Capítulo 12: Chapter 15: feelings
Ken barely had enough time to jump back as the tentacle weapon ripped through the wall they hid behind. The spikes on the spine were still able to slash open a small gash on his cheek though. The doves had discovered them. He could hear the footsteps approaching. Panicking and doing the only thing he could, Ken grabbed Hinami and jumped to the rooftops. As he climbed, he glanced back; spotting Amon coming around the corner.
"Eyepatch!" Amon growled at the retreating ghoul. Mado came behind him as Ken disappeared. "Did you see his face?" he asked Amon. His junior slammed his fist into the face of the building. "Only his left eye and the back of his head. Damn it." Mado rubbed his chin. "Well don't let it get you too worked up Amon. If anything this is great news. It means that he and this case are connected. I'm sure we will meet again Eyepatch. Kusanagi is ready and waiting for you." Mado started to laugh like a madman as he anticipated for the eventual reunion.
"I can't believe it," Kuro fumed. "How did Touka of all people beat me?" Touka just smirked proudly. Her test score of 85 trumping Kuro's 79. "That's what you get for not studying," teased the one girl to get a perfect score to her sister. Touka joined in too. "Yeah, your brother is a really good teacher. He should think about becoming one after he graduates." However their happy revelry was cut short at the entrance to Anteiku. They were all three confused by why the door sign said closed. As they went in, they found the place empty and Yoshimura waiting for them. "Hey, manager. The door sign was the wrong way. Probably a prank," Touka informed him. However the man simply asked them all three to head upstairs.
They went into the meeting room and saw all the others; Ken now with a bandaged cheek. "So this is where all of you are. Why isn't anyone running the shop?" asked Touka. No one answered her. Instead, they all turned away from her. "What's wrong?" Kuro could tell something bad had happened. She asked; already dreading the answer to come. "Ryouko was killed by the CCG investigators earlier today, while protecting Hinami." All three girls went wide eyed. Kuro dropped her book as Shiro fell to her knees. Touka slammed her fist into the wall. "What about Hinami?!" she immediately asked. "Ken found her and got her back here safely. She's now resting down the hall," Yoshimura assured her. "What about her face? Did they see it? Tell me that they didn't get a look at it." Touka's hopes were dashed when Ken informed her, "They saw it. All four of them. They got a good long hard look at it." Touka's head dropped. "What the hell. Why did it have to be Ryouko? What did she do to deserve it?" Yoshimura walked towards the window and peered out onto the streets. "For now Hinami will stay here. But when possible, I am thinking of having her sent to the twenty fourth ward." All four of the youngest members of Anteiku were shocked by this. "You're going to send her there?" Shiro asked. She remembered when Rize had first appeared before them, that she had forced the three of them to camp out for one week in that place. Even now she was still frightened of it.
"You can't be serious!" Touka objected. "There's no way Hinami could survive in a place like that." "Touka," Ken tried to get her attention. However she didn't pay attention as she decided on a new plan. "Let's just kill them before they can report her face. We could do it with everyone here easily. Hell, even Yomo or Ken could do it alone if needed." "You can't!" shouted Shiro. The girl was visibly shaking. "Did you forget how those things operate?! If you kill them now, then just double that amount will come tomorrow and then double that number the next day. The nest will focus on the twentieth ward and won't stop till they hunt us all down like animals." Hearing this irritated the full ghoul high schooler. Touka grabbed the white haired girl by her collar. "Hah?! So you want us to do nothing after one of our friends was just killed? Just ignore it and not find justice for Ryouko. I didn't realize you were that pathetic," Touka practically spat out the last bit.
"Better than being consumed by revenge," shot back Ken. His words were truly laced with venom; unsettling the others in the room. No one, not even Touka, had the right to touch his sisters like that or say such things to them. Touka turned to the male half ghoul. It was then that she noticed the bandage on his face. "How did you get that cut?" she asked. "And how did you know there were four of them? ... You were there weren't you?!" Ken just avoided her rage filled eyes. "I couldn't go out there," he tried to explain. "I didn't have my mask." Suddenly Touka was in front of him. She punched the boy; sending him sailing into the wall. "You bastard! You let her die! How cowardly can you be?!" Yomo was holding the irate she ghoul back as she tried to rush Ken screaming all sorts of insults at the man. But nobody expect what happened next. Ken leapt forward and punched the girl right back. "Big Bro?!" his sisters screamed as they now held him back too. Touka was slightly dazed by the force and spat out a tooth. "Don't you dare call me a coward, you bitch! You don't realize how much I wanted to go and save her! But if I had gone out there, there was no guarantee I could have saved her. Hell, it would have also put Hinami right back in danger after how hard Ryouko worked to let her get away. But what was guaranteed was that I would have been seen as well. And with my face they would have found Anteiku and my sisters. They've finally got the chance at a happy and safe life here and you're saying that I should have destroyed that after all I've already put them through. Truthfully, if I was in the same position again, I'd gladly do the exact same thing." Both of them started to stare each other down.
