The Quinx of Change
Summary: Sometimes similar people can go through similar pain. When Hide is forced to make a choice when it comes to protecting those he loves, he makes an ominously similar decision, that ultimately may lead him to the same fate as his best friend. Just when you thought the tragedy couldn't become more apparent, it finds ways to dig into your skin and set its nest.
Hide was scared, and rightfully so.
When you are told just a week after the previous fight that you are to participate in another, involving this Tsukiyama Extermination, Hide was confused.
He saw no reason as he considered himself not interested in the matter. While he was involved in it due to his membership in the Quinx Squad, he just wasn't as interested in it as the rest. Whereas the others like Shirazu and Urie were taking in every information they could gather, Hide was just listening to the main objective.
But at the end of the day, it was the same thing. Kill this ghoul, rinse, and repeat with various battling tactics. At this point, it was nothing but a game, where you go up against an opponent with your team and destroy and clear the objective. Sure some required clearing buildings or something along those lines, but Hide was the gist of the mission.
Hide sighed, as he was alongside the Quinx Squad, Kura in his hands as he ran alongside them. Once again Haise was gone, having taken his own route to presumably take care of another major threat.
Hide, as always was hesitant to do such a thing, and let his friend go alone, but was furiously commanded by other investigators to follow their instructions. Not that Hide was a troublemaker, but rather the investigators never cared for him. Sure he was a respectable fighter, but his past was still there in the eyes of them.
In the end, it didn't matter that Hide was a valued member of the Quinx Squad, his past would be there to tarnish his name, and the rest could look down on him as they'd scrubbed their hands clean off murdering ghouls.
Like that was as ethical. The hypocrisy was judgemental, Hide thought but he digressed. Who was he to speak on regarding this when they were at the top, while he was a mere lower investigator? If he were to be fired, they could easily lock him back up.
So even though Hide was sick of discrimination, he had no choice but to put up with it.
Running alongside some members of his group, he was mildly shocked to see the number of investigators alongside them. Either this ghoul was a threat or they were going to face off against a higher number of them. Hide didn't mind, his own kagune would attack all of them at once, and he could hold his own.
Sparring with Touka and Yomo now, he was actually able to hold his own against the two. Finally able to stand his own evenly against the others having managed to spot their patterns and movements, he had his own evenly footing against them.
Just as Hide was about to get carried away with his thoughts, his eyes spotted the rest of his squad coming to an abrupt halt. Confused, Hide's eyes widened a bit at the single figure in front of him.
"Who is that?" He heard one member ask, and Hide himself couldn't blame him. He was tall and ominous, but what made him stand out was the mask. A simple black-colored mask with his teeth being the only defining feature.
"How is he able to see us through that mask?" Hide asked himself.
"When you wear your mask for some time, the mask becomes your best friend," Amber answered for him, and Hide silently thanked his subconscious, he was expecting Amber to show up, considering the ghoul in front of him.
"Get in position!" Hide heard someone mutter loudly, and Hide merely watched as they all followed suit. Hide stayed in his spot staring down the ominous ghoul, not going to let him scare him.
"He smells very good, don't you think Hide-kun?" Amber asked and Hide shook his head. He was not going to let Amber distract him this time.
In the blink of an eye, however, Hide watched as the ghoul, called Noro, struck first swiftly taking out two investigators.
Hide sighed knowing he'd have to be on his toes if he wanted to make it out of this unscathed and alive.
Hide watched as the ghoul effortlessly slaughtered many investigators in the blink of an eye. This was scary for Hide as this was the first time he had encountered something like that. Most of the ghouls he fought he felt he could take on. But this? No luck. He knew he would have to worry about his teammates and work alongside them.
"Are you going to let me free?" Amber asked, and for once Hide nodded, knowing he had to give it his all.
"Yes." He said, activating his kagune, the orange wings coming out within split seconds, Hide's right eye developing similar to that of a ghoul.
He watched as the rest of his group cooperated with a team assault, seemingly to fend off Noro.
"Mutsuki!" Urie exclaimed, and Hide watched as he struck the ghoul with his kagune campaign not hitting the ghoul, but limiting its movements.
"Saiko!" Mutsuki exclaimed and she nodded, bringing forth her rinkaku kagune, the first time Hide had actually seen her use it upon command. And boy was it something, a giant hammer-like kagune that could also slice if it wanted, Hide watched as Saiko's kagune sliced Noro in half, his torso gone.
