Part 1. Unfamiliar Ghoul. Chapter 3: The Life of a Murderous Duo

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12 July 1026 in the Imperial calendar.

Shelly tripped over the snag again, falling under the tree. From behind her once again came the cheerful shouts of the bandits that were literally hunting her down.

She quickly corrected her glasses, then clutched her Ecstasy tighter and ran on. A couple of seconds later, several bullets flew past her, and Shelly fell to the grass of a small clearing where she ran out.

And then, out of the exhausted girl's hands, someone knocked her scissors out of her hands with a kick, and cheerful shouts rang out above her.

- Ooh, that bitch was more interesting than that pink one.

- Yeah! And that was tight, I think this one's gonna be looser. - Another bandit laughed hoarsely, and then the whole group of nine bandits burst into laughter.

- Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi..." Shelly heard another woman's cheerful voice coming from the other side of the clearing. - I think you should let that girl go.

- Whoa! Guys, look what a hottie got here! - came the voice of one of the bandits.

Shelly found the strength to raise her head, and with the miracle of her glasses still on her nose, she could see a guy and a girl in the shade of a tree.

The guy was wearing a black jacket with scarlet inserts and black jeans and trainers. A waistcoat and shirt was visible under the jacket, and a grey hood was pulled over his head. And a second later, both of his hands blurred into scarlet clots, and in their place, there was a dark mass, with scarlet pulsing veins. Instead of five fingers, there were four huge blades that made it clear that they would cut through anything that got in their way.

The girl had shoulder-length brown hair, and also... ears. Big, cat ears. The colour of her eyes, Shelly couldn't see, but the uniform of a captain of the guard, worn by the stranger, Shelly recognised immediately.

The guy moved towards the bandits, and the next thing she knew, Shelly was unconscious.

***

Shelly slowly opened her eyes and saw a black sky with a yellow moon above her. But before she could marvel at the presence of her glasses, she heard a strange sound from the side.

Turning her head, she saw a pile of corpses of bandits, and all of them were cut in half horizontally. And near this pile, her saviour was sitting, doing something with one of the corpses.

Shelly immediately fumbled for the handle of the Ecstasy, and then began to climb up carefully.

- It's good to see you, Shelly. - Without turning round, the unknown man spoke.

The girl gripped her scissors tighter, then asked:

- Do we know each other?

- Oh yes... in this guise, you wouldn't recognise me. - Standing up and turning to the girl, the stranger smilingly said.

And in the next second, the guy's appearance began to change. First, his whole figure blurred into a scarlet blur. Then, instead of the outline of a hood, his hair appeared. A second later, his face began to grow skin and clothes appeared. This stage lasted a moment, and then... Standing before Shelly, with a huge grin on his face, was a certain white-haired Ghoul that should have been dead for a year by now.

- Ka... neki? - Shelly's eyes widened in a daze.

- Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry I made you nervous. And for not showing up for a long time afterwards. You see, this year has been very painful for me too... after completely losing my body shape, and also switching to a completely different body structure... But more about that later. Right now, we have to go after Mein before she gets killed. - Kaneki got serious.

- You..." Shelly was still dumbfounded.

- New powers. - Kaneki shrugged. - It was mainly because of them that I couldn't make myself known. - Then he walked towards Shelly. - Come on, that way is the base of those bandits.

However, as he passed the girl, he was stopped by her. namely, Shelly, who rushed over to hug him. The girl herself was surprised to notice that Kaneki had become much taller than he had been before.

- Y-you're alive. - She sobbed, poking the boy's shoulder with her finger.

- Oh..." the boy smiled, hugging the girl back. - I didn't realise I was so important to you...

- You were important to everyone. - Shelly answered him, wiping away small tears. - And when you...died....

- That's later. - Ghoul interrupted her. - Right now, we have to go after Mein. From what I've learnt, a lot of terrible things have already been done to her. I can cure the consequences, but death... Follow me. - The guy waved his hand, but suddenly hesitated and gave Shelly a strange look. - I've got a vehicle. It's ugly, but it's fast.

Kaneki walked over to a pile of bandit corpses, then stuck his hand into the body of one of them. From it, the strange red 'spots' that were on Kaneki's body during the makeover ran all over the pile of bodies. And after a couple of seconds, the bodies were once again covered in those things, then began to gather into a single figure.

A dozen seconds later, the silhouette of a large, four-legged creature that resembled a gorilla was formed... but with an elongated neck and an animal skull that had nothing in common with a human skull.

