The Ghoul of Night Raid

by Helspawn007

Kaneki had failed. Because of this failure he died saving no one, Or that's how it should've happened. Kaneki woke up to find himself in a place called the Empire. All he wants to do now is live a normal life and after three years he did just that. But war is starting and Kaneki will use this war to atone for his sins if its the last thing he'll do.

10. Blood will be my Weapon

I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill

Mine let her face curl into a pout as she looked at what was in front of her. It wasn't disappointing news, far from it, for it was possibly the biggest tip anyone could ever give them. It was detailed, precise and had all the essential information that Night Raid would need to take out the Jaegers. Mine's only peeve with the book before her was that it came from Ken Kaneki.

"Just read it." Tatsumi begged.

"No." Mine said stubbornly.

Leone let out an exasperated sigh, "Mine, it's an information report and a good one at that. We've all read it and only you and Akame haven't read it yet."

"Then why aren't you getting on Akame's back about this?!" She demanded.

"Because she's going through a report from the Revolutionary Army about Boss's trip." Lubbock said with a tone that clearly wanted to get in on this little spat.

Mine pouted again and Sheele placed a hand on her shoulder, "Do you want me to read it to you? Will that be ok?"

Mine's face got red with anger "Sheele, I'm not a child!"

"You look and act like one." Tatsumi muttered.

Mine aimed Pumpkin right at Tatsumi's head and charged the energy in the Imperial Arm, "What was that!?"

"NOTHING!" Tatsumi screamed, throwing his hands up in surrender. Mine, satisfied that she had proven her point, lowered the Imperial Arm.

Leone hugged herself and doubled over laughing and after a while everyone else joined her. They were all situated around the meeting table where they would normally hold dinner, but now it was used to go over the plans. Usually the main hall was used, but it felt weird not having the boss sit on her chair while they were given out. So Akame had opted to use the now meeting/dinner table as their new planning ground while the boss was away. Currently, it was late at night. Tatsumi had just gotten back from his talk with Kaneki and in the small space of time that they had, the members of Night Raid took turns skimming through the book he had been given. Sheele was reading in the entrance hall when Tatsumi came in, so she was the first to read after him. After she had gone through the book, Sheele gathered everyone in the base to the meeting table so they could get in on the information. Lubbock had told Akame about the development, but she said she was going to read it after she had gone through the other reports. After Leone had finished reading through it, Mine bursted through the door demanding to know what was going on and why they interrupted her sleep, Which had led them to their current predicament. As soon as she realized that the book come from Kaneki, she was stubbornly adamant about not reading another page.

Leone slapped a hand down on the table "Come on, Mine! Just one time and we'll burn it afterwards. You gotta admit, Sheele's future boyfriend outdid himself on this one."

At the boyfriend comment, Sheele blushed and tried to hide herself behind her glasses. "L-Leone, it's not the appropriate time to talk about that..."

"OH! You're blushing! That's just screaming that you wouldn't mind having Kaneki as a Boyfriend." Leone said lustfully. "There will be bonuses, you know? Other than the normal stuff."

Sheele blinks in confusion while Lubbock and Tatsumi look away to hide their own embarrassment. Sheele, ever the airhead in some moments then asked, "What bonuses?"

Tatsumi coughed into his fist while Lubbock whistled absentmindedly. Leone smiled like she had been given a god-sent gift. "Oh, well firstly, someone who you can have nice long reading sessions with.", Leone started, "Second, you get first dibs on reading his next book, and plus your input will get him out of his writer's block. Also, you could help him with...well, you know."

Tatsumi waved his hands back and forth. "Can we please change the subject back to the information and not relationship innuendos!?"

Mine hummed. "What's wrong Ta-Tsu-mi?", she asked, mimicking a mother talking to a child, "Is talking about grown up conversations a little unnerving to your young mind?"

"HEY!", Tatsumi roared back, "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO LOOKS LIKE SHE JUST TURNED TEN, YOU FLAT CHESTED DEVIL!"

Leone's jaw dropped and Lubbock looked at Tatsumi in horror. Sheele took a step back when she noticed what was happening with Mine. Her left eye was twitching and her face went crimson. "OH THAT IS IT!" She screamed, once again aiming pumpkin at him, only this time the barrel was pointed below the belt.

Before anyone could become less than what they already were, the door opened to reveal Akame. She looked between Tatsumi and Mine. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Nope, nothing's wrong!" Tatsumi said a little too quickly.

Mine rolled her eyes and humphed, lowering pumpkin. Akame decided to ask what happened later, but it was probably just Tatsumi and Mine butting heads again. Sheele and Lubbock were blushing and Leone looked like she had stumbled onto a gold mine. Akame briefly wondered what that was about before she turned her attention to the book. She picked up the leather bound journal and handed it over to Sheele. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Sheele said, taking the book and going to the first page. "The following is information on the elite fighting force known as the Jaegers. All of the following are Imperial Arms user, this is what I have been able to gather-"

"Just hit the highlights." Mine said, the sniper eager to get back to sleep.

Sheele nodded. "First is Wave. He's a naval soldier raised in the far side of the empire. His fighting style is similar to Tatsumi's, being headstrong with overwhelming power to defeat the opponent."

"HEY!"

Sheele smiled slightly, "Kaneki's words, Tatsumi, not mine. Anyway, his Imperial arm is Grand Chariot, an armor-type Imperial Arm that is, by his own admission, an upgraded form of Tatsumi's Incursio armor. Follows orders to the letter, and out of all of the Jaegers, the one that holds the greatest chance to be manipulated by me. Ignore for now. Second is Ran. Fighting style is cool, calculated and cunning along with excellent forward planning skills. Imperial Arm is called Mastema. A winged-type Imperial Arm that provides flight and excellent sniping potential. Recommend Immediate elimination. Third is Bois. Imperial Arm is called Rubicante. A flamethrower-type Imperial Arm that shoots out flames to ignite everything that they touch. Cannot be put out until target is completely destroyed. Seems like more of a support role and remains one of the team's heavy guns. Recommend elimination at a later time. Fourth is Doctor Stylish. Imperial Arm Perfector, support type. Has his own personal army of enhanced human puppets that can be used for cannon fodder. Fighting style is...stylish?"

Everyone at the table blinked and Sheele shrugged, "It just says you'll know when you meet him. Uses his Imperial Arm to heal the team. He boasts that he can heal any wound short of death. Recommend Immediate Elimination. Finally, Kurome."

At the mention of the name Kurome, Akame visibly hardened. Sheele looked over at her friend with worry. "Is something wrong?"

Akame looked like a statue with how little she was moving. After what seemed like an eternity, she asked, "Is that all?"

Sheele looked through the book, double checking everything. "No. That's everything besides Esdeath."

Akame nodded and Tatsumi asked the question, "So who's Kurome?"

Akame looked down at the table "She's...my sister."