"Hideyoshi!" Saiko yelled, and Hide sighed, just hoping whatever he did was fine. He transformed one of his wings into a more jagged crystallized puncture weapon, before charging the ghoul, stabbing it right in the chest.
Hide sighed, before he felt something bleeding out of his leg. He turned down to see that Noro had also stabbed Hide in his leg without him noticing. He gasped before stepping back.
He was glad he did so, as what he saw next surprised almost everyone. They merely could watch as Noro merely reattached himself together again with his upper and lower body. His regeneration was almost instantaneous.
"I've never seen a ghoul regenerate this fast." Someone commented and Hide's eyes gasped as he saw something coming his way.
"His regeneration's instant? He makes the perfect food!" Amber commented, and Hide's eyes and pupils dilated.
He dodged the incoming object, striking back with his crystallized wing.
He merely watched as the others panted, the ghoul clearly doing enough damage. Saiko in particular was panting relatively hard.
"She must've used quite the amount of energy. She'll have to recharge." Hide assumed, as he looked at Noro. Right now, he currently was the one closest to the ghoul, and he kept his guard up as a result.
One simply wrong move and Hide could be injured. He was the only one who wasn't even breaking a sweat, with his only action being a brief stalemate and charging to stab Noro. But none of it seemed to matter as he merely regenerated as if nothing happened. What were they supposed to do? Even if they attacked, it would it matter as his regeneration would cancel out their attacks.
Hide needed an option. He was thinking of a distraction, but that may not be worth it. He looked at his quinque, thinking about firing pillars, but the ghoul could use it as an alternate route to attack. Some ghouls were skilled midair and Hide did not want to take that risk.
He looked at the rest of the Quinx Squad, not sure what to do, keeping Kura on guard, and his kagune out.
"He's an Aogiri Ghoul, the SS-rated, named Noro." Hide heard another investigator say.
"It may be inaccurate…" Another investigator commented as Hide looked at the ghoul, knowing us was probably the most powerful ghoul he would be facing.
"Wow, SS rated, the best I got was a single S, he must taste amazing!" Amber commented, and Hide groaned, he was not going to eat a ghoul.
"What if I use…" Hide heard Shirazu say, before he opened a quinque. Hide knew exactly what this quinque was. It was Nutcracker, the very ghoul Shirazu had defeated after almost getting his nuts crushed.
He watched as Mutsuki grabbed Noro, who was struggling to escape. Urie was not far behind, using his koukaru quinque to take off some of the pressure.
Then in what Hide could describe as something he had never seen before, he watched as Shirazu's quinque expanded in an almost ball-like shape, slashing Noro's body in half yet again,
Hide took the chance, slashing the ghoul more, a gash evident, as the rest of Noro's mutilated body remained. Another investigator merely walked up and struck his own quinque right in the face of Noro.
"Stay down, please." The investigator mumbled, praying that this ghoul was done for. It was destroyed by too many investigators, and an end to it would avenge them all.
If only it were that easy.
Noro, in a scary predicament, began to flutter wildly, suddenly his kagune sprouted, with multiple tentacles with mouths showing up, slashing more nearby investigators. Hide could only look on in shock, his suspicion was there, but Amber had confirmed.
"Ooh a kakuja, looks like history is about to repeat itself isn't it Hide-kun?" Amber asked and Hide sighed. "Let's just get this over with." He mumbled in response, not wanting Amber to taunt him further.
In the course of two minutes, many of the investigators were badly wounded or dead, Saiko was tired and the rest were no better, unknown. Hide and Shirazu were the only ones up and fighting still.
Shirazu merely charged Noro with his quinque, while Hide, on the other side, barraged Noro with his projectiles, managing to avoid hitting a close combat Shirazu.
"Nuts ain't working too well against him," Shirazu stated after getting back.
"Will Kura help?" Hide asked and Shirazu shrugged.
"I don't know, I'm calling for reinforcements, think you can distract him?" He asked, and Hide nodded.
"I'll do my best." Hide said.
"Let's go, Amber." Hide stated afterward, to himself and his mind.
"Let's have my fun now." Amber merely said, a smirk evident in her tone,
Hide took a cautious tone this time. In his fight against Takizawa, he had been somewhat reckless in protecting Kaneki. While he was still protecting, he was also going to make sure he was strategic. He couldn't let himself mess up here.
