URGH. I'VE GOT SO MANY STORIES ON THIS FLASHDRIVE, I DON'T KNOW WHICH TO POST FIRST

I'm going up sort of.. from the bottom up. I did start on What Ifs, but like, there's When you want Centipede technically.. and that's below What Ifs.. urgh. I'm definitely going to end up confusing myself. eg. ... and that's only of the Kaneki folder. Which is in the middle of all my poop. Oh, and, it's actually in the middle of that folder.. egg.. Maybe I should do the non-ghoul folder first.. eh.. yeah, I'll do that. Feels like I'm accomplishing more.

We'll go top to bottom here. Wish me luck.

I want to write about Ayato being a drug dealer..

But I don't have anything like that currently.. 'cause I only have one gang world fanfic..

So I guess I'm starting a gang world fanfic with Ayato. Wtf?

"Hah?" Ayato glared dangerously, and the person shrunk back.

"L-Like I said.. I heard your brother has been.. doing certain things.."

"There's no way, runt. He's not like that. Just take the f*cking drugs, okay?"

"... If you say so.."

Aogiri was the biggest drug-dealing gang in the entire country. It was common knowledge who the leaders were- Eto, Tatara, Noro, the Black Rabbit, and the Eyepatched Centipede.

Ayato was the Black Rabbit, and the Eyepatched Centipede, Centipede for short, had adopted him as a little brother.

Why? It was f*cking beyond Ayato. That guy was confusing as h*ll, and nothing he did seem to make sense. Ayato would prefer if he wasn't being called that guy's brother, but Centipede seemed to spread rumors well.

Supposedly, Centipede had adopted Ayato because they were really similar, staying with Aogiri to protect their loved ones from themselves, but Ayato really didn't care. All he knew was that someone he utterly despised had adopted him.

What. The. F*ck.

And now the Centipede was doing prostitution? Does he know how bad that is for some of their business?

Drug dealing and prostitution may have been similar, but dealers and prostitutes were never one in the same. If someone was a dealer, they weren't a prostitute. Maybe a pimp, but not a prostitute. And if they were a prostitute, they weren't a dealer. They may have been a drug addict, probably were, but not a dealer.

That's how it worked.

Next he's gonna be hearing rumors of his 'big brother' killing people. Oh wait, he does.

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

Kaneki was no longer his name. He had no name. Kaneki was the innocent human he used to be.

Now he was the Eyepatched Centipede. That was his 'name' now.

But that was only so that people had something to call him. If you asked him himself, he'd tell you he had no name.

And some even called him other things. Like Shiro. White Centipede. White Eyepatch. Bloody Centipede. Bloody Eyepatch. The list went on. All kinds of different nicknames with all the same words: blood, centipede, eyepatch, white, some people even used words with some connection to drugs in their nicknames for him.

His school life was long gone. Now he was a drug dealer. And a cannibal. A killer.

And now even a prostitute.

He just seemed to be going deeper and deeper. Dying even more each day.

Could he even be saved any more? Was anyone going to bring him back?

He knew they wouldn't. He'd tossed everything away. He had cut all ties.

He was doomed.

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

"Hello, my sweet coworkers!"

Takizawa lifted his tired eyes, staring Hide straight in the face, "Just get to work, Nagachika."

"Will do, Seido-san!" Hide saluted cheerfully, settling into his seat right across from the brunette. Seido turned his tired eyes back to his screen. Hide silently worried for his coworker, who was obviously sleep-deprived.

Hide pushed the worry to the back of his mind. He needed to focus. The reason he was here wasn't to work. It was to find out about his missing best friend, now named the Eyepatched Centipede.

And get some money so that he could continue living even though his obsession over his best friend was all he ever did.

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

Ring~

Hide scanned the dark room, his eyes eventually settling on a white sheet that was covering something. He walked with that as his destination, taking the sheet off.

"Boo."

"Hello. You're Uta-san, I guess?"

"Aw, you weren't scared.." the crazy man climbed off the stand.

"I'd like a mask please. Something like a sun or sunflower."

His undercover work starts here.

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

"'Scuse me."

Ayato turned his head, glaring at the masked boy.

"What do you want?"

"You're a leader in Aogiri, right? The Black Rabbit?"

Ayato's eyes furrowed.

How did this kid know him without his mask? Was he really that obvious? {Why yes, Ayato, you are.}

"I'd like to join Aogiri. Rather, I'd like to be a leader in Aogiri."

Ayato scoffed, "Right. Good luck with that, kid."

"I think you might find me useful," the kid shrugged. "But for now, can I meet your famous brother? I look up to him like an idol, so if I could meet him, I'd really appreciate it."

