The Quinx of Change

When you are thought to be dead by one side, and sought after by the other, it puts you in the spotlight, for all the wrong reasons. After he escapes from torture at the hands of Aogiri Tree, Hide cannot go back to the CCG under the terms of who he is now. In addition to the stress associated with the trauma he has endured, the struggle for survival has only begun. Luckily, the help of a certain figure will help Hide, who also needs to keep his identity closed.

How was he going to thrive in this? Hide just realized.

It was a question that Hide had asked himself once he had freed himself from that room in Aogiri Tree, however he had a lot of issues now. The first was the fact that he had an organization after him, and another that thought he was dead, and would never accept him back for obvious reasons.

Another issue was the fact that his clothing was messed up. Especially during the night, it wasn't well, and during the day it made him stand out even further. If he needed something immediately, he needed clothing. One idea he had was the simply go back to his old apartment, or the Chateau, and get some of his clothes from there, but it was risky. Incredibly, he would have to wait when they go out during missions, and he'd have to be very careful with what he does.

However, Hide eventually found a relatively easy way to gain clothes, and that was simply to steal them from other ghouls. Thankfully, one thing that Hide still had was his speed and maneuverability, and as a result, could swoop in and steal the profits of a dead or unconscious ghoul. In one instance, he had encountered a ghoul who was knocked out. Hide had stripped the ghoul of his clothes before leaving.

Of course, this caused the problem of the scent being off, but he needed the clothes, and by letting it dry after a small soak, especially when it rained it was gone. Plus the risk of accidentally burning his victims was somewhat concerning. As a result, he had to use them once he took care of them, burning them to ash afterward.

At least Hide had clothes, and considering ghouls only needed to eat once a month, it made Hide's food situation a bit less severe. Considering he had two options, having a longer time interval between meals was a generous counterbalance.

Eventually, Hide decided to take the risk of sneaking into the Chateau, he used deodorant spray to keep the area clean and away from his scent, in case people like Urie could smell him. He quickly gathered his orange backpack, as well as the stuff he needed, like some clothes, and even his scarecrow outfit.

"I guess I'll be needing this a lot more." Hide mumbled as he looked around. There wasn't a lot in his room, but it was enough to at least help him keep clean off the streets for a bit.

With a sigh, Hide had looked to the Chateau one last time, immediately putting on his scarecrow outfit before heading out. Interesting story, Hide had worn the scarecrow for a Halloween party in his school. At the time, it was too big for Hide originally, however he did grow into it slowly.

The first thing Hide decided was that he needed a source of income, but not a typical job. There was no way he could get a typical job, with the CCG declaring him dead, any mention of that name would cause a ruckus. He needed to remain off the CCG's trail and Aogiri Tree's. He was essentially on his own, in the middle of the crossroads.

Thankfully, his scarecrow suit could help him avoid any drama for a time, and the amount of clothes he had, as long as he played his cards right could last him a while.

Still, his situation wasn't ideal, and he needed a form of support soon. Whether it was financially or socially. Considering how he spent a year in Cochlea, with very little social interaction, he knew he wouldn't survive another year or longer.

During the nighttime, Hide looked at his reflection in the water, somewhat surprised at how different he looked. Instead of orange, his hair whitened to yellow. Instead of it being medium length, it was shoulder length, and his eyes looked demotivated.

"Okay, first order of business, find either an area populated by ghouls, or find a shop ghouls run." Hide stated, remembering when he and Kaneki were first talking about ghouls, and how they try and blend in with society.

Right now, Hide was in the 20th ward, carefully avoiding as much attention as he could. Of course, this was difficult once he put on his scarecrow costume, as he stuck out like a sore thumb.

Hide merely sighed, at least Amber could give him some clues regarding a high density of ghouls in an area. It was something he desperately needed, a way to find other ghouls.

Eventually, however, in the 14th ward, Hide had found or rather sensed it. And rather than Hide, it was Amber.

"Ah, the smell of high ghoul concentration, never fails to make me drool!" Hide could hear Amber's voice in his head, and by that remark and retort immediately could tell that there were some ghouls nearby.

