Disclaimer

Tokyo Ghoul is owned by Sui Ishida/Funimation

Bloodborne is owned by FromSoftware

He wandered through the grey fog, the cobblestone path barely visible. The fog would bulge on occasion, as though it was a physical thing being pressed upon. There were voices, muffled, only there if he turned all other senses off. Still, nothing crossed his path, and he continued on. He felt… not safe, but as though nothing could reach him here…

He blinked, and he felt something wet drip down his face. He put a hand to his forehead, and when he pulled back he saw flecks of dried blood. His eyes widened, and he felt the wound. He, he knew this shape. It was-

CRASH!

Blue eyes snapped open, their owner quickly aiming a pistol towards the door to his room. Another loud boomed sounded out, and he relaxed. It was just thunder. He placed the pistol down before sitting up and rubbing his face. That… wasn't the worst dream he had, but it was far from pleasant. There was another crash of thunder, and he frowned before standing up and dressing. Rain dulled the senses, and if it carried on until night, he could be near invisible. He headed into the main area of the church grabbing a few essentials…

Ken felt cold, even though it felt like fire was spreading through his veins. Was… was he dying? He tried to move his arm-

Oh, right, that had fallen off.

He moved his left arm, which was still there but restrained. He opened his eyes, and he saw two Doves sitting across from him. He was restrained to a cold metal chair, a metal table between them. He couldn't see their faces, but they didn't have boobs so-

"You're awake."

…Wow, the one on the left really drew the short straw, huh?

…Should he be freaking out? It feels like he should be freaking out.

"Do you remember anything from the past few days?"

"…We… were hunting." He blinked, his mind slowly starting to work, "Akane made us… there were a guy 'n girl… they smelled nice… no, wait, th' shadow smelled nice."

"Shadow?"

He nodded, and the motion made his vision spin, "American shadow. Shot me 'n I ran… gonna nap now…"

He made his way through the shadows, the rainy night practically making him a ghost. He had been 'patrolling' since a few hours earlier to learn the area, but now would be the time the Beasts came out. He would-

Something dug into his thigh, and he looked down to see a needle sticking into it. He ducked into an alley before tearing the needle out. It was some sort of sedative, if the spreading numbness in his leg was any indication. It wouldn't halt him all that much, but he would have to be careful. One may do nothing, but-

Another needle lodged into his right arm, and it was clear that this one was much more potent by how he almost dropped his cleaver. He made to move, but another needle lodged into the same leg as the first, and he fell onto one knee. Another needle into his right side, and he struggled to stand.

"Terribly sorry, young chap."

He looked to the end of the alley to see a man in black, high-class clothing with a mask that covered the upper half of his face. He wore a large hat that kept his ridiculous moustache dry, and in his hands was an odd rifle.

"I'd rather give you a proper, sporting chance, but I'm afraid we've not quite the time for it."

The last thing he saw before passing out was the man's apologetic smile.

Yamamoto watched as his assistant loaded the boy into the back of the car. If he was being honest, he'd rather not have hunted the boy at all. Still, he had to keep his 'benefactors' happy. As he got into his car, he tried to discern the reason they wanted him so bad. Yes, killing several Ghouls without a Quinque is impressive, but to capture him only a day after the act? After a moment he decided to put this train of thought to the back of his mind.

He may have hated most of his benefactors, but a high-class Ghoul with enemies did not last long.

The drive was silent, which he found odd. His assistant would usually ask at least one, but he was practically as quiet as a church mouse now.

"Are you alright, Shinji? You seem troubled."

The boy practically leaped out of his chair, plain white mask jostling, "N-no, nothing is troubling me, sir… but, do, do you smell something strange?"

He blinked, and took a whiff. Tobacco, leather, blood-

He stopped, and took another whiff. There was definitely a scent of blood, old and new. Yet he never ate something within his car, so what could it possibly be coming from?

"I do indeed, Shinji, but from where?"

