[ Video ]

[dualismum]

[ There is a familiar face! Though the hair looks different and he looks a bit older that is definitively Ken Kaneki. He won't be acting as if he is familiar with the place, though. Not for a while. He just left the government car who dropped him off at the Heropa Housing #4, and he is currently carrying his file; yup he just arrived.

He bows his head, almost military like, and then smiles all proper, calm and collected ] Hello, I've just arrived. My name is Haise Sasaki, I'm 23 years old and while I understand that might not mean anything here, I'm a First Class Ghoul Investigator, affiliated with the Commission of Counter Ghoul, Tokyo Branch. If these words mean anything to you, I'd like to speak to you, please. And if anyone has heard of my Squad - Tooru Mutsuki, Kuki Urie, Ginshi Shirazu or Saiko Yonebayashi - please direct them to me, and I apologize in advance in case they did something, I know they can be rowdy kids. [ finally that professional smile turns a bit more playful.

Okay! That's probably all he needs for a proper introduction and pleased with himself, Sasaki nods ] Sorry about the formality, it's important for the CCG, even if they don't exist here. [ and he is one loyal dog] In any case, you may call me just Sasaki. Or Sassan. That's what my kids call me. 

I just arrived to Cape Canaveral, told to live in Heropa and that I'm supposed to be a Superhero. I'm still waiting for the punch line here, while I drink my coffee with just-ice. [ get it? Just-ice? Justice? Because he is called a super hero? Look, there is a city "Heropa", you can't complain about puns ok. And Sasaki looks so proud of himself, look at that stupid grin on his face. Someone stop this man. ] I'm not a superhero, but I really want to find the perfect Hero name now. Maybe the "Pun Master" will stick. [ Sasaki, n o ]

I'm meant to live in Heropa's Government Housing #4 - if I have roommates, I'd love to meet you - and I'll be joining the Heropa's police force as an officer. [ it's below his rank back home, but he will accept it with a smile ] I'm Registered and - they have a file on me. [ he grabs his file, his smile dropping a bit ] - that was an interesting read. In any case! I think that's all, it's very nice to meet you all and I hope we can work well together. [ he bows is head again and finally turns off the feed ]


[ ooc: Kaneki is back from his canon update; he will be pretending he is NOT Kaneki though. Action is more than welcome! ]

Comments

permatext

[deadtective]

[the post draws her up short. the name, mannerisms, everything is wrong, but that is undeniably Kaneki's face.

Hazel knows that he'd come back different the last time he'd left, but this was...no, it was too much. perhaps it was a relative, or - she squashes that thought where it stands because she can't bear it. even in her own mind, she can't stand the idea of a friend staring at her without a hint of recognition. no matter how inevitable that fate was, it was still too painful.

so she'll keep it all to herself. new arrival, new conversation. if she was lucky it really would be a family member.]

You missed Mutsuki by a bunch of months. If anyone else is here they're pretty fucking quiet on the network.

[dualismum]

[ Mutsuki was here. yes, he knows that. He also knows this person, he knows Hazel from the moment she arrived to this world, and he knows everything they went through; he knows she is a zombie and he knows she is loud, he knows she isn't kind to herself, he knows she is dating Josuke, he knows...

He can't admit to it, though, not yet. Everything is really confusing and Sasaki doesn't want to admit he is scared too, and that kaneki's voice inside his head is just so damn loud now.

He can't deal with that yet. ]

They aren't the type to keep quiet. [ maybe Urie, but Sasaki can't find his name anywhere ] It's better that way, I will try to find out what Mucchan was up to when he was here.

[ Should he ask her what's her name? It'll hurt her because Hazel expects Kaneki. And he does know her name; he doesn't want to admit that this is kaneki's body and he has Kaneki's memories, but he doesn't want to lie either. Not so blatantly. ]

[deadtective]

Probably won't be too hard; everybody loves showing their asses on this thing.

[it's just another game of pretend, she tells herself as she taps out her response. Hazel's a good person, her life has value, this man doesn't look like her friend - doesn't even have a chance of potentially being her friend. she can make herself swallow one more lie just fine.]

video; 1/i'll let you know

[leaflets]

[ she tried to be prepared for this. from the moment she returned from coming from the future for a short while to find a letter on her desk, she tried. ]

2/4

[leaflets]

[ Haise Sasaki. A Ghoul Investigator.

This is the final nail in the coffin, the proof that in the end, she was still too weak to protect anything.

That even she did return to their world with these memories and new skills, that they would make no difference. ]

3/4

[leaflets]

[ But...people get their memories back when they return sometimes, so maybe...? ]

video;

[leaflets]

[ she shouldn't get her hopes up. she shouldn't, because if (when) it fails, the disappointment will be crushing. ]

Onii-chan...?

video;

[dualismum]

[ Hina-

Fueguchi-san.

She is still here. Why is she still here? Kaneki was in this world three years ago - it was a long time ago - and maybe Haise expected that much time had gone by in this world too. But it didn't and in fact, Kaneki was only gone a week. Everyone is still here, Fueguchi-san is too.

