Chapter 13: Responsibilities and Morality

A chill ran through the ward. It appeared that it was going to be a cold night. As such most, both human and ghoul had chosen to stay in for the night. But a few had decided to bundle up and go out into the frost of the night. One such being Ryouko Fueguchi. Tonight she stood before a grave. Her face uncertain as she clutched the mask she had been holding onto since they fled only a few days ago.

The next day Ken was sitting at a table with his human friend, Hide. They were at an outside table on the Kamii campus. Ken was taking another sip of his coffee when Hide observed, "You're looking a lot better recently." Ken looked at his friend. "Really now?" "Yeah for a while now you've really been out it; like super depressed and angsty. I was afraid my best friend was turning into an emo." Ken grinned. "Don't worry then Hide. I assure you I am the happiest person you'll ever meet." "Whatever. More importantly has Touka said anything about me?" After taking another sip, the half-ghoul answered, "Sorry, my friend. No luck there."

As Hide agonized and Ken watched his friend agonize, a young woman approached the two. "Nagachika-kun correct?" she asked Hide. "Yes?" He answered. "That's you right?" she asked again; as if unsure. Hide looked at here before replying, "Ah, you're." "You know her?" Ken interrupted Hide. As he took another sip of his coffee Hide answered, "Of course she's Nishio's girlfriend." Ken spat out his coffee all over his friend. "Gross." "Wait! That Nishio?! How did that jerk get a girlfriend?!" Ken demanded. Ignoring the shocked boy, Nishio's girlfriend opened her purse and pulled out a disc and handed it to Hide. "Oh! It's the material for the school festival! Thank you so much!" Hide yelled. The woman turned around. "I only came to deliver that." She started to leave only for Hide to stop her with, "Ano, do you know where Nishio is hospitalized at. We would like to visit him." However, rather than answer, she ran away. Hide was confused. "Maybe I upset her somehow."

But Hide was not the only one to be confused. Ken too found himself stumped as well. That woman was definitely human. Her scent was unmistakable. But if so, then there was no way that she could be Nishio's girlfriend. Could she? 'That guy didn't strike me as a human lover. But still she has to be close for him to trust her with this. And judging by the way she fled, she must know something. But if so then she could be threat. And if she is a threat, then I'll have to deal with it soon.' His thoughts were interrupted by his friend. "Yo Ken. What's with you? You had a really scary look on your face. Like you were planning a murder or something." Ken tried to laugh it off and touched his chin. "What are you talking about?" Ken replied. "I'm not angry at all. Just lost in thought is all. My sisters have a pretty big test coming up pretty soon and I think I'll be forced to help them study for it." Hide smiled at him. "Good luck with that," Was all Hide said.

Kuro was the only member of her family working currently. Shiro had gotten their brother to come with her to Touka's place to study. Kuro didn't feel like studying, so she decided to go to work instead. Besides even if she wasn't that interested in literature, it didn't mean that she was that bad at it. So she decided to wing it on the test and hope for the best. She listened to the conversations among the guests as she made coffee. As the clientele were all ghouls right now, the main topic among the café was the doves. It took everything in her to remain calm as she heard of all the ghouls that they had executed. Granted she didn't know pretty much any of them and a bunch of them probably deserved it. But still, she knew that whether they deserved it or not didn't matter to them. Just like with her family, just being a ghoul was enough to put you on their kill list. Scenes from that day flashed across her mind again. She started to shake a little as she worked. "Kuro-chan," The voice of the manager calling her name made her jump in fright. She couldn't even get calm enough to get upset over the use of chan. "Yes," she responded. Yoshimura looked at her for a minute before asking, "Are you okay?" Kuro tried to show a happy face. "I'm completely fine sir." She didn't think the manager bought it though. "I just wanted to compliment you on doing such a good job." Kuro panicked a bit. "No, it's not that big a deal. Besides it's not like I'm alone here. Koma has been a huge help," she flustered. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You have been working so hard. You deserve such compliments. But that's not the only reason I wanted to speak with you." "It isn't?" Yoshimura smiled. "No. First Uta called. It seems that he's doing well on your masks. They should be ready soon." That was a huge relief for Kuro. She felt exposed without it with doves prowling the ward. They need them so that never again would they have to suffer such a loss again. So that they wouldn't lose where they belonged again. "The other reason is that I have a request. Are you free tonight Kuro?" Kuro thought about it. "Yeah, I don't have anything really planned and if I go straight home I bet my big bro will just force me to study with them. Do you need me to go shopping or something?" "I'd like it if you could go get some food supplies for us. Usually I'd leave this to Touka or your brother but seeing as how they are busy tonight." "Really!" Kuro shouted excitedly; causing some of the ghouls nearby to glance at them. After apologizing she continued, "I'd love to go. I've wanted to go for a while now but big bro hasn't let me since it's dangerous. Oh this is so exciting." Yoshimura smiled again. "I'm glad. Don't worry I've already sent a message to Yomo." "Eh. Yomo?"

