Afternoon.
Mei Mei walked slowly into the Tombs of the Star Corridor with elegant steps, carrying Ui Ui, who was still unconscious and missing an arm.
Behind her, a crow carried a heavy bag in its beak.
There was no need to ask.
Everyone knew what was inside.
Seeing this,
Kaneki formed a strange hand sign, and an enormous deer emerged from his shadow.
-Round Deer!
Round Deer slowly approached and gently pressed its nose against the stump of the unconscious Ui Ui's arm.
A ball of white light appeared.
Then, buds of flesh visibly began sprouting rapidly from the cleanly severed stump.
Before long,
his missing arm had grown back.
Ui Ui, still under anesthesia, stirred as well, letting out a muffled groan.
"Transaction complete."
As she spoke, Mei Mei could not keep the smile off her face.
She couldn't help it.
Ken Kaneki had simply paid far too much.
After smiling for a while, Mei Mei looked at Kaneki and said, "Thank you."
She was thanking him for healing Ui Ui.
"I should be thanking you." Kaneki reached out and took the bag from the crow.
"Since you're going to eat them anyway, you might as well eat them all at once..."
Rip!
Yuki Tsukumo tore off her own arm as well and tossed the bloody limb to Ken Kaneki.
As the saying went,
better a short, sharp pain than prolonged suffering.
Since he had to eat them anyway, he might as well eat them together.
Those words sent ripples through the group.
Todo raised his left hand, formed a blade with his right, and chopped down on his left arm.
He severed it at the shoulder.
Before the arm could fall, he caught it and tossed it to Ken Kaneki.
Nanami did the same.
Except,
he used his own blunt blade, activating the Ratio Technique, "Wara Wara," on his left arm.
The instant the technique took effect,
his left arm came straight off!
At the same time, Naobito Zenin, Toge Inumaki, and Arata Nitta all tossed over their left arms.
Takuma Ino hesitated.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but when he actually had to hurt himself, he faltered for a moment.
Soon,
he made up his mind.
Just as he was about to cut off his arm, Kaneki hurriedly interrupted him. "Don't!"
"I really can't eat this much."
In truth,
he had no need for Ino's technique, but saying so outright would hurt his feelings.
So,
he told a white lie.
After hearing that, Ino laughed and stopped trying to hurt himself. He understood, too, that his technique would be of no use at all.
At that moment,
Kusakabe felt immensely relieved that he had no Innate Cursed Technique.
Otherwise,
he would have had to cut off his arm too.
"You lot..." With a cigarette between her lips, Shoko looked exasperated as she used Reverse Cursed Technique to stop the bleeding for those who couldn't use it themselves. "Round Deer needs time to heal injuries too. Couldn't you have done this one at a time...?"
After saying that,
she let out a long sigh.
Nearby, Okkotsu also used Reverse Cursed Technique to stop Inumaki's bleeding.
Noritoshi Kamo, Yū Shinji, and the others watched from the sidelines. A pungent smell of blood filled the air.
Earlier,
they had discussed which techniques they needed.
Ino had been absent because he was on night watch, which was why this mix-up had happened.
Just then,
Kugisaki approached Kaneki and held out her right hand. "Go ahead and do it yourself."
Kaneki looked at her.
"Let's wait a little longer..." he said gently.
Round Deer had not finished healing the others yet, so she would have to wait a while for her turn.
"All right..."
Kugisaki withdrew her hand and sat beside him, watching as she waited for her turn.
Before long,
Round Deer had regrown all the severed arms.
It came to Kugisaki's side and gently pressed its nose against her, ready to activate its technique at any moment.
"Go ahead."
Kugisaki held out her right hand again.
"Okay."
The moment he spoke, a bloody line opened just below Kugisaki's right elbow, and her severed forearm fell toward the ground.
It happened too quickly.
Before Kugisaki could even react, Round Deer had already begun healing her injury.
The pain had only just begun
when buds of flesh were already sprouting from the stump.
