I do not own Tokyo Ghoul.
Kuro looked up at the shop they were standing outside of. HySy looked like a very interesting shop. "So, how did you find this place?" Kuro looked over at Haise as he began ushering everyone inside.
Haise shrugged as he went in last. "Got a package sent to me. Apparently it went to the wrong address, but Uta-san let me keep it." He looked around the shop and waved as the shop owner came out from the back. "Hey Uta-san, brought everyone."
"So it would seem." Uta smiled at them all. He paused on Kairi, but she was staring at a mask on his wall. "So, who shall I start with?"
"These kind of make you look like a ghoul." Shirazu stated as he looked at a mask that was on a mannequin. He wondered how such a strange shop could stay in business.
Haise picked a mask up and tried it on. He brought it back down and looked at Shirazu. "That's the point. We are going to become ghouls." The other Quix stared at Haise in surprise.
"What?" Shirazu asked in shock. "First it's girls, now ghouls?! What's next? Dogs?"
"I'll start with the quiet one." Uta said as he sat Saiko down. "So, what do you like?" He asked as he started taking measurements of the girl's head.
Kuro chuckled as Saiko started listing off things, some multiple times. She was having even more trouble as Uta just started messing with the girl and measuring useless things. He then moved on to Shizaru, angling his face and making the boy's face turn red. He repeated the same process of annoying the kids whiled doing his job for each one.
"Your turn." Uta gave Kairi a smile as she slowly walked over and sat on the chair in front of him. "So, what do you enjoy?"
Kuro's mind went blank as she watched him work. His hands were gentle and his touch was light. "I like cooking, but apparently I'm no good at it. I like taking walks in the dark. And hanging from places. Hanging is always fun."
"Not when you eaves drop." Kuro giggled at Shirazu's annoyed comment. It wasn't her fault the kids decided to make secret plans without checking for eaves droppers.
Uta chuckled lightly. "Sounds like you're part spider." He noticed how the comment made Kairi freeze for a moment. "Alright, that should do it."
"Thank you, Uta-san." Haise thanked the mask maker as he ushered everyone out of the shop. "We'll be back to pick them up when they are done."
"Alright. Shouldn't take me more than a week to get them all done." Uta stated as he started pulling out materials. He already had an idea for all of the masks.
Haise nodded as he left the store. "So, anyone hungry?" He got a hand from each of the kids. "Alright, shall we stop somewhere for food, or pick something up to make?"
"Can we go out?" Shirazu asked. "It's been forever since we've been out together like-" He froze as he caught sight of movement. "Looks like we have a ghoul." In an instant him and Urie took off after the ghoul.
"Urie! Shirazu!" Haise called after the two, but they were blocked by a pair of men in white suits. "White...suits..."
"Aogiri Tree." Kuro stated as she snapped open her quinque case, sword form. "Mutsuki, Saiko, go back up Urie and Shirazu. Sasaki and myself will deal with these two." She blocked an attack from the two men as they tried to stop the two younger investigators. "You will not touch them."
The ghoul chuckled as they attacked the two 1st rank investigators. "Not bad for humans." A ghoul commented as the two easily blocked and redirected their attacks. "Let's see how you deal with this." He launched his kagune at them from above.
"Sakuna!" Haise said as he took pushed one of the ghouls away. "You deal with him. I've got this one.
Kuro grinned. "You got it." She brought out her own kagune and blocked the incoming attack from above. "You'll have to try harder." Her kagune opened into a claw on the end and dug into the opponent kagune pullI got him to her. "Unless you wish to die here." She threw the ghoul towards the concrete wall of the parkade, breaking through it. She followed in after it not wanting to lose him. "Come on out." She shifted her quinque into gun form.
"Damn half ghoul!" Kuro ducked under a swipe form the ghoul's kagune. "You're closer to us than humans. Why are you on their side?" He renewed his attacks, but the investigator was just moving out of the way. "Hold still!"
Kuro did as the man asked, catching his kagune in her own. "You asked for it." Two more kagune sprouted from her back, aiming to impale the ghoul or hold him in place for her to shoot him. But a sudden flurry of movements pulled the ghoul out of her reach and back through the opening in the wall. "Damn it." She growled as her kagune retreated back into her body.
"Sakuna-san!" Kuro looked up to see the four younger investigators run towards her, they were unharmed. "Where's Sasaki-san?" Mutsuki asked as he looked around.
"I'm here." Haise said as he climbed in through the hole in the wall. "What was that all about?" His gaze followed the direction the ghouls had fled. It didn't make sense for them to attack but retreat so quickly.
"Who knows. A warning maybe?" Kuro wondered as she followed Haise's gaze, there was no sigh of the ghouls. "Whatever their objective was, it's a mystery to us. Let's get back. It's late and we are all tired." Everyone agreed and they left the scene, still confused about what had just happened.
Kuro had her arms crossed as they sat in their meeting discussing what to do about Rose. And their possible connection with Aogiri Tree. "I don't think this was anything more than a one time thing." She stated in their discussion. "But we won't know unless we get more intel."
