When he had moved to Tokyo he wasn't sure what he had expected. Definitely the hustle bustle and bright lights. The enchanting sights, the interesting people, the vibrant atmosphere. It was exciting and new. There was so much to discover, so much to see that it took his breath away. It was intense and lively and it made him feel as if he was going through a caffeine rush without the caffeine. Of course most of his enthusiasm stemmed from the fact that he had never been out of his small town before and here he was.

Moving to the city.

Well not entirely alone, he was going to be living with some reliable people from the university he was going to attend; A fresh start- a new beginning. A chance to meet new people. New opportunities. It all excited him.

Hideyoshi Nagachika was someone who considered himself simple when it came to tastes. He didn't keep high expectations and tried to stay optimistic through life, helping anyone that needed help, being kind to everyone, helping old ladies cross the road. With his outgoing personality he was usually quite popular, more often than not the life of the party.

Overall he considered himself quite amiable.

Yes, he had simple tastes.

Yet he knew that he himself wasn't that simple. He was smart, probably the reason he had gotten a scholarship in such a prestigious university. However, in addition to that he had excellent intuition. That was probably why he had been so excited by his move- he loved meeting new people, analysing them, understanding more about them than they realized through their small gestures. He knew it was an odd habit; however it was an addictive way of living. There were more advantages to his sleuthing than disadvantages and it also helped to have the upper hand when it came to dealing with certain kinds of people. He was aware of the fact that on more than one occasion it was his intuition that had saved him from getting into trouble.

It was by similar intuition- and luck- that he had landed himself with a decent job in a place he had checked quite spontaneously.

He was indeed quite content with the way everything in his life was turning out.

Hideyoshi, or Hide, as he asked everyone to call him still had a week before his classes started and throughout that week he was doing his best to make the most of it. He would go out during the day, exploring the city from one end to the other. He'd return just shy of midnight and sometimes would eat and leave to see the sights the night life Tokyo had to offer.

Today was one those days, it was past one and he was walking through an almost empty, dimly lit street. Humming to himself tunelessly, his earphones on full blast, and his hands in his pockets he gazed at the area with interest. This must be the more shabby areas of Tokyo, he noted. The apartments here were almost crushed together; a couple of windows dimmed, sheets and curtains covering them while others were brightly lit, illuminating the street in haphazard squares. Hide smirked at the ground oddly reminded of cubist paintings he'd seen. He stood for a few seconds, fiddling with his phone and considered whether this could be his new aesthetic. Snickering to himself at the thought he continued walking, picking up on the humming a few seconds later, relaxing in the cool night air. He had just been about to turn into one of the alleys when he heard a loud thud from behind him, loud enough the it managed to penetrate the music that was blaring in his ears. He struggled with his earphones, pulling them down to his neck and turned, his hurry causing him to stagger over his own feet.

It took him a few seconds to see anything out of the ordinary. His eyes adjusted to the dark slowly and when they did they zeroed on a small person shaped bundle on the ground. On any other day he would have ran to help without any second thoughts; however he had noted a small pool of darker liquid around what he supposed was the victim's head.

Even more startling for Hide was when the bundle stirred, snapping him out of his bizarre fixation and he grimaced, moving to help the hurt one. He wondered if he had been caught in a bad crime scene. He could see the headlines now: 'Poor, handsome university student murdered as he was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.' He was stupidly caught in his thoughts when the figure staggered to their feet, swaying where they stood. Cursing his sluggishness Hide moved. Worried, he hesitantly took a few steps closer and tried to help the person straighten up by taking their elbows, and tried to identify them. Their dark hood and equally as dark jeans weren't helping. The mystery person stiffened in his grip and within seconds had jerked away. He had yet to find his voice when they whipped around for a split second to look at him and then ran. Their speed was startling; their movements graceful even in their obviously injured state. He was reminded of a cat as he watched them dart left, disappearing from his vision completely.

As for the blonde, he was frozen, gaping at thin air, trying to figure out what had happened. When the person had turned he had caught a hold of their expression more than their features; it had been such quick, startled movement that he had barely had to time to register the appearance other than the vague flash of snowy white.

However the emotions displayed were still vivid in his mind even if the features had not been. He chewed a lip for a second wondering if he'd registered the feeling right, and finally came to the conclusion that it didn't matter. That had been a complete stranger. They're probably a gang member, he told himself sternly, determined to maintain his own good boy reputation, even if it was in his own mind.

