A/N: Hello everyone! Well, this is my first ever full length story! I really hope you all enjoy it!

Title: The Bloody Files: A Ghoul's God

Summary: Shinohara and Juuzou are assigned to a case involving a cult full of humans that worship ghouls as 'angels'. Within the cult is the disillusioned daughter that's more than happy to sell them out for a price. Matters become worse when a binge eating ghouls breaks loose, and human cannibalism becomes common place. Tokyo is beginning to burst at the seams, and time is running out.

Characters: Shinohara Yukinori, Suzuya Juuzou, Oc

Pairings: Eventual Suzuya Juuzou x Oc


The monotonous scratching of her mechanical pencil was the only sound in the silent room. Her eyes never looked up from the book close to her side, not even when she finally ran out of notebook paper and had to flip the small book over to a fresh sheet of paper. She absorbed the words in the book, eating them up like they were her first meal in months after nearly being starved to death. She didn't stop, didn't acknowledge anything around her, and barely blinked at all. When she got to the end of her reading, she turned the page, her pencil pausing for only a moment allowing the soreness in her wrist to set in, before the scratching started up again as she absorbed more information. A shadow cast itself over her books and papers, but she didn't look up and just continued working.

"Lily," Her mother's voice was soft, almost as if she was afraid of interrupting. "it's time to go down to the church."

Lily didn't look up from her work, nor did her writing slow. "It's first Tuesday, I don't need to go down there."

A low sigh escaped her mother's mouth, the beginning of a weekly routine coming into place. "Just come and support your father, Lily. He works hard for both our sakes, you can stop studying long enough to do that much, can't you? Besides, you'll hurt your arm and back from writing in that cramped position. Come on."

Lily stopped writing but she didn't look up. Scribbled on her paper were at least twenty different mathematical definitions for Geometry, along with a few written examples of how they were used. Her name was written at the top of her paper in neat Katakana*, along with the date and subject. However just under all of that was a small star that had an 80% scribbled next to it in red ink. A harsh reminder that she couldn't take a break, that she had to keep studying, keep absorbing. Her mother gave a low cough, quickly gaining back her daughter's stolen attention. Lily slowly looked up from her grey and white paper, to the colorful face of her mother. Her plump lips were in a pout, her similar grey eyes wet with tears, and her thick eyebrows furrowed. Lily always swore the woman should be an actress and shouldn't wasted her time becoming an architect. Her looks contrasted with the firm words that she had spoken just moments ago, truly some kind of gift.

The girl sighed and pushed her hands against the table, heaving herself off the carpet and into a standing position. Well, it was more of a leaning position since most of her weight was on the low table. It was true she had been cramped the whole time on the floor, her back felt like it would snap if she stood up straight. Her mother didn't seem to notice though, her face morphing into a sunny smile. "Good, now hurry up and get your bible so we can go meet your Daddy!"

The woman whisked out of the small room, shutting the door behind her. Lily's blank expression slowly crumbled into a frown, her eyes trailing back onto her paper, more specifically the bright red reminder.


Lily was not really a fan of religion. She respected the people who put all their trust into a, hopefully, benevolent being. But putting her trust into something that may or may not want the best for her was never Lily's style. Of course she never told her father, a preacher and missionary, this little thought. As selfish as she was, she wasn't cruel enough to shatter her father's hopes and dreams. Instead she did what she did best; placating him by merely showing up with her bible and sitting in the front row. She didn't even bother to glance down at the red and black words on the page while her father spoke to the congregation. She'd love to say that she just didn't care enough to, that she was above reading something she didn't believe in, but the truth was that she managed to memorize the entire thing.

"Now God sent his angels down to the world," Her father said, his voice booming over them like a storm over a pasture full of sheep. "so that they could be his messengers. They've given so many messages to the most unlikely of people imaginable! Take Mary, a girl to a poor family in Israel. She was told, by a holy angel, that she would give birth to our Lord and Savior! That she would be the one to save the entire human race from damnation, and she was told...by and angel. But angels are never just messengers of good news, because with the good there's always the bad."

