Chapter 4: Dark clouds approach pt 1 and 2

Amon and Mado were currently in the CCG's 13th ward branch office. They had returned from a successful raid. Mado already envisioning the new quinques he could have from their fresh harvest of ghoul flesh. Amon was just pleased with the elimination of more ghouls; especially now. The unfortunate truth for the investigators was that their cleanup of the ward was beginning to stall. The CCG was now about 52% behind its projected ghoul extermination rate in the operation.

In the beginning, things had gone well. The doves were eliminating ghouls daily. Their own causalities had been low. The worst lost only being the rc gates placed at the train stations. Even that was considered somewhat successful as at least half of the attacking ghouls were taken down before they destroyed the gates. However, as the months rolled on the ghouls that remained in the ward began to adapt to the new situation. Now the CCG was seeing organized movements and counter attacks. There was no concrete information on who was taking charge either.

And probably the biggest disgrace. They had let the binge eater and its ilk escape. None of the defeated ghouls matched the evidence left from the scenes of any of their attacks. As for where the beast had escaped to, the 20th ward seemed most likely. They had had a recent increase in attacks there and many of the attacks showed similarities to those of the binge eater. There had also been one confirmed sighting of the eyepatch ghoul; ally of the binge eater. Frustrated, Amon began to once again review the case files they had of their primary targets; hoping to discover some unseen clue in them. But nothing came to him. Amon threw the records down on his desk. Even after months of combing through every little clue, from public medical records to housing records, nothing had brought them any closer.

Any further musings were ceased as Amon's partner came back from the meeting with the local office's commander. "You should calm down Amon. When you're agitated it's easier to make foolish mistakes." "Sorry Mado. But I can't help but think I must have missed something. To allow these things on to remain free even for even one more day. It's infuriating!" Mado tried to give a comforting smile.

"I can understand your feelings Amon," he started. "But there is likely nothing more you can do for now. And you should be proud of what you have done. Especially spotting that connection between our quarry and that old case file. Still even if 361, 471, and 472 are the same spawn from that case it's been years so that trail is too cold follow too. And don't forget that these are quite the clever ghouls. They used the panic to mix in with all the civilians who fled to safer wards so that we can't pin them down from that either. Still it's only a matter of time. One mistake on their part and we win. Just relax and prepare for that chance Amon." Amon appreciated his superior's words. They had helped him relax a bit. Wanting to change the topic, Amon asked, "What happened in the meeting?" Mado casually answered him, "Nothing much we just got reassigned is all." And thus, Amon's agitation rose again. "What!? But why?! We're needed here. Especially after they reassigned Arima back to the 24th! If we leave now then who will protect the civilians?!" Mado rose a hand to stop his partner's rants. "Now now Amon. Just because things are going less than perfect here, does not give us the right to ignore the other wards. Decisions like that are what allow these scum time to bunker down and breed. If we only focus on this ward, the infestation will spread. There are others who will take our place and continue bringing justice down upon the vermin here. Besides trust me you'll be more than happy with this mission. Our target is target 696. We do have a specific suspect for this one though nothing concrete enough to move on." Amon was confused. "And why should I be excited about being on this no name case?" Mado simply laughed and answered, "No Amon my boy, it's not the who but the where that's important. We are being sent to the twentieth ward. And while 696 is still our main job, we have been given permission to move on any other ghoul we locate and are free to move as we wish." Slowly the words of his superior sunk in for Amon."Eyepatch," He simply stated. Mado's grin slowly twisted into one of pure malice. "I wonder what kind of face our dear Eyepatch-kun would make if I dismembered his two she-bitches in front of him."

These last few months had been some of the best of Ken Kaneki's life since before his parents' deaths. He had a nice job, easy and safe access to plenty of meat, a decent apartment, and just peace in general. He was even happy about the Shiro and Kuro getting jobs as well; though he would never admit that to them. It'd allowed him to keep tabs on them and having their own paychecks meant they'd no longer need to pester him for money. They had even gotten their own phones and had were now more adept at using them then Kaneki was with his own.

