Burrow Under Your Marrow

𝙩𝙬𝙤

Working at a library was something he didn't expect he'd be doing. After all, ever since his untimely introduction into the world of Ghouls and his hell-on-earth experience with Jason among other things... A mundane, boring job was not a luxury he thought he'd come to appreciate. It was a bit uncomfortable to have to basically replace himself in this world. An unintentional shiver went up his spine at the thought of recollecting the incident.Still, it had to be done and though he craved some semblance of sanity or morality, not constantly looking over his shoulder in paranoia and the thought of aimlessly drifting this unknown world when he had a perfectly usable apartment eventually gave way to his fleeting ethics. Some might say he was simply moving the goalposts where it suited him, to him it was a matter of living. The same type of newly–found mentality went for the recent development of eating villains.

He tried his usual scavenger habits of picking those that had ultimately decided to no longer be alive, but he found it nigh impossible with the heroes patrolling areas known to be suicide hotspots and had to recalibrate his plan. Particularly after being nearly caught by an interesting man with customized scarves. The man's movement reminded him of a ghoul with fluid rinkaku, it was almost nostalgic, to say the least.

Still, it helped that his other self was like who he used to be back before Rize. So carefree and innocent- untainted by the ghoulish world and everything that it contained. Absent-mindedly he cracked his knuckles, looking over the piles of returned books, and sighed. While the job was allowing him the means of a steady income, it was mundane. After the bloodshed and sacrifices of himself that he gave to traversing his world as a one-eyed ghoul, it was a familiar kind of tragedy. His life now on the other hand felt monotonous.

"Hey Kaneki, can you help this person out?" Ayaka called out, a hint of nervousness in her voice. Kaneki paused his book sorting as he slowly walked towards her. While he wasn't familiar with these co-workers and had no way of gauging the level of camaraderie his old self had with them, he would have thought a few months of assimilating into this version of himself would give him a clue to their temperament. Ayaka being nervous albeit hiding it was suspicious, she was a woman who carried scars on her arms and faded tattoos, to make a woman that had a minor strength quirk nervous. It raised the ends of Kaneki's hairs.

He quickly took over Ayaka's place, curious to see who had changed his co-worker's demeanor so drastically from the months he knew her. He was faced with a very nimble-looking guy, not too dissimilar from himself. He wore a black face mask and was curiously wearing surgical gloves. The ones that could weather most rough handling.

"Hello, are you the customer who was looking for the book recommendations?" Kaneki asked, careful to keep a polite distance from the guy. While new to this world, he learned quickly about being too friendly with unknown individuals. Who knows what kind of crazy quirk they had that Kaneki wouldn't be able to regen.

"Yes, I was wondering if you had any recommendations for works written by Takatsuki Sen?" Kaneki's lips perked up slightly, a complex wave of emotions washing over him. He checked the library database to check if the book that was his favorite was available.

"I'd recommend The Hangman's Knot." Kaneki went on to expound on his recommendation, capturing the attention of the man. 

"Personally, what I really like about it are the intimate details of the descent of the main character's psyche as reality and delusion blend into a very surreal description of the rest of the stories."

The masked stranger put a gloved hand under his chin, as though pondering on Kaneki's words, his golden eyes and catlike irises stared into the distance at nothing in particular. That brief moment of silence was broken when the stranger put down his hand, his half-lidded eyes snapping back to attention to stare directly into Kaneki's own singular eye. In their eye-to-eye contact, the gold in his eyes felt more bright and intense. Like a predator lying in wait in the bushes for prey.

'The same look most ghouls had when the scent of human flesh and blood was close.'

Hunger might have been an appropriate enough word but to Kaneki it felt like that word missed the mark for what this stranger's eyes conveyed. They looked and had the aura of danger and yet they smelled clinically sterile. It was quite off-putting, even medical staff had certain smells that cling to them, what most would attribute to pheromones.

"Is that so? I'll give it a read then. If it hasn't been borrowed."

Kaneki looked through the library computer and found that The Hangman's Knot was available. In clean and neat handwriting, he wrote the book's library number, and shelf number, and pointed him toward the general direction of where the book was kept.

Chisaki delicately took the card from Kaneki, amber eyes processing the information. He gave a shallow bow and stepped towards the directed area.