Chapter Six- The wicked games ghouls can play

"Obviously these interrogation tactics are not producing the results we need so perhaps we need to get inventive in obtaining efficient material because right now we have nothing." Ayato lazily remarked leaning against the wall looking bored.

Owl rolled his eyes. The teenage ghoul with the brash attitude wouldn't have dared to speak such insolence if their superior, Tatara, were present. Tatara was overseeing some mission elsewhere and his attention was not focused on the particular individual Ayato was discussing.

To the nonobservant party Ayato was just speaking truthfully since a month had gone by and nothing productive had come from their interrogation of the female Dove a few floors down. However, Owl knew Ayato was trying to mask his trepidation of the missing Hinami who was still held prisoner by the Doves. Tatara had been swift in silencing Ayato's numerous pleads to rescue the pretty girl.

Even from his perch, Owl noticed the dark circles under the teenager's dark, fathomless eyes. This past month had been rough on all of them.

"To be young and in love." The ghoul scoffed aloud but no one paid him attention.

Thankfully, everyone was smart enough not to comment on the numerous casualties produced in relation to the missing investigator. Tatara had killed a ghoul that suggested eliminating the woman already.

Her presence had been announced- finally- a week prior due to several inquiries on the sudden ruthlessness in the CCG's attacks. Unsurprisingly several subordinates were outraged over the Executives' refusal to spill her blood. Many were foolhardy when it came to recognizing she was a chess piece for whatever Eto, the bitch, was plotting.

Owl despised the Aogiri Tree's leader.

Typically, he was indifferent to the ghouls' politics and simply carried out his duties with an uncomfortable amount of glee to test his abilities. For a while, he was the first to volunteer to annihilate ghouls coming to claim Aogiri's territories. It was incredible. He was able to tear his enemies down without any difficulty while testing his skills. The realization of being capable of instantaneous regeneration nearly made the ghoul hysterical with joy.

When Eto began ordering him to exterminate the Doves he accepted the order without any complaint. They had abandoned him in his moment of need so it was their own fault they brought this fate upon themselves. No use crying over spilled milk.

Returning his attention to the bickering he took note of Naki drumming his fingers together nervously while looking around. "I wouldn't say that too loud for Tatara to overhear, Ayato. He's been in a bad mood lately due to the Quinxes' interferences."

And here was the bane of Aogiri's existence. The Quinxes.

If they had been somewhat meddlesome earlier they had grown downright irksome upon learning from a weakling ghoul they had captured of the investigator status. Upon hearing she was alive they wasted no time capturing ghouls to gleam information over their leader's whereabouts. Presently, they knew she was a prisoner and was being kept in one of Aogiri's hideouts that remained concealed from CCG's Intel.

Owl knew it was only a matter of time before the Quinx finally stumbled across some piece of information that pointed to the woman's location.

Many underling ghouls were weary when sent on missions since it was a known fact if they were captured they were either tortured by the higher-ranks in CCG or sent to Cochlea and possibly faced execution if they were deemed unusable.

Owl could understand why some of the members hesitantly voiced releasing the Dove from their custody back to the Quinx to avoid further casualties.

Eto ignored their pleas from the shadows.

She was plotting something. She was always plotting something.

Dr. Kanou seemed to be the most vocal of refusing to release the Dove because he wanted to observe the Quinx's strengths and limitations. There was always some dark agenda going on in the old man's calculating gaze. Many of the ghouls thought of him as some benevolent figure interested in assisting the ghouls' goal of liberation from humans' control of society. He always smiled kindly at ghouls' dreams of freedom from the shadows but Owl knew there was some plot formulating in the back of the old man's dark mind.

Strangely, Eto's own agendas correlated with the doctor's despite their differences. One factor both agreed upon was needing a careful observation of the Quinx's capabilities. But Owl suspected each member had separate views on ways to exploit the human ghouls.

Jealously flared up in Owl for a second as he viciously questioned what purpose the brats were being kept alive for. Surely the children were not that fascinating of a test subject? Owl glowered for a moment before reaching the decision it was probably best to not question the madness of Eto and Dr. Kanou since it never led to good places.

The world was a scary place when madmen with separate ideals reached a settlement on the monsters needing to be in charge of ruling the new world they envisioned.

In the background the One-eyed King's loyal subjects' bickering took to new volumes on methods of dealing with the Quinx.

Settling back against the wall of his perch Owl listened with indifference.

What did it matter? As long as he got to slaughter some investigators he couldn't care less about the ghouls and their politics.

In the White Room…

"Humans are such strange creatures. They always sprout tales of treating one another with kindness and acceptance but in actuality they waste no time in persecuting the nonconformists without any concern into that person's philosophy. Do humans truly have the asinine belief they are messiahs capable of judging one another without conflicts of interest?" Eto took a deep breath before continuing her monologue. "Does your species fail to comprehend one man's hero is another's villain? There is no good or evil despite people's juvenile belief the world is black and white. How many so-called 'righteous' humans and even your kind's 'deemed blessed' saints were slayed without fair trial and even the loss of their dignity? What says you to these facts, human?" Eto began whispering in her muses as she continued speaking rhetorically -or so Akira assumed. "How many people are condemned for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time or…"

Eto slanted her eyes in Akira's direction and the investigator swore in the hollow space of those bandages, where the ghoul's eyes were presumably intact, the ghoul was narrowing her eyes. The ghoul's tone turned mocking as she suddenly switched topics, "Your companions must be fretting the ongoing failures in their endless search for you. Just how long have you been here? A month or two?" Eto giggled. "Unfortunately, the King has grown bored of keeping you prisoner without results. It's a waste of time and ghoul power to keep having subordinates check on you. Therefore, the One-Eyed King has given his demands to the Doves for your release. And if his demands are not met then we cannot guarantee your safe return. Better hope they find the resources needed for your release or-" Eto made a slashing gesture across her throat with her finger.

The human was beyond exhausted at this point by the lengthy, one-sided conversation. Her shoulders were drooped and her head hung down as she felt the urge to sleep overtaking her senses. (Tatara kept making tiny contusions in her legs and later would push his thumbs into the wounds to see how long she could make it without screaming.) The ghoul's condescending attitude finally struck a nerve and the human raised her head to provide her fiercest glare.

