38 Aftermath and Discovery

The central control room was rife with the smell of blood and the sounds of a great ravenous feast. Shiki finished setting up explosives primed to bring down the entire central command center. Meanwhile his company of artificial ghouls led by Captain Rei Suzuya were satisfying their hunger for human flesh by feasting on the corpses of the recently deceased humans. The corpses were of those who were tasked with managing the central command of the entire citywide CCG operation codenamed "Spring Cleaning". Shiki and company had easily found the secret location of the central command and snuck into the building taking its occupants by surprise. The staff didn't even have the time to raise the alarm, call for reinforcements or flee from the assault as Rei aka Juuzou expertly directed his men into appropriate offensive formations and positions as they attacked. Shiki's artificial ghouls descended on the command staff like wolves on sheep, slaughtering them and showing no mercy as their victims cried for help. Shiki on the other hand wasted no time in appearing before his half-brother and nephew, Yoshitoki and Matsuri Washuu. He separated their heads from their bodies before they even had the chance to defend tthemselves or cause trouble in any way. Both men died with shock and confusion in their eyes, unaware of the fact that they were related to their assassin. The attack was less of a battle and more of a slaughter, it ended quickly with little resistance. Shiki didn't even know what he'd expected, after all the real fighters of the CCG were busy taking on the ghouls in the 13th ward.

...

Shiki looked up from his half-brother's and nephew's corpses to see Rei Suzuya taking on Itsuki Marude. Despite the fact that the middle aged man was more known for his supportive work and command skills off the battlefield, he was still a Special Class Investigator with the fighting ability deserving of the position. The man put up a fight with one of the Q-bullet machine guns lying on the floor as he tried to make his way towards the exit. His accurate shooting and maneuverability caused some injuries as well as frustration among the other artificial ghouls trying to take him down. One could only imagine the damage he could have done if he'd had his quinque on him, unfortunately Shiki and company had caught the entire command center by surprise while they were focused on the 13th ward battle. Itsuki Marude kept firing off targeted bursts of upgraded Q-bullet gunfire at the ghouls coming at him as he got close to the exit. You could see the desperation in his eyes as he tried to escape and warn the other Special Class Investigators of the devastating attack. It seemed like the man was about to succeed in his escape when all of a sudden, the One Eyed Company's Captain Rei Suzuya managed to maneuver himself under Itsuki's gunfire into a blindspot. By the time the middle aged investigator realized what was happening, Rei suddenly appeared before him blocking his path to the exit. Special Class Investigator Itsuki Marude hardly stood a chance before Rei released his kagune and ripped the man to pieces. The head of the CCG's 2nd Division died with shock and despair in his eyes as Rei separated his limbs and head from his torso. Afterwards, Rei picked up a dismembered arm and took a bite out of it, savoring the taste with a grin.

.....

Rei's rinkaku kagune consisted of six tentacles that ended in long scythe like blades. They looked somewhat similar to spider legs but with less joints and flat scythe-like sharp ends. Shiki had taken the talented young man under his wing as his protégée and trained him into a very capable fighter and leader. Rei Suzuya had changed in appearance since Muri had captured and experimented on him. He was way less scrawny and had built up more of a lean, tall muscular physique. His body seemed to have reacted well to Shiki's serum and ghoulification procedure, it fully utilized the metamorphosis to heal all of Rei's past injuries, scars and handicaps. His hair had changed in color from white to black which he grew out and wore in a samurai bun to model after his mentor. The only trait he still had from before his transformation was his body stitches using red string. He even used the same type of string to tie his hair into a samurai bun. So far, Shiki felt Rei had proved himself by excelling in the trainings as someone loyal and capable of leading Shiki's personal army. The young man had taken on a more serious though still laidback attitude under Shiki's mentoring. He had the authoritative tone to demand respect from the other Artificial ghouls as well as the other natural ghoul members of Aogiri Tree.

.....

"Sir we've cleared out the whole building, all previous inhabitants have been killed. Will we be moving to assist any of the other locations or will we be heading back to headquarters?" Rei said as he walked up to Shiki who had just finished setting up the explosives. With all the central command staff and equipment destroyed, the rush to reestablish a new chain of command and communication network between the various ward branches would put the CCG as well as its Citywide ghoul eradication campaign through a lot of chaos. Chaos that would allow his clone to be able to take advantage of the situation and further his own goals. "No Rei, we'll be heading back to headquarters. We've done enough for the night. All this exercise makes me feel like listening to some music on my brand new speakers. Eto said they're being delivered to her house today. We'll pick it up on the way back." Shiki replied as he got up and stretched as though he'd just undergone a tasking endeavor. He began humming as he walked past Rei on the way to the exit. Rei chuckled as he ordered the rest of the artificial ghouls to move out, they were leaving. The explosives went off with no problems once Shiki and company had gotten far enough from the site. The building went down in flames, smoke and dust as the culprits of this tragedy disappeared into the night.

