It was supposed to be a rather simple mission. The ghoul Amon was to kill, however, had an Ukaku, and thus was faster than expected. The fact that he seemed to have eaten recently and therefore was too quick - even for the experienced investigator - didn't make his job easier. He wasn't really growing tired - He has had plenty of training to prevent that after all the training to prevent such an early fatigue, but groaned in annoyance. "Just a mere ghoul", he murmured.

After some more Hide and Seek, the ghoul finally stopped for a second. "Oy, ya human scum."

Amon raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you can talk? What is it?"

"Just a simple question. Ya smell like a ghoul I used to know. Name's Kaneki Ken, or eyepatch, or centipede. Rings any bells? Did ya kill him or why do ya carry his scent?

Amon narrowed his eyes. "That certainly doesn't concern a mere ghoul, but why would you want to know?"

The ghoul chuckled at the question. "Ah, I simply wanted ta know whether the guy was finally dead. He gave the fellas at Aogiri Tree a hard time, that bastard. Death would serve him right, lessens the competition of food."

Amon looked really angry now. "He's alive and well. Other than you will be", he shouted as he charged at his foe, swiftly striking his qinque down.

"Ah, that's too bad", the ghoul laughed. "His cries when Yamori tortured him were delicious. And I snuck in once and stole a couple O' toes he cut off. That guy's tasty. Gives me a chance of eating him, though", he continued as he repeatedly avoided Amon's attacks. That guy was unnaturally quick, but to his knowledge, they at least had next to no stamina – or, would have; the meal this monster had taken before seemed to have strengthened it enough. He also managed to aim some projectiles from his Ukaku, which were swiftly deflected by the inspector.

"Hoping ta tire me out, arent'cha? Won't work, buddy, I've had plenty ta eat 'fore this fight. You'll die and I'll enjoy devouring ya!"

The ghoul's laugh echoed in the abandoned hall. Amon eyed his surroundings. There were way too many possible hiding spots, and while he was rather confident in his own stamina, he grudgingly had to admit that his foe was rather capable himself.

The battle had now carried on for ten, twenty minutes. Amon was seriously annoyed and even sweating a little trying to catch his breath behind a barrel while scanning the spike-covered ground. The fighting style was unusual and somewhat cowardly, but definitely clever. The ghoul kept describing how he'd rip him apart, drink his blood and feast on his flesh – but what made his face redden with anger were his taunts about how he killed his previous victims. That meant way too many families waiting for a person that would never return home. The investigator wouldn't have that.

During the rather long fight, Amon had been wounded a couple of times, but the ghoul always managed to dodge his attacks – lucky for him, as, judging by his body type, he wouldn't survive even a single hit.

A bead of sweat ran down his face and he quickly wiped it away.

A stone fell down next to him. Amon jumped to the right to avoid the attack.

Right into the waiting predator. Or, as he saw it now… Predators.

Twins. Of course. Maybe even three, or four. The investigator cursed under his breath, chiding himself for his carelessness.

He was trying to stand up when the first one bit down on his shoulder – they were rumored to enjoy torturing their victims and devouring them slowly. Amon was also handcuffed and pinned down so it was downright impossible to move anymore.

"This is how you'll die. Enjoy your last moments of life… If you can", the monster chuckled.

"Oy, bro, I thought we'd share! Don't take him all for yourself", another voice complained, exactly the same.

"Yeah, no point in hiding anymore anyway. Bro, let us have some, too, that was exhausting", a third voice agreed.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't take too much. Oy, this guy's said that Kaneki Ken's still alive. We should hurry… Or try to kill him as well. This one's tasty, too. So many muscles, such a tender flesh after this fight. Have a bite", he invited.

"… I don't think so", a fourth voice huffed, and Amon sighed in relief as he heard the first scream as the sound of a wet substance splattered onto the ground. The second one just gave a surprised gasp before he, too, lost his life. The third one actually managed to jump back and fire a few thorns out of his Ukaku before tentacles picked him up and repeatedly slammed him into the ground. After all of their lives were ended, he felt the handcuffs around his wrists being torn apart and rubbed his wrists to reinforce the blood circulation after it was cut off before eyeing his savior.

"It's not like you to be this pathetic, Amon", the figure huffed before closing in on the wounded. "You're hurt. They hurt you, you're bleeding", he added, now a lot more concerned.

The worn-out combatant shook his head. "It's fine, just a flesh wound. It'll heal. More importantly, what are you doing here? Not that I wouldn't appreciate it, eyepatch", he added.

Kaneki averted his eyes. "I thought I told you to call me by my name. I was worried about you. The signs that this was a case with multiple ghouls was obvious once I scanned the files you left on your desk, but I didn't see any signs of you making preparations for this case. Naturally, I'd assumed you'd get into trouble."

Amon grimaced. He had suspected it, but didn't deem it necessary the thought. He was careless. "I'm sorry, Ken", he replied, "for making you worry. Let's just go home, I'll have to do the report. Besides", he added worriedly, "it seems I'll need to be more careful and take a shower before going to work. These ghouls smelled you on me…"

"Oh, they did? Unsurprising, really, after what we usually do besides our training. Anyway, let's go. Here, I'll carry you so we'll be home faster. It seems we'll need to train a lot more if three ghouls gave you a hard time. With Ukaku, nonetheless!"

Amon smiled at that. "I'd be glad to. Thank you, I'll take you up on that offer after the other investigators arrive", he said after he contacted the CCG and noted that he'd completed his mission and would leave for medical attendance as soon as his collegues arrived. Kaneki had been smart enough to make matching wounds to Amon's quinque – after all that time, he had become quite experienced. Nobody knew.

"I'll see you later. Take care", Amon murmured as he quickly pecked his ghoul on the cheek, listening to the sirens closing in as Kaneki jumped away into the darkness of the night.