"You should not look at him like an idol."

"Well, I do. So, please?"

"Too bad. That guy's always wandering around. Who knows where he is."

"Then I'll just follow you around. He'd have to meet up with you at some point, right?"

Ayato growled, "Don't follow me around. Go home, kid."

"I am going to follow you around until I meet the Eyepatched Centipede."

"Fine. I'll bring you to Centipede," Ayato snarled under his breath. The kid cheered in his mind. "He should be around the HQ right now.."

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

"He wants to be a leader?" Eto's smile widened.

"Yeah. He supposedly sees Centipede as an idol too."

"Alright. You're a leader."

The kid blinked from behind his sun mask.

"Just like that? Really?"

"Yep! You're a leader!"

"Cool. Thanks."

"Where's Centipede, Eto?"

"Oh, I think he must've taken a slight detour. He should be back any second now.."

As if on cue, the white-haired boy began walking over.

"Ah yes, there is he now."

Hide turned around, smiling brightly at the sight of his best friend, although he was void of emotion.

Hide had to keep his excitement in check as he walked up to the boy. Centipede stared at him.

"What is it?"

"Yo! I've heard a lot about you! I was wondering if you'd like to spend some time with me!"

"WHOA, ARE YOU ASKING HIM OUT?!" Ayato spit.

Hide cursed the strange way he'd asked, but Centipede merely stared.

"I'm busy."

SHOT DOWN!!

Hide should've expected it though. Centipede had really gone down the gutter. Actually, he wasn't just in the gutter. He was being BLENDED, GROPED, AND SPIT OUT BY THE GUTTERS OF THE WORLD. He was literally entwined with the trash of the world, spending most of his time doing nasty things.

"Let me rephrase that. I would like to talk with you. And I won't take no for an answer. Not now, nope!"

"Oo, direct AND stubborn!" Eto giggled behind him.

Again, Centipede ignored his coworker's comments as if he hadn't even heard them.

"Sorry."

Centipede walked past him, "Eto."

"Hm, let's see.. It's a party. Both you and Black Rabbit. Here's the address and list," Eto handed him a piece of paper, and Ayato groaned.

"ETO!! WHY DO I HAVE TO DO A JOB WITH THIS IDIOT?!!"

"Because," Eto's smile widened. "Tatara and Noro are busy with very important business. And I also have things to do."

"What about me?" Hide walked up.

"Why don't you go with them?" Eto's smile widened even further. The mask nodded.

So they were off.

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

"-and so Seido-san just keeps getting more and more sleep-deprived every day!"

"OH MY G*D, MAKE HIM SH*T UP!!!" Ayato groaned angrily. "STOP BLABBERING, YOU IDIOT!!!! WE DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU'VE F*CKING DONE THE PAST FEW MONTHS!!!"

"What about you, Centipede? What's been up with you?" Hide turned to Centipede, as if he didn't even hear Ayato's complaining. Centipede said nothing, making Hide think Centipede hadn't heard anything they were even saying, Hide or Ayato.

Some of the red-cloaked beings tried to stifle their laughter. Luckily, it went unnoticed, as their cloaks covered their faces. Others were completely and utterly dumbfounded at the new leader.

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

"So this is a drug party, huh?"

"What was Eto thinking, making you a f*cking leader?!! You've never even been to a drug party?!!"

"Nope! I was a good kid."

Centipede lifted his eyes from the paper in his hands.

"Give me the paper, Eyepatch!" Ayato growled, trying to snatch the paper one more unsuccessful time.

"Centipede," Centipede corrected him.

Ayato growled louder, "I don't f*cking care. Give me the da** paper."

Ayato tried to snatch once more, and Centipede effortlessly dodged his hand. Centipede then gave Ayato the paper, and Ayato scanned his eyes over it with a huff.

"Alright. This is the host, huh? Let's go."

Ayato took the lead, all of them following him to a rich boy. The partiers stopped whatever they were doing, being unnerved by the strange, uncalled-for, sudden march.

"I wasn't aware there was a march here.. Man, Kazigo really is rich!"

"Stupid! Those are Aogiri uniforms! That's the Black Rabbit, the Eyepatched Centipede, and uh.. I don't know who the last one is.."

Hide waved at the murmuring kids, "I'm new! You can call me Sun."

"MORE LIKE BLABBERMOUTH," Ayato growled under his breath.

Regardless, the group never stopped moving, eventually reaching the host of the party.

"Here's your batch," Ayato announced as the Aogiri Cloaks set the drugs in front of him.

"Thanks. Cash or check?"

