LightnigJack- I suppose you did beg for it… here
Synn Nexus- Kewl name, thanks for reading
Imperial Warlord- I can't rush genius I'm sorry, but I will try for you.
Also, clench your buts, there's going to be a lot of drama coming up. Since I've been taking so long to update this one is going to be a little longer.
Chapter 11: Kill the Family
A Road to the Capital, 9:22am
Tatsumi heaved a sigh, plodding through the mud. Exhaustion had finally started to catch up with him and hunger gnawed at his gut. At least that meant the spider was gone. What she said about him begging her for more was really unsettling, so much so that he'd hardly gotten any sleep last night.
The doctor let him stay overnight and promised to get in contact about his friends as soon as he made any breakthroughs. Tatsumi had been encouraged not to get his hopes up but the prospect of them coming back to life was too tantalizing not to get excited over. He smiled genuinely for the first time in days.
Tatsumi froze when he heard a shout from a few meters ahead. Charging through the brush was a large danger beast chasing a scrawny looking middle aged man. He sprung into action without a second thought, dashing past the fleeing traveler, drawing his sword, and cleaving the beast's head off with a single clean strike.
"Wow, that's some skill you've got there."
"Eh, thanks. Who are you?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm Chigyou," the man stuck out his hand, probably expecting a shake and upon getting none let it drop to his side awkwardly, "one of the researchers of the Capital Commision Guard. I was on my way to see an old colleague of mine when that thing attacked me. I almost lost my lab notes, too." He gave a nervous sigh and a light chuckle. "Thank you for saving me, Mr…"
"Tatsumi."
"Hmm. That's a nice name." He extended a hand again and Tatsumi shook it this time, not sure how he felt about someone from the Capital's police force, even if it was just a lab worker. Before they could continue any form of conversation, Tatsumi's stomach protested being empty in a rather loud growl. He felt his face flush, that was the second time something like this had happened to him.
Chigyou laughed it off however. "Yeah, I'm hungry too. All that running worked up an appetite. Care to join me?"
"I'd hate for you to get attacked by another danger beast."
They both laughed as the older man set out his lunch. When he realized that Tatsumi didn't actually have anything to eat he insisted on sharing. The food certainly looked appetizing but the youth still waited for the doctor to eat some before trusting it himself.
Tatsumi nearly gagged at the taste but forced it down anyway. Eating that little bit made him hungrier but he just couldn't stomach any more than a few bites; it felt like he was going to be sick. "So, who is this colleague you're going to visit?" He'd hoped that getting him mind off the food would help settle his gut.
"Oh, he's a brilliant man by the name of Kanou."
Tatsumi felt his blood run cold for a second, the world darkened and he felt dizzy.
"Hey, kid are you alright?" Chigyou sounded like he was on the other end of a tunnel. Tatsumi couldn't keep a grasp of what was going on and he blacked out. The last coherent thought in his head was, Man, I'm hungry.
When he jolted awake he was underneath a tree on a hill with a sweeping view of the Capital. There was a sharp taste of iron in his mouth and blood smeared in the corner of his lips. His throat knotted up with worry. He didn't remember continuing his trip and he wasn't hungry anymore.
The Web, 9:40 am
The quaint little cafe hadn't been what Honest expected from Kaneki, much less Esdeath. Really he just wanted to meet the man who'd turned down every polite invitation he'd given to the Imperial Palace but he hadn't thought Kaneki would live so quietly.
Today he'd convinced the Emperor to formulate an elite police force of teigu wielders in joint with the CCG and have them all gather in the local shop. Both he and Esdeath were seated at an extended table. From his arrival the only other person in the shop aside from the general was a thinly built man in his late twenties working at the counter. He'd not spoken a word to either of them, merely bringing over a plate of sandwiches after Honest had sat down.
He was, in a word, disappointed. A whole twenty minutes of waiting ahead of him and nobody of any worth to converse with. The sandwiches were good however.
After ten minutes of sitting in silence the first man arrive, Boris from the torture pits. Esdeath was already familiar with him, to an extent, so she nodded and he pulled up a seat. As soon as he was seated the white haired attendant walked over with a fresh cup of tea and place it on the table in front of Boris.
The next to arrive was the team's assassin accompanied by the justice happy girl. Much in a similar fashion they said nothing outside slight greetings and were given something to drink immediately upon sitting.
