Chapter 1: The Tokyo Raid
{Anteiku Rooftop: 6:03pm – November 20th, 2020}
Akane took in a shuddering breath from the cold as one of the ghouls stood behind her. She glanced his way – blue hair and eyes, a young face – he seemed relatively normal; if it hadn't been for him saving her and the others earlier, she would have guessed he was human. But she knew he and four others downstairs with the others weren't. He had agreed to come up with her as a lookout for vampires, but she quite honestly didn't know what to think about all of the things she'd witnessed half an hour before.
She took in another deep breath and drew her sword and held it in the air as water formed from the hilt and spiraled around the blade, causing the blue-haired teenager behind her to gape as she focused on spreading Melusine's power outwards. A drop hit the ground beneath her feet, and a ripple developed as she put the sword down and focused further as it spread crystal blue water around her, and the sound of water dripping in an echo met their ears. She took in a deep breath as she contemplated what was to come next and hoped that Melusine could help her reach the others.
"Are you going to sing now?" he asked. She glanced his way.
"I am…you never told me your name, you know." He grumbled a bit, black-clad with a dark purple scarf and slightly long, messy blue hair with a single tag-style earring in his right ear and a black half-mask pulled down off his face.
"Kirishima Ayato….and you?" she looked at him fully.
" Hyakuya Akane, it's nice to meet you." he shrugged.
"Nice to meet you, too, I guess….so…are you going to sing?" she gulped.
"I have to let Melusine build up her power for the time being – it'll take some time, but the signal won't reach far enough for the others if I don't." Ayato groaned.
"So I have to stay out in the cold? Great…" he grumbled. She giggled a bit and he glanced her way.
"Sorry, that was kind of funny. Do you not like the cold?" she received a roll of his eyes as an answer.
"Nope….I hate winter…" he stated grudgingly.
"That's….too bad….winter is a wonderful season….if you give it the chance to be." He stared at her momentarily, wondering why she struck him so differently from other humans.
"You said you had brothers….two, right? And they're here with you?" he asked. Akane smiled a bit.
"I do; Yuu and Mika are really something else….they're…" Ayato narrowed his eyes.
"Not human….I can smell it on their skin and in their blood – they aren't like the rest of you – nor is that periwinkle-haired girl. Why would your commander send in a group of mixed species? Three of you aren't even humans, and the rest of you are humans, but even you and those others are weird," he stated. She shrugged as she felt Melusine radiate a sound wave.
"Melusine is almost ready…" Ayato glanced her over.
"Are you really going to trust a group of ghouls and a person with werewolf powers to help you?" he inquired. She nodded.
"Mika is like your friend…Hide, right? He was scratched by a werewolf a few weeks back…its complex, I guess, but….we do trust you….and Yuu said we could, so I trust him to know your character enough. He's never wrong about someone's personality." The boy sputtered.
"He's like Kaneki, then! Oh, hell!" he said abruptly. Akane laughed as another sound wave came away from her sword and her voice carried faintly in a ghost like manner.
"I'm sure they're going to be fine, Ayato." He looked her over once more.
"You're strange for a human," he stated.
"And you're strange for a Ghoul, but…I guess that makes sense, if you think about the others…"
{Inside Anteiku: one hour earlier}
The group felt relief flood them as they ran into the old coffee shop with the person from Kaneki's group who'd rescued them. The boy flicked on a small lamp on the counter and made them follow him up the staircase, where they were left in a room to sit and contemplate if something had gone amiss, like it had thus far for them. However, in a few short seconds, the group had been given some relief when a recognizable figure came in with others following. Kaneki was in the full battle suit he had been seen in every time along with his mask, the others were dressed in black and had masks up around their faces as they stood along the wall while Kaneki came towards them.
"Nice to see you survived so far. Sorry for the inconvenience, but the vampires are wandering the streets – if we had met in the original location, we would have ended up being ambushed," he explained. The group nodded.
"Thanks for sending out someone to help." The blue-haired male groaned.
"Great, a bunch of kids!" he said. The blue-haired boy was elbowed in the ribs by a girl with the same hair and eye color as himself.
