Hello! This is my first multi-chapter fic for Tokyo Ghoul, and it'll be Amon/OC. This story is set pre-Aogiri. I hope you enjoy! And please leave a review!
Trigger warnings for mentions of rape and pedophilia.
Disclaimer: Tokyo Ghoul belongs to Ishida Sui, not me.
Chapter 1
The Healing Garden. Located in the 14th Ward of Tokyo, the Healing Garden was a massage clinic situated not too far away from the Helter Skelter bar. It was a small building with a studio apartment above, belonging to the owner of the clinic, but it was a relaxing, soothing place, serving a similar purpose like Anteiku. Just like Anteiku was a place for relaxation for ghouls, the Healing Garden was a clinic to help relieve stress in ghouls.
Minase Airi, the ghoul owner of the clinic, made her way down the stairs, flicking on the lights before unlocking the front door and flipping the sign to 'Open' while sipping her coffee. Her shoulder-length hair, dyed red, was tied in a ponytail, highlighting her brown eyes and the small mole at the corner of her left eye. She was dressed in her uniform: a dark green Japanese-style tunic, black pants, and black flats. Her right wrist was decorated with a tattoo of the kanji characters that made up the word 'serenity', as well as several sakura blossoms surrounding the kanji.
The main area was rather small, with a brown leather couch and two matching chairs in the corner, along with a small coffee machine to the side. A little coffee table was placed in the center of the furniture, with a few magazines on top. Airi made her way to the back of the front desk and sat down behind it, pressing play on a music player. Ambient spa music began playing from the speakers in the ceiling, creating a relaxing atmosphere in the clinic. Meanwhile, Airi pulled out her black appointment book, checking to see who was coming in first for today.
Right then, she heard the ringing of a little bell, letting her know that someone has come in. She looked up with her best and friendly smile. "Welcome to the Healing Garden," she greeted. Upon seeing who her customer was, she grinned lightly.
"Morning, Itori," she greeted the orange-haired ghoul. "You're three hours early. I had you booked at ten, and it's seven in the morning."
Itori shrugged. "I wanted to get this finished as soon as possible," she said.
"Right, and you're booked for a relaxation massage," Airi said. "Come on in."
Airi was skilled in several different massage techniques, having learned a lot of them from her grandfather in her teen years. He had helped her run this clinic for two years shortly after she opened it, but she took over shortly after his death. Being a ghoul herself, Airi wanted to help her fellow ghouls relax and be at peace when they came for a massage.
She led Itori to another room in the back, opening up the door. The room was dark, save for some small lights in the corner, casting a soft glow, and the tiny star lights in the ceiling. In the center of the room was a cream-coloured massage bed, and to the left of the door, there was a shelf with several massage oils and a small speaker that played ambient spa-like music.
Once Itori stripped and lay down on the bed, Airi covered her lower half before taking a bottle of orchid-scented massage oil. Pouring some onto Itori's back, Airi began rubbing her hands back and forth slowly, spreading the oil.
Itori sighed. "Feels amazing…" she murmured in relief. "As expected of Minase Airi!"
Airi couldn't help but smile. "Thank you," she thanked. "So tell me, Itori. What's new?"
Itori gave her pointed look. "You heard the story about those high school boys who gangraped a girl, right? The one who committed suicide after being bullied about it?"
Airi nodded. "Yeah?"
"Well, those boys were all acquitted, despite the evidence that was there," Itori told her. "They blamed the poor girl for their actions."
Sure enough, she felt Airi's hands applying a little bit more pressure onto her back. "Do you have any names? How many boys?" She asked, her voice quivering with a quiet rage.
Itori gave the names of the five boys involved in the crime. After that, Airi looked thoughtful. "Five boys, huh…" She mused. "I'll have to plan this out."
Itori couldn't help but notice the slight sharpness in Airi's voice. She knew that she loathed rapists, pedophiles, and sex predators with a burning passion, and she couldn't blame her, to be honest. She had known Airi for a few months and to be honest, it surprised her when she found out that Airi killed and ate the beings that she loathed so much. Well, so long as Airi wasn't another Rize who attracted CCG agents to the 14th Ward, Itori supposed that it was fine.
"How are you feeling right now?" Airi asked her.
"Sooo much better," Itori sighed. "I really needed this. Thanks so much."
Soon, Airi had finished with Itori's massage. Once she was done, she left the room to wait in the lobby for Itori to finish changing. Already, she could see that a few more people had come in. When Itori had finished, she paid at the front desk.
"Thanks again, Airi-chan," Itori thanked her as she opened the door. "See you around!"
Airi nodded. "Anytime," she said. "Come again!"
She then made her way over to the chairs, where she saw her next customer: a human woman by the name of Nishino Kimi. "Nishino-san?" She asked.
"Yeah, that's me," she confirmed.
"Right, and you've booked for a deep tissue massage," Airi told her. "Come on in."
Today was a reasonable day for her, not too many people had booked appointments. Quiet days were rare for her, and she rather it be that way for a little longer. As Airi prepared things while Nishino-san stripped in the other room, she felt a thrill within her. This always happened whenever she had an occasional human customer.
Suddenly, her mind was brought back to what Itori had told her. Five guys had gangraped some poor girl and she was the one who was punished for it? Airi hated that. Just thinking about it pissed her off so much. Why was it that the girl has to suffer when she went through pain, yet her attackers were allowed to walk free? It was unfair. This world was unfair.
She glared at the bottle of massage oil in her hand. They should die in the most painful way possible. People like them… they deserve the worst of the world. She thought to herself.