Tatsumi's jaw dropped. "You have a sister! Since when!?"

"Since she was born, dumbass." Mine said with an eyeroll.

"Can it!" Tatsumi retorted back at the sniper.

"I already know everything about her, so there is no need for Kaneki to get information.", Akame started, "Her Imperial Arm is March of the Dead: Yatsuhusa. Those cut down by the blade become Kurome's living corpse dolls. This Imperial arm can curse up to eight people that I know of. She can freely manipulate the doll and they have all of the abilities they had in life. If she rescinds her ability, they turn back into ordinary corpses."

Tatsumi's face blanched. "Which means if you get killed by her, you get a fate worse than death and turn into an enemy, right?"

"Well, you'll be dead, so you don't need to worry about that, do you?" Leone sarcastically added.

"Anyway." Tatsumi said, shooting an angry glare at Leone, "Why didn't she come with you when you left the empire?" he asked.

"I offered, but she wanted to stay. she called me a traitor and has been trying to kill me ever since."

A moment of silence followed as everyone looked at what they were up against. It was bad odds, each of the Jaegers seemed like they could take on one member of Night Raid each. Kaneki had a plan to put one of them on the team, but that seemed like only a partial solution.

"So about Kaneki's tournament plan." Lubbock said, trying to get the conversation rolling again "Out of all of us, only myself, Leone, Mine and Tatsumi will be able to participate. Right now, I'm backing my name out. I don't even want to be under the same roof as that freak."

"Esdeath or Kaneki?" Sheele asked.

"Pick one.", he said, "Anyway, I say we give this one to Tatsumi."

Tatsumi blinked not expecting the recommendation. "Why me?"

"Well out of all of us you are the least proficient with their Imperial Arm", Sheele explained, "That means your fighting style is independent of the armor and you can go in without revealing that you have Incursio."

"Plus, you used to be Kaneki's waiter.", Leone added, "He'll be able to talk you up better that way. If you make a good impression, you'll get in for sure."

Akame nodded. "Tatsumi, any objections?"

Tatsumi thought about it before shaking his head "None at all."

The Next Day

Kaneki looked out his free eye at the fight in front of him. He was currently in the center stage of the fighting competition that he had originally planned as a small thing, but he didn't expect the turnout. The stadium was packed with thousands of people from the Capital or from the villages close by. People knew of the prize, nearly ten thousand gold in payment for the strongest man or woman in the tournament. The prize money brought people from every corner of the empire to test their mettle against each other. So far, the fights have been interesting enough, but Kaneki saw nothing special in the fighters themselves. The only thing that Kaneki had seen that peaked his interest was spying Lubbock and Leone in the stands. 'Good, they're here.' Kaneki thought.

He, along with Wave, were the only two announcers for the fighters in the ring. Their job, obviously, was giving out the names of the fighters and announcing the winner. Kaneki didn't want to do it at first, but it gave him a good view of the fighting taking place. After a few announcements, Kaneki realized he had a decent announcer's voice. His serious nature added a certain depth to the fights that he presented. That was according to Wave, so he didn't put much thought into it. The current fighters were a samurai looking man and what could only be described as a greek gladiator with a shield and an axe. The two of them were positioned at separate ends of the stage, so they could see the fight from every possible angle. Kaneki was able to walk up to the head box for a rest every once in a while when things became too bothersome. He shot Wave a glance and the soldier nodded. Kaneki made his way up the long flight of stairs to the press box, where he found Esdeath atop a huge throne with Ran next to her with the list of names.

He gave Ran a nod and the blond teacher returned it with a bow. Esdeath yawned loudly.

"So what do you think of these ones, General?" Ran asked.

"I think boring fighters make for boring fights. It was a little too much to ask for someone capable of joining the Jaegers to suddenly appear, huh?"

Kaneki made a show of sighing, "Sorry General, it was a good idea at the time, but it appears to have backfired."

Esdeath lazily waved the comment aside, "It's not your fault Kaneki. You appeared out of no where so I was holding out hope, but all that accomplished was giving me a nap."

Kaneki nodded before checking on the fight. The two fighters still looked to be going at it strong, but the gladiator looked to be slowing down considerably. His axe swings were off center and aimed loosely at his opponent. The samurai, on the other hand, sensed victory and his speed was actually increasing, but Kaneki didn't pay too much attention. He walked over to Ran and looked at the list of names. As he was looking, he noticed a name he recognized, the realization making him smile. Ran tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at the stage. The match was over and everyone was cheering for the victor samurai.

"Winner! Nobunaga of the Dry-Goods Store!" Wave announced.

Everyone clapped for Nobunaga out of either giving a good show or just out of courtesy. Esdeath didn't bother doing anything other than yawn. Kaneki walked to the edge of the head box and gestured for Wave to take a break for the next match. He quickly made his way down the stairs and to the center of the stage. He looked to the opening doors, and the next fighters came up to the stage and approached the center. One was a huge man with a bull for a head, a black shirt covering his abs. His white pants connected to his shirt collar by a chain. Kaneki suspected it was for show. The other fighter was Tatsumi, who Kaneki noticed had a wardrobe change. He wore the same shirt and pants that he always wore, but this time over his shirt was a long overcoat and on his feet were a pair of black military style boots.

Kaneki looked between the two fighters. "In the east Corner! Karubi the Butcher!", Kaneki said over the intercom, "And in the west corner! Tatsumi of Anteiku!" he finished.

Back up in the head box, Esdeath pirked up "Tatsumi?"

"You know of him, General?" Ran asked.

Esdeath shook her head. "Of him only. He was Kaneki's new waiter at his cafe before it closed. He was going to introduce me to him, but it appears that we have to hold introductions afterward."

Down at the fighting ring, Tatsumi glanced at Kaneki and the half Ghoul gave the swordsmen a nod. He returned the nod before looking over his opponent, who of course was being overconfident just because of his small stature.

Karubi laughed. "You're a tiny one, ain't ya? That prize money's already in the bag! Kukuku."

The boar man leaned forward as if to spit on Tatsumi. "I'll let you in on a little secret. I may have been excommunicated, but I'm a 9th level master of the Imperial fist, ya know!"

Both Kaneki and Tatsumi took the boasting with the same neutral expression. Kaneki did take the time to overlook Karubi's statement and was surprised to find that despite all of his arrogant boasting, he wasn't lying. If Kaneki gathered everything correctly this man hadn't spoken a falsehood since he stepped into the ring. He put himself in Tatsumi's shoes and estimated how fast he could put the man into the ground. He estimated around a minute and if Tatsumi had kept his promise to achieve a strength greater than Bulat, then he should only take two.

Tatsumi looked up at the smiling face of his opponent and for some reason found himself reminiscing. He thought back to the first day that he arrived at the Capital. If he had fought someone like this then he would be shaking in his boots right now. After everything that had happened so far with the Three Beasts and Kaneki's displays of freakish power, this guy was nothing more than a pebble on a long winding road. Tatsumi saw Kaneki raise his hand to start the match and felt himself go into a deeper sense of calm, like a veteran about to fight a battle they know they'll win.