And in another five seconds, the monster was skinned. Coal-black skin, with strange pulsating orange patches. There were no lips, or any semblance thereof. Naked gums with teeth, along with scarlet pupils in the middle of the black whites, made Shelly pull back a little, clutching her blade tighter. The mere sight of this creature was terrifying to the girl, and if she met THIS alone in the middle of the forest at night, she would definitely run.

- I call people like him hunters. - Kaneki said without turning round. - Don't be afraid, he is... shall we say, 'part of me'. I have complete control over him, as if he were part of my body. So he definitely won't hurt you. - smiled the guy. - Now jump in, it's been too long already.

The girl obeyed the order, after which they, together with Kaneki at a breakneck speed through the forest.

***

Shelly watched in horror as the bandits, not just any bandits, but the main gang of the Empire, rumoured to be collaborating with Emperor Halihard, were torn to pieces by a small group of 5 hunters, as Kaneki called them. The bandits, simply did not have time to attack the predators, as they had already torn the victim, sometimes making a couple of bites.

The bandits' base was a fortress that once belonged to the revolutionaries. It was located at the entrance to the mine, as well as between a huge rock as well as a field.

- You and I are going into the mine. There's a sort of prison there, where Main is. Also, I'm gonna have to make a stop. I want to talk to the ringleader..." Kaneki smiled a little.

Shelly remained silent, still reeling from the news that Kaneki was alive and well. Even though she didn't understand a lot of things, the girl hoped to get answers after they rescued Main.

- Let's go. - Kaneki nodded his head, heading towards the mine entrance.

Entering the mine, Shelly shivered as she looked at the rats that immediately began to hide. "Is it really that bad in here?" - she thought. "Poor Myne....".

- Go forward until you reach the stop, then turn right and there will be Mein's cell. - Kaneki said. - I'm going to see the leader. Meet me in the centre of the camp.

After that, the guy headed towards the exit of the mine.

- Kane... - Shelly started, but the guy interrupted her:

- Don't worry. I'll leave a hunter at the exit to take you to the rendezvous point. - and then he sprinted outside.

Shelly sighed, then headed the way she had come, clutching Ecstasy tightly.

***

Shelly destroyed the iron door blocking her path to Mein with a flick of her scissors. But what she saw when she opened the door...

Myne was surrounded by 3 men with their trousers down, who at the moment were staring at Shelly in a frenzy of fear, huddled in corners. But the sight of the little sniper, hurt the girl far more. Almost naked Myne, with a few small scraps of clothing around her neck and leg, lay unconscious, with a bunch of bruises and abrasions all over her body. A white fluid, quite familiar from the books, was oozing from her genitals; however, it was on the rest of Myne's body as well.

At that moment, the three men fell to the floor, cut in two. And Shelly, torn by her feelings, berating herself for her weakness.

Flashback.

- Run! - Mein shouted, firing another projectile from Calandor, which killed only 2 bandits this time, because they were already at a very close range.

Shelly with a stone face chopped up another bandit, then looked at the approaching crowd and nodded. The girls immediately ran away, while Myne managed to shoot behind her back in parallel.

Several strange magical clots flew past the girls... and then one of them hit Main. The girl fell, dropping Calandor, and froze. Shelly instantly jumped to her friend, but getting her up proved to be a problem. The pink-haired girl looked as if she was a couple of dozen kilos heavier.

- I can't move. Paralytic teigue! - Mein said with difficulty.

Both girls knew that this gang, which bore the name "Forest Hunters", had a pair of teigu for hunting, but they had no idea that they would be caught on the hunt.

- Mein... - Shelly said helplessly, trying to drag the girl along. The screams behind them were getting closer and closer.

- Run. Get... help. - slowly, falling asleep, managed to say to Myne, then passed out.

- I promise... Hold on, Myne. - whispered Shelly, then began her 8 hour run.

End of flashback.

After wrapping Myne in the clothes the bandits were wearing, Shelly gently took the sniper in her arms, then gritting her teeth at the painful moaning she heard, headed for the exit. As much as she hated touching those animals, there were no other clothes to wear.

As she waddled to the exit, Shelly was confronted head-on by one of Kaneki's hunters, causing her to startle. Shelly calmed down when she saw no aggression, but only that the creature ducked down, muzzling Mein and then her back, and then settled Mein on the hunter's back (not without a lot of nerve), and then pulled out the Ecstasy and followed the creature, watching its every move.