Spotting a weak spot on the ghoul's right flank, Hide used Kura to block some oncoming mouths, firing some of his projectiles at short and point-blank range. This managed to work as Noro was forced to step back a bit. But Hide didn't let up. He unsheathed Kura, and activated its decay pillars.
However, instead of sending it toward Noro, he surrounded himself with multiple layers. In a circle pattern catching Noro inside.
"Clever," Noro commented, praising Hide, before he charged to Hide, who sent another wave of pillars in front of him. To his shock Noro cracked through his defence, forcing Hide to sidestep, his crystallized wings surrounding Hide from any oncoming attacks.
He stepped back a distance, watching as the pillars began to fall down, opening the battlefield yet again. Hide spotted Noro's kakuja flaring. Hide knew he had to think properly. He couldn't repeat this.
Transforming one of his crystallized wings into a crow's beak, Hide decided to try something different. Even Noro, through his masks, seemed a bit confused.
Hide then charged at Noro, using his speed to surprise the ghoul. Hide struck forward with Kura, using the black exterior to block one of his mouth-tentacles, and the red quinque to slash another off, but the regeneration was quick, and thus Hide needed to act quicker,
Using his crystallized beak, Hide struck Noro right where his kakuhou was, the ghoul stepped back, and Hide struck pillars his way while sending projectiles the ghoul's way, the ghoul only managed to dodge some, being hit with the glancing blow of the two attacks.
Hide took a breath, a bit tired, but still willing to fight. He looked at Noro who too looked a bit injured. But Hide knew he had to keep the offensive. The ghoul would regenerate and be back at full strength.
Hide saw multiple projectiles being sent towards Noro's way, being hit by some while deflecting some.
"Shirazu." Hide called out, and the boy in question nodded.
"Reinforcements are on the way! Urie should be here quickly." Shirazu commented as he continued to pelt the ghoul with projectiles.
Hide looked on at the rest of the Quinx Squad, all of whom looked injured, tired, or a mix of both. Hide looked at Shirazu, who continued to pelt the ghoul, fighting while seeing that he was clearly straining himself.
Hide gulped, hoping he would be alright. He checked on Saiko, who seemed alright.
"Can you fight?" Hide asked, the girl replying with a confused look.
"You don't know." Was all Hide stated, quickly determining before charging towards the battlefield as well,
"You'll be fighting two ukaku's!" Hide exclaimed as he charged his crystallized wings and superhuman speed managing to strike Noro in his thigh. The ghoul cursed at the sight of another hindrance but continued.
Hide didn't finish there, using his crystallized wings, he twirled his body as fast as he could, sending the hard surface to slash Noro multiple times. While the injuries weren't significant, they were in numbers and could perhaps weaken Noro for the moment.
Hide was thankful Shirazu was moving well in sync with him so that none of the projectile bullets were hitting him. It made this relatively easy, as Hide could handle the nearby threat of this kakuja, while Shirazu helped on the outside,
Again Hide didn't know if he was to stall or defeat the ghoul. With Amber continuously trying to get Hide to eat this ghoul, he felt his desperation slightly increasing.
With every second, every muscle straining and every sweat falling, Hide felt himself pushing his limits. Shirazu was no different, firing projectiles over and over, it concerned Hide how much he was pushing himself. He didn't want his friend to hurt themselves in the process.
With desperation forms desperate measures and actions, Hide knew well. But with a voice taunting him, it made him reconsider.
Hide gasped as Noro managed to hit him. A bite to his abdomen. It wasn't deep, or shallow, but Hide was fine. He could regenerate, albeit not as fast as his opponent.
"There's a faster way for you to regenerate, you know?" Amber stated and Hide sighed, avoiding more strikes from Noro.
"What is that?" He asked Amber, not really knowing what to do at this point.
"Eat. Ghoul, human or food whatever, some of your extra energy can go to regenerating your wounds." Amber stated.
"How do I know you don't want me to eat this ghoul?" Hide asked, as he spotted a small flinch from Noro. He probably was hearing Hide mumble, talking about eating ghouls.
"Hey, I'm just telling you this so you won't be injured more. It's your choice, fight with that wound or eat something." Amber nonchalantly stated,
What was Hide to do? He was desperate, and during those times, your actions can be more erratic.