The women had a silent stand-down with neither willing to back down.

The ghoul grew bored after a period and shrugged her shoulders in dismissal.

Akira had won the battle but nonetheless it was an empty victory. Still, it was better to rejoice in hollow victories than allow the ghouls to stroke the doubts causing her despair. Right?

The ghoul rolled her head to the side and Akira nearly groaned in annoyance when Eto returned to her former musings. "Or maybe they're condemned simply for being a nonconformist? After all anyone who is different is considered strange and foreign and a threat to the 'natural' order. People are engraved with these ideologies of being good law-abiding citizens." A wistful smile was perceptible under the layers of bandages. The smile spread into Eto's words, " Take that away from them and it would be utter chaos."

Flopping down, Eto crossed an arm under her head. "How magical would it be to see a world without order?"

The ghoul spread her arms wide suddenly, "Given the opportunity I would love to turn this world upside down, give it a good rattle, and wait to see the results."

The human found herself rolling her eyes, a habit she had not done in years. Akira scrunched her face in disgust over displaying such a rudimentary look. "A world without order would be nothing but madness. Have you never read stories involving dystopias? This world you speak of involves endless bloodshed with countless lost of lives; including the deaths of humans and ghouls."

Akira narrowed her eyes, "Do you wish for the annihilation of all life in general?"

A sobering silence filled the atmosphere and Akira held her breath waiting for a response.

The ghoul had stopped kicking her feet. In a tone of complete disgust the ghoul admitted reluctantly, "Forgive me for being brutally honest but if the whole world were to burn I would not shed a hint of remorse. Why mourn the loss of a world which dictated my existence should be wiped out in infancy?"

The ghoul's bitterness was astounding since it made her seem…almost human. The response held no deceit and the honesty struck a nerve a in the human.

The human's eyes widened before she was able to mask her expression.

There was vulnerability in Eto's words. Some long held grudge had appeared in the brief moment of honesty.

Akira took this brief display of openness and locked onto the words for analysis later.

It certainly helped to pass the time as she was locked away with her thoughts as her only companion in those fleeting moments of respite.

This was one of many habits she had developed to maintain her sanity. Given time to process any information, gathered from tidbits of conversations with the ghouls, helped her form strategies should she manage to escape. So far she had detected a new sense of urgency in the ghouls' actions and a newfound irritation over some unknown source outside her confine.

Akira prayed the irritation was related to the CCG possibly honing in on their location.

Since her imprisonment she had learned to take everything with a grain of salt to avoid being crushed with disappointment. With this reflection the woman recalled a time in the past she was taken to the CCG's prison, Cochlea, to bear witness ghouls condemned for execution. She had been a trainee and her instructors were providing glimpses at the monsters the students would soon be battling. Her intuition allowed her to determine which ghouls were newly captured and which had been here for a lengthy period based on the look in their eyes.

The recently captured bared their teeth and allowed their kakugans to show as they attempted to intimidate the students. A few of her classmates shrank back in terror but she observed the creatures with an engrossed curiosity. In her mind she had imagined the creatures to be monstrous in form and nothing more than beasts maddened with hunger.

Instead, these creatures bore humanoid forms and could have easily passed as someone you encountered in the marketplace or a businessman working tirelessly to complete piles of paperwork.

This realization brought little comfort. No wonder it was difficult determining who were the humans and who were the monsters.

Turning her attention away from a ghoul with unruly hair and an unkempt appearance she took notice of an older female ghoul sitting somberly in the corner. The female ghoul did not raise her eyes nor activate her kakugan. She could easily have been unnoticeable in the shadows. Her eyes were vacant and Akira suspected the ghoul's mind was universes away.

One of the scientists carrying a notepad flipped through some papers and announced boastfully, "Ghoul #729 has been marked for execution. She will be killed tomorrow morning, before mealtime, to bide us time to prepare for a new arrival."

A few students shuddered as they continued on the tour but Akira's eyes lingered as she slowly walked away. On that day she had witnessed firsthand the despair of ghouls imprisoned in Cochlea who learned no one was coming to their rescue.

The scientists had furthered explained the ghouls either succumbed to madness or attempted suicide. The scientists jokingly said, without remorse, they suspected the creatures were trying to maintain ownership over their fates before the wardens made the final decision. The wardens had final say if the ghoul was worth preserving or should be disposed.

A hidden part of Akira felt a kindling of pity towards the creatures. Duty overtook the feelings of pity as she looked away from the ghoul to continue on her tour. Her feelings of wanting to protect her parents' legacy and reputation overruled sentimentality.

As a young woman Akira had to teach herself early on to become detached in her line of work. It was often difficult since the ghouls possessed humanoid forms. It was easy to develop sympathy towards the ghouls until you read reports of their brutal methods in acquiring their food.

Her intuition had saved her at a young age from feelings of guilt towards exterminating these creatures as she read one particular report of a ghoul slaughtering a classroom of children on a fieldtrip.

Then there was the ghoul that had brutalized her mother to the point they could not even have an open casket for the funeral.

Akira clenched her hands into fists before returning to the present.

Duty called.

Maintaining a neutral expression Akira mentally ran through a list of reports on the ghoul before her. She only had minimal information on Eto since the ghoul tended to work behind the scenes. The ghoul made few appearances in public and she was often flocked by lackeys whenever she graced the CCG with her presence.

In fact, Akira was surprised the ghoul had come out of the shadows to deal with her.

Whatever plan the ghouls were conducting must have been crucial since they chose to forsake their sacred oath of stealth to remain in the shadows. Aogiri Tree was composed of vipers waiting to strike.

And when they struck the hit hard she thought gloomily as memories of the Anteiku Raid resurfaced.

The ghouls were providing opportunities by choosing to put themselves in vulnerable positions.

And speaking of vulnerabilities…

And even more surprising was the ghoul's choice in revealing such personal and private thoughts. The ghoul was often an enigma the show of vulnerability was a strange, unsettling display. Especially when the chosen audience was a member of a faction bent on the ghoul's extinction.

Just what was Eto up to?

