Chapter 20: hostilities pt 1

It had now been a couple days since Ken's adventure and things had settled into an uncomfortable calm. The death of Ryouko was still too painfully fresh to forget about and the pressure from the doves on the ward was still strong. But still, time had begun to march forward. The ghouls of the twentieth ward were forced to carry on with their lives as they continued to deal with both the internal and external strife caused by recent events. Especially poor Hinami who would barely eat or sleep. Instead she would spend most of her time in depressed contemplation.

Today was a quiet day that saw only a few customers come into Anteiku. Ken, Touka, Shiro, and Kuro had been left to run the café as the others took care of various business around the ward. Still so few people had come in today that all but Touka had decided to take a break. They began to divvy up a newspaper to read amongst themselves. Among the pages was one particular piece of news. It was a simple obituary about a young bureau investigator of the CCG who had been killed by a ghoul.

Shiro was reading this article when Touka yanked the paper away. She collected the whole thing, despite some mild objections from Ken when she took the comics page. As she neatly folded the paper, she noticed a disapproving glare from Shiro. "What the hell is your problem?" she gruffly asked. Shiro simply pointed at her accusingly and replied, "That guy in the paper. The CCG employee. It was you who killed him wasn't it?" Touka glared back at her. "So, you gonna make something of it?" Shiro sputtered a bit as she tried to find the words. "You can't be serious? That's like declaring war on the CCG. Don't you understand what you're doing?" Touka nearly crushed the paper as she tightened her grip into a frustrated fist. "Hmph! I know exactly what I'm doing. What I don't understand is how you can just stand by and ignore that one of our own was murdered for no reason. Or when Hinami could suffer the same fate once one of those rotten doves tracks her down. I won't stop till I kill ever last one of them." Once Touka finished speaking, she coolly walked away to make a cup of coffee for their current dependent and went into the back.

Shiro was almost about to chase after her before her older brother told her, "Drop it Shiro." She immediately turned to the new target of her fury. "You're taking her side?!" she all but screamed at Ken. He sighed in response. 'I really thought she had gotten over this. Though that would have been too easy I guess,' "It's not that. Nothing you say to her will help right now. In fact, it probably just make her more angry and resistant. All we can do for now is stay back and watch over her. Let her work out everything. I'm sure she'll come to the right answer eventually." However Ken was not expecting what his sister said next. "I can't accept that. Not again." Realization as to what she actually meant slowly dawned on him as she continued. "To be forced to watch someone putting themselves through such pointless danger and suffering. To be forced to watch each and every time as they leave on their stupid quest for revenge with the fear deep in your gut that this will be the last time you'll see them. That the by the end of the day you'll lose them on some pointless self-serving sacrifice. Getting revenge for Hinami? Yeah right, if you were really doing this for her you'd stay by her side. She needs her loved ones close not some stupid concept of justice or vengence. This is for no one but yourself. To appease your anger and nothing more." At the end of her triad, Shiro was openly crying. Ken, now feeling a bit guilty himself, hugged her and petted her head. "It'll be alright. I promise you, Shiro. I won't let anything happen to Touka. I'll protect her and we can go back to those happy days again. Before the doves attacked." Shiro simply sniffled in response.

Touka lightly knocked on the door before entering the room. Inside, she found Hinami just waking up. She smiled warmly at the young ghoul before apologizing for waking her. "I heard you're not eating. That's no good. You're a growing girl after all," she continued; placing the cup of coffee on the table. Hinami smiled weakly and answered, "Ok." Touka could tell that the depressed girl was not taking what she said to heart. So she sat next to her and rubbed her head affectionately. "You don't have to worry about anything. I'll take care of everything and you can also rely on everyone else at Anteiku. I promise you, instead of being stuck in this small room, I'm gonna show you the whole wide world." She hoped that her words could inspire Hinami a little and get her out of her slump.

However what brought the excitement back to her tired eyes was not Touka's speech but instead the simple newspaper she held in her arm. "What's that?" Hinami asked. Touka smiled at her again. "It's a newspaper. The manager likes them so from time to time he buys one and leaves them in the café." "That's amazing, there's so many Kanji." Touka lightheartedly sighed at how Hinami could be amazed at something so simple. So she threw the paper to the little girl. "Here take it. It can help with your studies after all." For the first time in a while, Hinami's face lit up in a big smile. "Thanks you big sister. If there are any big words I don't know then I can ask big brother Kaneki," she excitedly rambled to Touka's slight dismay at losing out to that dumbass Ken. However her kind demeanor grew cold as she left the room. It was time to continue her mission against the doves.

Later Touka watched as the doves searched the place she had set for their next confrontation. She couldn't help but feel a bit smug. As the doves floundered around on her little stage. All the pieces were falling into place.

However what she didn't know was that two of them had already caught on to her plan. Amon walked over to where his mentor was watching, studying the area. "What do you think Mado?" he asked. Mado grinned with his iconic slasher smile as he put it all together. He started to snicker a little too. "Quite the interesting choice, eh Amon? This kinda battlefield will certainly put me at a disadvantage with lack of maneuverability for my current favorite quinques. Seems like that rabbit she-ghoul has finally gotten her head on straight. Or maybe it's that slug, Eyepatch, who picked it out." As he continued to ponder, his partner Amon gripped his hands in frustration. "To be played around with by these beasts. It's infuriating," he snapped. Mado though simply waved at him to calm down. "Now now, calm down Amon. It won't do you any good to get upset. Dulls the senses. Besides I have already prepared some things for this little game. Soon all this will come to a close."

A few days later, Hinami was reading the newspaper Touka had given her; excitedly absorbing all the new words and kanji she came across. She tried to figure out each one by herself first so she could show off to the others at Anteiku. However she came across one word in particular. She pulled out her dictionary and found said word meant sorrow or regret over the death of a person. 'Huh, that's just like me,' she idly thought. What her thoughts about the word itself were was lost after she saw the picture next to the article. She instantly recognized it as one of the men who had been a part of the group that had killed her mother. Slowly it dawned on her what Touka had really meant that day. This realization filled her with both anger and sorrow. She looked out the window as she decided on what she had to do.