Honest grumbled to himself about nothing in particular just to pass the time. The next person to show up was a teacher named Run and a young sailor, Wave. Once they joined the group conversation began in a low hum.
This time Honest kept his eyes on the server, his posture, the way he walked, how he looked at people. His manner was quiet, unassuming, the black eyepatch being the most noticeable feature of his otherwise plain and forgettable expressions. He moved like someone raised in the lower working class, easily missed or ignored. Once he stepped back into the background where no one would bother to watch, his posture changed into something princely. He moved with the grace of a nobleman. What used to be boring features became the hard face of someone who was superior in every way and confident in that superiority.
Honest felt his eyes widen slightly at the thought that popped into his head. Was it possible that Kaneki had been serving them? This was his restaurant but to think the owner himself would be working in a grunt position? Preposterous by the Capital's standards of hierarchy.
Dr. Stylish was the last to enter. The atmosphere lost the oppressive stiffness and had become relaxed by then. It made sense that the justice happy girl stood from her seat to greet Stylish. They did have history. What Honest hadn't expected was for Kaneki, or who he suspected to be Kaneki, to come up behind her and slide the chair in for her once she returned to the seat. "Oh, thank you."
"No need."
It was the first time the man spoke, giving everyone a clear idea of his gentle monotone. The more Honest thought about it, the less he seemed like a warrior and the more he seemed like a dispossessed noble. It was certainly odd.
"Snowy," Esdeath broke the silence that fell again, "perhaps more sandwiches now that we're all here."
"Of course, Esa." He moved off and everyone was left staring between the General and the cafe worker.
"G-General," Stylish was the first to voice their thoughts, "did that cretan just call you by a pet name?" His voice took on a shrill, agast tone. Probably something about how unstylish the server was running through the doctor's mind.
"Oh, Doctor, I'd be careful of who you call a cretan. I've no doubt that Snowy heard you. He might do something to your food now."
"I wouldn't do that," the light voice of 'Snowy' called back to the table from where he was working. The sound of a knife cleaving through a cut of meat punctuated his words. "My cafe would lose its' reputation and you know how hard it is to earn one of those." He lifted a tray of freshly put together appetizers onto his shoulder and walked back to place it on their table. "Anything else?"
"Some coffee would be nice. Get some for the Prime Minister too, I'm sure he'd love to try it."
The waiter bowed almost mockingly and headed into the back. They could all hear the crunch of the coffee grinder. A heavenly smell suffused the whole interior. When their server came back he was not attired as a worker, but rather in black dress pants, an embroidered white button up, and an elaborate light gray silk waist coat. The gold chain of a pocket watch peeked out of his right pocket. And a bright red tie was tucked under the neutral colored fabric. He certainly looked like a noble now and he didn't walk like a server anymore either.
He had three coffee mugs in his left hand, carrying a fresh pot in his right. With a flourish that only experience could bring, he poured all three cups without spilling a single drop while on their way to the prospective drinkers. The last cup he kept and he place the pot down on the table in easy reach of both the General and Honest.
"Allow me to introduce a close personal friend, older brother, and adoptive father, Kaneki Ken." Esdeath said gesturing to the still standing white-hair man.
"A friend?" Justice girl asked, Honest hadn't really ever bothered to learn her name.
"Brother?" Stylish chimed, seemingly curious and a little less like his sensibilities had been offended.
Wave coughed as he'd been drinking some water, "F-Father?"
Kaneki gave a forced laugh, waving a hand in a calming motion to the young man, "I don't really consider myself Esa's father either, but she insists."
"Snowy taught me nearly everything I know."
"Really?" Run seemed to have a particular interest.
"Yes, I made it a point to teach Esa everything she could possibly need." Kaneki had pulled up a chair, sitting at the head of the table with Honest to his left and Esdeath his right. Run was all the way at the other end, effectively roping everyone into a conversation. Or at least forcing them to spectate.
What initiated from there was a battle of wits. Honest only understood half of the references and quotations made, but the entire exchange was conducted solely in rhetoric. Run finally admitted defeat after Kaneki had cited an ancient work he was unfamiliar with. "I have a copy of the translation if you'd like to read it later."
"Yes, I would love that. Would you mind if I asked about your education, you seem very well read for someone only a few years my senior."