An urge to get the ghoul to offer more confessions overtook the human but she chose the path of silence to protect herself from raising the ghoul's suspicion. If the ghoul sensed a hidden agenda she would deploy a counterargument to ward the human's suspicions in a new direction.

The investigator was wrapped up in contemplation and failed to notice Eto had resumed talking.

Now Eto was rambling about ghoul ideologies and Akira regrettably had to admit the young ghoul was fairly intelligent showing a surprising amount of rationality. Eto was on the subject about needing humanity to consider the factor of ghouls incapable of controlling their biology. "It's not like ghouls chose to be born as creatures requiring human flesh to survive. We were simply created this way," was repeated over and over.

While listening to the ghoul's musings Akira had to reflect on the factor about growing intrigued with the ghoul's philosophies. The horrific question on whether she was developing sympathy towards the ghouls ran through her mind. Upon this revelation Akira squashed the feelings of admiration from further development and went back to the task of collecting information. Eto was trying to stir the pot with this discussion and force the human into developing sympathy.

Akira faintly suspected Eto was going to use the tactics of making Akira develop Stockholm Syndrome if she wasn't careful. The ghoul had grown quite determined in making Akira recognize there were few distinctions between the two species' wish to live peacefully.

"Don't give these thoughts room to grow," Akira reminded herself. After all, for a creature hell-bent blathering on about peace, her associates did not share the same sentiments based on their ruthless attacks within the past years.

The investigator listened intently to the ghoul's ramblings with weariness. She never knew where the ghoul stood. She questioned what this topic would encroach upon the young woman's psyche.

Eventually she was going to become brainwashed if the ghouls decided to starve her again. The human was tough but starvation could turn the body into an enemy in its' struggle to survive.

The child ghoul held the human's life in her tiny hand. She could make all the insincere claims of wanting to develop camaraderie with the investigator but her actions spoke otherwise.

This ghoul was a contradiction in the truest sense.

One minute the ghoul spoke with a tone hinting at ancient wisdom developed from grueling circumstances. During these moments she almost seemed capable of being reasoned with; but Akira's intuition recalled the ghoul's unpredictable nature. The next minute found Eto becoming crazed with idle wishes of wanting to bash the investigator's skull in just for the sheer fun of it.

As time went on the threats began dwindling until they were nothing more than empty words said lethargically like lines written on an unseen script.

A fleeting moment of joy was found in the woman's hopeful wish the ghoul had grown bored with the threats due to the looming presence of the CCG closing in. The feeling was short-lived. Better to face reality with cool logic then fall victim to empty hopes.

Then again, the threats had turned empty when the spies had presented information on the investigator's pet peeves to the Executives.

The ghouls had joyfully discovered, to the woman's irritability, having an disorganized schedule aggravated the human to the point of fuming. Some of the subordinates had been instructed to keep changing mealtimes and undergo other odd tasks to baffle the human.

One ghoul, probably dared by Eto, came in during Akira's nap to sing a displeasingly sounding opera verse. The human had been so tired she didn't bat any eye at the strange display. The ghoul, on the other hand, looked overcome with shame and slunk out of the room with an imaginary tail between its' legs.

Whatever the ghoul had done to displease Eto this was probably the least shameful punishment Eto handed out.

While pretending to sleep she overheard two ghouls mentioning how Eto gouged the eyes out of one of their accomplices for getting ambushed by a CCG investigator. She strained her ear to try picking up a name but the ghouls were idly chatting about the grotesque image.

God, it was good to not be a member in this chaotic organization.

She could handle naps being interrupted.

Although there was a time the human nearly had a conniption fit when the ghouls put up a flashy Christmas tree claiming it was 2024. They were sweating profusely from a recently undertaken mission in the heat clueing her in to the deceitfulness. (The Executives had started to allow certain subordinates to come check on her recently, instead of coming on their own, so something was definitely up.)

For a wistful moment Akira swore she smelled a lingering fragrance of coffee on one of the ghouls coming for guard duty. The human nearly begged the random ghoul to stay just for a few more moments in the aroma.

She longed for the time when there was a daily-established routine. She would wake up, drink some coffee, look over newspapers for possible ghoul incidents, then go to work and begin working on assignments. After the day was finished she would return home to feed the cat and get ready for bed.

Akira could have killed for a cup of coffee at that moment.

Tears had nearly welled in her eyes when the ghoul checked the room over and left without another response.

The human was reminded of days spent sipping on the steamy goodness as she listened to her colleagues gripe.

Some of her more boisterous colleagues at CCG claimed she lived a monastic lifestyle and needed to unwind.

Akira would smile and repeatedly informed them she enjoyed her repetitive lifestyle and held no desire for change much to their disbelief. Not everyone her age understood her preference but she ignored them. She was also weary of going out in public with them since they had a blatant disregard for remaining inconspicuous while doing dirty deeds. Her intuition had proven correct on many occasions when she overheard gossip of reprimands given out to the partygoers for unprofessionalism.

It did not surprise her when she was considered for higher positions on a relatively faster rate than her classmates. Many of the younger crowd treated their occupation as a game or form of entertainment and sadly many got killed in combat due to their hubris.

Akira had to snap at many new recruits who treated the job as some fantasy role-play of being knights sent to defeat the beasts.

Now here she was snapping at ghouls to become more inventive in fashioning ways of torture. If they were putting forth effort to find ways of breaking her then they needed to move beyond the juvenile methods currently displayed.

Tatara and Eto had a certain proficiency in their arts these ghouls lacked. At least their methods provided results she thought glumly.

The human began exploiting her coping skills frequently since this was the only way to deal with the unpredictably in her life.

Should she ever escape she was going to spend a month doing nothing more than cuddling with her gray fluff of a cat, Maris Stella, and sipping a variety of coffees.

Her stomach gurgled at the thought.

Sparing a glance down Akira was still astonished to find meat on her bones after the ghouls, namely Tatara, had begun force-feeding her. When she made inquests about whether they were fattening her up for later pickings Tatara was brusque in pinching her cheeks inward to force her jaw open.

The ghouls would not respond to her questions directly but one ghoul had muttered something about, "skeletons aren't fun to eat."

If this was another tactic of forcing her to develop Stockholm Syndrome then they were failing miserably. The loud grumbling in her stomach served as a reminder. She chanced another look down. Her skin bore blue and black bruises still but her bones had started to repair themselves.

