Chapter Text
Hide cursed to himself as he felt the ghoul in front of him yank on his rope, heaving him forwards and making him almost stumble. He wrinkled his nose, feeling the burn of his wrists as the rope rubbed his skin raw, the tightly bound material keeping his wrists in front of him. The ghoul that held the rope in front of him, steering him like cattle, was an ugly thing, with a large bulbous nose, spotty skin and a terrible underbite. The corridor they were in was thin, making it impossible for two people to walk down side by side, only allowing for single file lines. The walls were gritty and sticky, covered with mold and water that dripped down from the sewage system a few levels above, making the whole passageway reek.
He bit back a groan when he thought about last week. How could he have been so stupid? He had flown too close to the sun, and had fallen as a result. The sea foam beneath him was bloody and suffocating. He was yanked again, the ghoul guiding their way through the dark alleyway via a small flashlight, highlighting the slow downwards slope to where they inevitably kept the holding cells for humans. The 24th ward was the worst place to be held as a human, since it was filled with grunts and monsters that couldn’t quite be considered ghouls anymore. Escape was impossible given its labyrinth-like structure. The only way in or out was to be guided by a ghoul.
He was physically adept, he knew, but not to the point of being able to manhandle a ghoul into leading him to safety. His training was rendered null and void without access to his quinque. It was the first thing confiscated from him, given to a ghoul runner so that they would pass it to an Aogiri executive. He had all of his things taken but the clothes on his back, and even then, he knew that wouldn't last. Human slaves wore grey robes most of the time, unless they had worked their way up the ranks, either by being a good lay or having powerful insight. Then of course, there were the humans who turned full traitor, denouncing their own species for the sake of kissing ghoul ass and being rewarded with higher stations. Hide clicked his teeth and the ghoul in front of him stopped, turning to face him with a glare.
“Sorry, sorry,” Hide started, shrugging his shoulders with a pained smile. “I just can’t stand the smell down here…” He looked down at his feet to watch a rat scurry by. He shuddered and stepped closer to the opposite wall. The ghoul scoffed at him, before tugging him along the way a child would with a deflated balloon.
“Stupid humans…” The ghoul muttered. Rude. Hide had decided this was the rudest ghoul he had met. Definitely not the most evil. But rudest, and Hide thought that was worse.
The ground underneath his feet grew wetter and wetter as they journeyed lower, up until the walls finally expanded and he could breathe in a scent other than sewage. He could smell the scent of unwashed humans, see the fearful clingings and hear the distinct whimpering of fear. He swallowed a similar sound as he was suddenly let free, the ghoul tearing the rope from his wrists as it suddenly shoved him into a smaller human. The girl he knocked into grabbed his arm, gently pulling him into the crowd as the humans clumped around him, keeping him safely in the pack. Already Hide could deduce how animalistic things had gotten down here. Stripped of light and dignity, they had gone to primitive forms of comfort. Clinging.
“It’s okay,” she murmured as grabbed onto his hand, no doubt feeling it shake in terror. “We have to look out for each other.” She gave him a quick smile, her pink hair bouncing as she nodded her head to the side. It looked fairly clean, which meant she hadn’t been here for long. That was good. It meant they would be moving them soon, and that it wasn’t just one of those group slaughters the ghoul’s did on occasion, when their number of humans exceeded their need for slaves.
He thought about her words and grimaced, glancing around at the bunch near him. All of them had a sense of comradery, just from being enclosed in the same spot. It wouldn’t last. Ghoul’s would offer enticing rewards for turning in humans that still rebelled, they would free family members from hostage situations for assistance with capturing other humans. The current safety in numbers mindset would wear away over time, as the desire for freedom and the personal requirement for safety outgrew morals and community. Still, he was a human with the same programming, his hands drifting up to the girl's arm and clinging, feeling the sweet feeling of soft skin, the skin he knew he possessed. After a few altercations with ghouls, he had noted how different their skin felt. Whether it was a genuine feeling, or a psychological one he didn't know.