He was even now attending a real university. Yoshimura had added that to his side of the job offer; suspiciously after Ken had already agreed to it. He wanted Ken to start college and the twins to enter a local high school. He even provided the money and paperwork necessary. Despite feeling awkward about accepting such hospitality, Ken found this particular experience enjoyable; at least more than his sisters did. Despite, not having any previous schooling, Ken had been able to do quite well. He had even done well enough to opt out of some general ed courses. Having to be smart to survive in his old life had apparently paid off. Plus it helped to have reading as a hobby. He had even made a friend; somehow.

At first Ken did not know what to do. This human, Hideyoshi Nagachika, Had entered in the same year as the young Anteiku waiter. Somehow, despite Ken's early attempts to escape from the human, Hide had stuck close to Ken and over the months worn down the man's defenses till he had captured the title of Ken Kaneki's best friend. Ken had found the boy strangely pleasing in a way. He had this way of just making any place a bit brighter and his energy kind of rubbed off on you. It was also plus that it seemed to irk Rize whenever she saw the two of them together.

Currently, the only ones working at Anteiku were Ken, Irimi, and Koma. Yoshimura was here to but seemed to be just watching over things. Shiro, Kuro, and Touka were all still at school. Koma was manning the counter as Ken and Irima took orders. As Ken handed him his latest orders, Koma teased Kaneki by asking, "So Mr. Heartbreaker, how's the fan club?" Ken sighed at this. Granted Koma was a nice guy and had helped Ken with a lot. . But the man was someone the young half ghoul could never take seriously for obvious reasons. He couldn't see the this man as the "great Devil Ape" he always spoke about. While he did provide a good laugh every now and then, there were also times Ken wanted to smack the man. As for his sisters. Well they simple saw Koma as that boring but useful fat guy. "Please Koma. I do not have a fan club. I've never been one of the popular kids."

…. "So how many asked for your phone number today then."

….. "Five."

"So far."

"Okay let's stop talking about this! Irimi how are you doing?" the embarrassed waiter asked to change the topic. . To Ken, Irimi was the one he respect far more. She had a powerful older sister vibe that just seemed to relax the Kanekis. Not to mention she had already tamed the twins. Anyone who could gain their adorations that fast was a force to be reckoned with In Ken's book. The only woman smiled; handing Koma her orders. "Not too bad. And you should feel proud Ken. Turns out the girls here must love bad boys."

"Argh!"

A refined laugh brought everyone's attention to the manager. . Yoshimura was seaming more and more like a father figure to Ken. He took care of his workers like one. Not to mention the Kaneki family found itself relying on the older ghoul more and more. After all it was all thanks to this man that they now had so much now. And in return he had only really had to entertain the old man's questions on his parents. Well that and stay out of trouble. And go to college. And do a good job at Anteiku. Okay, maybe he had to do a lot of things but Ken felt all of this was worth it. Every now and then He would speak with Ken. Quite a few times the talks turned to his parents. How his mom had met his dad while she was an aspiring but failing author. How they had started dating. How, at least according to his mother, terrible his father had been at hiding his ghoul nature. She even teased him about how she had noticed from day one, that there was something weird about him. In fact she had been the one to teach the Kaneki children the finer points of looking human. They both had been stay at home parents. The family income came from the matriarch of the family. Shortly after meeting her future husband she began a successful career as an author of books with the themes of forbidden love. However he had always stopped just short of what happened when their happy family was ripped apart. The memories still too painful to get into. "Now now, you two. Don't be too mean to young Ken here. It's not his fault that he's so irresistible right?"

Having enough, Ken just took the finished orders and went back to serving the customers.

Ken had notice an easy way to tell the ghouls from human customers during his time working here. The ghouls still seemed to see him just as guilty by association with Rize. From what he'd been told by his coworkers, the locals did have some good reasons to hate his self-declared aunt. Still annoying when they snubbed him and his sisters for it too. He already had a couple on his list of people to deal with for how they treated Kuro and Shiro. No one acts like a jerk to his sisters! So when he came to take orders, the ghoul customers always seemed to be nervous around him; rarely making eye contact. Or would be rather frank with him. Meanwhile most humans seemed quite friendly. Quite a few of them had even gotten to a first name basis with Ken. In fact, in one day Ken had gotten more than a dozen phone numbers or people asking for his own. This same genial acceptance also was given to the twins. The old people especially seemed to like them. They always ended up with several pieces of human candy. Plus, Ken had lost count of how many times he had to scare away the hormonal irritants known as high school boys away from his precious sisters.