She knew this because in those few scarce hours without forced interaction she was left with the agonizing focus of feeling her bones ache and groan as they slowly rejoined together. (Eto had taken the pleasure of relocating a few bones because she 'felt bad about their lack of treatment options.')

There was the spine-tingling fear the ghouls were attempting to perform barbaric experiments on her body since they had begun administering some type of liquid substance into her water during meals. Whatever the substance being added into the water it was accelerating the healing process to an astronomical rate. Her bones were no longer fragmented and the contusions were slowly disappearing.

A prayer was whispered in hopes they weren't administering some substance to transform her into a mutant. With her luck they would turn her into their latest experiments.

The woman shuddered as she questioned if they would expose her to the same experimentation as the captured CCG agents. Akira did not want to imagine transforming into a half ghoul.

She refused to give the thought foundation.

Sadly, the ghouls continued to break a few bones here and there to remind her of her place. The substance made the pain feel agonizing and uncomfortable while Eto's mechanisms were slightly aggravating at most.

The stroke of irony in the situation was not lost on Akira.

A monster providing better treatment than medicine; who would have thought?

While relocating the bones, Eto kept making shushing sounds in a patronizing tone similarly to a disgruntled mother bandaging a flesh wound. The image of Eto as a mother made the human's spine shiver.

Akira barely resembled her former glory as a nicely put together investigator with a polished appearance but she was looking better than her skeletal side a few weeks prior.

With a few more pounds added maybe she would have just enough strength to work on another escape. If nothing else she could find some means of sending a message to the CCG. The room with the numerous container bins was operated by electricity surely there was a computer somewhere she could obtain access to send out an SOS message?

Her mind had run over this fact fervently since her last failed attempt. The cargo was being shipped off to different locations based on the labels stuck on the sides. Therefore, a message could easily be concealed in one of the containers. She prayed the third party was a neutral party and not a ghoul sympathizer.

Her mind focused on information she had obtained throughout the past weeks. It occurred to her since the base was running on electricity then surely there could be a phone nearby? If she could find a phone and manage to send out a call then, if nothing else, the CCG could trace the call if she got lucky.

Trying to get out at her present state would be futile since she barely had the strength to stand on her own. She needed to use some manipulation to make the ghouls drop their guards.

A few of the subordinates had paid little attention to the human when she tried to scratch at the rope when she was testing their hearing capabilities. The subordinates, while possessing a diverse range of skills, still paled in comparison to their superiors. Tatara and Eto easily picked up on the sound compared to the goons.

The human needed to adapt to the ghouls' methods and try her own hand in applying their tactics.

In some of the crime novels she used to read the captives would trick their captors into taking pity on their situation and use their kindness to their advantage. Sadly, this method could not be used presently since she was never allowed more than two minutes alone with the other ghouls.

Evidently, they were given strict instructions to perform the tasks religiously and then leave before the human could attempt interacting.

Although if things were starting to sour some of the ghouls might be willing to spare their time to discuss a possible allegiance with the human to protect their hide when the CCG invaded. "If they manage to invade," the dark thought appeared. The ghouls feared the CCG; if she were to play on their fears she might have a chance of tricking her captors into cooperating with her.

Or maybe…

The human's face had taken a determined look but she allowed her expression to droop when a sharp glare was sent in her direction. The human allowed her mind to draw blank as she drew features into a vacant expression to ward off suspicion.

The human wanted to roll her eyes if it would not have drawn attention. She was acting as though Eto could read minds. True, the ghoul was perceptive of her surroundings but she was not capable of telepathy.

During Akira's silence the ghoul had snagged a book out from underneath the cart for quiet reading. Eto had a habit of coming in here to read lately. At first she questioned whether the ghoul was trying to pass the time but had taken notice to Eto studying certain pages.

The ghoul had even nodded at certain portions and would dog-ear the page for future examination.

Was Eto hoping to take tips from these books to try her hand at writing? Perhaps the ghoul would dabble in politics and discuss how flesh-eating monsters deserved to have public rights.

The thought nearly made the human chuckle.

The two women quietly observed one another before Eto grew bored and returned to reading her book, The Trials, by Franz Kafka. Flipping the page over the ghoul skimmed the words while kicking her legs up and down lying on the table with the instruments.

The ghoul seemed to find enjoyment in discussing novels relating to analyses of society as a crap-sack world. She especially enjoyed rambling about the books' vivid details on characters with indoctrinated viewpoints of humans refusing to accept the "odd ones."

Akira bit her tongue to point out many of these novels were written by authors diagnosed with depression in modern times or living in a time period where the world was not under the best circumstances. Society had come a long way from the time of Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Reading was a guilty pleasure in the evenings back home; but Akira preferred detective stories due to a fascination with wanting to solve the mystery in the story.

Eto appeared to focus on novels involving characters with deplorable personalities. The more barbaric the character the happier Eto's mood became.

The human lost her composure recently when Eto was reading a novel with images scattered throughout the story of mythical creatures. Eto found a picture of a ginormous monster with sharp fangs dripping with saliva and tapped a finger on the image. "Look Dove, it's a picture of you."

Akira bore her teeth at the Dove in response earning a chuckle.

Both species considered the other a monster, when would these assumptions change?

With the increasing feelings of fulfillment entering her belly she found herself growing bolder. Occasionally she had to mentally kick herself whenever she felt the need to educate the ghouls. She could feel an over consuming urge to pry open the ghouls' minds and fill their head with facts instead of blind assumptions.

Pondering over this thought Akira 's intuition picked an unwelcoming moment to remind her of the humans' blind assumptions on ghouls. For a while the CCG assumed ghouls were creatures that came out solely at night because they were composed of shadows!

Shaking her head Akira crinkled her nose as she gathered her thoughts to provide an articulate explanation on why Eto was incorrect.

"You speak of people choosing brutality and unkindliness to deal with things they fear," Akira spoke carefully, "but isn't it through small actions of kindness and education that can change an ignorant man into an enlightened individual?"

A pang of fear hit Akira when Eto's fingers clenched the book tighter. The human feared the spine would break. "You idiot, why worry about the book's spine when yours is about to get crushed?" Akira thought humorlessly.

