Kaneki started freaking out on me - presumably from hunger, according to how he was acting, how he looked, and what my intuition was telling me. Eventually, I decided to just shoot him with a tranquilizer. Luckily, I always kept knives and tranquilizers alike on my person..

No matter the time of day or situation.

I was still surprised Kaneki had walked in on me, but I guess it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. (Besides, it's not like he knew I was changing.) Apparently, my injection wasn't enough either.. He was clearly still hungry. I wonder why.. Is it because it wasn't enough meat, or something else..? Did it not suffice him? At all? Perhaps ghouls need more human food to have the same energy as a normal human would? Or is it just because it was only one burger? (I've been giving him disguised burgers often, so he should be stable, but.. I guess maybe I didn't take it into account properly - accurately - that he's a kakuja in progress? Will Kaneki really be able to eat normal ever again? Or will he have to eat human food practically constantly in order to survive stably? [Without any thought of being hungry.])

Oh well. I suppose I'll work out the tweaks if I walk free after my confession.

I should get to bed, I suppose.

After I had settled Kaneki nicely in the bed (with a little bit of struggle getting him off of me [d*mn, he's heavy with all those muscles!]), I had resumed getting ready for bed. Since Kaneki was still asleep (honestly, I didn't even want to try to wake him up due to his.. state. Not that I could. He'll be asleep for at least a few hours due to the tranquilizer. I'm unsure of what to do about his hunger when he does wake up though..), I went back into the kitchen and got a disguised burger ready. Unbeknownst to Kaneki, it was actually quite simple, and it was very similar to making a normal, human burger.

Just a little tweak here and there.

The meat of the burger was, of course, just simple human meat. It could be anything, really, just as long as you make sure it doesn't look like anything but a normal burger. For that reason, you can't leave skin on it, or you'd be able to tell.

I have another use for the skin though.

The bun of a normal burger is the same color as skin. Therefore, (and it's a little bit tricky, but) the 'bun' is made of skin. There are a few ways to go about making it look like a normal bun. The simplest way is to make the burger more of a sandwich, with just one layer of normal skin, but it doesn't look quite right that way.

Now a typical, plain burger like that would be a little bit suspicious. So, I add some flavor. I switch it up so that it's even less suspicious. Sometimes I'll add 'ketchup', which is actually blood. Other times, I may add 'tomatoes' which are really odd-looking and take quite a bit of time. The process is quite complicated, so I normally don't resort to tomatoes.

You can also use skin to make 'cheese'. You have to be kind of picky as to the color, but it's doable. I've noticed that ghouls can actually eat artificial coloring, and that makes it easier, as long as you have that as your disposal. With artificial coloring, it makes everything quite easy. Or at least, it makes everything much more realistic and burger-like. With artificial coloring, you can even go so far as to use any type of meat - such as the heart - to make the bun although it requires quite a bit of precision/perfection, patience, and most of all, a lot of artificial coloring. It makes the texture more bun-like to use meat like a heart. You can also use artificial coloring to make 'lettuce' out of skin and the sort.

The thing is, all of these burgers require a corpse. (Luckily, one corpse can create quite a few burgers.) Yes, I could go and get a suicide victim, but more often than not, I end up just using someone who attempts to attack me. Whether ghoul or human. Kaneki doesn't seem to realize the difference all that much. He might comment that it tastes slightly different, worse or better, to which I'll respond, all people taste differently. Which is true, as I hear it. I hear old people taste worse than younger people, for example. So, Kaneki doesn't think much of it.

I made three burgers with my latest victim, putting them in containers and stuffing them in the hidden compartment of the fridge (made by yours truly, with some work).

After that was done, I checked back on Kaneki, who was still sleeping peacefully. I trusted Kaneki, I really did, but Kaneki doesn't trust himself. He can lose control easily, so I don't think I should fall asleep..

I settled in beside Kaneki, starting to play on my phone.

Urgh, this is the worst day to stay up all night.. I should be ready for my argument tomorrow. Hopefully Kaneki will wake soon, but I shot an entire thing of tranquilizers into him.. He'll only be able to wake in a few hours.. and even after then, he may not wake up on his own.

I guess I'll just wait around..

---------------------

I was genuinely surprised.

Nagachika came in - quite early, mind you - with a shot, a burger, and a very unhappy-looking face. He was clearly irritated and exhausted.

I always went to work early, around five, but Nagachika normally came in around eight. So, it was certainly uncommon for him to come in at 5:12 a.m.

"Mado-san.. I have a proposition."

I raised an eyebrow.

---------------------------------

"So then, the gist is.. you are a ghoul sympathizer, and you have been working on a way for ghouls to eat human food?"

"Hai," Nagachika replied. Amon had come in towards the beginning of Nagachika's confession, so now all three of us had been sitting in this interrogation room for about an hour or so. "And I've succeeded. I want the CCG to take my success as a reason not to kill innocent ghouls. If a ghoul accepts this injection, I want them to be seen as normal human beings."