Kuro waited under a bridge for her ride; her excited mood now slightly deflated. She was still happy to get to do something exciting but she didn't look forward to doing it with Yomo. The man scared her a bit. He didn't talk much and it was hard to get an angle on what he was thinking. Kuro was bad with those kinds of people. So she psyched herself up. 'Today, I'll crack the enigma that is Yomo,' she decided.

A simple black car pulled up and Yomo came out; simply staring at Kuro. Already feeling uncomfortable, Kuro tried to start up a conversation. "Heya Yomo. How have you been? Today I'm gonna be the replacement for my…" "Already heard about it. Hurry up and get in," Yomo interrupted. Kuro felt defeated right off the bat but she did as she was told.

As they drove, Yomo still didn't talk. Though he did stop Kuro from turning on the radio. The silence was killing the most talkative of the Kaneki trio so she decided to try to get Yomo to speak again. "So, Yomo. Is this your car?" Yomo answered with a flat "No." "Then whose is it then?" she tried one more time. But this time Yomo didn't even answer. Kuro crossed her arms and leaned back into her seat. 'Worst road trip ever,' thought Kuro.

Eventually they stopped at a cliff. Kuro noticed another car parked nearby. Hopefully they weren't just here to pick up packages from whoever's car this was. Yomo walked past the empty car though and went to the guardrail. Kuro followed. "What do we do now?" she asked but to no avail again as Yomo remained silent. Upset, Kuro leaned on the guard rail. Finally Yomo spoke with, "Be careful, that parts broken," just as Kuro started to fall. She had barely enough time to right herself so that she fell on her butt rather than her face when she crashed. "Then say so sooner asshole!" she screamed back up the cliff.

After letting a few cracked bones heal, she started to look around. The forest down here, with all the fog was quite creepy. She also smelled something; the scent of a human body. She soon found it; a rather ordinary looking man. Yomo jumped down and spotted her with the body; about to poke it with a stick. She quickly threw the stick back into the woods. "So you found him. That car that was parked up there is probably his. A lot of humans die here of their own free will. The reason humans don't know about his place is because we dispose of everything." "Even the cars?" Kuro asked half-jokingly only to get a glare from Yomo. He handed her a bag. "Put the stuff I hand you from his body in here," he ordered. "Hai." As Yomo prayed over the body, Kuro looked at the dead man again. "Hey Yomo." She didn't get a response but kept taking. "You ever wonder why they do it. The humans who come here." Yomo looked at the girl. She had a puzzled look on her face. "They have a lot of reasons I suppose." The girl looked at him even more confused. "Doesn't make sense to me really. I mean aren't they the lucky ones. They were born humans. They get to eat all sorts of things and not feel sick the moment it touches their tongues. They don't have to put on a mask or act to simply live day by day. Not a single one of them has to watch their love ones get ripped apart by a guy with some medieval weapon that could be made out another one of your family members. They don't have to kill someone or desecrate a corpse just to fill their bellies. They don't have to live each day being hunted like a beast." By now there were tears in her eyes. "Honestly it doesn't seem fair to me. For them to waste what we can't even begin to dream about having. Probably over something stupid like unrequited love or failing grades or not getting some promotion." She rubbed her sleeve across her eyes and then simply stated, "Let's get this over with."

It was on the way home, Kuro still a bit upset, that they spotted Ryouko walking back home. Yomo stopped the car and approached her. "Fueguchi." She turned around and smiled at Yomo. "Ah Yomo. I didn't expect to see you around here." Yomo answered, "You were told not walk around alone. I'll escort you so get in the car." She followed Yomo and was pleasantly surprised to see Kuro in the front seat. "Kuro-chan?" Kuro replied, "Hey Mrs. Fueguchi. Are you doing well?" "Yes, it's such a nice night today, isn't it? Why are you with Yomo?"

Yomo entered and started the car. "She's here helping me with a job while Touka and Ken are off." Ryouko smiled at Kuro. "I see, such a hard worker. Thank you for the help." Kuro waved her off and replied, "You don't have to thank me. It's my job after all. Besides if anyone should thank me it's Yomo. The killjoy would barely talk with me the entire time. And even let me fall off a cliff." Yomo ignored her and continued to speak to Ryouko. "This is not just about you and your daughter anymore." Ryouko sadly replied, "You're angry aren't you? That I went to visit my husband's grave?" "I'm not concerned with you going to where your husband is. It's the fact that you went out alone without even speaking to us first. Don't forget that it was you that attracted the doves here." "I know. I went to bury his mask tonight. I can't keep relying on him forever. If I act like a spoiled child then Hinami can't rely on me can she?" Kuro smiled at the mother ghoul. It made her think back to her mother. Though human, she still took care of them all. They were able to get Ryouko home without incident. However they didn't notice the men who had been tailing her through most of the day, who saw her enter the car, and were also staking out her apartment.