The ghoul was unnervingly quiet for a few moments before choosing to speak.

Those few seconds lasted a lifetime in Akira's opinion.

Flipping the page, Eto mused, "Poor naïve, little Akira, it must have been rough growing up with only your father to indulge you in quaint little tales of people defeating the "evil beings" through love and unselfishness."

Eto's tone turned mocking, "Only those who have lived a sheltered life can sprout such foolishness as education and other resemblances of acts of humanity can help to change the world."

Eto turned her head to look at the human, scrutinizing for a reaction possibly.

A sudden burst of anger flared up in Akira's mind and she nearly blanked out. A rush of emotions swam through Akira, ranging from revulsion over the ghoul having knowledge over her deceased father, and blind fury to inflict pain. If there was one short fuse Akira possessed it was people mocking her father.

Panic was also starting to settle in on why the ghoul had taken an interest in her personal life.

Breathing through her nose she reminded herself to maintain her composure since the ghoul was trying to goad her into an argument.

Akira took a deep, calming breath before speaking. "But providing the tools to educate the public has been shown to sway the opinion of the masses if done correctly. You cannot fight hate with hate. It's not necessarily foolishness to hope for a better world when people come together to reach an understanding. Just comparing present time with the past has shown how the power of a few opposing parties helped to change the course of history. Fascinating isn't it?"

The human was praying the ghoul would see some reasoning in her explanation but it did not escape Akira's attention her presentation was solely focused on humans finding peaceful solutions to counter discrimination. The existence of ghouls had just come into the light fairly recent in the grand scheme of things. It was hard to argue for a new species, whose acts of violence was scattered across newspaper articles, receiving the same courtesy of representation.

Hate should not be fought with hate but it was hard to counter fear when society had painted ghouls as diabolical entities. Even now Akira still held suspicions, despite being the supervisor to the Quinx. She had come into contact with fiendish creatures without remorse several times that it was hard to imagine benevolent ghouls.

Eto slammed the book shut and sat up. The ghoul twisted around to face the other woman. Eto peered at Akira menacingly. She began to kick her heels against the table and seemed to enjoy watching Akira flinch with every pound on the table's legs.

The sound of the lights buzzing did not help the pressure building in Akira's head. With the lengthy periods of silence as a companion loud noises were unwelcoming to her eardrums.

"You never cease to amaze me with your ignorance. Typical for a human," Eto replied crossly. "Humans are quick to praise the advancement of their species but fail to mention their past acts of violence. Tell me, did humans not enslave one another and butcher those they deemed unworthy of life?" Eto cupped the back of her ear and pretended to listen for logic Akira was too fearful to provide. "The Dove wishes to discuss the theoretic of humans evolving yet fails to mention ghouls deserving the same privileges. How privileged are you that you cannot see there are barely any difference between your species and mine? Even with my advanced hearing I doubt I'll hear one human advocate on the behalf of ghouls."

Dropping her hand Eto slammed her heels against the metal and appeared to enjoy the vibration of the metal in response. Angling her head the ghoul grew silent as she waited for a response.

The human gave a deadpan expression, resisting the urge to ridicule the ghoul, and instead chose the safer option of retort. "It's difficult to declare rights to a species whose existence is only coming into mainstream attention. People are still under the impression ghouls are nothing more than an urban legend meant to scare young children. And when they hear news of ghouls being tangible creatures it's related to a mass murder of human civilians."

Akira locked eyes with the pools of darkness. "Knowing this information, and the horror stories told of ghoul acts of violence, you expect people to willingly agree to your species habiting the same environment in which they feed? Humans are not going to feel comfortable sharing the same area decreed a feeding ground for ghouls."

"Don't patronize me, Dove. Humans had barely begun the art of language through connecting words together to form sentences before they began killing one another for land and food. It's truly astonishing how many creatures had roamed this planet before humans came into existence and yet they still believed themselves the superior species! A millennium has passed and humans still consider themselves the rulers of this planet."

"You're missing the point I'm trying to make," Akira fussed exhaustively.

Eto clenched the table firmly and tilted her head further to the side at an awkward angle that made Akira feel uncomfortable. There was nothing human in that pose. Something Eto picked up on and seemed to take pleasure in.

"Because there is no logic in your proclamations. Here you sit claiming humans have evolved and are capable of change, yet you refuse to take my rationale into consideration. Not once have you mentioned any progress on humans' end to recognize ghouls as creatures capable of deciphering between good and evil. Because we require different substances to survive we have become nothing more than fantasy creatures that haunt one's nightmares. Perhaps humans are not as magnanimous as you perceive foolish girl."

Something in Akira exploded, like a ticking time bomb just waiting for someone to pull the plug and Eto had managed to find the plug in that moment. Looking back, Akira would question if it was the month of torture, the mention of her father, or blind hatred that drove the onslaught of words that poured from her mouth like poison.

The swarm of anger burst within Akira. These arguments were proving futile and she was beyond exhausted arguing herself into a corner. No matter what she said Eto would find fault. Humans and ghouls were just not capable of understanding one another.

She was foolish for even attempting to reason with this monster.

"How could anyone with a conscience grant you permission to live, Monster? You may look like a human, you may socialize with humans, you can even make-believe living the life of a human but it doesn't make you a human! Your species has done nothing but inflict pain and cannibalize each other like foul, mindless beasts. Do you know how many times I've gone for a cleanup job and found dead ghouls slain by their own brethren for food? You want to exercise the right to live in the same world as my species? Over my dead body will I ever allow your kind to slay one more ignorant human for sport since ghouls are incapable of nothing more than senseless violence!"

Panting heavily, she awaited whatever punishment would come.

Death was looming over the human but she couldn't find it within her to care.

Better to die arguing than sitting like a lamb awaiting the butcher's knife.

Chuckling darkly, Akira leaned back flinching as her bruised back rubbed against the metal. Tatara had grown tired of the "stench of human filth" and had dragged the human to a lavatory to urinate and clean herself up. There were no mirrors in the room so she was given a small reprieve of not having to view her pitiable state. Throwing some sack-like wardrobe at her, he ordered the human to change. After finishing the task he dragged the woman back and bind her again into the uncomfortable posture.

