of passing as a ghoul, okay?"

"Of course, I am the ghoul inside of you after all." Amber chuckled, getting ready for what appeared to be a hectic night.

Right now, the rest of the Quinx Squad was gone, off in the Auction bit, and therefore it gave Hide the privacy, letting his mind wander and Amber talk from his subconscious.

He quickly went out, with his orange backpack, with his scarecrow suit inside alongside a black top hat, trying to remember the place where they had said they were going.

13th Ward, Auction Bid

Of course! Hide thought, taking out his phone, tracking the members down, like they had done for him during those tumultuous times in battle. He noticed the area, and knew he had to go a bit away. He merely jogged, not minding the atmosphere, until he got a bit away.

He did not want to go in the corner, as he would just be setting himself up for a ghoul attack, plus with Amber mumbling about the smell of ghouls, he didn't trust that his sixth sense was acting up as well.

So instead, he found himself an area where there was no life, human nor ghoul, and began to switch into his scarecrow outfit. Perhaps he could try another outfit, in the case that Aogiri Tree recognizes him as the intruder, but he decided to try his luck once he stepped out, merely looking around for the entrance. He had hoped that the smell of the scarecrow, and his current rc level would allow him to pass as a ghoul for now.

He sighed, knowing there was only know way to find out. He figured if anyone were to talk to him, he should perhaps speak without using his voice, so that he would not have to worry about anyone finding a connection.

Currently, it seemed to be fitting well, with many ghouls simply taking a blind eye to the newcomer, and they seemed to not be interested, thinking of the person under the scarecrow suit as merely another customer, also going to bargain in the auction.

It was mildly surprising, how Hide had managed to get, with the voice of Amber and the tension, Hide kept his calm, making it inside, and managing to find a seat, where he could simply watch what was happening. Of course, he wouldn't be able to help directly, unless he wanted everyone to know who was behind his disguise, but perhaps he could understand better.

Looking around and being surrounded by ghouls, it was a bit of a nerve racking for Hide, made worse by the mumbles of Amber.

At first, Hide was annoyed, but considering Amber was the ghoul inside of him, she needed to be here in order for it to work, as if she wasn't Hide would probably be smelt as a human. He was so glad he washed his scarecrow suit after that incident so that they couldn't smell the ghoul he had slaughtered.

For the most part, nothing interesting went on, Hide could tell as a gross looking, woman? Man? Was taunting, wanting an abducted human for a decent price, the poor fellow scared, and probably good for dead. Hide was rather uninterested in this, despite the fact that he was ultimately witnessing the murder of humans, something the CCG would definitely take notice of. However, Hide was just one person, he couldn't take on a crowd of ghouls, unlike say Arima.

Hearing the ghouls scream in joy at the sight of the human's eyeball sink out, Hide merely looked on in silence, ignoring the ghoul next to him salivating over what the poor victim tasted like.

"You know, I always loved the eyes, of both humans and ghouls. They tasted like what you would probably think as meatballs, so delicious, so elegant, the way it rubs in your mouth, oh Hide-kun, please eat that so I can witness that taste!" Hide sighed, it was not the time to berate Amber in front of ghouls, they'd probably think something's wrong with him, so all he could do was let Amber talk while Hide heard and acknowledged, so that she wouldn't become inactive.

Hide merely looked on without interest, as he watched the ghouls place their money on a simple human, who probably did not want to be out there in the first place. No, despite this, Hide just looked on, specifically waiting for something to happen. As for his purpose here, again it was to gain intelligence, to see what kind of organization this really was.

Also in part due to Amber's thirst and Hide's worry for his friends.

He could remember seeing an injured and frail Kaneki fighting atop a building with the CCG stating the setting as an Aogiri Tree base. What was Kaneki's history here?

His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed Mutsuki being thrown onstage. His eyes widened, thanking the scarecrow suit he had on from other ghouls not seeing it.

While Hide watches, his eyes widen when the nearby ghoul mentions that Mutsuki smells off.

He watches, in horror, as Mutsuki's kakugan is revealed, causing an uproar at the sight of it.

"Ooh, a one-eyed ghoul, how rare, bid opens at 10 million!" The ghoul shouts, causing the entire crowd to begin getting excited, the possibility of such a rare feat in their hands too precious to glance by.

Hide sighs, and takes this opportunity of distraction to head out. He knows that this is the start of what is to be a CCG invasion, and Hide does not want to find himself embroiled in a fight with them. His kagune would probably be recognized, and thus his only option was to run.

Thankfully, none of the ghouls noticed him leaving, as he quickly found a room to get his scarecrow costume off of as quickly as possible. The last thing he needed was the CCG to see him in such as costume, resulting in him being wanted.