"Begin!" Kaneki called.

Karubi smiled a devilish smile before launching himself at Tatsumi "LET'S GO! FEEL THE FULL POWER OF MY DESTRUCTIVE FIST!"

As Karubi came close, Tatsumi crouched low, as if to sprint forward. Karubi's fist struck the floor. but as quick as a bullet, Tatsumi vaulted atop of his attacker's arm and launched himself into the air. Karubi barely had time to turn his head as he came down in a spin, landing an axe kick on the boar man. The blow slammed Karubi's head into the ground with enough force to knock the man's face onto the ground. Karubi could tasted dirt and blood in his mouth. Tatsumi landed right next to him with as much grace as a dancer. He spun on the toe of his left foot and slammed his right into Karubi's side, sending him skidding across the arena floor.

Everyone in the crowd was speechless at this point. They had expected this fight to be a one- sided battle, but in a far different way. What they were seeing now was an eighteen year old boy, by all rights, beat the living shit out of a master twice his size with only two moves. Kaneki looked over the stunned faces and he felt the urge to smirk, but he held himself back. He lost the fight, however, when he noticed Ran and Esdeath copying the reactions of the crowd for the most part. Ran said something to Esdeath, who nodded in agreement. Kaneki didn't know what was said, but he was sure it was something along the lines of "The boy is quite skilled".

Karubi's screaming in defiance broke Kaneki out of his enjoyment. The bigger fighter looked like both his pride and his face had been broken in two. His hog nose was now bending at an odd angle and the rest if his face was cut up and bruised. He also had a nasty looking wound on his side where Tatsumi had kicked him, but the big man seemed to be too angry to care about it. He roared as he rushed Tatsumi again with a flurry of crazy, off-balanced punches. Tatsumi looked like he was walking through the park as he effortlessly dodged or swatted away the strikes. As Kaneki watched him open up holes in Karubi's guard, Tatsumi decided to let him keep trying, if only to tire himself out. Tatsumi was toying with him, and to anyone with the experience it was clear to see. Kaneki wasn't sure why he was. Was he enjoying the fact that he was stronger? No, he was making a show. His purpose in this fight was to get into the Jaegers, so he was making sure he was showing how good he was to get on Esdeath's watch. Kaneki had to stop himself from laughing. Night Raid was actually going with that plan of his completely and so far he hadn't seen any interferences from any other members of the Assassination group.

This was exactly what Kaneki wanted to happen, but there was something bothering him. As he watched Tatsumi bend backwards and flip up while kicking Karubi in the jaw, he felt a chill go down his spine. He was forgetting something, he was sure of it, but for the life of him he couldn't put his finger on it. Was it something with how Tatsumi was fighting? No, he was fighting like someone with far more years of experience. It was also clear that if he was given a few more years, he would be even better. Tatsumi also stood out in the crowd of people. His expressions and looks were similar but foreign to the normal squabble of the Capital.

Kaneki actually scratched his head. it was bothering him so bad, but what the hell was it? He then watched as Karubi gave one last battle cry and shot his last desperate punch at Tatsumi's head. The brown haired swordsmen didn't even flinch or blink as the fist came close. At the last minute Tatsumi deflected the blow upward before putting his own fist back behind him. He rushed forward to capitalize on Karubi's off-balanced stance and put a powerful blow in the man's stomach, destroying what ever organ that took the brunt of the impact. Karubi and Tatsumi stood still for a few seconds before Karubi coughed up blood and fell backwards, defeated.

Kaneki raised a hand. "That's it! Tatsumi is the winner!" he announced.

The crowd took a few seconds to take in everything that happened before them. As soon as those seconds were done, they screamed and cheered for Tatsumi. He blinked as he looked at everyone cheering for him and felt himself get embarrassed. "Everyone is cheering for me?"

His face lit up as he smiled widely. "I did it!" he yelled.

He looked at Kaneki and smirked. Kaneki smirked back, but the chill came back when Tatsumi smiled again and waved to the crowd. A few young girls in the crowd looked like they were about to faint as Tatsumi bowed in their direction. Talent, fearlessness, exotic features, and a bright smile. Tatsumi was a real catch, Kaneki realized. All those facts combined with the chill made him remember the night before and he quickly shot a look at the head box. He couldn't see it very well, but Esdeath was blushing. Hard.

'Shit' Kaneki thought as the general started coming down the stairs to the arena.

Tatsumi's jaw dropped in surprise as he desperately turned to Kaneki. "She's coming down, is that a good thing?" he mouthed to Kaneki.

Kaneki shook his head no and mouthed back the word "Run".

Tatsumi raised an eyebrow. Why would Kaneki want him to run? It was too late to make a decision as Esdeath took the final step and arrived on the stage. She walked over and stood a few feet away from him. "Your name is Tatsumi, correct? It's is a good name, proud and strong."

"Th-Thanks." Tatsumi stuttered out.

Tatsumi took his first quick look at the general up close. She was as beautiful as the boss and what Kaneki had described her. She was the person who issued the orders to the Three Beasts. Tatsumi felt his fists clench in rage. 'If she didn't exist then Bro wouldn't be dead right now. So many people would still be alive, but since she's here they lived in hell.' he thought.

A hand landed on his shoulder and the contact snapped Tatsumi from his thoughts. He looked over his shoulder and found Kaneki. "It's rude to ignore the General, Tatsumi."

"Huh?" Tatsumi said before realizing his mistake. "Oh! I'm sorry, General. I was lost in thought."

Esdeath waved it aside "No need to apologize. I have heard a lot about you, Tatsumi."

"Really?"

Esdeath nodded "Yes your old employer here was wanting to introduce the two of us at the cafe, but fate didn't allow us to meet under those circumstances."

Tatsumi spared Kaneki a glance and he just stared back at him. In his eyes was a warning and Tatsumi couldn't figure what for. He then noticed Kaneki silently pointing at his clenched fist and he forced himself to relax.

"That match just now was superb, Tatsumi." Esdeath said, getting his attention once again. "I wish to give you your reward."

Tatsumi bowed "Thank you very much."

Tatsumi shot a wink at Kaneki, signaling a mission complete, but Kaneki was still sending a warning look. Tatsumi tilted his head slightly in confusion at what Kaneki was worrying about. Those thoughts died when he felt cold steel attach itself around his neck. He looked down to find a collar around his neck whose chain led into Esdeath's hand. She placed her other hand tenderly on Tatsumi's shoulder. "From now on, you'll belong to me and only me."

He blinked. "Eh? What!?" He asked.

Esdeath wordlessly turned around and began dragging the brown haired boy away. Tatsumi grabbed at the collar and screamed in protest. "Wait! Stop! What the hell is going on!? Kaneki! Help!"