Akira nearly screamed in frustration after having a taste of moving her legs again. Even with the broken ankle she sought some pleasure in moving her stiff joints.

Smiling toothily, to the point she was nearly baring her teeth, Akira summarized, "It's pointless trying to reach an understanding when there is none to be found. No matter how much you desire living out in the open the world will never accept a monster in its' midst. Deny it all you want but you'll never be seen as anything other than a monster, ghoul."

When a pregnant silence followed Akira swore the room had grown smaller. Her nerves stood on end as she waited for what punishment would follow.

Although a small fraction of pettiness was found in the thought of the ghoul having to accept defeat if she injured the human. The pettiness became nearly enticing when she imagined Eto being stuck in a state of Limbo. If the ghoul attacked her then she would be proving Akira correct in ghouls being mindless monsters. The other option was to ignore the human's taunts no matter how infuriating.

No matter which situation Akira would prove the victor.

The victory was almost delicious.

Eto had stopped kicking her feet to resort to simply boring holes into the human's head. The human had the impression the ghoul wanted to throttle her. The ghoul stayed silent for quite some time before she cocked her head to examine the human further. The positioning was rather unnerving with the tiny ghoul's frame. It was a mocking display crossed between childlike curiosity and a predator examining their prey.

When several minutes of silence followed her outburst Akira nearly snapped at the ghoul to sit properly since she eerily reminded Akira of an owl.

Thinking of the word "Owl" alone conjured images of the monstrous ghoul who ruined their mission on Anteiku years prior. Thankfully, Akira had not been present at the battle with the beast but images were taken of the ghoul fleeing. The thing was gigantic and nothing about it seemed probable. There was no way something that horrendous could live in the natural world.

There were other reasons Akira preferred for the ghoul to remain a thing of myth.

A painful reminder of a past tucked away in the blanket of memories sprung up as Akira remembered stories of the "One-Eyed Owl" butchering her mother.

And supposedly the very same "One-Eyed Owl" was a member of the Aogiri Tree's organization. How the "One-Eyed King" kept that creature under its' control was a topic of discussion among the investigators. Most of the investigators were split between the opinions that Aogiri Tree kept human slaves for the ghouls to feast on, while others believed the King had tortured the creature into submission.

Akira was in the small portion questioning whether the ghouls were not two separate identities. Perhaps the Executive's "One-Eyed King" and the "One-Eyed Owl" were the same person? When Akira had voiced this opinion her teammates had scoffed at the idea.

"Not a chance in hell that mindless beast was able to unit a colony of ghouls into forming a militant organization," one investigator voiced, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Another had piped in, "Yeah, the Owl is simply a mad beast the King releases occasionally to handle difficult affairs. Everyone knows that monster has killed some of the most promising investigators within the CCG! Nothing can stop the creature; it's impermeable. "

A somber silence had followed with investigators shuffling their feet with furtive glances shot in Akira's face as her expression darkened. A chill had gone down the groups' spines as Akira coolly noted, "Nothing is impermeable if you just happen to know an enemy's weak point."

Said weak point was a tear in the side of the ghoul's armor caused by Arima's blow.

If she were ever able to meet the "One-Eyed Owl" she would make every effort to eliminate the creature that killed her mother and drove her father to madness in his despair.

All good things came with time so she needed to tread carefully in seeking information.

In time she would make inquires to the Executives about the "One-Eyed Owl" that caught a group of her colleagues off-guard before slaughtering them like animals. After the incident, the "Non-Killing Owl" and "One-Eyed Owl" had vanished. Reports of the Owl's sightings had grown smaller and smaller until there was nothing but rumors of the ghoul's existence.

Maybe Eto could be tricked into revealing information?

The ghoul continued staring at the human with detachment etched into her posture.

The ghoul remained silent. And eventually the inhuman qualities of the strangely silent ghoul made Akira's skin crawl. She preferred the chatterbox version to this alien creature.

"Could you please stop staring at me in that position? What are you, an owl?" snapped Akira.

The ghoul responded by moving her head to the opposite shoulder.

If Akira were capable of moving her hands she would have thrown them in the air.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" the ghoul taunted.

"While I'll admit you're unnerving at times there's another legendary Owl that is much more worrisome in comparison."

Eto chuckled eerily.

Akira narrowed her eyes, "Is something funny?"

Eto shrugged, "Sorry but you'll have to be more specific. After all there are three Owls in existence, unless you mean the actual bird?"

"I'm not talking about Taki- the artificial ghoul if that helps narrow down the list," responded Akira coldly.

"Oh I see, you're either referring to the Non-Killing Owl," Eto's voice went from astonished to dark without warning, "or the One-Eyed Owl that killed your friends and mother from what I read."

Akira' heart stopped beating.

"Bingo."

"How does she know that?" thought Akira franticly.

Eto chuckled and began swishing her feet in front of her. "Surely you must have known my subordinates did their research on you during their surveillances? In order to acquire a target you have to get to know them from the inside out. Why should I waste my time knowing your boorish daily activities?"

Eto dropped down to circle the table. "No, you have to learn everything. The things they love, the things that make them tick, the things they fear the most," Eto reached down to look for something. There were rustling sounds as she moved objects. "Just knowing a person's physique and schedules is boring."

The child ghoul clicked her fingers as she supposedly found the item she sought.

Akira waited with baiting breath as Eto stood up holding something under her arm. "My men found this in your office recently. They said you were reading this story to Quinx member, Saiko Yonebashi, when she tagged along with Haise Sasaki for a visit."

Akira's breath hitched as she watched Eto drop a book on the table.

"They overheard you telling the curious girl about the book on fairytales. Apparently your father kept it on his desk next to a drawing you drew of him as a child back when he was alive?" the ghoul inquired. "Never thought the Mados with their legendary intuition were the type to keep mementos."

"Ho-how did you get that?" Akira stammered. Sweat pooled down her face as she nearly convulsed.

Eto tiptoed her fingers across the book's cover. If Akira had her quinque she would have sliced the girl's fingers off.

