I am very thankful that I got some reviews last chapter and even more followers.
Thank you very much to those who reviewed. Those that have know I don't bite like ghouls :)
In response to the reviews:
Cliffhanger247: Thanks for the catch. I will explain the reason of the gold slit eye in the future, but won't now, as I don't want to spoil anything.
Guest: I already had it planned for Akira to meet with Gure as you will read, I did not think of adding Kishou/Amon and am now considering it.
I feel I have to change my upload schedule from every week to every two weeks. One week is really aggressive for an average of 5k words per chapter plus edits. If I can do one week than I will, but it's very hard. I hope that you, my readers understand.
This Chapter is primarily a set up for next chapter, which is awesome compared to this one.
Update: I took out the DID scene as it doesn't fit, I thought I could make it interesting with that feature in Ch5, but I can't.
-Akira POV-
Akira was furious at her father for ostracizing her brother. He had confessed what she suspected was his biggest secret to her and him and he denounced him for it. Her eyes were red from tears, all she wanted to do was leave the van and search for Gure. When the van pulled up to the headquarters she dumped her gear directly outside her door and walked off down the nearest road she saw.
"Hey! I know you're upset, but this was for the best. I've already lost two family members in my lifetime, I can't lose you too being attacked by that ghoul." Shouted Kureo as she walked off.
"He wasn't going to attack me or you! He just wanted things to return to how they were, with us as a family. You lost him on your own!" Screamed back Akira, as she began to run. She didn't know where she was going to run to, she just knew she wanted to get away from her father at the moment. She wasn't looking where she was going when she bumped into someone. "Sorry."
"Akira, is that you. My God what happened." Exclaimed the person she knocked into.
"Who are you? How do you know me?" Mumbled Akira, trying to hold back a fresh batch of tears.
"I'm your principle, Anna Teppes. Why wouldn't I know one of the most promising students of you year. Wait, did something happen with Gure?" inquired the lady.
"Yes, some ghouls attacked us and… and" Akira couldn't hold it back anymore and let her tears stream down her face.
"We should talk, follow me I know a good place to discuss this matter." Akira merely nodded as Anna escorted her to a nearby store. The name of the store was called Anteiku.
Anna guided the crying Akira up the stairs into a quaint little coffee shop. The interior of the shop had a home type of feal. At that time of day no other customers were there and Anna chose a secluded seat in a back corner. "Now, tell me what happened."
"I… I can't. You wouldn't understand." croaked out Akira after wiping some tears from her face.
"You found out he was a ghoul didn't you." Anna said with a sigh.
"You, you knew?" Questioned the perplexed Akira.
"Yes, I knew. I taught him and others like him in Pingfang. I'm not sure what was going on or who I was teaching for, as I myself was kidnapped. From what I gathered whoever took me had found a way to turn humans into ghouls. The experiments that I was allowed to see were ghastly to say the least, from what I gathered death was the norm of the place." Stoically said Anna.
"How did he escape, and why did he come back?" Asked Akira, now more curious than sad.
"To how he escaped, I frankly have no idea. I was let go, but I doubt that they would let a half ghoul like him leave. I have an idea of why he came back though, he mentioned that he wanted to be normal when he was in my office last Friday. I doubted that it was possible for a person who went through what he did." Remorsed Anna.
"Hello again Anna. I see that you've brought a new customer with you today. What would your orders be?" Questioned an elderly gentleman who appeared to work at the store.
"I'll have the usual Mr. Yoshimura, Akira, what would you like."
"I'll just have coffee." Said Akira.
"Before you go Mr. Yoshimura, What do you think of the man we are discussing? I know your hearing would've allowed you to eavesdrop." Interrogated Anna.
"It really isn't my place to say. Everyone has different experiences and reasons. I would say in order to get your question answered only he can answer. You orders will be ready shortly." With that Mr. Yoshimura left the two to continue their discussion.
"Any idea on how to contact him? I doubt he'll come to school or see me since he left in a hurry." Asked Akira, who was feeling much better and didn't look like she was going to break out into tears at any moment.