"Which is why I want you to reconsider my operation idea." Haise met Investigator Ui's gaze head on. "We can get the intel we need. Maybe even more than we need."
Ui looked around the room, many people were considering Operation Mask seriously. "Alright, let's vote. All those in favor of conducting Operation Mask?...And all those opposed?" She sighed seeing the results of the vote. "4 against and 7 for. Sasaki-san, Sakuna-san, you may proceed with Operation Mask."
Kuro grinned at the results. "We won't fail." She looked back over at the rest of their team. They looked worried and excited at the same time.
Uta smiled as he sat in one of the chairs at :re. "What has you so happy?" Yomo asked seeing his friend's unusual happiness. He had been moody and depressed for a long while. But ever since the Auction he had been in this bright cheery mood, but today was a much different cheerfulness, almost giddiness. "Did you find her again?" Uta had mentioned that he had found Kairi, but she also wasn't Kairi, her name was Sakuna Kuro.
"Even better, I made friends with both Sakuna and Sasaki." Uta happily sipped on his coffee. "She's not as different as I thought she would be. She still love heights and loves to cook, but I guess she doesn't know how to cook with human food. And she is still so cute when she blushes." He chuckled remembering how she had a hard time looking at him.
"She didn't give you up to the Doves?" Yomo frowned thinking of what that could mean. "She saw your face, knows your name, and can identify you easily. And she's an investigator, but she has kept your identity secret? Is she blackmailing you?"
"Nope." Uta set his cup down. "It gives me hope, that Kairi's still there. She just needs to remember. But that would mean giving up the life she has now. Giving up the safety and happiness she has found without me." He stared down into the empty cup with a sad look. "Yomo, what should I do?"
Yomo just gave his friend a shrug as he grabbed Uta's empty cup. "That's up to you. She's not mine, she's yours." He continued cleaning cups as silence fell between them.
"I should go. I have an order to finish." Uta set money down on the counter before he left the cafe. The walk back to his shop was silent. The store was even quieter. "Time to finish." He sat down at his desk and continued working. He had one mask left to make, Sakuna's. "The Eye-Patch and the Black Widow returns." He mused as he set about redesigning Kairi's mask, changing the look of it a little bit.
As Uta worked his eyes slowly drifted to a box he kept in the corner of his work desk. On impulse he set pieces down and pulled the box towards him. He took a deep breath before pulling the lid off and looking down at the contents of the box. He picked up a small piece of red metal, Scarlet Fang. Then picked up a piece of Kairi's shattered mask. He twirled the black spider leg as he looked back over at the mask he had yet to start. "Why not?"
He started over, this time using the pieces of Scarlet Fang and Kairi's mask. As he continued to work on Sakuna's mask, his eyes drifted back to the box. There were a few pictures of the old shop, they had had to burn it down and moved shop after word got out that Kairi had been Black Widow and was fighting against the CCG. And tucked into the box, in a plastic bag, were four pregnancy tests, all positive. Uta dropped the bag and placed the lid over the box before pushing it back into the corner, that time was over, now it was time to move on.
Kuro looked up at the large door of HySy. She took a deep breath before pulling the door open and walking in. "Uta-san?" She asked as she looked around curiously. She smiled as she looked up at all of the masks, there was something comforting about having them watching.
"Welcome back, Sakuna-san." Uta gave the woman a smile as he came out from the back. "I'll grab your order." He picked a bag up from beside the back door and walked out to meet her. "5 masks, as ordered."
Kuro smiled as she took the bag form him. "Thank you." She paused as she met his black and red eyes, they were mesmerizing. "You wouldn't give yourself away if you changed your eyes and covered your tattoos, No-face."
Uta kept the smile on his face as he leaned down closer to her's. "Who says I'm trying to hide, Sakuna Kuro." She looked away from him as a blush spread on her cheeks. He smirked as he leaned in a bit closer. "Why do you look away? Are you scared-"
"No." Kuro interrupted him as she turned back to face him. Her breath caught in her throat, their lips where a breath away from each other. "I...I don't know." Her eyes slip closed as Uta's lips pressed against hers. She sighed happily as his tongue invaded her mouth, tasting her fully. A moan escaped Uta's throat and snapped her mind back into focus. She pushed him away, blush rushing down her neck. "I'm sorry. That was unprofessional of me." She took a step back from the ghoul with her bag of masks, unable to look at him at all. "Thank you, Uta."
"Let me know how they fit. I like seeing them well worn." Uta felt his heart constrict as he watched her leave his store. But he let her go with a smile, he would never force her to remember. One thing he was very glad about was that she tasted like herself, Sakuna Kuro was Shimoto Kairi. And he would wait for her to remember.
Kuro let out an exasperated sigh once she was outside of the store. She had never felt so attracted to a person before. And a ghoul of all people. "Great, we're supporting the business of a clown." She chuckled under her breath as she continued down the road to the car. She had taken the car since the others weren't going anywhere.
