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[WrenSong]

Tokyo Ghoul Canon Divergence

TW: This thread will mention and likely include: abuse, torture, violence, and gore. Viewer discretion is advised!

 

[WrenSong]

Ken froze when he got word of what Aogiri's next move was. For weeks now, he had been tracking them down, trying to defeat them slowly, and in unnoticeable ways. He knew them better after Yamori had his hands on him; knew what they were like, and the kind of places that they preferred. It made him terrifying. It made him into the exact monster that they sought to create before they killed him....except they failed to do the last part.

What was that number?

It was Nine hundred and ninety-three.

Sweet and sensitive Kaneki, now tired and broken, yet stronger than he'd ever been in his life rushed through as fast as he could. A rendezvous point, they had said. A chance to negotiate. What was negotiation supposed to matter? They had Hide. Hide, his best friend since they were small. Hide, the one who never failed to make him smile; who always knew what to say or do on a bad day. His humanity. His...

Ken shook his head, burying the thought and bottling it with the rest, and coming onto the scene where a few ghouls of the organization held the blonde up by his sunny-golden hair, bruised and battered.

Please be unconscious...please, don't look at me.

"What do you want?" Kaneki asked, his voice far lower than it once was, empty of emotion. "You can have it, if you let him go."

 

[NottTheBravest]

Hide couldn't help but wonder when things had gone so wrong. Everything had been perfect. He and Kaneki were best friends, inseparable and always together. Hide knew everything about him, and his friend knew everything about him. But after his accident he started becoming more distant, and even though Hide tried to reach out to him, he didn't seem to be able to hear him. And then he disappeared, leaving a scared and worried Hide behind. After a while others told him Kaneki was probably dead, but Hide refused to believe it. He had heard and seen enough to realise his sweet and kind friend was now a ghoul. Hide knew that was the reason Kaneki disappeared. What other reason could there be? So he started looking for him. When he didn't accomplish anything on his own, he got a job working for the CCG.

It had been a good plan. Use the CCG's resources to track down Kaneki, without the organisation finding out what he was doing. Easier said than done. But Hide was willing to risk it all. Kaneki was worth it. But as it turned out, it wasn't the CCG he had to be careful of. They came for him when he was on his way home, taking a shortcut through an alley. A couple of ghouls jumped out and rushed him. He tried to defend himself, but it was useless; he was just a human. He blacked out, and next thing he knew he woke up laying on the floor with his wrists tied behind his back. The ghouls holding him captive seemed eager to talk, telling him their plans as they beat him up. Their goal was Kaneki, and he was their bargaining chip to get to him. That hurt more than any punch or kick could hurt him; knowing he was being used to get to Kaneki, nothing more than a tool they could use to hurt his precious friend. Eventually they seemed to grow tired of beating up their plaything, and they left him alone.

Hide wasn't alone for long. He didn't know how much time passed - minutes? days? weeks? months? - but eventually the ghouls came back. They dragged him outside by his hair, ignoring his groan of pain. Then they waited, standing in a semi circle as they kept their eyes trained in a certain direction. Hide could only guess, but he could only come to one conclusion. Kaneki was coming. Why else would they drag him out there? That thought made him both nervous and relieved. Kaneki still cared about him. But Hide didn't want him to get hurt because of him. He was still struggling with those feelings - and the pain, ofcourse - when the silence was broken by the sound of footsteps. Immediately the grip in his hair tightened and lifted him up. He winced in pain as his body was pulled to his feet, his hair pulling against his skin. Then all of that disappeared, as he saw Kaneki walk up. Hide easily recognised him, even with the white hair. That was his friend. But he was different, that much was easy to see. Something had happened to him. It worried Hide, but he would ask him about it later. If he got the opportunity, at least.

The ghoul holding Hide spoke in answer to Kaneki's words. "You're becoming a problem, Kaneki Ken. Our request is simple. Join us or die. And be careful, or this one - " he shook Hide " - will pay for it." Hide tried to warn Kaneki with his eyes. No matter what Kaneki chose, Hide knew they would kill him anyway. One of them had happily told him of their plan to kill him in his sleep if he joined them, cackling with glee as he drove a fist into Hide's stomach. Kaneki should just leave him. He shouldn't risk his life for him. He wasn't worth it. Kaneki had always been able to read him, just like Hide could read him. He hoped that hadn't changed, and Kaneki could see what he was trying to tell him; get out, or they'll kill you.