Meanwhile, downstairs, none of the employees of Anteiku noticed anything wrong. They continued their work just like any other day. Nothing out of the ordinary happened as they served customers and engaged in small talk. Touka thanked whatever god was listening, that Hide didn't appear to ask her out once again.

Eventually night fell and with it the closed sign was placed over the door. Eventually only the Kanekis and Touka remained. As Touka put on her jacket she asked, "Did you lock the door Ken?" The only male here answered, "Yeah. Oi, you two ready." Shiro came out of the restroom, drying her hands and gave him a simple nod in confirmation and Kuro, sitting at a table reading her baking book, answered, "I'm ready. Just been waiting on Shiro." Shiro playfully smacked her sister for that. It seemed that everything was finished and it was time to head home.

However all three girls were alerted when Ken asked, "Hey is it just me or is it a little too quiet upstairs." Touka grimaced. "Hinami's probably just asleep right now. Stop trying to freak us out Bakaneki." However Touka couldn't keep the slight fear out of her voice at what Ken's question could mean. Shiro also added, "When I went upstairs earlier this afternoon, she didn't respond either." Ken added, "Don't you think she's sleeping a bit too much." Now worried, all four of them headed upstairs to check up on the young girl.

Touka knocked on the door but there was no answer. So she opened the door only to find an empty room and an open window. For the first few moments no one moved. Simply standing there in stunned silence.

"No way," Touka whispered in shock. Her mind was in a panic as she tried to figure out why the young girl had decided to run away. Was it her fault? But she had done it all for her. Was she really going to lose a loved one again? Where did she go? It took Ken to knock her out of her questioning panic. "Touka," he called to her. Once he was certain he had gotten her attention, he continued. "We need to find her before the doves do. Go check the nearby park. The rest of us will check elsewhere." Touka could only numbly nod back at him.

At the same time, Hinami was wandering the streets of the now quiet twentieth ward. She slowly ambled like a zombie with no real destination set. Just getting away from Anteiku. However, as she walked a certain scent reached her nostrils. Though somewhat stale and a bit wrong, the scent was still immensely comforting. She started to head towards it. "Mother."

Touka leapt across the rooftops as she continued to search for Hinami. They hadn't found the young girl in the area around the café. So after a quick call to inform the manager the four of them spread out to search the entire ward. Touka took off in the direction of the elementary school area that she had set up for trapping the doves at. As she searched for the missing ghoul child, her thoughts returned to the fear that she had chased away Hinami. Just like with her brother. But as she pondered though, she suddenly smelled a familiar scent. 'This scent is … What the hell is going on?'

A scream suddenly filled the air. Touka instantly knew it was Hinami, as she leapt towards the scream. Like some sick joke, the place she arrived at turned out to be the very tunnel she had sent the doves to earlier. She ran towards the tunnel; barely noticing when Shiro arrived a few moments after her. Both girls followed the sounds of crying to where the younger girl lay; cradling a bag that smelled an awful lot like Ryouko. Touka took a few steps closer to her. "Hinami. Thank god you're safe. We were all afraid that we'd lost you. Come on, it's not safe here. Let's all go back home."

But she and Shiro were both caught off guard by the defiant "No," that came from Hinami. "No matter where I go, I'm gonna die. Somehow, I'll be killed like mother. That glasses guy from the CCG was killed too. Was it you Big sister? I'm only bringing more suffering to everyone by staying her. I'll surely be killed as well. Those people who killed mother are going to kill me too. So I have to run. Far away. Far far away." She hugged the bag. Noticing this, but not really wanting an answer, Touka asked the distraught girl, "Hinami… what's in the bag?" Hinami tensed for a second before revealing the bags contents while simply answering with, "Mother."

Both of the older girls could feel the bile in their throats at the contents. The bag contained pieces of Ryouko's body. Some of the scrap waste left over after the CCG was finished processing a ghoul's body that was normally cast aside without even some semblance of a decent burial. All of it showed signs of decay. Touka's rage reached the boil point as she pictured what she'd do to the sick person who'd pulled this disturbing prank. However she also became concerned as she looked over at Shiro. Shiro suffered something similar to a small PTSD attack as flashbacks to the death of her own mother and father, and all that had followed, flowed across her mind's eye. She trembled a little as she hyperventilated a small bit and shook slightly.

Hinami then asked, "Why is it so wrong for ghouls to live?! Why?!" Both girls were brought back to the present by this sad plea. Shiro gave the best smile she could and comfortingly rubbed Hinami's head. "Listen Hinami. I know what you're going through, sadly. But I promise you, you can get through this. You're strong. So please, please don't leave us. We'll take care of you. Trust me." Touka also stated, "When me and Ken went to the CCG earlier, they couldn't show me even a portrait of you. Only those four that were there that day know what you look like. Hinami," she dropped down and hugged the young female ghoul. "I promise you. I will protect you. I won't let those guys kill you. I'll swear it" After a short pause she continued with, "I don't know whether it's right for ghouls to live either. But it should have some significance right?" Hinami stayed still as she simply soaked up all the comfort and love the other two offered her. "Yeah," was all that she said.

A little while later, Touka got up and pulled out her phone to call Ken, Kuro, and the manager. She left Hinami to Shiro as she started to dial. First, Touka dialed up Ken. When he answered, she said, "Ken, I'm with Shiro now. We found Hinami." She heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. "Thank goodness. Where are you guys now?" Currently, Touka was facing away from the entryway to the tunnel. "We're near Kasahara elementary at the…" but a pained scream interrupted her answer. Touka spun around in time to see Shiro pulled away from Hinami by a red rinkaku quinque that had pierced her stomach; her phone breaking as she dropped it. The quinque placed Shiro right between Touka and the crafty dove that had found them; as a human shield. Shiro wiggled like a worm caught on a fish hook as she panicked and tried to get away despite the pain from moving. Though she froze in fright when the dove who caught her simply stated, "Now that wasn't very observant of you, Sasaki-chan. I'm honestly disappointed"

"TOUKA! TOUKA!" Ken screamed at his phone after he heard the scream and Touka shout for his sister. His worst fears of losing yet another family member seemed close to being realized. He tried to call Kuro but received no answer. "Damn it," he cursed; putting his phone away. He started to head to where he believed Touka was. He calmed his nerves as he ran. If it came to a fight then it wouldn't do anyone any good for him to be a panicked mess.