He came up across a store, a bar it seemed, called Helter Skelter, Hide merely shrugged, he was old enough he assumed, as he decided to enter. He immediately knew that this was going to be an interesting area that he remembered.

"Helter Skelter, oh this is a hall." Hide commented himself, when he heard something behind the door to his right.

"Okay." Hide merely stated, the sound of Amber in his head echoing that they were in there confirming what Hide already knew.

Once he opened the door, he immediately noticed the number of ghouls in the area. Among them was a ghoul he was familiar with, well actually two of them, and Hide gulped, thanking the fact that he was wearing his scarecrow suit. Overall, however, there were only twelve other ghouls Hide could see and detect.

"Yomo and Uta." Hide thought to himself, recognizing the two. This was bad, he thought. Considering they probably thought he was dead, he knew that at the moment, he had to remain undercover for the time being, especially from the CCG.

Of course, other ghouls were looking at Hide, in his costume, but he merely moved, walking by as if he didn't see any of them. They could probably smell that he was a ghoul, or something so he didn't fear or let himself question himself. If he walked in an area with confidence, then others may just think of you as nothing else.

Once he found an area in the back, he sighed, looking around as he spotted some eyes on him, however, most of the initial shock had worn off. They clearly must have thought he was either a weird-smelling human or a ghoul.

"Oh, hi there!" A strange female voice exclaimed, which made Hide look up in confusion. What he saw was a girl. She has waist-length peachy orange hair, as well as surprisingly revealing clothing, with her large breasts in particular making Hide a bit nervous. However, considering what he had done with Eto to survive his torture, this was nothing. Another weird fact about her was her over-the-top extroverted personality. It made Hide think about what could've happened if he had met her beforehand.

Hide shook his thoughts out, simply nodding at the girl, who looked a bit upset.

"Oh, come on now, that's not how you introduce yourself to someone, what's your name?" the girl asked again, and Hide merely looked at Yomo, who had a rather uninterested face, and Uta who seemed to be trying to smell Hide himself, which was a bit weird.

"My name?" Hide asked, trying to think of something, but stumbling in the process. He sighed before merely continuing. "Scarecrow." He said, thinking back to the costume he had on.

The three did not seem convinced with that name but respected the guy's obvious privacy.

"Well, I'm Itori." The girl stated pointing to the two other ghouls behind her, "And these are Uta and Yomo!" She said with a cheery face, which reminded Hide of Eto.

Hide shook that out of his head before he heard Amber moan, "Is this your next snack? She looks like one, am I right Hide-kun?"

Hide mentally slapped himself wishing Amber had not stated that, before nodding in confirmation.

"Nice to meet you all." He said before he took a seat. He didn't know what he was doing here. He had stated he wanted to get a job in a high ghoul area, so that he could maybe fly under the radar from the CCG and Aogiri Tree, however, actually committing to these actions was a lot more difficult. Perhaps it was because Yomo and Uta, two people who knew who Hide was were right there.

Maybe he had to wait for the two to leave before, perhaps he could talk to that chick. Hide knew he had to keep himself at bay, especially when that woman, had, quite the assets on her chest.

Hide nodded to himself, maybe that's what he needed to do. Knowing how fast things go around, he would probably guess that even Touka and the others may know about Hide's apparent death. As a result, he was now alone. If he could maybe find some contacts in this area, then maybe he would be fine for the time. He wasn't sure.

And so, Hide waited, wearing his scarecrow costume as he waited for most of the customers in the bar to end. He could see that Itori was still there, and Hide was unsure whether or not she was the owner or something.

It wasn't until around half an hour did the two known ghouls, Uta and Yomo, as well as most of the other ghouls left, leaving Itori and himself in the bar.

Hide sighed, before he got up, and proceeded to head towards Itori. The female in question looked at the scarecrow in confusion. "Oh right, you. Do you need anything? It's close to closing time." She mentioned, and Hide nodded.

"Actually, yes. Do you know who runs this bar?" Hide asked.

Itori merely looked on stupefied, "Me, duh."