Kaneki stood there, too surprised to do anything. He expected something bad, but this, this was something he didn't expect. Esdeath brought Tatsumi closer. "This place has too many distractions. Come with me to the palace."

"Wait a-" Tatsumi screamed.

His cry was cut short when Esdeath delivered a swift hand chop to the back of his neck. "Nope, I can't wait."

Tatsumi barely had time to think before he crumpled atop of Esdeath's shoulder. The ice general held him like a gentle lover and whispered something in his ear that Kaneki couldn't make out. She picked up Tatsumi bridal style and began walking away. "Kaneki, this tournament is over. We have found what we were looking for and more."

Kaneki forced himself into a bow but he did so staring daggers at Esdeath's back. Someone, somewhere must think it's funny to take all of his plans and turn them on their head just for fun. If there is a god in either world he had visited, he must be one hell of an ass. He straightened his posture and addressed the crowd. "Sorry for the interruption ladies and gentlemen! But by order of General Esdeath this tournament is now over! The Empire thanks both the fighters and the audience here for their contributions! Please exit the arena in an orderly manner and have a nice rest of your day!"

The crowd of people processed what just happened before them and Kaneki's words surprisingly fast. Within a few minutes the majority of those attending the fights were out of their seats and leaving the stadium. Kaneki used this moment to sneak away from any guards or Jaegers. He used the leaving crowd to his advantage, and soon he found himself in the Capital streets. He started walking, not running, to a book store on the other end of town. You don't run when you're trying to get away from someone. If you run then it shows that you're afraid and don't want to be caught. Walking away blends you into the crowd and every animal on the planet is more dangerous when they keep themselves in a group.

It took him longer than what he wanted, but Kaneki arrived at BookNight, Lubbock's book store and in capital base. He walked in and found a welcome sight, Lubbock glaring pure elemental hate at him. Lubbock wordlessly flipped a switch opening a secret entrance to a underground hideout. Lubbock went down first and Kaneki followed soon afterwards. When they finished descending the stairs he felt the number of hate-filled gazes multiply. Around a couch of empty beer bottles and discarded wanted posters sat Mine and Leone.

Kaneki heard the entrance close above him and after a second of awkward silence Mine voiced her opinion. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" she demanded.

Kaneki didn't even flinch at the loudness or anger of the voice, but he caught Lubbock flinching in pain in the corner of his vision. Kaneki took a deep breath. "I will admit, I didn't plan for this to happen."

Mine raised an eyebrow. "Really?", she asked sarcastically, "You couldn't plan a better trap than that! It was the biggest fuck up I've seen in a long time! So, what are you going to do?"

Kaneki shrugged. "Tatsumi's initiation was an interesting development but he will no doubt be part of the Jaegers. You still have our extra inside man and you still have a good chance of taking the Jaegers out from the inside."

Leone stepped forward to stop Mine from screaming, no doubt another prepared complaint. "So would you care to explain what we saw?"

"According to Esdeath herself she wanted to try her hand in being in love.", Kaneki started, "She even made a list with near impossible standards to who could even be considered a potential candidate."

"And let me guess, Tatsumi fit the bill perfectly?" Lubbock guessed.

Kaneki confirmed the guess with a nod. "It's almost comical how perfectly it worked out."

He sighed "I can't promise anything, but at least I can keep some of the heat off of him with my position. You have my word I will do everything I can to keep him out of trouble."

Mine snorted. "Like you've been doing a great job of that so far."

Kaneki narrowed his eye. "I gave you my word. This time everything will be fine."

Mine rolled her eyes in a disbelieving manner. "Sure it will."

Kaneki returned the sniper's eye roll before a thought struck him. Kaneki smirked. "Why are you getting all mad at me for something I have no control over? Its not as if you have feelings for Tatsumi. Or do you?"

Mine's face flushed to a red hue, but everyone in the room knew it wasn't from anger. "Th-That's insane! How could I like a jerk like that!"

"Sure you don't." Kaneki said sarcastically.

"YOU ASS!"

Lubbock and Leone tried their hardest but they weren't able to keep a smile off their faces. The laughing moment didn't last long however as everyone turned serious "We'll do our best, but just try to keep him out of harm's way." Lubbock pleaded.

"I'll try my best."

Outside the Jaeger's Meeting Room

Kaneki walked through the empty halls of the palace corridors, thinking over what will happen. Despite the little hiccup known as Esdeath, Kaneki's plan to get a member of Night Raid on the Jaegers worked out perfectly. He should be celebrating on a job well done, but that little hiccup was more like a road block. He realized having someone who could play with Esdeath's emotions and attack her where she had no defenses would be a good thing, but Tatsumi would have to be the one to do those attacks and Kaneki was sure that he was neither the type or that much of a strategist to think like that. However, Kaneki had a potential teammate that Esdeath might hesitate to kill. The thought of her hesitating to kill anything was a little farfetched, but it was still there. With that thought over, Kaneki found that he had arrived at the door of the Jaeger meeting room.

He opened the door just in time to hear Esdeath finish her introduction "-and so this is the newest addition to the Jaegers, Tatsumi."

Kaneki grit his teeth, but he did a very good job of keeping his face as neutral as possible. Tatsumi was tied in chains around one of the only remaining chairs in the room. He was settled before all of the Jaegers, along with Esdeath.

Bois was the first to voice a thought. "So you just dragged one of the populace, just like that?" he asked.

Esdeath nodded, like doing something like that was common practice. "Now he'll no longer have to live in poverty. He isn't just an extra man for our group like we originally planned either. I felt it, Tatsumi is the one who will become my partner in love."

Esdeath said the last sentence with a flushed face and Kaneki swore he saw hearts flying around the love struck general.

Wave grimaced. "Poor bastard." he muttered.

"You don't know the half of it." Kaneki agreed.

Wave turned his head to look at his Captain. "Oh, hello Captain. General Esdeath was just in the middle of introducing-"

Kaneki held up a hand. "Don't worry, I know."

Esdeath noticed Kaneki coming in as well. "So where were you Captain?"

"Taking my hour off." Kaneki said.

Esdeath thought over the statement but she shrugged it off. Wave scratched his head. "If he's going to be a member of the Jaegers, why does he have a collar around his neck?"

"Because he's going to become my lover, of course. That and I want him to stand out." Esdeath said like it was average conversation.

Behind her, Tatsumi's face was a deadpan of "Really?".

Ran cleared his throat. "Well, if you want him to be your official lover and not your pet, shouldn't you remove the collar in order for there to be a difference?"

Esdeath blinked before putting a hand to her chin, thinking it over.

"Hmmm, that is certainly true. I'll remove it."

Wave and Tatsumi's faces both fell into exasperation. Kaneki looked between them and pitied the two of them for a moment, but just a moment. Esdeath reached into her jacket. "By the way, are any of you married or have lovers?"