"I have an idea, Gure is harder to find than his friend. Have you ever heard of a man named Dorian Grey? If we are to find Gure we'll need to find him." Replied the deep in thought Anna.
"I got his number today! Let me call him." Cried the hopeful Akira as she pulled out her phone along with the card she was given. The card had a black background with gold letters and a calligraphic font.
After some rings an upbeat voice picked up, "Greetings and salutations. Please let me know to what I can be of service to you as and I will see what I can do."
"My name is Akira Mado, I'm looking for my brother… Gure Mado."
"You seem concerned. Did you… find anything about his… genetics." Said the now cautious Dorian.
"Yes, I found out he was a ghoul. I took it well, but… my father didn't take it well."
"That's not good." Remorsed Dorian. Akira then heard him chuckle on the other end, "At Least he didn't quote Robert Oppenheimer on becoming death."
"..."
"Oh shit he did!" Akira then heard Dorian's muffled yelling through the phone, "Sam! How much am I at risk if the Nikkei crashes? ...Damn! Hedge more, I don't know how much... all of it!" A brief silence followed,' "Sorry about that. It was just a tradition I've had with Gure that if either of us felt that we were going… out of control we would usually make a quote about death. Oppenheimer was Gure's go to choice most of the time we did that, not that it's happened for awhile now. I have a pretty good idea of where he could be. Where are you, I'll pick you up."
"I'm at a small coffee shop called Anteiku. How bad do you think it is if he goes… off the deep end like you said?"
"I honestly don't know exactly. Last time he went out of control was the time me and him escaped from Unit. Back then he was quite… sadistic if I had to describe what he did."
-Click
"Does he know where he is?" Questioned Anna taking a sip of her coffee, which had come while Akira was talking to Dorian.
"No, but he says he has some ideas. He says he'll pick me up here. Are you coming?"
"No, I have work to do. It seem like you have figured this out some. You should atleast tell your father that you will be going to try and find Gure. I doubt he'll take you disappearing, as your own choice otherwise." Remarked Anna as Akira got up to head for the door.
"I'll ask if I can stop by the headquarters to tell him that I'm leaving." Hurriedly said Akira as she rushed out hearing the sound of a car stop outside of the store.
The car, or limo to be precise was glistening from being washed and waxed with care. It was black in color, not the black of darkness or foreboding, but the black of status and wealth. On the front hood of the limo to either corner waved two flags in the wind. They featured a white background with a black outline of a bat and long red fangs. The driver got out of the car, she was a women and was wearing a business suit.
"Are you Ms. Mado?" Inquired the woman.
"Yes, are you Dorian Grey?"
"God no." chuckled the women. "He's in the limo, he's working on figuring out where your brother is on his computer. Please hop in."
Akira compiled and got in the door that was closest to her. The interior of the limo was furnished with black leather coverings for the seats. In between each seat was a mahogany stained table with intricate designs of different dragons on them.
"It's a pleasure to meet you again. I would normal shake your hand, but I'm checking to see if Gure is in the country or not." Replied a man whose face was being lit by the screen of the computer in his hand. He was wearing a charcoal grey suit with a vibrant red tie.
"Before we go and search for him I should let my father know that I'll be gone. I'll just tell a clerk at the CCG headquarters." Stated Akira. She was doing a very good job at keeping her neutral demeanor around her in the presence of absolute wealth she was being shown.
"I don't really mind. I do have fond memories of the CCG myself. Sam, take us to the CCG please."
"We're almost there, I figured that's where you two would need to start." Came the response from behind the wall separating the driver from the passengers.
"Will Gure be hard to find?" Inquired Akira.
"It depends. I've tried to call him and he didn't pick up, meaning he either isn't answering, he isn't out of service, as from the time earlier when I last saw him with you can't be out of cellular range. Ahh, we're here." Dorian exited the car followed by Akira. The driver stayed in the car, apparently relaxing.
Akira noticed the amount of stares that Dorian was receiving as he walked into the CCG headquarters. Akira didn't blame them, it wasn't everyday that someone of Dorian's class came to the CCG headquarters. Akira briskly walked over to the front desk. "Can you pass on a message fro me?"