"Shut your trap, Kuro-Usagi!" the boy grumbled as he rubbed his side and Kaneki sighed.
"Believe me, they can handle themselves. Am I right?" Kaneki questioned.
"Of course we can. We aren't rookies." Emerald eyes locked onto the others behind him, and they froze at the sensation of something predatory.
"Is something wrong, midget?" asked the ghoul with the fanged mask and glasses.
"No, but I can make it a problem, if you want!" The boy's eyes lit up electric green, and the other jolted.
"What the fuck was that?" The group tensed while Kaneki eyed him.
"You have a gift, don't you?" he asked. Eyes now emerald once more locked onto him.
"Several, but that's not why we're here – Guren said we needed to give the signal somehow, and I suppose we can use the rooftop here to do that? We're already behind schedule." Kaneki nodded.
"Akane, correct?" he asked as he looked at the brunette girl with a side-braid held by a deep blue-and-black pin of some kind.
"Yes, I need the roof so I can get Melusine ready to be used." She held up her sword, and Kaneki nodded.
"Kuro-Usagi? I want you to be her guard while I work out some details with the others," Kaneki told the blue-haired teen this, and he sighed heavily.
"Fine; come on, girl – we don't have time to waste!" With that, he was out the door and Akane was trailing quickly behind him.
{Anteiku Rooftop: 6:07pm}
"Is it ready now?" Ayato asked. Akane glanced his way.
"Yes…now…please let me send this out… Appel à ceux je me soucie de Mélusine!"
Silver ripples extended outwards around her as she looked around the area as the power of her weapon began to spread and prepare to send out the signal. She looked at the deadened city, knowing it soon would be alight once more when she gave the others their cue to flip the lights on and begin the raid. She brought her hands up and pulled them close to her chest before taking a deep breath. Her mind went over the lyrics in her head as she felt her own anxiety rise and the song get caught in her throat as she felt her own fear overtake her.
She shook, wondering how horrible this fight would be, how many would die, who would live? Could she do anything to help them? What about Yuu, Mika, Shinoa, Mitsuba, Yoichi, Kimizuki, and what about Kaneki's group? They had survived for so long without them – if they heard this signal, they might not live to see dawn. She felt a tear slide down her face as pain spread through her chest before she almost stepped out of her indication point, only for strong hands to grip her shoulders.
"Don't back down now – you're stronger than that, aren't you?" Ayato asked as he looked her in the eye. She blinked.
"I just…I….I'm sorry I…" he gripped her shoulders tighter, but also gently, so not to harm her.
"You have a job to do, everyone is waiting on you for this – it's your time to help, right? Your gift and your weapon is what decides if we walk into this battle blind or with the power to stay strong and work together. Don't let them down," he said. Akane blinked as she wiped her eyes.
"Thank you…" he nodded firmly.
"Now, I hear you got a pretty voice, Akane Hyakuya – let me hear it," Ayato stated as he kept his hands on her shoulders. She took in a shuddering breath.
"Okay….let's do this…" she opened her mouth and began to sing.
{Outside of Tokyo: 6:15pm}
The troops were ready, they were waiting and willing to fight. But Guren was anxious again – they were late – Akane's song was late. If anyone had ever truthfully understood Guren's concerns for his brats, they did now – all of them were anxious and unsure of what to think about the situation. If they weren't careful, the entire group would be in danger, and worse, if someone chose to not wait and just barged in, they would be killed. The dark-haired man was puffing irritably on a cigarette while Sayuri watched him in slight discomfort. Guren could be worrisome, and he could anxious about his three children being out in the dark and cold running into who knew what in the city.
"Kaneki's group won't let anything happen to them, Guren," she assured. He nodded.
"I get worried, and you know why – if something sets Yuu off, we'll know it – and we won't stop it." She frowned at that.
"In other words….it's not that we won't, it will be that….we can't stop him, right?" she inquired. Guren was most certainly a good parent if he was nothing less, but her concern lied with his own bad habit of overthinking things, and she knew if he thought that Yuu and Mika overthought things, then he needed to take a good long look at himself, because she believed this may have indeed been where they'd picked it up.