 

[WrenSong]

When Hide's ochre eyes met Ken's silver, the one-eye felt his heart stop. He saw him. He saw him. And he could tell that he knew exactly who he was. To see him in pain made him jolt forward, which only caused him to freeze at the other's threat. Any closer, and it would all end there. They would likely make a bloody mess of him if he took another step. They had already hurt him enough. The bruises and wounds that he had reeked of Aogiri's treatment when they didn't feel like killing something.

Nine hundred and eighty-six.

At least he still had his fingers.

"Trouble?" Kaneki sighed, tilting his head as he observed them. "We both know that from what you've done to him, you don't intend to keep him alive." He said, his tone tired, and almost comletely resigned. Rize was right. He would only die in the end if he didn't hurt; didn't kill. It was better to be hurt than to hurt others...he had to hurt others...but as long as he was in the most pain, what did it matter?

Kaneki's kakuhou darkened his eye, much to his horror. Hide saw everything, his kagune blooming from his lower back in their scaled tendrils, two of which slammed downward in warning, his thumb slipping over his finger with a loud and haunting crack. "Let him go, and I'll join you...If you lay another finger on him, I'll cut it off."

 

[NottTheBravest]

Hide didn't know if Kaneki just ignored him or had become unable to read him, but there was no sign he had understood what Hide had been trying to warn him of. It was the opposite. Hide barely had any time to notice how tired Kaneki looked, before one of his eyes darkened and his kagune appeared. It was the first time Hide saw it. If it hadn't been Kaneki, it would have been scary. But Hide would never fear Kaneki; he knew his best friend would never hurt him. But then Kaneki offered to join them for his freedom, and he couldn't stay silent any longer. "Kaneki, don't, they'll kill you!" The grip in his hair tightened, and the ghoul holding him snarled at him. "Shut your mouth!" He drove his fist into Hide's stomach, and for a second he was unable to breathe as the pain hit him. Then air rushed back into his lungs, and he started coughing as his legs collapsed. The hand in his hair stopped him from falling to his knees. Hide knew they were going easy on him. If they hit him with full strength, he would be dead. But as long as they didn't hadn't killed Kaneki yet, he was more valuable alive. It was infuriating.

The ghoul standing to Hide's right now spoke up. "You don't get to make any demands, Kaneki. Just try and attack us. He'll be dead before you can reach us. If you join us, we won't kill him. He's far more useful alive." Hide had known they had no intention of letting him go, but he hadn't expected that. Were they planning to keep him around to force Kaneki to go along with their plans, before killing him? Not that it mattered. He'd die anyway. Either they killed Kaneki and him now, or they would drag it out and kill them later. He stopped being valuable the moment Kaneki stopped breathing, and that would happen no matter what Kaneki chose. Unless he just forgot about his weak, human friend. If he just turned around and walked away he'd be safe. Hide had accepted that he was going to die, but he'd be damned if he dragged Kaneki along with him. He hadn't been searching for his friend, only to be responsible for his death.

 

[WrenSong]

"I know."

The answer was to blunt and too quick. There was no hesitation in the haggard response, making it clear that he was indeed prepared for his life to end.
He always was. He had been prepared for that moment since he was a child, and yet it never came. He used to fear it, despite knowing it was coming. Now, it mattered so little to him. If he died, then things would go on as normal. If he died and Hide lived, he would go through college without him. He would find new and smiling friends. Touka and the others at Anteiku would peacefully run their shop. He was ready to die, whenever the world was ready to kill him.
"Do you always 'hire' the ones that try to kill you?" he chuckled lowly, not sounding all there as he stepped forward. Consequences left his mind for just a moment, and he dragged his kagune on the ground, the scales clicking against concrete as they pulsated. Violet and red seemed to reflect from the inside of the tendrils, pulsing with each shuttering scale.

"Fine. But let me take him with us." he offered with a nod, his expression softening slightly. "I won't run away. I know that I'm in no position to do so. All I ask is that I carry him." he said, his dull greys shifting back to Hide. He was trembling. From the way that he was stiff and shaking, it was clear that he was holding himself back with all his might, every blow to shut the blonde up creating a burning rage inside of his small frame. One more, and he would lose it. One more, and he would kill them all. He was ready to die; ready to give it all for Hide, his best and only friend of so many years. He never left him. Even now, as he stared at a ghoul, he treated him as a friend...he valued his life. Ken valued his more. He was ready to meet his end, but he wasn't ready for Hide to meet his.