Ken passed by Yomo as he continued working. Yomo was at a table in the back studying something; papers spread across the table. While he scared Kuro and Shiro a bit, to ken, Yomo was well Yomo. He was always just there when necessary and seemed to be quite talented at whatever he does. Ken had already been sent with him a few times to procure fresh meat. It also turned out that they had met before. Though Ken had forgotten about it at first, they had both met at the Itori's place on one of the rare times Ken went there for information.

Midafternoon the café was filled to near capacity. The door opened again but thankfully the ones who entered were Kuro, Shiro, and Touka. They also brought Rize, Hide, and Yoriko. Ken couldn't help but smile at the twins' obvious discomfort around the human girl of the group. They called her the poison master. Not that he didn't understand why they were afraid of the small, baby animal like human female. The elder Kaneki still felt nauseous whenever he thought back to those cinnamon cookies she had given him when she introduced herself. She had even waited for him to eat a few of them and give his "honest opinions on them". Somehow, the little human had gotten it into her head that the vile, tongue melting concoction humans called cinnamon was his a favorite of his. He prayed that for once she had forgotten about him. He'd rather not have Touka force feed him a pastry again any time soon. For some reason the younger firecracker, had included the entire Kaneki family in her self-imposed torture.

Ken continued to watch the group as he handed out coffee and sandwiches to customers. Three of them went into the back to change for their shifts. The last high school student left soon after while the university student sat down at a table, the other side of the room from Ken. The last person came straight for him though. Rize hugged Ken. "Oh, you don't know how happy I am to see you. I've been stuck with your friend and that Yoshi-girl for the last several blocks. Especially that boy. He just makes me feel uncomfortable." She turned back and watched the boy for a few seconds before turning back to Ken with a pleading look. After checking to make certain no human would hear him, Ken quietly scolded his aunt with, "No, you cannot eat him." Rize pouted, "Just a bite. I'm certain he wouldn't miss an arm or that tongue of his." Her conversation partner just started laughing. "You sound like a little kid. Your probably just feeling a bit antsy is all. You haven't had a good work out recently have you? How about you wait after my shift and we can have a good spar. I could use one myself really." Rize grinned in reply. "Fine, but you also have to go with me on a hunt tonight too. Can't have my cute nephew growing fat, eating all that meat without having worked for it." "Aren't you the one who'll get fat? You glutton." She stuck her tongue out at him. As she left to find a table, Touka came to Ken and punched him in the gut. Somehow, she'd done it in such a way, so that not a soul in the place saw it. He was still trying to figure out how she did for weeks afterwards. The angry female yanked the winded half ghoul down by his shirt and whispered in his ear, "Next time, give me some warning before you get me stuck with your boyfriend. Or better yet not send him to pick up your precious sisters from school." As she walked off Ken could only, "What's wrong with Hide?"

Touka flipped the sign to close. Another hard day at the café was over. The employees at Anteiku stretched and relaxed a bit before finishing up their cleanup. However, someone else had remained behind with them. Rize was waiting at a back table for Ken to finish his part. After everyone was finished, Ken finally came over to her. "You ready?" Ken asked. She smiled back at him. "Of course, onigokko rules?" Ken agreed and they began to head down to Anteiku's "basement". They were followed by the rest of staff as well. Most of them just thought it would be fun to watch. The twins especially were looking forward this. However Touka had other reasons for following them. For one, she just wanted to see one of them get hurt badly; whether it was her annoying, siscon of a coworker or that trouble making bitch. Second, she thought it might be educational. Other than the Kanekis and Rize, Touka had had little real contact with a rinkaku user. She only had the most basic of information on them and hoped this fight could give her a better understanding of rinkakus and some idea on how to deal with them in the future.

