Entangled Strings

Hidden

He stood up and left the room, grabbing his coat and shoes at the hall and leaving his cozy home, for the cold and dark night.
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If there was one thing that Kaneki was able to enjoy, no matter what ward he was in, it was the view of Tokyo's nightlife. The whole city illuminated in all kinds of lights, while looking from above in the darkness. One of the few positive sides of being a ghoul. The man stayed quiet for minutes, not moving one muscle, while observing the behaviour and the movements of the citizens. The main streets, alleyway, parks, the plaza. Of course it was less crowded than daytime, since the majority would be sitting inside in front of the TV with their family, or finishing homework or working, but that was how he preferred it.

After a few minutes of gazing at the city, the man leaped from his position and jumped from one building to another. The scenery changed quickly, from the clear night sky to the various roofs, walls or windows of the buildings. The ghoul landed with a silent thud in an alleyway as he quietly continued his promenade, until he spotted a group of  ghouls.

"The next time I see that fucking brat, I'm going to tear him into pieces!" One of the ghouls sneered. "Just because he had a reputation, he thinks he's a big shot!"

"He did have an advantaged over us." Another ghoul commented.

"On whose fucking side are you?!"

"I was just stating the facts. Besides, he has built quite a reputation with his sibling around here."

"Just because they're a bit famous doesn't give them the right to act all high and mighty!"

"You did try to hit on the older sibling."

The ghoul was met with a friend so from his companion. "If you talk back to me again, you'll lose more than just your teeth, got it?" He sneered.

The other ghoul whimpered, but nodded.

"Those fucking siblings have been troublesome even before they were taken by that zombie bastard!"

The group turned silent when they noticed the white-haired ghoul.

"What do you want? Are you spying on us?" The ghoul who appeared to be the leader sneered.

"Sorry, I was just passing by, is all." Kaneki explained.

The ghoul squinted his eyes. "Aren't you the suspicious new guy everyone keeps talking about.

The man scratched his chin awkwardly. "I guess I am."

The group leader walked up to the ghoul and inspected him thoroughly. "You smell weird" He commented; "and what's with the white hair? A fashion trend?"

"It's my natural hair colour."

The man grunted. "Well, since you're new here, let me make a few things clear, Anteiku divides the hunting grounds between the inhabitants, but the conflict between the ghouls is none of their business, so if I see you sneaking around my turf, you'll be dead meat, got it?"

Kaneki's expression stayed the same. "I'll be careful." He answered. "Now if like to ask you something. I've heard quite a lot about two ghouls? And since you mentioned something similar."

"You mean the Kirishima siblings." A short man pointed out. "They're mostly known for their temper so only a few people cross paths with them. The oldest of the two; Kirishima Touka is part of Anteiku for quite some time and very good at acting, if you've been there before you will have trouble believe that she scares the shit out of everyone. The youngest one; Kirishima Ayato joined recently. I think their caretaker is one of the members; Yomo Renji. He doesn't show himself often and his social skills are lower than that of those two combined, but he's very strong and rumour has it, that he was quite the horror in the past. They have calmed down a lot the past couple of months, but I think that Yoshimura is the reason behind it. I'm not sure about the complete story behind them, but they moved into this ward a few years ago, during the time that the 20th ward was getting more peaceful."

"More peaceful?"

"Things had been quite chaotic in the past here and around the surrounding wards, I know it's hard to believe. Since the majority of the ghouls in this ward, are so young, many of them have no knowledge of any of this."

"Ichiru, we should go and don't talk about private matters to any newbies." Another ghoul sneered.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Anyway... Eh.."

"It's Kaneki Ken." Kaneki added.

"A pleasure to meet you, Kaneki-san. Please, forget what I just said, it's something from the past, so it's meaningless." Ichiru said. "Enjoy your stay."

"Sure and thank you."

"ICHIRU!"

The ghoul yelled and quickly ran after his leader. "I'm sorry boss, I just thought that..."

The man punched his subordinate in his face and sent him flying again the wall. "Don't ever fucking do that again, you hear me?!"

"Yes."

"Also... Don't associate with that brat. He reeks too much of blood."

"Boss?"

"Just because the outside seems to be harmless doesn't mean the inside is the same. This applies especially with us ghouls. So stay away from him, unless you want to bring us all in trouble."

"Yes, boss."
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"The past of the 20th ward, huh." Kaneki recited as he leaned on his window.

The man was back in his room, window completely open and stared at the sky. His walk had given him more than what he could imagine. But now his search had become broader also.

"So, the current peace happened because of a reason. Has it something to do with the corpse retriever? Or is there something else?"

The man turned around and stared at his bookshelf. Observing every little detail of each cover, hoping it would clear his mind.

"Those sibling's arrival at this ward seems suspicious, but you can't trust free information that quickly, besides none of them, seem to know any of it. It could be just pure coincidence."

Many thoughts and ideas went through his head, but he was sure of one thing. Yoshimura knew more than what he let know. "This is going to take longer than I thought."
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At the apartment of the Kirishima siblings, the two were huddled up, on their couch, wrapped up blankets to shield them from the cold and both of them, holding a cup of coffee in their hands. It was one of the few moments where they weren't insulting each other. Their eyes were glued to the television, playing on their Wii U.

"Things seem to much easier in a game." Touka commented.

Ayato paused the screen and looked at his sister. "Hah?!"

"Life, surviving, everything. You make a mistake, or something goes wrong; you can reset it, as long as it has nothing to do with the plot. People won't judge you for who you are, because you help them."

"Well, it is a game. That's why it seems easier, they're meant to distract the player from real life and worries."

Touka laughed bitterly. "Yeah, you're right."

"Besides, as long as we have each other, we don't need anything else."

The female ghoul stared at her younger brother, who had his attention back on the game again. She let out a sigh of content, before joining her brother. 'As long as we're together, we will be fine.'
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Chapter 3: Like life even stories have too many secrets, especially when it's starting to form. I had a different name for this chapter, but decided to change it, because it may give away a spoiler. So, even though the 20th ward is the most peaceful ward, it has quite a hidden past accompanied by secrets. Who are aware of them and who not, well that has been explained in this chapter already. In a way it's a huge discovery, but on the side note it brings a lot of new questions also! It may take a while until the majority are revealed, but that's where the theories, guessing and speculation comes in.