Kaneki remained quiet for a moment, staring into his cup. "I had a very loving mother."
"You were taught at home then?"
"Yes, the same way I taught Esa." Kaneki seemed to brighten a bit, but that sinister silence still hung around him.
Honest finally saw his time to speak. "Kaneki-san, I understand you are a very talented fighter and tactician. As you can see these individuals are in need of such a man. I am willing to offer one request for anything you want, a decent military pension, the rank of captain under General Esdeath, and a position on this task force."
"I assume this has all been run past you, Esa?"
"Guilty," she smirked at the hard expression the owner had given her.
Kaneki closed his eye and seemed to be mulling something over. "Is it possible for me to have more time to decide, Prime Minister? There have been a lot of big changes recently an-"
The front door to the shop swung in with a loud bang, cutting Kaneki off. Honest's back was facing whoever had intruded, giving him a clear sight to the rage in Kaneki's storm grey eye.
"Hey," a gruff baritone thundered from the entrance, "I need to talk to you."
"Yamori." Kaneki had said it with such venom that even Honest flinched. The lithe man stood gently moving his chair out of the way. "Can't you read? The sign says closed."
The man who was called Yamori only scoffed. Honest had to admit that the tall, burly, and intimidating man looked like he should be the one in charge, but the men he had with him clearly were scared stiff of Kaneki.
"I don't care, Sa-" In a flash Kaneki had closed the distance and buried his fist in Yamori's gut. The larger man bent over the blow, clearly winded. Kaneki shifted his shoulders slightly, lifting the man fully off the ground and then dropping him onto his knees. Before the blond, maffia boss looking individual could speak again, Kaneki kicked the side of his head, blood splattered up onto his clothes and droplets flicked out onto the floor.
Kaneki bent down and grabbed a fist full of Yamori's hair, pulling him up by it so that they were at Kaneki's standing eye level. "I will not repeat myself Yamori," he cracked a finger to punctuate his words. Judging by Esdeath's sadistic giggle Kaneki was about to do something very violent and unpleasant. The sound had stopped him however, instead sending them a dark gaze. Honest felt like he was staring down a famished predator and he was a juicy looking rabbit.
Kaneki cleared his throat. "Koma!" A man they'd not even noticed walked out of the back, bowing to Kaneki. "Take this upstairs to my office." he let go of Yamori's hair, leaving the man trying to regain his sense of balance on his hands and knees. It really looked Kaneki was a savage king dealing with an unruly subject. He glance at the others that Yamori brought with him; they bowed out and ran off as fast as possible. Once the large, white suited man was on his feet and had reached the staff door that Koma had opened, Kaneki turned to look at him, "I'll deal with you in a moment." Something like fear flashed in Yamori's eyes and he hurried up the stairway.
"As I was saying before, Prime Minister, I'd like more time before making a final decision, there are many things that I'm already juggling at the moment." Kaneki didn't turn to face the table, his arms crossed behind his back and a dark look in what could be perceived of his face.
"Of course."
Kaneki bowed at the waist and dismissed himself, heading up after Yamori and Koma. They all sat in silence again. Wave seemed afraid, the assassin didn't care, justice girl was riled up, Stylish looked… orgasmic, Esdeath seemed to giggling at something he couldn't comprehend, nor did he care to, Run looked concerned, and Boris… was wearing a mask and didn't say anything to give away how he was feeling.
Honest stood and cleared his throat, the others rising out of respect. "I'll be taking my leave now that business has been settled. You have my best wishes." With that he left.
*POV
Wave shuddered internally. He had just witnessed someone only a hair shorter than himself take down a man with the build of an ox, in under thirty seconds. And they way he sounded. Just thinking about it sent ice through his blood. When he'd first seen Kaneki, he didn't even consider him to be anything more than a lower class citizen, then he came out dressed like a Nobleman and he certainly seemed nice, then he beats the shit out of some maffia looking guy and it was like he was, yet again, an entirely different person! "What was that all about?"
He hadn't realized he'd spoken aloud until Esdeath chortled. "That, my dear Wave, is a demon in human form and my wonderful big brother."
"Hu?"
"I suppose I should tell you, Kaneki might be joining us after all and you'ld figure it out sooner or later. I described him as friend, brother, and father separately because those are the three most common stages to his personality, or at least what he shows me of it."
