[ Open ]

[enucleation]

WHO: Kaneki + Open
WHERE: Heropa, Nonah, Maurtia falls, De chima
WHEN: March 1st to March 15th
WHAT: Find Kaneki on the street because he won't tell you he is here otherwise
WARNINGS: Canon spoilers, mentions of violence, gore and cannibalism

[ His arrival back in this world was smoother than he expected. The government told him he was not going to prison for what he did, but due to his violent acts --even if he wasn't in his right mind and was being "controlled" by Hornets-- he had to be put on probation. He was requested to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet for a month and he will have to report to a Registered imPort who will act as his parole officer; the tattoo in his arm now says "criminal" and will remain so for a month. And during all of this, not once Kaneki argued or complained. He nodded and accepted every decision the government made about this situation, and at the end all he did was ask if he still had access to De Chima labs --they said 'yes' because it was necessary-- and requested to now live in De Chima --request accepted-- and that was it.

That's how he returned to this world.

He left an entry over the network, and went to his new place. he is not sure how to address others just yet, but he knows he has to apologize, though you can't really apologize for something like that, not so lightly. He will focus on what he can while he decides the best course of action: the Hornets, the Porter, he will focus on keeping his place in this world, that has been threatened so many times already, and he will protect everyone. He will find what is the better way to do that, since experience told him he can't just do everything blindly. He needs to think.

He will figure it out. ]

HEROPA : Bookstore

[ Even though Kaneki is no longer living in Heropa, he still walks around the city quite often. It's a way to make sure everything and everyone are safe and in case something happens, he will be there to help and protect the people he cares about. He is now working at De Chima bookstore, but he decides to drop by his old workplace; here, only few days passed after he was sent back to his world, but back home it was over 6 months.

He smiles politely at his ex-boss as he comments on the white hair, and he smiles kindly at the man. He also apologizes for leaving and apologizes for no longer working there. With a small bow, he buys three new books and an extra fourth is given to him for free. When he finally leaves the bookstore, he looks around for a second and decides to take off his eyepatch; white hair and black clothes made him pretty weird already, but he figured it was better to avoid looking THAT weird with an eyepatch too. ]

NONAH : Coffee shop

[ He never actually been to Nonah before. It's funny because he was 6 months in this world before, and he never found an excuse to go to Nonah and visit the city. Right now he is only doing so because he wants to know the city, the layout, to see the people, the natives, the imPorts and their locations. He is scouting, that's the only reason he is there. Annie and Reiner live there, so it's important for him to know the place and in case something happens, he can navigate through it.

After a whole morning of walking around, he eventually comes to a coffee shop - a petite and quiet one - and asks for their "best coffee, no sugar, no cream, just coffee". And he eventually sits by the window, looking outside. Doing this sort of things... drinking coffee at a coffee shop, taking a moment to look around without searching for an enemy... it has been a while. ]

MAURTIA FALLS : Streets

[ This was the second city Kaneki was set on getting to know. Like Nonah, he has never been there, but like Nonah, he needs to get to know it in case anything happens. Scouting, learning the layout, learning what you may need to face. If anything happens and he needs to go to this small city again, he will know the place easily. He is also interested in the rumored underground scene going on; these are usually good for information, but given Kaneki is currently a "Criminal" and under Government's observation he knows he can't approach it just yet.

He is carrying his eyepatch today, plus the black clothing and the white hair help a lot for people in this town not to be so suspicious of him. The ankle monitor also brought enough attention, too, but Kaneki politely asks them to go away -with a smile and everything!- as he grabs his cup of coffee and sits down at a public bench to drink it.

This is a really interesting place, actually. Ghouls would probably find it "homy" ]

HEROPA/DE CHIMA : Moving from a city to another

[ Now that he lives in De Chima, he will have to move there. It means going to his old apartment in Heropa and get his things and move them to a different city. At least Kaneki doesn't have much house utensils and necessities, but he has a lot of books and carrying those can be a feat. At least he has super strength and he isn't going to hide that anymore; in his hands, he carries bags full of books, some clothes, some other accessories like coffee.

He can be found carrying his items from Heropa Individual Housing back to De Chima Individual Housing, since it's where he will live from then on. ]

CLOSED : Will Graham

[ Kaneki was assigned Will Graham as his parole officer; he is to report to him and the man already has files on what Kaneki is, thus he doesn't expect having to explain it to him. Hopefully. Though he has a feeling questions and conversations will be had. In any case, Kaneki decides to visit him the second he can.

