Summary:

Tokyo's become a cesspool.

Filthy, overridden with vermin.

The only question is...

Who will survive the extermination?

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"All I've ever wanted was to live a human life. I craved humanity, even without realizing it. And now I have to accept that what I want and what I need are two completely different things."

Hansuke lives his life in fear, as most normal, sane people do. Fear of the ghouls that haunt the night, shrouded in human form, faceless and nameless and utterly unidentifiable - until it's too late.

But he has one comfort, and that's Kiyoshi, his closest friend and self-appointed protector. They're inseparable, really, more like brothers than friends.

And the cruelty of reality may just leave him all alone again.

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"I have to ask - what's so great about being human? They're so weak, so fragile, so easily devoured. They're food. And I can't believe you'd want to give up your title as the greater species just to be with one of them."

Esashi Katsumi. Known to the general public only as "Devil". He lives life to the fullest, afraid of nothing, not the Ghoul Investigators that snap at his tail, nor the other ghouls who often challenge him for his territory.

He thinks himself invulnerable.

And the cruelty of reality may just force him to realize how breakable he really is.

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"I want to protect people, that's it, that's all. I'm not here for promotions; I don't have any desire to climb the corporate ladder. I just want to help, because it feels like no one else does."

Hajime Naoko's only been recently assigned to the Twentieth Ward, and she knows it's because her abilities as an investigator have been called into question on more than one occasion. Still, despite the ward's famous tranquility, she lives for the citizens of her district, more than willing to fight in their place against the ghoul infestation she's grown up abhorring.

And the cruelty of reality may just make her see what a losing battle she's been fighting all this time.

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01: Initial Contamination

KATSUMI

The sweet tang of liquid metal coated my tongue in tantalizing amounts, its lustful aroma sending my mind into a dizzied nirvana as I sank my teeth into another pound of supple, still-warm flesh. It was fresh, practically melting in my mouth, and I swallowed with a euphoric smile pulling at my lips. This was perfect, this prime choice of meat, this indescribably rich flavor.

I was right in thinking teenagers made the best targets: Children weren't nearly developed enough, and adults tended to have a dryness to them that made me wrinkle my nose in distaste. They were a bit stringy too, most of them worn thin from being overly stressed and whatnot.

Still, I took what I could get, and prey wasn't as easy to come by these days; I was only lucky, coming across this girl, all alone and feeling lonely, seeking some companionship (preferably male) for the night ahead.

Broken hearts are the easiest to steal, I mused, absently licking my fingers clean before I reached for my jacket. Bloodstains were nightmares to get rid of, and I didn't have the luxury of a capable washer, anyway. She was kinda pathetic, though, getting so down over a guy turning out to be gay. Doesn't mean he didn't like you, just means he didn't want to fuck you.

I rolled my eyes; I really didn't understand the inner workings of a girl's emotionally ravaged mind, human or ghoul.

Pulling up the hood of my jacket to mask any traces of blood that had found traction in my hair during my frenzies feeding, I gathered my legs beneath me and stood, swiping a thumb at the corners of my mouth so as to make sure I wasn't gifted with the likeness of a messy vampire. Even though that act killed with the ladies, it tended to make me look as though I'd just killed a person. And the Doves wouldn't like that at all.

The alley was empty apart from myself and the decimated carcass of what used to be a pretty brunette who loved my eyes and thought I'd be able to make her forget about Takumi. Or Takao? Takashi? Something like that. In the gathering darkness, nothing looked out of place: the dark crimson stains blanketing the ground beneath her body blended seamlessly into the shadows; I'd made sure to position her behind a few scattered trash cans, giving the illusionary image of a girl, wasted on any number of drugs, who'd taken a spill and hadn't been able to get back up.

I had a day or so before she made the six o'clock news and the Devil's kill list gained another victim.

Wonder what her name is. Guess they'll show it under her picture, so I'll take a look then. More importantly, where am I staying tonight?

I didn't have a set residence these days, and I blamed this misfortune entirely on that damnable Binge Eater who was dominating the news lately. My kills hardly registered when she was gobbling all those horny guys every other damn night. She'd also kicked me out of my hunting grounds, which happened to contain my apartment (where I was squatting). I'd tried to go back once, thinking she wouldn't care if I was only sleeping on her turf, but no, that was unacceptable. The moment she'd caught wind of my scent, she'd pounced on me, thrashed me like a boxing bag, and then tossed me aside just outside her sphere of influence.

It'd taken me three damn days to heal, and I'd had to settle for dining on a random elderly man who'd thought I was in need of medical assistance or something. He could have been a pedophile for all I knew or cared, though it wasn't as though it mattered in the grand scheme of things. Good Samaritan or child predator, I was still digesting him at the moment.

I sighed, tilting my head back to study the bruising sky. Purple-tinged clouds scuttled past at their leisurely pace, chasing the sinking sun down to the horizon. Apart from the skittering of rats around my feet and the distance squawking of disinterested birds, silence rang in my ears. I suppose you would dub this a peaceful scene, but I wasn't one for nature's stark beauty. I cared about feeling full and living another day. Those were my priorities.

I should go. Don't wanna draw attention to this place by sticking around longer than I have to.

I made my way to the mouth of the alley, hugging the brickwork wall as I peered out into the streets, in search of any witnesses who could link me to the scene. As it was growing later, the number of aimless pedestrians was dwindling, though there was usually a few stragglers who persisted in giving me grief. They were plastered most of the time, but unless I was planning to eat you, I didn't want you getting a glimpse of my face when I'd taken off my mask.

Just as I'd deemed the coast to be clear, a tinkling laugh shattered the looming veil of quiet, and I instinctively ducked back into the alley. Assured of my camouflage, I watched as a young couple ambled past my oh-so secretive crime scene. But my breath caught sharply in my throat when the girl's head spun around, nostrils flaring, her eyes finding me easily even in the oppressive blackness of the shadows.

Kamishiro Rize.

"Well, shit," I mumbled as she gave me a demure little smile, placing a finger to her curled lips, as though I'd ever dream of breaking up her latest date. I almost pitied the poor raven-haired sap at her side; he looked completely taken with her, chatting up a storm even though she'd clearly stopped giving him her full attention. Seeing as she was still watching me, her dark eyes hooded in what she probably considered a seductive manner, I mouthed, Get the fuck on with it because there was no way in hell I was any threat to her.

She smiled again, nodded, and tugged childishly on her new beau's arm, quickening their pace as they continued down the street. Leaving me alone with a dead body.

A low groan slipped through my gritted teeth as I ground my forehead against the shopfront wall I was glued to, banging my clenched fist down just beside my head.

That bitch, she can go fucking die. She's going to get us all fucking caught if she keeps up with her damn insatiable appetite.

Fucking Rize.