He pulled out his masked and put it on. However, he also spotted something along his path. It was another dove. The partner of that Mado freak to be precise. And he was running straight for the waterway tunnel also. Ken made a split second decision. While he did need to get to Touka, Shiro, and Hinami as soon as possible, it wouldn't be a good idea to ignore a dove that he could take out now instead of letting him threaten the others. Plus they didn't have their masks on and there was no way he could let this man see their faces as well. So he'd take care of this murderer first, then continue on his way to the others.

Amon had received the signal from his partner. The ghouls had taken the bait and Mado had already moved in to finish them all. It was Amon's job to provide back up and eliminate any other ghouls who tried to approach the operation zone. His face was grim as he vowed that he wouldn't let a single one of the escape this time. He would see to it that this scourge was defeated before more innocent victims were lost to them.

He barely spotted the shadow from above coming down upon him. He dodged as a figure slammed their leg into the ground. 'If I hadn't dodged that just then, than my leg would have been broken. No, maybe even completely ripped off,' he realized as the ghoul that had attacked him removed his leg from the small crater he formed. It turned to face him and he instantly recognized the mask.

"Eyepatch!"

The ghoul mockingly posed as it said in a sing songy voice, "Oh Mr. investigator. Can you come out and plllaaaayyyy?"

Chapter 21: hostilities pt 2

Both of the men stood still but ready; staring each other down like two feuding cats. Ken estimated that this dove couldn't be any higher than second class. So he was pretty confident that he could handle anything that he could throw at him. Meanwhile Amon was much less optimistic. Eyepatch was a notorious SS rank ghoul who was known to have killed multiple CCG personal and was now believed to have a kakuja of some sort. Plus the battle field wasn't favorable as it would give the ghoul space to use its high speed and maneuverability to its full advantage. Still Amon mentally affirmed to himself that he would defeat this ghoul. Even if it took an arm or a leg, he would make certain to punish this monster for all the lives he had taken and families he had torn asunder. All he had to do was trust in his training and his quinque.

Ken gave a jovial smile, though it was impossible to see under the mask, and asked, "I guess it would be too much to ask of you to forget about me and the others and for you to just go back home for the night, huh?" the dove answered by simple increasing the hostility in his stare and tightening his grip on his briefcase. Ken sighed deeply and looked crestfallen. "That's what I thought. Oh well, you can't accuse me of not being reasonable with you."

The instant after he finished this line, Ken struck. He used his superior ghoul abilities to appear right in front of the other man and before he could react, slam his open palm into the others solar plexus. Amon was pushed back about half a foot and all the air was forced out of his lungs. He was barely able to stay standing as his knees tried to buckle. He did cough heavily though. But still he weathered the hit. Ken was honestly surprised by this. He cocked his left eyebrow up as he reevaluated the man. "Most impressive Mr. Dove. I was actually aiming to knock you out with that one blow. Things would be so much easier if you would just take a nap right now, don't you think?"

Amon gritted his teeth before charging at the ghoul. "Don't underestimate me!" he practically roared. For a few seconds the two jostled. Ken still pulled ahead in the spat but was pretty impressed by this dove. He certainly hadn't slacked off on his training as, despite the physical disadvantage between ghouls and humans, he was holding his own pretty well. After the two had broken away from each other, Ken tilted his head and replied, "Underestimate you? I was just paying you a compliment. Your ability to sufficiently fight a ghoul in hand to hand combat is quite amazing actually."

Amon's response was to scrunch up his face in disgust. "Being complemented by one of your kind makes me feel unclean. But since your feeling so talkative, there's something I've always wanted to ask you ghouls. To fulfil your desire to eat, you calmly murder innocent people. There are so many children who have lost their parents to your hands." He activated his quinque now. "The surviving people's feelings… sadness… loneliness…the empty lies. Have you ever imagined what it's like?" Amon waited for the ghoul's answer. Expecting some sick reasoning of the cheapness of human lives or something. But instead what happened was that the beast fell silent and seemed to quake a little.

Despite what some of his enemies liked to claim, Ken did in fact have feelings. He loved his family and friends. He felt happiness curling up with a good book. He felt scared of his sisters' disapproval when he screwed up. Sadness at the thought of his lost parents. And right now he felt rage over what this man had said. 'How dare you of all people say that, dove! What about my feelings of loneliness and sadness at the loss of my parents? What's the difference here?! Huh?!' he thought. However he didn't voice these questions. Too angry to talk, he brought out his kagune and prepared to end this in one attack.

He had been too soft on this man; letting his consciousness interfere too much. He could tell that overall this Amon person was a good man, if a little misguided on ghouls. Maybe in another world they could have been friends. But now he was an enemy who was interfering in the young half-ghoul's attempt to save the others from Mado's sick game. There was no more time to try and avoid giving the other too much serious injury. So he would use his full power to end this now and smash this dove's quinque then follow up with a powerful strike to his jaw. It would probably shatter his mandible and cause a few brain legions, but at least it would succeed in knocking the man out for a few hours and allowing Ken to continue on.

Amon at this time, could see the change in Eyepatch. Though he, like many of his compatriots, claimed that ghouls were unfeeling monsters, right now he recognized the anger radiating off of the other. It actually scared him a bit. Though he wouldn't let that show. He watched as the ghoul released its vile kagune and then set into a recognizable pose. It was a pose that he had seen multiple times during his research into Eyepatch and preparation for their eventual duel. 'He's going to go after my quinque,' Amon realized. So he also got into position.

In one instant both men made eye contact. In the next they charged forward. Ken swung down with all of his kagune aimed at one point on the other's quinque as Amon moved to block his attack with it. However what he didn't see as his kagune met the surface of the quinque was the grin on Amon's face.

Mado gave another one of his iconic smiles as he continued to hold poor Shiro in the air with one of the last remnants of her father. He looked to over to Hinami who was trembling on the ground at the sight of the man who had plagued her nightmares for weeks now. "It's been a while young Fueguchi," he stated as he then turned to the irate Touka. "And Yamaguchi? No that's a fake name. How about I call you…" he noticed the small rabbit keychain on her now destroyed phone. "Rabbit."