At least he doesn't bring cupcakes this time.

Kaneki is wearing black, and if Will remembers a gentle black haired kid who smiled and looked too naive for this world, he will now meet a white haired Kaneki who still wears an eyepatch and looks far too tired (and sad). He is still smiling, though. Once he arrives to Will's shop, "Hook, line, & tinker", the first thing he notices is the dog, but after he looks around ] Excuse me...?

Comments

[enucleation]

[ No. he can't go back to school. It's no longer there, the kaneki that would fit well at school and who wanted to be normal and human and wanted to enjoy it. He doesn't know if he can enjoy it, it has been so long.

Right now, school won't happen.

A lot of things won't happen anymore. Kaneki said he wished to go back, to what he was at Anteiku, but even so he realizes it he can't just go back. After all he did, there is no going back. There is forward and there are uncertain paths, but those small things he did to be human, they aren't really part of it.

Kaneki smiles because it's a good thought. It's kind and gentle. And Kaneki loves Hide for it. ]

There is a lot I still need to do, Hide. Even here.

[ find a way to keep everyone safe. Learn about Hornets and what this government hides. The Porter, how all the pieces fit together and going back home. All of that stills needs to be done. ]

It's fine if you don't understand but-

[ kaneki's hand - the one Hide held - moves to the other's blond hair to mess it up.

Payback. ]

I won't be disappearing, alright?

[nagachika]

[Something tells him, already, that there's no possible way they could really go to school. A lot had changed with Kaneki. His apparent determination to protect people; he couldn't do something like that while he drifted into a student's life like that, could he.

No, he couldn't.

But still; just offering it, offering the idea of something--if it could make Kaneki smile like that; a natural expression that wasn't forced like it had been only minutes ago, then it was worth it.]

...This place is a mess. I do understand. [I understand that much.] I didn't... get to tell you. [You were dead, I didn't know if you were coming back.]

You were-- [He's silenced as Kaneki's hand runs up and into his hair, his train of thought broken as that already messy hair taking on an even more hedgepig-like appearance. And he can't help but to laugh, a bright smile moving over his face. That thought he had, it had drifted away in that moment of comfort between he and his best friend. That's fine.]

--You'd better not disappear on me again. Oi, I really will die next time.

[enucleation]

[ he knows he died and he knows the place was a mess. He still needs to talk about Suzuya, but right now is not the time. He isn't sure when it'll be the right time to tell Hide to just... ignore the whole matter, not get involved in it. Kaneki will be the one to deal with this, and it's fine - he is back, whatever happened is fine (for now).

Kaneki messes the hair up just a bit further, and finally pulls his hand away ]

I'll make sure to take care of you properly. Have you eaten your carrots? [ calling Hide a rabbit isn't offensive. ]

Hey, did you know I have a parole office?

[nagachika]

[He can't help but to be mad at Juuzou. Even if yes, he understands that the Dove was the one who stopped a rampaging Kaneki and he was grateful that someone did, dismembering his best friend and showing it off for all imPorts to see was just... wrong.

It still made him sick, the image of the others' head and hands completely dismembered and taken apart...

He shakes his head when Kaneki finishes messing up his hair, and he crosses his arms over.]

Of course I have. Carrots, and these special bars Wally had me order to keep up with this crazy metabolism I'm cursed with now. [It was never offensive.]

...A parole officer? No, I didn't.

[enucleation]

[ Doves or humans don't see Ghouls as "people". They do this because ghouls "can't feel" according to them. They are just monsters.

Hunting prizes like deer heads, end up not being so different from how Doves see ghouls, except instead of the head, the Quinque is the prize. Kaneki can understand where they are coming from, honestly. ]

Wally. A person with super-speed too, correct? [ should Kaneki look into him?

No. NO. Stop that. It's fine. Breath. Hide is fine.

Wally. he will just look up the name on the network.

It's fine. It's fine, he is not wrong for worrying and he just wants to see who it is. That's it. Just glance. Not go too deep. Just look.


He goes back to the parole officer issue without making a weird pause ]

For what I have done, I am considered a criminal for this month. [ kaneki pulls his sleeve to show the now glowing red tattoo that says "CRIMINAL". ] I won't be sent to prison for I wasn't in my right mind, however, they have me monitored in several ways. [ the parole officer and the ankle monitor, that Kaneki will also show to his friend ]

[nagachika]

[It was a bias, through and through. He couldn't see Ghouls the same way doves did anymore; not now that his closest childhood friend was one. Maybe it would be a bit of a downfall; but Hide didn't care.

