Experiment 013 | Tokyo Ghoul

003 | settling in

•••

Tick...

Tock...

Tick...

Tock...

The black suitcases sat mindlessly at the corner of the room as my eyes remained fixed on the white walls of my new apartment, folding my hands neatly on my lap.

After Mother had left, Shinohara-san had given me the address of a nearby apartment in the 20th ward where I would live in for now. After unpacking my clothing, I set the suitcases down tidily and sat down on my bed. Mother never gave me any fancy clothing. They were always plain with simple colors, yet she calls me both hideous and beautiful at the same time. Is that what love is?

Creativity was another thing I lacked, which explained the minimally furnished apartment, but it was only a place for me to sleep anyway.

With a sigh, I let my back fall onto the soft mattress. Solitude was not a foreign thing to me. There were times that Mother would tie me to a chair and lock me in a tiny, cramped room for days, but I learned to grow accustomed to it.

Pushing myself back up, I gazed at the wall and imagined the familiar figure of Mother.

The only response I received was the quiet ticking of the clock and the empty, white walls staring back at me. Mother wasn't here.

Resting my head in my hands, I shook my head, "I... want to go home."

Curling my body into a fetal position as I leaned back into the bed, I clutched my pillow and closed my eyes, falling into the dark abyss of sleep.

•••

"YOU WORTHLESS IDIOT!"

My eyes flung open in shock. Breathing heavily, I sat up slowly and held my head, patting down the unruly stray strands of my pale hair.

It was a dream.

"Akumu-san?" a muffled voice greeted from the other side of the door to the apartment.

Sliding out of the bed, I unlocked the door and pulled it open slightly. On the other side of the door stood Shinohara-san, prepared and ready with his suit on.

"Shinohara-san...?"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? You were supposed to start your training this morning. Due to your circumstances with Dr. Akizawa, you won't be going to the academy like all the other trainees."

He must be talking about all the lessons Mother and the other scientists gave me when I was with her.

Taking one last glance at me, he closed his eyes in contemplation, "...But by the looks of it, you just woke up right? You're still wearing the dress you wore from yesterday too. Hm, just try your best to hurry up please."

I frowned, looking down at my dress for a moment before nodding, "Understood."

At my short reply, he waved before heading off and giving directions to where I should meet him. Apparently, the CCG 20th Ward's Branch Office even had a training area. Closing the door, I turned around and gazed at the clock on the wall, biting my lip in thought and slight frustration.

Mother never liked it when I was late.

•••

12 minutes and 32.08 seconds later, I walked into the training area where Shinohara-san stood and talked casually with another man after getting ready.

Turning around, Shinohara-san recognized me, "Ah, Akumu-san! You came very quickly. I expected you to come later than this."

"I dislike being late."

"That's good to hear."

My eyes flashed back and forth between the younger man and Shinohara-san. The younger man was relatively tall and well-built, wearing a similar black suit as all the other CCG investigators. He seemed to have noticed my curiousity in him and introduced himself.

"My name is Koutarou Amon. Are you new here? I've never seen you around before," the young man extended his hand towards me.

Staring at his hand curiously, I recalled that Mother had done this before when she met new people. I took his hand and shook it firmly, successfully performing my first handshake.

"My name is Aiko Akumu," with a smile, like how Mother had taught me, I introduced myself as well.

"She's new here," Shinohara-san explained, "Just came yesterday."

"Really?" Amon-san looked at me in mild surprise, "You seem really young, even for someone who just graduated from the academy."

Shinohara-san cut me off before I could say anything to reply for myself, "She's uh... special case, which is why she didn't have to go to the academy."

"Huh? She didn't have to go to the academy? How old is she?"

"I'm 16," my quiet voice replied.

Amon-san's eyes widened even more, if that was even possible.

"Let me explain before you assume things," Shinohara-san placed a hand on Amon-san's shoulder, "Remember the rumours about the experiments on human children that the higher-ups in the CCG had wanted to conduct to create better, living 'weapons' to fight ghouls with that started 16 years ago?"

Silently, the younger man nodded.

"Despite what the media may say, those experiments were actually approved, but it was something only a select few knew about due to how scandalous it was. Akumu-san here," Shinohara-san gestured towards me, "is the first successful result of the experiment."

Protesting loudly, Amon-san erupted, "Experimenting on children?! That's-"

"Yesterday," Shinohara-san continued, ignoring Amon-san's outburst, "the supervisor for Akumu-san's case, Dr. Akizawa, decided that it was time for her to be tested and to fight real ghouls, which is why she's here despite of her young age."

Amon-san furrowed his eyebrows, "How could the CCG do something so-"

"Experiment 013," I added.

Both males turned to me, "Huh?"

"That's what I was called. Experiment 013, the miraculous first success," walking closer towards them, I cleared my throat, "If I turn out to succeed, then news of these experiments will go public, which is why for your sake, you should hope that I will turn out to be a failure and become another test subject to be thrown into the trash."

From the corner of my eyes, I caught Amon-san's eyes soften slightly.

"What kind of experiments were they anyway?" Amon-san questioned.

"Well," Shinohara-san brought out a briefcase before turning to look at me, "we're about to find out. Akumu-san, your training and current skills evaluation will begin...

Now."

•••