Chapter Text
You live in a world of violence. Cruel and relentless creatures walk among us—horrible monsters who feast on human flesh. Ghouls. They are deceivers, pretending to be human while using and devouring us. The only way to fight them is to become one of the brave Investigators of the CCG. It's what your parents did, and it's what you will become. From now on, the people in this room are your brothers and sisters; you will fight and, if necessary, die together. From now on, you're soldiers.
Only someone like Arima could deliver such a speech to a room full of orphans, children whose only fault was to have parents in the CCG and to lose them brutally because of ghouls. Hide often wondered about those kids, if Arima’s words echoed every day in their minds. They surely did in his, especially when stepping into the CCG headquarters to begin his life as a soldier.
"Good morning!" he greeted the woman behind the reception desk.
Becoming an investigator was his legacy, after all. Just like his father, who died while fulfilling his duty. Hide thought often about him: Youta Kamada. The reason he wore that white coat, the man he should've become.
That’s the word. Should.
"Morning," Hide greeted Marude, entering his office with two cups of coffee. "What's with the gloomy tone?" Marude scoffed, picking up one of the cups and staring with a curious frown. "Oh, it's nothing," Hide shrugged. "Just one of those days." It wasn't rare to see Hide in a dark mood, especially during the last months. Another face far from the bubbly and radiant smile of the early years. This job changes you, Arima used to say, and it was painfully true.
"Well, lighten up; I need you today. My quinque hasn't been very obedient recently." Hide smiled. "Not obeying you? That should be a crime." Marude sipped his coffee with a grin. "See? You're already better." He patted Hide's back. "Come on, we have work to do. Maybe we can talk about feelings later." Hide shook his head and laughed. "Fine. I'll bring coffee to Akira, and then I'm all yours." Marude let him leave, not without another joke about his long face, and Hide went to another office, blinded by the plain white walls of the building, sometimes too bright for him.
Bright like the future I should’ve had.
"Come in," Akira growled, and Hide entered cautiously. "Woah, bad news? I'm not loving the tone." She smiled upon seeing him and welcomed him into her office. "It's nothing. Another disastrous meeting with Quinx and Hirako squads." Hide sat down in front of her. "I thought the Quinx were supposed to be the next big thing. What happened?" She sighed, holding the coffee with both hands. "They're not a team. All the juniors continue to work alone, and Sasaki can't even—"
Hide's face suddenly fell gloomy, and Akira interrupted. "Sorry. I shouldn't talk about him." He shrugged. "It's...fine. I’m the one who asked anyway. "
Akira got up and leaned on her desk, meeting Hide's eyes. The Quinx was a delicate subject for him—especially when it involved Haise Sasaki, or as Hide had always known him, Ken Kaneki. They had been best friends since childhood, until a tragic incident and Kanou's experiment transformed him into a ghoul. More painfully, he became the person who wounded Hide most deeply. Akira's gaze fell to the metallic gleam visible beneath Hide's sleeve—a prosthetic arm replacing what had once been whole. Her mind flashed back to that dreadful night of the raid on the 20th ward—standing near Hide's broken body, his arm torn to pieces and drenched in blood, waiting desperately for the ambulance. By some miracle, he survived the night, but nothing was ever the same after that. Though she and Marude fought to keep him at the CCG, Hide ultimately chose to transfer to the research department. He had steered clear of investigations all these years, and then Kaneki was back into his life, as nothing happened. Akira smiled softly, trying to erase the bad feeling that lingered.
"Well, nothing the great Mado can't overcome. What about you? I heard Marude needed help with his quinque." Hide was about to answer when a loud knock at the door interrupted him. "Weird," whispered Akira. "Yes?"
The door opened swiftly to reveal a petite girl who stood motionless, her dark eyes—as black as her silky hair—piercing the room. "Good morning. I hope I'm not bothering you." Akira studied her with confusion—she wasn't an investigator or anyone from the administrative office. "If you're here to report ghoul activity, the reception desk is on the first floor.
"Oh no, I'm here for a job interview." Akira could barely suppress her laughter. "I'm sorry?" The girl stepped firmly into the room. "There's an open position for a psychologist here at CCG. I know it's been vacant for years, and many investigators aren't aware of it, but I'd like to apply." Hide leaned back with a smile, enjoying the scene.
"Why should I be the one to conduct the interview?"
"Because every other investigator didn't listen or lead me here. I'm sensing some tension between other squads and you, Investigator Mado. It's something we could work on." Before Akira could reply, Hide got up."You should give her a chance. I already like her. Good luck, miss—?"
"Sayu," she smiled politely. "You can call me Sayu." Hide bowed and exited, leaving Akira alone. "Fine. Let's do this interview." Sayu got closer and handed her some papers. "My curriculum. You can see I graduated with honours and—"
"Mitsurugi? Like the Prosecutor?" Sayu held back a sigh. "Yes. He was my father." Akira's behaviour suddenly switched, inviting Sayu to sit.
"Wow. I mean, I knew about his daughter, but rumours said you were to become a prosecutor too." Sayu smiled tensely. "Well, I've changed paths." Akira sat in front of her, reading her credentials with amazed eyes. "You graduated from Harvard with excellent marks. I guess that's to be expected from The Great Prosecutor's daughter." Sayu's smile began to fade as her body stiffened in the chair. "About that, I'd like to use my mother's name here. I don't want investigators to have any bias."
"I didn't say you were hired," countered Akira, reading keenly the list of accomplishments and prizes in Sayu's life.
"But I can't lose the opportunity of having a Mitsurugi in this building. We can't forget what your father did for the CCG." Sayu forced a smile. "Yes. His trials against ghouls were his life, but I want to help investigators in a different way."
Akira got up and extended her hand. "Then I can't wait to see what you'll do. See you tomorrow, Dr. Mitsurugi."
"Call me Sayu, please." she retorted, with a hint of annoyance, but Akira kept smiling.
Sayu gathered her things and left the office, her heels clicking against the pristine floor. She inspired the thick air, sniffling the sterile scent of newly washed floor, as if to wash away the investigator’s wounds. And their sins.
Oh, the sins. She couldn't wait to finally unveil them all.