If looks could kill, then Touka would have murdered this man a thousand times over. She wanted to rip this man apart so badly. But right now she had to first save Shiro. The fact the man seemed to ignore the fact that he still had her impaled as some hostage only increased the loathing that Touka felt for this callous piece of human garbage. "Let her go," she ordered. "Hmmm?" She only felt more frustrated as the dove acted like he didn't hear her properly. "I said let Shiro go!" she shouted at him.

This time Mado openly laughed at her. "Ah, sorry sorry. I forgot entirely about you, Sasaki-chan." He looked her over as he observed, "So you're called Shiro huh? Not the most imaginative name is it?" He suddenly noticed something as he yanked the girl closer to him. Shiro could only squeak in fear and barely keep from fainting over the pain and how the dove now brought her face to face with him. Eye to eye. His creepy grin only got wider. "Ah so that's how Eyepatch got around the gate," he stated as he truly noticed the two mismatched eyes of the young she-ghoul. "So you really were hybrids. Oh, the researchers back at headquarters would be drooling over you and your siblings. Hmm I wonder if I could get them to dissect you and your sister as your brother was forced to watch. I bet his face would be spectacular." However his face soon changed into one of disgust. "Still to think that you're whore of a mother would sleep with beasts like ghouls. Truly one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard of. As if it wasn't enough of a problem when they breed, now we have to deal with abominations like you."

"Don't," Shiro painfully whispered. She now stared down the dove despite the fact that she was still very much afraid. Part of her wanted to curl up into a ball and give up or panic. But a bigger part of her could not let what he said go unchallenged. Whether it was simply pride or her love for her family she didn't know. She grabbed onto the quinque in her stomach and tried to futilely pull it out as she now yelled back, "Don't you dare disrespect my family! My siblings and I are not abominations! My father was a not a beast! And my mother… my mother was a way better human than you'll ever be!" Mado just looked at her like she had offended him somehow before he forced the quinque to wiggle and twist in her gut; causing more pain to the girl as her screams now filled the tunnel. Hinami shrunk to the ground as she covered her ears to try and block out the screams while Touka proclaimed, "You bastard!" and charged at Mado. The man just grinned again as he flung the quinque pierced girl he held into the wall of the tunnel and activated one of the other quinque's he'd brought for the battle. The spiked tentacle of the new quinque flew towards the Ukaku ghoul.

The now released Shiro, with the red rinkaku still embedded in her gut, slammed heavily into the wall. Causing it to crack. She slumped onto the ground unmoving as her blood leaked out around her body.

Ken's kagune slashed into the club like quinque Amon favored. However, instead of breaking, the club actually survived the blow. "What?!" Ken couldn't stop from crossing his lips. However he wasn't given any time to think as in the next instant the dove roared a mighty battle cry before swinging for the opening he had waited for. Ken blocked it with his arm but he felt the bone inside crack. But Amon didn't stop. He swung again and again; knowing that if he paused for one second, this ghoul would that opportunity to kill him. He thought back to what doctor Chigyou had explained to him when he was selected among those going to the thirteenth ward suppression mission.

"An opening after he breaks the quinque?"

"Hai, watching videos taken of some of his battles, you can see how Eyepatch uses the full force of his kagune in that attack. So there is an opening for a few seconds afterwards where his entire front is unguarded. If taken advantage of, then even a novice investigator could score a powerful blow against him. Well it's not like such a powerful move could be done without some risk after all."

Amon watched as Chigyou played a recording of the attack on a screen they were sitting in front of. He also noticed how the unfortunate investigator in the tape was also cut down shortly afterwards by the ghoul. Confused he asked, "But how exactly am I supposed to take advantage of an attack made specifically to break my weapon. If it really was as easy as you make it out to be, then we wouldn't have lost so many talented individuals to him already."

Chigyou was waiting for him to ask that. He grinned as he pulled out a marker and went to the dry erase board nearby to explain the plan to Amon. "You see here, it's all in how he breaks them. It's my belief that Eyepatch is targeting the grain of the quinque. You see kagune, and by extension the quinque they are reformed into, are basically just large muscles. And as such, they have a grain, or the direction in which the muscle fibers align. While still needing a large amount of power, it is much easier to cut with the grain instead of against it. Which also means it will save energy and strength that Eyepatch wouldn't want to waste in a battle. So, taking this into consideration I designed the cross stitch design."

"Cross stitch design?" Amon asked. "Yes," the head research clarified, "Simply put we layered the quinque in a way so that the grain reverses back and forth inside the weapon; giving the grain a cross or x like shape. This theoretically should strengthen your quinque and make it more durable even if he tries to cut it against the grain. Unfortunately this technology is limited as the procedure is both costly and time consuming. There is also an almost 60% chance of total failure in the manufacturing or upgrading process that could result in the complete loss of the quinque. Though koukaku quinque have a much higher percentage of surviving at 47%. So we ask of you, investigator first class Koutarou, will you accept this request to use an untested design to bring down Eyepatch?"

'HIT! HIT! HIT!' Amon put all of his being into trying to hit Eyepatch. He knew he had only a minute, maybe two, before the ghoul could fully recover. Already Eyepatch was dodging his assaults faster and with more ease then when he started. He also started to counter a bit. But Amon kept close to the ghoul as he still seemed to have problems with close range combat. He dodged another strike before accusing, "You and that other ghoul, rabbit. That bitch killed one of my allies just days ago. Why was he killed? Because he was an investigator? Because he was human? Don't fuck with me! There was no reason for his death?! This world is wrong! And you ghouls are what is corrupting it!"

Amon moved swung his club at Ken again. Ken successfully dodged but was obviously a bit more sluggish. Unknown to the other, Amon's words had struck his opponent in more ways than one. Ken felt saddened, at how right the man was that the world was corrupted. A bit of guilt for most of those he had killed in his short life, and frustration at how, not just this man, but humanity in general loved to place all the blame on the ghouls. Was it really only the ghouls' fault that the world was so messed up? These thoughts and feelings weighed heavily on the half-ghoul; causing his reactions to be slowed. It also made him miss something important about his surroundings.

