The Commission of Counter Ghoul... an organization founded by the mercenary clan known as the Wasshu. As the name implies, Commission of Counter Ghoul, also known as CCG, has had but one goal since it was created.
The complete extermination of all the Ghouls in Tokyo.
Tokyo Ghoul:reBIRTH
"The hell kind of a name is :re?" was the first thing Ginshi asked upon arriving at the coffee shop.
Kaneki was stunned as he admired the exterior, from the simplicity down to the last detail. 'Its just like Anteiku...' he thought in amazement. 'Then again, Touka and Yomo are the ones running it.'
"I don't know who came up with the name, but it stands for a lot of things." Nishiki informed them as he opened the door, a bell ringing to signify the entrance of a customer. "Among them is memories."
Kaneki smiled at that, knowing what sort of memories the name :re wanted to represent. Ginshi and Tooru still looked confused, but followed their teacher and savior inside. The interior was more or less just like Anteiku, having a more refined and calming tone. Small lamps hung from the ceiling, sofas and small stools located here and there to provide comfort to specific guests for seating preferences, a wooden counter with bound stools at the very front. Next it was a bookcase lined with several books, a few of them Kaneki recognized as Sen Takatsuki's works.
"Oi, Yomo." Nishiki greeted from the front as he closed the door behind him. "I brought the rugrats."
"Hey!" Ginshi shouted indignantly, much to Kaneki's amusement. "Who the hell are you calling a rugrat?!"
Kaneki had to stifle a laugh as Ginshi and Nishiki glared at one another, sparks flying as they continued to give each other a heated look. "So..." Tooru asked nervously, looking at the man who was working behind the counter. "That's Mr. Yomo?"
Yomo was a rather tall individual, bearing a small light goatee, and more often than not, was usually wearing a black coat. His hair was like Kaneki's, colored white, spreading out the bangs from the middle and outward. Now, however, he wore a plain white-buttoned shirt and black slacks. Kaneki nodded for confirmation. "Mm. That's him."
"Kaneki-kun." Yomo greeted, nodding his head with one of his rare smiles. "Long time no see."
"That's a hell of an understatement." Kaneki chuckled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"So, is the shitty brat working right now?" Nishiki asked, turning away from his glaring contest with Ginshi. The answer he received was not verbal, but more accurately, a flying pan that slammed straight into his face, causing him to recoil back. "OW! MOTHERF-!"
"Oi, shitty Nishiki!" Kaneki's body froze as he heard the sound of angry footsteps trudge toward them, turning his head slightly. Almost instantly, he felt his breathe become hitched. "Who the hell are you calling a shitty brat?!"
Touka was, for a lack of better words, absolutely beautiful.
Two years had not changed her attitude in the least, but her appearance had, if only slightly. She obviously had gotten taller, her skin looking as beautiful as it had been since the first time he set foot in Anteiku with Hide all those years ago, and her hair had reverted back to it's usual style, dyed a light shade of blue with hints of white.
"That fucking hurt!" Nishiki growled, grinding his teeth together harshly. "What the hell was that for?!"
"For taking your time, dumbass!" Touka shot back hotly. "Seriously, did you decide to take a piss break on the way... here..."
She trailed off when she saw Kaneki, her eyes widening to the point where they seemed to bulge, her anger seemingly deflating. Kaneki just couldn't take his eyes off of her. He knew she was beautiful, but her hot temper could take your attention away like that. Now, however, after having been so used to it... he hadn't realized just how beautiful she was.
"K-Kaneki-kun..." Touka breathed, unable to believe what she was seeing. Even though Nishiki had told her that he had come back, she hadn't fully believed him until now. Her legs started to move long before she realized it, walking toward Kaneki.
"H-hey, Nishiki-san!" Ginshi whispered, bringing himself up on his toes and grabbing the man's shoulder to gain his attention. "Are those two... you know...!"
"Dunno." Nishiki shrugged in response. "In all honesty, those two confuse the hell out of me. Though, with the way those two act around each other... It's a wonder how they've yet to tell each other how they feel."
"T-Touka..." Kaneki finally breathed out. "H-hey... er..."
'C'mon, Kaneki! Think!' a chibi version of him shouted in his head, pounding away at his skull alongside what appeared to be his black-haired self. 'Ask her how's she been! What has she been doing all this time! Don't you dare say, "Hey, how's it going?" You'll know what she'll do if you do!'
Before Kaneki could form some sort of greeting or reply, the girl stunned him by wrapping her arms around his neck.