Before Hide knew it, another injury was inflicted on him, a puncture right to his chest. Hide gasps, only for his breathing to hurt. It must've struck a lung, Hide deciphered, and Hide felt himself in agony.
"You don't have no choice. Bite him!" Amber yelled in his mind, and the agony and desperation took Hide's hesitance away.
With a pained yell, ironically hurting his chest more, he charged at Noro recklessly.
Expecting his kagune or quinque, Noro brought up his kakuja to meet with them, but to his shock, saw Hide aim for his shoulder. While nobody could see it, Noro's eyes widened, when Hide got closer. His wings and quinque acted as a shield, holding back Noro's own weapons.
Before Noro saw it, he felt a pain in his left shoulder. Shirazu looked on in shock at what happened. Hide was desperate and thus wasn't feeling anything but pleasure.
"That's right, Hide-kun. Eat! Enjoy it, you deserve it!" Amber commented, clearly happy Hide had obliged.
Hide had bitten down deep into the shoulder of the ghoul, but he wasn't done, he elbowed the ghoul, knocking him back, before grabbing his leg, and eating a chunk from it, before sending him back with a slash to his crystallized wing.
Hide took a sigh, a deep breath, and was somewhat shocked at the lessening pain in his chest. His abdomen hurt less, as he looked down to see himself regeneration the wounds nicely. They weren't fast, but it was helpful and potentially saved Hide from his presumably fatal wound.
He looked at Noro's own wound which was already healing, and Hide's mouth drooled, watching the ghoul. To his shock, the ghoul tasted okay. He thought it would have been disgusting, but it was bearable and tolerable.
"Your crazy!" Noro stated, at last, even he was shocked at what had just happened.
Shirazu merely looked on, confused at what Hide had done, but the orange-haired showed no remorse.
"It's delicious! Look how your body enjoyed it! You'll eat more before you know it!" Amber commented and she continued to be enthusiastic over Hide's actions.
"I'll eat you whole!" Noro unexpectedly screamed, and Hide brought his crystallized wings in front of him, as he felt an immense pressure being brought into him.
Still, he held firm, not losing balance, before he jumped up, firing crystallized projectiles, covering himself from any potential tentacles.
To Hide's shock he spotted the full extent of Noro's kakuja. Four weird limbs sprouting out, with mouths. The Center body is as dangerous with its own large mouth.
It was terrifying, but Hide digressed. He wasn't done yet. He brought up some more decay pillars, which managed to weaken one of Noro's limbs. Shirazu pelting more projectiles at Noro in the background.
Hide looked on, jumping and stabbing another limb. Instead of finishing, he used the black part of the Kura to stab right through another of Noro's limbs, his velocity didn't stop, as with as much strength as he could muster, he stabbed Kura right through the wall, trapping one of Noro's limbs into a wall.
Hide did the same to another one, this time with the red part of Kura. Now half of Noro's limbs were trapped, stuck between Kura, embedded in the ground or wall.
Hide didn't mind this sacrifice, he still had his kagune, he was a weapon, so he could still fight.
"I think I see what you're doing, Hide." Another voice called out from behind, that wasn't Shirazu, but Urie, who gave Hide a small smile. "Very clever."
With not much to say, Hide himself began to fire projectiles at Noro, who was now limited in his movements.
However, as the battle continued, Hide noticed something strange with Shirazu. He was continuously raining down bullets toward Noro, which weren't even doing much damage, he began to talk, well more like mumbling, and his kagune was getting stronger.
Hide knew what was happening, and he made his way toward Shirazu, worried that he may be overwhelming himself. He could see those eyes, those desperate eyes that he held. With the injury in his chest, he had firsthand felt and seen effects of desperation, and the damage it could present.
Hide made his way towards Shirazu, who was continuously firing pellets, not calming down. To make matters even worse he could hear some weird sounds of metal breaking. This only meant one thing. Shirazu was framing out, overextending his limits.
Hide knew he couldn't sit and let that happen. Before Shirazu could continue, Hide got in the way, Shirazu stopping his onslaught upon notice, with Hide merely grunting at the few projectiles he was inflicted with. He did not mind if it meant saving his friends and fellow teammates.