Once he quickly took off his costume, with his signature yellow hoodie and orange backpack on, he made for the exit, noticing the buildup of CCG vehicles and personnel.

This was concerning, Hide thought, as he decided to bolt. Thanks to his training, his speed was among the greatest he had ever thought, and it wasn't just him being arrogant, Touka, Yomo and Haise all complimented on his speed, which made him feel a bit proud.

With the space open, and his speed, he bolted away from the area, using the CCG's own vehicles as well as the street lights to hide from any suspicion, for the few who noticed, it would merely be seen as a bird flying too low.

Hide smiled, happy that he had gotten through, and knew that he could not just leave his friends behind in that environment. Judging by the state of Mutsuki and the buildup of the CCG, a lot of chaos was about to ensue.

Hide made a blast for it, this time activating his kagune to help him patrol the buildings, his wings being useful for gliding, merely disguising as an unusually large bird.

By the time Hide made it back, he was somewhat panting, but he had made it to the headquarters. Deactivating his kagune and entering he was met with a lot of wide eyes. He put his backpack down safely in his private areas before he ran towards some investigators.

"Auction, give me Kura, I'm going with them." He panted, with most of the investigators assuming he sprinted here from the Chateau.

"Of course, Hideyoshi, let's go. Back up is required."

Hide thanked the lord before he was put in a vehicle where he would meet up with the rest of his fellow Quinx members. He had hoped Suzuya and Mutsuki would be fine in the time it takes for him to come back. Maybe he shouldn't have gone in that scarecrow suit, as it gave him little to no intel on the Aogiri Tree members.

Other than the fact that some were familiar faces, which complicated matters. Specifically, the young girl, whom he had seen in Anteiku sometimes. What was her name? Hinami Hide thought, recognizing her as she moved alongside the rest. Was that why Kaneki was going with them under Eyepatch?

Hide's mind broke out when he realized the vehicle stopped, and the investigators began to pour out.

Hide sighed, gripping Kura with both hands, he merely walked out calmly first surveying the area, before he determined where to go.

He eventually decided, based on the hearing the sounds of clashes, in particular sounding like Suzuya, who had a recognizable battle voice, to get through the backstage, to look there and then trace anything back.

Whereas most went towards the central building, Hide decided to focus more on the backstage. Using the exit, he had used as scarecrow, gripping Kura, he opened the door and immediately stabbed an unexpected ghoul right in their heart, the ghoul collapsing in a coughing fit, as blood poured out.

Hide looked at the ghoul, somewhat hoping they could heal, but ultimately knew, that despite how hard and superhuman they were, they could still die like a mere mortal. He sighed, not bothering to hear the sound of Amber in his mind, as he threaded on.

He eventually found himself alongside Akira, who clearly questioned why Hide was here, but merely shrugged, at least appreciating the extra help she would get.

With the element of surprise and his speed, Hide managed to stab the back of a ghoul who was approaching Akira. The ghoul fell down, the wound not fatal, but enough for the ghoul to be rendered a casualty.

"Hide, what are you doing here? I thought you were told to stay back!" Akira exclaimed, noticing the area clearing up.

Hide utilized Kura again, swiping it to slice apart an oncoming kagune, the tail easily splitting apart. "I was allowed as reinforcement, an investigator told me as I walked in the headquarters."

Akira merely shrugged; bidding Hide to be careful before she took off to face her next opponent. Hide could only look around, watching all the blood, flesh and overall death that filled the room.

It was somewhat disgusting, in every way. The way the CCG handled things, the auction the ghouls set up. It was all wrong, it was all disgusting, greedy and selfish. There was no benefiting with this, unless you were the fewest of the few.

It somewhat pissed Hide off, how entangled he was in this entire thing.

"All this flesh!" Amber called out, which ironically snapped Hide out of his thoughts.

He turned around and spotted a relatively tall ghoul, his kagune activated in the form of a bikaku.

Hide sighed, preparing himself as with all the chaos, he knew this would be his first real battle.

The ghoul merely reminded him of Nishiki, with its kagune in the form of a simple tail, nothing too special again. Hide smirked, recalling his sparring with the ghouls at :re.

The ghoul charged at Hide, who merely sidestepped and swung his elbow down, hitting the ghoul right on its back. He then swung Kura horizontally, slicing the ghoul's kagune, which would take quite the time to heal back.