"I don't understand, General." Boris spoke, leaning forward a bit with a wary tint to his voice. "How can a person have stages of personality?"
Esdeath hummed in thought. "Well, this is what I know about his life story. If you want to know more I suggest you ask him yourself. Snowy was abused by his mother when he was growing up, she was poor and it was best for him to play at being a good boy, hence the friend personality. When he's like that, Kaneki is very reserved and shy, unassumingly carrying out any task that needs doing with the poor-man's diligence he had beaten into him. That's also where his monotone way of speaking comes from- I think."
"He was beaten?" Seryu looked horrified and angry all at once. "How old was he when that villous cur hurt him." Clearly she had been enchanted by his politeness and Wave couldn't help but think that she was naive.
"I'm not sure but they continued until she died when he was about five."
Wave was shocked by that. Beaten at such a young age and then orphaned? No wonder he was fucked up!
"But then who was the 'loving mother' he had been talking about?" Run added to Wave's list of questions.
"Ah that's the part of his life I know the least about, but out of it comes his father personality. Whomever the woman that adopted his was, she became the person he refers to as his mother. From what I know, she was a very wealthy woman who just decided she'd liked him, picked him off the streets, and took him home. He'd learned the refinement of the gentry from her. She also died while he was still fairly young but by then he'd grown a lot into the next stage of his life. "
"The brother personality I presume."
"Precisely, doctor. That is the way he was when we first met, in the cold tundra of my homeland. He saved me from freezing to death in a winter blizzard, ironic given my tiegu's powers isn't it. Anyway," the General leaned back into her chair like she was enjoying the story, "Snowy as a brother is cold, ruthless, and savage. Anything that threatened my safety growing up was removed with brutal efficiency. It was this darker side of him that showed me some of the best torture methods by example, though I doubt he knew I was watching."
"So, we've seen glimpses of all these sides to him in the last half an hour?" Wave muttered to himself, trying to process everything.
Before he could launch into any more questions a young woman with striking dark blue hair stepped out of the staff quarters, tieing the last knot in her cafe apron. "I'm sorry for that interruption earlier, we weren't expecting any other guests. My name is Touka and I'll be taking over as your waiter." She gave a polite bow.
"Thank you," Boris said, a relaxed chord in his voice as she went around collecting used plates.
As Wave handed her his cup, the silver and gold band on her ring finger caught his attention. "Oh, are you engaged?" a slight shade of red colored his cheeks at her expression, "Ah! I'm sorry I didn't mean to pry it's ju-"
"Married actually," Touka said calmly. Her eyes trailed off slightly as if she was remembering something before she too flushed a deep shade of red. Clearly whatever she imagined wasn't appropriate for the workplace. Esdeath smiled softly, and gave a little signal to the young woman, as if asking for more details. "Oh, but I couldn't."
"These warriors will be working under me, Touka-chan. It's alright to tell them."
"K-Kaneki is my husband. General Esdeath couldn't make it to the ceremony so we were going to hold a party for it later."
"Really?" Stylish looked only slightly put out, "but I didn't see a ring."
"He wears it on a chain around his neck so he never has to take it off." Touka giggled like a newlywed would at some quirky behavior. Boris picked up the conversation happily, talking about his own wife and daughter, espousing the joys of parenthood to a nervous Touka.
The Web, 10:24 am
Eto quietly pushed open the cafe door careful not to ring the bell hanging above the frame and suddenly far more thankful for her petite build than she had been before. Touka seemed to be busy with a large group of customers and judging from the smell of Yamori's blood splatter over the floor, Kaneki wouldn't be in the best of moods. That did little to perturb Eto's exuberance however. Tatsumi was coming along beautifully and she couldn't wait to tell her precious little brother all about her new toy.
Slipping through the cafe and practically floating up the stairs, the elder half ghoul came to Kaneki's office door, outside of which Koma was nervously running a comb through his hair and standing so as to block anyone from entering. "Ah, Eto-sama, when did you get back?"
"Just now. Is Kaneki punishing Yamori right now?"
"Eh, um…" unable to really speak his mind, Koma nodded solemnly.
