Reason

"You...you killed him!!" I dodged a surprisingly fast punch from Emily, who was frothing at the mouth while swinging at me with tears flowing down her cheeks. I honestly felt bad but the damn guy tried to kill us...why couldn't she understand that?

"Damnit Emily! Think for one second will you!? He tried to kill me with this damn thing..." I held up the suitcase to prove my point while continuing to dodge her attacks as I continued "I had no choice but to kill him!" If anything, I figured that if she saw herself she'd calm down after realizing that we were the same...

I ducked under her swing and jumped back to avoid a kick before holding up the suitcase toward the light, making a reflective surface that closely mimicked a very clear mirror. Emily's reflection stuck to the metal surface like glue, causing her to stop her initial assault and drop to her knees while feeling around her left eye. "N-No...I'm not a monster, not like you...!" She curled up into a ball and began to sob even louder than before. I'll have to admit, it does hurt being called a monster by a cute girl but I mean hey, I've got more on my plate than worrying about relationships.

My gaze softened as I glanced toward the sobbing Emily before walking up the stairs and checking the surrounding area outside. Everything seemed to be clear and people were walking along without a single care in the world, so I figured we'd be safe if we went out. I began to question if I should listen to the masked man and head to the 20th ward in Tokyo, or if I should try and lay low in the U.S.

Even that might not be a good plan since the man had literally appeared in the room without alerting anyone and disappeared with ease. He could most likely find me very easily and just kill me if I don't follow his advice...

I cursed out loud and walked back into the house and noticed that I couldn't hear Emily crying anymore. I carefully moved to the concealed door and stepped on to the first step, the sound of her cries reaching my ears once again. Confused, I backed up into the kitchen and noticed the noises stopped. There must be some kind of sound dampener that makes it to where no one can hear sounds from the basement unless they're in the basement themselves. I shrugged and walked down the steps and saw the familiar sight of Emily curled up and crying, the only difference was her left eye had turned normal.

I walked over to her and crouched down before putting my hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her, but she just screamed at me and swat my hand away. I sighed and said "Look, Emily, you're a Ghoul and so am I, so we've got to move or else we'll be caught and killed. Do you understand?"

"I'm not leaving with you! You killed him!" She screamed back at me. I rubbed my temples to keep my calm as I said "Yes, I know I killed Nick. Now that that's over with, you can come with me or you can stay here and die. It's your choice..." she glared at me with eyes filled to the brim with hatred as she spat "I'd rather die than live with a monster..." she choked back another sob before continuing "And I'd rather die than live life as a monster..."

"You know, you're not like a normal Ghoul. You can eat human food and you don't seem to get hungry at the sight of human flesh...you might not have to live as a Ghoul, but maybe you can live as a human..." I said with a thoughtful expression. I was talking to myself more than her.

Her face twisted in confusion as she muttered "W-What...?" And I assume she began to think about earlier this morning where she had eaten regular food while I couldn't, but shortly after her gaze turned icy and she said "That doesn't change the fact that I don't want to be near you, so get lost!" I had my fill of this little friendly conversation, so I dashed behind her and knocked her unconscious with a single well placed chop. I was surprised at how natural fighting came to me, especially now when I knew exactly how to knock her out, even though if I thought about it I'd come up empty handed on how I actually did it...

I shook my head and brought her up to the couch in the living room before walking outside and finding an old 1998 Ford Mustang that had a faded red color and a few chips in the paint, but it still looked usable. The keys were actually left in the ignition and the car roared to life. A smile crept to my lips as I thought about driving for the first time, and even though I was inexperienced, I felt as if I would be able to easily get to a place and find a job. Oh shit, I need to get a job in order to buy the tickets to Tokyo...

I facepalmed at my stupidity. Of course nothings free. Now where the hell am I going to find a job that pays enough money...? Well, I've already killed and ate the person who had originally saved me from dying even though he attacked me first, so who cares if I steal a little bit of money? I took the keys out of the car and walked back inside of the house and found a blanket to put over Emily. I found an old map of the city I was currently residing in and planned a series of routes to take in order to hopefully find, or steal, enough money for two plane tickets.

