Outsider Chronicle: Tokyo Cauldron
Death is never fun. Getting reborn into a world where monsters of all sorts haunt the streets is even worse. On the other hand, I'm now something weirder than any Ghoul could ever hope to be and owe a bunch of amoral lab types a favour...this might end badly.
Sooo, this is a weird idea to say the least. I'm having entirely to much fun playing with Worm...eh, whatever, its kinda fun. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Soooo, my death was lame. I mean, getting killed by a box full of Twilight books falling on your head isn't exactly something to brag about, even if it was less painful than reading them. Still, at least I got a new life out of it. Oh yeah, I ended up getting reincarnated. I'm still not entirely sure why, but after I died, I woke up again as a baby. Now, normally I wouldn't complain about that, but when I found out that I got reborn into a world infested with man eating monsters who are indistinguishable from Humans until they are chewing on your spare ribs, I think I have the right to start swearing like a sailor. The fact I was also born as a future plot point to help the protagonist start to grow a pair didn't help matters. Oh, am I being to obtuse? Let me make it clear then. I have been reborn into the Tokyo Ghoul world as Hideyoshi Nagachika. Eh, I guess it could be worse though.
Anyway, other than discovering I was a god damn side character, I managed to adapt fairly quickly. I didn't get too bored going through school again by virtue of being a brit last time and thus, the schooling was completely different...mostly. I mean, it was still mildly annoying having to act like a toddler to keep from freaking people out but whatever. I grew up with a single mother, but that was no real hardship since she had a decent job and my Dad wasn't a complete deadbeat. I never did meet him though and all Mum could tell me was that he was apparently American and that she hadn't been with my Father long before I was born.
Despite being disgruntled over having the roll of squishy best friend, that didn't mean I wasn't about to help out Kaneki when I got the chance. Seriously, the kid spent most of the time looking like a kicked puppy, I couldn't not do so. Plus, Kaneki was highly intelligent and, like me, a complete bookworm, although I prefer fantasy and gothic literature over the downright disturbing horror Kaneki liked.
The years passed quickly, taken up by hanging out, homework, getting a few books published and learning as much as I could about self defence. Hey, I might not be able to match up to a Ghoul, but that didn't mean I wouldn't give it everything I've got. Besides, I might figure out a way to prevent myself from fuel for more homoerotic fanfiction.
"So, where exactly are we going?" I asked.
"To that cafe I told you about," said Kaneki.
"Ohh, you mean the one where you met your Prince Charming?" I said with a smirk.
"Hide!" whined Kaneki.
I just snickered as Kaneki pouted. Teasing him was so much fun. Unfortunately, my smile because a tad fixed as we rounded a corner and Kaneki brightened up.
"There it is," he said, pointing at a cafe a short distance away.
It was Anteiku. Well, looks like I'd be going hunting in the not too distant future. There was no way I was gonna let Kaneki get Ghoulified without a fight.
We entered the cafe, placed our orders and took a seat, just as the news started a report on a Ghoul attack in the Takada building.
"Jeeze, thats near here," I said as a waitress placed our orders in front of us, "Kinda scary, right?"
Not really, at least, not for me. I knew enough to be able to avoid most Ghouls and, even if I didn't, they weren't immune to pepper spray. Or tasers for that matter.
"I guess," said Kaneki, "But I've never even seen a Ghoul."
"I guess its hard to be scared of something you've never even seen," I said, "Then again, considering they're supposed to look Human, you wouldn't know someone was a Ghoul until they were chewing on your rump steak."
I grinned in a way I knew always freaked out Kaneki.
"Even I could be one."
Kaneki shuddered and glared at me.
"Don't do that!" he said, "You know I think that wolfish grin of yours is damn unsettling."
I stifled a snort as I took a bite out of my bacon and sausage sandwich. Considering they couldn't eat it, the sandwich was surprisingly good.
"So, which girl is it that caught your eye?" I asked, "Is it her?"
I jerked my thumb at Touka as she walked past.
"No, shes a customer, not a waitress," said Kaneki, "Although I guess shes cute…"
"Hnn," I said as Touka walked past, ignoring the veiled dirty look she sent me.
"Um, excuse me?" said Touka as she stopped next to our table, "Are you done with that?"
She indicated to my empty plate.
"Oh, sure," I said, handing it to her.
She nodded and took the plate away. I turned back to Kaneki, who was wearing a smirk that had me on guard. Kaneki wasn't the type to tease people, but that didn't mean he couldn't.
"I think she likes you," he said.
"Jailbait," I drawled.
Kaneki rolled his eyes.
"Three years at the most," he said.
"We're here because of your lovelife, not mine," I said in annoyance.
Kaneki snickered, before he suddenly blushed and ducked his head. I didn't need to turn to know that Rize had just walked in, I could feel it. I'd always had a good sense for danger and right now, that sense was screaming at me that something very dangerous had just entered the room and to get the fuck out as quickly as possible. I swallowed and clenched my fists to try and keep myself from bolting.