"Certainly Ms. Mado." replied the clerk in a helpful voice.
"Tell my father that I went to find Gure. That's all" Curtly stated Akira.
"I will tell him as soon, as I see him again. Are you here for anything mister?" Questioned the clerk.
Akira heard a ding noise from Dorian's phone before he responded, "I just got what I came here for. Also it's always good to be back somewhere familiar." Remorsed Dorian with a smile.
"Did you… use to work here?" Cried the clerk in astonishment, not expecting someone with such dapper attire to have worked in the CCG.
"Indeed, I spent many a late night casing out ghouls in this very building. We better be going now, we can't be late." Said Dorian with a smile.
"Dorian Grey, I would like to have a word with you." Akira looked to see the speaker of the familiar voice, Kishou Arima.
"We can speak right here." Replied the ever cheerful Dorian.
"I know that you couldn't have worked here. You're a ghoul." Hissed Kishou in a low enough voice for just the three of them to hear.
"Yes I am, I was never denying the fact. Now, me and Ms. Mado are searching for my friend Gure."
"I should kill you right now."
"On what charges, the RC scanners didn't go off. I could be crazy for all you know. If you try anything here you will lose your badge. You may know that you're right, but no one else will see it that way."
"I can't allow Akira to stay with you" Growled Kishou in a protective manor.
"Fine then" Dorian proclaimed while walking back to the car. "Come along if you must." Both Akira and Kishou were dumbfounded, neither of them anticipated that response. "Well, we don't have all day do we know." With that Dorian was out the door with Kishou and Akira following.
Akira was glad to note that Kishou's reaction to the car was similar to hers when she first got in it. He was gawking at the expensiveness of everything in it, although she was sure he was doing a far better job of hiding it than she had. The car started smoothly and seemed to glide off from the stop.
"Anna, take us to three-ten avenue. The search I had running verified that it's the place where he is, or has been living recently."
"Why did you come into the CCG headquaters? Was it something to do with the ding I heard?" inquired Akira.
"Quite perceptive of you Ms. Mado. I programmed my phone to intercept any messages from a particular phone in the CCG. That message I received narrows the search down to two areas. First will be his apartment, the other option is a place I sincerely hope we don't have to visit."
"Why is tha-" Kishou started
"We're here" interjected Dorians rudely cutting Kishou off.
The limo pulled up to an elaborately designed building in the expensive part of the 4th ward. Dorian got out of the car followed shortly followed by Akira and Amon. Akira had to admit, she was slightly nervous and didn't know how to get her brother back. Amon grabbed her hand. "It's going to be fine. I'm sure he'll listen."
"Thanks" whispered out Akira.
The group strolled through the lobby and followed Dorian straight to the elevator. Dorian clicked a single button and as the group waited for them to get to the correct floor the elevator music soothed their ears. "What floor is Gure's apartment?" questioned Akira.
"He's at the top. He's always enjoyed the view high upon city skylines. He told me it reminded him of his younger years, not sure what that's supposed to mean." Responded Dorian.
"When we were younger our mom took us to Tokyo tower once. He was nervous, but she whispered something in his ear and he didn't act so scared of the height after that. It seems as if yesterday he was taken by those people" remorsed Akira.
The group exited the elevator and were greeted by a vast library. Books were everywhere. In the center of the room Akira noticed a bloodied leather jacket and clothes, were on a mahogany table in the center of the room. Akira was shocked by the lavishness of the room. If there was cloth anywhere, it was silk, any wood was of the finest grade and quality, the room was primarily lit by a silver and glass chandelier and the books were plentiful.
"We'll all split up and search the apartment for any clue to where he may have gone. Akira, you take the bedroom and adjourning querters, Kishou you take the library and what's down that hallway" Dorian indicated what he meant with his hands. "I'll take the kitchen and surrounding rooms."