But the ghoul did not stop, it got up, despite Hide's attempts to hold him down, before grabbing him and attempting to get a bite of his captured human. Hide struggled, as he did not want the ghoul to regenerate. he twisted himself away, putting Kura in the way instead, causing the ghoul to moan in agony, giving Hide enough time to get free, kicking the ghoul away in shock.

He landed, gripping Kura more tightly, before making his offensive, using his speed to his advantage, but the ghoul was ready, and proceeded to dodge Hide's attempts, while the ghoul brought out another kagune tail.

"Another one..." Hide mumbled, as he heard the sounds of Amber tempting him again.

Hide merely shook his head, he would not resort to using his kagune again, much to Amber's disappointment.

Hide felt Kura collide with the kagune as he also felt his hands getting tired. He knew that eventually he would tire faster than the ghoul, and thus needed another strategy. He had heard of his quinque's ability to fire pillars that could puncture and decay the skin of other ghouls. The problem was, while he knew how to do it, he required a bit of time and distance, something this ghoul was not giving him.

He twisted his blade downward, bringing the ghoul's face closer to Hide's, before once the distance was close enough, he headbutted the ghoul as hard as he could.

The pain to his forehead was enough to cause a noticeable scratch near Hide's forehead, but the bleeding wasn't serious, but for now it served the purpose of the ghoul grabbing his left eye, the area he had struck.

With the time from the shock and ignoring the pain in his skull, Hide thrusted Kura downward onto the ground, causing a short of shockwave pillars to form out the ground, heading towards the ghoul, whose right eye widened in realization. He managed to dodge, barely, but found himself off balance, which Hide took advantage of, charging in and slashing the ghoul's torso with Kura. The ghoul recoiled in pain, his kagune trying to swat him away, but Hide merely grabbed it with his hands, not caring of the wound he was getting, which gave Hide time to inflict another slash towards his lower body, managing to cut off the ghoul's thigh entirely.

The ghoul collapsed, coughing from his injuries, unable to fight now. Hide looked at the injured ghoul, merely planning to walk away, until the sound of Amber echoed in his mind.

Before he could do anything further, the ghoul got up, clearly wanting to continue as he still attacked Hide, hitting him on his side.

Seeing the blood that was coming out of Hide, he gritted his teeth.

"Come on Hide-kun, this ghoul is so close, just one more attack." Amber taunted, clearly wanting Hide to commit to his actions.

Hide sighed, looking at the ghoul, who was still letting his leg regenerate.

"I'm sorry." Was all Hide responded to the ghoul, as he fired up his wings, and in an X pattern, swung them down, letting the flames of the wings let lose in an X formation, striking the ghoul, who began to scream as he burned.

*X Flames*

The ghoul managed to stop himself from burning, but by now, was severely injured, coughing as he had breathed too much smoke, now residing in his lungs.

"Ooh, the pained and hopeless expression of a defeated ghoul, oh how beautiful, especially seeing them scream in pain as I ate their kagunes and their flesh, so yummy Hide-kun!"

At first, Hide was not going to comment on it, considering the fact that Amber had spoken at all ever since he had run away in his scarecrow costume.

Hide merely looked on, noticing his leg moving towards him, a poor attempt at knocking Hide down. He merely moved further away from his leg, towards his head, before stomping his neck, causing the ghoul to gasp in pain.

"Haha! Yes Hide, torture the ghoul, kill him and then eat his flesh! Trust me you'll enjoy it. He was the one who tried to kill you, so make his remaining life the worst!"

Hide smirked, as he neared the ghoul, coughing rather violently, "The jugular is as sensitive to a ghoul as it is to a human. Not matter how strong the specimen is."

"There you go Hide, slice him up, enjoy the screaming and the blood. The ghoul is hungry so he won't regenerate!" Amber told Hide as he began to listen to the ghoul in his mind.

"A ghoul needs as much oxygen as a human, I wonder how long you'll last without it." Hide darkly stated, chuckling slightly.

Looking at the ghoul, who was trying to get up, Hide merely kicked the ghoul back down, looking up watching the rest of the investigators and ghouls collide with none looking to bother him.

"Look Hide-kun! He's hyperventilating! The fear in his eyes, the hopelessness! It's wonderful! Yes truly!" Amber continued to taunt as she played with Hide, as he had unexpectedly let the ghoul in his mind affect his actions.

Again, Hide stomped on the ghoul's neck ignoring the pain on his left hand, as he used that exact hand to choke the ghoul, gripping the ghoul's injured neck, as the poor captive struggled to breathe.

"So close, Hide-kun, so close and you can eat! How wonderful is that? A snack to reward you after all your hard work? You'll need to replenish after a fight after all, you know you want it!" Amber's voice continued to taunt and influence Hide as the ghoul's resistance began to fade.