No one moved for a second before Bois raised his hand. Wave's jaw dropped. "Seriously!?"

Kaneki raised an eyebrow. "Really, Bois? You said nothing at our little conversation on the subject last night."

Bois waved his hand. "I didn't say anything because I was too embarrassed to speak. But yes it is true, I've been married for six years now. I really don't deserve someone as wonderful as her, though!"

Tatsumi let out a nervous laugh while raising his hand. "I'm really happy that you've taken a liking to me and all, but I'm not all that interested in working for the imperial court."

Kaneki glared at Tatsumi for a second, but the latter didn't notice. Getting on the Jaegers was the whole point of going into the tournament. He was willing to give him a pass, though. He wouldn't want to be the subject to Esdeath's affection either.

At Tatsumi's statement, Esdeath laughed. "Fufu, It will likely take a bit of training to get you to be obedient."

"PLEASE LISTEN TO WHAT'S BEING SAID TO YOU!" Tatsumi screamed at the General.

"Don't bother.", Kaneki said, speaking up, "She doesn't listen to weak people."

"HEY!"

Before anyone could say anything more, the door to the meeting room burst open. Standing in the doorway was a messenger man holding a clipboard. "General Esdeath! As ordered, I've finished the report regarding the area around Gyogan Lake!"

Esdeath smiled "Great. This timing is perfect."

She faced the group. "I hope you're ready. Your first big job has come up."

She gestured at the messenger and he brought over a map of the Lake over to the room's only table. Esdeath spread out the map so that everyone could have a look at the information. It took a while, but Kaneki was able to get Tatsumi out of the chains and the collar, enabling him to walk again.

Once everyone had a look, Esdeath began again. "I have one thing I'd like to ask all of you before we move out. Each of you will be required to eliminate dozens of people. This type of work will be what we will be doing from this point onward. Are you all fully prepared for that?"

No one spoke for a moment, before Bois stepped up. "Even if this is the type of work that I must do, I am a soldier. I will follow my orders till the day I die, even if it means I must kill."

The sound of a sword coming out of its sheath followed Bois' declaration. Kurome stood at the end of the table brandishing a black metal katana "I am the same. This is merely following orders, as that is always the way I have thought about it."

Wave shifted from where he was. He looked at Grand Chariot's key. "I was able to join the navy due to the patronage of a certain great man. If I were to ask him how I would repay such a favor he would tell me: 'Just do your best and fight for the sake of your country. That's all you need to do'."

Wave sheathed his sword and stood tall. "I will do even these things, even if it means taking the lives of others!"

Ran stepped up next to Wave and brushed off the dust on his book. "For the sake of making my desires come to fruition, I wish to rise higher and higher. Even if it means I can't do the purest of deeds. I see in that way, I wish nothing more then to finish this mission to the best of my ability."

Esdeath nodded. "How about you Doctor?"

Stylish smiled. "My guiding principle is quite simple. THAT IS THE PURSUIT OF STYLE! Do you understand, General? Captain?"

"Not at all." Esdeath said.

"I'm completely lost." Kaneki commented quickly, briefly wondering why he was asked.

"Oh its quite simple. From the moment I saw Esdeath-sama and Captain Kaneki I knew it."

He shot forward, striking a pose. "That unfathomable strength!"

Another shot forward and another pose "That ice-like cruelty and that animalistic gaze!"

He fell forward with his legs out before him and his hands covering his head "AHH, It's as if a pair of gods had descended from heaven itself! That style, without equal! I want nothing more than to study the two of you for the rest of my days!"

"Um...ok then." Esdeath said. Her gaze then went to Kaneki. "And you Captain?"

Kaneki rolled his wrist making his hand go in a circular motion "You've wanted me to be a part of your little army since the day I came here Esdeath."

Kaneki took his thumb over the top of his pointer finger, and with a quick motion he cracked the it. "Now that I'm here, it would be a shame if I didn't meet your expectations." he said with a sadistic smile.

The smile was almost, animalistic, and everyone excluding Kurome and Esdeath took a small step back. Kaneki looked, inhuman. That was the only word that the Jaegers could think to describe him. While everyone was having a rethinking of the information, before them, Doctor Stylish looked almost orgasmic. That little display was so...so...so...STYLISH!

Esdeath smirked and tipped her General's cap. "Well, I see no doubts among you all then. That's good. Time to head out! Let's go, Tatsumi." she ordered.

The Jaegers made their way towards the door, but Tatsumi was too surprised to move. "Wait, me too?!"

"Of course, as a substitute member, it'll be good for you to see the abilities of your fellow members." Esdeath said.

Tatsumi mumbled something about crazy people, but he stood where he was. A second later, he found himself being dragged along the floor by Esdeath, followed by the Jaegers.

The killers then began their quick journey to the Lake fortress. It was a huge, but somewhat modest castle with several layers of stone walls encasing a steel fortress. Leading up to the castle was a huge staircase that went straight up the hill leading into the mountain fort. The Jaegers, aside from Tatsumi and Esdeath who were overlooking the entire Canyon from the edge, stood outside the stair case. Everyone was wearing their preferred battle armor, and Kaneki decided he needed a change from his normal waiter outfit. He now wore a black shirt under a white overcoat like Waves, along with military jeans. His boots were steel toed, but as he requested, they were as light as the makers could fashion them.

As the elite force walked up to the front of the fort, Ran spoke up. "We've memorized the layout and the enemy positions, so what kind of strategy should we use Captain?"

Kaneki put his hand to his chin in a thinking gesture. "Well, we are here to make a good first impression. I think a little showing off is in order." Kaneki decided.

Wave rolled his shoulder out. "Sounds like a good plan."

Bois just shrugged. "I will follow your orders, so I don't think my opinion is needed."

Kurome remained silent and Stylish only gave a feminine bow. Kaneki rolled his eyes at the doctor's actions. He looked up at the edge of the canyon and saw that Tatsumi was watching them with undivided attention. 'Perfect', Kaneki thought.

If he got the Jaegers to show off a little, it would be far better than any book he could write detailing what they could do. Seeing for oneself would be the best teacher out there.

"Bois." Kaneki said, making the flame Imperial arms user turn his head. "The door is stone but the people are flesh, introduced them to your flame."

Bois nodded and he brought out the nozzle of Rubicante to bare as the group reached the entrance to the fort. Instantly, a wave of enemy soldiers appeared from within and surrounded them brandishing guns, swords and bows.

"Hey! Did you even know where you were when you came to this place!?" one of the soldiers shouted.

"You guys have some nerve attacking from the front like this!" Another roared.

"You don't really think you're going to be getting out of here alive, do you!?" A third one screamed.

"Hey there's even a cute one!", A fourth shouted out, "We're really going to have fun with them when we take them back to base, Right Boys!?"