Besides, if there were ghouls like Touka-chan and the manager of that coffee shop, too, then, they all couldn't be so bad.]

Yeah, that's right! Wally West, I think his superhero name is Kid Flash. He's pretty great, and he rigged my shoes up so they'd not melt, either, see-- [He gestures to his new shoes, and unlike the others he'd worn beforehand, they didn't have clear signs of wear and tear.

He looks at Kaneki a little solidly, wondering if it was just him, or did Kaneki seem to be... fighting with himself, mentally.

He'll tuck it away for later, and move to look at the others' tattoo. A frown already moving over his face at the word etched there. He understood why, but. ...It didn't sit right with him.]

I'm glad you won't be imprisoned. But they're aware that it was part in fault with the Hornets, right. Ah. Is that why your 'punishment' is one that's not so harsh? [That's what he'd figure.]

So what's your parole officer's name?

[enucleation]

[ there was a time when even himself saw ghouls like that. So, even if he is now a ghoul, he understands. He has felt the same, long ago.

In any case, he commits that name to memory. Wally West, Kid Flash. Just to have a look and know the face - it's not stalking or messing with Hide's privacy if it's only seeing Wally's face, right? Ken pls

Kaneki nods instead about the punishment ] Will Graham; we used to be roomates when I first arrived here.

I suppose they can't just let me go. Besides, I was killed before they "cured me", thus they don't really know if I was truly infected or not. [ he used the "killed" word with such ease and probably doesn't even realize it. ] Like this is fine, I don't mind it.

[ he just has to play along with the government for a little while longer ]

[nagachika]

[Please don't stalk all of my new friends, Ken. I promise I make good decisions like staying away from psycho crazies and stuff. ...Mostly.]

Can't say I've met him. But I'm guessing with your tone that he's a pretty decent guy. [TBH I don't trust your judgement of people that much.]

...I guess they can't. I guess, especially. Not after how your file was anonymously flooded all over the system while you were 'dead'. [Sorry to be the bearer of bad news if you didn't know this already, bud.] I know from 'fighting' with you that you weren't yourself at all. But I doubt they'll take my word, as they'll see it as 'bias'.

[He shrugs a shoulder.] It's just a month. You can definitely handle that. Right? [He grins.]

[enucleation]

[ it's not stalking!!! Just... getting to know their faces and their ID's and their voices and you know NORMAL THINGS FRIENDS DO. ]

I don't know if he is a decent guy. I enjoy talking to him. [ he has a nice dog, too. ] But I enjoyed talking to Rize-san, as well. [ YEAH. Let's not even begin to mention Tsukiyama; not that he enjoys talking to that person per se. ]

I know about the file leak. I don't care. [ wow, right? Because before, he did. Like a lot. He freaked out about it, but right now, he is going to take a pragmatic leap here and possibly do what Annie and Reiner once did: tell everyone what he is. In his own words. Suzuya made sure to tell the world what he was, and it's Kaneki's turn to give a more sensible and less gore-ish explanation ] It no longer matters if they know or not. Not in this world, anyway.

And a month is nothing.

[ liar. With a month, he could be doing so much, instead of being under the government's telescope. And the next few following months, Kaneki still has to be under the government's thumb to show them he is not a threat. He knows he can't just cut off ties right after his parole is done - he has to show them he is going to behave even after that first month.

It's wasted time. it annoys him, but he will be gathering information some other way - that's why he has Nishi. That's why he will be trying to get more people than just Nishi, too.

And that's why he won't be telling anyone where he is living right now. Sorry, Hide. ]

Hide- you said I was missing few months, back home. How many months did I go missing? [ he needs to pinpoint Hideyoshi's exact time point. ]

[nagachika]

[...'I know about the file leak. I don't care.' above most else, it's these words that shock him. Before, Kaneki would have been devastated--no, traumatized that his personal dealings were spread all over public forum. For him to not blink so much as an eye...

It really hit Hide now, exactly how much his best friend has changed. The sheer amount he must have gone through, just to no longer care about something so dire as that. His fingers squeeze a little Kaneki's wrist, folding into the material of his sleeve to keep from pinching the other.

He doesn't even want to touch the bit about 'Rize'.]