"I think it's our, um, guest, sir."

He hummed before pulling over and looking towards the other occupant in the car and smelled deeply.

"How peculiar…"

"Sir?"

"He was bleeding, yes, but he would have to be drenched to smell…" Yamamoto frowned and started driving again, "Shinji, did you notice else anything odd?"

"…His weapons smelled the same way. Except the gun, but it burned a little when I smelled it."

He smiled, "Well done, Shinji." And he meant it. Ten years ago, he would have been able to sniff out a foxes' den in the snow. He was getting old, and that's part of the reason he took Shinji under his wing. The boy had the potential to be as good a hunter as he was.

"Thank you, sir." The boy sat up a bit straighter in his seat, and the atmosphere in the car got a little less dark. Eventually, they reached an 'abandoned' warehouse and moved their guest inside. The crates that covered the entrance to the underground tunnels were moved and replaced, and they passed through silently in the lighting provided by golden lamps on the wall. One could only hear the screams and cries of those trapped here if they strained their hearing past the music playing through the halls. Two men in tidy tuxedos waited for them at the end of the hall, and they were lead to one of the more well-furnished rooms. They left the black-clad boy on the bed, and were escorted again to their seats for the show…

He was walking the cobblestone path again, but something was wrong. There was something else here with him. He kept moving forward, and after a moment he heard the sound of claws clacking on stone to his left. He looked down to see a dog, no, a wolf, with pitch-black fur. There were flashes of red, and he saw the claws were crimson. What truly struck him were the eyes. A soft, almost sky-blue color, not unlike his own. He sped up, and as he got ahead of the wolf he heard a long, mournful howl.

His eyes snapped open, and he had to question if he was still dreaming. He was at the head of a long table, three people seated on either side and another at the opposite end. They were all dressed well, and he looked down to see himself in the same sort of outfit.

"Oh my, it appears the guest of honor has decided to start the party ahead of schedule."

He looked around and could make out he was in an arena of some sort, but not the origin of the voice.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, let the party begin!"

Even with his glasses he was blinded for a moment. When he could see again he saw the seats around the arena were filled with masked, well-dressed men and women. A jolt of electricity ran through his neck, but he was able to power through it. The others at the table, however, screamed themselves awake. He grabbed a knife and stood as the others spoke scared gibberish.

"All of our dinner guests are responsible for killing at least one Ghoul in their life… or claim to have done so. Tonight, we shall see who- GAH!"

His knife flew true, and the masked ponce who was in a viewing box above the arena was now clutching the knife stuck in his eye. His victory was short lived as a door opened beneath the box and eight deformed people came out. They had a mish-mash of weapons, and the others followed his lead of grabbing their knives. He grabbed his fork and plate, and rushed to meet their foes…

Despite what many believed, the CCG did not raid Ghoul hideouts for the sole sake of exterminating them. 'Upper-class' Ghouls could be a wealth of information if caught. Still, more often than not Investigators found themselves having to kill dozens of Ghouls.

Given the state of the area, it may as well of been an extermination.

Bloody footprints filled the hallway, as well as a few corpses. The blood increased in volume as they got further along the path, until they got to the main area.

More than a few of them made prayers to God when they did.

The ground was almost completely slick, the stone floor unable to absorb enough blood. All across the arena were corpses, and in the center was a boy in black, slumped over in a chair.

The wolf was following him again, walking by his side but from far away. He could clearly see it through the fog, which was its own oddity. Every so often it would growl at something unseen, flashing its red teeth before catching up to him. He really wasn't sure what to make of it. He remembered the 'contract' he signed, and watching the beast blood burn away. Well, if you want something done right...

The wolf suddenly stopped, looking towards him and looking scared. He could hear its whimpers from here, and it was tucking itself low to the ground…

There was going to be a day he didn't jolt awake, but apparently that was not today. He was instantly blinded, and as he recoiled he heard people shouting around him and a repeating noise. Through the spots in his vision he could see people in robes and that he was strapped to an operating table.