"Enough!" ordered Yoshimura; his kakugan out. He looked at each person in the room one by one. "This is no time to be squabbling like children. Ken did the right thing. We must not let the CCG believe that there are violent ghouls in the ward. I want everyone to avoid them. Spread the word to everyone Koma. Irimi." He didn't wait for an answer but just stormed out the room; followed closely by Yomo. Everyone else soon filed out of the room as well. Ken was last to leave; wondering if what he did was right, then why did he still feel so rotten.
The next few days were hard on everyone in Anteiku. But it was especially hard on the young ones. Ken barely paid attention in Kamii and messed up several orders while on shift. He brushed off Hide every time the human boy tried to talk to him or get him to go out. Instead being lost in his memories and thinking about why ghouls deserved such a fate. Touka refused to even deal with the Kaneki trio. She would go to school, come to work, and go home. Only staying after hours every so often to try to comfort Hinami. The young now orphan girl was held up in one of the upstairs rooms; barely touching her food and sleeping most of her time away while crying during the rest. Kuro and Shiro both skipped school. For Kuro it was spent staying at Anteiku; trying to help Hinami in any way she could. It broke her heart every time she failed to cheer up the young ghoul but she didn't let it show; only waving it off with a smile. Meanwhile Shiro locked herself in the twins' room. The death had brought back a lot of bad memories for the young girl and again reinforced the terror of the doves in her mind. Shiro only ever came out after an hour or two of coaxing from Ken, and would soon return to her sanctuary afterwards.
On the ninth day of this, Ken noticed something as he was heading home from picking up his family's masks from Uta. He saw Touka leaping over the rooftops. At first he thought of just ignoring it. But she had been wearing her rabbit shaped mask. He had a feeling that that couldn't be good. He fretted over it for about half a minute before he decided to follow her and find out what was going on. As he began to chase after her, he realized that they were heading into the neighborhood around the local CCG offices. 'Touka, what the hell are doing?' Ken worried.
Mado glanced down at the file they had built on the daughter ghoul that had escaped about a week ago. "723's daughter. There have not been any eye witness reports of 724, correct?" he asked. Amon nodded. "Yes. It's highly likely that Eyepatch has hidden her away. For now, I feel we should continue on to other targets. We can continue to look for 724 while we take care of them as well." Mado agreed. "We'll go along with Amon's idea. But we can't let her get to far away. Especially if she can lead us to that single eyed bastard that's been playing cat and mouse with us since he escaped the thirteenth. But before I forget again. Good job on the last case as well you two. I believe you can expect some reward from headquarters soon. Go ahead and bask in the glory. For each day we inch ever closer to our goal of cleansing this ward of this filth."
Later that evening, Amon was walking down the street trying to figure out what to eat. He was then approached by the two bureau investigators who offered to show him a good place to eat. Amon accepted but was not particularly happy about it; only going out of the necessity to be courteous. They sat at the counter as a large man took their orders. Apparently the two men were regulars here as they joked around with the chef.
As the food came out, one of them, Kusaba, asked, "So you really dug up that grave alone just to get the mask huh? But you don't really look like the type to do something so unrefined." Amon simply replied, "One cannot achieve their goals unless they choose the method required to do so." The other two men still seemed uncomfortable despite the logic in his reasoning. As they began eating, Kusaba changed the topic to the CCG academy. "What kind of things did they teach you at the academy anyway?" Amon continued to eat as he explained, "We studied laws on ghouls and such. Then we did physical training. I'm not allowed to go to into it though. There are rules against talking about it." "Were there any girls there?" Amon stopped eating; remember lost comrades. As the Nakajima reprimanded his friend he answered, "There were two in my class. Both determined and talented. But they both were killed while in the field." Both of the other men went silent. "I'm sorry," said Kusaba. Amon put money down for his meal and walked to the exit. "Don't be. It's to be expected in this world. It's the earnest people who end up dying first."