At the CCG building of the twentieth ward, another meeting was taking place the day after Kuro rode with Yomo. Amon rattled off the observation data on several suspect ghouls in the ward. None of the suspects has taken any overly suspicious moves yet but Mado felt that some still deemed further investigation. Finally the topic of Ryouko Fueguchi came up. "What about number 723?" Mado asked Kusaba. "Ah… Yes. The suspect got on a train and got off at the fifth station. She then transferred and head towards site B. After losing sight of her, I found her again at site C in front of a stone like monument thing. She stayed for about ten minutes before heading out on foot only to be met by an associate and rode back with him to her home." Amon glared at the young investigator. "Did you get the license plate number?" he asked. Kusaba gulped. "Sorry I wasn't able to get the number." Amon looked back at his files. "Well then, the stone monument was actually a grave. Correct? If the items in the site are from ghoul 696 then that means that 723 is also confirmed as a ghoul. Did you look into this?" Amon did not like the looks the two Bureau Investigators gave him. "Are you saying I should have dug up a grave? I couldn't do that. It's immoral." Kusaba complained. "The way the main office and we do things are different," chimed in Nakajima. Amon was disgusted with this. To let something so petty allow these monsters to escape their just punishment. Unacceptable. So Amon looked them both in the eye and said, "Morals? With that kind of "morality" you can't crush evil! It will spread and destroy more lives! We are justice! We are morality!"

Later on, Mado and Amon were walking through the offices. "Such carelessness," Amon observed. "They lack motivation or sense of duty. How dare they take this job so causally." Mado was equally upset. "It's because of that that the ghouls have been able to breed in this ward Amon. These beasts thrive off of our ineptitude. Still don't let it get you too down. After all isn't that why we are here. Besides think of it this way my boy. The flame of righteous indignation burns in you. All you have to do is spread it through this ward. Your hellfire will spread to others who wish for a just world. A torch is needed to light a fire right Amon?" "Mado." "Even I've been affected by your influence. I too carry a torch in my heart. For now though let's get some rest. Goodnight." Amon watched his senior leave. However as he contemplated what to do while heading back to their office, he spotted one of the orphans that the CCG took care of walk by. This depressing sight strengthened his resolve. Rather than resting Amon quickly ran off to do what was necessary to assure peace for mankind.

Amon was at the grave within the hour. He immediately started to dig; barely taking the time to take off his coat. All he could think about while digging was how wrong this world was and how it must be all the fault of the ghouls. He kept digging and digging till he found it. He pulled out the mask of ghoul 696. 'So 723 is a ghoul' he realized with a content face.

Omake: lessons

Hotaru sat down on the park bench and passed her daughter, Kuro, one of two coffees she'd gotten from the vending machine. She ignored the pointed glances that she got from the older women who walked by. Why should they care that she gave her daughter coffee. After all it was one of the few things they could really bond over. Kuro literally couldn't eat anything else normal and despite going through it eating it twice for her kids, Hotaru hadn't really gotten a taste for human flesh that the rest of her family had. So coffee was always that the family drank together. Especially at times like now. Kuro popped the top and took a big swig. Her clothes were a bit roughed up and dirty as well as herself. This was due to the fight Kuro had been in at school today. Her mother had been called in and been forced to take her home as part of a week of suspension. The principal had basically put the whole blame on her kid, but to Hotaru it seemed a little to neat. Not to mention she knew Kuro was not stupid enough to start a fight for no reason. So took a sip of her own and asked, "So tell me what really happened Kuro."

Her daughter growled a bit as she tightened her grip on her can. "That bitch Mari and her lackeys were picking on Shiro again. It was bad enough they were shoving her and calling her mean things. But they even took her eyepatch. I had to act fast before her eye turned and revealed what we are to everyone in the class. They would have the CCG on us in a matter of minutes. Not to mention you and dad or big bro a few classes over would be in trouble too." "And you think beating up six girls, including breaking one's arm was the right thing to do?" Hotaru asked. "Yes," came the reply. "They deserved it. It was all their fault and yet I'm the one getting punished. Stupid faculty is all on her side while they always act like I'm the troublemaker. I even was going easy on them so that I didn't reveal my ghoulish strength." Hotaru laughed. "But it is the truth. I mean you've pranked several of the members of the staff as well as sneaking out of cleaning and sleeping through classes. You're a true bad girl." Kuro grimaced. "It's not my fault that their lessons are boring or that they can't take a joke. And why do I have to clean the place. Isn't that the janitor's job?"

Hotaru smirked at her fuming little girl. She rubbed her head; messing up her hair. "Look Kuro. I'm proud of you for standing up for your sister and protecting the family secret but next time try to be a little more discrete. For example, just take Shiro and run. Or avoid the little devils." When Kuro still looked unconvinced Hotaru decided to give her the ultimate answer. "Of course if you're still up for a fight then just wait. You won't get in trouble if it's not on the school grounds right?" said Hotaru with her best evil smile. Kuro looked at her mother with a stunned expression that soon morphed into her own evil grin. "That's true." And so their chat ended with both of them laughing evilly as they drank their coffee.