It was going on perhaps four by the time I wound up here. You were gone for about three weeks--maybe a bit more before there was this big raid on Aoigiri Tree's hideout.

...My fault, by the way, that that happened.

I had a feeling you were in there for my own reasons, and I expected that once everything went down, you might re-appear. You... didn't. [There's... definitely more to that. But he's not sure how to tell the other straight out how he was on his way to worming himself into the CCG.]

[enucleation]

[ the biggest danger is Suzuya, and he already knows. it doesn't matter anymore, it's not something he can change, but it's something he can attempt to salvage. Suzuya's little display has helped him with that, too, all he has to do is to try to make the best out of this and address things with logic. An emotional response won't help him right now, or anyone.

Kaneki's mind races as he hears Hide. Three weeks after the Aogiri Raid and the Cochlea raid. Kaneki was searching for Rize's and Dr. kanou's whereabouts then? Shachi, he was getting in contact with the group of the 6th ward. The CCG- what cases were they working on, that time?

But he stops when he hears Hide saying it was his fault. Hide, what were you doing?

No, actually- ] I have to thank you for that, then. [ Kaneki smiles at his friend. He will never tell him what happened back then, those days he was at the Aogiri hideout, but it was thanks to that raid that Anteiku was able to sneak in and Kaneki was able to escape along with Banjou and everyone else without any other causalities on his part ] I wasn't there because I wanted to.

[ that's all he will say, but yes, Ken was kidnapped. He didn't go on his own accord. And the raid saved him in a way, even though he was the one plucking out Yamori by himself.

Kaneki already knows Hide was working with (for?) the CCG, but he is curious to how much his friend knew ] ... you told me before, there were rumors at the CCG about an 'Eyepatch' ghoul. Did you have any access to any case? [ he is sorry; he is not trying to use Hide to gather information but- he knows he shouldn't be doing this, he knows. Kaneki avoids looking at Hide for a moment and shakes his head after. Forget the last question, it doesn't matter ]

Do you know anything about Dr. Kanou? [ he hates doing this. He does. ] I'm not questioning you, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. [ as if saying this would make it better. ]

[nagachika]

[His smile is flickering upward, by just a bit. He doesn't have a clue-in to Kaneki's personal thoughts, but at the very least he's sure of one thing; and it's that no matter how much had changed, Kaneki was still his friend. The most important person in his entire life--he was still standing in front of him, despite all the hell he'd been dragged and running through up until now.]

Heeeeeh. Here I thought you'd scold me for it. But if you're thanking me for it, then I feel twice as good about it. [And it showed on his face, too.] That big blonde guy I stuck a tracker to. He just... gave me an awful feeling. And if you were in there against your will. As I now know for sure you were, then.

I guess It was a good thing my gut told me what to do, then.

[Finally, he's going to let go of Kaneki's hand. He seems almost hesitant to do so, but his fingers are reaching up to tap the side of his own head as Kaneki prodded him with questions. He didn't mind--he really didn't. He'd become a gopher for the CCG for the exact reason of helping the other; why would he hold back information now?]

I didn't have much access. But I'd be lying if I wasn't in the habit of reading over Investigator's shoulders and taking a peek at certain papers I was assigned to deliver. [Your best friend is an investigative nightmare.]

'Eyepatch' was on their watch list for a long time. Under a huge questionmark. They didn't have any idea who 'he' was. [But Hide did. And he hadn't told them quite yet that he knew, either.] As for Dr. Kanou... his name was one I was actually keeping an eye out for. Unfortunately, dealings with him were extremely hush-hush.

All I know is they were looking for a hidden lab of his. Furthur than that... I've got nothing. Sorry, bud.

[enucleation]

I do want to scold you. [ honestly, after all kaneki has done? Can he really complain? Well, he can- ] I told you it was dangerous before I was Ported out. I still think it's something you shouldn't have meddled with but-[ it helped. A lot.

Kaneki isn't very sure he if should congratulate his friend, though ] ... the reason why I kept away was so I wouldn't bring you into that sort of world, Hide. I want to protect you, I want to keep you safe. [ but Hide decided to go right to the CCG and get involved with it by his neck. Kaneki already knew from the time he spent in this world, thankfully, else his reaction would have been different. ]

You don't have do do that sort of thing anymore. [ Kaneki will handle it. He knows he can't do everything alone, but he has to keep Hide safe.

When Hide lets go of his hand, his eyes looks down. He realizes how warm it was.