"Sayuri…people may think the worst of them and I knew sending them out was dangerous but…Kaneki and the others seemed to like them and Yuu connected with him on a different level than the others….and I sure as hell wasn't going to send him in there alone….but…" she grabbed his hands as he stared – the cigarette having already been tossed into the snow – and she smiled as she locked eyes with him.
"Yuu and Mika can handle themselves, so can Shinoa, Akane, Mitsuba, Yoichi, and Kimizuki…don't think you haven't taught them well, because you most certainly have. You were right to send them, and you were right to make sure that Yuu was in that group, regardless of your concerns…if anyone can keep the peace between humans and ghouls, it'll be Yuu and Kaneki…they're a lot alike, and that's why he was able to gain Kaneki's trust." Guren blinked in surprise.
"Sayuri…" he looked her over and she sighed.
"I doubt that Kaneki would have let you send in children or anyone as young as he is into Tokyo City if he wasn't positive they could handle themselves…their seraphs are controllable, and they've done wonderful so far, and that's why I don't want you worrying about it."
Guren nodded a bit numbly as he took in her words. Sayuri had always had a calming effect on him and the others – in fact, he'd asked to have her tested on the Naturopathic ability, but Yuu had said there was nothing there – but he still wondered if something had changed recently between them, or if he had missed something from a long time ago. When he gave it thought, Sayuri had been the mother figure to both Yuu and Mika for a long time. She was able to get Yuu to open up to someone besides his brother and even smile again – and God, did he ever feel relieved when the boy laughed for the first time and smiled – back when he had just adopted them, he had been at a complete loss and had struggled often to understand the two children he'd taken in, but Sayuri? She had been able to ease Mika's duress, and after nearly a year of coaxing and learning about his behavior, she had managed to get Yuu to drop the icy front he had put up to protect himself.
"You're right, I worry too much – I sound like freaking old man – and I think you need my arrogance right now to guide this battle," he said as Sayuri shook her head.
"Yes, because it's so cold and we need all that hot air." She smiled, and he laughed a bit.
"Alright, Sayuri, let's get everyone…" the sound of a voice carried in a large echo, causing everyone to freeze.
"Guren?" he nodded as he looked around him and the troops came out to stare at the sky that was turning a beautiful aqua-green tone, almost like the Northern Lights.
"Akane's song…"
Where is this warmth going?
When it's tomorrow, it'll vanish
If I synchronized the heartbeats of our chests…
Will I be able to fall to the same depth as you?
I'm always, always by your side
No matter how far your heart strays…
The sense of warmth spread through them, almost as if someone had wrapped them in a security blanket, as they felt their hearts beat almost in synch with the thrums of the words. The others that were in different points of Tokyo felt the steadying of a heartbeat change to the sharp tinge of excitement and a thrill of a new adventure as more emotions bled into them, and soon the song gave them a new feeling.
Ayato stared at the girl as she kept her hands clasped in a position that almost looked as if she were praying while she closed her eyes and sang – it was all illuminated by the aqua-green glow of her weapon's ripples and the lights that filled the sky. He could feel it inside him as well, and it made him stare onward at her as if this was the first time he had ever seen a human being in his entire existence. It made him feel small, brittle, and meek – it made him feel insignificant – but it also made him feel empowered, brave, excited, joyous, mirthful, and at peace.
While we drift inside the darkness
Like innocent little birds, we huddled our wings together
You, who hide behind your smile when you're lonely…
Is a blade of eternal ice…
I bare my heart
And embrace you
Forever…
Within Anteiku, the group who had been talking fell silent, unable to comprehend the song they heard, as the anxiety of the oncoming battle within Tokyo was suddenly nothing more than a prick of a thorn against their skin instead of the scalding dagger into their hearts. Nothing more than a sudden will to fight and win the fight came to them as Kaneki glanced to the others and they nodded, certain of their capabilities and the abilities of their newfound comrades.