"We only take cash," Centipede told him.

"Alright. $900,000,000,000, right?" the boy counted money in his wallet. As Ayato nodded, Hide frowned behind his mask.

Such kids were doing so many drugs..? What was the world coming to?

"Here," the kid gave them a whole lot of bucks, "Thanks again."

"Thanks!" Hide chirped. Centipede and Ayato turned to him, staring. Hide wasn't sure what he'd done wrong.

Regardless of whatever they were staring at him for, they turned around, beginning to walk back, and Hide followed. The Aogiri Cloaks began following them, one by one.

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

"How'd it go?"

"This runt is annoying as f*ck," Ayato growled. Eto only laughed.

"What did you think, Centipede?" Centipede shrugged, and Eto guessed that he probably hadn't even been paying attention. "How was your first drop-off?" Eto turned to Hide.

"I never knew we did so little," Hide admitted. "The Cloaks were doing so much while we just talked."

"That's how it goes," Eto's smile broadened, "Leaders do all the talking because they're higher. The underlings do all the work. We leaders do the dirty work though. Underlings are just there to do what we don't want to do. They move the stuff and sacrifice themselves."

Hide frowned, "That.. belittles them, doesn't it?"

"It's how it works."

How sad..

"Well, I for one think the Cloaks need more recognition! They were carrying all that heavy stuff! I'm gonna treat you all to whatever you want, alright?!!" Hide shouted to the mass of red cloaks. The cloaks exchanged unsure glances, wondering if it was a joke and how to react. They eventually began to cheer though. Hide grinned brightly behind his mask.

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

So he said, but..

He is so wasting money he should be using on his life and or Kaneki..

And for what? TO REWARD PEOPLE FOR DOING BAD THINGS?

How far Hide has fallen.. in a night.

"Do you want anything, Centipede?" Hide looked at him. Centipede stared.

"He doesn't eat anything but weird sh*t," Ayato told him.

"So I'll give him weird sh*t," Hide responded without hesitation.

"You don't understand. He eats things that would be used to torture people."

Hide looked back at Centipede, who was cracking a finger strangely. Hide shrugged, returning to his food.

"U-Um, would you l-like anything else..?" the waitress squeaked.

It isn't every day that a gang goes to their restaurant. And she is so glad for that.

Because she is SCARED FOR HER LIFE.

"No, thank-you, ma'am," Hide grinned brightly, although she couldn't see it as he still had his mask on.

"A-Alright.." she bowed and was about to leave, but Hide stopped her.

"Wait! What about the bill?"

"O-Oh.. i-it's on the house, r-really.."

"It is? Sweet!" Hide grinned. Some of the Cloaks had to stifle their laughter at his ignorance.

This is what happens when you go to a restaurant with your gang clothes on.

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

"Nagachika!"

Hide blinked.

What was different?

Seido-san looked as sleep-deprived as ever, but for some reason, he seemed strangely lively.

"You would not believe this! A new leader of Aogiri showed up last night! He so popped out of nowhere! He calls himself the 'Sun' supposedly. He's said to have bright clothes and a mask of a sun."

"Is that so?" Hide settled into his seat.

Oh, so that was it. Seido was awake because of the new danger. Sheesh, news traveled fast.

"Luckily, the restaurant they went to had video footage," Seido gestured at him to come over. Hide got out of his seat reluctantly (he just sat down!!) and walked over to look at Seido's computer. "Look at them, walking into the restaurant so naturally!!" Seido hissed.

Sh*t. They really did have video cameras. Why hadn't Hide realized that?

Sure enough, there they were on the cameras. Both the Centipede and the Black Rabbit looked at the cameras instantly. Centipede waved nonchalantly, a simple little wave, and the Black Rabbit hissed, smacking his hand down. Centipede shrugged as the Black Rabbit argued with him.

Oh, so that's what that was about last night..

"Don't wave, you idiot!"

"What are you arguing about?" the Sun turned to them.

"Nothing," Centipede quickly responded as if it wasn't a big deal.

"This guy's just being an idiot, that's all," Ayato hissed.

"Well, anyway, as I was saying, h-"

"WE DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR LIFE, D*MN IT!!!!" Ayato screamed angrily. Hide pouted behind his mask.

"Maybe you don't, but me and Centipede-san are having a conversation."

"No! You are babbling, and Eyepatch is not listening!" Centipede turned his head to Ayato as if called.

"He was listening! Weren't you, Centipede-san?!" Centipede turned to the Sun.

"I wasn't listening."

The Sun deflated, hanging his head low.

"Dang it, Centipede.. I've told this story two times already..!" The Sun lifted his head back up, "Please listen this time.."