...

It hadn't taken much for Muri to convince his old man of his loyalty to him and only him. Tsuneyoshi Washuu had looked so speechless at the whole situation that if not for the fact that he'd currently had no hands, he'd probably have tried pinching himself to confirm it wasn't all just a dream. Muri had started off with how his experience during his disappearance into the 24th ward had opened his eyes to the horrors humans suffered under the rule of wretched ghouls. He lamented about the "Farms" he came across and how humans and even ghouls were bred, treated and harvested like livestock. He showed strong admiration in his eyes as he told Tsuneyoshi he realized why the Washuu Clan worked so hard to hunt down and suppress all those evil ghouls. He told mostly true tales of the atrocities he'd witnessed in the various ghoul settlements of the 24th ward and how it had solidified his resolve to dedicate his life to suppressing ghouls so that he could protect the innocent humans above ground from the horrors he'd witnessed underground.

....

He explained to Tsuneyoshi how he'd returned from his experience ready to give it his all only to be blindsided by the fact that his elder twin brother was working with some of these ghouls and planned to overthrow his father. His brother had welcomed him back with an offer to partake in his rebellion and how it was clear though not explicitly said that Muri wouldn't be allowed to refuse whatsoever. Muri explained how he'd felt briefly conflicted but ultimately decided to accept and find a way to stop his brother's treachery while working from the inside. It was only after accepting and joining Kichimura's cabal that he realized how deep the treacherous conspiracy went. Kichimura had been working with two separate ghoul groups, one of which was the ghoul organization that had attacked the Academies and Cochlea facility. He was also working with Kaiko, several high ranking members of the V organization who were loyal to him, and members of the Washuu Clan Branch family who wanted to assume control of the Clan's most important assets. Apparently they hoped to succeed where the Underground king failed in a revolution that openly had ghouls as the overlords of society. Their first step would be in taking over and deeply infiltrating the CCG through the Washuu Clan and using it to overthrow the government. Muri explained that it was only after being brought in by Kichimura that he'd realized he stood no chance of stopping the treacherous plan involving so many people on his own. There would be no use in telling anybody as he had no proof and he'd be killed before he could get anything concrete. Muri let out tears as he talked about how fearful he was for Tsuneyoshi's life and the fates of the innocent who only wanted to live a peaceful life. He'd resigned himself to finding a way to at least save Tsuneyoshi's life at the last second as he was the key to the entire thing as well as the only way to fully galvanize the CCG against ghouls. Muri claimed that he was glad he'd succeeded even though it was at the cost of so many others. As long as Tsuneyoshi was alive there was hope for them to foil their evil machinations.

...

Throughout Muri's explanation, Tsuneyoshi stayed quiet and listened as he concentrated all his energy on healing himself. "How? How did you gain the ability to have and use that monstrous kagune? I noticed your brother, Kaiko and the rest of his men seemed to also possess it even though they're half-humans. Half-humans are not meant to have kagune. Explain to me how this happened?" Tsuneyoshi calmly stated as he suppressed his chaotic state of mind, one could notice a hint of greed in his eyes. Muri inwardly smirked but put on an expression of innocent realization, "Oh Yes, I almost forgot. Father you wouldn't believe what's going on underground, the entire 24th ward has been united under one organization. While I was working under brother he took me to their headquarters as he was working with them. Turns out they kidnapped those cadets for some horrendous experiments. They've developed a way to turn non-ghouls into ghouls. I have no idea how since I was knocked out during the operation but I woke up with the feeling of having extra limbs and a new movable muscle in my body. Also I overheard how they developed a serum to brainwash and control the artificial ghouls though I'm not sure as it could have just been a lie but there has to be a way they're keeping the new artificial ghouls under control. Luckily it wasn't used on me since I wasn't a member of their organization. They also performed the procedure on Kichimura, Kaiko and several of his most trusted men. Brother was gonna allow them to take over the entire Northwestern area of Tokyo and expand to the rest of Japan in return for their cooperation. I also overheard the man behind the discovery has built up an army of brainwashed and loyal artificial ghouls. We're going to need a lot of bodies and weapons to take them down since they're situated at the depths of the 24th ward. Imagine if the Washuu Clan had its own army of truly loyal artificial ghouls, however we'd make our own own much larger. After all we have the resources to create and support such a large force, no one would be able to stand against us. Also did I tell you about how the procedure rejuvenates the body. Kichimura told me it made Kaiko's internal body structure younger and increased his lifespan." Muri humbly spoke on the subject, mixing lies with truths as he fed honeyed words as bait into his father's ears. Somehow Muri he knew he had his father already. Hook, line and sinker.

