Cheshire Smile
A Dangerous Encounter (Route 1)
I tried to hold back my ragged breathing as I crouched down in the garbage infested alley. The stink of the trash was enough to gag me, but I ignored it as I listened for the sounds of footsteps. There were four of them, all men judging by their long heavy strides. My heart was pounding against my chest as I slid farther behind the trash bags, hoping the cloudy night would help conceal me. I heard the slap of their shoes on the sidewalk as they came down the street, and I glared at them as I watched from my hiding spot.
Suit jackets flapping in the wind and briefcases in hand, they stalked down the empty road calling out orders to each other. It was clear from the way the broad shouldered, black haired man spoke to the others, that he was the leader. The man's voice was deep and rough like he had just eaten an entire pack of cigarettes, and his tone was annoyingly condescending. I felt an instant surge of hatred for the man that had nothing to do with the fact that he was a Dove.
"Come on, spread out check every nook and cranny!" The leader bellowed and I flinched as if struck.
This situation was bad. If there were only two of them, maybe I could get away without too much of a mess… But taking on four alone and without a plan was impossible. Of all the times I had gone out without my mask it had to be today. It was my own stupid fault of course, but I could be angry at myself later. If I lived that long.
"Are you sure that tip was for real? I mean that woman had to be like eighty…" One of the Ghoul Investigators called out to the head Dove. Someone had seen me here? I flashed back to yesterday when I was dragging an old bum's corpse out of a nearby deserted back street. It had been pitch black and I had been sure no one had seen me… There was an apartment complex nearby...but I had thought that no one would… Shit...
"There's a Ghoul here… I can feel it." Broad Shoulders said. I sucked in a sharp breath as a fat bead of sweat rolled down my forehead.
The Investigators continued to sweep the street growing ever closer to my alley. In an attempted to choke down my rising panic, I pulled my long maroon hair down over my ears and bit my lip. Oh, if only I had my mask… I felt so much braver with it on. Shaking my head to clear it, I began rummaging in the trash as quietly as I could, looking for something, anything that could conceal my face.
Just as I found a discarded rag, a sudden silence fell. I couldn't hear their footsteps anymore. A shot of fear ran through me. They had found me. I felt rather than heard them moving into an ambush position, and I hastily tied the tattered rag over my nose to cover my lower face. It smelled like car grease and screwed with my sense of smell, but it was all I had.
This was it, fight or flight time… It was probably going to be a bit of both. If I was going to have a chance, I'd have to pounce on them first. I closed my eyes and let my Ghoul instincts take over. I felt a rush of warm blood flow into my brown eyes and knew they had changed. My Kagune bubbled just below my skin waiting for battle. I sucked in a deep breath. This was familiar at least.
I heard the klink of a metal on metal and knew that I had to act before they all activated their Quinques. With as much strength as I could muster, I launched myself out of my hiding spot sending trash flying everywhere. I hit the first Dove in the chest and he fell, the wind forced out of his lungs. Judging by the shifting I could feel under my hands as I sat on top of him, he had a few broken ribs. His smooth round face went slack as he slipped into unconsciousness.
A flutter of movement on my left had me leaping away just in time to avoid the slash of a sword like Quinque. As the new attacker recovered from his miss, I shot towards him and hit him football tackle style. He gasped and spat up blood, dropping his Quinque which I kicked away. He was a weasel of a man with a pinched face and blonde hair.
"B-bitch." He gurgled. I let out an angry growl and hit him hard with a kick to the side. The Weasel tried to block it with his arm, but his howl of pain told me he failed. He dropped like a sack of bricks, his right arm now shattered. Two down, two to go. I heard the click of a another Quinque activating and spun around towards it, ready to attack.
Broad Shoulders grinned at me as our eyes met, a huge battle ax of Quinque in hand. Next to him stood the last investigator. This one was a bit taller than me with thick rimmed glasses and ruffled brown hair. His weapon of choice was, what I at first thought was a rocket launcher. It certainly looked like one, but on closer inspection it was probably an Ukaku type. I chewed my inner cheek nervously. His weapon was not a good match for me.