Yet, even as he chastised himself he couldn't get that expression out of his mind.

The look of pure terror that sent his stomach spiraling.

No, he couldn't afford to get too interested in something that was so obviously trouble. There is a pool of blood, Hide. Blood!

Huffing, he pulled his headphones back to his ears and turned to go when something fluttering slightly caught his eye.

Turning back he saw a drenched piece of card lying on the ground.

He picked it up gingerly and squinted at the neat scrawl on the paper, barely able to make out the words in the dark of the night.

'Like a traveller, I wait for the earth to swallow me up.

A vulture that circles the skies above the land.

Neither of us was meant to be here.'

There was blood on the corners, Hide noted absently, re-reading the words.

It sounded lonely, he thought, running his finger over the flimsy paper. Not that poetry was his strong suit of course. He'd barely passed the literature requirements.

Standing up again he made sure there wasn't any blood on him, surprised at how calm he was at the thought, and pocketed the piece of card.

It must have belonged to the person that ran.

He felt the strong need to keep it safe.

That had been enough excitement for one night, he concluded, turning back to the general direction of his apartment.

'Nagachika, you said you were willing and energetic. Move!' Seidou muttered trying to glare at him, tapping his pen against his desk impatiently. The blonde sighed dramatically, picking up the large pile of copied papers and carried them over to the brunette and let them drop with a muted thud.

'Ah, Seidou-san, don't overwork my young body!' he exclaimed, grinning at him. He saw the older man's eyebrow twitch and grimacing the man turned to the huge pile of paperwork. Now it was Seidou's turn to sigh as he eyed the paper distastefully. Hide smirked wryly at the man and leaned closer to him.

'Need help?'

'Not from you errand boy.'

'Ahhh, Seidou-san, and here I was being polite.'

'You talk too much.'

'I liven your day though!' he laughed, good-humouredly, running a hand through his hair. It was getting obnoxiously long; he'd have to cut it soon.

Seidou snorted at his remark and muttering about Hide's generation returned to the paperwork, evidently trying to ignore his presence. However, Hide was bored out of his mind. His tasks had been menial and he had completed his runs quickly. After finishing those he had been lingering around the most friendly staff member he could find; which was Seidou. It was understandable that the small man was getting annoyed by his constant companion but it wasn't Hide's fault that he was just so bored.

He was about to helpfully tell Seidou about his great sleuthing skills and how the girls dug that, but he held back when the door was thrown open and a pale woman entered. The bleached blonde gulped, shrinking underneath her cold, indifferent gaze.

'Ah, Nagachika,' she said, walking to her desk across from Seidou's and taking a seat. Hide smiled at Akira widely and as expected she ignored him, shuffling a few sheets of labelled documents. There was silence in the room as the two adults worked leaving him to awkwardly shuffle from foot to foot and glance at his phone for the time. It was passing excruciatingly slowly.

The ticking of the clock was driving him insane, he was fidgeting constantly, watching the duo act as if wasn't in the room.

'There's been another crime in the 20th ward,' the brunette huffed, looking up from the screen of his computer. Akira glanced at him for a second and then back to her work seemingly uninterested by his remark.

Hide however jumped at the opportunity for conversation.

'That's cool! I was there last night funnily enough!' he exclaimed, too excited to be not hovering. The brunette man glanced at him tiredly.

'Nagachika, you aren't supposed to go out alone at night.' It felt like he was being told off by his mother.

'Ah but I was exploring!' he whined. Seidou rolled his eyes at him and he grinned, noting the way that the man was tapping his pen; a typical sign of impatience from his senior.

'Anyway, it was weird I saw this guy lying there, hurt,' he tried, hoping to keep the conversation going. He didn't want them to lapse into awkward silence once more. It was just too much. 'That's quite common. The 20th ward it pretty famous for gangs.' The tapping was slowing, the man actually focusing on what he was saying.

'Ah, that would explain the blood then.'

'Blood? Did you get caught in a gang fight?' Seidou was giving him a once over, his arms crossed over his chest. He hurriedly shook his head, flapping his hand as if to blow that notion away.

'Nothing like that! I just saw someone hurt. Then they ran.'

'Did you call the police?' Both the men turned to the woman who had surprisingly contributed to the conversation. Hide scratched his cheek nervously and managed a half smile, letting out a nervous chuckle. 'Uh, no. I didn't think.'

