In the morning, Kaneki- who, despite Hirako's original assumptions, was far more a leader than Hide was- and Hirako met to quietly discuss the game plan.
Hide passed the time by checking in with everyone else, finding them rattled but determined. Even Hinami, bless her, was still going strong, playing lightly with a patient Tsukiyama's hair. The ostentatious man had calmed down some, the gravity of this battle settling heavily in his mind. Banjou admitted that he was homesick and missing his gang, though glad that he didn't drag them into this. Nishiki missed Kimi, of course, but insisted that he was ready for a fight, and would return to her a hero. Amon and Akira were significantly less hardy than the ghouls, but they were holding up, having seen their fair share of hard times. Hide was pleased to see them sitting close together, exhausted but obviously happy. The others, like the new Investigators, who he wasn't so familiar with, didn't have much to offer besides a faint greeting or polite conversation.
Touka was slightly calmer than usual, even accepting Hide's company with little complaint. He expected an eye roll or a gruff dismissal when he settled next to her, but she just side-eyed him and sighed begrudgingly.
"Hey Touka-chan!" He greeted when he wasn't outright rejected. "How are you?"
"How do you think, dumbass?" She retorted snappishly, but with less gusto than usual.
Hide was finding that it was hard to stay cheery around this lot for long. "Right, right," he trailed off, but stared at her until he met his eyes. "Wanna talk about it?"
"You know I don't like you very much," she grumbled instead, but he tried his best puppy dog eyes, and her frown twitched lower. "If I do, will you go away?"
"Maybe," Hide grinned, hoping that he came across as friendly instead of annoying. With Touka, it was hard to tell- she was usually standoffish, but Kaneki said that she had a good heart. Just like with Nishiki and Tsukiyama, it was a simple matter of roughing it out until Hide fell into their good graces. He would like to be on okay terms with her, at the very least. Especially in these tough times.
"Fine," Touka groaned, and squared her shoulders. It took a beat for her to gather her thoughts, but what came out of her mouth was the last thing he expected. "I have a brother."
Hide blinked. "Oh," he said, unsure of how to respond. She narrowed her eyes.
"He works with Aogiri," she reluctantly explained further. "The first time we… you know, rescued Kaneki, he…"
"Oh," Hide said, with more understanding. How awful, he wanted to add, but he could see that she wasn't looking for pity.
"Anyway," Touka said stiffly, "I'm not looking forward to seeing him again."
Hide shrugged. "I guess I can't blame you," and then, because she needed it, "we're here for you."
By we, he jointly meant both of their combined friend groups, but the implication, the offer of friendship, was there. I'm here for you, if you want me to be.
Touka lowered her head, and her bangs swished, hiding her face from him. Ah, the dismissal he was expecting. Hide started to rise, ready to go bug Kaneki and Hirako, when she murmured, "I appreciate it," so softly she might not have meant it for him to hear. He allowed himself a smile as he went to find his soulmate.
oOo
Their large group was too conspicuous, so splitting up seemed like the best option.
Hide ended up with Kaneki, of course, Touka, and Banjou. Amon and Akira joined Nishiki and Irimi, Tsukiyama and Hinami let a few of the Investigators accompany them, so on and so forth. They would all head towards the center at different angles, making sure to take out or disable any warring factions they found along the way. Then, as united front, they would all converge on the main base when the regrouped.
At least, if everything went without a hitch.
"The air reeks of trouble," Touka commented as they set out, falling easily in line next to Kaneki. Banjou seemed content to drift behind them, scanning their surroundings as they set out.
The half-ghoul sighed, and Hide linked their hands, looking across his soulmate to Touka. "Feels like we're headed straight for the lion's den, tbh."
She actually smiled, a little. Was it a little patronizing? Perhaps, but he was pretty pleased nonetheless. Kaneki remained silent, though he did squeeze Hide's hand once. Through their bond, he could feel Kaneki's anxiety creeping up through his mellow facade. He did his best to keep spirits high and the conversation light as they drew closer to what would most likely be a huge showdown.
...Maybe Hide's perception was a bit skewed from television and film, but the actual journeying part of a journey was actually kind of boring. Even when he read the occasional fiction novel, the writer was always really good about keeping things interesting. He guessed that wasn't an easy skill to master, and that most stories probably fell short of engaging when nothing important was actually happening to the characters. They didn't even come across any trouble that wasn't easily avoidable or quickly taken care of by the three ghouls and he human.
Hide ate some non-perishables, he thought to himself as he took on the monotonous landscape.
Hide small-talked with the others. Nothing of import was revealed. No development occurred. Why would the writer include such pointless filler?, he continued, chuckling quietly to himself.
"What are you laughing at?" Kaneki asked softly, thumb rubbing slow circles into his hand.
"Nothing, hon," Hide smiled, and then decided to ask, "we almost there?"