As he stepped back from another swing, Ken stepped into a puddle and slipped. Now completely off balanced, Ken was at Amon's mercy. And so Amon swung down with righteous fury upon the villain before him.

Chapter 22: hostilities pt 3

Touka easily maneuvered around the quinque and continued to charge at Mado; somewhat impressing the seasoned investigator. "Splendid," he barked. "If I don't in enforce your destiny to die here today then just like Eyepatch and Owl, you'll become a troublesome ghoul." However his next attack was blocked by one of the pillars holding up the roof of the tunnel. Touka used this to slip under the quinque and close in on Mado; allowing a smirk to cross her face. 'Your weapon is difficult to use in this place. You fell right into my trap.' However, while she started to bring out her kagune, Mado tossed aside his current quinque and brought out yet another silver case. Touka barely had enough time to notice it before Mado activated it. The case opened up and brought out a large koukaku quinque.

Surprised, Touka jumped back to gain some distance from the new weapon. 'Another one?! What the Hell is up with this guy?!' she thought as she observed the new quinque. 'It's completely different from the other two.' But her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Hinami panic. "Hinami?" she asked only for Hinami to shake even more. Suddenly Mado started to chuckle as he said, "Since I had to have it made in a hurry, I had to bring two different cases. What do you think? After all, it is your beloved mother! Because quinques are made from the kagunes of ghouls!" By the end of his explanation, Mado was practically livid. His face flush with excitement at the despair of the young daughter ghoul. He was rewarded with her scream of despair before, blinded by fury, Rabbit charged at him again; her kagune now flaring out behind her.

Amon swung down with all the force he could bear on the incapacitated Eyepatch. Currently, there was no way for him to avoid it, so Ken just tried to best prepare himself to weather the hit. However what made contact was not the quinque but a female figure that landed a flying kick into Amon's side. Amon was bucked to his right; allowing Ken to slip to the left and roll away with only a cut on his cheek.

Amon was able to quickly recover and look to who had hit him. The figure was a female adolescent. Her clothing and backpack were rather ordinary. However what was distinctive was the mask she wore. He recognized the black and white bar covered full face mask from days of research on this ghoul pack. "S rank, Yin," he stated to himself. This wasn't good. Another high caliber level ghoul joining the fight along with Eyepatch now completely recovered from the Amon's earlier surprise assault meant that victory was almost impossible for the investigator now. Still, even though he accepted that he would die, Amon refused to simply give up. He'd go down fighting and hopefully weaken them enough for Mado to defeat afterwards. However he was not expecting for Yin to grab Eyepatch by the head and head-butt him with her mask still on.

"Owwww, what the hell was that for ku….Yin?" Ken asked as he rubbed his now cracked skull. "For fucking around!" the young girl yelled at her brother. "Big bro is strong; the strongest. There is no way that he would let such a dove put him in such a position if he was serious." Ken could hear the fear as well as rage in her voice. "He would win and save us all. He would fail. He wouldn't leave us behind like mom or dad." The younger half ghoul shivered a little. Feeling somewhat exhausted and vulnerable after releasing such emotions and fears.

Ken started to laugh. Somehow having his sister yell at him had helped clear his mind. He rubbed her head lovingly before telling her, "Wait here. I'll finish this and then we can go save the others, all right." Kuro nodded at him and he smiled warmly back.

Turning his attention back to Amon, Ken willed his Kagune to reform as he said, "Mr. Investigator. Truth is, I hate people like you." Changing into three blade-like tentacles, sharper and more rugged then his standard ones. "People who only look at one side of the problem. Have you ever thought what it's like for us on the other side? No you haven't, have you?" He knew he wouldn't get an answer, so he just waited for Amon to get ready for round two before attacking.

Touka tried to hit the mad dove, only for the new quinque to repel it easily. She then jumped out of the way when it tried to engulf her. Mado couldn't help but laugh at her foolhardiness. "Acting on impulse without much consideration for the consequences. Such a foolish ghoul." Wielding the koukaku with even greater skill than its previous wielder had, Mado used one of the four petals like sections to grab Touka by the leg and yank her into the air. "And that's why you'll die tonight."

Mado then threw Touka by her leg into one of the pillars in the tunnel before impaling her with the quinque. Touka could only flail futilely as Mado objectively looked over her to Hinami's horror. "You'll make some fine materials." He made the koukaku squirm in her gut, listening to her screams, as he continued to rate her kagune material. "Hmm you're modification grade. Perhaps I could find a way to use you with Eyepatch's kagune. A rinkaku/ukaku quinque could be most useful indeed." He picked up the quinque fashioned from Hinami's father as he continued. "But still. Using this husband and wife set is spectacular. Kukuku, you should have seen the face that that ghoul bitch made when I ended her with her husband. Ne, Fueguchi-chan?" "I am …going to kill you… you old… fucker," Touka struggled to proclaim, much to Mado's amusement.

"Hmph…. You're just a hyena. Salivating over rotten flesh. Nothing more than trash. Why do you still try to survive while committing such sins?" Mado confronted Touka with. For a moment, the young ghoul went silent. Whether he had honestly asked or was just messing with her, she decided it to answer truthfully. "I think… It's because we want to live. Is there something wrong with that?! We were all given life and raised…. If the only thing you can eat is people then that's what you have to do right? How can we live correctly with bodies like these? How?! All of you bastards, go on and on about evil and justice but could you keep saying that stuff if you were a ghoul yourself?! You piss me off. You should all just go and die. Die die die… all of you shit-headed doves should just die already!" Touka paused for a second, her face sorrow filled, before ending with, "Even ghouls, even I want to live just like you guys."

Mado looked at her with contempt. "I'm tired of listening to you," he replied. "How revolting. To think that monsters like you wish to live calmly." He swung down with his quinque at Touka. "DIE!"

Amon quickly realized how hopeless this fight was now. The only reason he hadn't been struck was simply because the ghoul hadn't aimed for him. Instead, as if playing with him, all of its strikes were aimed at his giant club-like weapon. However, unlike the first attack, these were not neat or cleanly aimed. These strikes were rough and each one hitting made Amon's hands go numb for a few moments afterward. Each one left rough gashes in his quinque despite the reinforcement. Eyepatch was no longer trying to incapacitate but to win.