"Allow this, and I'll come with you. After that, you can do whatever you want with me."

 

[NottTheBravest]

Hide almost forgot all about the pain as he heard how lifeless Kaneki sounded. He knew he would die, yet he didn't hesitate in following the ghouls' commands. Why? Why was he so ready to sacrifice himself for him? Then again, Hide was all too willing to sacrifice himself for Kaneki, so he couldn't really complain. But it was baffling to him. The ghoul holding him answered Kaneki's chuckled question with a shrug. "If they're strong enough. There isn't much left of Aogiri, we would be foolish not to take advantage of an opportunity." Hide had heard about that while working at the CCG. It had been a huge operation; an attack on Aogiri Tree. As far as they told him it had been successful, and they had dealt a big blow to the organisation. It wasn't until then that he learned that the ghouls holding him were part of it. So they were still active and even recruiting other ghouls. And now they wanted Kaneki to join them, at least until they decided to kill him. It would only put him in more danger. He couldn't do that, not for him.

The ghoul holding Hide seemed to contemplate Kaneki's request. He moved as if to allow Kaneki to carry Hide, starting to push him forward slightly.. Only to change at the last second and push Hide towards one of the other ghouls. Hide grunted as he was pushed sideways and an arm roughly wrapped around his stomach, stopping him none too gently from falling on the floor as the ghoul who originally held him chuckled. "What, you think we would actually give you the one thing keeping you from running away or attacking us? We're not that stupid." The new ghoul holding him pulled him up, resting one big hand threateningly on his shoulder. "One wrong move and I snap his little neck," he growled towards Kaneki, one finger stroking his neck almost as if daring Kaneki to make a move.

 

[WrenSong]

Ken struggled to stay calm as they jostled Hide about, his kagune stiffening as much as his body did and twitching with resistance.

Nine hundred and seventy ni--

No. No. He was done watching them hurt him. If he didn't make a move now, he would lose him, just as his visions showed him. Rize was right...His eyes widened, his face taking on an expression of unyielding madness as yet another haunting crack of his fingers echoed through the area. "Touch him again.....go ahead." he said quietly, before a broad and unsettling grin pulled at his lips. "I'll devour you all. I swear it." Another step closer, rinkaku flicking like tails as a sign of aggression. "I'll tear your disgusting flesh to shreds if you harm him one more time. If you kill him...? I'll make sure you feel every second of it. Every bite...every tendon ripped..." Another step. Another skittering sound in his ear, making him shiver and laugh.

Kaneki disregarded for a moment that Hide was watching, his mind taking over as his kagune rose, rearing up like vipers, ready to strike. "And if you kill me, I won't fall down until I know that you won't wake back up...Carry him if you want. I was coming quietly. Hurt him, and you'll be the reason that I kill you, and the rest of Aogiri.." The blatant admittance to cannibalism that he gave broadened his grin if only to further bare his teeth, and his breath shook.

It was hard to see that the sweet, sad young man still lived in this shell.

 

[NottTheBravest]

Hide felt a chill run down his spine at the cold, crazy look in Kaneki's eyes. What had happened to him? This was nothing like the sweet and kind Kaneki he knew. He could tell even the ghouls holding him hostage were a little unsettled. And judging from Kaneki's words, he planned on eatin them. Cannibalism. That was a horrifying thought, and one he had never thought he'd associate with his his friend. It was disturbing to see him so deranged, so filled with madness and rage. He could barely recognise his friend in the person he saw in front of him. But he knew the old Kaneki was still in there somewhere. Hiding behind a mask, to protect himself from the outside world. It wasn't too late for him. Hide wanted to bring out the old Kaneki again, help him find himself again. He wished he would get that chance.

The ghouls looked disturbed at Kaneki's admittance to cannibalism, and they bristled in anger as he threatened to eat them and destroy their organisation. The grip on Hide's shoulder tightened. "I don't think you understand the situation you're in," the leader of the group growled. "You don't get to make demands and threats. You're strong, but so are we and we have more numbers." They looked at each other for a few seconds, and seemed to come to a decision. They turned back to Kaneki. "We see now you're too dangerous to let live. You want to eat us? Go ahead, try it. While they keep you busy I'll have some time with this one. I wonder how he tastes?" The grip on Hide's shoulder tightened as the ghoul pulled him closer. He could feel his tied up arms and back bump into the ghoul's chest as the male now loomed over him threateningly. Daring Kaneki to make a move and give him an excuse to eat Hide.