Hide looked on in slight surprise, "Oh, well that's good, I guess."

"And why is that?" Itori asked with a slight smirk. Hide sighed, this girl reminded him of Eto in personality, except not willingly torturing him.

Hide sighed, "I kind of need a job." He merely stated, and Itori looked on.

"Well, you have quite the first impression." She commented.

Hide scratched the back of his head, "I wouldn't say that."

"Are you kidding me? You had the whole bar looking at you, with that scarecrow suit, you probably scared some of them!" Itori joked and Hide smiled. She had a bubbly personality that didn't show any exorcism or God complex. He could perhaps manage and tolerate this Itori girl.

"Well I guess, but I'm not really that overwhelming in person, I just need some place to work." Hide merely stated, not wanting to get too carried away.

It was then did Itori took a closer look at him, also trying to smell him, "Are you a ghoul or not?"

Hide shrugged, "It's complicated, but I have a kakuhou if that helps your case."

"I see, well you have to remember this is mostly a ghoul bar, so if you were human, you'd be sought after," Itori mentioned, and Hide nodded.

"I understand, I can come in during the evenings if that is fine." Hide stated.

Itori smiled, "Oh that's great, though, you'll have to get rid of the scarecrow costume, or at least the face part."

Hide backed up once he noticed that Itori was walking towards him in a very suggestive manner.

"Um, what are you doing." Hide asked.

"I just want to see what's under this costume, why do you wear a full-on body costume as opposed to a simple mask? You know my friend owns a mask shop." Itori asked.

"I am well aware of your friend Uta, I've bought from him before, but do I have to show you?" Hide asked, still a bit nervous.

Itori pouted, "There's no one else here, so you can show me."

Hide sighed, "Fine, but you cannot tell anyone about this, not even Uta or Yomo, or any other coworker, and I can wear it when I work." Hide stated.

"I will see," Itori stated, watching Hide strip, much to the guy's discomfort.

When he revealed his face, Itori was a bit shocked, "Well you're quite young, how old are you?"

"Twenty-two." Hide stated.

Itori looked on in shock, "Well I think you'll do fine, but how come the scarecrow costume?" She asked one more time.

Hide again nodded, "Privacy reasons, long story short I'm sought after by one group and assumed dead by another, so I have to keep myself a secret. The scarecrow costume does wonder for that."

Itori smiled, "Well, do I get to know the names of those who either want you dead or think you are?" She asked.

Hide shook his head, much to Itori's dismay. "Oh, come on! I promise you'll be safe here; I have some people who are good with secrecy!"

Hide looked at Itori with hesitance, "Why would you help me?"

Itori smirked, "Because one, you're kind of cute, and two, you seem interesting, both in how you smell and bring yourself."

Hide shrugged, "That's it?"

Itori nodded, "Do I need more to say?" She asked, and Hide lowered his head, letting his hair cover his eyes.

"CCG and Aogiri Tree." Hide mumbled, but it was enough for Itori to hear. She was shocked how the mysterious individual got themself involved in quite the situation. Nonetheless, it made her realize why this individual was rather mysterious.

"Oh my goodness, how did you end up on the bad side of both of them?" Itori asked, at last, realizing she had caused too much silence.

"Just did, the CCG thinks I'm dead and Aogiri Tree wants me, and not in any good way, so I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place." Hide mumbled, a bit depressed at his situation.

Suddenly, Hide found himself being pulled into a hug by Itori, who put his head way too close to her chest. Yep, was doing this on purpose.

"Gah!" Hide exclaimed, unexpectedly releasing his kagune, in the form of his four-orange wings, his right eye turning black and red, showing his singular kakugan.

"Oh, wow!" Itori exclaimed in glee, "Another one-eyed ghoul! I heard about someone converting humans into one-eyed ghouls, are you one of them?" Itori asked.

"It's complicated, though I did meet the person responsible for that." Hide stated, and Itori nodded.

"Well then, I can understand your situation a bit better now. But you don't have to worry, we aren't usually confronted by any of them, and even if we are, your scarecrow costume can help." Itori concluded.