"..."

"So, I decided to find o- Centipede!! Listen!! Please!! Promise you'll listen to me this time!!" Centipede turned his gaze back to the Sun. "Okay, so, I decided to- Centipede!! PRO-MISE-YOU'LL-LIST-EN-TO-ME!" Centipede stared back at him. "Promise!"

"I won't."

The Sun groaned, hanging his head back, "Come on, dude!! Listen to me!!"

"He won't listen no matter what you say," Ayato growled, "So just give up. Let's go in, order whatever the f*ck we're ordering, and get out! We're wasting time!"

"Fine, fine, grumpy Rabbit." Ayato's eyes burned with fury, and the Sun put his hands up in surrender.

"The centipedes.." Centipede mumbled.

"..." The Sun looked at Ayato expectantly.

"He does that sometimes," Ayato affirmed.

So he wasn't hearing things..

"You seriously need help, man." Noticing Centipede wasn't listening to him, the Sun waved his hand in front of him, "Centipede!!! Centipede-san!!" Centipede turned to him. "You need help. Seriously." Centipede just stared. "That means you should go to a mental hospital. I'm serious." Centipede continued to stare. The Sun sighed, giving up.

"Let's go, you f*cking idiots!!!" Ayato snarled and stomped into the restaurant. All of them followed, noticing that Ayato was literally on the verge of breaking.

"Weird, huh?" Seido sighed, leaning back.

"Yeah."

"Then, here's when they get out," Seido-san clicked a few things, and the video got interesting again.

"You're not going to get him to listen, so why don't you just f*cking give up?" Ayato snarled.

"No! I will get the Centipede to listen to me! Just you wait and see!!" the Sun pointed in Ayato's face, irritating him even further. "Centipede! Centipede-san! Please listen to me, please?!! I want to tell you what's been happening with me the past few months!!"

"..."

"Promise me you'll listen this time, Centipede-san?"

"... No."

"Please, please, PLEEEAAASE!!! I'll only take a few minutes of your time!!"

"MORE LIKE TWENTY!!!" Ayato snarled angrily.

"You GOTTA listen to me, Centipede! So please?"

"..." The Centipede turned his gaze once more, staring at nothing in the sky. His gaze turned to the camera.

"So anyway, that's when Seido-san came in, carrying a whole bunch of papers!" the Sun babbled, not aware of the Centipede ignoring him. Ayato groaned in frustration.

"NOT AGAIN!! GIVE IT THE F*CK UP!!"

"He was so stressed out! It was obvious he'd been working all night! I-"

"I WILL STRANGLE YOU!! I AM SERIOUS- IF YOU DON'T STOP, I WILL STRANGLE YOU TO DEATH, AND YOUR PARENTS WILL FIND YOUR CORPSE IN SHREDS!!" Ayato snarled, his fingers twitching to choke the life out of the Sun.

"..." Sun stared for a little bit before shrugging, "Yeah, sure. Anyway, Centipede-san-" Ayato screamed in frustration.

"THAT IS IT!!! I CANNOT TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!! I DON'T CARE WHAT ETO F*CKING SAYS, I AM SO SICK OF YOU!!!!!"

Ayato was about to make a move, but Centipede grabbed him.

"We shouldn't fight."

"F*ck you.." Ayato growled lowly. Centipede didn't seem to take notice of Ayato's hatred.

"As your brother, I should take care of you.. right? If you're doing something wrong, I stop you. That is.. what it means to be a big brother, right?"

"You're not my f*cking brother," Ayato snarled, "So stop acting like it, stop spreading those rumors, and stop f*cking claiming so."

"I say I'm your brother, so I am."

"F*ck you, Eyepatch. You're not my f*cking brother."

"I am."

"Am not."

"I am."

"You are not!"

"I so am, Ayato."

"YOU ARE NOT MY F*CKING BROTHER!!!"

"Yeesh, do you guys always fight like this?" the Sun asked. Ayato turned his glare to Sun, growling, and Centipede turned his own emotionless gaze to the Sun also. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you guys were gang brothers."

"What the f*cking sh*t?"

"We are brothers."

"You guys are so cute together, but shouldn't we leave? We only came here to celebrate, thank, and appreciate our weary subordinates."

"'Cause you're a f*cking nut."

"That's not nice, Ayato."

"F*ck you, Eyepatch."

"It's Centipede. The Eyepatched Centipede."

"F*ck you."

"That's not nice either, Ayato."

Luckily, the Sun could easily hide his twitching smile behind his mask, and he was luckily able to keep the giggles in.

"Let's go, Ayato. We have other batches to make."