Airi turned around to see that Nishino-san was lying on the massage bed. "Okay, let's get started now."
Amon Koutarou reviewed through his reports about the ghoul he was currently investigating. Right now, he was sitting with his colleagues as they ate lunch and talked about various events happening in their lives. "So, Amon," Mado Akira said, getting his attention.
He looked up at his partner. "What is it?" He asked.
"How's the investigation of the Onryou going along? Got any other information about them?"
Amon sighed. "This is a tough one," he admitted. "They've only started becoming more active three months ago, killing one person at the start of the month and then laying low for the rest of it."
"Have you noticed a pattern in the killings?" Shinohara asked.
"Yes," Amon said. "Akira and I investigated the victims in their four-year span of killing. All of them were sex predators. Pedophiles, rapists, child molesters… it's quite clear that the Onryou is a vigilante."
"And a clever one at that," Akira added. "They hunt down a sex predator at the beginning of each month, and kill and eat them. Since ghouls can survive up to a month or two on one body, that's what the Onryou does."
"Considering how they hunt only sex predators, I'm surprised that they're not killing several of them at once," Shinohara noted. "Seems like they're a careful, but very vengeful ghoul at the same time."
"Their hunting grounds are mainly within the 14th Ward, since a lot of their recent victims were residents in the 14th Ward," Akira said. "To be honest, I'm not too bothered by this ghoul."
Amon looked at her in surprise. "Why?"
"Well, they're going after rapists and pedophiles, right? They hunt sex predators who have gotten away with their actions, and it's not like they're a binge eater. They only hunt one at the beginning of the month and then they stay low after that," she pointed out.
"It doesn't matter whether they're killing sex predators or innocent people, they're still killing people," Amon told her, his voice suddenly firmer. "While I agree that the law should do a better job in convicting those criminals, it is no excuse for someone to start going around and taking the law into their own hands. Especially a ghoul."
"I actually asked some of the families of the criminals' victims about what they think of the Onryou," Shinohara said. "They had some mixed feelings about them. Some families don't like the fact that a ghoul is taking the law into their own hands, but other families are happy that those criminals are dead. According to them, they don't care whether it's a human or a ghoul, but if the law doesn't do anything to ensure justice, then they're more than happy to let the Onryou avenge the victims."
Amon sighed. "I agree, those criminals should be in prison right now, not roaming free," he said. "It's true that the law failed the victims of those criminals, but is it really better to take the law into your own hands and start killing acquitted criminals?"
Akira looked thoughtful at that. "You have a point," she noted.
As they all got up, Amon suddenly winced in pain. This did not go unnoticed by Akira and Shinohara. "What's the matter?" Akira asked. "Back pain?"
Amon frowned at her. "I'm not that old," he muttered. "My joints are hurting. Arms and legs, they all hurt."
"And that's what happens when you work out too much, Amon," Shinohara teased him lightly. "You need to start stretching after exercise."
Akira chuckled. "Just go to some massage clinic to get rid of your joint pain," she told him.
"Why? A hot shower won't be enough?" Amon asked. Right then, a sharp pain shot through him, causing him to cringe.
"Seems like you might need more than one appointment," Akira said. "There's a massage clinic in the 14th Ward with quite a few good reviews. Just call and book an appointment with the owner."
Amon sighed. To be honest, he wasn't too keen on getting a massage, especially from a stranger. But he decided that Akira might be right, so he may as well call the clinic and get an appointment. When he got back to his office, he searched up the clinic that Akira was talking about. He then picked up the phone and dialed the number that was displayed on the website.
"Thank you again, Minase-san," a woman thanked Airi as she left. "I really needed this."
"You're more than welcome," Airi told her. "Have a good day!"
As the door closed, the phone on the front desk suddenly rang, getting Airi's attention. She pulled out her appointment book and pen before answering the phone. "Healing Garden massage clinic, how can I help you?" She said, her voice taking on a professional tone.
A man's voice answered from the other end. "I'd like to book a massage appointment for tomorrow," he said.
"Okay," Airi said, opening her book. "What time would you like?"
"6:45," he said.
"Can I have a name?" She asked.
"Amon Koutarou," he said.
Airi nodded in understanding as she wrote his name under the 6:45 space. "What kind of massage would you like?"
There was a pause on the other end. "What kind of services are there?" The man, now known as Amon, asked.
"Well, I provide a large variety of massage services," Airi told him. "Swedish, hot stone, shiatsu, deep tissue…"
"I guess I'll have a Swedish massage," Amon said.
"Sure." Airi wrote the request under the time slot. "And that's everything?"
"Yes."
"Okay then. So, you're booked for a Swedish massage at 6:45 tomorrow night. See you then."
"Thank you. Bye."
"Bye." Airi hung up.
To be honest, Airi never really expected anyone to ask for an evening appointment. Hardly anyone booked appointments after six, so this surprised her. And for some strange reason, she felt her face heating up. The man's voice sounded almost like rich silk, and sounded very gentle, almost. What was this? She hadn't even met the man yet! Why was she getting like this?
But she was curious. Who was this man? And what was he like?
Airi shook her head. No. She couldn't let herself get distracted now. She had to attend to the rest of her customers, and once she closed up shop, she was going to hunt. Thanks to Itori, she already had a target for her prey. But she couldn't hunt the rest of his friends in the same night. So she decided to spread it out and hunt them down over time.
Her planning was interrupted by the sound of the chime ringing as the door opened. Putting on her best smile, Airi welcomed another customer and led them to the massage room for their appointment.