Where are you going alone?
I'm just scared of looking back…
The figure in my chest and the sad color
Even though I'm sure that they're actually very similar…
Ayato stared at Akane as she took in a few breaths, and suddenly there was a roar from the outskirts of the city. It was the sound of people, the sound of gunfire and the clink of metal. His eyes grew wide as Akane opened her eyes as fire bloomed in the streets not far to the south, and they knew, as did the people inside and the monsters in the streets, that the Moon Demon Company of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army had come to collect, and they had brought reinforcements to show the vampires, the monsters, the things that ran rampant in the night that humanity and the ghouls who sought to remain human were not gone. They were not leaving quietly into the night, never to be seen or heard of again – these people that had been accused, beaten and bruised were standing with the aid of one another and were going to fight to the death – this was a declaration of their will, and a declaration of war.
"Akane! Keep singing!" Ayato turned to see a blue-eyed, blonde-haired boy standing behind him – his eyes were shifting from sapphire to electric blue, and he knew then and there that this was what they all needed. The girl took in a deep breath.
With the same evanescence, we are gazing
At the place that we'll surely return to someday
No matter how we're separated inside this darkness
Ayato? Stay with her! When she's completed the song, come towards the CCG tower!" the blue-haired teenager looked to see the others were gathering and he nodded.
"Go on! We'll catch up! I'll get her there, don't worry!" he called back as the blonde left down the stairs, and soon he saw the group move amongst the firelight and shadows outwards as he stood closer.
"Ayato…" brown eyes looked to his blue ones and he nodded.
"Keep singing, princess – we have a lot of people depending on your song," he said as he tugged on his mask. Akane stared as purplish-blue-red fire wings appeared behind him, and her eyes grew wide.
"What…" he glanced at his wings.
"Ghouls have internalized weapons called Kagune – now, I'll watch your back – keep singing!" he watched the area around him as his eyes shifted into the Kakugan brimstone black and hellfire red. She stared.
"Ayato?" he looked to her.
"What? Are you scared?" she blinked and smiled before shaking her head.
"No…it's…beautiful….it reminds me of Yuu and Mika's wings." With that, the girl turned back and opened her mouth again to start singing.
"Did she just call my wings beautiful? But I'm a ghoul, she's… wait…what, did she just say about two boys she knows? Yuu and Mika? What about… oh, hell, no!" Ayato stared onward as Akane's weapon rippled outwards and she drew in a breath.
Our hearts call for each other with a stronger bond than anything
Even if you're laughing when you're lonely, I know it…
Down in the streets, Kaneki and the others were watching to make sure the others were keeping stride with them. Though it wouldn't have normally seemed like it – Ghouls were indeed faster than humans – and while none of them doubted the other group's abilities, they also didn't want to strain them before they got into the thick of the battle. Each of the Ghouls had been assigned a single person to tag team with in order to watch one another's backs.
Usagi had the periwinkle-haired girl named Shinoa, next, Hebi had a boy named Mika, Verglas was pared with a boy named Kimizuki, Cho was with a boy named Yoichi, Yoshi had a blonde girl named Mitsuba, followed by Ayato, who had stuck with Akane, and Kaneki himself was paired with the black-haired, green-eyed boy named Yuu. Above them in the roofs was Irimi, who was keeping an eye out for them. As they group ran in a closed unit, they could hear Akane's voice carrying over them and lighting the sky with an aqua-green glow.
I want to warm
Your cold fingers with my tears
I'm by your side…
"Your sister has quite the voice!" called Hebi as the group ducked into an alley way.
"Yea, Akane is known for that…" the group eyed one another momentarily as they saw what appeared to be a deformed human crawl past them.
"The f…" a gloved hand covered Nishiki's mouth and he glared at the blonde as his eyes gleamed electric blue and made the caramel-haired teen stare wide-eyed at the sight in panic.