And he doesn't know how to answer to any of this.

He isn't her "onii-chan", he is just a parasite living in Kaneki's body and who somehow managed to get two years worth of memories of that person. Everything is all wrong. She was meant to be an adult too. And he had... rights over her even, how messed up is that? ]

... I'm sorry. I'm not - [ him. ]

You are probably confusing me with someone else.

Action!

[unbreaker]

[Outside Haise's room, Josuke stands with his back to the wall listening to the broadcast being sent out over the network. Eavesdropping, you might say. He takes in the list of names, of which he recognizes only one, and tries as best he can to digest the fact his friend, Ken Kaneki, is...somewhere else for now.

Not gone. He refuses to believe that. But not here, not exactly.

Instead, this person, this ghoul investigator who calls himself Haise Sasaki, he's here, and it would seem some strange stroke of luck has placed him in Josuke's house with him. Which makes what comes next all the more difficult...]

So, you're my new roommate?

[He turns the corner and leans against the door frame of the older boy's bedroom, arms crossed, gaze wandering about the room in an attempt not to stare. All it takes is a quick glance, though, and he confirms it. Haise looks so much like Ken that it's startling. But Josuke was prepared for this...sort of. Prepared enough to keep from looking too surprised, at least.]

...nice to meet you, Sasaki-san.

[dualismum]

[ being Sasaki isn't hard only because he doesn't remember anything about his existence before three years ago. It's also rather difficult in a way that he has shaped flashbacks and memories that gets from time to time and belong to Kaneki - and built someone inside his mind, that represents pretty much the struggle that goes on. At first those fears took the shape of the Kakuja, and as he got to know Kaneki better, they took the shape of a small child with white hair. However, he struggles to keep he and that child separated: Sasaki: considers himself a parasite inside someone else's body.

But arriving here made things even more complicated because he gained all the memories from the time he spent here as Kaneki. And he doesn't really have the chance to consider those Kaneki's memories alone, because Sasaki feels like he lived them (he has) - and all of his feelings towards the people Kaneki has met exist within him as well.

Living with Josuke is quite painful in the way that Sasaki insists that he isn't Kaneki and as such, he insists on pretending those memories and feelings aren't there. So as he turn his head and meets his friend (even if he can't call him that), Sasaki feels like he'd like to apologize and tell him that he means to world to him - but he can't. Because Sasaki doesn't know how to deal with any of this, not yet. ]

Ah...! Hello! [ he smiles and nods instead ] It's very nice to meet you.

I hope I won't be a bother.

[unbreaker]

Don't worry about it.

[Josuke shrugs his shoulders, but his arms remain crossed. Almost guarded. He knows this person...but then again, he doesn't. He'd like to be able to stroll on over and throw his arm reassuringly around his friend's shoulders the way he used to, but that kind of familiarity might be unnerving for someone who doesn't have Kaneki's memories. And, Josuke suspects, Haise will have enough of that to deal with from other people.]

The more the merrier, right?

[A small smile.

But that feeling is already there like a hand clenching his heart. He wants Haise to remember who he really is, to remember his name is Ken Kaneki. He wants his friend back. But...

The pain is unbearable, I'm going to melt, melt, melting—

...does his friend really want to come back? As Josuke recalls his friend's state in the hospital some months ago, he sadly suspects the answer is no.]

Video

[dun_moch]

[What fresh nonsense is this? Dooku scrutinizes Kaneki- no, Sasaki's face in the video, looking for any sign of recognition or memory. He wonders what could be happening here. Kaneki would not be the first imPort to have a near-twin arrive- Admiral Naismith seems to have his personal crop of doppelgangers- but Sasaki also comes from a world with ghouls.

And he puns, which Kaneki would never do. Dooku decides to play it cool, which is his default approach to most things.]

Greetings, Sasaki. I am Count Dooku. You are a first-time imPort, correct?

Video

[dualismum]

[ welcome to tokyo ghoul fuckery.

also welcome to Kaneki running away because this is what he does.

sasaki also knows this person. hell, he knows everyone. He remembers everything from the time Kaneki was here. Feels everything too. And he remembers quite well Kaneki's conversations with this man, as well as their meditation sessions - all in all, Sasaki is glad kaneki wanted help, reaches for it and found it in this person.

Even if that first time was-

well, no. Sasaki wants to detach himself from those memories so he will do just that ]

Hello, Count Dooku. And yes, it's my first time here. [ as Sasaki, certainly not a lie. ]

Video

[dun_moch]

[When Dooku tries to sense Sasaki through the Force, the results are... confusing, even by the standards of the bubbling stew that was Ken Kaneki's mind.

The person his power is touching is not Kaneki, does not hold Kaneki's thoughts and feelings... and yet it is Kaneki at the same time. Hints of Kaneki can be felt there like spots of old and faded paint peeking out from beneath a fresh new coat. In all his long years, the Count has never sensed something like this before.]

In that case, allow me to welcome you to Heropa. It is always good to see more imPorts joining the ranks of the police. I suspect you will find your job to be a quite busy one.

video.