"I got this part!" He exclaimed, with full authority, charging the kakuja nightmare known as Noro. He looked at the ghoul with pure hatred and determination, getting some distance, glad he had calmed Shirazu down enough for him to relax a bit.
Hide approached Noro, lighting himself with the flames across his kagune, considering he left Kura in his wings.
Hide struck his wing down on the ground, allowing a fire trail to span out toward Noro.
*Flame Trail*
The trail encroached towards Noro before it exploded in a pool of fire, which stopped Noro. Of course, he would quickly regenerate from the burns, but the pain was definitely enough to make him reconsider everything.
Hide attempted to get close, to potentially strike his limbs, but Noro recovered, and Hide was left to simply cut off his limbs, which would only recover as quickly as Hide destroyed them. Whilst his flaming kagune made it easier, it also made him more tired.
Hide panted, as he stared down at Noro. He knew he was too close, and was easily within striking distance.
Still, he needed to cover a distraction. So, he decided to do something drastic.
Perhaps it could hurt him, or even kill him, he didn't know.
He had to in order to destroy such a dangerous ghoul.
Of course, this left him to the threat, and while he was limited, he was still a significant threat. Kura embedded with his limbs.
*Fiery Pellets*
Firing his own projectiles, his wings also protecting himself from any flaring kakuja limbs from Noro, Hide spotted exactly what he wanted.
Staring at Noro with pure determination and a readiness to retaliate and fight, the flames from his wings quickly went across his body. Instead of burning him, however, they surrounded Hide, at a distance that it wouldn't burn him.
Continuously using his wings to cut through Noro's limbs, which tried to injure Hide, he eventually snapped once he accumulated enough flames, as he felt his own stamina depleting.
*Igniting Storm*
With a yell of agony, and bloodlust, like that of a striking predator, Hide showcased a look of bloodlust and chaos, as the flames that surrounded him, quickly circled outwards, striking everything surrounding Hide within an increasing radius.
They started incredibly close to Hide, before shortly striking Noro with the powerful flames Hide had accumulated. The flames didn't stop there. Whilst they did weaken in intensity the farther the distance, it wasn't known how far the flames could truly go until they were harmless.
Shirazu and Urie's eyes widened in shock, as they had to retreat to about 50m away, thinking the flames would dissipate.
They didn't, and whilst they quickly maneuvered around, the increasing distance giving them preparation time, they still found each other getting hit. Now they too, had some burn wounds on them. Still, they were standing, and Noro himself was severely damaged, still burning.
"Urie! Shirazu! Hide yelled getting both of their attention while he blocked one of Noto's two limbs, the ghoul frantically fighting back as he was slowly burning.
"This should cover the distraction!" He yelled, suddenly spotting the second limb that he couldn't block, his wings were to encompass the first one. Even if he tried to maneuver, he was too exhausted to move then quickly enough to block the incoming strike.
"Finish him off! It's up to you two!" Hide yelled with all his might, before he felt Noro's kakuja ram right through his stomach. Hide immediately blacked out, his vision closing immediately as his figure plopped on the floor, flying quite a ways before it came to a stop.
"Hideyoshi!" Saiko yelled, as she watched as Shirazu and Urie charge Noro one more time, his limbs overextended from dealing with Hide. They couldn't come back to fend off in close combat. This was it for Noro.
Before Noro saw it, he felt two quinques slice him apart, his kakuja broken.
The only thing Noro could mutter was, "See you on the other side, Eto."
Noro was dead. It was apparent, with the damage and the fact that he was no longer regenerating. His body was unmoving, with no intake of breath, the SS-rated ghoul was dead, Shirazu and Urie smiled at the teamwork they showed.
"You know, you're actually pretty good," Urie commented and Shirazu smiled.
"Same goes for you, the two of us together," Shirazu replied, returning the smile.
However, the Quinx Squad couldn't celebrate at all yet. Not when one of their members was severely injured and near death.
"Hideyoshi!" They both simultaneously exclaimed in realization.
Shirazu and Urie quickly made their way over to Hide's unconscious body, his eyes closed and his body not moving. Saiko was already there, crying as she assumed to be worst.
"Is he okay?" Shirazu could only ask, whilst Urie looked on in horror.
"I don't know! I can't tell, I'm shaking from fear!" Saiko yelled, clearly worried for her comrade.