Nevermind.

Kaneki nods at the information. It's not much, but it's still information he appreciates nonetheless. There are other questions he has and since Hide mentioned he peeked over Investigator's shoulders, he might as well ask ] Rize-san is a Ghoul they gave the name of "Binge Eater". [ this is Hide, he doesn't matter telling him this information, even if it's information he should give to most people. And yes, Kaneki is using present tense. "Is", not "was"; Rize is alive. ] What did they know about her?

[nagachika]

...Heh. There we go. [Despite being told he was doing something 'wrong', he can't help but to laugh. That's the Kaneki he knows. And it's just that much more comforting, hearing it in his voice.]

--I don't regret it. Doing what I did at the time. I'd... probably make the same move a thousand times over. [Even if he knew that it resulted in a lot of deaths on that day; both Ghouls and CCG members.]

I got you back, here. And I know where you're at, now, too. So long as I have a way of finding you, I won't do anything that'll endanger my life. [I won't do that sort of thing anymore.] You got that promise from me.

[There's no promise he won't return to it, however, if they ever go home.]

...Binge-Eater. There's a lot on that one, too. 20th Ward, mass-murdering ghoul that they'd suspected being female. Preyed mostly on young men. [It really did sound like Rize, after all. He notes the present tense, and makes a point of questioning it later.] She's also listed as 'inactive', as her pattern of killing had stopped... around the same time you got hospitalised. So that explains it. She got killed.

[A beat.]

Or rather, she 'disappeared.' [She's not dead, is she.]

[enucleation]

[ if Hide had been part of it, he would have changed his opinion on the matter. But thankfully he wasn't and thankfully Kaneki doesn't have to tell him about it. He never will. Only knowing the basics of it is just the right amount of information Hide needs.

Kaneki smiles and commits to memory this conversation. if necessary, he will remind Hide of it, because he has a feeling sometimes he will have to remind him. Or at least force Hide to membered it himself: getting in the way of a hungry ghoul possessed by a terrorist is NOT how you keep that promise, Hide. Don't forget that.

Rize is inactive because she was held by Kanou. Should he tell his friend about this? Kaneki opts not to because it's a ghoul matter and a world the other shouldn't be diving into. He will, however, confirm it: ] Rize is alive. I'm sorry, I won't tell you more than this. [ Hide doesn't really need to know that Kanou used her to make more hybrids. It's not a matter most need to know, either.

Because it's a completely fucked up thing. And again, it's a world Kaneki wants to avoid his friend getting into. ]

... what about the "Rabbit"? [ he has to ask about Touka. ]

[nagachika]

[Getting in the way of a hungry terrorist was not keeping any promises at all; but at least he'd kept one and got the hell out of there while he was still in pretty good shape. ...Other than having to hold his side to keep certain parts from falling out before his healing factor stitched him up.

His expression falters a little when his question is answered. Rize is still alive. How was that even possible, wasn't she used to...? 'I won't tell you more than this.' The frustration shows on Hide's face, but.

Kaneki wasn't going to tell him anything else; no matter how he pushed, Kaneki wasn't going to change his position on this, and he knew that.]

There was a report on the 'Rabbit' for sure. That's the ghoul that saved 'The Daughter' and was responsible for the death of Investigator Mado. [He'd overheard Amon speaking about his old boss a few times, after all.]

From what I heard from Seidou-san, Mado's daughter thinks that there are two different rabbits, though. Whatever that's supposed to mean.

[enucleation]

[ Kaneki knows it's frustrating not having every question laid out to you; after all, that's what has been happening to him. But he really can't bring Hide into this. And if Suzuya, for some reason, decides he can interrogate Hide under the basis that he is Ken's friend, Kaneki can't allow that information to escape. Even if, in the end, it wouldn't matter exactly because they forget everything once they are returned to their world.

But still. Who knows what might happen. Hide can't be brought into this, he can't.

The information on the rabbit is good, because it backs up Kaneki's own thoughts on it.Of course it wouldn't be Touka, Kaneki didn't believe it when Itori-san told him and he knew why now. A second rabbit made sense and it fit perfectly (though Kaneki will have to ask Touka directly for confirmation). Who was it, then...? Ayato-kun? Why? There are no leads to the rabbit (the original), so maybe Ayato is trying to keep CCG's eyes off Touka? It's possible.And "The Daughter" (Hinami-chan) is also safe, at least for now, since she is on the move with Kaneki's group.