...

Tsuneyoshi struggled to stand up as he'd finally been able to heal himself to a point that he'd stopped bleeding after retrieving his severed arms. "You don't say. Are you sure this information you're telling me is correct? If so, this kind of medical knowledge needs to be carefully handled and regulated. Who knows what kind of harm it could do in the hands of the wrong people? Look what's happened already when it ended up in the wrong hands of such evil people. We need to get it and utilize it for the good of the people. It would be better for everyone if we the Washuu Clan controlled it. Tell me my filial son, what do you know about the person who developed this procedure and the location of the lab where he did his research? Once we've cleaned all this up and I've fully recovered, you're going to help me capture and bring in the mad scientist responsible for all this chaos. For the good of the people, it must be us who controls it. Anyone else would abuse it for the wrong reasons. And Son, thank you for your loyalty, I promise that you shall be rewarded for your devoted service to me." Tsuneyoshi said as he patted Muri on the shoulder with his newly reattached arm. Muri gazed in his father's eyes as he observed faint hidden hints of his fiery ambition, cunning and greed. Muri saw the fire discreetly burning in his father's eyes despite his current pale, weakened state and injured state. It was like the old man didn't even care that a vast majority of his clan had just been massacred or the fact that he'd even betrayed by some of his allies. It's like it barely registered to him that there had just been a concerted effort to assassinate him led by his own offspring. The man was probably more concerned with the secrets of the ghoulification procedure, mind control serum and how to make use of it for his own interests as though he had already obtained it in his grasp.

...

It didn't take much longer after Muri started feeding the Tsuneyoshi Washuu chunks of flesh from the corpses lying around the room for his regeneration to increase in speed. Once they'd succeeded in getting Tsuneyoshi back to a good enough state to move about, the old man limped as he led Muri to the clan's secret underground shelter where there was a backup untraceable communication device. The estate's main communications system had been sabotaged when Kichimuri snuck in. Muri walked alongside his father in a cautious manner as though he was protecting him from any possible ambushes and surprise attacks even though there was no possibility of that happening. At times he'd offer his shoulder to lean on when his father seemed unsteady due to his injuries. Everyone in the clan's estate was dead except for he and Tsuneyoshi however Muri still had to play the part of the dutiful son. Once they'd gotten to their location and turned on the equipment, Tsuneyoshi first tried to contact the central command center to inform them of the attack and get an update on the 13th ward battle while asking for reinforcements to be sent to support them. The call didn't go through no matter how many times he tried leading Tsuneyoshi to curse his legitimate son and grandson as incompetent. Finally Tsuneyoshi switched to trying to contact the battlefield communication officers who were currently at the 13th ward, he didn't trust that the personnel at the V organization hadn't been fully compromised by the traitorous Kaiko. The call went through almost immediately and Muri had to hide his amusement as he watched his father receive some not so pleasant news.

.....