Almost immediately, Ginshi and Tooru spun around, their backs facing the group, and their voices in hushed whispers. "Dude, they totally are!" Ginshi said excitedly. "And damn, that Touka is a babe! Sas-san totally freaking scored!"
"G-Ginshi-kun!" Tooru's face brightened up with a light shade of red. "W-we shouldn't be talking about this! I mean, what if they overhear?!"
"Oh come on!" the blonde haired teen assured him. "They can't hear us. Unless, of course, you're just jealous..."
"W-what do you mean by that?" the poor girl-er, boy, stuttered. Ginshi's grin unsettled him a great deal.
"Oh, come on, Tooru-chan!" Ginshi waved his hand around. "I know you wanna be treated like a guy and all, but can you really resist those womanly urges? Don't tell you feel nothing for Sas-san?"
If at all possible, Tooru's face became even redder, steam beginning to pour out of her head. "N-no, that's not! Well, m-maybe, b-but they're...!"
Nishiki sighed, shaking his head. 'How did Kaneki get stuck with these idiots?' he couldn't help but wonder. Similar to the Quinx's, the hearing of a Ghoul was just as better, if not more so. '...Wait, did Ginshi just say that Mutsuki wanted to be treated as a boy?!' Doing a complete double take, looking back at Tooru. He hadn't noticed it, but there were the obvious signs, from the smooth looking skin to the round, feminine face to the oddly toned voice. 'I've heard of tomboys, but that's a new one, even for me...'
"You're back..." Touka said, her face buried in his shoulder as her grip around his neck tightened. "You're really..."
"Y-yeah..." Kaneki said as he struggled to breath somewhat. Her grip was as strong as ever, but... couldn't she loosen it up just a little. "It... took me a while..."
The grip became tighter.
"Uh... Touka...?" Kaneki wheezed out, feeling circulation in his neck beginning to. "C-could you... loosen up a bit... I can't..."
The grip became tighter.
"I-I'm serious, I can't..." Kaneki's face starting to turn blue. "B-breathe..."
Crack.
"Y-YEOWCH!"
"Ouch..." Nishiki winced, hearing the familiar sound of a bone breaking. "That had to hurt..."
"Stupid!"
Whack.
"Inconsiderate!"
Whack.
"Idiotic!"
Whack.
"Motherfucking!"
Whack.
"Piece of shit!"
Whack.
"JERK!"
Whack.
"OW!" Kaneki yelped, rubbing the large lump on his head with anime-style tears flowing down his face, his body placed in a semi-fetal position with his hands on his head while Touka stood above him with a cross face, her arms crossed and a scowl marring her beautiful lips. "Okay, I get it! I'm a jerk and a moron! Just PLEASE, stop hitting me!"
"Do you have any idea how worried I was!" Touka screamed at him, her face red with rage. "Seriously, of all the stupid stunts you could pull...!"
"W-wow..." Ginshi sweat-dropped as he, Tooru, Nishiki, and Yomo sat at a nearby table, watching the spectacle unfold while drinking some coffee. "She's got one hell of a temper, doesn't she?"
"You would probably act that way too if you thought one of your friends died and then learned they were alive for two years." Nishiki said nonchalantly as he took a sip of his coffee. "I warned him Touka was gonna kick the crap out of him. So," he looked at Yomo. "how long do you think this will go on?"
"Probably three minutes or so." Yomo shrugged his shoulders. "So, these are the Quinx?"
"Y-yes, sir!" Tooru said a bit loudly, feeling rather nervous, especially with the way Yomo was looking at them. He honestly couldn't tell if the man was constantly glaring at them, or that was just how he looked. "T-Tooru Mutsuki, formerly a Third Class Investigator!"
"Heh." Yomo chuckled, much to her surprise. "No need to be so uptight." he told him as he outstretched his hand. "Renji Yomo. A pleasure."
Tooru took his hand into his. 'His hands are big...' he noted, comparing his to Yomo's. Ginshi grinned as he shook hands with the man as well. "Ginshi Shirazu, nice to meet ya. So, what was Sas-san like back when he was Kaneki and all that?"
Yomo raised an eyebrow, looking at Nishiki. "I only gave them the short version." the Bikaku Ghoul said. "But, I didn't just bring him here to get his ass kicked by Touka." His face then hardened, becoming serious. "Do you know when Nutcracker will be showing up?"
At the mention of the Ghoul, Yomo crossed his arms, closing his eyes, showing he was deep in thought. "Kaneki... he's planning on getting to Big Madam, isn't he?"