"Um, are you Ok Hide?" asked Kaneki.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, "So, I take it thats her?"
Kaneki nodded.
"Yeah, you haven't got a chance," I deadpanned.
"Wha...HIDE!"
"What? Shes way out of your league. It'd be like Beauty and the Bonehead."
"You mean beast," growled Kaneki.
I forced a chuckle and stood.
"Whatever, now I've seen your crush, I'm outa here," I said, dropping a handful of coins on the table to pay for my food and drink, "Later."
"See you."
I left the cafe and quickly ducked into an alley where I rested my head against the cool bricks in an attempt to center myself and stop shaking.
"Fuck me, that was brutal," I muttered, "How the fuck did Kaneki not feel all that bloodlust?"
I took a deep, shaky breath and pushed off the wall. Now I had to figure out how in the actual hell I was supposed to stop my friend from nearly dying. I was so deep in thought, I nearly walked into a foreign woman in a suit coming the other way and it was only some fancy footwork on both our parts that prevented a collision. Even so, her hat fell of in the process.
"Sorry about that," I said as I picked up the hat, a fedora, and handed it to her.
"Its no problem," said the woman as she brushed the headwear off and put it back on.
She gave me a searching look.
"You seem bothered by something," she said.
I let out a breath through my nostrils.
"I guess I am," I said, "Just...trying to figure out what to do about a hopeless situation…"
I shook my head and sighed.
"Anyway, I should go," I said, "Sorry again."
I walked off, ignoring the way the womans eyes kept burning into my back as I did so.
"So, you managed to get a date with that girl?" I asked around the mouthful I was chewing.
"Yep, we're going to the bookstore tomorrow," said Kaneki.
"Huh, sounds like you got lucky," I said, "So whats her name?"
"Rize Kamishiro," said Kaneki, "Hey, are you eating something?"
"Yeah, you caught me in the middle of dinner," I said.
"Oh, sorry about that," said Kaneki, "Anyway, I should go."
"Sure sure, have fun on your date," I said and snapped my phone shut.
I dropped it onto the table in front of me and sat back, staring up at the ceiling. I'd been thinking non stop about the problem before me since that morning but was no closer to coming up with an answer than before. I was a good fighter, but I was no match for a Binge Eater. There was quite literally nothing I could do about the issue. At all. Well, I suppose I could call the CCG, but I really didn't want to do that. As such, I'd basically resigned myself to Kaneki getting Ghoulified by this point and had moved onto planning what to do next. The problem was that there was a fairly high risk that Touka would simply take my head off if I did anything to approach them and if they didn't, I was still a helpless squishy Human.
I sighed deeply as my laptop pinged, indicating that an email had just arrived. I lazilly rolled my head forwards and opened my inbox, hoping for a distraction from the circular thoughts werling in my head. I certainly got just that, although not in any way I'd ever expect.
The first thing that caught my eye and made my jaw drop was the address. Contessa . I rubbed my eyes and double checked. Yep, thats what it said.
"Um...O...K," I said, "Thats...normal?"
I hesitated, not sure if I should open the mail or not. After a few seconds, curiosity got the better of me and, praying that my Antivirus software was up to the task if this was a stupid move, clicked on the message. Fortunately, my computer didn't explode, so that was something. I swallowed and lent forwards to read it.
Dear Mr Nagachika,
It has come to our attention that you are in need of some...help shall we say. We may be able to offer the aid you need, for a price of course. If you are interested, please meet me tomorrow outside the train station at 11 oclock sharp.
I hope to see you then.
Contessa.
I stared at the message uncomprehendingly for a moment, before slowly sitting back, my mind awhirl. Well...wasn't this interesting? If this was legit, I could well get my hands on what I needed to help Kaneki and prevent myself from becoming someone's lunch. Even a basic Thinker power would be wildly helpful in that regard! I didn't even entertain the idea that this was anything but legit. After all, if someone wanted to kidnap me or something, why use something like this? No one could possibly know about the issues I was having and even fewer (read, none) would know the name Contessa considering that Worm didn't exist in this reality. The only thing I was really worried about was the price.
I wasn't well off, I was a university student after all, so I couldn't pay them with money. That said, if Contessa was contacting me, that likely meant that I featured in her Path to Victory in some way, so they'd probably ask for a favour or something instead of monetary compensation. I just hope that its not anything I'll end up regretting…
The next day, I arrived at the station at 10:55, not wanting to risk being late to meet someone like Contessa or risk losing my one chance to possible become more than a speed bump in the plot. I lent against the wall of the building, watching the world go by, occasionally glancing at my watch as the time ticked closer and closer to eleven. The instant the minute hand flicked onto the 12, a woman seemed to appear out of thin air next to me and I was somehow unsurprised to see that it was the woman I'd nearly walked into the previous day.