“How long have you been here?” He asked her as he turned away from the ghoul that brought him, the figure climbing onto a box to tower over them in the small room.
“No more than two days,” she responded, and Hide saw nods from the other humans.
“They’ll be moving us soon though lad,” a man said, clapping his hand on Hide’s shoulder. The blonde nodded, barely able to make out facial features on the humans due to the darkness. He heard the ghoul above them cough, trying to get their attention. Like sheep, the humans each looked up, some detached, others with panicked squeaks. Others didn't look up at all, staring down the other more rebellious. Already Hide knew at least a third of the humans here would be killed for disobedience. The ghoul stood on his box, waving his flashlight across their faces.
“You lot,” the ugly ghoul started, addressing the frightened flock of humans. “For whatever crime you’se dun, you been sentenced to servitude.”
Hide was shocked he could say a word that large, but that was the most surprising thing. He sucked in a breath through his teeth. Slave. He was going to be a slave.
“Ye lot, have forgotten where yew stand. Yew CCG lovin' scum, will pay for your disobedience. We're taking ye all up to the main base. Have fun kissing my ass for the rest of yer short lives.”
The humans around him shook and trembled, a few cried and others huddled up with friends, knowing they would all be separated before the day ended. If it was day, anyway. Hide swallowed, skimming his hands over the front of his legs, seeing the rest of his life fall into place in front of him. Work for Aogiri. Clean their messes, bring them coffee, get assaulted, get chewed on, and eventually consumed entirely. That was the life of the average slave that Aogiri took. Some were taken to be bed slaves, others as punching bags and cannon fodder. The best kind of slave was the intellectual assistants, only if you were okay with helping them hunt down the CCG. In all honesty, Hide was praying for manual labour. It wasn’t like they would let him near CCG files after what he did.
He had been caught with a small group of CCG agents. The counter commission of ghouls was the largest rebel group inside of Tokyo, a large system of humans that stomped on the idea of ghoul supremacy. Hide had been with them ever since he was small, being trained how to fight, where to hit, how to lie and sneak. He had done good up until this point. He had released a few humans from transport vehicles, had messed up some Aogiri data, even taken out a few low rank ghouls. Looking back on it, how much of it was luck, he wondered. Ghouls were superior in almost every way, which is exactly why the original one eyed king had rallied them and seized power.
Hide shut his eyes as he felt the girl next to him shake with sobs, hiding her face in the chest of the girl next to her. Thinking about the amount of people in the room, the twenty odd humans… that was likely less than the amount he had freed and inadvertently saved by taking out some ghouls. He had done… nothing. Truly, nothing. Before he knew it, a few drops of tears fell from his eyes. Then he was crying. Then he was sobbing.
All he wanted was to help. He wanted to help humans. He wanted to be free. He wanted a future where he could leave his own ward. He wanted a future where ghouls didn’t host group ‘hunts’ where they ran throughout the city wards and took whoever they wanted. He didn't want to hear about breeding facilities in the 1st ward, where the old human government used to reside. He was sick of it. Sick and tired of living under the foot of… Animals! He felt his fist tighten as his sobbing started to ease. He hated them. He truly hated them.
Then and there, Hideyoshi Nagachika, a nineteen years old, dead man walking made his choice. As a slave, he would try his hardest to take out a high ranked ghoul. If throwing his insignificant life away to take out the head of a high ranked ghoul, an A or even S ranked… Well, in Hide’s eyes, it would be worth it. Looking around him at the humans that had been taken into slavery for crimes, he knew he had to. After all, if he didn’t, who would? Maybe a CCG agent. Maybe another ghoul. But what a message it would send if he could take out a high ranker… Maybe even an executive.
