Chapter 1
The 20th ward lies battle scarred, eerie and quiet under the morning sky.
The remains of humans and ghouls, lie side by side scattered, equal at least, in death.
A body lies under the cover unconscious; to the untrained eye, a corpse.
Rubble and dying flowers shield the being from approaching light; snow white hair remains untainted by the surrounding foliage.
The face is ashen...the eyes, dark chasms, unable to reflect the morning's light.
Here Kaneki drifts listlessly...a mind and body worn down to silence.
The sound of rustling leaves reveals the form of a young man; He sits and watches cautiously, hidden from view under the leaves.
He scans the area slowly until a gust of wind reveals the object of his search.
He hovered over Kaneki now, a dark mask hiding any traces of reaction.
He touched the cold skin with a caring hand, relief plain in his hunched shoulders.
He lifted him then, moving swiftly to the safety of a building.
His next task consisted of placing the body into a suitcase, rolling it to an opening in one of the walls. It lead to something that should not have been there, an elevator of sorts. He lowered them down via two thick wires, pulling with force until they reached the bottom.
The smell of sewage is distinct.
Following the winding system, a light at the end of a tunnel opens to the outside; a blue sky, fresh air and the slosh of water.
Beneath the mouth of the tunnel, a boat lie fastened to flat rocks.
He expertly positions it on the water, guiding himself and the case inside before starting the engine.
The ride is smooth and quiet, no one on the water, no one following behind. The two ride for several hours, passing harbors and cities. He opened the suitcase, watching the face that roiled in a tortured sleep. He ruffled the snow white hair affectionately, smiling at the sigh in response.
When the sun reached its zenith, the boy gradually approached land.
The city they come upon is small; corporate buildings being the only marker to separate it from the countryside.
The harbor lacks the sophistication of the ones they'd past over their travel; It is simple, with modest boats swaying lazily with the current. The young man inhaled, the exhale releasing all of the tension of the last several hours; He took the hat off shielding his eyes from the sun, honey blonde hair flowing freely in the wind.
Light brown eyes brighten at the sight of the city; they mirror relief, happiness and nostalgia.
In the distance, a group of elderly men sat fishing on the edge.
He greeted them with a wave and a smile.
"You don't see many like yourself these days...young water travelers." The man said warmly, a bright smile on his face.
The young man smiled; politely, skillfully. "I spent a summer here when I was younger, the best one of my life...Thought I'd pay it a visit."
The young man sat with them a while then, exchanging pleasantries and throwing in a joke here and there. He told them as much as he could without lying and was sure to keep the conversation geared mostly towards themselves.
Sent off with warm wishes, he traveled further into the city, a suitcase in one hand, frozen fish in the other.
He passed high end stores and mom & pop operations; he strolled through parks, past a mall or two and made his way to the rural areas of the city; public transportation was too risky.
The neighborhood he entered was warm and inviting. The sights he saw brought memories that made him smile, if only for a moment.
He met with a tall gate, flanked densely with out of place pines...they straddled the ascending land to the top of a hill, where the faint view of a rooftop could be seen. The young man stood calmly as his presence initiated a strange reaction: the metal plate holding the handle to the gate, opened up, like a door.
The young man placed his thumb inside the small compartment, wincing as a mechanism inside drew blood.
A small screen displayed DNA helices...there was a 'match-up' and then, a sound.
The gate creaked open slowly then, allowing him inside.
Inhaling the scent of daisies, he ascended the path, leading to a dark wood abode.
"I'm home." He said, the echo of the call causing bitter laughter in response. He knew there would be no one to respond...but he could dream.
The home was quiet and smelled of carnations and oranges.
The lights turned on with the young man's movement as he entered each room alone, the suitcase remaining half open at the base of the stairs.
Each room was decorated as if belonging to a specific person, to a specific memory in time. He scanned the faces in the pictures without a smile, with no light in his usually playful eyes.
The home was well kept, with no dust on any surface. With a verbal command, coverings on the windows folded in on themselves, revealing the bright light of day.
Color had slowly begun to return to the pale face; the young man smiled at this, hoisting the boy onto his back from the open case.
"You know, I wanted to show you this place. I thought it'd be fun to hang out here this summer."He said jovially, walking down the hall.
"I guess you finally made it here...Just, not the way I intended." He finished
He felt the fragile form like glass beneath him and shivered.
The pale young man was weak, injured, and mentally in turmoil... but that was also a joke...Even with all that, this person, could...easily...
