"Do you like... safe places..?"
The men and women gathered around the speaker backed up a bit, pulsing red weapons ready to strike. The speaker, covered entirely by their kagune, didn't move. It hadn't moved the entire time, even after hearing the screeches of its mother as she was captured. One of the group stayed where he was, silver eyes peering at the Kakuja without a word. The speaker shifted, it's next words surprising the unbeatable dove.
"Tired... Human taste bad... Hungry... No prey here... No prey here..."
The man continues to stare for some time, before turning towards the female ghoul, whimpering and tied up.
"Does he not eat?"
She stares at him, expression fearful for her life. Her mouth opens and closes erratically, like a suffocating tuna, before words finally move past her lips.
"I cannot feed us often.... So he ate his father, and whatever ghouls came to visit... I try to make him eat like me... But he cries... He hates eating your kind... Says they taste bad.. He'll only drink their blood."
The creature shifts again, a strangled groan coming from it at it leans against the wall behind it. The man's gaze returns to it, staring for another moment before speaking again.
"Capture it, but don't kill it. It seems we have a rare case on our hands. We should use it wisely."
The group springs forward without questioning his judgement. Though his life is potentially at risk, the creature doesn't move, letting the doves do as they please.
The following morning, the apartment was deserted.
>>>>>>>
It's been almost 15 years since I was brought to this place. It's nice here. They give me food, and in return, I help them with whatever they wish. They don't mind giving me the bodies of ghouls they've killed. I suppose I'm just like a garbage disposal for them, which works out for the both of us.
Sometimes I'm lonely, sometimes I'm afraid. Sometimes I cry, sometimes I smile.
Sometimes I'm in anguish, sometimes I laugh.
Sometimes you stare, sometimes you glare.
It's strange, how my mind will suddenly turn to nonsense. I suppose it's just a part of me by now. I've never eaten humans, only other ghouls. I guess you could say I 'ate' them while in the womb, but I was technically eating my own mother instead. She was weak when I was born, and never recovered. So she could only gather enough food for herself. The few times she tried to feed me, I'd start wailing. I hated the taste, and ended up throwing it back up. When I was old enough to walk, surviving only on human blood, I killed my father. My kagune was already unusually strong at the time. I ate him without any regret, scaring my mother half to death. She began to fear me, beginning to lure other ghouls to our home instead of risking being eaten herself. By age 5, I'd become a Kakuja. I was 7 when the CCG picked me up. Now, I'm 22.
I have pale skin from being inside in the dark for so long, shaggy white hair, and pale blue eyes. My eyes have scars around them from an incident where I tried to eat my mother. I'm tall, lanky to the point where I seem unnaturally long. I usually wear plain t-shirts and sweatpants, donations from a few of my handlers. I have ten of them, taking turns watching and taking care of me. Through them, I learned to read and write, and how to behave in a way that didn't seem dangerous to those around me. I used to stare at people with a rabid expression. I still stare, but now I just seem curious or puzzled.
They call me "Bat". I have a name, but no one asks me for it, just calling me by my code name. Just like they call other ghouls by their code names. They call me this because of the general look of my kagune, and because I like to be up high. My living area, which is just a large room connected to a bathroom, has ridiculously high cielings, and a unique network of metal bars. The room is usually kept dark, and I spend most of my time up on the bars.
Mm... I'm hungry now. My kakugan is almost always visible, as my appetite is a bit fickle. I like looking at my eyes like this... The inky blackness surrounding the vivid crimson iris is captivating. Once, one of my handlers said he only got to see my real eyes when I was 'tired'. Not entirely sure what that meant.
"Bat, come out."
My gaze flickers down to where one of my handlers stands. Behind him are a few people I don't recognize. A tall man with funny eyebrows, an older man with a friendly aura to him, and a blonde... thing. I honestly don't know if it's even human. I don't like it. I'm not going down.
I growl down at it, feeling my kagune already spreading over my body. It's a mix of rinkaku and ukaku when I have my Kakuja out. Right now I'm just using the rinkaku, which covers my body like a catsuit. It even covers my face in a hardened mask. It looks a little like the one they call Owl, except mine is more in a heart shape. The only thing on it is four eyes that open and close. It's a trick in itself, as I only have two eyes in reality.
My handler sighs, waving his hand towards a sort of living room set-up. He seems to have expected this, as he doesn't change his own position.
"Go ahead and take a seat. He's a bit of a coward, so I think Juuzo is freaking him out."
The older man agrees, taking the blonde one to the seats. They must be partners. The blonde thing looks up towards the darkened ceiling, a freaky smile on its face. I don't want it near me, take it away!
The tall one just obeys orders silently. After sitting down, his gaze also goes up towards the ceiling, somehow looking straight at me. I don't think he can actually see me though...
My handler continues calling me. Twice he offers food, once a threat. He stays where he is, gaze on me. After taking care of my for so long, he's used to picking me out from the darkness.
"Bat, don't make me get your Father."
Father....? No, no, he won't like that. Not at all.
The older man seems a bit surprised, the thing continuing to search for me while the other seems confused at the older one's words. The older one must be important, knowing about me, while the others haven't been told about me.
"I thought he ate his father?"
"Yeah... He calls Arima 'Father', since Arima has ownership rights on him. He's the only one that he listens to."
Can't get Father, he'll be upset. But I don't like that thing... I hesitantly put my kagune away, moving down through the complex labyrinth of bars silently, my hunger dimming but still hanging in the background. Like an itch you've just begun to ignore. I'd rather deal with inhuman creepiness than Father's wrath. My handler smiles, moving to take a seat himself.
"That one always works..."
"He's coming down then?"
Finally, Eyebrows speaks, his gaze shifting away from the ceiling. I take the opportunity to drop down onto the back of my handler's chosen seat, crouching silently. Thing's smile grows wider and more crazed looking, making me shift away from him. The older man views me curiously, but not in an unfriendly way. Eyebrows just seems curious and wary. I guess to him I just look like an ordinary boy in a green t-shirt and grey sweatpants, albeit awkwardly long and pale. Perhaps I even seem feral.
My handler doesn't look at me. They usually don't, avoiding looking my in the eye for too long. I zone out as my handler begins to speak, looking around the room in boredom. He seems to be telling them about what I was and my purpose here. And most importantly, why I was here. Intolerance to human flesh combined in a body that's constantly evolving into a better, stronger ghoul. A tinge of pride enters his voice when he begins explaining my mannerisms towards humans, the result of capturing me as a child. I was gentle, more afraid of humans than they of me. I never, not even once, attacked or harmed another human. Not even in self defense, when an investigator snuck in and began attacking me. Naturally, I blocked his attacks and kept myself covered in my kagune, but I didn't attack him.
At the time, he'd terrified me. I didn't come down until starvation drove me back towards the ground.
I can tell that this is all greatly affecting Eyebrows. He must view ghouls as enemies, and being so close to a very powerful one probably sends his body into a state of confusion. Fear making him want to fight, but having the inability and will not to. He's radiating little waves of emotion to me. I'm very good at perceiving the mood and general strength of others. He's very strong physically for a human.
I want to laugh.