"... Explain this to me, Nagachika. If you're a ghoul sympathizer, why did you lead us to Aogiri in the 13th Ward?" I inquired, but Nagachika just stared at me. "Very well then. You understand what you're claiming though, don't you?"

"Hai. I'm not stupid. But I am desperate."

"Clearly," I laid my chin on my clasped hands. "What exactly inspired you to fight for ghoul rights, Nagachika? Just out of curiosity, off the books."

He clearly saw through my bluff, glaring at me slightly. "Mado-san, I am loyal. I merely came here to admit my injection. Now if you'd excuse me, I do have someone to come home to, so if we could finish this up quickly so that I can still check up on that person, I'd greatly appreciate it."

"You imply you're getting out, Nagachika."

"Am I wrong, Mado-san? You may be a stubborn woman - and Amon-san can be quite stubborn himself - but both of you are very intelligent. You clearly must see the appeal in my argument. This would stop many ghouls from eating people. You can't think it's a foolish idea that doesn't even deserve contemplation."

"True, but it's not our decision whether your argument is valid or not, is it? We're just a pair of investigators after all."

"Nagachika, I understand the appeal, but I don't comprehend your reasoning," Amon pitched in, almost worriedly, "You wish to save the lives of ghouls? Why?"

"Because they're people, just like us. You'd know, if you knew a few ghouls for who they were." Nagachika then picked up a different way to argue, "What about the Eyepatch, Amon-san? Didn't he spare you? Didn't he beg you to run to save your life? Are all ghouls really morbid, merciless monsters? I don't think so. I believe ghouls are just like humans -- some are good, and some are bad. Simple. Therefore, I want to stop this cycle of hatred. Ghouls had to eat humans, so they did. Humans hated them for that, so they started killing ghouls. Ghouls started hating humans for that, so they killed humans out of spite. And on and on and on. A horrible cycle."

"Nagachika, ghouls kill mercilessly!" {Amon}

"And why? Because humans killed them mercilessly. Because ghouls require eating humans, something they can't change about themselves. This cycle has gone on for ages, Amon-san, Mado-san. Don't you think it's time to stop this cycle of hatred and bloodshed? I guarantee you that if ghouls were presented with this injection, many would stop killing if the CCG stopped going after them and their families.

"Take the Rabbit for example. I'm going to retell the entire story. Mado-san, your father killed the Mother Fueguchi, who ate suicide victims provided by a certain organization. Her daughter also ate suicide victims. They never did anything wrong. The daughter loved to learn and read; she was completely innocent. But Mado Kureo, Amon-san, and those other two investigators saw the daughter's face.

"The Rabbit - who is very emotional, mind you - wanted to take revenge for the Mother and to protect the Daughter. So what does she do? Against the wishes of the organization I mentioned, she goes and tries to kill people. She eventually fights your father, Mado-san, and in this situation, the Daughter is also present. The Daughter is not happy that the Rabbit has gone around, killing people for her sake.... Regardless, the Rabbit kills your father anyway because that's all she really knows. It's the only way she knows to protect those she cares about....

"Now, what is the point of restating this story? Because thinking about it: if the CCG didn't kill innocent ghouls, your father would still be alive, Mado-san. Amon-san, why would someone like the Eyepatch try to stop you from joining your partner? Would it not be for a noble reason? He was only trying to protect his friends as best as he could.... He felt guilty because all he was able to do when the Mother Fueguchi was dying... was to cover the daughter's eyes.... So he felt that he needed to do more this time.

"Now let me ask you: what would you have done in their situation? You have someone dear to you that is like a little sister. She's innocent, and so is her mother. Her mother has just been killed, and the people who killed the mother are after the daughter. What. Would. You. Honestly. Do?"

"..."

I was the one to speak up, stating honestly, "I would protect the little girl."

"And to the Rabbit, that meant killing the people who saw the little girl..." Nagachika finished.

"... I see your point. But again, we're not the ones who make the decisions, Nagachika."

D*mn it, I wish I had a comeback.... But Nagachika clearly doesn't agree with the Rabbit killing, and the Rabbit's actions are actually justified to a point.

Her intentions were pure. It was just the way that she expressed those intentions....

And that cost me my father, something that can never be given back....

But Nagachika isn't justifying the Rabbit's actions. He's merely asking us to sympathize....

"Yea. But you can do the talking while I check up on the person who's waiting for me at home. Because if I'm not there when he wakes up, he's going to have a fit. And possibly cause some damage, and I really don't want to go home to a mess."

I scoffed, crossing my arms, "Come back after lunch then. If you don't, we'll consider you a dangerous fugitive, and we will catch you."

"Deal, see ya!" he ran out.

"Why did you just let him leave, Akira."

"He came in here willingly, knowing he was likely to be arrested. He'll come back; he doesn't care if he's arrested. Besides, you saw him- he's exhausted and in no shape to debate or the like."

"... I guess, but he was still able to convince us...."

"The higher ups will be much harder to convince; they're set in their ways. For now..." I grabbed the injection, "Let's mention this to them, shall we?"

"I'm not looking forward to this...."

"Neither am I."