What She Thought She Knew

Chapter 2: Rage

     Akane was exhausted, she had kept moving south through the tunnels for what seemed like an eternity. She was collapsed now on one of the slimy tunnel walls, she was panting. After entering the underground facility she had released her Kagune as a way for faster transportation. She had to get away from those men.

     A few sobs finally escaped her throat as she rested her head on her knees, the scrape across her shin had long since healed.

     Why... Why, Why WHY!? Why is it these things always happen to me...

     Akane's heart raced and her breath came out in pants. She didn't want to move, to think, to feel, but was forced to do so when a figure from some way down the tunnel made their way to her. They smelled... so good...

     She hadn't eaten in about two weeks, tonight she was supposed to with her father and brother.

Brother...

Moriko...

     Akane shook her head clear of the thought, tears that had been staining her cheeks now made darker colored spots on the gray long-sleeved shirt she wore.

    "Oh... it's a little girl," The figure murmured to themselves, "...you're crying, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

     The immediate scent of the human was intoxicating, but now that they approached, Akane could smell the bitterness wafting off of their body. This person was obviously homeless, no wonder they survived this long in the tunnels. No ghoul would want to eat something that smelled so foul.

     She could see clearly now that the human was in fact male, he approached cautiously. This made Akane grow furious. She didn't need to be treated like a helpless, cowering animal. That's what she felt like in the presence of this human as he crouched down in front of her. A feeling of anger and disgust boiled up in Akane's chest. Bad timing old man,...

   Enraged, the youth's kakugan appeared and the man's eyes widened in surprise. She barred her teeth in a snarl, similar to that of a defensive wolf, before releasing her kagune.

     Akane had bikaku-type kagune that separated out into a maximum of six tentacles. Near the base of the kagune, closest to her back, a deep red color was visible. It faded from red to maroon, then to violet and a deep blue. At the tip of each tentacle a light cerulean color pierced through the darkness. Black vein-like lines were visible throughout the entirety of the structure.

     At this encounter Akane only released two of her six tentacles, she drove one into the stomach of the man and the other through his neck. Rage was drawn out on her features, her eyebrows were knitted together tightly, her fists clenched so hard that her nails pierced into her soft flesh. She didn't care at this point, she needed something, anything, that would take her mind off of the events that had occurred only minutes before.

     "W-wha..." The homeless man's voice came out gargled as it trailed off into nothingness. After several heartbeats with the human still stuck to her kagune, his body slid off. Upon impact with the ground a small splatter could be heard.

     So hungry....

     Akane bent over the fresh corpse and dug in, her teeth tearing off bits of flesh from her meal's back. She ate in attempt to bury the sick pain that hung in her stomach, but it only dulled the true pain that weighed her heart down heavier than the world.

     So angry....

     She wasn't able to properly think, she didn't care at this point if her pursuers tracked her down and killed her on the spot. She couldn't care less if another ghoul came up and beat her to death for the chance at the flesh that had been presented. 

    "Gah, hah... huh.. " Akane had wolfed down a large portion of the man's back, slurping up a few of his no longer "internal" organs. She sat on her knees now and wiped her mouth, smearing the salty red liquid across her cheek. 

     Akane felt indifferent. She should care. She should be screaming and crying for the loss of her remaining family. But she didn't. The weight that was so heavy on her heart wasn't that of sadness, it was of anger. She wanted revenge.

     If it's the last thing I do, I'll hunt down those men. Just like a dog would hunt doves.