Banjou answered him. "Not long now." The man had been extraordinarily quiet up until then, and Hide couldn't help but jump when his voice boomed behind him. Kaneki snickered despite himself, and even Touka had to turn her head to hide her smile. Glad he was fulfilling his self-appointed role as the jester then. He guessed. But then the easy mood dissipated into the night air, quickly overtaken by trepidation, unease, when they caught up to the other small groups. Hide could see a few still meandering over on the horizon, but for the most part this was the final stage before diving into the belly of the beast.
They stood in the shadow of some industrial-looking structure, looming and foreboding. Well hidden, no one could see any activity, but those with more sensitive ears could hear activity abound both outside and within the building. Hide did not have the wherewithal to ask if this was the same location that had been under siege the last time; besides, it was most likely a new base chosen by both the Aogiri executives and the CCG President, robbing the Anteiku ghouls of any advantages. Hide could hear only the bubbling of water, most likely emptying into some sort of chemical waste channel due to all the experimentation going on inside. He shuddered. Would he be able to take down a half-ghoul if the poor patients were set upon them?
Once they were all together again, it was almost an unconscious decision to drift away from the noise, away from the enemy, along the ugly unkept back of the building. There, behind a nasty, painful looking fence only a few guards stood watch. The fence enclosed a surprisingly large amount of area, but the very leftmost side of the yard was overtaken by the flow that Hide had heard earlier. It was thick and dirty, and trailed off into the darkness. The pipe that jetted the fluid looked barely large enough to accomadate their largest party member if they couldn't get through the door, but it would do. Like, as a last resort. Definitely.
The door was guarded, of course, but lightly, and it looked outmoded to fit in with the rest of the decrepit setting, but Hide was sure that it was more secure than it looked- ergo the small detail watching it. It was quietly discussed, mostly by Hirako and Kaneki- who was becoming more and more on edge, to Hide's dismay- that taking out the gaurds would be easy enough, and that the only two problems would be making sure they didn't radio in for backup and the matter of getting through the fence, then the door.
The fence, while high, could be climbed, but it was dangerously barbed and Hide honestly felt like he would get tetanus just by looking at it. Hirako suggested that the humans be carried over by the ghouls, as they could only be hurt by kagune, but for all they knew the fence could have been crafted by the CCG with anti-ghoul precaution in mind. It was Touka who noted that if they could find somewhere tall enough in range of the yard, she or another Ukaku ghoul could take out the guards from a distance, and then they could just knock down the fence or cut some sort of path through the wire, as that was all it was- wire, no electronics or anything involved.
Touka's plan worked out alright. Quinque made quick work of the fence without endangering the ghouls, just in case it really would hurt them, while keeping the humans far enough away as well. The guards were simply unconscious- as per the mandate that innocents were indistinguishable from the crazies that were willingly working here- just groaning a little as the group took in the door. It, at first glance, looked relatively uncomplicated, but the dilapidated double door had a fancy new electronic lock that would probably sound an alarm if it was tampered with. It had a slot for a keycard to the left of it, but the number pad on the actual handle of the door would definitely be a challenge. The guards had no visible cards on their person, so it was up to a few of the group to carefully search each guard while a few of them puzzled over the possible combination. The rest of them milled around the open space, looking for any other clues. You know, trying to be helpful. It was getting dark, and the only light was above the door, so they were still safe in shadow. It was also quiet.
Too quiet.
The hairs on the back of Hide's neck rose suddenly, and before he could blink he was tackled from behind, careening into the solid wall of the warehouse. His head cracked against it, and then everything went dark.
oOo
She watched as they swarmed the unprepared intruders. Her forces were overwhelming. They stood no chance. The beating of wings distracted her. He talked. Begged. She pretended to listen. She was far more preoccupied with overseeing the chaos below them. Kaneki, of course, put up a terrible fight, and the CCG agents surprised her with their tenacity, but most of them fell eventually. A few slipped away, shameful. They left their downed teammates to their own devices. Their bodies- dead, alive, she couldn't tell, didn't care- were dragged inside, leaving only bloodstains behind.
He talked on, heedless of her inattention.
It was foolish to ask such things of her. He didn't understand her at all. Fathers seldom understood their daughters.
oOo
The Aogiri building was abuzz. The rumors flew. Those in support of their organization told tales of the fabled prisoners laid low, beaten soundly, chained up, suppressed. Kaneki himself, the legendary fugitive favorite of their Jason, subdued again, paying for his transgressions. The takeover would be successful; this brief upset was quickly and effectively dealt with, and Aogiri's influence would spread across the entirety of Japan in no time.
However, underneath breaths, behind hands, in the shadows, whispers of hope spread like wildfire. Those who had been imprisoned, fettered by Aogiri, had heard that Kaneki Ken had escaped, and could do so again. The new prisoners were strong, and were kept separate from the common prisoners, only testifying to their power.
Aogiri would fall. It was only a matter of time.