Kaneki pauses again, thinking things through.

A thought crosses his mind. ]

... and the Gourmet? [ because he doesn't have an eye on Tsukiyama all the time and though Kaneki made it clear he'd kill him if he did anything unnecessary, he doesn't know the other's movements. In a way, he is giving Hide plenty of information - the ghouls he knows and the ghouls he deals with to some extent. Even if not downright saying "I'm working with these people", it's obvious Kaneki knows them and is, at least, keeping an eye on them.

It's fine if Hide knows.

And if they arrive... should Hide know who they are, as well? Kaneki has to think about that, too. ]

[nagachika]

[He wouldn't force anything. Not now, not after finally getting Kaneki back after being worried about him being 'dead' for good. He wants answers--but pushing them out of the other right now would not only be the wrong approach, but he'd just spook the other, wouldn't he. What with how quiet and avoidant he was already being, he didn't want to make matters worse.

Part of him wishes he had spent a little more time at the CCG before coming here, now, if only for the fact that he could have dug up more information for the other that he didn't already have. Akira had already started cluing into how 'intuitive' Seidou's Intern was, so poking around without drawing too much attention was hard.

All the same...]

All of the Gourmet's actions within the 20th ward have disappeared for a while now. With the emergence of a 'Ghoul Restaurant' being destroyed from the inside out, it was speculated that The Gourmet is either moved and in hiding, or he was killed.

[He's not hiding or dead, is he? He's one of your acquaintances. Otherwise, you wouldn't be asking about 'the Rabbit' and 'the Gourmet'.

He looks right at Kaneki, something of a smile on his face. He wished he had his notebook on him. Unfortunately, he didn't.]

[enucleation]

[ So Tsukiyama is no longer hunting around and being the obnoxious trash he is; at least three months ago. The pattern may have changed, but Kaneki can deal with three months, he supposes. Tsukiyama is a dangerous ghoul, but he won't get the rank Kaneki got from the CCG after he went kakuja on an investigator. He is silent, watching Hideyoshi for a moment, and ponders if he should tell him, how dangerous Kaneki got. he asks himself if he should tell him anything.

but right now he is also thinking, what if someone else shows up. What if it's an investigator, or Tsukiyama or Banjou? Kaneki will have to explain then what he wants to keep Hide out of. Does he have to explain, does he have to tell? telling Hide isn't bringing him into it, but he could try to get tangled in that world - Kaneki fears that the most.

He has friends and support and he has told himself he couldn't do everything alone, but Hide is still human.

Kaneki's eye moves away to look at the ground while his mind races. His fingers itch and he isn't sure what the next step is. Suzuya met him back at the laboratory, so Suzuya knows the ranking Kaneki got after that. Suzuya can easilly tell Hide that his best friend is a SS ranked ghoul and such ranking means most investigators wouldn't want to face someone like Ken. he is dangerous.

very.

Should he let Hide hear this from someone else? It's not wise, of course not, specially because whatever he ehars from others will be biased. Ghouls will tell him "Kaneki is strong, that's why he is dangerous" and CCG will tell him "He is monstrous, that's why he is dangerous". And Honestly, kanki wonders which one is right or wrong. Both are right, he supposes.

he should tell Hide ]

I'm from three months or so ahead of you. And the CCG no longer calls me "Eyepatch"; instead, I'm "Centipede". [ Hide might have noticed a post to the network under that name, recently ]

I'm a SS Ranked Ghoul, Hide.

[nagachika]

[He wasn't ignorant. Working for the CCG for the short time he had; he had done well to educate himself on whatever he could get his hands on. Reading books on ghouls, their biology, understanding how ghouls were 'ranked'--All for the sake of understanding what his best friend might be going through; even if he might not ever really get it.

'SS Ranked Ghoul' strikes a chord in him. How few ghouls were around with a ranking that absolutely high--his memory just flashes back to fighting with--or rather; trying to run from a rampant, raging Kaneki. He'd been that strong then. Imagine how strong he was now. A flicker of a question hit him and he wondered--would the other even flinch if someone pushed their fingers into his eyes again?

Part of him says no.

He whistles.]

SS. Man, you're not kidding, are you. [There's a tone to his voice--uncertainty, or something close to it. Not because he didn't believe him--more that ... how was it possible.] You're only half and you're already that strong?