"F*ck. You."

"That's not nice, Ayato."

"F*ck! You!"

"Let's go, quarrelling Bros," the Sun grabbed Centipede's hand, dragging him in some direction.

"Do you even know where the f*ck you're going, newbie?" Ayato growled. "And we're not f*cking brothers."

"We are."

"Yeah, yeah, let's just go."

"You don't even know where you're going!!" Ayato hissed.

"Sure I do!"

Hide totally didn't.

"And that is where it ends," Takizawa paused the footage and looked up at Hide.

"Huh.. Weird."

"Totally. I'm really not sure whether to call the Black Rabbit and Eyepatched Centipede brothers or not.. This is really helpful though. We got footage of those two - and the new leader, Sun - interacting. We now know that the Black Rabbit doesn't get along with the Eyepatched Centipede and the Sun, and I don't think the Eyepatched Centipede and the Sun get along very well together either.. What do you think, Nagachika?"

"They are totally best friends," Hide said plainly, offended inside that it seemed he and Kaneki didn't get along.

"Right.. I'll just say they're new co-workers. That pretty much sums it up, right?" Takizawa scribbled down some notes.

"So you're working on the Sun, Seido-san?"

"This video, but yes. I'm interpreting it, picking out important info.."

"Huh.."

Hide can't help but find that ironic. Seido Takizawa, of all people, is working on the Sun, his very close co-worker.

"Nagachika, get to work!" Akira Mado strolled in, glaring at him.

"Hai!" Hide hurried to his seat and got to work. And by 'getting to work', he means looking up stuff on his best friend.

-----

That night, Hide opened the door at ten p.m. Seeing through the little hole in his door, he decided to put on his mask before he answered it.

"Yes..?" Hide yawned.

"Work," Kaneki replied.

"This late at night..?"

Ayato scoffed beside him, "It's because it's this late. Drug deliveries are usually later than earlier, idiot."

"Right, right.." Hide exited his house, closing it behind him. He locked the door.

"..." Kaneki stared at him.

"?" Hide caught his gaze, "Something wrong?"

"... No." Ayato scoffed a laugh beside him. Hide raised an eyebrow behind his mask.

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

"THIS GUY IS SUCH A LAID-BACK IDIOT!!!!!" Seido screamed in outrage. Hide blinked.

He'd just entered the room, and Seido's already screaming..?

"Wh-What is it, Seido-san?" Hide peaked over Seido's shoulder, the curiosity taking over the feeling that he should NOT ask.

"Look!! Are those not pajamas?!!" Seido stabbed his finger at the screen, looking at Hide.

"..."

Hide felt his ears heat up.

He was so ashamed..

There was the Sun, new leader of Aogiri, in his pajamas.

Hide had gone out with Kaneki and Ayato to deliver drugs.. in his pajamas. And to make matters worse.. he'd been caught by yet another surveillance camera on the way..

So this is why they preferred to be in black alleys.. So many g*dd*mn restaurants have video cameras..

Unfortunately, that was the only way..

Hopefully, the next time Hide's caught on camera.. he won't be in his underwear or something..

---

That hope was soon shattered.

"I am so sick of this guy.. How is this idiot even a drug lord..?" Seido groaned at his computer.

Hide didn't want to ask.

He didn't want to find out what foolish thing he'd done now, as the Sun.

He didn't want to ask.

He did.

"Wh-What did he do now, Seido-san..?" Hide peaked over Seido's shoulder at the computer. Seido didn't even lift his head from his hands, and he didn't need to.

There, on Takizawa Seido's screen, was a nearly naked Hide. No shirt, no pants, not even any shoes. Just socks, boxers, and a mask.

"Owch! Owch!" Hide shivered, "Why's it so cold..?" Ayato snorted. "And I left my shoes at home.." Ayato snorted yet again. "Why do we pass so many rocks..?" Ayato scoffed.

"We take back alleys, we go across yards, and we deliver drugs to remote places. Why do you THINK we pass so many rocks?!"

"There should not be so many rocks!! The poor people who don't have shoes on, oh my gosh!! They need to clear this place up!!" Ayato scoffed. "Like, some people can't even AFFORD shoes!! Forget forgetting them at your house-- these people don't have shoes!!"

"I don't have shoes," Kaneki commented.

"Yes, you do, K-Eyepatch," Hide stopped, glancing at Kaneki's feet.

"Those are socks," Ayato explained. "Really hard socks, but still socks."

"Huh.. I didn't know.. But anyway, we should have this fixed!! Like, do a riot and make the government clear this place up!!" Hide turned back to Ayato.