It really didn't look good, they all thought. While they were Quinx's, the damage looked terrible. Almost fatal, but they couldn't tell. They weren't medical experts.
"Please don't be dead…" Shirazu mumbled as he watched Urie search for any signs of life coming from the unconscious boy.
Thankfully, he sighed and gave the smallest smile he could give.
"He has a faint pulse, if we hurry we can get him to safety." He said, "But he's bleeding relatively fast, Shirazu, can you take him to safety?" Urie asked.
Shirazu nodded, and Urie looked on as he immediately grabbed Hide's body and ran as fast as he could to find a medical expert—anyone who could save Hide's life. Urie looked at Shirazu, he made no comment, no sarcasm, no jokes. Just a simple but serious nod. It was among the most serious times he had seen from the usual jokester.
Urie merely looked at Mutsuki, who had just gotten up, confused at what happened,
"What happened?" He asked, spotting the crying Saiko and upset Urie.
"Hideyoshi has been badly injured. We don't know if he'll-" but Urie couldn't finish. He himself felt like crying.
Mutsuki merely was shocked, unable to say anything as he watched as the two cried, praying for Hide's survival.
There was so much stuff going on, Shirazu could tell. As he held Hide's body, which was bleeding from his stomach wound, he could see some semblance of his regeneration kicking in, which gave him some hope that his comrade was still alive.
In part, Shirazu had felt partly to blame for Hide's condition. He was the one to stop him, wanting to take charge. What if it was Shirazu had been the one to continue the assault instead? Would he have been the one in that condition? Would he have died? Shirazu didn't want to think too much.
He could have sworn that he saw two figures staring at him, shocked at what, or who he was holding, as if they recognized him. One was clearly a girl, with lavender hair covering one of her eyes, while the other was a male, relatively tall with silver hair. They seemed shocked, but Shirazu couldn't ponder now.
"I need a medic! Anyone!" Shirazu exclaimed, thankful when he saw a medic from the CCG taking him.
With a sigh, Shirazu could only hope that Hide would be alright.
He then went on one knee, the pain and emotional turnout being too much, as Shirazu himself found himself in tears from Hide's injuries.
"Please let him be alright." He mumbled, ignoring the two observers looking at him in pity.
The medic in question seemed to have mistaken Hide's body as dead and put his body amongst the dead in a transport vehicle, where he was to be buried like the rest of the dead.
However, that didn't seem to be the case, as with no one seeing, Hide's body was slowly regenerating, whilst the blood pouring was replenishing faster than it was depleting. It appeared by against all odds, Hide's body was healing fast enough.
"You better thank that ghoul whom you took a bite out of for this. If you hadn't you would've been dead from that injury." The voice of Amber echoed within Hide's mind.
Hide's stomach wound had almost halved at this point, the wound had stopped bleeding as the body had been able to close the wound. Despite this, his unconscious body at the time prior made it seem unlikely that he would still be alive.
Suddenly, the transport vehicles in which contained Hide and the dead bodies, was attacked by another batch of ghoul, among them were Aogiri Members.
Of course at this time, Hide's condition was more stable than before, and where the medics from the CCG previously declared Hide dead, the ghouls, seeing the boy's regenerating body were more optimistic.
"Hey! This boy! He's alive and regenerating!" One of the ghouls called out, and after further look, another replied.
"He's one of those human weapons, wanted by Dr. Kanou."
"Dead or alive?" One asked, a bit unsure of what the doctor wanted, for all they knew.
"I believe it doesn't matter. If he has a specimen he can open to check, it'll be fine." The ghoul answered.
"Well, let's give him the good news then!" The ghoul laughed, her black hair flowing in the wind.
"Father will be proud of this." Kurona exclaimed, giddy about her find, before taking Hide's unconscious body in her grasp, Hide's stomach wound in its final stages of healing.
"Father!" Kurona exclaimed after a bit, the giddiness in her voice not going away. The doctor in question turned his head in confusion.
"What is it? What is that?" He asked pointed to the unconscious Hide in her arms.
"This is one of those Quinx you asked for." Kurona stated, and Kanou smiled.
"Is he alive or not?" He asked, unsure."Alive. He has a stomach wound that appears to be healing." Kurona replied.
Dr. Kanou smiled, nonetheless, he got his specimen, which evidentially will help with his experiments.
Tatara came up, looking at the Dr. Kanou in confusion, seemingly looking at the specimen he was given.