A chorus of battle cries echoed out through the fort entrance as the soldier aimed their weapons. Kaneki, like the rest of the Jaegers, remained unimpressed at the whole display. He glanced over his shoulder at Bois. "Bois, if you would."

Bois nodded before pointing Rubicante at the horde of enemies and pulling the trigger on the Imperial Arm. The men who came out to meet the Empire's strongest team were incinerated instantly, not even the ashes remained for those that stood in front. A few who stationed themselves at the back were spared from the instant incineration but the flames still reached them. They dropped their weapons and started to desperately put out the flames, but to no avail. Some managed to get to a water bucket but even that proved less than useless "WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THESE FLAMES!? EVEN WATER CAN'T PUT THEM OUT!"

Atop the walls of the fort Kaneki could see soldiers starting to realize that maybe they weren't as prepared for this as they thought. Kaneki's ghoul half smelt the fear like a hungry predator and he was happy to say that he was going to satisfy that urge very soon. When the flames in the entrance went out Kaneki led the Jaegers inside before addressing them. "Ran, Take to the skies. There can be none who escape from this fort. This is pest control, let no one even take a single step out of here."

Ran bowed his head before Mastema activated and his wings appeared on his back. "As you command, Captain." he said, flying off. A few archers tried to shoot him down but after a few movements with his left hand Ran sent several feathers through the archer's skulls.

"Doctor." Kaneki continued, making Stylish turn. "Your army is needed, the perimeter must be under our control and it needed to be ours before we arrived. Take care of it will you?"

Stylish dropped into a showing bow. "As the good Captain commands, my army will stylishly secure us victory!"

The good doctor snapped his fingers, and from the forest surrounding the fort, his advanced army emerged. Stylish extended his hands "You heard our dear Captain! Give us the perimeter!" he ordered.

No sooner did he finish giving the command did his army spring into action. They weaved through the trees and over the walls in ways that no human could duplicate. Bending and breaking their very bodies before putting themselves back together as they reached their target. Kaneki then pointed at Kurome and Wave. "Infiltrate the second ring, do what you will with those that try to stop you."

"Hai!" Wave said bounding off.

Kurome's only response was to put a lollipop in her mouth before catching up with Wave in a second. The two of them didn't even bother opening the gate. Instead the two Jaegers vaulted over the wall as easily as someone walking over a step on a stair case. As soon as they went over the wall, Kaneki could hear the sounds of carnage and body parts begin to fly. He looked around, but no one other then the doctor was left. "Well, good doctor this is where I must leave you."

Stylish raised an eyebrow. "And, pray tell, what will you be doing?"

Kaneki pointed to the castle in the center of the fort. "As the commander of the attacking force, it would be rude of me not to introduce myself to the fort commander. Tend to your army and support any who need it." Kaneki ordered.

Stylish smiled in acknowledgement. "Give them my regards, Captain."

Kaneki gave a swift nod before shooting off in the direction of the castle, his white overcoat flapping in the wind behind him. When he got to the gate, like Kurome and Wave before him, he jumped over with the same minimal effort. However instead of going straight over he remained on the top of the wall to overlook how the two of them were doing. The sight that greeted him excited his ghoul half and disgusted the parts of him that were still human. Bodies, tons of them, were laying on the ground; cut to pieces and the only thing standing was Wave and Kurome in the middle of the blood shed. The two of them seemed to be talking and a soldier was standing behind a wall outside of their vision. He reeked of sweat and fear but he quickly moved out of his hiding spot and aimed a rifle at the two Jaegers. Kaneki considered letting the man fire, but it wouldn't do any good. The bullet would either be blocked by the two or just shrugged off like it was nothing. So with the option of letting one of the Jaegers get injured out the window, Kaneki went with the alternative, making a good impression on the two.

As the man came out of his hiding spot, Kaneki jumped high from his wall. In the moonlight, his shadow covered the man and he barely had time to scream before Kaneki's right fist impacted with his head. The blow took the man's face and head straight down to the ground. If he was a normal human the blow would've broken the man's neck and that would be the extent of the injuries. But Ken Kaneki was anything but human. After four years of being the first Ghoul hybrid, his punch made the man's face go hard into the dirt and keep going. The man's skull crumpled like tin foil as he died with the contents of his head splattered along the ground. A few drops of blood got on Kaneki's new coat, but he figured that he could get them out so he wasn't too mad.

The sound of his attack made Wave turn away from his conversation with Kurome and see what the sound was. He smiled and waved over at his Captain. "Hi, Captain!"

Kaneki shook the blood off of his hand before pointing at the corpse "You missed one, Wave. Had he gotten a shot off, either you or Kurome could've been injured. Unlikely, I admit, but for the future keep a better eye on your surroundings."

Wave scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed motion. "Right you are commander. We'll be more careful."

"If you say so.", Kurome deadpanned, "I knew he was there the whole time."

Wave's jaw dropped. "S-seriously!? Why didn't you say anything?"

"You didn't ask." Kurome responded.

"That doesn't even make any sense at all!" Wave complained.

Kaneki sighed at Wave's obliviousness and turned to make his way to the castle. Then, his right hand burned. Not as if it had caught fire, but burned as in a searing pain coursed through it. Kaneki grabbed his right hand with his left to stop the shaking and he bit hard on his lip, drawing blood in the process. His entire right arm convulsed and moved on its own like a crazed animal. Kaneki shut his eyes in a vain attempt to block out the pain, but when he could see again something red was glowing underneath his jacket. The Tattoo that came with the Ketsueki Shinigami began to move around like it was excited about something. Kaneki dropped to one knee and put his hand on the ground to steady himself, which happened to be right in the pool of blood of the man he just killed. As soon as his right hand touched the blood the pain intensified to a whole new level. Somehow Kaneki found himself bearing through the pain without screaming. That doesn't mean however that he didn't have to bite through his cheek near completely in order to keep his mouth shut.

Kaneki moved like a drunk and he dropped to the floor before rolling away from the blood. He made sure he wasn't in the blood anymore before forcing his will over his body once again. After a minute he found that he could move his arm like normally "Um...Captain?" a voice asked.

Kaneki reared around at the voice and found it was just Wave. The Navy man looked to be a little shaken but nothing that couldn't be shrugged off. "Are you ok?"

Kaneki took a deep breath before bringing his right hand over his left eye "Yeah, I'm fine. Just...Memories."

If Wave had anymore questions he didn't voice them. Kurome looked at Kaneki with a mix of confusion and curiosity. He shook his head. "Continue clearing the area, leave the interior to me."

"Are you sure Captain?", Wave asked, "If you collapse like that when you're in there you won't be able to-"

Wave stopped talking when Kaneki shot a look of animalistic rage at the Navy man. "I. Am. Fine." he growled out.