"What the f*ck are you talking about..?" Ayato grumbled.

"We need to complain about this, man!! This is horrible!! This road has so many ROCKS!! The poor people who don't have shoes on, man!! We gotta think about them!! I'm one of those people right now!!"

Ayato rolled his eyes, "Because that is definitely our biggest priority, dumb-a**."

"I'm serious!!! This is an outrage!! Ah! Eyepatch, wait up!!" Hide rushed to catch up with Kaneki who'd started walking again.

"It's Eyepatched Centipede now," Kaneki replied as they went out of sight yet again.

Hide stared at the screen, dumbfounded.

He cannot make a mistake like that again.. No more running around town in inappropriate outfits.. Hide will be in fitting outfits for what he is doing. No underwear showing, no pajamas. AND FOR GOSH'S SAKES, HIDE NEEDS TO BE AWARE OF F*CKING CAMERAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

---------

From then on, Seido did not have to worry about the idiocy and airhead-ed-ness of the Sun of Aogiri.

He really would prefer if he was still staring at an idiot with only a mask, socks, and underwear on.

---------

"Alright, that is $850,000," Hide held out his hand. The man handed him the money, and the Aogiri Cloaks handed the guy his drugs. Hide stuffed the cash in his bag.

As they were walking back from tonight's deliveries, Hide let his questions roam free.

"We usually handle big deliveries, don't we? Why did we deliver to that last guy, euh.." Hide glanced over Eyepatch's shoulder, "Yakimo?"

"He's a regular," Ayato replied, "He usually buys more, but I guess he's running out of money or something."

"Huh.."

"He's probably going to go off the deep end soon. Go steal some cash or whatever.."

Hide frowned behind his mask. "And.. that's okay?"

"As long as it doesn't get us in trouble or anything, it doesn't matter what our clients do."

"Oh. Ayato, I forgot to tell you," Eyepatch turned to the Black Rabbit. Ayato raised an eyebrow to gesture for him to continue. "We have one more client actually."

Ayato groaned, "Oh my G*d, you dimwit..!"

"He's a new client."

Ayato looked at him, and Hide would've described the look as frenzied, "Eyepatch-"

"I have the contract ready for him."

"But he didn't already do it, right?"

"No."

"Don't tell me we are goING TO SPEND THE WHOLE NIGHT WAITING FOR HIM TO FINISH IT."

"We are."

Ayato screamed and punched a nearby wall. Hide sweat dropped, and Eyepatch just watched as Ayato had a little fit.

"HOW! CAN YOU! BE! SO! STUUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ayato panted, finished with his outburst. He glared at Eyepatch. "Eto ordered us to wait for him to finish it?"

"Yes."

".." Ayato huffed. "Stupid b*tch.."

"You insult your boss a lot, don't you?" Hide observed.

"Sh*t up," Ayato glared at him, "F*cking c*nt."

"Owch," Hide cringed behind his mask, "That hurts, Ayato-san."

"F*ck you."

And they continued walking, this time with a different destination.

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

"-and so then I said--"

"We're here."

{ | / _ } "Aww.. I wasn't finished with my story.."

"Stop blabbering-- Eyepatch wasn't listening anyway," Ayato growled, irritated from having to listen to the Sun's constant talking.

Knock, knock.

Creak..

The kid glanced around at them all, wide-eyed.

"Y-You are.. Aogiri, right..?"

"Yeah, and we got your contract," Ayato replied, "We'll wait for you to finish it."

"C-Come in.." the boy led them inside. They settled into couches, but most of the group waited outside. "C-Coffee?"

"Yes, please!!" Hide grinned behind his mask.

"..." Kaneki just stared.

"Eyepatch wants some coffee," Ayato translated. "I'm fine though. Let's just get to business."

"R-Right.." the kid started up the coffee and sat across from them. Kaneki silently handed him the contract. The kid looked it over and got up to get a pen just as the coffee whistled. The kid got out three cups and began to pour the coffee. He then gave the coffee to Kaneki and Hide and took his own cup and a pen back to his seat. He started filling out the contract. Hide was about to take a sip, but Kaneki stopped him. Kaneki sniffed his own coffee. Both Ayato and Kaneki were aware of how the boy was staring at them. Kaneki set down his coffee and took Hide's, sniffing it. He set that one down on the coffee table as well and looked up at the kid.

"You honestly thought we wouldn't notice, brat?" Ayato stood up, emotionally towering over the poor kid.

"Huh? What?" Hide blinked.

Kaneki cracked a finger and stood up as well, beginning to count.

"1000. 993. 986. 979. 972," Kaneki mumbled as he walked over to the kid. The Aogiri Cloaks would've helped him, but Ayato ordered them to stay back.