She got home in record time, her mind traveling back to the kiss she had shared with Uta. It shocked her how comfortable she was addressing him by just his name, like she had been doing it for ages. She walked into the house in a daze, not seeing everyone stare at her in curiosity. She sat on the couch and melted into it, trying to think through things.
"Sakuna-san is slouching." Shirazu commented in shock. Their second mentor never slouched, lazed about, or did anything lazy. She didn't even sleep in on days off. "Is she okay?"
Haise walked over and sat down beside Sakuna. "Is everything alright?" He saw her snap back to reality. She blushed as she sat up and straightened out her clothes. They would definitely have to talk about this later. "Did you get the masks?"
Kuro nodded as she handed everyone their mask. She pulled out her own mask and stared at it in wonder, it looked like a large black widow spider. The body sat on her forehead and nose while the legs made the eye holes and the rest of the mask. Her mouth would be exposed, with the spider's own fangs sitting on her lip, giving her the illusion of fangs.
"These are awesome!" Shirazu commented as he placed his mask on his face. It's square shape and simple design really fit him. "So, when are we going out?"
"Tonight." Haise said as he got up to go to his room. "Go change your clothes. We will leave once we are all ready."
Everyone nodded as they took their masks up to their room to find clothes that would fit their disguise of being a ghoul. Kuro stared at her mask the entire time she walked to her room. She was drawing a blank on what to wear. A part of her wanted to wear something flashy and red, while another part argued that black is the normal color for ghoul outfits.
She finally settled on a pair of lack leather pants and a leather jacket. The small part of her that wanted color had a small victory, she had grabbed a red scarf and tied it around her neck. She was the second person downstairs, Haise being the first. She grabbed her knee high leather boots and tied them on as she waited for the others
After a few minutes the other four came downstairs. "Alright, let's go." Haise grabbed the keys to the car and ushered everyone outside.
"Where are we going?" Saiko asked as she walked out the front door. "And what about Kuna-san? There isn't enough room."
"I'm following on my bike." Kuro said as she grabbed her helmet from it's spot by the front door. "Where are we heading?" She tucked her red scarf further into her jacket, she didn't want it flying off while she rode.
"8th ward. Better to do this outside of our own ward. Besides, there are no ghouls in 1st ward." Haise shut and locked the door once everyone was out. "Let's go." He opened the car and got into the driver's seat.
Kuro followed the others on her bike. She stayed a bit of a ways back, but it was easy enough to keep track of them. Soon they parked in a parkade in 8th ward. Kuro shut her bike off and put her helmet in the trunk of the car. "Masks on." She slid her mask on and adjusted it so she could see out of the eye holes. Despite her having to look through the space between the legs, her vision wasn't that hindered.
"Whoa, we look like ghouls." Mutsuki stated as she put her mask on. "So, what are we doing?"
Haise put his mask on and looked at the others. "We are going to collect information. Saiko, Shirazu, you're together. Urie, Mutsuki, you two are paired up." He got a nod from the two groups. "Meet us on the roof of the building north of us." He pointed north to make sure they were all on the same page. "Sakuna-san, you're with me."
Kuro nodded as she pulled her red scarf out of her jacket. "See you all in a four hours." She and Haise walked out onto the main floor of the parkade before using their kagune to get up to the roof. The kids could go off on their own, they trusted them not to get killed. "So, where do you want to start?" She looked over at Haise as he watched city.
"Do you smell the group south of here?" He asked as he looked out across the dark streets.
Kuro nodded as she caught the scent. "They're several blocks down. Want to go see?" She got a nod from her partner and they were off. They surveyed the area once they were above the group of 3 ghouls. "Seems like they are hunting."
"Let's ask them." Haise stated before he jumped to the ground, Kuro following him. "Hello there."
The ghouls froze as they caught sight of the two newcomers. "It's Eye-patch." One of them stated in shock and fear. "Is that Black Widow? I though she was dead." Another whispered as they all retreated down the road, panic evident in their movements.
Haise and Kuro watched the ghouls in shock and confusion. Who did they think they were? "That was weird." Kuro stated as she looked around the road. It was empty. "We should move. No doubt whoever they think we are, aren't welcome here. Don't want to get in trouble with whatever ghoul is in charge of them in this area."
"Yeah." Haise followed Kuro back up to the rooftops as they tried to find another group of ghouls. But the next one had the same reaction as the first group, and the third after that. "I give up. The ghouls here are obviously scared of whoever they think we are."
Kuro nodded in defeat, they weren't going to get any information. Hopefully the others were having better luck than they were. The two 1st class investigators began making their way back to the meeting point. They would wait for the others to get back.
'Who's Black Widow?' Kuro asked as she placed a hand on her mask. 'Why did Uta make me a mask like this?' Her finger glided over the red hourglass in the center of her forehead. 'Uta, what do you know?'
And that is the chapter. Thank you for reading!
Please let me know what you thought of the chapter. As well as the story so far. I love hearing from you all.