He stopped. The people around him seemed to notice his sudden change, and they fell silent as well. One of them slowly approached, hand outstretched.

"You're okay. We're just here to help. We're just, here, to-"

The man screamed as he lost two of his fingers, and he spat the fingers out before doubling his struggles. The room exploded into screams and the noise was rapidly repeating. Several men came on, and they tried to force him down. When that didn't work, even more people came in and held him down. He was able to keep himself up just barely, but something jabbed into his thigh and he felt himself lose strength. He took deep breaths through his mouth as he was strapped down, but he was forced to breathe through his nose as they gagged him.

The only way he knew they were doing something to him were the weak pains in his legs and stomach. After a while they seemed to finish, and then he was carted to another room, this one pure white. A woman in white scrubs inserted a tube into his arm, which was connected to a clear bag. He didn't know how long he sat there for, but a woman in white entered the room after a time. Her brown hair was combed back, and her eyes were the same color. She looked at him for a moment before carefully undoing the gag and sitting beside him.

"…I know you're scared," She spoke with a strange accent, "but I'm not here to hurt you."

He breathed out a laugh, and she continued, "I just want to talk. I'll leave anytime you want me to, and you don't have to answer any question you don't want to."

"…Fine." He managed to get out, and she began…

"So he comes from 'Yharnam', a place which is basically run by the 'Church', which dispenses some sort of miracle cure for pretty much every disease, except for a plague that turns people into 'beasts'. Which the Church may be responsible for causing."

Katsurou could feel his black hair turning grey as Mina nodded.

"As it stands, I don't think he's lying, but…" She shrugged, "We at least have more information than we did before."

"Name and age doesn't exactly help, Mina." He sighed, "People were already calling for blood when he killed Investigator Matsuda. Who knows what's going to happen now."

"Given what little you've told me about, I don't think he's a bad person. From the two witnesses-"

"Three." He corrected, and it took her a moment to figure it out.

"Oh, right, the Ghoul. Is it still alive?"

He shook his head, "Died last night. Whatever he shot it with just ruined it."

"Hmm. Anyways, from what I can tell, him shooting Investigator Matsuda was an accident."

"Trust me, I know that. Everyone else, however…"

The two of them went silent after that, the small room they were occupying just a short way from their 'patient's'.

"…Do you mind if I interview the doctors and get a copy of the medical report?" Mina asked.

"Sure. Don't know what good it's going to do you."

"He said he went to Yharnam to get cured for something, and he got forced into the 'Hunt' afterwards. Maybe they found something, other surgical marks, maybe."

He wouldn't allow himself to sleep after that, fearing they may take him somewhere while he did. He saw the moon rise and fall, chased by the sun shortly after. That woman, Mina, came back with a black haired man in tow.

"Alphonse, this is Katsurou. He has something he wants to talk to you about."

The man took this as his cue, and his brown eyes met his blue, "We would like to… take you in."

He frowned, and the man continued, "You are a good fighter. Not many can kill a Ghoul with just steel. Less can kill six. The plan is to convince the board to forgive your crimes by having you join us."

He said nothing, and he looked to the ceiling. Absolution from his crime, in return for servitude.

…A terrible choice, but what other did he have?

"If I say no?"

Katsurou sighed, "Then you face jail time, or worse."

Seeing the look on his face, Mina quickly joined in, "I know this isn't what you want, but it's the best we can do."

…He really was cursed to be a Hunter forever, wasn't he?

"…A Hunter must hunt," he whispered to himself, "…Fine."

"Pardon?" Mina tilted her head.

"I will join you."

At the very least, it would give him time to come up with another solution.

On a foggy cobblestone path, a black wolf curled protectively around its sleeping master.

Soon. Very soon…

AN: Not much actual meat to the chapter, but at least I finally got it done. This may be a slow burn plot wise, so just bear with me for a little while.