"Not bad kid, but this ends now." The leader chuckled darkly and I felt a shiver run down my spine. This was do or die time. A wave of adrenaline rushed through me, and before I knew it my Kagune had burst out of my back. Long, thick as a tree trunk, and glistening red, my Bikaku tail unfurled until it was twice as tall as me. God, it felt like my blood was on fire whenever I activated it.
Glasses Boy let out a soft gasp and took a step back while Broad Shoulders let out a hearty laugh.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Cheshire. I like the new mask, but to think an S-rated Ghoul could be cornered so easily." He mused eyeing my Kagune.
I let out an angry hiss. My Bikaku was frustratingly memorable, what with it's serated ring stripes that were designed to tear opponents to shreds. It looked like a huge red tabby cat tail, honestly. And I'm sure I looked stupid with a dirty rag over my face.
"S-S-Rated..?" Glasses asked with a nervous glance at his boss.
"Yes, but barely. She's nothing but a corpse stealer." The Investigator said with disdain. As if that was worse than just murdering people in the streets.
I got into a low crouch and let out an animalistic growl. It was mostly for show and intimidation, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a bit fun. The look on Glasses Boy's face was enough to make me smile a little. Poor thing, fresh out of the academy. His over confident boss on the other hand, heaved up his huge ax and got into a fighting stance.
"Stay back and watch Fukui. It's time to put this rabid animal down."
We glared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. I glanced at the other Dove. It was mostly to make sure he wasn't going to jump in, but I was also wondering if his boss would be stupid enough to take the bait. The crunch of the larger man's shoes on the asphalt told me that yes, he was that dumb. In the moment that I had pretended to be distracted, he threw himself at me. Striking first was a rookie mistake.
I rolled out of the way as he embedded his ax into the street where I had been standing. Before he could even pull it out of the ground, I whipped my Kagune around to slam him in the chest. The man went flying and crashed through one of the glass store fronts lining the street. I frowned, flicking the blood off my tail. For all his big talk, the fight ended embarrassingly quickly. He looked like a leader but clearly he was a greenhorn at Ghoul hunting.
I now turned to Glasses Boy. He was standing there dumbstruck, his hands shaking too much to even hold his Quinque properly. I stared at him and saw that he was a good bit younger than I first thought he was. We stood there like statues, predator and prey, both uncertain of what to do. I let out a sigh and shook my head. This was a bad decision...but…
"We're done here." I told him, making my voice intentionally deep.
"W-what?" He asked, a knuckle white grip on his weapon.
"You're not worth my time. I'm done playing with you." I said and turned to leave.
My Kagune dissipated as I calmed down and my blood started to cool. I just wanted to go home at this point. I had barely gone two steps before a blur of red rushed past my head, ruffling my hair. The Ukaku spike pierced the building in front of me with a loud thunk. I spun on my heel, my eyes becoming black again.
Glasses Boy stood there, smoking Quinque in hand. His eyes were still frightened, but did I detect a hint of determination in them too? I sprung up high into the air and landed on the boy, pushing him into the pavement beneath us. He struggled but I grabbed his hands and held them down. A human is no match for a Ghoul when it comes to brute strength.
"Fool." I breathed, my face inches from his. He wiggled under my grasp, but I clenched his arms tighter until he let out a soft squeal.
"L-let go! Get off me y-you beast!" He shouted and I sneered.
This idiot was trying my patience.
"I was willing to walk away, but clearly you have a death wish." I hissed next to his ear.
I didn't enjoy murdering for fun. I only did it out of necessity. But this kid had really pissed me off. I was willing to let him leave and I was pretty sure I hadn't even killed any of the investigators. And yet he had the nerve to attack me when my back was turned. Truly he was coward.
I dug my nails into his skin and tears started to leak from his eyes. My mouth was inches from his exposed neck. I could feel saliva building up under my tongue. I did have to admit it had been a while since I'd eaten anything fresh...And he did smell good.
Just as I opened my jaw ready to bite down he spoke. "Wait! P-please I have a family! I need to t-take care of them!"