Akira knew the book in depth, she probably knew the book's skin better than her own. She grew up examining the cover of a little girl sitting underneath a starry sky, gazing with affection at an elderly woman reading her a story. Even though her memory was blurry on some of the details, she remembered a soothing female voice reading her stories of adventurers, children battling evil wizards, some domineering queens, and other such monsters.

"Some of my men managed to get ahold of it when your companions began clearing out your office since you've been listed as killed in combat on the registry."

"It's a lie, it's a lie, it's a lie," Akira thought the words like a broken record.

"But when you describing this book to the Quinx girl you mentioned something they found interesting," Eto said with enthusiasm.

Akira nearly bolted from the chair when Eto opened the book to run her finger down the list of stories.

"Didn't your mother use to read these stories to you?"

Akira clenched her teeth as she began quaking with anger.

"Based on your response I take that as a yes," Eto flipped through the pages humming a faint tune.

Akira froze as she recognized the tune of the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" her mother used to hum to her when Akira began drifting off to sleep while her mother read. She had told Saiko about this book privately when the teenager inquired about the children's book her Maman's 'Mama' had on her desk.

The investigator had no clue people had been listening in with ill intents.

Akira had even laughed while attempting to hum similarly to her mother per Saiko's pestering. Too bad Akira did not possess the gentleness of her mother when it came to the maternal instincts. Saiko had poked fun on "Mama's' bad humming skills but stopped when she received a scolding from Haise.

Her heart cracked as she thought about those kids.

Would she ever see them again?

The ghoul flipped through the chapters until she regrettably found the bend on a corner to mark the page.

"Foooouunnddd it!" Eto sang in that inhuman voice Akira had grown to detest.

Akira clenched her hands into fists as she pulled at the bindings.

"The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter? Never picked you for a romantic," Eto looked up, "then again you're full of surprises aren't you?"

The way Eto phrased the second portion made Akira pause, but she quickly forgot her questions, when Eto began humming the tune as she began to read the introduction.

Thrashing against her bindings, Akira went blind with rage and attempted to fling herself at the ghoul .The ghoul stopped reading to muse out loud. "It must be difficult hearing the story your mother used to read to you while knowing you'll never hear the sound of her voice reading again."

"If I were the sentimental type I would pity you," Eto admitted somewhat bitterly.

Who in the hell did the ghoul think she was to sound bitter over another woman's deceased mother spending time with her daughter? That time was precious to Akira so the ghoul had no right to mock her!

"Shut up."

Eto paused; leaning forward she asked innocently, "Sorry, I didn't hear what you were saying."

Akira screamed. "I said shut the fuck up!"

Killherripheraparttearherlimbsoff

A chorus of words strung together in Akira's fury. Savageness consumed her as she wanted to strangle the ghoul. The human would have sold her soul for the opportunity to watch the ghoul die by her hand.

Such was her fury.

Eto placed her fingers against her lips, "Hmm…"

Akira's eye twitched. This was not the response she was hoping to elicit. The angry beast inside Akira roared in fury over the lack of response.

Before she could offer another scathing retort the ghoul shocked her once again.

Akira blanched when the ghoul silently landed before her, cradling the human's cheek. "There's the human spirit I admire in my adversaries. The human soul's desire to survive and rage against my savage nature is almost breathtaking."

Akira recoiled from the cool touch of Eto's fingers. The touch of cool death seemed to cling to Eto's being. Even now, Akira tried not to shudder as Eto stood before her dressed similarly to a wraith-if one ignored the weird cat ears.

Eto did the owl-like posture again. "Seems you're not entirely broken."

Fire shone in Akira's eyes as she silently stated, "Not in a million years would I die in this place."

An inhuman quality came to Eto's voice, "This is a good sign…"

The human jerked back to escape the ghoul's touch as Eto inspected her. The examination reminded Akira of farmers inspecting cattle. If Eto stuck her fingers in Akira's mouth the human swore to bite those fingers off with all the vindication she could muster.

Jesus, was she being inspected to serve as dinner later?

Eto tilted the investigator's head back to examiner her throat. She ran a finger down Akira's throat and the woman tried not to shudder in repulsion.

"Tatara really should learn not to damage our guests. Just imagine the look on a suitor's face when they see these strangulation marks. Although, some people enjoy that sort of thing…"

At the mention of an innuendo in Eto's words the human snarled. Was she to be traded like some kind of whore?

She attempted to thrash against her chains in an attempt to break them and strangle the ghoul. Her efforts proved futile in her weakened state.

The ghoul chuckled in amusement as she tucked the book under her arm and tilted Akira's head back with a finger under her chin. "This bodes well since it looks like I can precede with the next phase of planning."

Next phase of planning?

The investigator wanted to make some inquires of these plans given time.

Sadly, time was of the essence and it chose that moment to throw a screw in her plans.

The two women seized each other up. The door swooshing open interrupted their silent stare down. Eto did not divert her gaze when the voice of Tatara broke the silence. "Eto, the King would like a word with you."

Eto ignored him initially until the mention of the King piqued her interest. The human was reminded of a dog perking its' ears in interest. Perfect image for the King's lapdog. "Really? Why would he summon me in the midst of an interrogation?"

"There's been some alterations to our plans requiring your input he mentioned," Tatara stated smoothly. Shifting a glance in Akira' direction his eyes narrowed immediately. "This portion of the conversation should be revisited in private."

A shiver ran down Akira's spine when the ghoul released her deathlike grip. Folding her hands behind her Eto leaned forward, "Just what problems has the King encountered requiring my immediate presence to overview these matters? I can't help but ponder his strange methods lately?"

Aogiri Tree was having problems?

Even better, the Ghoul King was having problems? Oh, how the CCG would crave information like this!

There was a hint of insubordination in Eto's wording causing an alarm to go off in Akira's head. Maybe the King would pay a visit to his subordinate to question her disobedience?

Before the human could have a small taste of victory, for finally getting a chance to meet the elusive King, Tatara crushed her hope. Brutally, and without any shred of remorse, "Does it really matter?"

Tatara grew stiff when he felt the looming gaze of Akira. This man was not good at hiding secrets, his rigid posture alone shed light on something bothering him. The more he tried to quiet his companion the more Akira's suspicions grew.

Directing his calculating gaze towards Eto he appeared to be pleading with the ghoul to end the charade and follow him by the way he tilted his chin up.

