Chapter 45: Healing

Lucian walked calmly down the street, the sky was clear and the birds were singing, the light breeze made the leaves on the trees sway gently and sometimes a few cats could be seen jumping over the walls and ceilings of the buildings.

"What a nice day!"

The day was so beautiful that he couldn't help but start whistling as he made his way along.

With his quick steps it wasn't long before he reached his destination - Anteiku.

Tiling! Tiling!

The bell rang, announcing his arrival at the establishment and drawing the attention of the staff.

"Hi guys, are you all right today?" asked Lucian, looking around and noticing the heavy atmosphere around them, "I guess the answer is no."

Even though they tried not to let it show, their bad mood was palpable, making a clear contrast with the beauty of the day they were in.

"Kaneki was seriously injured yesterday." Touka approached, explaining what had happened: "Tsukiyama kidnapped Nishio's girlfriend, Kimi, and then he sent a letter to Kaneki, summoning him there."

"After that the pair of geniuses, one who can't fight properly and one who is seriously injured, decided to go to Tsukiyama alone. They both tried to fight him and after taking a lot of punishment, they ended up being saved by me."

"I see... Let me see the state he's in." Lucian asked after hearing Touka's explanation.

"All right, follow me." She nodded, leading him upstairs straight away.

Arriving at a certain door, they entered the room, finding Kaneki, who looked like a mummy as he was bandaged from head to toe.

"Yeah... boy, you're all broken up," said Lucian, looking at Kaneki's condition, "Several broken bones... open wounds all over his body... minor injuries to his internal organs..."

With the world transparent all of Kaneki's injuries appeared before his eyes as clearly as daylight, even those tiny injuries that could have gone unnoticed.

'Tsukiyama really was efficient in what I asked him to do...'

Yes, this was the favor Lucian had asked for, for Tsukiyama to take it hard on Kaneki, leaving him badly wounded.

Although he wanted to wait for Kaneki to get stronger, his patience wasn't that high, and he soon decided to help in the process.

The injuries ended up accelerating the speed at which the rc vessels spread, making the transformation into a ghoul more and more complete very quickly.

In addition to the psychological impact that will help Kaneki change his character, he will gradually gain the desire to strengthen himself and become capable of killing his enemies.

'I only intend to reap what I have sown. If there is no strong man to be devoured, I will create that strong man.

"Tell me, Kaneki, do you want to heal quickly?" he asked.

"How? I'm badly injured..." Kaneki expressed his doubts; in his condition, the simple fact of not dying could already be considered a miracle.

"Very simple," said Lucian, making a cut in his hand and then placing it in Kaneki's mouth, allowing blood abundant in vitality to flow and, of course, forcing him to drink the liquid.

As the blood flowed through his mouth, Kaneki quickly felt a current of heat spreading throughout his body, warming him from the inside out.

And then he felt a swelling sensation all over his body, as if his organs were increasing in size.

A stabbing pain filled his mind as his cells multiplied and were destroyed at high speed.

"humm... umm!" He tried to scream, but Lucian's hand covered his mouth, even if it didn't completely stop his wails from escaping.

Anyone who saw such a thing would surely think that an assassination attempt was taking place.

"Your method of healing is really unexpected..." Touka was speechless as he watched Kaneki squirm.

"It's a rather crude method, but completely functional." Lucian smiled, completely oblivious to the agony his patient was feeling.

Soon, Kaneki's body movements ceased, with calm finally returning to the room.

"Maybe..." he muttered lightly, before fainting.

'Too weak, he fainted with just that...', thought Lucian, before removing some of the bandages covering Kaneki's body, revealing a skin as smooth as new, without any trace of injury.

"See, my treatment was more than effective, some would call it miraculous!"

"Really... how did you do that?" asked Touka, amazed at the sight before her eyes.

Ghouls need to eat to regenerate, but Kaneki was very reluctant to eat human flesh, so it would take him forever to heal.

But there he was, completely healed within minutes, even exceeding the regenerative speed of most ghouls.

"In short, vitality transfer, some ghouls can also do a similar thing by transferring rc cells." Lucian explained.

"The benefits of being a 'demon' sound very interesting..." Touka looked reflective after hearing Lucian's words, as if a desire in her mind was about to surface.

"Yes, they are very interesting. Eternal youth... immortality... the fact that all lives belong to me, the demon king, ensures that loved ones don't end up 'going away', because we're all united and strong." Lucian smiled, his words, although strange, fell beautifully on Touka's ears.

In her life, the greatest fear she has is that of losing loved ones, just as she lost her father and her brother went away.

Knowing this pain, she doesn't want to feel it ever again and when someone comes along offering it... it's a more than tempting proposition.

What got to her, however, was the fact that it seemed really possible.

'Although this man's intentions in proposing this aren't very good...' she thought.

She knew that none of the words he said were based on altruism, each action probably having a hidden purpose.

"... I'll think about it."

"I know you'll think about it very carefully. I look forward to your answer." Lucian's smile widened before he left the room, leaving only the pensive Touka and the unconscious Kaneki.

After all, he hadn't just gone there to see the result of the little favor he'd asked Tsukiyama for, he also had to pick up the pair he'd just "adopted".

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, looking at Ryoko and Hinami, who already had their bags in hand.

"Yes, we can go any time." Ryoko nodded, signaling that she was ready; anticipation could be seen on her face.

"Yeah, I'm ready too," Hinami said excitedly, although she really enjoyed being at Anteiku, she knew she was causing problems and couldn't stay for long.

'And I want to be with him more...'

"Then let's go!" Lucian called out, taking the lead. He could see that feelings had begun to surface in both of them, just as he wanted them to.

"See you guys!"

The three of them said their goodbyes before leaving, soon leaving nothing but the sight of their backs moving away.

'Now things are ready, all that's left to do is wait...' thought Lucian, letting out a sinister smile as he walked.