He shook his head of the thoughts creeping up on him.
"Of course I'd act like this, there is a powerful ghoul on my back...What human wouldn't freak, just a little...Forgive me, okay?"He rattled off to the unconscious face, lying the battered body onto soft cushions.
He sterilized each wound then, knowing bandaging them was unnecessary and cleaned off the blood that had stained the body completely.
Hoisting him onto his back again, he entered the bathroom, returning sometime later with more color flooding them both.
Changing the sheets, he put the young man into bed, eyes lighting with warmth as the shallow breathes became deeper.
He smiled, ruffling the snow white hair. "Wake up soon."
Time endlessly passed, as Kaneki drifted in the disorder of his mind.
The flesh he consumed echoed with the life within it; it tore at his skull with an angry roar, burning through his organs like flames of vengeance.
And so a sliver of himself hid in the smallest crevice, in the tiniest crack of his mind, begging the monsters to go away...
The memories of their lives tore him in two; twisted, bound and broke him.
Seeking convergence, they endlessly gnawed; their grotesque desires, their evil thoughts; his desires, his thoughts.
And then there was the God of Death, with his bloody eyes in cruel hands. He bellowed endlessly a sickening tune: All ghouls are born for hell to consume.
A thousand minds to taint, a thousand bones to break...
He wished his mother's voice could comfort him, he wished that Rize would come to him then...but he was beyond the reach of all of them; he was his only consolation now...him, kaneki.
Struggling against the deluge of trauma, he clawed to the surface of sanity once more.
He croaked dryly, the only name and memory he could conjure.
"K...e..n...Ka..ne..ki" He rasped, the chaos threatening to engulf him, taking shape, taking form.
"Ke..n...Kan...eki!" He said again, the form growing sharper, more distinct...
"Ken... Kaneki!"-
He yelled his name with a last ounce of strength, sending the torrents of chaos to a single point...
His mind became still then, all the chaos taking on one form.
A light shined in the dark of his mind.
It was... himself.
Yes, if he were much older.
This Kaneki had long hair, extending like spider silk, a shimmering white.
The champagne colored eyes glittered with something powerful, something he wished he had in himself...the self he was now.
"Centipede..." Kaneki said to the person before him, unsure of what that made him, standing across; those being the first words to come to his mind.
"Is that what they're calling us? I wonder why?" The side of himself called 'Centipede' said lightly.
Kaneki looked around in the dark of his mind
"Because we...it..."
...It crawled, scratched, stung us! Because we ate IT! Because we look like IT! Because it wiggled and gnawed and burned and squirmed and ate! ate! ate!-
Aberrations in his mind began to destroy the quiet.
Slender hands reached out to him then, the 'Centipede' held his face; Eyes, still pools. "You're bat shit crazy, you know that?" He said with a chuckle.
"Unless you want a storm; Look at me..."
The aberrations stopped.
"I'm here now, for what its worth." The Centipede said lightly, pulling the exhausted form of his younger self to his feet.
"Who..." He started weakly
Centipede pulled away then, soaring through the darkness of his mind. "You could call me another voice in your head...but I'm sure to be the best you've ever had." He replied
"We won't listen to mama anymore, or that fox Rize, or that truly fucked up fucker Yamori...We'll listen to us now...More importantly, the Us that's been lying dormant this whole time..." He finished "It's time to evolve, Kaneki."
Kaneki sat; wherever he was and took in this new addition to the 'party' in his head.
"Yes, Kaneki, the human not the ghoul, has been in control during your rampages, using our body as a tool. These aberrations will stop once you...how can I put this... wake us up." The Centipede had rattled off, leaving Kaneki to pick up at the end of it.
"What?-
The Centipede was inches from his face in the time it took to blink...Up close...he was serene...beautiful. "I was saying that there is a requirement for evolution...and your level of consumption has passed the threshold. In response, I have awakened, I am, the ghoul's brain."
Kaneki sat devoid of reaction, he didn't believe a word he was saying to himself...he was always saying things to himself.
It didn't look like he was waking anytime soon and this fragment of his mind was much better than dealing with-A thousand minds to taint! A thousand bones to break!
"Kaneki." The Centipede called in a chiding tone, rousing him again from the aberrations.
He appreciated the ability of this illusion to quiet his mind, as thanks, he would at least hear him out.
"A ghoul's evolution is proportionate to the level of mental acuity it has, but many rarely use the ghoul's brain, aside from the reptilian functions of reproduction, self defense and finding nourishment.