"Wait, so I can wear it?" Hide asked. He was glad that Itori was being understandable.

Itori nodded, "Yeah, but if it scares away some customers then I'll be taking some of your pay away."

Itori then hugged Hide, who groaned in pain, due to Itori hugging him too much, and the fact that she also had her um, assets very close to him, and they were showing clearly.

Hide rolled his eyes, "Alright, but it's for my safety!" Hide said.

"Tell me your information later! Tomorrow at six!" Itori yelled back and Hide went on his way back, making sure to put on his scarecrow costume.

Hide sighed in relief, at least thankful that he now had a place of safety he could go to. He had hoped he would not jeopardize it unintentionally.

But for now, Hide had to just camp out for a bit, wait until tomorrow until he could go back.

As Hide began to walk, in the night sky, he found himself talking to Amber. Considering he couldn't go back to anyone, as they thought he was dead, he had to be careful of his contacts and interactions. He had debated whether or not he should go to re, just to see how they were doing, but decided against it out of fear of them recognizing him.

Amber was the only "person," he could talk to, and it made him look somewhat creepy. As he walked around, he came across a rather quiet area of a park and decided to sit on the nearby bench. He wasn't going to sleep there, but he was going to keep his time peaceful. It had been around two weeks since he had escaped and was now trying to find a way to get food.

It wasn't easy, as Hide had yet to find an effective way to track down food. Perhaps the bar could provide him with that, but he wasn't sure. He knew he had to go on his treks.

Of course, there was the occasion where a ghoul would, for some reason attack Hide, who would fight back. While he would be hesitant, once the ghoul had sliced him, Hide would undergo a personality shift, becoming more aggressive and bloodthirsty, to the point where he would almost eat his victims, but would hold back.

It seemed that any reference to the trauma done by Eto in the Aogiri Base acted as a trigger for Hide's personality change. When Hide returned, he would have no memories of what happened and would be reminded thanks to Amber, who was there the whole time.

"I could've sworn during your psychotic faze you were calling out to Eto." Amber had retorted once, in which Hide gave a confused expression. He didn't remember saying that.

Regarding the "psychotic" faze, it was perhaps a defensive mechanism for Hide whenever he underwent some form of strong emotional stress. He didn't know how it worked, but the huma, or ghoul mind was intriguing for that.

But regardless, Hide knew that he was to be very cautious in his approach knowing that if he went on a spree of murdering anything, the CCG would get involved, which would inevitably be the start of the end for Hide. So, getting a place to stay in that bar was a reliever for Hide.

His life had seriously gotten more interesting the more time went on, and Hide knew that he had to at least cherish and appreciate what he had.

He may have lost the ability to see his fellow squad members, now that he was effectively a ghoul, or at least treated as one by the CCG, as they state that any Quinx who framed out are to be treated as an S-rated ghoul, so there was no way Hide could return, especially after them assuming he was dead.

As for Aogiri, Hide didn't even want to think about them for any reason. He would not go back there and would remain where he was. Itori was nice enough to give him a job and a place to stay for the night, so at least he was safe in that regard.

There were the occasional times where Hide would wander off away, to find new grounds, where he could potentially stay, as he didn't want to overstay some places. If anyone saw that he returned to the same place over, they could abuse that, and Hide could find himself in a difficult situation.

Among those was a specific forest, where Hide knew many ghouls would go for some shady business. It was relatively close to Aogiri, which made Hide relatively hesitant to head there in the first place, but considering that no one knew who he was beyond the alias Scarecrow, Hide didn't mind and decided to take his chances.

Heck, Aogiri didn't even know what his kagune looked like, only the CCG did, so unless they were humans, Hide had nothing to worry about.

When he made it, to his surprise, it was relatively quiet, at least originally, until he noticed a fight was going on.

When Hide made it to the scene, he saw three figures fighting. All of them ghouls, or at least two of them were.

The one on the defense was a tall, broadening figure who was covered in a black hoodie and cape. This figure looked very similar to Hide, he quickly realized, and because it was. This was the exact person who had saved Saiko from that other ghoul.