[glowsferatu]

[ A Ghoul Investigator? ...What?

She can't help but wonder if this is some way to escape scrutiny for his...indiscretions in the past week. But she saw him port out, so that's a fact, whether he doesn't remember his time here, well it seems a little early for a regular new arrival.

Still, if he really doesn't remember his previous time here, she should tread lightly. What happened to Kaneki may come back to haunt him, but it wouldn't be right to force it on him. ]

Sassan. I'm sure they must. I hope punning isn't the power you received, because you might need a bit of practice.

video.

[dualismum]

[ he kills ghouls now kanaya )8

he is even called the reaper )8

he also has so many medals )8


But he does remember what kaneki did - Kaneki, not Sasaki. Sasaki certainly is detaching himself from THAT time - and while he wants to apologize, as he doesn't see himself as Kaneki, no matter if he kept his memories or not, Sasaki can't bring himself to say anything. he has no idea what to do, how to address all of this, so his option right now is running away. ]

Oh- they aren't that bad.

video;

[amadaman]

... You have to be good at something to be a master.

[That's... Kaneki, right? But he's not acting like it, or saying it out loud. There's probably a reason why. (But what about Hinami?) Ken stares long and hard at the man on the screen after his initial jab, then continues.]

Welcome to the cities, Sasaki-san.

video;

[dualismum]

[ oh my GOD KEN

THAT'S

SO RUDE ]

Why is everyone against my puns... [ heartbreak and misery right there.



and we totally are going to pretend this is not Kaneki, ok. because it's not. Nope. Not. kaneki. ]

Thank you. Glad to be here and... help with whatever is necessary. [ while he feels like the world underneath his feet is crumbling, and everything is awful (= ]

video; locked after SO MUCH EFFORT

[leaflets]

[ don't mind the fact that it's pretty clear hinami has been sobbing for quite a while and looks a devastated mess. it's not like haise just shattered every bit of hope she was holding onto or anything!!! ]

He doesn't know who I am.

[ because kaneki claiming not to be kaneki and fooling literally no one. ]

Video

[hunterrabbit]

[There's a long moment of silence when the video comes on- like Touka decided to respond on an impulse, but then realized she didn't know exactly what to say.

And really, what can she say right now.

They're never going to have lives that get any better. Because every single time they start to build it back up, it goes crashing down even harder than it did before. There will always be pain, there will always be loss, and maybe there will always be betrayal too.]

Hey.

[Her voice almost sounds hollow by this point.]

Just what're you trying to pull, now?

[There's another pause here. Because she's not buying that it's not Kaneki...and that he doesn't have any memory at all. But with that, she finally looks up into the camera.]

Well?

Video

[dualismum]

[ Touka-chan is here. He doesn't know what to think about that because he really hoped all the people Kaneki has met here had left ;after all, for him, it all happened three years ago. Certainly time doesn't work the same way, Sasaki knows, but-

the problem with people that came from his world is that Sasaki doesn't really remember what happened in their world before he came to existence; he knows Touka because she was in this one and for about a year, she and Kaneki lived together. It's true that he has all the memories from that time, as well as the feelings attached to them, as if he had lived everything by himself, but Sasaki doesn't know how these feelings came to be.

he doesn't know how he met this person, and he doesn't know how he came to feel for this person. He just does. And that's really scary.

And confusing.

So Sasaki doesn't want to speak of it. He doesn't want to think of it, no matter how loud Kaneki is inside his head ]

I'm- sorry. I'm not sure what you are talking about.

[ please, don't force this ]

video;

[lasthugs]

Does the new police officer in town like coffee?

[Well this is fucking weird. Kaneki's always been weird. Now he's weirder and he has pudding top hair. She supposes she shouldn't judge, or ask questions too early.

Well she is, asking questions, but only the most important ones!]

video;

[dualismum]

[ he has amazing hair!

Sasaki feels a strange pang on his chest when he hears that familiar voice, and he smiles very softly. That's an amazing question, Cass. Truly. ]

I would love some. What's a policeman without his coffee?

voice;

[biteouttagrimes]

[ He debated not replying to this. Life had been so terrible lately that he doesn't want to face any more disappointments. Maybe it's Kaneki's brother or something. Maybe the striking similarities are similarities and nothing more. And yet he's talking about ghouls, so it can't be coincidence. ]

You sure that's who you are?

[ It's a dumb thing to ask, he supposes. But if this is a brother, why don't they share the same name? ]

voice;

[dualismum]

[ no. No, no, no.

That's who he is. He is Haise Sasaki, not Kaneki. He has Kaneki's body because Sasaki is a parasite, but he is still not Kaneki. And he has his memories, he knows that but he still... isn't. Maybe. maybe not. it's too confusing for Sasaki to handle right now and he just doesn't want to deal with it.

he has to run, even if it hurts him so much to deny it to Rick. Who he does know.

Sasaki is so glad this is voice and not video ]

... Yes. I'm sure. I'm not anyone else.