"That's no good. If he kills Jason now the plan will fall apart. Let me in," she took a half step forward toward the nervous ape ghoul. To his credit he stood his ground for quite a while, until Jason screamed bloody murder. He moved out of the way quickly to let Eto by. Though she loved seeing her cute little brother so blood thirsty it was a shame she'd have to put a stop to it. "Sasaki~"
The white haired man in question had removed his eyepatch, the slight glow from his red ires being the only notable lightsource, that and the candle he was using to burn Jason's shoulder with. "I suppose I should be angry at Koma for not doing as he was told, but," Kankei pulled the candle away from Jason's already ripped, bleeding shoulder, "thankfulness at the interruption might be more appropriate, especially if I still have guests downstairs." Though his words had been calm and reasonable, the dark look in his eyes and slight twist of a snarl, betrayed just how livid he was.
"Now, now," Eto chirped, "Jason-san probably didn't need to be burned on top of everything else. Though I gather he was close to committing a grave offence… Let him go for now, Sasaki-sama, I have news for you regarding Doctor."
Kaneki's distant eyes flicked over to Eto for the briefest of moments as he turned to place the candle back in its holder. "Yamori, leave. We'll discuss your grievous lack of respect later. Don't forget what it means to be the Underking's vassal next time."
The owl sidestepped Yamori's burly shoulder as he rushed past. The male reeked of pain and fear, but most curiously an excited fury boiled just beneath the surface. It would be fun to watch Kaneki break the blonde, that's for sure. Once he'd disappeared, she returned her attention to Kaneki who was leaning against his desk, arms crossed over his chest and staring her in the eye.
Eto's trademark grin flickered over her face in the candle light, the curtains were closed leaving the room dark as it would have been at night. The light washing up Kaneki's back, shadowing his face made his already difficult to gauge emotion even more so making blunt the only option she had. "That toy you let leave a while ago, the one looking for his two friends is a member of the Night Raid."
"And?"
"I wanted to play with him a bit so I put some of my power in his body, that's how they were able to kill Ogre actually, then sent him to Kanou with his friends' bodies." Kaneki stiffened but Eto was too enthralled with recounting Tatsumi's progress and ability to adapt. "The best part of it all is I made him eat human flesh and he doesn't even know i-" Pain exploded over her face, ringing in her ears and stinging badly. Kaneki's hand passed out of her field of vision a fraction of a second later. Their sudden proximity giving her a full view of the unbridled rage in her brother's eyes. Why did she ever think that Kaneki shared her sense of humor. She had only made him more angry, not that she'd been unoffended by the blow.
Once she regained her composure Eto returned his glare with all the fire he had been directing at her. It slowly dawned on her what kind of ramification her new toys would have on Kaneki's schemes, not to mention she'd done all of this behind his back, undermining his leadership and denying him her feilty as her King. Eto lowered her gaze to the floor, apologetic in so far as she'd overstepped the high and trusted station Kaneki had given her and betrayed her own loyalties. "I'm sorry for overstepping my bounds."
Kaneki took a shaky breath, the tension and anger melting out of his posture, replaced with regret and only mild irritation. "I'm sorry that I lost my temper with you Eto. I should have held my composure."
She shook her head slowly, "Even Father got angry, Kankei, that doesn't make you a bad King." Eto gently rubbed her still sore check, "Besides, I deserved it."
Kaneki placed a hand on her shoulder and they hugged it out. This reminded Eto of when Kaneki was still young, they got in fights then too, but never about the things normal siblings argue over; the half ghouls often butted heads when it came to ethics and their personalities were the most easily blended, yet on those occasions when they could work in tandem, such as Kaneki's ascension to the throne, there wasn't anyone in the whole world who could stop them.
"Eto," the King pulled back to look her sternly in the eyes, "you know full well that he's your responsibility now. Keep Tatsumi under your wing and watch him like the wary mother owl you are; his mistakes will be on your head, understand."
"Yes." After a moment's consideration she asked, "What about Kanou."
"I'll deal with him personally. Yomo is in charge of the cafe while I'm gone. Run any important decisions by Touka, I trust her judgement."
"What should I do?"
"You have an owlet to mind, Eto." Kaneki moved over to his desk as he spoke pulling out a quill and some paper to quickly scratch out his instructions. It was clear Kaneki had every intention of leaving right away.
"Safe trip." she murmured as he walked briskly out the door while tieing back on his eyepatch.