Ignorance

I : Drugged? Apparently Not More Than Once

"Hi, you're here to pick up who?" You asked, slightly leaning against the cab window. You weren't going to get in that cab until the slightly odd man told you exactly what you wanted to hear.

"(Y/N) (L/N). Is that you?" He asked. The eye contact made you uncomfortable. Who did that man remind you of?

Even if you felt creeped out by him, you still climbed inside the car. It might just be the drugs from your minor surgery acting up or something, even if you had been in there for a few hours already since you woke up. They might be the source to the guy's creepiness. It could all just be a hallucination.

Of course, climbing in a cab with a strange man, the hospital would let you, but walking home? Oh, big no no, that's very, very dangerous and deathly.

"Where to?" He asked, starting the car and driving out of the parking lot.

You gave him your home address, even if you really didn't want to. He gave you really bad vibes. Plus his face was actually really creepy.

"Ah, that's funny, it's close to where I live!" He said, giving you the creepiest smile ever, yet his optimistic tone made you think that maybe you were judging the man too hard. "Karao Saeki." He said. Was that his name? It sounded like Japanese, heh...

"It's nice to meet you," You answered, trying your best to act friendly. "You been in Bathurst for long?" You asked. Why was his name slightly familiar? Maybe there was some manga character you read about that had a similar name... You'll search it up later.

"Only a few months." He answered, apparently happy that you were initiating a conversation with him. "It's a miracle that I got this job so quickly."

"Ah, really? Where were you before?" You said, silently praying for him to drive faster and drop you off, damn it!

"Tokyo."

"That's pretty far away!" You exclaimed. "And you... you speak English quite fluently, too."

"Hm, really? I wouldn't exactly say so myself..." Karao said, shrugging.

"Well, I think so. Anyways, thanks for the drive, how much do I owe you?" You mentally cheered when the man stopped the car in front of the house you grew up in. Thank god you didn't live far away from the hospital.

"It's ten dollars." He said, apparently eyeing the place very carefully.

Okay, that's a bit creepy, dude...

You ignored the unsettling feeling in your gut and pulled out your wallet, giving him ten dollars before thanking him for the drive and exiting the vehicle to head inside, where you were going to scold your parents for forcing you to take a taxi as 'adult training'. Seriously, it was just September, you had a whole year before you went away for university! Adult training could wait, especially if it meant staying in a cab with a creepy thirty year old man whose name sounded way too familiar.

Once you closed the door to your home, you let out a sigh, taking off your shoes and glaring at your mother, who showed up in your peripheral vision. "I just had to endure a drive with a taxi driver who will probably stalk me." You growled. "Thank mom, I'm gonna get murdered soon."

Your mother frowned. "Were they that bad?"

"What kind of cab driver introduces themselves to you?!" You exclaimed out of frustration, even though you didn't really make sense.

"All of them, sweetie. It's to ensure that they're friendly and won't intimidate you in some way." She said, watching as you crashed on the couch and glanced out the window, happy to see the cab driver had left.

"Still... He gave off creepy vibes. I think he was a bit too interested in a seventeen year old." You grumbled, before pulling out your phone and searching up his name.

You only got links to what appeared to be his Facebook page and a page from the taxi company that had his basic information. You could have sworn you saw his name in one of your mangas before...

You curiosity was really getting the better of you. You needed to know who he reminded you of. To the books!

Getting up, you walked to your room instead, leaving your mother slightly worried at your last words. You'd explain everything to her after. Right now, you had things to do.

Once in your room, you kneeled in front of your book case, going through your manga collections.

Black Butler? No, that's about England, there's like zero Japanese characters in there.

Soul Eater? Maybe. You took out the series, ready to flip through the pages once you find all the possible manga candidates.

Death Note? Possible as well.

Ouran High School Host club? It sounded like a name from there, so you took out that series as well.

You searched for information in a similar manner, until you finished your first process of elimination, feeling like you had forgotten something. But what?

You glanced at the many piles of manga that had accumulated on your bedroom floor, frowning at a missing collection.

Where were your Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul:Re mangas?

You searched your entire room, not finding a single one. Shit, had your parents gotten their hands on them and deemed them too violent or something?

"Mom?" You yelled, still looking around your room. "Did you touch my books?"

"No, honey. Your father and I haven't gone in your room in a while!" She answered back, making you even more confused. Oh, well, you still had the wiki.

Deciding you'd start with Tokyo Ghoul, you took your phone out again, searching up the wiki.

There was none, so you decided to look for key words.

Kaneki Ken.

'19 year old boy disappeared in Saint-John, New Brunswick'

The article sounded legit.

Ghoul.

'Ghoul attacks in Moncton, New Brunswick leave family devastated.'

What the hell?

After reading the article, which came from the local newspaper, you frowned once again. What's going on?

You closed the tab, deciding you search up one last thing.

CCG

'CCG official website'

Alright, that wasn't okay. After looking through the web, which was actually in English and apparently located in your city, you were thoroughly spooked. Were the drugs from your surgery still acting up?

You scrolled through the pages, clicking on a link called 'Ghoul sightings', and scrolling through the ghoul alliasses until you stopped on one that made you incredibly uncomfortable.

'Torso'

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Please tell me it's the drugs." You groaned, thinking back to your time in the cab. The guy had to be a cosplayer or something, right? But who'd pull off such a huge prank? And on you? You rather think it was a prank than reality, because that would mean that the cab guy, Karao Saeki was indeed a flesh eating monster that'd get obsessed with you soon and eat you. Which wasn't really fun to think of before going to sleep.

You closed your phone and put all your manga back in place before sitting on your bed and looking out the window, staring out on the empty street.

How many times had the doctors drugged you?