Tangled Fates {Tokyo Ghoul/Seraph of the End}

Chapter 1

"Your attention please. A deadly virus has been unleashed to punish humanity for its crimes. There is no cure. Your last night is upon you."

Kaneki peered out from behind a building, surveying the area. He turned, his eyes meeting the deep blue eyes of Michaela Hyakuya. Mika nodded and Kaneki turned around, gesturing to the small crowd of children behind him to follow them.

The group, led by Mika and Kaneki began cautiously moving forward, looking from side to side as they went. Bodies lined the streets, both intimidating and hungering Kaneki. It had been about three weeks since he'd last eaten. Maybe if he broke away from the group...

The sound of a dog barking brought Kaneki back to his senses. He looked around and found the source of the noise. The canine was still leashed to its dead master and stood over the body protectively. Kaneki shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued moving.

'I can't eat straight from a human.' He thought, repulsed by his own impulses. 'The director used to give me packages of ground meat, but I guess that won't be happening anymore.'

Kaneki prayed that the orphanage director survived. All of the adults had started collapsing at once while he was out on a walk with Mika, Yuu and a few of the younger kids. It would take a miracle for the director to have survived. Without her, Mika was the oldest in the group, at the age of 8. Hide was next, followed by Kaneki and then Yuu.

The group arrived at the orphanage, dashing up the stairs. Mika flung the door open, revealing the limp body of the director, surrounded by the remaining children.

Kaneki ran forward, touching his hand to her cheek. It was cold. He looked up from her body. Hide and Akane were trying to comfort the younger children, keeping them away from the corpse.

Hide met Kaneki's gaze. "She just collapsed all of a sudden." His usually smiling face was white with shock.

"I don't think she's breathing." Akane added, her voice shaking.

The voice on the loudspeaker continued. "However, we have chosen to spare the young. Anyone under the age of 13 will be spared."

Kaneki backed away from the body, eyes widening. That's when he heard the voices, faint at first, but growing louder. After a few seconds, the other children heard it to. They began backing away from the door. Kaneki moved to the front of the group, facing the door defensively.

"The direct unit of the third progenitor, Krul Tepes is currently collection the children. You are now under our protection."

He heard the sound of glass shattering. The children let our a collective gasp as a hooded figure stepped through the broken window. The door swung open, revealing another figure. The two moved forward, backing the children into a corner.

_____

They were brought to large trucks and loaded into the back compartments. The truck shook as it started moving. Taichi, one of the youngest orphans reached for Kaneki's hand. Kaneki gave his hand a tight squeeze, whispering reassuring words.

"It'll be alright. Just get some rest, no one's going to hurt you."

Unfortunately, Kaneki wasn't quite sure if that was true.