Ashes (Tokyo Ghoul fanfic)(Boyxboy)

Chapter 4

"Does he always collapse after eating?"

"Umm... no. My guess is that the Kakuja probably had some sort of disease or had just eaten a ghoul who'd eaten a human before fighting Bat. Most likely the latter. Bat's body rejects human flesh like the plague. He probably ignored the need to puke and kept eating. He can be dumb like that."

"I've noticed some of the other handlers don't like him much."

"Hmm? Oh, her. She walked in on him while he was changing clothes one time. He reacted... negatively. She didn't understand since it all happened in a split second, only knowing she'd walked in and was thrown out without notice."

"I see..."

"Bat's very sensitive. He's a Kakuja after all. He may not eat you, but he's still not entirely there in the mind. He usually keeps that part of him inside, thankfully. It's difficult to have a conversation with him if he has both of his kagune out. His mind slips, and he starts rambling and giggling about safe places and other nonsense."

"When will he wake up?"

"Hard to tell. A week, maybe? We'll probably feed him right afterwards, so I'd say come back in maybe 8 days."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Everything felt strange... This place is cold, like laying in the snow. Peeking open an eye, I realized I was laying in the snow. Almost completely naked, and on my side in a fetal position.

I must be dreaming then.

My breath makes white clouds in the air before me. The snow around me is dark crimson, occasional patches of red spider lilies bursting through the frozen blanket. I'm alone. Completely alone. It is both peaceful, and lonely.

A high mountain top; a clearing in the forest. Those places are much like this one, in a sense.

I think I'll wake up now.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

My handlers tip-toed around me even more than usual. I was irritated. My meal had digested while I was sleeping, something that made me very angry. I don't get to enjoy another Kakuja every day. The teenage, male ghoul they gave me was devoured, but I made sure they understood my anger. When I eat, it is simple. Bite by bite, diminish. Not this time. I shredded it and made a bloody mess before eating. I didn't obey their calls to come down, even when threatened with Father.

Father did show up, but I didn't come down. I was annoyed. He simply read his books, then left. But of course, his gaze found me where I'd watched him the entire time, on his way out. A silent warning signal. Whether or not I'd take heed of it was another thing.

My anger still had not subsided when Eyebrows came to visit. The handler didn't stay to call me down this time, only showing him in. I suspect they've already told him I'm in a foul mood. He sits where he did last time, looking up into the darkness of metal to try and find me. I move from my hammock, slinking slowly across and down bars. Dropping down behind his chair silently, I lean on the back of his chair.

"Boo."

He jumps, lurching halfway out of the chair and whirling around to look at me. His expression was so priceless, I couldn't help the loud laughter that left me. He relaxed after a moment, sitting down again while I walked towards the couch.

"That wasn't funny."

"Oho, indeed it was... Your reaction was worth it."

"I almost attacked you."

"You wouldn't have gotten very far with that. Besides, I'm not the enemy."

"So are you an ally then?"

"An ally? Hmm..... More like a pet beast. My leash may be long, but they still hold the other end."

I sit on the couch, pulling my legs up and crossing them. He watches me carefully, looking me over head to toe.

"What's that look for?"

"You collapsed the last time I saw you. I'm just checking."

"Worried?"

"What if I am?"

"You'd be the first."

"The higher ups speak warmly of you."

"A façade."

He huffs, changing tactics.

"They almost didn't let me in since you'd been acting strange."

"It's not strange. I am angry with... something."

"Something?"

"I don't get to eat like that very often. Maybe once every few years? I'm angry that I didn't get to enjoy it, only becoming ill instead. Stupid humans and their disgusting flesh."

"We're all stupid to you?"

"In your own unique ways. The naive ones adapt too well, the opposite breaking themselves because they don't adapt."

"Adapt to what?"

"Change. Me. My world, your own world."

"How is your world different from our world?"

"Right now, you are in my world. But once you go out that door my world ends. My world is this room, for I know little more than it."

"How long have you been here?"

"A long time... Since I was very small... Father decided to keep me alive, since I cannot eat any of you."

"Cannot or will not?"

"Both. I cannot stomach you, and so I will not eat you. Although... ghouls can be the same way sometimes. I do not want to eat them, and so I don't. And then I am scolded while the hunger grows, and eventually.... Bit by bit by bit by bit. Diminish."

He continues to ask me questions, but I am no longer listening, muttering under my breath. Eventually, I jump back up to my lair of the dark labyrinth, laughing in that strange, mad way. Eyebrows stays only long enough to hear my little song.

Bit by bit,
diminish, diminish
Off they go
Never to finish

Bit by bit,
Clever, clever
Never again
Forever and ever

Bit by bit,
Laugh, laugh
Here come the Bat
To stalk your track

Bit by bit
Run! Hide!
Bat's on track
While you're alive

Bit by bit
Diminish diminish
Safe place to hide
Only Bat can find!