Both Akira and Kishou nodded in understanding. Akira pushed the door that Dorian indicated to. It was indeed the bedroom, the mattress was king sized, but other than that was fairly simple. Beside the bed was a small glass table with two pictures on it. One picture featured Gure in a green military uniform along with many others and Dorian. Beneath that picture was a list of names, all but Gure's and Dorian's were crossed out. The second picture was worn, Akira could see that the corners were frayed from wear even though it was framed. This featured the Mado family before Gure disappeared, they were all smiling, it seemed like they were having lots of fun. Akira smiled fondly at seeing the picture remorsing of the good old times she had with Gure.
Akira continued into the main bathroom. Nothing was missing in it. The shower, although with expensive curtains was just like any other. The sink was made of granite and the faucet was inlaid with gold. The mirror was a different story. The mirror's frame was beautifully crafted into the different poses of wolves, but the glass itself was covered, seemingly hastily by a white cloth and tape. Akira reached out her hand to move away the cloth, muscles tense expecting something hideous behind it. Instead what she found was a clean glass mirror.
Akira moved into the closet. She saw many expensive suits and designer business attire. Some jackets and normal clothes as well, but the majority was formal attire. This time she was looking for the mirror, which she found quite easily and again it was covered up by cloth. She was certain now, there was something that prompted Gure to cover all of his mirrors, and judging how the apartments was as a whole very structured, it was something that was added fairly recently.
Akira exited out of the bedroom hall to find both Dorian and Kishou both waiting her arrival. They both were tense in each other's presence, Dorian far less so, but now that she wasn't blinded by his excess of wealth she saw that around Kishou he acted slightly uncomfortable.
"Did either of you see mirrors that were covered up? I saw two where I looked?" Akira asked trying to verify her earlier suspicion.
"Indeed I did. In the kitchen there was plenty of blood wine and hospital organs. However, there was very little human or ghoul flesh. I don't think that Gure's hunted in quite sometime." Dorian replied.
"I saw that as well. I searched his library and it seems that he likes this fictional series I assume, it's called Project as there are tons of books with that name on it. Other than that I found an art room of all things. Some of the replica's were very well done, such as Benjamin West's painting of The Four Horsemen, which I know is in the Tokyo art museum, as it was the only picture I liked there." Kishou listed.
Akira noticed that after Kishou mentioned the book series Dorina's face darkened, "I can assure you that every picture there is an original. The book 'series' as you called it isn't fictional. It's a collection of what happened at… the place Gure and I were kept. Not memories I wish to relive, so don't ask."
"Dorian, as you know the most about Gure, do you have any idea where he went?" Akira interrogated.
"Yes, the other possibility I mentioned earlier." Dorian replied in a grim tone. "It's the area were both me and Gure were turned into ghouls. It's not that far drive from here. It's in the fourth ward."
"Why would anyone wish to turn anyone into one of those beasts! No offense to you Dorian."
"I do take offense. Ghoul's can't help that the only source of food that they can acquire is flesh! Not like the CCG has helped at all" scoffed Dorian.
"Let's just go and see if Gure is there." Flatly stated Akira breaking up the coming fight.
The party went down the elevator and exited the building going to the limo. Akira could see that Sam was reading the newspaper. All members of the group entered the car without incident, although Kishou kept giving Dorian the evil eye when his back was turned.
"Sam, take us to Keio University Hospital in the fourth ward."
"I'll be there in a couple of minutes." came the reply from Sam.
"I thought you said that ghouls were created there. Keio University is where all the great CCG doctors go. There isn't anything fishy about that place." stated Kishou in a factual manner.
"(sigh) It will be easier to show you. Just let me explain and please stop questioning me over these senseless issues." Replied Dorian tiredly. "We're here. Follow me and both of you, please don't say anything unless I say that you can." Dorian gave both of them a look to show that he was very vehement about that.
The group of three walked into the University hospital, the light from the now setting sun made the hospitals shadow appear long and hostile. The group entered via the front door and was greeted by the receptionist. "Welcome, how can I help you this evening?"
"I have a friend of mine in room seven-thirty-one. Can me and my partner's see him?"
"Yes… you can." stuttered out the receptionist.