His fingers gripped his wooden podium and he leaned forward, his green eyes wide with unbridled passion. "Sometimes we sin against our Creator, and sometimes we need to be punished! And in this day and age, this world filled to the brim with debauchery and stagnation...Well, it makes sense that the angels have turned their backs on us. God announced it was our time to be punished, and so that's what he's having his holy ones doing right now. Damning us! Eating us! Giving us the punishment we deserve! Isn't that right, Holy One?"

Everyone's gaze went towards the back of the small church were three chairs sat. Only one chair was occupied today, and that was by a middle aged man with bright red hair and a serene smile on his pale face. "Yes, Father Mc'Knight. Humans have degenerated into beasts who have no reign over their impulses. A truly sad event that few people have the wisdom to see. I am glad that the humans who have gathered here today have this wisdom, so that they will not fall to ruin like the rest of your race."

The smile tacked onto the end of his sentence was cheesy. It reminded her when her mother would scold her for sneaking into the bacon when she was little. She'd snatch her up and spank her a few times with the belt, and when it was all said and done she'd give a large smile, proclaiming that 'it hurt her more than Lily'. She doubted it was true, and everything pointed to the contrary, but her mother still insisted on it. The shuffling of cloth and squeaking from the cheap plastic chairs dragged her back down to earth. Everyone was getting up, their heads bowed and eyes closed. Lily did the same though she didn't close her eyes. It may have been childish of her, but she loved to look around while everyone was unaware of her doing so. It was like she was in on some kind of secret that no one else knew.

As her father droned in his closing prayer, her grey eyes scanned behind her. Old lady Sato was scratching the rash on her neck, Mr. Owari was leaning against his wife whispering something to her, Ms. Watanabe had her finger crossed, and a pair of red eyes were staring right at her. They were a bright shade of red that contrasted so heavily from the owner's pale skin, that they almost looked unnatural in their face. They stared at each other, neither blinking or even moving for a few moments, before the person grinned. It wasn't a normal smile either, it was the type of smile that a cat usually gave a canary before eating it. Lily turned away from the person so fast she thought her neck would snap, and bowed her head just so she could look inconspicuous. She came to the small church every single week and had never seen that face before. Then again, she had a feeling that most people were not very happy to see that face, especially that twisted smile.

When her father finally said amen only seconds later she nearly ran out the church, ready to make it back home and to her studies, but as she was passing by someone grabbed her uniform blouse. "Lily, could you go up to a convenience store and get your Father and me some snacks?"

It was phrased like a question, and her mother's lips were in their signature pout, but the tone sounded like an order. "But it's dark out..."

Her mother shook her head. "And if you've been praying then nothing bad will happen to you. Here, take my credit card. You should have more than enough to get me some tea and him some juice. Oh! And please don't forget those nuts, I've been craving them all day. Just go ahead and get your father a bag as well, I doubt he'll mind. Okay?"

She took her mother's credit card, a sense of dread filling her bones. "Are you sure that's it?"

Her mother hummed for a moment before tapping Lily's cheek with a manicured nail, making the girl flinch under the light scratch. "Get yourself some water, you look pale."

" 'Kay." She turned on her heel again, her posture going down the toilet as she passed through the crowded church.

"Stay safe, Sweetie!" Her mother's high voice managed to ring over everyone else, as if to try and give her daughter a smidgen of strength to go out and face her fears. A heroic and sweet thing to do, but it only caused Lily to slouch further.

"I'll try."


Lily huddled into her pink windbreaker, eyes narrowed as she walked along the crowded sidewalk. All around her people were jabbering on their phones, to each other, and even to their pets. Lily had never owned a pet in her life, unless you counted her hair which seemed to have a mind of it's own, but she was sure they couldn't understand human speech. Japanese or otherwise. But the constant talking wasn't the only thing that she hated, the cold kept biting going up her short school skirt and under her wind breaker no matter how much she shifted it around. There was also the pungent smell of the city, it was a nauseating spoiled meat smell one minute, to a smokey and acidic gas the next. All of it made her head hurt and sucked all the energy from her bones. She had no idea why her mother did this to her, knowing she'd rather be at home.