Nishiki nodded. "She has info that CCG wants, and chances are, she might even know what happened to Yoshimura."
Yoshimura's eyes widened slightly. "He wasn't killed?" he asked, his eyes showing hope and relief.
"No, according to the reports that Kaneki read back when he was with CCG, the One-Eyed Owl swallowed him whole. Chances are, he's probably being held with Aogiri." Nishiki's face darkened. "And since we busted Rize out, I'd bet they're using him to farm Kakuho's."
Yomo's face darkened. It wasn't hard to imagine that scenario, but it was also raising questions as to why Kanou wanted to create artificial Ghouls in the first place. If what Nishiki was saying was true, then it worried him greatly. Yoshimura was powerful; he would have to be if he took on the guise as the One-Eyed Owl. If Kanou was creating artificial One-Eyed Ghouls with Yoshimura's Kagune...
He immediately stopped that line of thinking. He really didn't want to imagine what Aogiri Tree could do with individuals such as that. Especially if they were to inherit his Kakuja.
"You think Big Madam might know where the manager is." Yomo guessed. Nishiki nodded. "And to get to her, you plan on using Nutcracker."
"She's known to grab people of special interest. The only real problem is if we can get to them in time before they're auctioned off."
Yomo nodded his head in agreement. There were several kinks, so they had to figure them out accordingly to ensure the plan would work. Of course, he was also worried about another factor: Nutcracker herself.
"Nishiki..." Yomo said slowly, looking at the Ghoul in the eyes. "You know how dangerous this woman is, right?"
"Yeah, I do." Nishiki nodded. "And I've also heard the rumors about her too. That's why we have to plan this thing just right, otherwise we're screwed. That, and we have to act fast. CCG is probably already trying to find out how to get at Big Madam, and chances are they know Nutcracker works for her."
Yomo was silent for a while, but then later sighed. "You've gotten yourself one hell of a job, Nishiki."
"Tell me something I don't already know." he snorted as he stood up, placing a few bills and coins on the table. "Thanks for the coffee."
"Hn."
Tooru and Ginshi paid for their drinks as well, following Nishiki out the door. Touka had also ceased berating Kaneki as well, turning around sharply and giving him a 'hmph'. "I see you're hit is as strong as ever..." Kaneki groaned, rubbing his still-sore head. "Well, I better get going..."
Before he could turn to leave though, he heard Touka cry out for him. "Wait!"
Kaneki frowned, looking back at her to see her running over to the counter, ducking underneath it. He heard the sound of cupboards opening and some shuffling of items before she stood back up, carrying something in her hand.
His eyes widened as she handed it to him. It was a familiar black leather mask, covering the lower half of his face and the large majority of his neck, having false teeth and lipless gums, a zipper between the white bones. Silver bolts were sticking out from the neck, giving it a Frankenstein theme motif.
It was his mask, the same one he had worn so many times before. Uta had crafted it for him, modeling it after his personal preferences and circumstances. The reason it had a Frankenstein theme was to represent his situation back then, still trying to cope with him being a human turned Ghoul, however there was one detail missing.
"I couldn't find the eyepatch part of it." Touka said as she gave it back to him. "Sorry."
"No, its fine." he shook his head. He no longer needed the eyepatch anymore. The eyepatch covered his right eye rather than his left, the reason being that Uta wanted to see the world through the eye of the Ghoul that Kaneki had become, rather than the world of the human that Kaneki wished to remain as. He no longer had a need for that anymore.
Now, he wanted to see the world as he wanted to see it now: to see the world through the eyes of both a human and a Ghoul. "Thank you, Touka-chan." Kaneki said, smiling as he placed the mask in his pocket and turned to leave.
"Kaneki-kun." Yomo's voice stopped him, making him turn to see the man smiling again. Two smiles in one day? Hell must have been freezing over. "If you ever need any help, let us know. You're not alone in this... not anymore."
"I know."
"And... Kaneki-kun..." Touka fidgeted, looking sure of what to say before she just decided to screw it, took a deep breath, and gave what was probably the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. "Welcome home."
For the first time in his life since two years ago, Kaneki felt a smile that he had only shown around Hide to finally appear, rising from the depths. "It's good to be home."
-Chapter END (7) Reunion-
-Ken Kaneki's Group (re-established)
Members: Ken Kaneki (Leader), Nishiki Nishio, Ginshi Shirazu, Tooru Mutsuki
-:re-
Members: Touka Kirishima, Renji Yomo