Because Hide was still alive, he was unable to fully dissect the individual. Regardless, Kanou was silently glad his specimen was still alive. He could gather some information from him regarding it. Eto was always a fan or torturing her victims, so Kanou saw no harm in this.
Besides if he was a Quinx, then similar to one eyed ghoul, then the torture would make them stronger, by increasing their rc supply. But then again, even Kanou wasn't prepared for what he was to find.
"Amazing, so they do it in stages with a suppressant device. This prevents the rejection of the organ. We can better perform our ghoulification procedures better. Impressive indeed." Dr. Kanou stated, his grin evident in his mask.
"I mean, his kagune in itself seems interesting, with many of his rc cells burned…" Dr. Kanou mumbled, clearly realizing what he was dealing with was unlike others.
"What are we to do with this specimen then?" Tatara asked clearly just watching this ordeal.
"We'll see what happens when we remove these suppressants, if my calculations and theory are right, then the body has adapted to the organ, and as a result will complete the ghoulification process," Kanou stated.
"I don't understand," Tatara replied.
"It's pretty simple, a gradual transition is safer and more successful than a rapid transition. This Quinx must've had this for months. If we break these suppressants then he'll effectively become a one-eyed ghoul. If we had done it almost instantaneously, the body would have rejected and killed itself in the process." Kanou explained, and Tatara nodded in understanding.
"I see, and that's what you plan to do with him?" Tatara asked.
"That's not all, obviously. Because of this I now know the way to ghoulification. I can thus learn more about these Quinx's when he wakes up. It'll take time for his RC cells to take effect once we destroy these suppressants, so torture him to speed up the process. We can get Eto to do so."
Tatara looked at the unconscious Hide before nodding, "I will inform her." Was all he said before he left.
As Dr. Kanou looked at the body of Hide, who was regenerating and alive, he chuckled.
"This boy will have changed everything about this surgery, and I'm glad. He'll be the perfect blueprint, as I continue to experiment on him further, excellent." Dr Kanou stated at last, as he started the process of removing the suppressants surrounding the kakuhou in Hide's body. The effect was almost immediate, as he could see the potential, but unlike the countless other experiments, Hide's body was accustomed to it, not rejecting it.
Of course, this took some time, as he had to be very careful with his specimen. It was still alive and he wanted it alive for his own reasons. Once he saw that the kakuhou was free, Dr. Kanou smiled, before carrying Hide's body to a strapped chair, locking Hide in place, Hide's regeneration taking effect.
All Dr. Kanou had to do now, was wait for the change, and with Eto torturing him, it would only speed up the process further. This specimen could also be his next Kaneki or Takizawa. He could already see through the regeneration. He also had plenty of human bodies from the transport trucks, if this went well, he would not only have another Kaneki but also a better chance at a proper ghoulification.
A.N / So this ends in Chapter 58 in the manga. In the actual manga, spoiler alert, Shirazu ends up dying from Noro, before his body is experimented on by Kanou. Here, I had Hide be the one to be experimented on, but not die obviously. This is where the plot will change rapidly as we'll see later. Because the time skip between chapters 58 and 59 is big, the next chapter or two will be between them, and I definitely have some ideas for what to do with Hide.
Flame Trial: The user strikes down their wing or limb, which causes a trail of fire to extend out, to a maximum of 20 meters away from the user. It can go in front, to the side, or behind. Though it is avoidable and predictable, also costing some rc cells, it can negate a potential escape path for an enemy. Hide is able to use the move to restrict the movement of others, allowing him to trap his enemies.
Igniting Storm: An incredibly strong move, with severe physical costs. The user surrounds themselves with flames, accumulating them before launching them in a circular, hurricane, and storm-like fashion. The move has an enormous range, the flames capable of hitting those within a 400m radius, about the size of an average track and field station. The closer the enemy is to the user, the more severe the injuries can be. As seen here, the move was able to severely injure Noro, to the point of near death. The flames travel in a circular motion at quick speeds but can be seen by others if the area is open, and deals less damage with increasing distance. Whilst incredibly powerful, has a high startup, and depletes almost all of the user's rc cells, also damaging the user with burn marks of their own.
Smolly.
Red Rain.
Flame Body.
Shapeshift.
X Flames.
Flaming Pellets.
Fiery Drift.
