EDITED: 01-16-2019

Nagachika Hideyoshi was hit by shock so intense it felt like someone had quite literally knocked the air out of him. With eyes wide, the shock then immediately evaporated and was replaced by indescribable relief and surges of happiness, the resulting burst leaving him a grinning mess, his insides feeling all gooey. There was not a single doubt left in Hide that the young man in front of him was his best buddy.

By just one glance he could tell that Kaneki had changed, in terms of both personality and appearance, however despite that he still managed to retain what made him Ken. From his soft features and youthful face to those big, round eyes that still somehow portrayed an innocent naivety Hide had missed, the blonde was glad to see that Kaneki's black hair was slowly growing back out, even if the current look he spotted was an odd sight to behold. That, and Hide was pretty sure his friend's hair hadn't been as curly as it now looked. It gave him a refreshing new look, but he wasn't exactly sure what to make of it.

What he noticed immediately after, though, was the clothes Kaneki wore; they were something Hide was intimately familiar with. How could he not be, after having worked for people who wore the exact same outfit? He honestly couldn't believe his eyes – for more than one reason – even as the facts stared right back at him. The familiar coat, which the latter had on, told his mind one thing; Kaneki was a Dove, involved with the CCG. His heart clenched at the notion. Just more pain for his buddy to endure…what had the CCG done to him? And for that matter, how? What happened after he helped Kaneki in the sewers?

Shivering at the thought, Hide shook his head and looked into Kaneki's tear-stained eyes. Those gray orbs were ones he knew all too well, and it pained Hide to see this much hurt and sadness reflected back and ever present – even if Hide thought those emotions had no right to be there. He didn't deserve to be hurt like that, and if the blonde had it his way, no one would ever get the chance to hurt him again.

"That's right buddy. I'm Hide. Do you remember?" He asked after several minutes of silence. A tiny sliver of hope bubbled up within him and warmed his entire being. Kaneki had said his nickname.

Since it appeared his friend was working for the CCG, Hide had a vague idea of how Kaneki had lost his memories, just not the actual cause. He didn't know whether they had forcefully removed them or if it was something else entirely, but that was for another time to ponder.

"No, I…it just came to me, I'm sorry, but I really don't remember…" Wiping his eyes for any remaining tears, Kaneki let go of the blonde and slowly stood up, a sheepish frown adorning his face. Hide felt disappointed when the warmth of his best friend left him, and he wanted nothing more than to hug him again and never let go. Instead, he tried to ignore the cold feeling that had swept over the previous warmth like a fire slowly dying. He should have expected it, but it still hurt.

"What has gotten into me? This is so embarrassing." His friend continued, rubbing the back of his neck. "Please excuse my breakdown…I mean, I don't even know you, and here I am, bawling my face out…"

Hide let out a strained laugh, his smile not as sincere after such a blow. He gazed at the half ghoul, his eyes gaining a sudden far-away look.

"I'd always lend a shoulder to you…" He whispered, but he knew the latter had heard him due to his enhanced hearing. Such were the perks of being a ghoul.

Kaneki looked down with a frown.

"Do I know you…? I mean, did I know you?" It was a sudden question like the suddenness of the whole situation. Hide knew Kaneki was taking bold and large steps towards the unknown, and it must have frightened him as much as it excited Hide of the prospect of talking about their past.

He graced him with a smile which Hide knew was enough of an answer to Kaneki.

As a response to such a revelation, the half ghoul looked away and sighed.

"Look, this is all a bit too much right now, and I really have to go." He returned his gaze to Hide. "However...perhaps we could meet again sometime, Nagachika?"

Hide inwardly cringed at his last name leaving the mouth of his best friend. That just sounded plain wrong.

"Hide, call me Hide." He stressed. "And yes, I would very much love that. I'm sure you have much to look after, being in CCG and all." He turned to fetch his phone. "Tell you what, why don't we give each other our phone numbers?"