All his motivation from the prior day began to dwindle as he was shoved into the human procession. They were forced back up the small pathways one at a time, clinging to each other's front and back like small children. A few ghouls walked with them, keeping the group of about twenty tame and obedient. He grasped onto the pink haired girl in front of him, giving up on mapping out the labyrinth they winded through. It was a different path to last time, and he hoped they weren’t heading for the 1st ward. A breeding facility would be even worse than being a bed slave. He felt the girl in front of him shudder and he winced. As they gained more light, he could tell she was a beautiful girl. He hoped she wouldn't be a favourite.
After a few hours, the path took a steep slope upwards. They had been walking through the sewer system for the last hour, finally entering someplace close to light. The smell however was terrible, and Hide was glad to follow the steep slope towards a large opening. He hissed and shielded his eyes with his free arm. They didn’t both tying them up, seeing as they had spent a night in the cold dark, hearing the howling of ghoulish creatures. No one was particularly in the mood to run.
“Humans!” Yelled a voice. Hide blinked, looking around the space he walked into. Out from the large ramp, he came into a room, grey walls and floor, dual staircases on the sides and a large platform that they led up to. Hide saw the words ‘slave bay’ spray painted on the wall in front of him and the group. They all looked up to the voice. Standing there, was quite a lithe and small figure.
They were wearing thick dark pants, and a tighter looking bodysuit on their upper half. They had a cropped hoodie that was down off their head, revealing a deep dark blue that framed the edge of their dark black mask, shaped into the form of a rabbit. Hide gulped. S ranked Rabbit. They were much smaller than people spoke about them, his gloved hands on the black railing as he wandered down the steps. Hide watched him, craning his neck to catch a glimpse outside the dark tinted windows at the very top of the walls. Hide cast a quick glance behind him, and saw that the room was entirely empty. It seemed the space really was created as a bay for human trade.
A few red clad ghouls trailed down the stair after Rabbit, rushing past him as they quickly started shoving the humans into a straight line across the room. Hide was separated from the pink haired girl. He tried not to hear her sob.
“Alright!” The ghoul clapped their hands together, speaking loudly. With a closer look, the ghoul was very small, barely even coming up to his chin. “From now on, you belong to us.”
Way to state the obvious.
“You’re only here because you messed up, going against our simple laws and rules… Some of you might be CCG, some of you might be criminals, the truth is, I don’t care.” He said, placing his hands on his narrow hips. Hide squinted at the ghoul. There was hardly any fat on them. Like.. at all. He barely had shape, like he was some kind of- child. Rabbit was a child. Hide placed his shock away as he tried to hear what the ghoul child was saying.
“You all knew the punishment. Any breaking of laws means servitude, any allying with rebel groups means servitude, any disrespectful behaviour to ghouls means servitude. This is your own fault. Now, my men should be passing you some grey robes. You must wear them at all times, unless you were given permission from a higher up or an owner if any of you get directly taken as a personal slave.”
True to his word, the red robed ghoul started tossing the grey ones at the humans.
“Go on. Change.”
The teen, Hide had decided, looked hardly bothered at the undressing and redressing humans in front of him. Though, he did catch their eyes lingering on a female human, who caught him looking and turned away. The ghoul coughed and started kicking at the ground. Yep. Teenager. Hide dressed as fast as he could, hating the feeling of being naked and exposed in front of the ghouls. Already they were being treated like slabs of meat. Although to ghouls… that's what they were. After they finished dressing, their clothes were taken up by a guard, who swiftly moved up the stairs, taking them all away. Hide wondered where they were taking them.
“Attention back on me!” Rabbit yelled again, sounding bored. “My guards are gonna sort you into three groups. Strong looking, to help us fight CCG when we don't wanna waste our own men, average looking, for regular use like cleaning and note carrying, and pretty looking, for sex stuff. Got it?”He asked, before talking to one of his men as the humans started getting manhandled. Rabbit cursed suddenly and raised hand.
“Wait! Forgot to mention, smart folk, let me know. Continue!”