Akira looked at him for a few more seconds, her stare piercing.

Then without a second glance she turned back to her computer screen, typing away. Seidou followed suit.

He sighed resignedly and returned to listen to the clock tick.

'I'm off then!' He waved to the grandmotherly receptionist and exited the brightly lit building, adjusting his bag's strap.

He exhaled in the night air tiredly and switched on his music, immediately relaxing.

His feet were on auto-pilot as he made his way to his apartment, already having memorized the most efficient route to get back. Today, he decided wasn't a day for exploring. He was tired after his first day, even if he hadn't done too much work. It must be a first day thing.

'Didn't we tell you to fucking apologize?'

He paused immediately wondering if he had heard what he had thought he'd heard. He decided it was better not to take a chance, turning down the volume of his music and slowing his pace.

'Answer you little slut.'

What was going on? Was it the increasing crimes Akira and Seidou had been discussing?

Lowering his headphones, he pulled out his cell, punching in the emergency services number. Somebody definitely seemed to be in trouble. Or getting picked on? Or maybe it was a drunk. Hopefully it was a drunk.

His thumb was hovering over the call button as he crept forward. He could hear muted swearing and grunts.

'Stop making that face, apologize.'

He peeked into the dimly lit alleyway not sure what to expect. His eyes were met by a haphazard scene. A boy was held against the wall by a masked man; behind him was another, taller one. He was also masked. Calling them scary would have been an understatement. They looked absolutely brutal.

He focused on the victim and was surprised to see snowy white hair, and a handsome pale face. He couldn't see the expression clearly but he could identify an ugly, dangerous smirk on those lips. The other man's head was on the boy's neck, his hand trailing over his body. The man at the back was watching, his uncovered eyes, indifferent to the scene unfolding before him.

'Kaneki, I'll be ripping you to shreds.' The head moved, evidently busy in its ministrations against the white haired guys neck. 'I'll start down there, okay?'

The male, Kaneki, didn't flinch, if anything he seemed to grow even more still. The guy's hand started popping open buttons.

Hide couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't watch this and do nothing. He forced himself to move.

'Hey! Shove off or I'm calling the police!' he put on his most determined, brave face and glared at the two men who could probably kill him in their sleep. The man turned to him. His face was hidden behind a plain white mask, his bloodstained jaw visible, black hair framing his face. He gulped, flashing his phone as a show of bravado.

'It's going to start ringing.'

The disinterested man in the red mask seemed to look even more bored.

'What do we have here?'

He glared, somehow sure that the person behind the mask could see him clearly.

'Did you hear me? Leave him alone.'

There was snickering from the white masked man and he flinched at the sound.

'A knight in shinning armour. Of course. How fitting for a whore.' The voice was dripping malice. His hand was shaking now. What had he gotten himself into?

'Leave him,' those were the first words he heard out of Kaneki's mouth. They were soft. They rang in his ears almost as if they were not attached to the speaker.

'Do you know him?! Did he help you get where you are?'

'No.' Dangerous grey eyes ran over him. 'Look at his uniform, he works for the CCG. They'll come looking for hints if you hurt him.' Why was he so calm when he was bleeding against a wall? He was being held against his will right? Had Hide walked into those awkward kink roleplays? Oh the mortification.

He kept quiet at the exchange, watching their body language as they conversed.

'Should I claim you in front of him then?' There was a definite domineering sneer on the white mask's face and a threat in the posture. The white haired male, Kaneki, was stiff, unnaturally so. No. No matter how he looked at it this scenario didn't seem natural.

'That's it, I'm calling the polic-'

'Leave.' It was Kaneki.

'Hey! You're-'

'Mind your own fucking business and leave.' Again the voice was completely unattached. As if the voice and Kaneki were two different people. He stared at Kaneki, torn. The white mask had turned back to him and was pulling down the collar of his shirt, his lips pressed against the skin. The other masked man seemed to have slipped away without Hide noticing. Grey eyes were locked with his own honey coloured ones.

The eye contact seemed to slice through him; venomously angry. His heart seemed to sink to his feet as he pocketed his phone, those eyes not leaving his. Not wavering when blood started to drip down their owner's shoulder. Those eyes were dangerous and stone cold.

However, even when he was far away from the alleyway and the horrors that had almost taken place in front of him; he couldn't deny that they had been the most striking eyes he'd ever seen.