With one final strike from the rinkaku, a loud crack was heard and Amon's weapon was broken in half. The upper half flung into the air before crashing onto the ground and dissipating. Before Amon could process this, the ghoul was upon him. Its kagune ensnaring him like a large serpent; barely allowing him space to breath. It dangled him up in the air as both Eyepatch and Yin stared at him. He could see blackness encroach on his peripherals. 'So this is how I'm going to die?' he realized.

But fate had other plans as the ghoul suddenly flung him across the canal. He landed painfully on the other side; actually landing on the roadside above the embankment to the shock of a couple passerby. He struggled to get back up and was able to look back as Eyepatch waved at him before both he and Yin fled in the direction of where Mado had set his trap in. Amon, partially due to shock and partially due to his injured ankle, flopped onto the ground; ignoring the worried young man and his girlfriend offering assistance. 'Why?' he wondered. 'Why didn't you kill me? Why you let me live?'

Mado's quinque never reached Touka. In fact the weapon was no longer even in his hand. "The quinque disappeared," Mado simply observed. He then felt a pain in his right hand. "No, what disappeared was my right hand?" he pulled his hand out only to find a bloody stump where it used to meet his wrist. Alerted by her sobbing, the other two people in the tunnel turned to Hinami and observed her now released kagune. Both were shocked at the crying girl. Her hands hiding her face, Hinami pleaded, "Stop hurting big sister Touka. Don't…. Don't use mother and father for such things!" Suddenly the two tentacles of her kagune lashed out chaotically; striking wildly and cutting into the tunnel walls and nearby pillars.

Rather than frightened, Mado was ecstatic. Forgetting about Touka, he used the koukaku quinque to block as he dodged multiple attacks from Hinami's out of control kagune. He then used it to attack her. Striking at the Hinima's kagune. His face now mad, Mado shouted, "Spectacular. Amazing! You only inherited the parts that surpass both your mother and father! Such good material! I want it!" In his excitement, he tossed away Hinima's mother's kagune and grabbed her father's again before flinging it at her proclaiming, "Hand it over!"

Hinami stepped back in fear but her kagune shot forward and wrapped around the offending tentacle. Mado found himself hoisted into the air by his quinque before one of the kagune tentacles slashed into stomach. He dropped his quinque as he crashed back into the ground.

At first everything fell silent as Hinami's quinque finally calmed down. Only the sounds of heavy breathing, tears, and moving water permeated the air. Touka was the first to speak. "Hinami," she said, "Finish him." However, the older ghoul was shocked when her ward refused to. "Finish him? I… can't." Touka, Still trying to keep her innards in, begged, "Hi…nami, He's your parents enemy right? I can't do any more than this. You have to…" Hinami simply answered with, "I've also thought about it. Would getting revenge on this on this person… would it really erase these depressed feelings of mine?" Slowly her kagune retracted back into her body. "But, that's not the case. I … don't care about revenge. I was just sad. I wanted to meet my mother and father. That's it. I want to go back to back to the time when it was the three of us. Father! Mother! Leaving me behind was unfair! I'm so lonely!"

The young orphan once again began to wail in emotional turmoil. Touka, struggled over to the girl and wordlessly cradled her in her arms. However their comforting scene was interrupted by that same vile laughter. "That's right," Mado proclaimed as he grabbed one of his quinques. "You're lonely aren't you? She should be with her family. Therefore she should become one of my quinques." He once again swung a quinque at the two girls too exhausted to move. But two new figures appeared. Both of them unleashed their rinkakus and used them to receive the attack. "Ken," Touka said in shock as the male half-ghoul gritted his teeth and used his kagune to fling the quinque away from them all. Both he and Kuro had removed their masks on the way over as wearing them lowered their visibility. Ken's now dangled around his neck while Kuro had placed her's in her backpack where she also had Shiro's and even Touka's. She had placed them there in the fear that they may have been needed.

Ken now stood up straight and stared back at the dove that had caused them such pain over the last few weeks. His kagune now in a defense form that would probably have frightened any lesser man but to Mado it was nothing more than a preview of his next quinque. Neither man, neither smiling or grim faced, moved when Kuro screamed out, "Shiro!" and ran to the where her sister still lay on the ground. She pulled the girl up while trying to get her attention. She was rewarded by a coughing fit and some painful groans from her twin. "Kuro?" she weakly asked as her sister, teary eyed, hugged her in relief. Kuro then carefully brought her wounded sister over to where Touka and Hinami now were as the two men kept each other in check.

Ken broke the ice with, "It's been a while huh, Smiley?" He heard the sharp intake of breath as one of his sisters recognized that nickname. He had only just realized it that day, during his interrogation in the CCG office. That this was the same man who, while they never met and only knew from watching the CCG raid places they had hid in previously, had been one of their most diligent pursuers when they were on the run. The reminder brought back many unpleasant memories to the young hybrid family.

Mado simply grinned even more. "Kukuku, never been called that before. But I must say it's nice to finally, truly meet with you face to face Eyepatch-kun." Mado slowly walked a few feet over to where he had left the kokaku quinque earlier. "I must admit you are probably one of the slipperiest ghouls I have ever had to displeasure of meeting. If only your father hadn't been successful in escaping with you during that raid all those years ago." He suddently shoved the controller for the quinque into his right wrist with only a slight grimace in discomfort. "But then I wouldn't have the chance to pluck such a wonderful kagune from your disgusting flesh. To think of the wonderful quinque it could be fashioned into" He slowly forced the weapon to now respond to his commands despite no longer even have the muscles to truly control it. Yet he was amazingly able to get it to work well enough for the coming fight. "Come Eyepatch. Let's truly finish this sordid tale of man versus beast!"

Ken took a step forward only to be surprised when Kuro appeared next to him; her kagune angrily swishing around her. They both exchanged a look before leaping at Mado. The crazed dove laughed as he struck at both the incoming half-ghouls with his quinques.

Meanwhile, Touka did her best to look after the other two girls. Hinami was emotionally exhausted but mostly ok but Shiro still looked worse for wear despite her accelerated healing kicking in. As she tried to help Shiro sip from a water bottle though she heard the sound of footsteps coming from deeper in the tunnel. Someone else was coming towards them.