It was probably payback for the all her birthing pains.

She trudged into a convenience store, the cheery bell announcing her arrival to the man behind the counter. He looked up and a smile stretched across his face, making wrinkles appear around his eyes. "Hi, Lily. Is church over?"

Ever since Lily had moved to Japan eight yeas ago, she had always gone up to this convenience store when church let out. And every single time she came the owner, Mr. Watanabe Takashi, spoke to her in English. She wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to improve his own English, or if it was because he just always assumed she didn't understand Japanese, whatever the case was she didn't have the patience for it tonight. She still had to go home and study her Geometry, there was also her Japanese Literature that was just begging to be looked at too, and her art project...She let out a sigh and shoved the irritation into the furthest corner of her mind before addressing the store owner. "Yes. I came to buy some snacks."

The man nodded and went back reading his newspaper. Lily sighed and went to the drink area, getting her mother's favorite brand of tea before grabbing her father some apple juice. Wandering from that aisle she went down a narrow one that was filled with different snacks on both sides. She glanced around, looking for the walnuts that she got her mother last time. She couldn't remember what so special about them, probably BBQ flavored.

She paused by one shelf, her eyes narrowed as she read the tiny bright colored labels. She hated the fonts that most snack companies used, trying to make out the actual wording was harder than it should have been. A giggle sounded behind her, immediately making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Good grief, was she getting scared of toddlers now? She glanced behind her, just to see a pair of large red eyes staring at her. The Cheshire cat grin was still on the thin lips, and even with their swinging casually at their sides, this person looked threatening. Lily usually didn't show that she felt threatened, hell she was proud to say that she always kept up with her composed face, but there was something off about this strange ambiguously gendered person. She blamed their eyes, well and all the red stitching on their body, there was something unsettling about them.

She gripped her wallet a little tighter and swallowed the lump in her throat. As long as she was in a public place then she had no need to worry. Not unless this person was a total nutcase and wanted to get caught. Then again if they were a ghoul they had to worry about the CCG, and who knew when they would show up on the scene. She could imagine it now, her blood splashed all over the person's pale face, her mangled corpse on the floor with the entrails on the shelves. Her mother would cry and binge eat ice-cream after learning how she died, her father would probably feel ashamed and wished she spent more time praying like she was supposed to. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the thought, there was no way she was getting attacked by a ghoul. She needed to study things that actually mattered, not some book that wouldn't impact her grades.

She slowly went to the counter and payed for the drinks, giving up on the hunt for nuts. If her mother wanted a snack she could get her Dad to cook it for her. Takashi rang them up and stuffed them in a plastic bag, taking it up in her sweaty palm she glanced behind her one more time. The person was no longer there, almost making Lily question the sight earlier...Almost. She shook her head and took the bag fully from Takashi. "Thanks."

"You are welcome."

She nodded to him and left the store, the brisk air making a shudder go down her spine. Now all she had to do was run down a block and she would get to the church just fine.

"Boo!" A cold hand pressed itself against her mouth and eyes, dragging her backwards into a hard yet bony body. "I got her Shinohara-san! Look, it was easy too, she wasn't even paying attention!"

Lily didn't even scream, her eyes were just wide and her entire body frozen. Good grief, all she had to do was run and she couldn't even do that.

"That's enough, Juuzou." A rough voice called." Let her go, she isn't some ghoul that you need to be rough with."

"Well she's a gaijin*, that's kinda like a ghoul, right?"

"No."

She was pushed forward, the hands letting her go. She stumbled forward and barely managed to catch her self. In front of her was none of than Red Eyes, they were giggling with that same creepy smile on their face. Next to Red Eyes was the owner of the rough voice. He was a tall bulky man that had a tired look etched into his face, as if the entire day had been nothing but hell. In one hand was a large silver brief case, the other was rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry about Juuzou, he can be a little extreme. He didn't hurt you?"