Intellect, deduction, the sixth sense and others, remain largely dormant...I'm telling you that the level of mental strain and nourishment you've accumulated has awakened part of your true brain as this species...Is this making any sense? or am I wasting my time?" Centipede barked, clearly aware of the grain of salt way he was being handled.
Kaneki sighed, lying down in the black space "I'm listening." He said in between yawns...He might never enjoy such peaceful sleep again.
The Centipede frowned "Think what you want, but I'm not lying to you." "I'll continue, for our benefit at least..."
"In this state of dormancy in the ghoul's brain and the human mind trying to hold them both together, you have a recipe for psychological disaster. Of course you get schizophrenia, of course you go mad...You're body is functioning with a brain of a completely different species." He finished
Kaneki sat up then, glad for the instruction to end but feeling annoyed at what it implied.
"So...what will using the ghoul's brain do? Will it bring back those I've lost? Will it give me the strength to overcome any enemy?" He snapped; he had enough voices for one lifetime, he wasn't about to subscribe to one that thought it was himself.
"This is a waste of time, you're not like the others, you're smart...so go away and give me peace." Kaneki finished
The Centipede was quiet a moment...Thinking.
"Think God of Death...times 4..." The Centipede said simply, floating in the space above Kaneki.
Kaneki looked at him intently.
"I'm saying, all that you think the man who has that title is; is what you can be using the right organ for this body. You think you can save anyone the way you are now?" The Centipede asked; the question was posed to make him think.
Kaneki bite his lip, frustration pooled in his eyes.
"You're broken, in mind and body." The Centipede stated frankly, realizing some children needed luring with vinegar and not honey.
"Truth be told, You're a schizophrenic cannibal with separation issues, and a twisted case of the hero-complex. Not to mention, you're blind as a bat because Special class ass-hole Arima gouged our eyes out to power his new quinque. But you still think you're superman...?" He trailed off
"Give me a break." He continued, all vestiges of patience gone. "Should you run back to the 20th ward with no plan? Endanger everyone by seeking them out? Eat enough ghouls so that our kakuja swallows us whole?" The Centipede questioned, standing before his younger self who was now rapt with attention.
"I..."
Kaneki is startled by a powerful feeling.
The surge of excitement, pleasure and energy causes him to look around in the expanse of his mind, which now swirls, a menagerie of colors and bursting patterns. "I... feel my body..."
"Hm...looks like someone is giving us a feast." the Centipede said, taking Kaneki and lifting him above the stream of lights and colors.
"Up you go...we'll talk later."
Kaneki felt the full force of his nourishment when he became aware of his body, the sweetness in his mouth was wonderful; it was warm, it was sincere. That was funny, he hadn't perceived emotions from anything he consumed in such great detail before, they were usually chaotic and full of fear...his fear. The fear of making a terrible mistake and consuming his own kind...That was gone now, he felt it was okay to take this...this...Who was it?
He reached out his hands, wrapping them around the warm source of his bliss.
He wouldn't be violent, he didn't need to be, this one would give him, all of the-
"...neki...ka.."
It was talking, whatever it was, it was talking...saying his name.
"Just...a little..." Kaneki murmured gently, in between suckling and biting softly.
He heard a low rumble...laughter.
The scent he was wrapped in became clearer, it was soothing and familiar to him...He would know it anywhere...It was a friend. This gave him comfort...and terror.
Kaneki careened into the wall of the bedroom with a startled shriek.
Pleasure and terror suffused him, he could not see; it shocked him at first. He fell to the floor, blind to the voice trying to reach out to him. He knew what this was, he was causing aberrations again...Kaneki stilled himself. "Kaneki Ken." He whispered, the affirmation sending ripples through his mind.
"Yeah, that's your name." A voice replied, a smile hidden in the tone.
He put his hand before his face, so his eyes had been taken. Still, he heard the voice, light as air and he inhaled...
He could smell furniture polish, carpet lint, human food; And he could hear...the dripping of a sink, the scurrying of a mouse in the attic, the flap of a moth's wings in the crawl space.
Kaneki moved his head towards the voice and inhaled just a bit before relief flooded his entire being...it was indeed a dear friend, a dear friend that he had not killed.
Kaneki smiled, unsure of how it looked on his face but wanting to show his happiness in some small way. A warm hand embraced his and pulled him to his feet, he leaned in, embracing the person who had saved him once again.
"Hide..."