"Don't make too much of a mess, Eyepatch," Ayato advised Kaneki, but Kaneki just continued counting, not hearing him. "Let's go," Ayato said towards Hide and the Cloaks, and they left the room.

"Uh.. is he gonna be okay?" Hide was reluctant.

"He'll be out soon," Ayato leaned against the wall. Screams were heard from inside the apartment, drowning out Kaneki's counting.

For a while, they just waited, Hide getting more and more anxious by the seconds.

Inside the room, Kaneki was counting down by sevens as he pulled the boy's fingers off, one by one. Then the boy's toes.

"You can't die yet," Kaneki muttered between counting when he saw the boy was starting to lose consciousness, "888. I haven't reached zero yet. 881." The boy screamed in agony at the pain erupting from his hands and feet as Kaneki stripped him of his clothing. Still counting down, Kaneki grabbed the coffee cups from the table and poured it over the boy's body, getting intense satisfaction from watching him writhe and scream. He poured the next cup over his lower half, and the next on his face, careful not to get it in his mouth. Kaneki smiled insanely. Kaneki then put his hand in the boy's mouth to make sure he wouldn't close it and began to pull his teeth out, one by one. He was already in the middle of the 700s. Kaneki frowned and stopped his counting when the boy stopped screaming and flailing. "I said you couldn't die until I finished counting." The boy made no response.

A few minutes later, Kaneki came out of the room, covered in blood and not looking happy at all.

He cracked his finger, "His little sister: Ata-chan. His mother: Himoe. His father: Ren."

Ayato sighed. "But you finished the job, right?"

Eyepatch's gaze switched to him. "He's dead. The contract," Eyepatch handed Ayato the stack of papers and left.

"Where's he going?" Hide asked, following Kaneki, but Ayato grabbed his arm.

"He's going to let off some steam. Leave him be."

"..." Hide glanced warily after Ken.

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Hide had no idea how dangerous new clients could be, but clearly they could be VERY dangerous.

Especially considering that client last night had almost poisoned them, was actually working with the cops,

AND JUST SHOWED UP DEAD LAST NIGHT. MUTILATED! HIS PARENTS AND LITTLE SISTER WERE ANNOUNCED THE SAME WAY THIS MORNING!

"Urh.. this is definitely the work of the Eyepatched Centipede.." Seido groaned.

"The Eyepatched Centipede? Really?" Hide asked. He was trying not to barf, and he could say Seido was probably trying not to do the same.

"Auh.. The way he cut off the victims toes and fingers and broke plenty of their bones.. especially his main M.O.- they all have centipedes in their ears. It's why we call him Eyepatched Centipede now. He also puts centipedes in other various places. For example, the kid killed last night, there was a centipede shoved down his throat. He also had one in his hand. The Eyepatched Centipede had taped both of them to the floor to make sure the centipede didn't scurry off, I think."

"That's not the only conclusion we can make," Amon strolled in, a stack of papers in hand, "I would assume the attacks this morning were only because of how last night ended."

"Oh, you were pretty interested in the Eyepatch, weren't you?" Hide inquired.

"I met him once or twice. The point is, some of the injuries the first victim last night sustained were postmortem. You see, Eyepatched Centipede has a bit of a time limit. If the victim lasts 'til the time limit runs out, if he or she stays alive until then, no one related to the victim has to die. But, if the victim dies before the Eyepatched Centipede wants him or her to, like the victim last night, he will torture people close to the initial victim. Until he has finished his time limit.

"Say, for example, he killed someone named Naomi. Now, let's say this lady had lasted 1/10 of the Eyepatched Centipede's time limit. She has five friends and a little brother. They mean the world to her, but her parents died soon after she became an adult. Eyepatched Centipede would probably choose who meant most to her, which in this case, let's say it's the little brother.

"So the Eyepatched Centipede tortures the little brother, and the little brother lasts 3/10 of the time limit. The Eyepatched Centipede has now finished 4/10 - or 2/5 - of his time limit. Let's say the five friends each last 1/10, but one of them, let's call her Hannah, lasted 2/10 of the time limit. The Eyepatched Centipede has now fulfilled all of his time limit. No one else is tortured - for now."

"Huh.. Does he really work like that?"

"Yes. And judging from how he has interacted with me.. I do believe the time limit is him counting down."

"Counting down?"

"Yes. I tried my hypothesis, and the amount of time he tortures one victim - and his or her loved ones - is the same amount of time it would take for him to count down."

"You mean from 1000?" Hide blurted on accident.