Even later, both Kusaba and Nakajima were both walking home while thinking about what Amon had said. "I guess it's best for people to work in moderation huh." Nakajima observed. Kusaba laughed at him. "Don't say that. We have lots of work to do. Same as the other wards. Though it would be nice if Amon and Mado could help us take down some of the high profile cases besides the binge eater pack. Like the gourmet." Nakajima just replied, "The branch director doesn't want to lose such a big achievement to them so he hasn't asked for any input in it. Honestly he's already upset that we need to let them take over Eyepatch and the Ying Yang sisters along with the binge eater." Kusaba stopped and looked at his friend. "You know. It really looks like Amon doesn't really care about rewards or achievements. He's honestly just pursuing his belief in justice. It makes me realize how weak we really are." Nakajima grabbed his friend in a brotherly fashion. "What do you expect comparing yourself to a star from the academy? Those guys from central are real monsters." But his friend didn't agree. "I've always desired a desk job. Nice and easy not to mention safe. But seeing him, somehow makes me feel a little fired up. I'm gonna work harder on the next case"
Before he could say anything else, though a figure flew down and with its bare hands, sliced open Kusaba's head. "Kusaba!" Nakajima yelled as his friend's body fell to the ground. He looked to the figure. It wore a jacket and had pink hair and was wearing a bunny mask. As he stood there stunned, the attacker charged at him. But thankfully Amon was there to push him out of the way. "Stand back," he ordered as he removed his overcoat.
The figure immediately ran towards Amon; zigzagging in its approach. The speed of her moves as well as the strength of the kicks and punches she landed on him once she was within range hammered in the fact that this was a ghoul. Amon mentally admonished himself for forgetting his quinque. The female ghoul got a good kick in that flung him back into a wall. He hit it hard. His temple began to bleed a bit and he was momentarily so dizzy he could barely stand. As he got his bearings again, he saw the ghoul charge at him again. But now it had its kagune out. It was an Ukaka type. With its speed and strength, the beast would easily rip him in two during the next attack and there was no way to defend himself. He was saved though, when a spiked tentacle flew by him and slashed into the enemy's arm. "Amon, how many times have I had to tell you not to forget to bring your quinque with you at all times?" Mado asked. Mado not only had his usual quinque but he was also carrying another silver case. "Sorry Mado," Amon apologized.
"It appears you're forgetting the basics my dear partner. I guess I'll have to give you a refresher course." Mado swung his quinque down at the prone ghoul but she was able to jump away at the last second. Mado was ecstatic at this. "Oh so you actually dodged it? Well done. Perhaps you'll be worth my time after all." The rabbit masked ghoul jumped at him and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks. "Let's review the ukaka ghoul first Amon. As you know ukaku ghouls, like rinkaku, are highly offensive types that use speed and a flurry of attacks to overwhelm their opponents and finish the battle quickly. However, unlike the rinkaku, Ukaku ghouls have low stamina. As the battle drags on, their moves become duller as their fighting prowess drops dramatically. Isn't that correct my dear rabbit chan?" During this little lesson Mado had nearly effortlessly blocked every one of the ghoul's attacks. Rabbit had now slowed down considerably and was audibly panting. In desperation she unleashed her Kagune and used it to shoot sharpened crystalline projectiles that Mado's weapon blocked. However she achieved her main goal of gaining some distance from this dangerous man. She needed to get away from here and come back when she had sufficiently prepared for him.
Mado frowned. It was obvious that the rabbit ghoul was planning to run. And he couldn't have that. It was then that he formed a new strategy. "You were friends with that she ghoul I killed a week ago correct? Are you curious how she died? Or what her last words were?" Mado posed like he was deep in thought but then just burst into a fit of laughter. "Ah, sorry. I already forgot and it's only been a week. After all she was so weak and pathetic. Couldn't even use her kagune properly. Just like you" "You bastard!" the ghoul screamed and charged towards him recklessly. Mado grinned like a psycho. "Dumbass." He flicked his hand and his quinque appeared to the female ghoul's left. She only had a second to realize that it would take her head clean off and that she wouldn't be able to dodge it.
To everyone's surprise, though, a new figure appeared. The figure landed on Mado's quinque, slamming it into the ground, and grabbed the wounded ghoul; carrying her, under his arm, to the top of one of the electrical poles. "Eyepatch," Amon realized. Mado pulled his weapon back into a defensive form as the new ghoul watched the tentacle warily. Mado then nonchalantly waved at the male ghoul; like he was greeting his neighbor. He honestly found the scene of Eyepatch holding Rabbit as she struggled and complained about his interference almost comical.
"A pleasure to meet you Sasaki san," he began. Touka stopped struggling when she heard this. Who was Sasaki? She then felt Ken tighten his grip on her slightly. 'Wait, is that Ken's old name?' she slowly realized. "Opps. That's right. You abandoned that name didn't you? Just like a snake shedding its skin. My mistake. Hmmm, speaking of snakes Eyepatch, there is something I've always wanted to ask you. About your father. What went through your mind when you ate him? Sigh, what a waste of such good materials." Ken suddenly slammed his foot down; cracking the pole. Mado's grin only got wider at the half-ghoul's agitation. "Amon tell me. What is the best strategy against a rinkaku ghoul?" "Don't let them take the initiative," his partner answered. "They are geared almost exclusively towards offensive combat, and combined with their natural ability to self-regenerate from even severe wounds, can easily take down high level investigators if allowed to take the lead in combat. However they have a low defense and as such can be subdued if one forces them into a defensive battle or is able to keep them off balance."
