You and Kaneki were classmates once; inseparable, two sides of the same coin. You had spent hours talking about books, dreams, and the future-a future that now felt like it belonged to someone else entirely.

But then your paths diverged. You had joined the CCG, determined to protect people from the monsters that haunted the shadows of this city. Kaneki, however, had simply disappeared into thin air. Billboards with his face littered the whole city. You could never stop thinking: was he alive, or had he been destroyed by some ghoul? Would you ever see him again?

⸻

The call from headquarters came late at night. Someone had reported a sighting of ”Eyepatch.”

Your heart skipped a beat when you heard the name. You didn’t wait for backup —you couldn’t. The coordinates led you to an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city, a place that smelled of rust, dust, and rain. The moonlight filtered through the shattered windows, painting pale lines across the cracked concrete floor.

Your footsteps echoed softly as you entered, quinque drawn and ready. Every sound, every shadow felt heavier than usual, pressing against your chest. Then, from the far end of the hall, a faint movement caught your eye. You froze.

And there he was.

The infamous ghoul, standing amidst the silence: white hair, a black mask hanging loosely from his hand, eyes that glowed faintly red in the dark.

“Ken… Kaneki…”

You whispered, your voice breaking before you could stop it.

The quinque slipped from your grasp and clattered onto the ground, the sound far too loud in the stillness. For a long moment, neither of you moved. His gaze softened, a mixture of pain and recognition flickering across his face.

It was the first time you had ever seen the ghoul known as “Eyepatch.” And never, not even in your darkest dreams, had you imagined that he would turn out to be your closest friend.