I paused and looked him right in the eyes. His face was tear streaked and covered in snot from crying.
"Did you ever consider that I had a family when you attacked me? No, I know you didn't. So if you don't care about the people I might leave behind, why should I care about the people you would leave behind?" I asked my temper flaring up again.
He stared at me blankly unable to come up with a response. In the distance I could hear the sound of police cars coming toward us. Back up was something I didn't want to deal with. I narrowed my eyes at the boy, my appetite ruined.
"You're a lucky bastard today, Glasses." I growled as I got up.
To my surprise he stayed there on the ground as I took off down the street. As I got farther away and my Ghoul instincts settled down, my eyes morphed back and I was hit with a wave of fatigue. I ripped the smelly rag off my face and continued to put as much distance between me and the incapacitated Doves as possible.
I don't know how many blocks I walked. I just kept going until I couldn't hear the sirens anymore. The city of Tokyo seemed almost abandoned as I navigated the dark streets. I pulled my jacket closer but then grunted unhappily when I remembered I would have to get rid of these clothes now. This jacket was one of my favorites too. But if I wanted to live, I'd have to do anything to keep my identity a secret.
Eventually my feet steered me towards my apartment. By the time I got there, streaks of sunlight were beginning to peek over the horizon. I fumbled with the lock and practically collapsed over the threshold. I closed the door more forcefully than was needed, and I heard the thumps of my roommate running down the stairs to meet me. I barely caught a glimpse of her spikey black hair before she hug-tackled me.
"Nobuko! Where the hell have you been?" Nao asked practically squeezing me to death.
"I ran into a bit of trouble." I said and squirmed out of her embrace.
She gave me a quick glance over, as if making sure I didn't have any gapping wounds. I gave Nao a quick look over myself. Her hair was messier than usual and she had the start of bags under her dark eyes. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that had several old stains on it and she had her puppy slippers on. It looked like she hadn't slept all night. Guilt bubbled in my gut. She had stayed up waiting for me to come home.
"What happened?" She asked as she began practically pulling me upstairs. I ran a hand through my tangled hair. I needed a shower.
"I went down to the southern part of the 6th Ward to scout for food again, but I got attacked by Doves." I told her as I headed for my room.
The bedroom was pretty small. It could only fit my bed, a small dresser, and a bean bag chair. I sighed in relief at the familiar pale green walls and brown carpeted floor.
"What?! Did they hurt you?" Nao asked worriedly.
"No they were a bunch of rookies. Apparently some old lady called in a sighting of me there, but I guess they didn't think it was real and sent a bunch of newbies. I didn't have my mask though and had to tie a rag over my face." I explained as I began stripping off my clothes.
"See I told you! God, when are you ever going to listen to me? I said this morning that you needed to take your mask, but noooo, you said it would be fine!" She practically yelled at me. There was a long silence that followed as I grabbed the towel hanging on my door and wrapped it around myself. I could feel Nao's gaze lingering on the scars on my shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean worry you. I promise I'll take my mask with me from now on." I apologized not meeting her eyes.
"It's not about the mask… You...You're just so reckless sometimes. And everyday you come back late, I'm always worried that you've gotten yourself tangled up in something again." She huffed sadly.
"Nao, we're Ghouls. We always get tangled up in something. Especially these days." I said putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah but when it comes to you, you're worth about four ghouls of trouble." She said exasperatedly.
"No arguments there. I'm gonna get a shower, okay? Go get some sleep I'll tell you everything when you wake up." I told my roommate.
She opened her mouth as if to argue but thought better of it and just shook her head. I went to our tiny bathroom and turned on the faucet. I felt bad for running away from the conversation, but I was exhausted. I stepped into our cluttered shower and let the warm water wash away the long night. Nao just wants me to be careful. I should just keep my head down. I told myself. But I couldn't. Not with all the Ghouls in the 6th Ward that relied on me. If I didn't scavenge for corpses, there were dozens of families that would go hungry.
Besides, I thought as I ran my hand over the scars on my shoulder. I couldn't forget what those Doves had done.
Thanks for the read! If theres enough intrigue in this I'll keep writing it.