Chapter 1
Dilemmas of Humanity
"You five are quite the interesting group, you know?" one of the masked men spoke with a raspy voice. This one had a large grin on his mask. "You guys are always in the news for having seen the Ghoul Hunter, it is always one of you."
Harro reached into his pocket and removed a small paper. "I take it that you all want to know where he might show up next so you can ambush him, right?"
"If I can manage to give them what they want, we can all get out of this unharmed," Harro thought to himself.
"Hm, you are quite the smart cookie aren't ya?" another said with a tragedy mask on. "Yes. Give us the information you want, and we won't hurt you or your little friends," it demands. Its gaze pierces Harro's very soul.
"I can kill them all. Right now. But… I shouldn't expose myself like this." Koichi thought to himself in the moment that the masked man was talking.
Harro unfolds what appears to be a map. Several locations in each ward are marked. Some of the marks were checked off.
"The Ghoul Hunter dropped this a few days ago." Harro speaks, "I have been using it to follow his movements. "Though they aren't 100% accurate to the way he has been moving."
"If I could just… move without them noticing. I could possibly save them…" Mikari considers to himself, complete with the stress that he hides with ease.
"We'll take that, and be on our way." The grinning mask tells the group with a sinister tone. The ghouls begin to depart.
Harro sighs with relief as they left their line of sight. "Jesus fucking Christ," he mutters. "Who wants to go to my house and play some Odyssey. I want to level up Hachiman, and I'm certain that Mikari would like to level up Susano so he can use his broken ass Windstriker,"
"Sound good with me," Koichi admits. Everyone grabs their bags as they each agree to depart to Harro's home.
Later that day…
January 30th, 8:57 PM
A short statured old man with a big frown and sullen eyes walked alongside a taller, younger looking boy. His badge read Kizaki Marfrai. His walking style was more of a shamble, but you couldn't really tell, because of his coat going down to his ankles. He had a boxlike appearance. Kizaki is a Special Investigator and leader of Quinx Squad Alpha or QSA, despite being human. He suffers from Narcolepsy. "Matsari, how goes the interrogation of the The Snake?" he wheezely and charred voice asked. His voice was almost destroyed, dealing with Ghouls during a large fire outbreak during a trip to Russia.
Matsari Hiroshi. A first class investigator that specializes in killing large groups of ghouls at once, and the investigator responsible for taking the SS Rated ghoul, Snake, into custody, with the help of the Ghoul Hunter. Matsari is a commanding officer of Quinx Squad Bravo or QSB for short. Where he lacks in Charisma, he makes up for in Intelligence, Strength, and Speed. He suffers from Insomnia and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"It's going." he answered vaguely. "He's even more complicated than Sori is to work with." he pushed his glasses to his nose. "But he knows what's coming if he decides not to spill. He will be forced to consume human food until he dies from poisoning, or until he confesses." Matsari finished. "How's work towards finding out the Ghoul Hunter's identity?" he asks.
"Bagh! That bloodied bastard is getting sympathy from my damn squadron, so we are unable to investigate properly! We don't even know if the damn cunt is human or ghoul. All we know is he is a criminal, but he is helping the CCG. Fuck that! Damn prick needs to learn his place before he gets someone killed! But NOOOO, motherfucking Akise is being on his high horse instead of doing his fuckin' job and decides that he isn't a priority, even though the bastard stole a quinque from a Zubou Kodima's fuckin' grave!" Kizaki ranted. "So, long story in one word; SHIT!" He answered.
Matsari enjoyed Kizaki's profane ranting, as it gave him a reminder that even though Kizaki is the cruelest being alive, he is still human.
"Speaking of Kodima, you might need to speak to Zubou's kid at some point. I know you questioned him already, but he is definitely doing his own investigative work into the Ghoul Hunter. I am worried that he'll end up in trouble with The Followers." Matsari advised.
"According to security cameras in the twentieth ward, he already was." Kazaki notified. "As it turns out, he had something that they wanted, and to protect himself and his friends, he gave it up. It's likely something related to the Ghoul Hunter, considering they want him dead more than anyone." he added.
Matsari sighs, "Poor kid. Forced into life as a biological quinx."
Kazaki looked at Matsari, "He's what?"
"He has the rc cell count of a quinx, because he was conceived by two quinxes. It's high enough for him to have the physical attributes of a ghoul, but it's too low for his sclera to change or to call upon a kagune." Matari spoke. "He's the in between of Human and Quinx,"
"Do you reckon it's possible for him to be the Ghoul Hunter?" Kazaki asked. "I mean, assuming that he is, he has his dad's quinque, he is almost always at the scenes in which the Ghoul Hunter attacks."
"No. I am relatively positive that he is not the Ghoul Hunter." Matari spoke, shutting down Kazaki's implications. "It feels too obvious, as if he wants Harro to be placed as a vengeful son."
"Hmm.." Kizaki stopped, "Be wary, I heard you are going to be tasked with investigating The Chameleon case tonight."
Matari shuddered, "Yeah, don't remind me."
In the looming shadows of the Fourteenth Ward, The Ghoul Hunter holds a ghoul in the air by the throat. The darkness of the alleyway hid the bloodsoaked pavement and the few corpses of ghouls who had their life robbed of them by the man in the gas mask.
"I heard that the Followers have been here. Where are they?" a slightly distorted voice asks the ghoul, originating from the Ghoul Hunter's gas mask.
"I-I-I don't know! Please! LET ME G-"... Silence. He was cut off by the piercing of a curved sword to the heart. Ghoul Hunter drops the corpse.
"You monsters never know anything, huh?" The Ghoul Hunter sighed coldly, shaking his head. The Ghoul was unable to regenerate. The quinque stopped the flow of white blood cells in its body. Its blood flowed around it.
A sound. The sound of prey. The Ghoul Hunter turns to the sound of ghouls landing nearby, as the ghoul on the ground bleeds to death.
"It seems I need not look further for the deer that stalk." The Ghoul Hunter spoke coldly, his eyes narrowed toward the direction of the sound.