"Good afternoon Mr Nagachika," said Contessa, "I'm glad to see that you are punctual. My name is Contessa and we have much to discuss."
"Fair enough," I said with a sigh, "Before we do though, how much do you actually know about me?"
Contessa smirked slightly.
"Just about everything," she said, "Including the fact you are somehow aware of the future of both this and Earth Bet, despite being 100% baseline Human."
My eye twitched.
"Alright, how the fuck can you possibly know that?" I asked.
"Thinkers."
"Fair enough."
Contessa nodded and indicated for me to follow her. I did so and she led me to an out of the way area and stopped.
"Doorway to the lab," she said and a glowing, blue hole in space appeared.
She turned to me and indicated for me to go first. I took a deep breath.
"Well, in for a penny," I muttered and stepped through the doorway.
I found myself stood in a sterile looking room with a rather ominous looking chair with heavy duty restraints on the arms and legs in the middle. A silver tray with a number of shiny and rather sharp looking implements, as well as an almost comically large syringe full of glowing orange goop stood next to the chair and beside that was a slightly short, dark skinned woman in a doctors uniform making notes on a clipboard.
"Doctor Mother I presume?" I asked as Contessa stepped through the portal behind me, which vanished with a thump.
The 'good' Doctor looked up and fixed me with a rather unnerving look.
"Correct," she said in a french accented voice that I would have found attractive if it wasn't so lacking in inflection, "Contessa told me you would know more than you should. I see that she was correct, as always."
The Thinker nodded as she walked past me and lent against the wall.
"So, I assume that you are aware of what we are doing here?" asked Doctor Mother.
I nodded.
"I do," I said, "Although I'm not sure what I can do for you. I'm not exactly wealthy after all."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Plus, I don't live on Bet, so I won't be able to do anything over there. With that in mind, what do you want from me?"
Doctor Mother stared at me for a moment, before she sighed and rubbed her eyes.
"Future knowledge and a sharp mind," she muttered, "Great."
She cleared her throat and looked me in the eye.
"What we want from you is information," she said, "Tell us everything you know about what to come and we will give you what you want."
I blinked. Well, that was significantly less horrific than I was expecting.
"Alright, you got a deal," I said, "I don't know everything of course, but I'll give you a summary of what I do know."
Doctor Mother gave what might have been a smile and gestured to a small sitting area off to the side. I took the offered seat as the Doctor sat across from me with Contessa at her shoulder. I cleared my throat and started talking.
Three hours later and we were finally done. The summary didn't take that long of course, but the Doctor and Contessa asked me a fair few questions once I was done.
"Alright, this will all come in very useful," said the Doctor.
"It was a pleasure," I said, "Oh, and if you need it, I'd be willing to offer you my help in future battles, either with Endbringers or Scion."
Doctor Mother gave me a curious look.
"Why would you do that?" she asked.
I shrugged.
"Why not?" I asked, "I might be able to prevent some people from dying in the latter and the former is a threat to all Earths, not just Bet. Obviously, that offer is reliant on what I'm up to at the time, but I think I can make a hole in whatever schedule I have, especially for Scion."
"Of course," said Contessa.
Doctor Mother glanced at the Thinker, before nodding.
"Very well, I shall inform the relevant people of your offer," she said, "Now, let us begin."
She stood and moved over to the chair. I swallowed and followed her, stipping off my shirt as instructed and allowing myself to be strapped to the table.
"Um, is this really necessary?" I asked a little weakly as I eyed the restraints that looked like they'd even give Alexandria a hard time.
"Oh yes," said Doctor Mother as she picked up the syringe and flicked it to get the air bubbles out, "We have no idea what powers you will get after all and we don't want a pain maddened Brute on the loose in the base."
I paled and mouthed 'pain maddened' as Doctor Mother turned to me and stated prepping my arm for the injection.
"I suggest you brace yourself," she said, "This is going to be painful. Good luck."
"Wait, what?"
Instead of answering, Doctor Mother stabbed the needle into my arm and pushed the plunger. Thirty seconds later, I was screaming.
And that'll do. There were about three points when I could end this chapter, but this is where I wanted to end it. Is it believable? Probably not. Do I care? Not in the slightest.
So, now the Cauldron knows whats to come and Bet is likely to be changed by it. Maybe Taylor will end up in a better position. Who knows? Its mostly irrelevant to this story anyway, although we MIGHT get a glimpse into Bet at some point. Maybe.
Don't worry, I don't intend to give Hide anything completely broken, although it will be something that'll allow him to fight on par with a Ghoul at least. I was thinking either Hemokinesis or biokinesis of some kind. Let me know what you think I should give him and remember, it could be practically anything, although I may nerf it slightly so he doesn't just steamroll everyone.
Anyway, I'm gonna sign off here. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!