Kugisaki frowned and complained, "Why didn't you cut it off at the shoulder?"
After saying that,
she held out her right hand again, wanting Kaneki to do it once more.
"That's enough already."
Kaneki raised a hand to stop her.
He would barely use Kugisaki's technique more than a few times, so this amount was already enough.
Then,
Tengen tossed over an arm as well.
Kaneki looked at the pile of severed limbs on the ground and fell into thought.
There really are too many...
Aside from Arata Nitta's and Kugisaki's, which were only half an arm each, all the others were whole arms.
The ground was piled with severed arms.
Seeing his utterly hopeless expression, Okkotsu couldn't help feeling grateful that he had Rika.
At the same time,
he felt bad for Kaneki.
Kaneki didn't hesitate for long. Turning his back to everyone, he picked one up and began gnawing on it.
Although they couldn't see him,
they could hear the crunch of bones being chewed in his mouth.
It sent chills down their spines.
One arm.
Two arms.
Before he finished the third, a gut-wrenching retch rang out.
He hadn't eaten this in a long time, and his tolerance had weakened.
Crack!
The moment he retched,
Kaneki instinctively snapped his own ring finger, trying to stop himself from gagging.
But,
this time, it didn't stop.
Then he twisted again, and the sounds of breaking bones rang out one after another.
Before long,
all five fingers on his left hand were grotesquely twisted, a horrifying sight.
Only then did he barely manage to stop retching.
Once he had suppressed the gagging, Kaneki began eating again.
His left hand gradually returned to normal under the healing effects of Reverse Cursed Technique.
Everyone watching lowered their heads, their expressions unbearably heavy.
They could see a shadow of Satoru Gojo in Ken Kaneki.
But,
he was different from Satoru Gojo.
If Satoru Gojo was a monster, then he was someone forced to become one!
Because,
they could sense in Kaneki the qualities that only a human possessed.
Then...
The retching and the cracking of bones continued.
Everyone could clearly see Ken Kaneki's left hand heal and break, break and heal, over and over.
Until,
he had eaten everything.
Even then, those two distinct sounds could still be heard.
After taking a while to recover, Kaneki finally raised his bowed head and saw Kugisaki holding out a tissue.
"Wipe your face..."
Her voice was as cool as ever.
"Thank you."
Kaneki smiled and thanked her.
To Kugisaki, his face, smeared with blood and saliva, looked like that of an angel fallen to the mortal world, with a touch of tragic beauty.
She had to admit...
Even at a time like this,
that face was still incredibly handsome.
Kaneki took the tissue and wiped his face. After tossing the trash into his shadow, he saw Kugisaki, leaning back in her chair, hold out a mint.
"Thank you."
Kaneki took it and thanked her again.
He put the candy in his mouth. It tasted so sweet.
Unfortunately...
After all the effort he'd put into changing his diet, he couldn't stomach food again.
Then,
Kaneki activated the [Immortality] technique to eliminate any potential problems lingering in his body.
He closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
Tears left by his retching still clung to his eyelashes.
Seeing this,
everyone felt sorrow for Kaneki.
Little did they know that Kaneki was wondering whether he should cook it before eating it.
Having grown accustomed to cooked food,
he really didn't like eating bloody raw meat.
He just didn't know whether the [Brain Devouring] technique would still work if he cooked it first.
Before long.
Ui Ui woke up after being given the anesthetic.
Though his hand had grown back, he could still feel a dull ache around his shoulder blade once the anesthetic wore off.
Seeing Kaneki watching him.
Ui Ui remembered their agreement and asked, "Do you want me to take you there now?"
"If possible..."
Kaneki replied, "Now would be best, of course."
Everyone looked at them in confusion. They knew the two had made some sort of deal.
But.
The specific details.
They hadn't looked into those.
Happy New Year, everyone!
May the money roll in, and may you count so much cash your hands cramp up!
Would any generous reader be willing to send this humble author a free "Support with Love" gift?
Here and now.
Thank you, kind readers!
Before you continue