Lily straightened up, her mask slowly coming back into place as she stared at the two. So that meant Red Eyes-Juuzou was a guy, but that also meant that this other person had told him to grab her. "You with the CCG?"

The bulky man blinked twice before nodding. "Yes. I'm Special Class Ghoul Investigator Shinohara Yukinori and the guy that got you was Suzuya Juuzou. Do you know why we've come to speak to you, today?"

"..."

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Look, I'm not here to arrest you or anything, I just wanna talk. So why don't we go get something to eat, looks like you were trying to do that in the store."

She stared the man down for several seconds, eyes narrowed slightly. "I'll go with you if you answer one question."

"Yes?"

"Do I have to pay?"


The sizzling pop of grease cooking made Lily's mouth water. She was ashamed to say it, but she was easy to bribe. If you offered her free food, or free anything really, then she was more than willing to cooperate with you. Lord forbid someone gave her the codes to a nuclear missile, she'd sell them for a Calculus manual. A tiny looking waitress set down a platter in front of her with a low plop. "Please enjoy your meal."

Lily hummed and slapped her hands together. "Thanks for the food."

And she actually meant it. Shinohara had allowed her to get anything on the menu, and since she wasn't paying she got all her favorites. Eggs, toast, bacon, coffee, and of course hash-browns. The only thing Lily liked to eat was breakfast food and that was expensive to buy out in Japan, so she was going to make the most of it. She picked up her fork and began mixing her eggs and bacon together. "So, what did you need to know, Shinohara-san?"

Shinohara blew on his coffee. He was the only one at the table who didn't have any food, between Lily and his partner she figured he didn't have any budget room to get himself something. "I wanted to know more about your parents and their church."

"It's a Christian Protestant church."

"And what do they teach?"

She popped some of her eggs into her mouth and savored the taste of grease and cheese for a moment before swallowing. "I'm guessing you were there tonight? Then you already know what they teach. Do you need a conformation or something before you start a raid?"

He shook his head. "We don't want to start a raid, nor do we want to get you in trouble, Mc'Knight-san. Your parents are spreading very dangerous beliefs and harboring ghouls, people could get hurt."

Lily always knew something like this would happen. Who in their right mind would talk about ghouls the way they did? She just hoped that she would've been in an elite college by then, getting a Doctorate in psychology and far away enough from this mess so that it didn't stain her reputation. "So what do you need me for?"

"I want you to be a spy," He said. "or an inside source. You don't have to harm them or anything like that, but if you could help us get to the ghouls your parents are hiding charges won't be brought against you."

Lily picked up a piece of her toast and began to nibble on it. This special investigator looked sturdy, like he could actually take on a few ghouls, but his partner. Her gaze shifted over to the boy, which she still couldn't believe, who was eating a slice of chocolate cake. Crumbs were getting all over his clothes, and milk had formed a mustache over his thin lips. If a ghoul went up against him he'd be dead in less than a minute. She couldn't rely on him to keep her safe, but as long as Shinohara didn't bail on her..."Fine, but I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"I want you to sign a recommendation form for me." She said.

Shinohara's eyebrow's furrowed. "What is it for?"

"College. I know I'm a long way off, but it'll make me look good if I have a recommendation from a Ghoul Investigator." She pushed her now empty plate away from her. "As long as you can do that, I'll betray my parents and all their beliefs."

"Deal."

The two shook hands. And with that Lily signed off her complacent and stagnant life, all for a college recommendation.


Translations:

Katakana: A Japanese writing system. It's used for foreign words, like hamburger. Lily's name is written in Katakana since she's a foreigner in Japan, as such her name technically doesn't have a character(s) to represent it.

Gaijin: A rude way to say foreigner in Japanese. I'm using the Japanese term because I can't exactly think of a term like this in English. I mean there's Illegal Alien, but that doesn't work in this context.