***

- Tz-" Kaneki uttered, looking at Main's bruises. Shelly didn't care that he was looking at her friend's body so unabashedly, but first of all, there wasn't a living thing on her body, which made the picture far from positive, and secondly, Kaneki had said he could heal her.

- I'm sorry, Mein. - The guy gritted his teeth, then pounded his fist into a nearby building. The wood could not withstand such treatment, collapsing in the process. - Bastards...

At that moment, the silently crying Shelly recoiled, due to the monstrous bloodlust that Kaneki started spreading.

- Ka... neki! - exclaimed the girl. - What about Mein? Can you heal her?

- Yes." the guy nodded, walking over to the sniper.

At that moment, one of the hunters landed next to him, and seeing what was kept in his teeth....

- Calandor! - Shelly exclaimed in surprise.

The hunter gently placed the rifle on the ground, then abruptly jumped somewhere behind the rock.

- Shell. - Turned to the girl Kaneki, with a rather scowling look on his face. - When she wakes up, you must not say a word to her about the rape. I'll erase her memory of it, so she won't know what happened to her in captivity. You'll say Mayne wasn't touched or something. I'll leave a few bruises, but I'll heal the rest.

- Where will you be? - Shelly asked in surprise.

- I've got another lead on where to find the man I've been hunting all this time. Therefore, I have to check it out. It'll take a few days, so head to the Capital and I'll find you there. And... Shell. - Kaneki stammered.

- Yes?

- Akame. She's wandering around the country right now with Wade and Kurome and another guy they met a couple of days ago.

- She... knows? - Shelly asked dumbfounded.

- No." smiled Kaneki sadly. - I spoke to them a little less than a week ago. But... then I was under the disguise you saw in the first few moments of our meeting. So... If you meet them, promise me you won't tell on me.

- Why? - Shelly wondered.

- I've seen how she lives. From what I've seen, Akame has finally forgotten me and can start a new life. To put that in perspective, there's about a 65% chance that she'll fall in love with this new guy. Even though she'll continue to walk around the country for the first while, she'll still settle down in some town sooner or later. Have a couple of larvae and then live a normal life. And if she finds out I'm alive... she'll be like Esdes.

- Ahh..." Shelly stretched out incomprehensibly.

- Esdes has been on my trail all year. Except... Somehow she knew I was alive from the beginning. I don't know how. But Akame's another matter. If she finds me, she'll be in danger again.

- How do you know that? - Shelly asked quietly. - You can't know that for sure.

- No, Shelly. - Kaneki smiled sadly. - When I was in my bloody slime form, I was able to think about a lot of things. After all... it's all me. Akame's suffering is my fault and mine alone. Besides... if I suddenly disappear completely, she won't have to suffer again. Ahh... Anyway, I'm getting a little soft, which I'm not used to... Anyway, in the Capital, you... remember Lubbock's manga shop?" he nodded. - Well, he and Leone live there. You can stay there. I'll pick you up.

- Wait... so you're gonna tell them too?

- I don't think so. Why burden them? There's a mask named Alex Mercer. So.

- Why? - Shelly asked timidly.

- Huh?" Kaneki interjected, stopping half-stepping.

- Why did you tell me about yourself but don't want to reveal yourself to the others?

Kaneki smiled weakly, then looked at the slowly reddening sky as there wasn't much time left before dawn.

- I just felt like it. Because, I'm selfish. - shrugged his shoulders. - Would that answer satisfy you?

- You're not. - Shelly shook her head seriously.

- What makes you think that? - hummed the guy. - I've been in the form of liquid in a fishbowl for two months. You know, it takes a toll on the character. And Dorothea was always trying to experiment. - Kaneki grumbled.

The girl stopped, looking at him dumbfounded. Kaneki himself did not hurry to break the silence, looking thoughtfully at the moon, which was beginning to disappear.

- I don't want to repeat my story from last year. So when we meet in the Capital, I'll tell it then.

Shelly suddenly remembered the girl who had been next to Kaneki before she passed out, which she hurried to ask.

- 'Ahh...' the guy smiled sincerely. - This is Felka. Felicia, my... - here the guy suddenly stopped himself, starting to scratch the back of his head. - ahem... friend.

Mein stirred, drawing Shelly's attention to herself. The girl immediately jumped up to her friend, looking happily into Maine's slightly opened eyes.

- Shell..." the sniper sleepily mumbled.

The girl smiled happily back, then looked towards Kaneki, hoping to find support. However, the guy was already gone.