"Don't move…" Kaneki glanced at the thing as it sniffed in their direction and made a guttural crone as it crawled its way to them and then deformed crystals jutted from its back, only to have its roar of finding something to bite into be silenced as a green-hued metal blade crushed its way through its skull and killed it before it could alert anything else to their presences. The Ghouls and the humans looked to Yuu, who was giving the thing a withered glare as he pulled his sword from the corpse and looked to the others.
"I know it was probably unfair… but if it had alerted any other things…" the group shook their heads in understanding.
"No need to explain. We'll have to kill some of our own from now on, and it won't make matters easier….but…at least we have willing participants," said Kaneki as he glanced at the humans in their group of twelve.
"Okay, let's get moving before we end up dead…" a howl was heard, and the group began to pick up their pace as they left the alleyway and began running the streets again.
While we drift inside the darkness
Like innocent little birds, we huddled our wings together
As the group began their race closer towards the CCG tower where they were to await a secondary signal from Irimi and meet Ayato and Akane, the group heard a nearby growl come from the shadows as several eyes lit up in the dark. The group skidded to a halt in the center of the street as several monsters began to emerge. Kaneki and the other Ghouls recalled the humans in their group telling them what these things were called – Chimera – and it sent a chill of disgust through them. The things were massive, and their fangs dripped with blood and saliva that had congealed.
In all of two seconds, the group was attacked and a loud scream ripped its way from Hinami as she felt the beast grip her leg and bite. A metallic twang went through the air as a black and pale teal arrow shot the beast in the head, and the group spread out in preparation to fight. Kaneki eyed the humans, knowing this would be a good time to gauge how well they fought. Weapons roared to life in a near-hollow scream of what sounded like laughter as the periwinkle-haired girl rotated her scythe and slashed it, releasing a black and orange monster that tore into the beasts.
"Lend me your strength…ASURAMARU!" a torrent of green fire and black wind tore through the area and created a split in the ground as the beasts avoided it narrowly. The group of Ghouls felt their eyes grow wide as the sheer power of the black-haired boy as he dodged an attack and crouched on the ground, preparing for another attack.
"Usagi!" the blue-haired girl nodded.
"JUMP!" The humans near her did as told and dove out of the way as she released her Ukaku and shot crystals that roared in elegant violet and fiery crimson.
The members of the Moon Demon Company and the Ghouls of Anteiku one by one let loose attacks that pushed the Chimera back as Mika shot a barrage of ice and ash at the beasts, and Hinami paired with Yoichi and managed to land damage to a few of them in the pack. Shinoa and Touka fared well together, and soon the group was beginning to thin the numbers that had circled them. Yuu let out another torrent of emerald fire, and soon ruby tendrils followed up the attack, and he was met face to face with an organic weapon that made his blood chill.
Kaneki was crouched with his eye having turned into a shocking brimstone black and hellfire red as he snarled behind his mask and four tendrils came from his back and acted as if it were a weapon. Yuu realized quickly that it indeed was a weapon, and quite dangerous. It sliced a Chimera in half and the group spread out between the ghouls they were paired with, and soon the Chimera either laid dead in the streets, making the stone pavement run red, or had escaped with their lives and severe wounds.
Shinoa braced herself against the grip of her scythe as she took in a deep breath and tried to gain her stamina back, while the others were very much in the same state. Though it had gotten easier to combat the Chimera, it hadn't made them any weaker nor any simpler to defeat. Their thick, tough, skin made their attacks strain against them as they had once attempted to tear through the flesh of one of them moments before a crystal had wounded the beast and given them an opening. Her eyes looked back at the Ghouls with shock written across her face as they took note to what was being displayed to them.
"What…" the Ghouls eyed the humans and then their Kagune.
"Let's fight first and live – we will explain it to all of you once Tokyo belongs to the Moon Demon Company again," said Kaneki as he offered a hand to Yuu, who gladly took it as he stood.
"Sounds good to me… personally…. that's pretty awesome…" Yuu eyed the red tendrils coming from Kaneki's back and the white-haired Ghoul glanced him and the others over.
"You're fairly impressive, yourselves…what were those, exactly?" Mika eyed them.
"Demonic weapons…figures, huh? Hence, Moon Demon Company. Sorry for missing that information on the details we gave you guys," he said. The others looked around them momentarily.
