A brief history of the past

After two more failed escape attempts me, Mado, Shinohara and Juuzou went back to the classroom where I had the class.

-We weren't here now?

I ask casually.

- Why are we back?

I sit at one of the tables.

Yes.

Over the table.

Juuzou lies down on one of the tables next to me swinging his legs.

Mado sits at the teacher's desk and Shinohara standing beside him.

Covering the door.

"Of course they'll be suspicious of me now..."

-Thank you Juuzou!

I whisper in a sigh.

Juuzou tilts his head to the side in confusion.

- Do you prefer to talk about it in the main hall?

Mado asks raising an eyebrow.

-I'd rather not talk about it.

I reply amused and Juuzou laughs.

Mado grimaces and Shinohara looks amused.

-Well, Konton-san...

Shinohara begins.

-...I know you understand our point, you are a stranger who beat Juuzou in a fight...

I smile.

-...and then we found out you were in a Ghoul restaurant, it seems you were  known to Juuzou in it, so...

She pauses and stares at me blankly with a hint of threat in the air.

-...isn't it better if you tell a little about yourself?

"Now….how much to reveal?"

I think while everyone waits in silence.

"I don't care so much about my past...but how useful will it be to be told?"

-Well...lets star..

-NOT!

Juuzou screams.

-Let me talk a little!

He smiled.

-Not!

I run towards him as he gets up from the table and starts running across the room.

-I met senpai when one of Big madam's friends came to visit her...

And I start jumping over tables to get to Juuzou faster.

-...and as we were their favorite scrappers they put us to fight and senpai beat me...

I threw a chair at Juuzou which knocked him to the ground.

But on the ground he still talks.

-...senpai beat me and then we became friends, he sometimes visited me but then one day, puff, he disappeared...

Juuzou looks sad when he speaks, but it fades quickly, more like he doesn't allow himself to feel that sadness.

"How much did Big madam spoil you Juuzou?"

I sigh and sit down at a table again.

Mado and Shinohara were paying attention to Juuzou's story and now look at me.

I sigh tiredly.

-I think it's good to give more context, right?

Both nod.

-Okay, let's get started, I was born in a normal family, father, mother and I...

I feel my gaze blur as I get lost in memories.

-...but it changed one day when I was about ten years old a ghoul broke into my house, he quickly killed my father, my mother struggled to hide me...well, she failed, the next thing I remember is the ghoul pulling me from where I was with one hand, with the other he was eating my father's arm...

I take a break.

-...I remember seeing my mother's body decapitated on the floor, I remember the ghoul saying something to me, mocking something, I remember him having black hair and I remember his kakugan activated....I remember staying out of anger, no, pure hate...I was drawing first of all, I still had my pencil in my hand and without even thinking I stuck the pencil in the ghoul's eye...

Mado and Shinohara look surprised.

Juuzou who got up looks fascinated.

-...the ghoul was too surprised and soon fell to the ground I think he was already dead, but I kept piercing his eyes with the pencil taking and putting it, on the left, on the right,  again and again...I don't remember how long I was like this...but I remember very well having a pain in my head and then passed out.

-I think there was another ghoul...

Shinohara says calmly with sadness in her tone.

-Yes, the ghoul I killed was a kind of "supplier" for the ghoul restaurants, he just went out and if he thought someone was a "gourmet dish" he took it to the restaurant, otherwise he just killed and ate.

The investigators in the room nod.

"So they know a lot about gourmets...."

-Apparently I was a "gourmet dish" but I managed to kill him in the surprise, the point is that that day, just that day...

I grit my teeth slightly in anger and then laugh softly.

"It's funny that I'm still angry about it..."

Everyone looks confused by my pause but quickly ignores it.

-... was present at the "order" one of the main participants of the restaurants, I do not his real name but he had the title of The janitor...

Mado and Shinohara look very confused.

-I've never heard of him...

mutters Shinohara.

I can't take it and I start to cry with laughter as Juuzou quickly joins me, which only serves to make the investigators more confused.

-oh...this is priceless...

-Yes... it was exactly as he said...

Juuzou comments.

-"Those doves won't find me if they don't know about me....so just get everything clean!"

Juuzou and I say together and laugh again.

I clap my hands to get back to the story.

-Finished, I was captured by the Janitor and he trained me to be his scrapper...

The investigators shudder slightly.

-...he wasn't so bad for a gourmet, he found me interesting and trained me to do what scrapper does ie kill other people and ghouls for the guests' pleasure...

Investigators shudder even more.

-...and I was quite skilled in what the janitor called "clean death"...

-liar!

Juuzoi screams.

- You were the BEST in clean death!

Juuzou gets up and takes light jumps pointing at me excitedly.