Shortly after everyone was seated in a safe spot to watch the battle, Ken and Rize went to different sides of the room. The rules to this spar were simple. If Kaneki was able to touch Rize in 10 minutes then he would win. If Rize could avoid him for that 10, then she won. No lethal blows or hitting "around" the belt allowed and among the rules. Ken was especially excited. It had been so long and Rize was actually a really good sparring partner for him. Their similar kagune were close to the same that it helped make it more balanced. But more importantly, she was his antitheses. He was stronger in hand to hand combat. His time out on the street had honed his skills along with the training he had received from the ghoul pack that had picked him up after the death of their parents. He also had far more muscle power in his small body then Rize did. Her talent, though, laid in her Kagune. She could easily control this fight with her superior kagune. Being better fed, fully grown, and experience led to a bigger and stronger Kagune then the half-ghoul's own. This forced Kaneki to be on the defensive; upsetting his entire fighting style. Yomo set up the timer and pressed the on button.

That moment Ken launched himself forward quickly. Next, Rize launched her kagune the stop him. The razor sharp tentacles came down for a downwards strike. Kaneki used his kagune to block them. He knew for sure hers could easily cut through his own. So instead, he tried to use his to redirect them away from their target. He angled his kagune to hit Rize's in angle instead of hitting them straight on. This caused all six of Rize's away and gave him an opening in the middle.

Continuation of chapter 4.

Before she could recover, he launched two of them directly at her. Rize was able to pull one of hers back and easily deflected both only to just notice the third one now flying towards her gut. Not able to regroup her kagune fast enough, Rize tried to dodge but the serrated edge of the hunting organ still swiped her; drawing blood. Ignoring the healing cut, Rize used her previously recalled rinkaku tentacle to grab onto the one that had hit her. She tried to use it to trace back to Ken but he quickly dissipated the captured tentacle and continue to press forward. By now he was a little over half way across the room. Rize decided to stop trying to efficient and instead just use a basic attack that was standard of almost all rinkaku; unleash a wild flurry of attacks at your enemy with aiming replaced with sheer power and speed. Kaneki was forced to jump, dodge, and weave his way around. He sustained several hits but his regenerative capabilities covered for that. This went on for several minutes, with Ken trying a few times to strike back with his own rinkaku at Rize, before Koma yelled out, "One minute left." Rize gave an impish grin which only increased Ken's desire to win. Still he saw nothing that could really help him win unless. He used all the strength of his kagune to slam into the ground shattering parts of it and disturbing the dust which had been collected on its surface. This acted like a smoke screen; confusing Rize. She tried to find him by swinging her tentacles through the dust cloud but by now Ken had already jumped up to the roof. He used it as a rebound to launch himself off of at RIze. He landed right on top of her right before the buzzer screeched. "So looks like my win," the eldest Kaneki mocked. Rize just grinned. "True but… don't you think it would be way better if you did this," she motioned with her hands towards their bodies, "with Touka instead of me." Ken looked down to see a rather compromising situation. He had pinned her crotch with his, his right hand was cradling her left breast, and the left hand was pinning her arms above her head. Immediately He freaked out and jumped off of her while everyone else was laughing at his reaction. Rize got up to and after grooming herself a bit walked off saying, "See you tonight my big boy. I hope you're looking forward to it as much as me."

Kuro, "Way to ago big bro!"

Shrio, "So that's why big brother never accepted all those date invitations."

Ken, "Shut up you two."

Later that night, Ken met up with Rize in a secluded spot near Anteiku. She gave him a once over before stating, "Still looking as shabby as ever in that." Ken slightly glowered at her. "I don't care. It's just a hunt. Besides unlike some people here, I have a family to take care of. And this outfit does nicely to disguise me from any doves or ordinary people we may encounter while out here." The outfit Ken had chosen was rather plain over all. Some comfortable pants and shoes that would not get in the way of any strenuous activity. A pair of fingerless gloves made to help with grip and climbing. His mask draped down on his neck for when he'd need it. As for his torso, he wore and odd coat that was like a windbreaker and a trench coat combined that came down to just about the knees. It was blackish grey, with plenty of pockets across the front and a detachable hood on the top. It was primarily a zip up jacket but still could be buttoned up with the black colored buttons on it. The coat, as well as the pants were intentionally baggy to mask his outline or any other distinguishing features. "Whatever, let's just go I'm starving." Kaneki couldn't help but laugh at that. "Since when are you ever not hungry?" Rize punched him hard in the arm for that.