Kaneki narrowed his eyes.

"How did you know I work for CCG?" The half ghoul asked, no doubt wondering how much Hide knew about him, or rather, his past self. The blonde felt slightly bad for reveling in the thought, but anything that had to do with their past excited him.

"Dude, the coat kind of gives it away." He jabbed a finger at said coat. "Besides, I used to work for CCG as well, first as a part-time job, and then as an assistant. I quit all of that though." He finished, blinking at his buddy.

Kaneki's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth as if to ask something, but eventually he closed it again without any words coming out. He instead went with a simple nod.

"I see…Well, I guess it won't hurt to exchange numbers." As he said this, Hide had whipped out his phone and was ready to dial as if his life depended on it. Kaneki let out a startled chuckle at the display and fetched his own phone.

After they exchanged numbers, the two then stood and stared at each other, silence filling the air.

"Man, I really have a lot I want to say to you…but that's for another time." Hide broke the silence.

"Y-yeah…I look forward to it. I actually want to get to know you…again I suppose."

Hide smiled at that, his heart clenching a bit despite everything.

"See you later Kaneki."

With that, Hide swiftly left the playground, walking his own way. He could feel Kaneki's stare on his retreating back, and the feeling persisted until he turned a corner and out of sight.

Hideyoshi felt many things, but beyond all the overwhelming emotions rested a content feeling he hadn't felt in quite a while.

He wouldn't lose Kaneki this time, of that Hide would make sure of.

"Damn..." Shirazu grumbled, walking towards the Headquarters at Sasaki's request. He didn't mind retrieving the files on their case, but he was grumpy because he failed to wake Saiko up, and Urie had been his usual bastard self, not caring for anything he – the squad leader – said! It made his insides twist and turn.

Grumbling some more, Shirazu made it to his destination and headed for the Laboratory Division, the place where the files supposedly awaited him. Once standing before the entrance, Shirazu stated his ID and purpose to the guard, however he was only let in because he mentioned their mentor Sasaki. This put a damper on his already lessened mood, because Mutsuki had clearly told him that his name alone would suffice. But that was not important.

He walked down some stairs, reached the room with all the files CCG had collected and then began his search. It was a huge and dark room with several shelves upon shelves containing files. The room, though, was surprisingly clean and organized; several boxes planted upon each shelf. Nothing else decorated the room, making it quite gloomy and business-like.

Somewhere in this mass were the files he needed, but how to find them? Damn, he didn't know that. Sasaki must have forgotten to tell Mutsuki. The only way was to go through every shelf, which would take ages. He couldn't help but sigh as he started at the beginning.

He'd have to be careful not to look at files he wasn't permitted to, as a lot of dangerous information was stored and contained within this room.

This was going to be a long search.

"Ugh, Akira sure can pack a punch…" Sasaki whined, rubbing his left side – the one that had been unfortunate enough to receive a Mado Punch. That woman could be brutal when she wanted to. She had been less than pleased by his tardiness of being fifteen minutes late, and he couldn't regret it anymore than he did now as it had been more than awkward to enter the room with the meeting already well into the meat of their case. This just wasn't his day.

Aside for that small blunder, Sasaki had managed to get the full story of their new case and how they should operate. It seemed that the whole thing was more than he had anticipated, and there was a likely possibility they would run into some kind trouble along the way. He would have to discuss this with his squad later on, at a point when they were all gathered.

Walking down the familiar road towards his apartment, his thoughts couldn't help but wander off to a certain blonde. If he was to be completely honest with himself, Sasaki wanted to be with Hide, to see him again and talk to him. He couldn't describe the feelings he had, but he felt drawn to the light Hide seemed to radiate…the half ghoul even had trouble concentrating at the meeting as their encounter kept popping up at inappropriate moments.

He found himself fumbling with his phone, fishing it out of his pocket. He wanted to know this person…the person that knew so much about him. It was thrilling yet horrifying at the same time. Would he be able to recover his memories with the help of Hide?