Omake: Author's confessions – two things that I don't actually know in my my own fanfic.

How Mado carried three quinque cases. Those suitcases are made to be carried two in one hand easily. For now I see him with the third on his back like a Japanese elementary school randsal.

How big the quinque made from the kagune of Takashi Sasaki really is. I really don't know. Every time I write about it, the size keeps changing from being huge enough to crush a phone pole to being small enough to pierce Shiro without destroying her vitals. For now its size is decided by the rule of cool.

Chapter 23: hostilities pt 4

Both rinkaku kagune struck the kokaku quinque with such force that they threw Mado back some distance. But the shield held. Mado immediately started to break down the current tactical situation. He was tired and wounded and currently facing two high level, angry ghouls. He would have to rely on his mind for this fight if he was going to pull through. His first step was to change the battlefield. He retreated out of the tunnel realizing that it gave the two ghouls the advantage with their high maneuverability and his line of sight being broken by the pillars and the general darkness of the tunnel. The two monsters followed him; the female charging forward ahead of the older male.

Outside he immediately set about breaking up the two's teamwork. He would already have major problems facing them as it is so it would be suicide to let them add teamwork on top of that. He decided to use Kusanagi, with its superior range, to keep Eyepatch at bay. He would need to give that fiend his full attention later so for now he would just keep the ghoul out of attack range while he focused on the other. If Eyepatch did get through his guard then he would just force him back rather than trying to take him down.

As for Yin. He would let her get closer and finish her off first while her brother was unable to do anything. Mado turned to avoid another attack from the she-ghoul. She seemed to prefer using her fists and legs to attack with her kagune as a secondary weapon or in long range if she couldn't get close. Mado blocked her next barrage of attacks with the kokako before forcing it, with a bit of difficult, to close in on itself and form like a great sword. He then swung it at Yin, forcing her to duck and weave before leaping back after a powerful swing and unleashing her rinkaku. He was forced to reopen the weapon to block the attack while he also made his other quinque twist around to block Eyepatch from trying to move in again. The blood red tentacle chased the other ghoul as he jumped and dove around the outer embankment. It was a like some perverse model of a solar system with Mado the sun in the center while Yin and Eyepatch were forced to orbit around him trying to find some small opening in his guard they could use to their advantage. But they weren't the only fight happening at the moment.

Amon slowly trekked down the drainage tunnel ignoring the mild protest from his earlier wounds and just plain tiredness. He had to keep going forward. Had to help Mado. Amon wouldn't abandon him to be finished off by this vile pack of ghouls. So concentrated on his partner's safety was he, that he didn't even realize that without his quinque there was not much he could do. In fact there was more likely a chance that he would become nothing but a burden or liability. He just kept on moving forward.

After letting his ankle rest for a few minutes Amon was able to head to where they had set the trap. However, due to his ankle, he would not be able to climb down the steep sides of the embankment and the only walkway down to it was on the other side of the tunnel. Therefore he was forced to go around the battlefield rather than heading straight there. Thankfully he was now getting close to his goal. He could already hear the sounds of fighting ahead echoing in the dank space.

When he reached the area around the end of the tunnel, he saw three things. First, was the fight just outside the entrance. He couldn't see most of the fight due to distance, lighting and other such things, but he could make some things out. He could tell Mado trying his best to keep Yin and Eyepatch at bay as both of them spun around him like some insane dance or ballet while trying to strike at him with their kagunes. Mado was amazingly holding them off, but Amon could tell that this would not hold out for long. His partner was already wounded and tired. Several times Eyepatch was able to break through only to be pushed back by Mado's amazing control of Kusanagi. Meanwhile Yin, while being largely held off by the other quinque, was still nearing connecting with several strikes; including one that sliced into his mentor's cheek.

The second thing he saw was two figures hobbling away towards the exit. He could only see their backs, but he recognized them as Fueguchi and most likely the S-rate ghoul, Yang. It appeared that Yang was leaning on Fueguchi and Amon could also see the damage to her clothes and what was left of the wound in her abdomen. Why they were heading towards the battle despite their wounds left Amon dumbfounded but he didn't have time to think about. Not when the third item of interest stared right back at him.

It was rabbit. The ghoul that had killed one of his comrades just recently. She stood between him and the others like some sort of guardian. Refusing to let him go any farther. He could feel her steely gaze even behind her slightly askew mask. He also noticed that she too had some battle damage as well but didn't look like she would let that get in her way if it came to a fight.

Amon knew he had to do something though or he would lose another person to these ghouls. A reflection in the water allowed him to see the handle of one of Mado's quinques. Deciding to end this, Amon dove for the weapon's handle as Rabbit unleased her kagune and charged at him.

He was able to haphazardly throw a single attack but Rabbit was able to easily dodge it and with her superior strength, she grabbed him by the neck and threw him into one of the pillars. Amon hit his head hard and slid to the ground where Rabbit slammed a foot into his chest. Once again black started to drown out his vision as Rabbit screamed and swung her kagune down.

Ken was frustrated with this dove. He was a crafty one. Every time Ken got past his outer defenses, Smiley was able to cut him off once again. He also seemed to be playing his sister against him. He had figured out that if he kept himself between Ken and Kuro, it could distract him. With his line of sight to his sister partially obscure and the fact that he couldn't reach her if she got hit without getting past the dove first aggravated Ken and forced him to split his focus as he tried watch out for his sister.

The dove played on that. Once swiping at his sister to force him to jump forward in an attempt to draw the man's attention only to barely dodge the surprise attack that the dove pulled. The attack did clip him though; causing his leg to break. Ken quickly jumped up using his kagune and jumped back as the quinque tried to crush him. He then willed one of his rinkakus to twist around his leg and form into a makeshift splint during the half minute or so that it healed so that he could still effectively move to dodge and attack until his leg was healed. Still he was getting nowhere and only succeeded in feeding his growing irritation.

Kuro was in a similar predicament as her brother. No matter what she did, she couldn't cleanly hit this man. This monster that had tormented Hinami. That had hurt her sister. That had even chased them all those years ago, after their happy family was torn apart.