And so they both began to head towards a spot that Rize claimed had some of the best tasting meat in the entire ward. Ken fitted his mask on as Rize began to describe how nice the meat was. She was saying something about the fat content being just right or other; he really wasn't listening. They jumped a fence and were now walking through a currently abandoned construction zone. "Come hurry up you slow poke," Rize stated. "It'll be all your fault if all the good ones are gone before we get there. Ken was pulling up the jacket hood to further disguise himself. However before he could say anything back to her, he heard a snapping sound. Suddenly a batch of steel girders was fall on them. Ken was just outside the worst of it but one of them came pretty close; nicking his jaw hard. The mask was torn off his face as well a batch of skin. His jaw bone was crushed too. The indirect hit was enough to knock Kaneki onto the ground. He groaned into discomfort as his healing started to take care of his wounds. His eyes immediately locked onto his aunt as she was buried under metal beams. He could barely see an arm partially sticking out of the bottom of the pile. As he tried to figure out how to get to her, he heard the noises of concerned humans. He didn't have enough time to save her. He gritted his teeth, grabbed his mask, and ran off as a young woman reached the site. Running away he could barely contain his feelings. Especially guilt. Guilt that he had gotten another important person to him killed. 'Damn it. Why? Why did this have to happen? If only hadn't asked her for that spar. She could have just gotten another unlucky dimwit to take home for dinner. But due to my selfish request she decided to do this and now she's dead. AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT! AGAIN!'

He reached the Kaneki home soon afterwards and let Shiro and Kuro know what had a happened. This, along with the bad memories of times past lead to a not so pleasant night for the family. Kaneki called to let Yoshimura he would not be coming in to work tomorrow before hanging up and comforting the now distraught twins. By 2AM all three were curled up together on the couch; using each other's body warmth to chase away the nightmares plaguing all three. Little did they know, sadly, that the universe was not through playing cruel jokes on them.

A few days prior to Rize's demise two men entered the 20th ward branch office of the CCG. They both preceded to study the offices aspects as they introduced themselves. After a few verifications they were both led to meet with the director of this ward. A short meeting later and they were both already leaving as they either ignored or didn't notice the stares of admiration and respect they respect of the office employees who watched the pair as they exited the building. Mado grinned, "Ah the twentieth ward. I haven't been here since the Owl case. How nostalgic." Mado's partner Amon nodded. "It does seem like a nice place. But now that Binge Eater, as well as eyepatch, have come here, so many of innocent lives are being taken. As well as the rest of the filth here. It's disgusting," Amon spat out. Mado replied, "True, despite that man's assurances, it's likely that the people here are just doing the bar minimum of work necessary. All they are doing is giving scum the chance to dig in and breed. But you shouldn't worry about it too much Amon. We'll start work tomorrow. So for today you should relax and prepare yourself." "Understood," Amon replied.

"Good. But for now we shall tread lightly. None of the scum currently know that we are here. Let's use a few days to get used to the area before we properly reveal ourselves." Mado left his subordinate while imagining all the quinques he could create from the ghouls of the 20th ward. In particular he enjoyed the idea of slaying eyepatch with quinques made from those two sisters of his. A disturbing grin crossed Mado's face. 'To be struck down by members of your own brood. A fitting end for scum. Wouldn't you agree eyepatch?'

Days after the steel beams accident.

