I also take off my mask and hood while thinking about how to explain all this without revealing too much about my true nature.
'Mm...'
Well, who the hell cares. We're both monsters anyway.
"Let's start with the topic of parasites."
I say while looking around the dusty warehouse.
I see an old chair in a corner. It's covered in dust and cobwebs. I walk toward it and grab it, cleaning it with my hand. Once it's clean enough I sit on it.
"It happened a couple of days ago, about a week back."
"I was bathing peacefully in the stream when suddenly I saw fluorescent spores falling from the night sky. They were bright and beautiful. Maybe they were like fireflies. But they were also quite strange, you know?"
Touka purses her lips with impatience while crossing her arms over her chest.
"What exactly does that have to do with the parasites?"
"Shut up and listen."
I say those words to her directly. That makes her look at me as if she wants to punch me in the face right now. Her eyes narrow dangerously and I can see a vein throbbing on her forehead.
Well, it makes sense she's annoyed. Just an hour ago when she was explaining about the different types of kagune, I myself hadn't paid the slightest attention. So I guess I deserve her irritation.
But anyway I continue with my explanation ignoring her murderous look.
"Those spores had something inside them. When they opened they released small, twisted worms. Those worms are exactly the parasites we're talking about. Ah. Have you seen the news before about patriarch Takagi?"
I see how something clicks in her mind when her blue eyes open slightly. She nods her head and starts to say.
"I've seen that news... They said he was a ghoul who had savagely attacked his own family. But that news always seemed strange to me. Because normal humans don't transform into ghouls just like that. And they specifically mentioned that his biological weapons were born from his head instead of his back... So it was a parasite controlling him. He wasn't really a ghoul at all."
She looks directly at me and I feel curiosity and interest growing in her frequencies.
"Were you the ghoul who interrupted that night there? At the Takagi mansion when all that happened?"
I nod confirming her suspicions.
"That man's daughter is my friend. Her name is Saya. When I realized what exactly those worms falling from the sky were and seeing them scatter to different parts of the city, I immediately ran off to look for my friends to make sure they were safe. I arrived just in time to save Saya from her parasitized father."
"I see..."
Touka mutters while nodding.
Then I show a big smile on my face.
"But I wouldn't be so sure yet about saying I'm a ghoul."
"What do you mean by that?"
Touka asks frowning.
"Two parasites entered me that night."
She startles upon hearing what I just said and starts looking at me cautiously.
I raise both hands showing her my ten fingers. Then I slowly transform them into sharp, shining blades.
—Shink! Shink! Shink!
"Fufufufu..."
I laugh sinisterly as the blades emerge from my fingers.
—Bam!
Touka hits me hard on the head with her fist. Eh, fortunately my brain isn't that small, because right now it would have rattled in my skull.
"Stop acting and laughing in that stupid way! You don't scare me at all. But you look like a complete idiot doing that."
I look at her with an innocent gaze, making her sigh deeply. That makes her look like a woman dealing with a problematic child.
"So that's why you have those blades on your fingers. Are you also a parasite that took control of a body?"
I shake my head quickly.
"Ekk! No, no. Before the parasites could consume my brain and take control of my head, I pulled them out of my skull with my own fingers and ate them."
Touka's face contorts with disgust.
"I won't ask the specific details of how exactly you pulled those worms out of your head."
She pronounces those words with a flat voice.
"Because I know with certainty it will be a disgusting answer to hear and will probably make me vomit. And instead I'll ask you something more important. Are you okay in the damn head to eat parasitic worms that you know nothing about regarding their origin or effects? As I thought, you're a big idiot."
I shrug while moving my blade fingers making them resonate between each other.
"I've known for a long time that my body is strange and different from anything else. That's why I consumed the two worms without thinking too much about it. And here's the main point about why I said I want to eat the dead parasite ghoul."
I pause and show all my teeth while smiling.
"Because I can get significant improvements if I eat supernatural beings. For example, when I ate the two parasitic worms I got these blades on my fingers. And when I ate a ghoul's Kakuhou..."
Touka's eyes open enormously upon hearing what I just said.