"Not really that big of a deal – we didn't tell you about the Kagune – so we're even… let's just get to the First Ward… then we can have a long discussion as to what each of us entails and all the other fun facts… after we kill the Vampire Noble." The group nodded.
"Right!"
You, who hide behind your smile when you're lonely
Is a blade of eternal Ice…
Guren stared at Tokyo as he led his group into the fray against the hoard of Four Horseman of John they had encountered, and suddenly was face to face with what was unmistakably a wild Ghoul. It was gaunt and hissing at him as if it was rabid – not that it wasn't a possibility, by this point – but he had hoped to keep his encounters with Ghouls to the ones in Kaneki's group. This one hissed and spit at him, showing acid in his saliva. He frowned as he drew his sword and growled as it bared its teeth at him and he prepared to fight.
"Show your prowess, Mahiru-No-Yo!"
The black Katana gleamed red as he darted forward and severed the head of the feral Ghoul, while the others charged the Four Horseman and the streets in their area began to run with blood. Thankfully, Guren had noticed that none of that blood this far had been from anyone of their teams. He turned to see Sayuri wiping a smudge of blood off her cheek before looking to him as he smiled, and they went along their way to get at the Noble hiding in the First Ward at the center of the city.
I bare my heart and embrace you
I'm by your side…
Up on the roof, Ayato had already taken out three weak vampires with hoods and was finishing up on one of the corpses whilst Akane continued to sing. He tossed the bodies off the side of the building as she kept her focus on the song that he had felt the effects of since the first words were uttered. For some reason, this human girl was making him feel awestruck. Was this how Nishiki and Kimi felt? Or how Kaneki and his sister were when they had sat next to one another curled up on one of their quiet days while they listened to the silence and enjoyed one another's company?
Ayato didn't know for certain, but he was truthfully impressed by the human girl. It also made him wonder what the others in her group were like – she had made a mention of the black-haired, emerald-eyed teenager and the blonde-haired, sapphire-eyed one and how his wings reminded her of their own, but according to his senses, the two of them were for the most part human – he had never come across anything that had scents even remotely close to theirs – but he knew a human when he smelled one, and the two boys were definitely not Ghouls.
However, Kaneki didn't exactly have the scent of a Ghoul, either, and that in and of itself was a frightening thought. Was he missing something? Were they all missing something? Or was he merely overreacting because he found a human girl interesting? Ayato shook his head as he tried to think back to the two boys he'd encountered. Yuu - the one with the sharp emerald eyes – had changed his eye color to an electric green that had completely scared the hell out of him when he'd witnessed it, and he had gotten the sense that the boy and his brother were anything but average human beings.
Ayato felt a knot form in his chest at the mere thought he had just encountered. There was no mistaking it, that boy was not a human being – and they had walked into the midst of this fight without a second question – and now, Ayato was anxious and unsure of what they would be facing, should that boy – who had shown his own understanding of how the Ghouls felt – choose to unleash whatever he was into view. He took in a deep breath as Akane took in another one as well, and finally the time had come for him to take her with him to meet up with the others at the CCG tower.
Forever…
Akane pulled Melusine back and sheathed the sword before turning to face Ayato, who was staring at her in amazement and now in fear of what exactly had come with her. If he was right, then there was no telling what the boy he'd witnessed use something earlier was capable of, and he felt fear in his system for the first time in a long time. Ayato had learned several things over the last few years alongside Kaneki and the others, and his first lesson had been with the white-haired Ghoul himself, and it had been very clear – nothing was as it always seemed.
"What have we gotten ourselves into?"
{…}
Tired eyes, barely open…
{…..}
Author's Note: And welcome, all! To the first chapter of the second Seraphim Blood story! I hope everyone is excited and awaiting the second chapter! I hope all of you are going to enjoy this story! I'm going to do my best to get it completed! Well, enough blabbing on my part, guys, let me know what you think!
Akane's Song:
Synchronicity by Yui Makino
Chapter 2: Seraphims