Somewhere else in the 20th ward a rather dorky looking man whose face was completely hidden behind a disturbingly decorated clown mask entered a simple hospital through one the windows on the upper floors. "Excuse me, is the doctor in?" the man childishly asked. "Over here," another voice answered. He was surrounded by papers and had both a desk top and laptop computer open. A half-eaten sandwich and bag of chips lay on the small table to his right while three cans of coke were spread out around his feet. Another coke was in his hands as he used it to keep himself awake. "What do you want Souta?" The doctor agitatedly asked the clown. Laughing Souta responded, "Now now Kanou sensei there's no reason to get angry. I'm not here to ask anything from you. Though, part of the reason I am here is because my boss wanted to know if you were happy with the state of the material we gave you earlier. Any problem with it?" Dr. shook his head no.

"Good, as for the second reason I'm here, we just wanted to ask if this will be enough materials for you." Kanou looked up straight into the eyes of the ghoul. Or at least where his eyes should be. "It's manageable, but more material is always a good thing. Why do you ask?" Despite the mask, Kanou could tell that the man he was talking to was grinning sadistically. "Well a few months ago, we came across something interesting. You see, a group of three youngsters apparently moved in to the ward recently. They don't seem to be all that interesting at first glance, but if the rumors are true then they may be related to our poor little dear Rize chan." Kanou was now intrigued. "Can you get me more information on them? Anything is fine." To reply, Souta backed up a bit. "Now ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today to see my performance today. Now for my first and last trick of the evening, I am gonna pull just a simple trick. However, though simple. I can assure you that it will answer all of the questions from the amazing and talented doctor Kanou. Frist look. I have nothing in my right hand. Nor in my left sleeve. Now watch and be amazed. One, Two, Three TADAH!" From his sleeve, Souta had pulled three files of decent size and handed them to Kanou. "These are CCG records of all three of them. Have a look through them and once you're done tell me your answer." Kanou searched through all three of them in quickly before placing them down and addressing the clown. "You are most correct. They are intriguing and from what I could tell from the files, is that the boy at least has a healing factor much like subject 1."

"So do you want us to capture them all?"

"No, that won't be necessary for the time being at least. Though I would like one thing from them though."

"And that is?"

"Nothing much. Just a little blood sample from one. Try to get one as fresh as possible."

Souta grins. "I'm sure we could do that."

Omake: Here is the paraphased files that Kanou and Amon were reading.

Number: 302 Title: Binge Eater Sex: unknown, believed female Age: unknown Ethnicity: Unknown, believed Japanese Type: Rinkaku Rating: S

Highly dangerous ghoul that appears to have no set hunting grounds. No records of survivors of her attacks. Intel believes it uses seduction to attract prey and lead them to secluded areas for feeding. Currently believed to be in the 20th ward.

Number: 361 Title: Eyepatch Sex: male Age: unknown, believed 18-25 Ethnicity: Japanese Type: Rinkaku Rating: SS

A ghoul who first appeared several years ago participating in the night raid incidents. Talented in hand to hand combat. Has shown extreme aggression against investigators. Personally responsible for at least the deaths of 13 CCG personnel while aiding in the murders of dozens of other personnel. Survived the suppression of the night raiders by Inspector Arima. Afterwards, ghoul remained largely off the grid. Evidence shows that said ghoul settled in 13th ward. Recorded hunting with Binge Eater (relationship unknown). Recent confirmed sighting in the 20th ward.

Warning: While not confirmed there is a high risk that target may have acquired a kakuja. Despite being unfounded, possibility of such has raised threat to of target to SS. Discussion over rating recommended if confirmed and threat quantitated.

Warning: Ghoul shows great capability to destroy quinques in battle. Please take precautions if forced to engage. (data and photos provided in appendices.) Also led to SS designation of said ghoul.

Numbers: 471 and 472 Title: Yin Yang sisters Sex: female Age: unknown, believed 13-18 Ethnicity: Japanese Type: Rinkaku Rating: S

Rarely encountered, not much is known about these ghouls. What little has been seen of them lends to hypothesis of a biological relationship with number 361. Have shown remarkable ability for cooperative attacks (as such recommended that investigators should avoid conflict with 471 and 472 without adequate back up.).

Note: Though still dangerous, Numbers 471 and 472 showed major drop in combat power when seperated. Epsecially for 472 (Yang). Appears to suffer from some sort of tramau. Advise that inspector to use this to their advantage.