Kiyoko Aura stood tall amidst a storm of flesh and blood as though she was an isolated rock withstanding the wrath of hell. Double wielding her separated quinque blades, she stood with her legs apart as she received attacks from all directions. She was surrounded on all sides yet her face showed no signs of panic or even any hint of worry. She deflected an incoming kagune with one of her blades while using the other to slice it in half. She stood in a combat ready stance as she surveyed the ghouls surrounding her and attacking from every direction. She kept her eyes peeled and her senses sharp as she blocked the RC shards fired at her from the ukaku ghouls a distance away. Her blades moved quickly, in time to catch a pair of brave or foolish ghouls who'd tried to catch her with her guard down. She made quick work of them, slicing through their kagune and cleaving the shocked ghouls in half. She didn't skip a beat as she side stepped another ghoul trying to sneak attack her while she dealt with the attacking pair of ghouls, her blade suffered no obstacles as it pierced through the ghoul's skull like butter. Kiyoko's mind had already moved on before the corpse hit the floor as more ghouls were coming at her hoping to overwhelm her and rip her to shreds. She slipped through the joint attacks of several ghouls, lopping off their heads as she impassively passed them by. She flipped and spun in the air using an attacking kagune as a stepping stone to leap behind her attackers and slice them into pieces. She landed effortlessly with her blades set to block and deflect any other attacks from the ghouls surrounding her. Kiyoko had no fellow investigators to fight by her side as they were either busy elsewhere or were too weak to help or assist her. Most of those who'd tried were already long dead to the ghouls currently swarming around her. After all, Kiyoko was in a league of her own in the CCG, below only the likes of monsters like the Reaper Kishou Arima, someone who she'd personally trained in the Nitouryuu swordsmanship style of dual wielding. Not everyone was capable of surviving on the battlefields she participated and thrived in. She kept light on her toes as she received the incoming attacks. She dodged some hits while blocking and deflecting others as she retaliated against the numerous ghouls who charged at her like ants to sugar. As a Special Class Investigator, Kiyoko Aura felt like she was currently in her element fighting ghouls rather than being stuck behind a desk full of official documents to go over and sign. In this moment she felt alive with a sense of fulfillment second only to the times she spent entangled with her lover and subordinate, Muri. Her recently upgraded quinque blade did a broad sweep, slicing through the heads of several ghouls in her vicinity. Despite her impassive facial expression, Kiyoko truly felt free and happy as she flitted across the battlefield and slaughtered the ghouls around her. She dodged under an attack, thrusting her blade straight through the skull of a ghoul before using his body to block several long range attacks coming from behind him. She moved swiftly dodging the projectile attacks of some ukaku ghouls before leaping into their midst and slicing them into bits.

.....

The battle had been long and somewhat draining as Kiyoko finally killed the last ghoul left in her vicinity. Despite their apparent confidence in victory against the CCG at the beginning, fear had eventually seeped into the hearts of the 13th ward ghouls causing them to disengage from the battle and retreat further into the ward to hide. They sought to escape to fight another day and hopefully form a suitable plan to counterattack and beat back the invading CCG forces. Few managed to survive running away as the forces of the CCG made sure to take advantage of the situation to kill as many fleeing ghouls as possible. The seemingly bleak situation faced by the CCG's forces had been overturned by their ferocity, bravery and refusal to admit defeat . Of course much of the credit went to the elite combatants such as the Special Class Investigators who slaughtered the majority of the attacking ghouls. Kiyoko looked around at the many corpses of CCG combatants whose wills would have to be sent to their families. It was customary before every operation for investigators to write down a will in case of their death. It was a depressing but necessary custom with only the most confident of investigators choosing not to write anything at all. Kiyoko looked around and spotted Kishou Arima standing alone in a field of corpses. Both Special Class Investigators acknowledged each other other with a nod as Kiyoko walked back towards the camp they'd set up for their eradication of the ghouls in the 13th ward. As she neared her personal tent, she passed by the maimed bodies of the injured CCG combatants who survived the battle scathed. Their cries and groans filled the air as did the metallic smell of blood mixed with the putrid smell of lesser bodily fluids. The battle was over and those who survived were returning to the camp. Those who were injured were carried on stretchers as some begged for an end to the pain. Kiyoko impassively observed all this meanwhile internally she raged in anger and guilt at herself for still not being strong enough. If only she'd been stronger, there wouldn't have been so many investigators dead or injured.

....

Kiyoko clenched her fist in frustration before resolving herself to do better from now on and to never be complacent about her abilities. She had to get stronger for those she cared about, she didn't want to feel like that powerless widow ever again. She walked towards her tent where she found Hana waiting for her though it could be seen her eyes were puffy as though she'd just been crying. Before she could open her mouth, Kiyoko already knew what was going on. Her heart stopped before beating in panic as she rushed past Hana into her tent to find a horrendous scene. Kiyoko fully expected to find Muri's corpse laying on the cot however she let out a strained sigh of relief as it turned out to be someone else though slightly less important to her. Kiyoko Aura scolded herself for sighing in relief as she knelt beside the cot containing the heavily bandaged body of her subordinate squad member Momo. The First Class female Investigator was bloodlessly pale and covered in a sheen of sweat. Her body was wrapped in bandages especially on her left side where there were stumps where her limbs should be. Kiyoko noticed the bloody bandages trying to stop the bleeding where Momo had lost her left arm and leg. The young woman was unconscious but barely breathing, seeming to be suffering from a fever due to the heavy blood loss. Kiyoko caressed Mimi's forehead as she battled her fever, there was no guarantee she'd survive this but Kiyoko intended on doing all she could to help. She'd lost enough squad members, all she had left were Hana and Muri if Momo died. Though it was clear Momo's days as a ghoul investigator were over. Hana stood behind Kiyoko doing her best not to burst into tears again. She could barely handle losing so many people, Momo was the last living member of the Aura squad apart from Kiyoko and Muri. They had so much history together and Hana still remembered the first time they met. Hana felt so much grief and fear at the thought of losing Momo too, she'd already lost other squad members Issei and Sumire during the Academy attack. Hana felt that it was too much dealing with all this loss but she forced herself to hold it together as she could only imagine how Kiyoko was feeling losing another close subordinate. The guilt and feeling of responsibility must be crushing her as she looked at another dying subordinate.