Picking up on his cues the ghoul stood upright and picked off a piece of imaginary lint. Shrugging, the female ghoul blandly stated, "Guess not."

The ghouls had a silent conversation through a few knowing stares; all the while Akira sat there fuming.

The investigator grew annoyed over how easily they dismissed her presence.

Her annoyance grew to discomfort when Tatara finally took stock of her once the silent exchange ended. "Any thoughts on what the organization should do with this pest? We have no use for her at this point since there has been a change in plans. We need to refocus our efforts on the next phase of planning and stop wasting time on trying to pry pivotal info from the Dove she doesn't possess."

Good to know the ghoul believed her existence was a waste of time. Quite the comforting thought when she was bound and gagged regularly. If she had been a valuable asset to their missions in the past she hated to see what Tatara did to the humans possessing low rank in the CCG.

Did he actually cut off those individuals' limbs?

Eto waved a hand in the air in dismissal to his questioning. "Nah, the organization should keep her alive for a little longer."

"My hero," thought Akira sarcastically. The conversation felt more like a discussion over what entrée to pick from a menu rather than her life. Leave it to ghouls to have full-blown conversations, involving final verdicts, on whether to grant life or death instead of getting straight to the point.

A light overhead flickered uncomfortably. Mixed with the rap of the clock ticks she decided she was already in hell so they might as well grant her death. Maybe she could finally get a moment's rest?

Eto tapped a finger against her chin as she placed an elbow against her crossed arm. The ghoul was calculating something; Akira doubted she would appreciate the results.

"What to do, what to do? There's the option of setting her free but then we would lose a valuable pawn. Worse, she would share information on the whereabouts of our base. Option Two would be your favorite since we could kill the Dove to seek a pitiful excuse at revenge. Once again, we lose our pawn." After several moments pondering, Eto looked over her shoulder to state blandly, "Or there's a third option- she could serve as entertainment for a certain initiate that appears bored lately."

When her colleague gave a questioning look, Eto lifted her arms in exasperation. "The initiate constantly slumping in meetings doing the very exaggerative sigh whenever we're plotting missions."

Eto did a theatrical sigh and crossed an arm over her eyes as she singsong, "All work and no play makes me a dull boy." Tatara remained impassive. Eto lowered her arm and tried a different approach. "I've become what I once feared and now I am fear itself."

The albino retained the same expression, what little could be seen, but recognition lit in his gaze.

Tatara crossed his arms. "If the initiate is 'bored,'" Tatara's eyes darkened, the only indicator of his concealed fury, "perhaps he needs to be enlisted in a new mission? One involving more presence on the battlefield?"

Looking back and forth between the ghouls ignoring her, Akira wondered in her mind, "What initiate?"

She was stunned to realize she shared Tatara's sentiments of annoyance at this initiate for possibly shirking duties due to a lack of commitment. Her mind really was going bonkers if she was getting irritable that due to someone's boredom she was becoming their plaything.

It occurred to Akira they were referring to the initiate as a "he." A sense of womanly dread pooled in her stomach. Hopefully the initiate wouldn't possess a man's diabolical nature in needing to sate certain desires she preferred not to mention.

"If the mongrel touches me inappropriately even the slightest bit I'll pluck his eye out and make him eat it," thought the human crudely, "or I'll force-feed him other unmentionables."

A sigh coming from Eto made Akira return to the conversation.

She needed to focus to gather Intel.

The ghoul sighed, "Despite your cunning and intellect I'm grieved to say, Tatara, there are times you lack imagination. If you observed the initiate with a less arrogant view you would have noticed his inferiority complex is so great that even being in the same proximity as someone he holds jealously towards sends him in a blind rage. Simply put, being so close to someone from his past aggravates the initiate since it stirs unwanted memories of a time he was simply the butt of everyone's' joke."

Now the ghoul decided to pay attention to the human as she blandly stated, "Perhaps we should grant him an opportunity to confront his past in a way where he holds the power to decide the fate of the one he considers his adversary?"

Tatara's gaze grew thoughtful, it was hard to determine with the half-mask covering his expression. "He does appear rather distracted lately after her arrival."

"Exactly, his need to confront her is blinding him on missions."

"If we were to give a mouse a cookie," were the clip words of Tatara, as his attention turned to Akira in a cool assessment.

"He'll follow through on his quest to prove his superior skills in combat. If we were to present her as a gift for performing well in the Auction Raid it could improve his morale and generate improved results on future assignments."

The human's head moved back and forth as she tried to follow the exchange. Just who were they discussing?

She had made several enemies over the years, this initiate they discussed could be anyone.

The battle of wits earlier had exhausted the woman and having to listen to this exchange of evil intentions was downright taxing. She just couldn't keep up at the moment.

"It doesn't sit well with me to offer a pawn a gift for simply following orders but I'm intrigued with how he'll handle her." Tatara shrugged one shoulder in an uncharacteristic move. The albino ghoul showed a softer side around Eto when no one was watching. There was trust established between these two Akira noted. "Nonetheless his boredom is rubbing off on other subordinates so you have my approval if it proves to have a higher turnout rate."

Eto nodded. "Shall we then?"

Before Akira could demand an answer on what the ghoul was plotting, the ghoul struck out lightening fast and knocked the wind out of Akira. Right before she blacked out, Akira internally questioned if there would ever be an opportunity for her to return the favor?

Author's Note: Eventually I'm going to stop having ghouls bitch-slap Akira into unconsciousness but for story's sake it's needed to show how ruthless the ghouls can be in their handling of humans. It's been fun having Akira and Eto exchange differing philosophies, with Tatara's occasional torture sessions, but it's time to start moving onto the next phase of the story. It's been awhile since I wrote but life throws curveballs and adulting makes it hard to find time to write. I appreciate everyone's kind words but I do have a harsh comment to make. Please, please for the love of God don't send me reviews or private messages asking if Akira can be raped. It's not happening in this story simply because I think there's no point in having something so inhumane done to Akira with all the shit she's currently going through. She's damaged but I don't need a fully broken woman. Please be tactful and don't message me about anything relating to rape. It's not happening end of discussion. Hope you all have a wonderful start of year!