The other two seemed to not be over the top exciting, as they didn't have any noteworthy appearances for the likes. Instead, they just attacked with their kagune, while the other figure attacked with what appeared to be a kagune-like arm.

"That's strange," Amber commented, and Hide raised his eyebrow.

"What is?" He asked as quietly as he could.

"That man in the black suit, he's different from the other two ghouls," Amber replied, and Hide nodded.

"Yeah, he's the guy who saved Saiko." Hide replied, before deciding to help him.

*Flame Pellets*

Releasing his kagune-wings, Hide fired crystallized projectiles at the two ghouls, who grunted after realizing they were being attacked by another flank, of course being burnt somewhat also made their situation a bit worse.

Hide wasn't finished, as he swiped his kagune across. Shapeshifting them into swords, he engulfed them in flames and managed to add more damage to one of the ghouls.

But before they could react, one found their back being pierced by the kagune-like arm, striking his heart in the process, while the other found his neck brutally slashed by a crystallized wing, both of them dying shortly afterward from their severe injuries alongside others.

Hide looked up at the figure, who merely flinched upon realizing the scarecrow, the one who rescued him from Aogiri Tree. It's ironic how both of them have a bad history with them.

"Scarecrow." The voice started, and Hide flinched. This was the guy who he knew. The guy he had suspected of saving Saiko.

"Koutaru Amon." Hide asked, for confirmation, which he got when Amon nodded.

"That is me, can I get your name, scarecrow?" Amon asked in response, and Hide sighed.

"I would have thought you would have recognized me by my voice." Hide replied.

"I can somewhat, but I don't know where exactly," Amon said, his kagune-like arm dissipating. Hide had done the same for his kagune.

"My name." Hide said with a bit of difficulty, "I cannot tell you."

Amon's face said it all, "Really, why not?"

Hide sighed, "Long story short, I'm wanted by Aogiri Tree and assumed dead by the CCG. Even if I return there I will not be accepted as I am ghoul-like, similar to you Amon."

Amon's eyes widened, "Wait, you worked at the CCG as well?"

Hide nodded, "Used to. But I stopped for the reasons I explained."

With that, Hide knew he might be discovered by Amon, especially with how much Hide worked with him somewhat.

Amon simply understood, "I see, but if you fear that I will rat you out, I cannot return neither you know."

Hide chuckled, "Well then that makes us both outlaws."

Amon chuckled alongside the scarecrow, "Your personality, you remind me of someone."

"Oh, and who is that?"

Amon looked up, "Hide, always the funny and outgoing guy, he wasn't an investigator, but he moved as much as his personality did."

Amon smiled reminiscing before noticing the quietness from scarecrow.

"Um, scarecrow?" Hide shook his head, and Amon had a thought, "Are you Hide?"

Hide flinched, and unintentionally gave Amon the answer. The older man merely looked at the scarecrow, his eyes said it all.

Hide sighed, releasing his headwear, and revealing his face. Amon could see, that for the most part, he looked like he previously did, except for two major differences.

The first was the kakugan on his right eye, "So I take it you're a one-eyed ghoul like me?" Amon asked, and Hide merely nodded.

"You saw my kagune, so yeah… I was almost considering a failed experiment because of having too many RC cells." Hide mumbled.

"Same. I have way too much…" Amon shrugged, "But I'm making it work…"

But the second confused Amon. When Hide was around, he had typical and a defined orange color on his hair. But now, it was yellow, strikingly off from what it used to be as it also looked less vibrant.

"What happened to your hair?" Amon asked, and Hide looked at him in confusion. What happened to his hair?

"What?" Hide asked, bringing his hair down to his eyes, before realizing his hair had gotten whiter. It still had its orange-yellow hue, but it had whitened slightly.

"Huh, I don't know," Hide commented, before putting back on his scarecrow face mask. It was clear to Hide that he too was surprised about that.

"Why are you still wearing it?" Amon asked.

Hide sighed, "Because I don't want two organizations to recognize me. I don't want the CCG to deem me a threat, and I don't want Aogiri to seize me again. I don't want to go back there again."