Hide huffed as he was shoved into some other guy, as a ghoul dragged him to the opposite end of the line. He was pretty ugly, but buff as hell and Hide figured out the left side was for the strong ones. He sighed in relief as he remained un-manhandled in the middle, around the rest of the other average joe's. He sent a curious glance to the right side of the room, seeing a few guys and girls clumped in the pretty side. The pink haired girl made eye contact with him and he winced. That was the pretty side. Hide looked at the ground, feeling guilt way down like a stone, before he strengthened his resolve. He had to take out an executive. He couldn’t stand the fearful look in the pink haired girl's eyes.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice when a red cloaked ghoul stood in front of him, grabbing him by the arm. Hide let out a choked sound as the figure started to drag him off to the right. He tried to get away, suddenly kicking and thrashing like his life depended on it, which it kind of did. He saw the guy he was with send him a sympathetic glance. Hide felt sick. He didn't want this. God did he not want this. Knowing the punishment, he still decided to protest.
“W-Wait!” He cried out as he pulled away, the ghoul grabbing him and trying to force him into that group again. He shook his head furiously, panic coursing through his veins. He would rather just be killed on the spot honestly. He was making a scene, he noticed. A few other ghouls started moving his way as he kicked and pulled, fighting the monster that had him firmly. He snarled as a raw panic overcame him.
“Get the fuck off me!” Without thinking, he suddenly pressed back into the ghoul’s hold, slamming their bodies together before he raised his free hand, taking two fingers and jabbing them into the red sclera of the ghoul. She let out a high pitched yell, pushing him away as she clutched her face, red dropping into the floor. The humans around him gasped. It was likely they didn’t know that ghoul could be harmed. That was something only the CCG knew. He barely had time to think before another ghoul was on him, a large one, wrapping his neck into a headlock. In a desperate fever he bit down on their bulging muscles, and kicked his leg up backwards into their nuts.
The ghoul wasn’t phased, and started strangling him. As his eyes grew spotty, he glanced up and saw Rabbit watching him disinterestedly. Piece. Of. Shit.To think he was gonna die before doing… anything. He let out a shout as he started to cry again, feeling the helplessness of a human. His vision grew spotty. He clawed at the ghouls arm desperately, wildly kicking and yelling and shouting and-
“Let them go.”
In a second, he was dropped to the floor. Hide grabbed his red neck, gasping as he got air into his lungs, coughing up spit as he struggled to breath. He was slobbering over the floor but he couldn’t be bothered to care as he stayed flat on the floor, loosely propped up on his elbow. The room had gone silent ever since the new voice. Looking up, his dizzy eyes managed to follow the path of a walking figure, trailing closer to him. They stopped next to Rabbit.
“What’s happening here?” The figure asked, looking too blurry for Hide to make out their features. Rabbit clicked.
“Some CCG grunt jabbed Kirou in the eye cuz he doesn't wanna be a sex slave,” Rabbit explained nonchalantly. He knew he was CCG now. Great. The figure started moving towards him again, before they knelt down in front of him. Hide noticed the way the other ghouls stepped back, and when his vision came back into focus, he knew why.
Centipede.
One knee on the floor, the other bent to his chest and resting an arm across it. In his all black outfit aside from a few white stripes, Centipede reached a hand out and grabbed Hide’s chin, propping it up further to get a better look. Hide started into a cold, red eye. His white hair fanned around his head like light, contrasting with the dark of his eyepatch and sick, grinning mask. Centipede gripped his chin tighter and Hide let out a pained grunt.The SS ranked monster in front of him remained apathetic, tilting their head to the side as if analysing him.
“CCG huh?” He asked in a smooth deep tone, dropping Hide’s face as he stood up. “I’ve been needing one of those,” the ghoul said as he turned to face Rabbit more. The teenager scoffed.
“So you’ll take that one?” He asked as he folded his arms. “I thought you didn’t take any personal slaves.”
Centipede just watched him, before turning their gaze back down to Hide.
“I’m taking one now. This one will be my first.”