Hide was torn. He didn't want Kaneki to die, but he also didn't want to be eaten with his friend watching. Not for himself, but to protect Kaneki. He knew his friend would blame himself. He also didn't really like the idea of becoming a ghoul's meal. He'd rather they just snap his neck and be done with it, but unfortunately he didn't have that choice. It didn't matter. All that mattered was Kaneki getting out alive. He had to try and get him to leave one more time. "Kaneki, just go!" The grip on his shoulder tightened, fingers digging painfully into his shoulder. "If you don't shut up I'll rip out that tongue of yours," the ghoul growled threateningly into his ear. Hide didn't care. As long as Kaneki survived, he didn't care what happened to him. "They'll kill me anyway, get out while you still can!" The hand on his shoulder disappeared and wrapped around his throat. For a moment he couldn't breathe, but then the grip lessened slightly, but still tight enough that breathing was difficult. "What did I tell you?" the ghoul growled. This time Hide stayed silent, focused on getting air into his lungs.

 

[WrenSong]

Kaneki grinned. He looked thrilled by this new development, only stepping closer as his kagune whipped forward at almost incredible speed, aiming for as many of them at once as possible. "Too dangerous? If you think I'm too dangerous, then what do your numbers matter?" he laughed, tilting his head. "You're scared...just like Ayato...Just like Yamori..." he almost purred the words, taking delight in the memory of Yamori's death. The way that he cried and screamed, deservedly done after all that he'd done to him... And now these ghouls had done it to Hide. All that he could see now was Hideyoshi Nagachika in that chair, hands and feet bound while he starved and screamed. He was going to kill them. They were lucky that he was pressed for time, and that he would kill them quickly. Just as he had defeated Nishiki to protect the blonde, he would push himself, now far more capable, to do so again. This time, they wouldn't come out breathing.

"I won't stand by!" Kaneki roared in response to Hide, his eyes darting towards him. "I won't stand by while people take the pain for my sake. This is my pain. I have to bear it, and I will. If I die, I'll do it so that you can live." he said, his kagune lifting him off the ground, only to launch him at one of the ghouls in attempts to knock them down. His plan was to take out those surrounding, before dealing with the one holding Hide. His friend may get hurt in that time, but likely not killed...he counted on that.

 

[NottTheBravest]

Hide hadn't expected Kaneki's outburst. He barely noticed the way the ghouls seemed nervous at Kaneki's actions, didn't notice them get ready for battle. His attention was on his friend. Sweet, kind Kaneki who seemed hellbent on taking all the pain himself. It was foolish. One person couldn't take on all that pain. Kaneki carried the weight of the world on his shoulders when he didn't need to. He didn't need to carry it all on his own. But Kaneki clearly didn't realise it. Or he didn't want to realise it. Hide didn't know which one it was. Either way, he was wrong in his thinking. But there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. All he could do was watch as his friend attacked, jumping at the ghouls. He managed to knock down one of the ghouls, but immediately another one was on top of him. All the ghouls except for one rushed him, hoping to take him out before he could get one of them.

Hide barely had any time to see what was happening before the ghoul holding him pulled him away. He had barely noticed the hand around his throat disappear, but he did feel it wrap around his upper arm and pull him. He struggled, trying to pull himself free. Until that moment he hadn't even bothered trying to escape. He knew ghouls were far superior in strength and speed for him to even think he had a chance of getting away. But now, seeing Kaneki fighting right in front of him, he had to try. Even if it was useless, he had to try helping his friend. "No, Kaneki!" The grip around his arm just tightened, pulling him a little further away before throwing him against a wall. He grunted as his arms were smashed between the wall and his back, his arms sore from the rough treatment. Before he could try to get away the ghoul was right in front of him, looming over him. He couldn't see Kaneki anymore, the body in front of him blocking the view, though the sounds of fighting still reached him. The ghoul leaned forward, and before Hide realised what was going on he could feel teeth sink into his shoulder. For a moment it seemed as if the world froze, and then the teeth tore through his flesh as the ghoul ripped off a chunk and ate it. Hide screamed in pain as blood started gushing down his shoulder. The ghoul swallowed his flesh before licking his lips and grinning down at him. Hide could see some of his own blood trailing down the ghoul's chin. It was a horrifying sight, one he had never thought he'd see. "You don't taste that bad." Then the ghoul moved in for another bite.