Amon sympathized with Hide, "I can relate to that, thanks for freeing me by the way."

Hide shrugged, "It was nothing, though it did cost a life."

"I can imagine." Amon finished before the two looked down at the dead bodies of the ghouls they killed.

"Well, looks like this is my monthly meal, you can eat the one you killed," Amon stated, and Hide looked at him like he was crazy.

"Yes Hide-kun, enjoy your feast! You killed that ghoul, so there's your reward!" Of course, Amber would show up at the thought of that.

"Um, no I can't." Hide said, and Amon again looked at Hide in sympathy.

"I take it you haven't been a ghoul for a while."

"It's more complicated than that."

Amon nodded, "I see, but seeing as you are like me, a former CCG investigator, who was taught that ghouls were terrible, imagine me, turning into the very thing I sought to destroy."

Hide chuckled at the reference, before clearing himself, "It would be quite the change."

"Indeed, as seeing my condition, I can either eat human, which I haven't besides the times I had been forced to, or ghoul, which is more ethical for me," Amon explained, and Hide merely thought back to his brief terrible time in that base.

Forced to eat human flesh. Hide sighed, "I just can't stand the thought of eating a dead body."

"It's a difficult action for me to perform to this day, but unless you want to get hungry, then you have to eat," Amon explained, and Hide merely looked on, as the former investigator began eating the ghoul.

"Come on Hide-kun, your friend has participated in this act, why shouldn't you?" Amber was asking, and Hide lowered his head.

He didn't want to, as he shockingly zipped his mouth, allowing access. He was hesitating, and it was evident. Whereas Amon was a quarter done, Hide hadn't even started. He was horrified. It was a struggle for him to do what his mind was continuously telling him.

"Go on, Hide-kun, remember the last time you ate ghoul flesh? It saved your life!" Amber's voice was taunting him.

"It helped you regenerate from that stomach wound." Hide looked away from the body, trying to wash away the hunger that he was now feeling.

"It helped you escape; it'll make you stronger." Hide was somewhat hyperventilating, but his breaths were quiet.

"You've eaten a ghoul's flesh before, and you ate mine, what's different here?" Amber asked yet again, trying to coerce Hide into eating the ghoul-like Amon.

It was evident, Hide's desire not to eat ghoul. He didn't want to. He was still a human, who was now trapped in a ghoul's body. He was already forced into things that he didn't want and changed his life for the worse, and now here he was, eating ghoul flesh with another former investigator who couldn't go back, and he hated it.

"I can't do this..." He mumbled,

"Remember what your friend said, it's either human flesh or ghoul flesh. Which would you rather?" Amber asked, and Hide's eyes widened.

"That seriously cannot be it..." Hide mumbled, before Amber laughed.

"Sadly, for the life of a ghoul that is all we can eat. For your human brain, it is either human flesh or ghoul flesh. So, which one sounds more ethical?" Amber asked Hide, and he sighed.

"The ghoul." He mumbled, before looking up to Amon who was looking at Hide.

"Amon." Hide started, looking at Amon who was paying attention, "Why do you eat ghoul meat precisely?"

Amon sighed, "It's because it was either that or human. Can you imagine me eating human flesh? The guy who was an investigator, the guy who hated ghouls, the guy who sought after their destruction and extinction. When I woke up, I was now a ghoul, imagine how crazy that is. From a ghoul hunter and investigator to an artificially made one."

Hide nodded, while it was similar to his, with the obvious differences, at least Hide was able to eat normal food up until now.

"But yeah, I just couldn't bring it in me to eat human flesh like them. I still think like a human, even though my body's a ghoul. As a result, my body may crave human meat, but my mind says it's unethical. As a result, the only thing that seemed better to me was ghoul flesh. It kind of went with my way of thinking, killing ghouls and using them for weapons. I may be a ghoul, but I'm still an investigator, I'll hunt ghouls and take them down, and maybe eat some."

Hide nodded in understanding, "So will you kill me and eat me?"

Amon chuckled, "No, I cannot kill and eat a former investigator like me, especially with your story probably being similar to mine. The best I can do is help you with the struggles I faced. While eating ghoul flesh has its problems, trust me it feels better than eating human, even though it tastes good."