Amon blinked but thought nothing of it, "Yes, that's correct. He counts down by sevens. Once he reaches the lowest number that he can reach - without going negative but still going by full sevens - he has reached his time limit. Some investigators have even suggested he has a bit of an obsessive-compulsive disorder. It would make sense, I suppose, but I wonder if that's really why he counts down like he does.. Akira doesn't think it's OCD."

As if called, Akira strolled in and told them to get to work.

They settled into their respective places and got to work.

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Stare..

"Oi, stupid Sun, you have been staring at Centipede since we picked you up- why the f*ck are you staring? It's getting creepy."

"It's Eyepatched Centipede now, Ayato," Kaneki absently responded.

"Oh, I was just thinking about last night is all. I saw on the news, that kid - fake client - we visited last night. You killed him and his family, huh, Eyepatched Centipede?"

"I did."

I frowned behind my mask.

I was kind of hoping he'd deny..

"He was weak. His sister too. But his dad made up for it."

"I.. see. Uh, so, you into centipedes, man?"

Kaneki stopped and turned to me. "No. Centipedes go into you, not the other way around."

-_-''

That's not what I meant..

"But, uh, do you like them?" I changed my question out of slang.

"..? I.. suppose. I didn't used to."

"'That so."

He continued walking, and I followed.

"So, uh, do you guys think I've been doing okay? I've been trying to avoid cameras and stuff.. I also have not been in inappropriate outfits since.. the underwear incident."

Ayato snorted, "Oh, so you noticed."

"I can't believe you were so rude as to not tell me."

"I thought you meant to be in those outfits."

-_-'

"Yes, Eyepatched Centipede, I wanted to go around town, dealing drugs in my underwear."

"If that's what you prefer."

"I was being sarcastic!!"

The silence continued for a little bit longer before I pulled up some more conversation.

"So, uhm-"

"Oh my G*d, can't we just have onE MOMENT OF PEACE, YOU INSIGNIFICANT TURD?!!"

"That's not nice, Ayato."

"Yeah, that's not nice, Ayato! I am trying to make this trip interesting."

"OH MY G*D."

"So anyway, you really messed up that kid pretty bad, huh? What were you feeling when you, uh.. did it?"

Kaneki stopped and turned to me. He stared at me for a few seconds before responding, "I had to kill him. I merely made it fun and meaningful."

..Right.. putting centipedes in his ear and down his throat.. and cutting off his fingers and toes.. and G*d knows what else.. is.. meaningful. And fun. Totally doesn't make me wanna puke.

"So you're into that kind of thing. Uh, what if you had, like, someone to just.. keep doing it on?"

"There's no one like that, Sun."

"Well, I mean.. there is a limit to how many fingers and toes everyone has, but.. you know, everything else. ..except the dying."

"No one would willingly offer up their body."

"...Well, you never know, man, you never know. .. Do you, uh.. what kind of people do you.. prefer to do that.. to?"

"? I guess.. it varies. I like.. to punish people like Yamori. Big, bulky people.. But then I also like to.. do it to people like.. Eyepatch. Black hair. Innocent. Slim. Shy. Nerd. And then I also like.. people who remind me of.. specific people, I guess.. Orange hair, bright, happy," Eyepatch's lips slowly curved into a lustful smile, "Ah, yeah, I love those kind of people.. It's so nice to see how long it'll be until they break.. They tend to break later than most. They're strong. Unfortunately, their happiness.. and everything breaks early on, but.. they still last longer. Sanity wise. The physical component depends.

"You know," Kaneki suddenly leaned forward, smirking creepily, "If that kind of person faints, I stop abusing them, and I wait for them to wake up. And then again, and again, and again."

Ayato scoffed beside us, "I can't believe you're interested in the crazy sh*t he does, Blabbermouth."

"..Uh.. yeah."

Kaneki.. is really hurt, isn't he..? Is he.. really.. salvageable..?

And what was with that there? It kind of sounded like he was describing me..

Eh, I really hope that when he finds out who I really am, he doesn't go all nutty on me like he did that kid..

...That poor kid.. I.. don't care if he tried to poison us, was that really necessary?

Or, actually.. it's a bit of a habit, isn't it? Amon-san said he counts down from 1000 and makes sure the victim - and those who are closest to them - lasts that time period.

It's not that Kaneki wants to do those things.. but he can't help himself.

Although it worries me, how he seems to enjoy it.. He speaks so casually of it..

Is it really that he was hurt so bad that he feels he needs to hurt others?

Or is it that he was hurt so badly, he now takes enjoyment in hurting others?

I took a deep breath and continued to inquiry about Kaneki's new habits.