Later that night I roamed the streets of Albany, New York and had found quite a few people who were dumb enough to carry a decent amount of cash on them, so after pickpocketing them I took the roundabout way back to the house. I didn't want anyone to follow me straight to where I was going to be living for the next few days after all. After numerous twists and turns I had made it back on to the street that led to Nick's former house. I swung open the door and casually walked inside before dumping my spoils on to the kitchen table. Overall I had about 300 U.S. dollars and a few miscellaneous trinkets that I could probably sell for a bit of extra money. I stashed the items someplace safe while I checked up on the still unconscious Emily.

She really was a beautiful girl, sure she had a bit of an attitude problem and such but I can tell she's a good person. I then went back up the the library and continued my research. I found out that the suitcase Nick had used was called a 'Quinque', which is made from the kakuhou or more specifically the sack-like organ within a ghouls body that forms the kagune when it pierces the skin. It looks like the Quinque that Nick was using most likely came from a koukaku type kagune. I had put the books away and went downstairs to fetch Emily and put her in her room before heading toward the bathroom so I could get a much needed shower.

The hot water felt like it took the aches and pains away in an instant, causing me to release a content sigh. After washing up I left my hair down to dry and went back to my room. Upon opening the door, however, I saw a very angry Emily waiting for me. I had a wry smile on my face as I said "Unless you're here to sleep with me, you should be getting some rest..." causing her face to go scarlet momentarily before she responded through clenched teeth "What the hell did you do to my Grandpa...where is his bo-" I cut her off before she could finish and said "I already gave him a proper burial earlier, so you don't need to worry about that..."

I moved over to the side of my bed and began to take my shirt off so I could sleep comfortably, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I let out a very, and I mean very, heavy sigh as I said "I want to show you something...follow me..." before turning back to the door. I had found that Nick had security cameras and I found the password to get into the program that brought up their feed, and I had found proof of him chaining Emily to the wall and attacking me. It may not have been the best thing to do at the time, but I felt like she needed to know about the truth.

As I had expected, she quickly broke down and denied the truth, even though it was right in front of her. I shook my head and awkwardly pat her head while she cried herself to sleep. I guess she was tired after all. I picked her up in a princess carry and tried to set her down on her bed, but she kept clinging to my shirt like a koala...

I eventually pried her fingers off of my shirt and set her down before retiring to my own room. I laid there and stared at the ceiling for what felt like days until the sound of birds chirping signaled that it was morning. I got out of bed, got dressed in a black hoodie, sweatpants, and boots before heading outside to hopefully find some more people to pickpocket. Not surprisingly, I found not a living soul outside at this time of day. I was walking back toward the house when I had a chill run up my spine. I spun around and blocked a punch from a man in all red clothing and a clown mask. The man backed up a little as he laughed and said "Good, good. I expected as much from the one who killed the famous retired CCG Special class investigator Old Man Nick..."

I squinted my eyes as I analyzed the man before me before kicking a loose pebble and dashing to his left. I sent out a low kick before using the momentum and spinning around to deliver a bone crushing kick to his jaw. The man recovered quickly and popped his jaw back into place as it regenerated quickly. So he's a Ghoul, this'll be fun...

He dashed toward me and his kagune sprouted out from his shoulders and took shape in the form of a small black wing that danced around like fire. He's an Ukaku type, so all I've got to do is wear him out, then the victory is mine. He fired a volley of black spikes as he rushed in close and tried to use his mobility to end the fight quickly. I dodged all of his attacks before landing a vicious jab to his jaw and kneeing him in the stomach. His mask was partly broken and I could clearly see the blood flowing from his mouth as he snarled and backed off. Feisty little bastard was only talk after all, huh...I closed the distance and in one swift move I pierced through his leg with my hand before snapping his neck like it was a piece of dry wood.

---

Two men sat atop a building with one looking through a pair of binoculars. They both wore grey suits with sunglasses and carried thick metal suitcases with them. The man with the binoculars looked toward the other and nodded his head before they jumped off of the building and started to run toward a distant fight between two Ghouls...