Feast ~Kaneki x Reader AU~

Sunlight.

Golden rays that fall into golden pools on the walls and floors. Warm streams that caress the skin.

It's something I missed. It's something I was starting to crave, my sanity slipping in the blackness of that prison. Almost as if I was some kind of caged animal.

I was - am - a caged animal. A prisoner held captive by Aogiri Tree, a ghoul organization known for terrorizing Tokyo. But how did someone like me end up on their radar? I'm just one woman. Just one tourist amongst many tourists doing tourist things. Sightseeing. Taking pictures. Trying new things. Eating new foods. Emerging in a culture unlike my own. I was just living. So, how did I cross their path?

A rhetorical question, of course. I already know the answer to that. I've known it for a while now. The only reason they went after me is because of him.

Ken Kaneki.

Our meeting is one great coincidence. A chance, really. That night, seeing him from my hotel. Watching him leap from rooftop to rooftop, only to fall and land on my balcony. It was all one crazy play at chance. He could have landed anywhere else. But he landed there.

And that was where it all began. That was the moment my life became interlocked with the realm of ghouls. And now, I'm in their world, trapped. Almost as if I'm a small fish surrounded by a swarm of hungry sharks, all gaping and watching.

They could easily kill me. It'd be no challenge to them. A snap of my neck or slash at my jugular and I'd be down. Out for the count. That is, only if they planned on killing me before devouring me. If they really wanted to, they could just eat me to death. Make me scream and watch as they disassemble me right before my own eyes. It'd be a hellish torture for sure, but in this world, I'm not even a guest.

I am prey.

And I am painfully, painfully aware of that fact. This is why I am doing what they say, even as I tremble. Even as nothing but fear pumps through my veins. Because in the end, I am scared. I might have made peace with knowing where I lie in this food chain, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. I'm only human.

And that's scary right now.

"Look alive human," a voice, familiar, orders.

I glance away from the window to see a man. He's young, his features still so smooth and even. Not a bit of age tugging at the corners of his eyes. His jawline is sharp, the messy strands of his blue hair disheveled and wild. Then I see it. The intensity of his blue eyes. They're a dark shade. Almost like a deep indigo, but they are not calming. No. Looking into them is like looking at a stormy sea. Rage and anger bubble at the surface of his stare. But I cannot deny it. This is the same man who led me here yesterday.

"You want food?" he snaps.

I clear my throat. "Yes, please."

"Tch. Figured as much." He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a sandwich wrapped in plastic then tosses it at me. "I honestly don't get why we're keeping you alive. This is stupid."

I catch it. "Trust me...I'm just as lost as you are."

"Don't talk to me. I didn't say that with the intent of a conversation with you."

Yeah. He definitely sounds bitter. But what could someone this young be bitter about? There is no way he's older than me. If anything, he has to be younger.

Then, I take a hard look at where I'm at. Right. He's a ghoul. He's a ghoul in Aogiri Tree. The chances of him having a happy, peaceful life are slim. The chances of any ghoul, in or outside of Aogiri Tree, having a normal, peaceful life is slim. Maybe even impossible. And despite how terrified I am, I still feel that's not right.