"Very good Amon," Mado complimented. He subtly prepared his unopen quinque. "Of course another good way is to prepare a good surprise for them to catch them off guard and slip through their defensives. Just like so." He activated his new weapon. It surged forth at amazing speeds. Ken barely had enough time to leap back and fire off his rinkaku to block the incoming attack. It smashed through all six of his tentacles and only missed him by a hairs breath. He had luckily knocked it off course with his kagune. He landed on the nearby roof and only now got a good look at the recently unleashed quinque as it returned to its master. What he saw took his breath away. Now encircling the man as a shield was a single rinkaku. Its scaly red body reminded Touka of Ken and his sisters' kagunes. However, this one ended in a barbarous tip rather than the needle like point they all had. "Where did you get that?" She heard Ken coldly ask. At this point Mado was now openly laughing with glee. "I have connections with the woman who led that raid on your old home. She was more than happy to lend me this. Come now. You must be happy. At long last, your dear reunion."
Ken was pissed. He wanted to rip this man apart. How could someone do something, like this? Did he not have even a shred of a conscience? But he resisted. He knew he was at a disadvantage now. Besides, he came here to grab Touka not fight the doves. Rather than fall for the dove's taunts, he jumped away and fled back towards Anteiku, to Mado's disappointment. "Well no matter. It's only a matter of time till I track you down. Eyepatch. Rabbit."
Kaneki threw Touka into the back wall of Anteiku. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he asked. "Getting justice for Hinami and Ryouko. Unlike the rest of you I care about them. What those men did can't be forgiven! They should all just die!" Touka was surprised by the slap from Ken that followed. "Don't fuck with me!" He stared the furious she-ghoul deep into her eyes. "You and I both know that's not what this is about. You're just angry and this is just your way of satisfying your own desire for revenge. If you really cared for them then you would be back at Anteiku, with Hinami. Not abandoning her to play batman and getting yourself killed like a fucking idiot." "And how would you know? What makes you think you can lecture me? Understand me? Scold me?! What gives you the right to judge me?!" "Because I've done exactly what you're doing before! I can't let you repeat the same mistakes I made. I got lucky. And chances are you won't be." Touka went silent and lowered her head. She was shocked by Ken's confession. She wanted to know what he meant but but he didn't continue. The young man just sighed and yanked the girl inside. "Come on, let's get that wound treated." He ignored her complaints and quickly dressed her wound; having experience doing this with Shiro and Kuro a few times. After that he let her leave as he began to clean up the mess.
As he was finishing, Yoshimura walked in. The half-ghoul was not looking forward to this. He knew that the manager was going to be upset at what Touka had done. "Touka went after the doves," the manager stated. "Yes she did." Ken calmly replied. "And you are still willing to help her even if that means you will have to share in her responsibility for what is to come." Ken was silent for a bit before answering. He mulled over what he should say. In the end, he decided to just simply say what he felt without any ambiguity. "Yes. I know what she's going through. She needs someone there to watch over her and nudge her till she can get back on the right path herself." Yoshimura smiled at him. "Then I'll entrust that duty to you." Once Ken was finished he got ready to leave but the manager asked him to come upstairs and have another cup of coffee with him. "What do you want to talk about?" the younger ghoul asked as they sat down. Yoshimura took a sip of his coffee and then answered, "I was wondering if you could finally talk to me about when your parents died and what happened afterwards. I feel you need to get this off your chest. You have grown up amazingly over the last year or so that you have been here but there is still a part of you that is still blaming yourself. You need to face that guilt even if you can ignore it. I don't feel your parents would want you to still be berating yourself over what happened after all these years." Ken was stunned. He stared into his coffee for a few seconds before deciding. He took a deep breath and asked, "Would you believe it all started because of a cat?"
Omake: I'll be honest I can never see Kusaba not dying no matter what manga series I put him in
Shoujo: Kusaba dies of plot convenience disease.
Nakajima: "Kusabaaaa!"
Sports: Kusaba gets hit by the ball and breaks his neck.
"Kusabaaaa!"
War story: Kusaba gets sniped
"Kusabaaaa!"
School life/everyday life story: Kusaba falls down a set of stairs and dies
"Kusabaaa!"
Scifi: Kusaba gets eaten by an alien
"Kusabaa!"
Comedy: Kusaba just dies.
"Kusabaa!"
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