Once the ghoul's eyes closed, and his chest no longer moved, Hide smiled darkly.

"Oh, lookie here! Fresh meat! Eat up Hide-kun, you deserve it!" Hide looked at the dead ghoul in front of him, actually debating whether or not he would actually eat it, before he quickly realized and snapped back to his senses.

"Well Hide? What are you waiting for, dig in!" Amber exclaimed, and Hide realized there what happened. He looked nervously to the fallen ghoul, the one who was dead, at the hands of Hide, all thanks to Amber's taunting and instructing.

His breathe began to shorten, as he felt a liquid fall from his head, alongside his bruised and bloodied hand. Hide sighed, they would definitely heal, and he could continue onwards.

Ignoring the pleas and calls from other investigators, while slashing at nearby ghouls in his way, Hide did his best to spring away from all the commotion, trying to find someplace where he could relax. His panting pronounced, his mind in a complete standstill, and his eyes and pupils dilating, he was in complete shock.

For the first time ever since, he had briefly let his ghoul side out, the sound of Amber's laugh and pleas as he mutilated that ghoul's body was haunting him, just like the time he strangled the other ghoul, Hide was at a loss. He had unnecessarily caused the death of another person.

"Why?" He whispered as he let some tears fall out for the first time, in a while, trying to maintain it with a simple dam. He was clearly trying not to cry, for the poor soul he had killed so heartlessly. The guy wasn't able to fight, he shouldn't have been tortured the way Hide did.

"Why did I do that?" He asked himself, somewhat thankful that Amber wasn't around to mess with him, after what she had pulled off before, he was scared.

Very scared, that he would lose himself again. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't mercilessly kill other beings so ruthlessly as he did.

The pained grunt that ghoul was making as he landed after cutting his leg. The gasps for breath as he desperately tried to get air inside his lungs after he had stomped on the ghoul's jugular. The pain in his eyes as Hide began to chock the ghoul, letting the voice of Amber taunt him into performing such act. The desperate resistance the ghoul was making in an attempt to save his own life, as Hide used his bloodied hands to chock the ghoul in a humiliating and haunting manner.

But the scariest thing Hide could imagine, was his face the entire time. He didn't know what his face would have looked like when he did such an act. Was he smiling so darkly? He had heard himself chuckle so eerily as he talked about a ghoul's jugular. He had felt himself smiling as he hurt the ghoul, knowing he himself could survive. Was he blunt, his face emotionless as he slowly sapped the life out of that ghoul?

What about those close to him? What would his family think? His friend? He looked Hide's age, to think that someone his own age was dying at the hands of what he was made to be, a ghoul's weapon, was scary and frightening for Hide.

He had found himself somehow in a control room of all places, with multiple buttons around, but Hide did not care. He couldn't. Not when he was busy mourning over the loss of life he had unnecessarily caused. Why had he let Amber take control of him? Why did he let himself do so when he watched? Was he losing himself?

"Someone..." Hide mumbled as his dam eventually broke. "Please help me. I'm a monster..." He stated as the sounds of cries could be heard from Hide, but with no one around to help.

As Hide cried seeing the ghoul's eyes close for its final time, it made Hide ask himself. Was he as human as they claimed? Was he as innocent as he made himself out to be? Or was he a murderer now? A monster. He had slaughtered a ghoul for pure fun, thanks to Amber, and now he knew whenever he slept, he would haunt by that figure, the person whose life was taken and cut short for his own selfish gain.

What would the others think? What would those at :re think? Knowing Hide killed their own kind selfishly? Knowing they had trained a killer of their kind? What would Kaneki think?

Hide merely did not want to think anymore, as he let himself cry at the action he had just performed, thinking.

"Human or ghoul, we all can be monsters..."

A.N / So unlike the Torso investigation, which was actually shorter than the Nutcracker Investigation, the latter will actually be around one and half to two chapter long. I personally like what I did with Hide here, especially at the end with Amber briefly taking control of his mind. It may serve as an internal struggle and conflict for him. As for the timeline, I actually make these as I complete the chapters of the Tokyo Ghoul:re manga, so right now I'm up to chapter 24, which is where this story is up to coincidentally. Anyways, see you next time.

Also, sorry for the small wait, school has started, and I have to focus on that.

Flaming Pellets.

Fiery Drift.

X Flames: The user swings their wings down in a formation to launch out a fiery X in their direction. The move deals substantial burning damage the enemy they hit. Does cost the user some rc cells to activate, and has a high startup, but can be useful for both long and medium ranged attacks, and to use the X flame to advance and close the distance.