[He pauses for what might seem like an age, thoughts mulling over in his head as he thinks of what to say. He doesn't want to take this lightly--and he knows his friend is trying to warn him, but.

...Ken, if you're trying to scare him.]

...At least I won't have to worry about the CCG doing away with you.

[He's still got your back. No matter how 'scary' you might be.]

[enucleation]

[ It wouldn't hurt. Nothing hurts anymore. except spears through his brain. it probably wouldn't even delay him anymore.

And in fact, being an Half is probably what granted him this much strength, plus the fact that he has a rinkaku and that crazy regeneration of his. Like tigers and lions mating and giving a stronger offspring, the way Itori-san described it. He might be an artificial ghoul, but seems to have the superiority of a hybrid. This is something Hide probably doesn't need to know, given that he saw how crazy kaneki was when he couldn't control his kagune at all.

He doesn't need to know about the kakuja transformation, either.

And even with this information Hide backs away. Kaneki glances back at him, before he nods softly. Very well. ]

There is a lot. I can't tell you everything, Hide. And some of what I can tell you, will only be said at specific and necessary times. [ if Tsukiyama or Nishio show up, for example. If Yoshimura, or even someone else from Aogiri. Things will change if they do, but for now, Hide won't know anything else about Kaneki's connections and situation.

he can add something else, though: ] I have full control over my kagune and hunger now. [ Hide won't have to worry about any of it, anymore ] And I'm- [ stronger. In control. It always goes back to that, always goes back to "I can protect everyone, I will protect everyone" and in his mind he thinks that no one else needs to know anything because he can handle it. It's hard to break from that habit. ]

...

I am... a ghoul. [ not human. He has seen himself as one for over half year. He has called himself one so, as well. ] But there are human parts left in me. And I think they are because of you, Hide. [ he smiles softly, though he isn't looking at the other. ] Thank you. [ for not turning away, even now. ]

[nagachika]

[We're not going to talk about spears right now how dare you

As well read as he was on ghouls, the books and items that he'd studied up on had little to no information about Kakuja ghouls. He'd heard the word tossed around and whispered between investigators along with words like 'cannibalism', but as usual his pinprick questioning had gotten him more than one brush-off.

Lucky for you, Kaneki. He won't be asking about that.]

The fact that you're willing to tell me what you've been keepin' closed up is enough for me, Ken. I'll wait for your weird 'specific, necessary times'. But don't make me wait too long, or I might go a bit crazy, yanno?

[He flashes the other another full grin, his teeth clicking a bit before the expression fades down to something a little calmer--perhaps a little melancholy. 'It's because of you'. There was a flicker of something in his ears, a heartbeat that he could hear all too clearly. Kaneki had accepted what he'd become; but he still...

'Because of you'.]

...Hey now. If that's the case, I really will have to try hard to keep you from forgettin' it, you know?? I hope you're prepared.

[enucleation]

[ Kaneki smiles at those words because will it be that simple? He can't go back to what it was, but he can pick off where he left and that is what he wants; he wants to have it again, that connection, that humanity. If Hide can bring back some of that pure self kaneki forgot, it'd be nice maybe.

but is it really that simple? Ever since he arrived to this world again, whenever he had an empty time, when he wasn't think about his actions, or patrolling the cities or whatever he used to keep busy... things didn't seem to easy. He is restless. He left behind so much and he feels like he still needs it, even if he told himself he wanted to pick where he left off. What ken did was wrong but... but.

he is tired.

However, there are other things to address. The matter he has been putting off for a while now ]

... about Suzuya. [ he pauses to give Hide some time and let him prepare himself for what is to come ]

[nagachika]

[Suzuya. That name strikes a chord in Hide, and it shows in his face as the name is spoken, too. From that calm, jovial to something nearly sardonic.

An expression that wasn't pleasant on the usually calm male's face, for certain. His hands clench a little inside the pockets of his jacket, and he tries to calm down.

...Yeah, he's still angry.]

What about him?

[enucleation]

[ that expression is expected ]

I thanked him.

[ before you get angry, Hide- ] I know you do not agree, and I know what he went too far [ really, posting about it to the network? ] - but it was necessary, Hide.

You know that. [ Hide can't pretend it wasn't. Not after Kaneki tried to shove his hand inside him to pull out his organs. Kaneki had to be stopped - Reiner didn't, Sabriel didn't - Suzuya did and that is good ]

He is looking for Rize, that's his objective. As long I don't... do what i did again, we will remain civil.