Kuro refused to let this man take anything else from them. She launched her kagune at him, only for each one to be effortlessly pushed back by the kokako shield he wielded. "Kuro!" she heard her brother shout at her. It turned out to be a warning as she turned around in time to see the large rinkaku quinque coming at her. She dodged it only for the tentacle to chase after as she jumped and weaved. "Ha ha. That's it. Dance. Dance more. You've clawed your way through so much to survive. From fighting investigators to eating your own father. Don't disappoint me now. Don't tell me that was it! Come on! Entertain me some more!" Amazingly her brother was also troubled by the same weapon as, despite the fact that it was currently chasing her, the dove had expertly positioned it to surround him so that it also acted like a barrier blocking off her brother. Ken was finally able to jump over it only for the dove to suddenly pull it back. The quinque spun around and Ken and Kuro were both forced to dodge as the spiked end swung around them all again and again. However Kuro was so caught up in dodging it that she didn't notice as the dove came at her again. She tried to escape only for the other quinque to grab her leg and at Mado's command crushed the limb. She screamed in pain as the dove just tossed her away and left her to Kusanagi to deal with.

The large weapon flew towards her on a direct course to crush the young ghoul. Ken was sadly unable to get to her due to the dove's earlier machinations. 'I can't reach her in time?!' Ken realized as the quinque slammed down; launching dirt, dust, and water into the air.

Touka had made a split second decision when she heard the footsteps. She first ordered Shiro and Hinami to head back towards the exit. Granted there was still a heated fight happening over there but she reasoned that they both could find a place to hide as Ken and Kuro held the dove's attention. Right now she was more focused on making sure that this new person didn't see their faces as well.

She then pulled out her mask from Kuro's backpack and put it on just before the new figure appeared. She immediately recognized it as the partner to that smiling freak just outside. The man starred at her for a few moments as she felt her raw emotions bubble up to the surface again. She then noticed him look down at something between them. It was the other quinque that the other had used during his fight with both her and Hinami.

The dove dived for it and tried to hit her but his attack was sloppy and she was able to avoid it and tossed him into one of the nearby pillars. As he fell to the ground, she jumped on top of him and was ready to strike the final blow. But something stopped her. She remembered what the others had said. Shiro's judgment, Ken's experiences, Hinami's realization. All of it came flowing back into her as she now had the chance to kill this murder with her own hands. But now she was hesitant to finish him. Touka gritted her teeth and screamed before she swung her kagune in frustration and anger into the pillar above the now unconscious dove. She removed her foot from the man and turned to leave as tears started to fill her eyes. "Damn it."

Mado waited ecstatically for the dust to clear. He badly wanted to hear Eyepatch's pained wails at what had become of his fellow spawn. He even ignored how Eyepatch, due to being so focused on his sister's plight, left himself wide open to another attack. Both men watched with baited breath as the dust started to settle.

However what he saw was not a dead but a living, if still badly injured, Kuro. Both He and Ken were stunned as they realized that the quinque had not only missed the girl but also curled around her. Kuro meanwhile couldn't tell whether she should be freaked out or relieved. But she did feel something that confused her. Safe. Somehow being surrounded by this rinkaku quinque made her feel a familiar feeling of comfort and security.

Ken was brought back from his stunned state by the irritated growls of Mado. Mado yanked at the quinque controls again and again. However it simply refused to respond. Only slightly twitching to his commands. "Move. Move. Move!" he ordered; now insanely frustrated. He was so close to finishing these fiends. But now they were slipping through his fingers once again.

He was so engrossed in this that he failed to notice the two rinkakus coming towards him from behind till both impaled the man through the torso. Mado coughed up blood and dropped his quinque. He slowly turned to see who had struck him.

However it was not Eyepatch, but the other sister that had reached him. The white haired girl was being held up by Hinami near the tunnel entrance. She stared back at Mado with determination now burning in her eyes. "Not again," she whispered before screaming, "I won't let you take my family away from me again?!" She yanked out her kagune with enough force to yank Mado towards her. He crashed once more into the canal. Shiro felt faint and dissipated her kagune. Touka appeared by her to help Hinami support the now lightheaded young ghoul.

Meanwhile Ken used this chance to grab Kuro and join the rest by the tunnel entrance. Everyone looked over each other and silently thanked the heavens that they had all survived this long night. But their attention was brought back to Mado when the man began to laugh. "Fuck… you ghoul bastards. You'll all die. Do you really have any meaning to living? The very idea that you have a meaningful existence makes me laugh. Kukuku… how dumb…. Ghouls… hahahahaha." His insane laughter caused him to painfully cough up more blood. He struggled to get back up while slowly crawling towards the ghouls watching him; declaring, "I'm not done yet. I have to… get my revenge… on that guy. One eye. Until I bury him with my own hands." Mado reached where Touka now stood before finally collapsing and dying.

For a moment everything froze. All five of them could only stand there and stare at the body of Mado. A few of them were even half afraid that he would suddenly jump back up like some Hollywood horror movie villain. He had left that much of an impression on their minds. The first to move was Touka who gritted her teeth and reached down at the man's gloved hand. "Wearing gloves like these. Do you really hate touching us that much?!" she screamed as she yanked the glove off while kicking his body away only to receive a shock at what the glove had hidden from view. For on that hand covered in scars from harsh training and battles, laid a wedding ring. In an instant the weight of the life that they had just taken weighed on her conscious and Touka began to have a panic attack till Ken came over and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Oi Touka. Calm down." Once he finally got her attention he stated, "I hate to sound callous here but we don't have the time for this. A big fight like that is sure to attract all kinds of attention and its best if we get out of her before more doves show up."

They all looked up when they heard the sounds of someone else arriving only to be relieved when it turned out to just be Yomo. He picked up Hinami before simply saying "Come," to the others. He turned to look at where Yoshimura was, watching over the scene; wondering what the old man was thinking fright now. None of the others notice though.

However before leaving Ken stopped to do one last thing. He walked over to where the quinque made from his father laid and affectionately put his hand on it. It somehow radiated a comforting warmth. "Thank you," he said with a sad smile before getting up and adding, "I promise I'll keep them safe." He heard Kuro call out for him to hurry up. So he ran over to help both her and Shiro walk as they all headed back to Anteiku.