"When you ate a ghoul's Kakuhou...?"
She repeats what I said and urges me to continue.
My initial emotions deflate.
"Huh... well, it's a bit disappointing if I say so myself. I only got the beginning of a Kakuhou. That is, it's not complete yet and therefore I can't manifest a kagune yet. I need to consume more Kakuhou for mine to grow enough."
Touka stays silent for several seconds and just looks at me with a stunned expression on her face. Did I say something too absurd perhaps? For her probably yes.
Then she finally comes out of that state of shock.
"What the hell are you exactly?"
"Honestly I don't know what I am since I've been born like this from the beginning. But of one thing there's absolutely no doubt. I'm a monster."
And you know what? This being a monster thing is starting to appeal to me quite a bit. It has so many benefits.
I just have to eat other monsters to evolve and become stronger.
Touka then lets out a long sigh.
"You must have been hiding that secret of yours from others for a long time."
She says slowly and narrows her gaze on me.
"But aren't you afraid that I'll reveal this secret to other people? After all, this kind of information would sell extremely well on the black market. Especially to CCG investigators. They would pay a fortune to know about someone like you. An anomaly."
I tilt my head to one side while staying calm.
"Will you?"
She responds immediately without hesitating.
"No."
"Then there's your answer. You're a monster yourself too. And in a way I trust you."
"Why?"
She wants to know the specific reason behind my trust.
"Because we're both quite similar when I think about it. We're both children living alone in this cruel world without family. And besides you seem like a good girl with a good heart. Leaving aside the fact that you have a rather harsh way of speaking and an extremely tough personality, of course."
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
She directs an icy look at me that gives me the feeling it can freeze water.
I laugh out loud with amusement while pointing at her with my finger.
"I mean exactly that! That look and attitude!"
I can feel how Touka struggles internally about whether she should hit me again or not. Her hand closes into a trembling fist. But if she hits me now she'll only prove I'm right about her tough personality.
Therefore she releases an annoyed snort and turns her face away.
"Whatever..."
When she regains her composure, her expression becomes serious.
"The situation will soon be quite chaotic. There were already enough problems with ghouls being hunted by the CCG. And now we have parasites that can infect both humans and ghouls. Is it possible that normal humans are destined to eventually disappear? Will they go extinct as a species?"
"Who knows?"
And it's true I don't know.
I certainly don't want that to happen.
It's not that I'm particularly worried about humanity in general. I realize now that I'm quite indifferent to humans compared to how I was at the beginning when I was just reborn in this world.
'Are the parasites changing my mentality? Or is it my own nature gradually awakening?'
I'm not sure, but I won't lock up or chain my nature. Because it's what I am.
Anyway, what really worries me are specific people. Saya and Rei mainly. And now Touka also enters that category of people I care about.
But what Touka mentioned is likely to eventually happen because of the zombies I know will appear in a few years, when Saya, Rei and I are around 16 years old if nothing unforeseen occurs.
Will they be normal zombies like in the anime? Or will the strange nature of this world force them to evolve too so they can adapt to the existence of ghouls and parasites?
I don't have answers yet.
In any case, I must start seriously hunting parasites and ghouls. I won't feel calm nor will I be able to sleep well if I don't evolve enough to be able to easily defeat all enemies that cross my path.
Then Touka says something that captures my attention.
"Besides all this, I vaguely remember my parents mentioned something in the past about another type of monster different from ghouls. But they flatly refused to reveal specific details because they said they were afraid I would search for information on my own. Monsters more dangerous than ghouls. Is it possible they were talking about parasites? But you said you saw them appear for the first time only a week ago..."
Hearing that, I furrow my eyebrows.
'Another type of monsters besides ghouls and parasites?'
Well, this world is mixed between Tokyo Ghoul, Parasyte and High School of the Dead. It wouldn't be strange at all if monsters appeared from some other different title I don't even know about yet.
Then I smile. It's a predatory smile.
"That's even better then. It means I have new prey to hunt and consume. And now I have a new hunting companion with me. So everything's perfectly fine, right?"