Before he could stop himself or think otherwise, Sasaki had dialed the blonde's number and waited with bated breath as the other end was calling. He startled when he heard the happy and eager voice answer from the other end.

"Hey man, took you long enough! I have been waiting for your call!"

Sasaki was confused. It had only been two hours at most.

"Wh-what?" He found himself questioning.

"I'm just kidding! I'm glad you called."

"Oh, I guess I just got phowned!" Sasaki replied, the pun slipping from his mouth without his permission.

The other end got very quiet, and the half ghoul felt sweat begin to form on his forehead. Why, of all times did he have to-

His thoughts were interrupted by the roaring sound of Hide's laughter, a sound so pure and genuine it warmed Sasaki's heart, and he was hit by a surge of relief. Had he actually found someone else who liked bad puns?

"That was an awesome pun! Way to go Ka-Sasaki!" Hide exclaimed, mirth evident in his voice.

"Thanks Hide…I have more where that comes from."

"I'm sure you do man, I've got a couple of my own as well." Hide said.

Sasaki smiled.

"Really? I look forward to hearing them."

Hide laughed some more.

"So, what did you need buddy?"

Sasaki began to fidget with the hem of his coat.

"Well, I was wondering if we could meet sometime. You know, so we could talk?"

"Are you asking me out on a date? Why I would love to! Where are you taking me?" Hide said with a mock-sweet tone.

"H-Hide! No, that's not what I-"

"I know. How about we meet tomorrow at a bookstore I know? What time would suit you?"

"Well, I'm actually free tomorrow, so anytime goes really." Sasaki answered, still a bit flustered by the blonde's comment.

"Okay, how about 9AM?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you then." The half ghoul said.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything buddy. Take care of yourself, will you?"

And with that, they exchanged goodbyes and hung up. Sasaki was feeling quite good after talking to his new – old – friend.

He was almost home.

Shirazu was beginning to see red. He hadn't found anything yet; zero, zilch, nada. The only things of note were some solved cases and profiles on ghouls that weren't any of his business or particular interest, and who knew how long he had spent going through such files?

He was at the middle shelf as of yet, rummaging through several stacks of papers and setting boxes aside. After he had gotten a throughout look at the content, he set the papers and boxes back on their rightful place and stood up. He was just about to leave for the next shelf when something caught his eye.

Looking back down at the previous shelf, he saw some papers that were whiter and quite frankly newer looking, standing out from the rest like a sore thump. Ginshi was pretty sure they must have been one of the newer additions to the stacks of files, if not the newest. This caught his attention, and he kneeled down to grab the bundle. They were clipped together and therefore made them easy to fetch.

Once he held the papers in his hands and got a good look at the front cover, he very nearly dropped the whole stack.

On the cover was a picture of a black-haired Japanese boy, the face identical to someone he knew very well. Or, at least he thought he did.

Shirazu was without a doubt looking at a black-haired Sasaki Haise, obviously much younger and innocent judging by the meek, shy smile plastered on his face. There was no doubt in Shirazu's mind, he would recognize that face anywhere, he just couldn't believe he was actually seeing this. Their mentor looked…happy, calm, shy and even nervous. His whole demeanor was gentle and it confused the squad leader to see his Sassan like that. Like a kid…

The most surprising part was that – on further inspection – this stack of paper was files on a ghoul…a ghoul called Eyepatch and Centipede, and in the middle were two black lines along with the words;

Erased.

"Erased?" Shirazu said out loud, not believing the words. On every file he had found, all the ghoul cases were marked with Destroyed, not Erased…what was this?

"Ken Kaneki?"

Was that Sasaki Haise's past?

Shirazu had stumbled upon something very dangerous and clearly forbidden.

Looking around – even though he knew no one was there – the squad leader did something outrageous; he hid the files in his jacket, content on learning more…perhaps even tell the others.

What would this bring?