With a nod of his head Dorian headed off down the hallway with purpose in his stride. Akira and Kishou followed, Akira was trying to remember if the hospital had seven hundred rooms, as her memory stated that it did not. "If the room hasn't been occupied than we know Gure can't be here."
"That would be true if we were going to the hospital, but we aren't. We're going under it." Flatly stated Dorian in a bored manner.
After a long walk through winding hallways and many doors with various name plates Dorian stopped in front of a normal looking door. It's number however wasn't seven-thirty-one.
"Is this the right room?" quizzically asked Akira.
"Yes it is" answered Dorian, his voice full of dread and lacking his usual class. He opened the door and walked through.
Inside the door was a normal hospital room, no windows were on the walls and most of all there wasn't a patient in the room. Dorian started fumbling around with the bed obviously looking for something. After sometime he stopped and with a light smile on his face proclaimed to them, "behold, the door to hell." As if on que the wall opposite from the door dropped down. Akira couldn't make out any of the features of the new entrance due to its foreboding lack of light. "Follow me, and stay close I'm not sure how dangerous it is anymore." With that Dorian stepped through the door. Akira and Kishou followed close on his heels.
-Gure POV earlier that day-
It had been an hour since his life was split. On one side he was still cared about by his sister, but on the other he would be hunted by his father without time to explain. All things considered some things took priority.
Gure had already stopped by his apartment earlier and had changed into a dapper ocean blue suit and a paisley blood red tie. He threw his bloodied clothes haphazardly in his room, he wouldn't be going back there until things blew over. Currently he was at a park in the fourth ward.
Gure pulled out his phone a button on speed dial. After some rings someone on the other end picked up, "I take it things didn't go as you planned did they" scoffed Mr. Washuu.
"No they did not. I wish to inquire as to how this affects our agreement. I am happy to keep my end of the bargain up, as long as you make sure I'm not hunted and my business goes unchecked." Stated Gure in an even tone.
"Well, if negotiations fail we both realize it's a loss. But I want something more, let's say to quell over your father."
"No can do. We keep it as is or no deal."
"I guess I'll announce tomorrow than that a new high ranking ghoul is in town. Have fun with our war, I know I will." On the ending note Gure heard a cackle on the other end.
"Fine" hissed Gure. "What do you want." he snapped back.
"Simple, I want the file that you have in your possession that details half ghouls. It's a simple request, so I want it by tomorrow, meet me at the headquarters."
"Deal." With that negotiation done Gure hanged up the phone violently. He hated negotiating with the old bastard. Both of them had very strong and different ideas on ghouls, and neither was the type to fold in a game of cards.
After taking some deep breaths Gure pressed another button he had on speed dial. "Mr. Shu. Consider our deal voided due to your actions" snapped Gure.
"What actions! I did as part of our agreement, none of my people were involved in anything with the Mado family." Came the shocked tone from the other end of the line.
"Then who did Mr. Shu. I can assure you that what punishment I will enact upon those that break agreements with me will make you beg for the bloodied scythe of the Grim Reaper to cut you to the deepest pit of hell they will occupy." Coldly replied Gure.
"I. DON'T. KNOW. I'll ask around, but it will cost you."
"Done, we'll negotiate when you have some credit to your name again." On that tone Gure ended the call with a click.
Gure felt the pressure of the day hit him all at once. Tears formed in his eyes, after blinking some trying to stop the flow of emotion being shown a steady stream of tears rolled down his cheek. His legs felt feignt and every nerve in his body was tingling. 'This is why I don't open up! I only get hurt when I leave myself open. NO more!' Gure let out a scream of utter anguish that pierced the surrounding area. Passersby on the streets moved to avoid the boy who was crumpled on the sidewalk bawling.
After some time to calm himself down he picked himself up, wiping the tears off of his face and sniffling some he began walking with purpose. From experience Gure knew that if he could occupy his mind with a task then the horrible pain or his would lessen. The item he needed wasn't in his apartment, but he knew where it was. The reason it wasn't with the other 'Project' files was it was in one of the places he dreaded returning to.