Wave just nodded and he went on his way to the other end of the compound. He tapped Kurome on the shoulder, making the small assassin follow him absentmindedly. Kaneki watched them go and when he was sure they were out of sight, he set his gaze on the castle before him. Up-Close, it was a lot less threatening than it was from a distance. Everything leading into the castle was closed. From the windows to the main gate, everything was bolted shut and no doubt concealed an innumerable amount of manpower. Kaneki ran to the wall of the fort, trying to get some height on the Castle before going in.

Once he had gotten a right amount of height to be able to jump to a closed window, he did just that. He shot straight for the wall and the window, and as he came close, he slammed his right foot and his left hand into the stone for both support and balance. At his current position he was right in front of the closed window. Somehow, he could tell someone was on the other side, and they were afraid. He could almost hear the man's breathing through the stone that separated the two of them. Kaneki felt a smile grace his lips. "Little pig, little pig, let me come in." he whispered.

He shook himself. Where had that come from? He shook it out of his system before punching the stone window with his free hand. The stone was hard and the first punch made the skin on his knuckles strain to remain attached to the bone, but Kaneki kept punching through the pain. After three punches, his fist finally went through. He smiled in satisfaction before getting a grip on the other side of the window and ripping the stone out of its housing. As the stone came out, the man behind the stone protection thrusted forward with a sword right at Kaneki's heart. The strike was made point blank but Kaneki's speed far exceeded what the man was expecting. Quicker than any normal human, Kaneki moved his left arm and grabbed the sword with his hand, stopping it in place. His skin wasn't even cut by the steel and the man holding the sword was dripping with fear-induced sweat and shaking nervously.

Kaneki smiled at the man and with a quick twist of his wrist, he snapped the blade in two. the man jumped back in fear, allowing ample space for Kaneki to jump through the now-open window. Kaneki pulled his foot out of the stone works and vaulted into the castle halls. The inside of the castle was how you would expect any other fort interior. Designed with soldiers in mind, not royalty. The walls, the floor and everything around Kaneki was a bland gray stone. The only defining feature of the hallway was a map on the wall telling how to get around. Kaneki thought it was weird for a fort to have something like this, but he shrugged it off as a lazy attempted to quickly train new recruits.

The man that once held the blade that Kaneki split was still on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. He looked between Kaneki and his blade with crazed, fear-filled eyes. "Wh-What the hell a-are you?" he asked, terrified.

Kaneki looked down on the man, saying nothing. Instead he looked at the map and studied it for a second. "Tell me, witch one of these rooms is the commander of this fort currently stationed in?" he asked the man.

The man looked taken aback, as if thinking the question just came out of no where. "W-Why the hell would I tell you that!?" he screamed.

Kaneki shrugged and moved as fast as he could. In the course of a second he grabbed the broken sword in the man's hand, ripped it out of his grip and slammed the broken blade through his shoulder. He screamed in pain for a second before Kaneki put his hand over the man's mouth to shut him up. "Because if you don't I'll just have to find someone else who will answer me. I'll stay here for about five minutes before I move on. And trust me on this, those five minutes are not going to be what you call enjoyable. Are we clear?"

The man gave a quick nod. "Good, now which room?"

The man slowly moved his free arm and pointed at the map. Kaneki followed his fingers path and saw that he was pointing to the main hall. Kaneki snorted. "The most obvious place. Of course its that cliche."

He then took the sword out of the man's shoulder, and using the bladed end Kaneki stabbed him through the head, killing him quickly. He let the sword go and left it in the man's head. After that he started walking to the main hall. Unexpectedly, no one came to greet him as he walked through the corridors. When Kaneki finally got to a set of giant wooden doors that he assumed led to the main hall, he moved back a little ways to build up speed before rushing the door and kicking it down. The wooden doors splintered like twigs and he landed on his feet. He looked up to be greeted by everyone he expected to show up on his way here. Guns, bows, swords, you name it, someone was pointing it at Kaneki. Rows of men were before him brandishing the aforementioned weapons, creating a human wall between him and the commander of the fort. He looked just like his men, scared shitless, but he was better at hiding it then the men around him. He wore a royalty style suit adorned with what Kaneki figured were military honors. His hands were behind him and Kaneki had little doubt they were shaking. Despite the attack on the outside and the fact that one man was attacking the center fort alone, the commander spoke with an authority that came with a man of his position. "Empire scum, you are either very brave or very stupid to come into this hall on your own. Surrender and I will put you down with dignity."

"Funny, you took the words right out of my mouth, Commander.", Kaneki said, "But as the Captain of the Jaegers, any rebel force needs to be put down."

The commander nodded, agreement written all over his face. He raised a hand and let it fall, a hellfire of bullets and arrows descended upon Kaneki. however, he had already ducked low and shot forward as soon as the commander had raised his arm. He crashed into the first line of men and they learned first hand, despite Kaneki's small build, he hit like an ultra-level danger beast. His first strike was into a man's chest. Kaneki felt the bones break under the force as the man he struck flew backwards, knocking into several others on his way by. He now found himself in the middle of a horde of blades as they attacked him from every direction. Before they could even come close to cutting his jacket, Kaneki jumped high to avoid them. To their credit, the men stopped their swords before they could skewer each other, but the moment didn't last long before gravity did its work and forced Kaneki to come back down. He came down like a meteor, crashing into the blades that were still out and forcing them to the ground where they promptly snapped. The shattering steel cut into everyone that were too close, with the exception of Kaneki, sending droplets of blood everywhere. As the men moved back from the pain, he didn't wait to continue his attack. His right fist came into contact with the cut up face of the man closest to the epicenter of the snapping swords. The man flew backwards like the others from the punch, but unlike the other times Kaneki didn't pursue.

Instead he felt his right arm start to twitch again. 'Dammit!', he screamed in his head, 'Now? What the hell is wr-'

It was then that he noticed the blood on his hand. The warm liquid coated his fingers and made his entire arm feel, incredible. It was the greatest sensation that he could describe. It was like he was a puzzle and something had added the last piece. Kaneki couldn't help himself, he began to chuckle. He chuckled louder and louder until it grew into a mad laugh that echoed through the hall. Everyone took a step back at the very sound of the laugh, it was the laugh of the devil himself, not a human. Kaneki looked over the men and felt a voice that wasn't his own ask "Would you kindly give me your blood?" it asked from his lips.

Before the men could respond, he shot forward to the nearest soldier and, using a straightened hand, plunged it into the man's chest. He coughed up blood, splattering the red liquid on Kaneki's cheek, but Kaneki didn't care. It was all over his arm, all of his blood. Kaneki ripped his arm out of the man and he fell forward dead. The others were looking at him in horror, but he didn't care. He was fixated on the blood that was now coating his hand. It was better than any meal Kaneki had ever eaten Just the feeling of power surging through him made him tremble with ecstasy as he felt the blood run off his hand. He smiled and stuck his hand into the growing pool of blood around him just to get more on his arm. As Kaneki's hand touched the pool, it was like he was injected with steroids. Power, life and blood lust surged through him more than anything else that Kaneki had felt before. So, like Alice following the rabbit, he gave in and let the feeling of power take over his will and reason.