Hide again nodded, it was really like talking to someone who completely understood him. It made him a bit sad, knowing there were people like there in this world like Hide, who were once human, now turned into this species, destined to eat others to survive.

"You know Takizawa's a ghoul, too," Amon stated, and Hide nodded.

"Yeah, I fought him briefly, thought I did well until he used his kakuja, though it seemed incomplete cause he was mumbling a bunch of bullshit."

Amon nodded, "Yeah the poor guy went through a lot."

Hide remained quiet, before looking at the dead ghoul in front of him.

"Come on Hide-kun, the big guy told you why you should eat your vegetables, so eat now. Unless you want to feel the hunger of a ghoul, which I promise you don't." Amber taunted. "Also, remember what that woman said about your RC cells. Eating ghouls can help replenish one's RC cells, especially needed for your kagune, right Hide-kun?"

Hide looked at Amon, "How bad is a ghoul's hunger?"

Amon looked down, "It's terrible. In short, you become a feral animal, killing anything. You lose your mentality, your sanity, as you enter nature's feral instincts, you kill for your survival."

Hide looked on in shock, "How did you get out?"

Amon sighed, "I killed a ghoul and ate it, and I got my sanity back, once I realized what happened, I was thankful it wasn't a human there."

Hide merely nodded, looking back down at the ghoul.

"Well, are you going to reward yourself?" Amber asked one more time, and Hide sighed. "Don't you want to be stronger? Your kagune burns through your RC cells, but you can store more than the average ghoul, so come on, replenish them through eating."

It was something he never wanted to do, even though those months of Amber trying to coerce him into doing it. It was almost like foreshadowing, Amber's constant "begging," for Hide to eat ghoul flesh, he was now about to do so, much to Amber's delight.

Getting down close to the deceased ghoul, Hide opened his mouth and began to eat the ghoul.

On the one hand, throughout this entire ordeal, Hide did learn a new thing about himself. It was something he had pretty much discovered as a revelation. Something he picked up with it now that he was in this situation. As of what he knew, it made him understand how his kagune truly works, but again Amber also helped.

Not only, did his kagune burn through his RC cells, due to the fire it produces, but that Hide himself was capable of storing larger amounts of RC cells in his body than the average ghoul. That did make sense considering Hide's kagune. However, the reason why Hide's stamina was worse than a typical ukaku's made sense now.

His RC cell count was severely limited when he was a quinx, so he never had enough RC cells to last him a fight, he never did. As for when he was turned into a ghoul ultimately, his RC cells were able to replenish at a higher rate, not being impacted by the quinx's restrictive nature, and was finally able to store, so he can finally become stronger than a quinx.

"The one time being a quinx was a detriment to my actual potential for fighting…" Hide mumbled, as he looked down at the food.

Thinking back, it did explain a lot. The loss of stamina, never having enough storage of RC cells, something he could do now that he was a ghoul, and was capable of dealing with the massive influx of RC cells. Perhaps even more than the average ghoul, but unfortunately, taking a test with the amount of RC cells Hide probably had at the moment, would most definitely break the test entirely.

So, for now, he had to hesitantly eat ghoul, so that not only could he not starve, and eat humans, but so that he could replenish his RC cells quicker. For all he knew, Hide might be the only ghoul who might benefit more from eating other ghouls, than humans.

He was about to ask before Amber spoke in his mind.

"Why do you think I love eating ghouls so much? Did I tell you I ate my ghoul boyfriend once?"

A.N / So an escaped Hide has now cooperated with Itori and Amon, who themselves provide Hide as a haven for him against both the CCG and Aogiri. Not much to say here other than the fact that I'll probably have a time skip to the next major arc of the story. This technically is still in between chapters fifty-eight and fifty-nine (58-59), and the story next chapter will probably pick up towards chapter sixty-one. Until next time.

Flame Trail.

Igniting Storm.

Smelly.

Red Rain.

Flame Body.

Shapeshift.

X Flames.

Flaming Pellets.

Fiery Drift.