-I remember some of your exhibitions! You simply danced with your opponents and in a single attack, boom! It ended was like...

And Juuzou starts throwing blows in the air.

We all ignore it.

-...and after a few years...five years I think...I managed to escape...I had a plan...

- A crazy plan! I remember you offered it to me.

Juuzou comments and Shinohara and Mado look at me strangely and I look at him dryly.

-Why YOU telling me that offends me so much?

I ask and Juuzou laughs.

-But well, I had a plan, the plan failed, but I was helped and I managed to escape...now I'm here, end of story!

I end by speaking dramatically.

-Questions?

-Yes...

Shinohara begins.

-...you said that this janitor wasn't so bad, explain better.

-He was a perfectionist and he hated getting dirty, so my training with him involved killing quickly, efficiently and cleanly...

-Yes...his fight with Juuzou showed that...

Mado comments.

-...and as he didn't like to get dirty he didn't hit me or hurt me to punish me, he...

I take a break.

-...he would lock me up somewhere and tell me to leave...whether it's a cell of hungry ghouls, a very deep hole, or some burning house...

I murmur.

-...but I was never punished much.

Shinohara looks shocked and falls silent.

-I have two questions...

Mado begins.

-...the first one, I've seen your expression throughout history, how is it possible that you don't hate ghouls after all this?

Sigh.

"Why didn't I manipulate my expressions?"

Shinohara looks even more shocked and even Juuzou looks curious.

-I hate gourmets, I hate Big madam and above them I hate the Janitor...but I won't blame all the ghouls for the actions of some of them...

Surprise and the unanimous feeling.

-...inside I saw many different types of ghouls and humans and I must admit it's amazing the similarity, both feel sad, feel pain, some are good people, others not...isn't it true Juuzou?

He nods in agreement.

-...how did you get away? You said your plan failed.

Mado asks quietly.

I smile brightly.

-A ghoul helped me!

Shocked silence and just what's in the room.

Even Juuzou looks shocked.

-Well, now the decision will stay with you...

I start towards the door.

-...I'm not a ghoul sympathizer, I know that some of them deserve nothing less than death, as I said Big madam, Janitor, Jason and thousands of others...

Shinohara exits the door allowing me to pass.

-...but I know that some just want to live, they just want to be free, I can sympathize with that feeling.

I stop at the door.

-...I'll still come to class tomorrow Mado-sensei.

I leave the room and start walking away from the gym.

"...I haven't thought of those times for a long time..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- just live Ryo...

I'm pushed into a river.

-NOT! MICHAEL...

I fall into the water.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I shake my head to ignore the memory.

"Well I think I'm going to have that date with Eto now..."

I get my cell phone.

I select [Cute Writer]

"...it's time for me to get into this game once and for all"

I start calling.

"Now there's no going back anyway"

================================

In the room where Ryo had just left.

-I don't think it's possible for him to remain a Kureo student...

Mado sighs.

-I know...besides his morality, he's an extremely skilled fighter, he just doesn't have the knowledge that researchers have...

Shinohara's eyes spark with an idea.

-Kureo....what do you think of Ryo working with me and Juuzou?

Juuzou looks excited and claps his hands.

Mado raises an eyebrow.

- Have you become some kind of social worker for ex-scrppers?

Shinohara just laughs.

================================

Eto was wondering what happened.

She hugged Ryo.

She knows why she did this.

She hated the CCG with all her being.

So seeing the CCG in trouble cheered her.

The ease with which Ryo did this impressed her and made her wonder if the path she was following would lead to anything.

"Strength just doesn't lead to victory"

Ryo's words sometimes made her think.

Then she would kill and eat some unlucky investigator and feel better.

"Violence is very good"

But that gets back to the main point.

I hugged Ryo.

I showed direct affection.

Not interested in him being interesting.

Not the sadistic humor of playing with new prey.

Nor the gratitude of receiving information from an informant.

But just affection.

"I like his presence..."

I shake my head and ignore the thought.

I will not allow myself to feel something like that.

He will either hate me or fear me after all.

He will either leave me or die.

Like everyone.

"Let's turn this growing friendship into just a cordial relationship between allies..."

I let out a laugh.

"...and more like blackmail..."

I think and remember the taste of ryo meat and lick my lips.

"...he was really good"

My phone starts ringing.

[Emergency snack]

"Thinking of the devil...but what will he want at this hour?"

I answer it and soon hear Ryo's always amused voice.

-E-chan~ are we going to have our date tomorrow~?

I feel myself blush and let the phone drop to the floor in surprise.

- You dropped your cell phone E-chan~?

Ryo asks and starts laughing.

I huff and pick up the cell.

-I hate you.

I comment laughing.

-So, about the date....