....

Kiyoko arranged for the best onsite medical care to be given to Momo after she left the tent. She also arranged for Momo to be transferred to Tokyo's top hospital in order to ensure she survived the ordeal, of course she paid for all of it out of her own pocket rather than misdirecting organization funds. She sent Hana along with Momo as Kiyoko had a few responsibilities to take care of. Kiyoko felt raw and empty as she watched Momo being loaded into the armored ambulance truck with Hana holding her hand. Tears wouldn't come to her no matter how sad she felt, she'd resolved herself never to cry in grief again after her husband's death. She'd rather channel her sorrow into becoming stronger and taking vengeance against those who caused her grief so she could better protect those she cared about. Kiyoko sighed at the tragic life of an investigator and how easily it could all end, she remembered her nephew intended on becoming an investigator like her and was currently working on applying to the Academy. She'd have to talk him out of it as she couldn't imagine her sister dealing well with the thought of worrying about both of them dying during a mission.

...

Kiyoko walked towards the meeting tent where the Special Class Investigators leading the operation met to discuss battle plans. She walked in to find that every one of the Special Class Investigators had already returned. The atmosphere in the tent was grave which Kiyoko picked up on as soon as she walked in. She gazed at her fellow Special Class Investigators and noted their seething and solemn facial expressions as they sat in wait for her. Even Arima looked more serious than normal as the four sat around the table full of maps and images. "What's going on? Did a new order come from central command? I just received a draft casualty report from the medical area. It's not the worst case scenario but we've lost a noticeable fraction of our forces to crippling injuries. We'll have to coordinate with central command to devise a suitable solution for this." Kiyoko calmly spoke as she took a seat between Mougan and Arima.

A file was presented to her containing pictures labelled with shaky and clearly rushed handwriting. Kiyoko looked through the file for a while as her face underwent several emotions, shock, disbelief, confusion, horror, grief, and finally rage. "Is it possible there were any who survived the attack and got away?" Kiyoko asked with an icy tone as she clenched the file in her hand. "Its very unlikely, we would have been contacted by now were any still alive. Were we not occupied with the battle, we may have picked up on the strange radio silence. Unfortunately, it seems like the attack was planned to occur while we were preoccupied. We've tried to contact the Washuu Clan compound but it's been unsuccessful so far. It's probable both sites were attacked at the same time. We sent squads to investigate both locations but we've yet to hear back from the Washuu Clan compound. As for the central command center they reported a complete wipeout, the whole building was blown up and destroyed. Whoever did it left no survivors. It'll take time to properly dig up and identify all the corpses. At the moment all we can conclude is that they're probably all dead." Iwao Kuroiwa said with seething rage. Kiyoko's killing intent erupted and synced with that of the other Special Class Investigators in the tent. The air in the tent felt bitingly cold as they all came to terms with the fact that the CCG had been dealt a heavy blow and had lost some of its most important personnel while they had their forces fighting elsewhere. More importantly the Special Class Investigators felt anger at the loss of their comrades in arms Yoshitoki Washuu and Itsuki Marude. They honored their fallen colleagues with a moment of silence when all of a sudden, a messenger rushed in with an expression of fear, panic and joyful relief, "We've just been contacted by the Chairman, he's alive!!!!"

...

(Author's note: I'm thinking of making my chapters shorter to increase my release rate. Let me know in the comments what you think. Most of the chapters I write are very long which can be taxing to write at a stretch which leads to me revising them every time I sit down to write. Most of the breaks I take are to make sure I'm not just trying to pad the chapters and making sure everything I write is genuine. A lot of the ideas I come up with and write down come to me during these breaks. I call it divine inspiration. We're heading for the endgame of this arc soon and I can't wait to show you guys how Vlad plans to finish all this up. I'm thankful for all those who are still reading and I hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters. Your Unworthy Author, Chibi Senpai.)