As he stood up once again he brought the blood up with him. The pool of blood came up with his hand as if it wanted nothing more than to be connected to his flesh. It hung in the air like a magic trick and Kaneki gripped the outer edge of the blood as he felt it solidify around him. It morphed around his hand, forming a handle, hilt and arm guard. The rest of the red liquid lengthened and sharpened itself. When it was finished Kaneki was holding a crimson curved blade that reminded him of a Captain's cutlass. He grinned. "How fitting, a noble weapon for a noble position, but used for a sinful purpose."

His gaze then turned to the men. "Now my little bags, where were we?"

The next five minutes, Kaneki would never quite remember clearly. He could remember tearing into the men, his blood cutlass slicing through them like butter and hearing himself laughing as he did so. Even when some of the men put up their blades to block, his blood sword cut through the metal as easily as it did through air. As he killed, even more blood flew into the air, and it was glorious. Drops of the great liquid came close to him, Kaneki grabbing them out of the air and molding them into what they were meant to become: his weapon. Drops became bullets, pools became swords and corpses became the paint on the floor.

When Kaneki could finally make sense of everything around him he stood in the center of a pile of dead bodies. They were barely recognizable as people because they were in so many pieces. The only one left in the room that was alive apart from Kaneki was the fort commander. He was laying with one of his arms gone in the corner of the room. The once proud commander now sat in a pile of his own blood and his own excrement. Kaneki looked at him and then at himself. He was covered with blood, his entire uniform was a shade of red that made him look more like a monster than any part of a ghoul could. He dropped his blood cutlass and ran his right hand over his clothes. Like the pools below him the blood came out of his clothes and molded itself into different weapons. It took making two short swords, a throwing star and an small throwing knife to clean out his clothes. When he was done he approached the commander, who tried in vain to crawl away. When he got close, Kaneki stepped on the man's foot, crushing it and coating his boots in more of the crimson liquid. He cried out in pain and Kaneki simply waited for him to finish screaming. When he finally finished, he cracked his finger. "Are you done?" he asked.

The commander looked up at him in horror and barely whispered. "What the fuck are you?"

Kaneki looked at his right hand and then back to the commander. "You know, I really don't know anymore." he admitted.

And with that he delivered a punch to the man's neck, crushing his windpipe, forcing him to die gasping for air. Kaneki left him and carefully made his way through the bodies. As he made his way through the fort, he chose to go out the front door this time. He opened the main gate and standing on the other side of the door was Wave and Dr. Stylish. The gate opened, the two of them greeting Kaneki with a wave. "Hello, Captain.", Stylish said with a wink, "How was the fort?"

Kaneki glanced back. "Lets just say that even you would have trouble fixing those men doctor."

Stylish grinned at the challenge. "Oh really? You underestimate me, sir."

"And you underestimate how many pieces I made of those men." Kaneki countered.

Wave blinked. "Um, Captain, did you use your bare hands to do what you just said?"

Kaneki nodded

"And you don't have a drop of blood on you?"

Kaneki smiled. "Yes, and your point?"

Wave shrugged. "Nothing, it's just impressive."

After that the three met up with the rest of the Jaegers, along with Tatsumi and Esdeath, Kaneki and Wave opted to walk together with Tatsumi while Stylish and Ran stayed near the back of the group. Kurome stood next to Esdeath while the general asked Bois about capturing someone's heart. Bois thought for a moment "The trick to capturing your beloved's heart? Hmm...I would say It's about never giving up!" the pyro declared.

"I, myself, was rejected by my wife twice. But it's all about finding another chance to attack. Please keep that in mind that to some extent, it takes time as well so don't worry if your first attempt fails."

Esdeath, for her part, was taking in all of the information and even writing it down on a notebook. "Indeed, I see."

Tatsumi was listening to the whole conversation with a look of complete horror. Kaneki looked at the swordsmen. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah", Tatsumi lied, "Just thinking about what's going to happen next for me."

Kaneki shrugged. "Well, what's the worst that can happen?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Esdeath wants me to stay with her in her room." Tatsumi said.

Kaneki blinked before patting his friend on the back. "Sorry I said anything."

Tatsumi said nothing and for the rest of the trip home. Kaneki didn't feel any changes to himself, but the only thing different was that his body felt more complete than it ever did. And it felt, good.

Imperial Arm Name: Ketsueki Shinigami, The Blood Reaper

Type: Extract

Core Status: Active

Style: Multi-Weapon

Ability: The Imperial Arm manifests itself on the hosts arm. Any blood any part of the arm comes into contact with can be changed into any weapon the wielder desires. The blood weapons strength is determined on the amount of blood used, the more blood the stronger the weapon. At the wielder's command the weapons can revert to the state of liquid once again to pass through enemy weapons and armor. If enough blood is used the weapons are stronger than any modern armor and can cut through steel and other hard metals with ease. Even Armor type Imperial Arms are cut by these weapons but only as much as a normal knife to steel plated armor.

Trump Card: Unknown, records either destroyed or the information is unrecorded.

Side Effect: Excessive use of the imperial arm will slowly deteriorate the wielders sanity. After years of use or excessive use the wielder will be little more than an animal who believes they must take the blood of everything and everyone they see in order to satisfy a sort of primal hunger. Early signs are increasing brutality in simple actions or multi-personality disorder. Previous wielders clame to start seeing their inner demons after using the Arm for the first time. To keep his subject sanity in control the First Emperor placed a seal on the Arm. Only those that have gone through their own personal hell and defeated or fought with their primal demons can even touch the Arm without going insane in blood lust. Records show however, that subjects could still wield it even if they haven't defeated their demons. The Arm is one of the lost Imperial Arms of the Empire so further tests have not been conducted.

Authors Note:

This chapter got Betaed! I feel like I'm finally doing something right on this sight! In all seriousness a special thanks to Nidle for Beta-Reading for me now, and for the future. And a longer wait needs a longer chapter, so enjoy.

Now there isn't much that I need to cover from the update post so I'll just hit the stuff I missed.

FIrstly, There's Kaneki's Imperial Arm I hope it was to your guys liking. And if questions on if its broken the answer is simple, no. If anything Kaneki's Kagune could beat it in the killing department just out of shear strength. Its not going to tear through Grand Chariot or other armored Imperial arms or is it going to slice through everything like butter, just most things. Plus the sanity thing, oh boy is that going to be exploited till it dies.

Secondly, Pairings. Not for Kaneki, for Tatsumi. After the update chapter a lot of different opinions are popping up so I as I need to write the next couple of chapters I would like a definitive answer. So on my profile there is a poll on witch Assassin our Brown Haired, so to be really epic, swordsmen should be paired with, Akame, Mine or Other. If you choose other please send a review with your pick.

So if you found this, Thanks for Reading =]