DISCLAIMER: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul.
*No bad content in this chapter.
**Pardon OOC's (come on it's AU and I don't own them).
Scattershot98: You're welcome! :D. It's okay, good quality is better than the quantity. Lol works part-time for Anteiku and of course for Touka. Uta is... a friend? Lol. Whatever he is ahahaha. Oh speaking of that girl, she's in this chapter as well. She has two hair color thanks to the different manga and anime depiction but I had to go with only one color. Haha, Jason's killer will be hinted here. And Amon? Weeeell, he'll show up soon :D. About Akira, all I can hint is that it has something to do with her parents' death. Ahahaha, Enji is still acting like a 'big brother' even until now lol. Kaneki is going to start researching about his unknown past after this. Shinohara working behind the scenes and Akira...hehe. Thank you again for the review, the next chapter is up! After this a new arc begins!
A/N: Aftermath is extended until EP3, after that we will start with Sasaki Haise Arc. So finally the brutality had ended, no more of Jason. Now let's lighten up the mood so they can recover from that.
TOKYO TENTACLE 27
Post Jason's Obscenity Arc - EP2
In their usual hangout outside of the campus, Kaneki, Hide and Touka were all eating together for lunch. Kaneki made sure not to miss it this time for the sake of not getting robbed by these lovebirds again.
"So kaneki, did you get a promotion yet?" Hide asked while chewing on his burger.
"Nah. We found Jason already dying and pretty much he died without us doing anything else." Kaneki explained.
Touka was curious to hear that. "Uncle said he didn't kill Jason. It was the manager's instructions not to kill anyone for your sake." Touka says. "He and Hinami knocked out Jason's guards and Uncle just badly injured Jason until CCG arrives."
"Eeeeh? Really? But when we got there it was a massacre!"
"A massacre?!" Hide and Touka were in disbelief. Especially Touka. She swore she saw that everyone was only knocked out and unharmed excluding Jason.
Kaneki nodded. "Yeah. Although we all gave the credits to Suzuya-san since he was the first to find his body in the first place and he will be given the quinque made of Jason's tentacles." he explained. "But if it wasn't you guys, then who killed Jason?"
"Can you describe what his injuries were?" Touka asked.
"Well.. he had a lot of bite marks and scratches all over his body and limbs. He also only had two tentacles left on his back." Kaneki specified the details as he remembered. "His face was really pale too and there are a few holes in his body."
"T- That wasn't my Uncle's doing."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Uncle said he only bashed Jason's face and impaled him several times in the body. But those holes were already gone when I left with Koma-san." Touka says, making Kaneki cringe.
"Wait hold up, let me get this straight." Hide says. "You're saying Kaneki's description of Jason's corpse is not the same as how your uncle described Jason when he left him?" he wanted to clarify and Touka nodded. "Kaneki, are you sure no one from CCG arrived before you did?"
Kaneki bobbed his head repeatedly. "Plus no one from the CCG will bite on Jason like that!"
"True. It almost sound like whoever did that was a cannibal."
"I don't even want to know."
"Plus the tentacle part, are you sure he only had two left?" Touka continued to ask. She'll never forget the number of tentacles Jason had.
"Yes. There were scar marks on his back like someone pulled it off him! I did't stare for long!" Kaneki answered.
Touka wasn't sure how to feel. Should she be happy that someone killed Jason for them? Perhaps tortured him a bit and plucked his tentacles off as well? But whoever it was just took two and. But why?
Kaneki and Touka seemed to have reached a dead end, Hide on the other and, was curious as he pondered on the mystery before them. "If it's not Anteiku or CCG then it only means one thing." he concluded. "Someone arrived at the scene and killed Jason and his men."
"But who?"
[CCG Sub base - Juuzou's Room]
Juuzou was lying own on his bed, sleeping when he felt something grope his legs. He quickly sat up and sees the same purple-haired girl from yesterday. "It's you again! How did you get in here?"
"Your window was open." was her explanation as she pointed a thumb at the window she broke.
"No that's... not open." he mumbled.
"You were really cool the other day and I wanted to learn more." she says happily. "I don't mind that you're an investigator too." she added and Juuzou shivered at the thought of this girl being a tentacle.
"W- What can I do for you then?"
"Teach me more of your techniques." she says. "More importantly," she leaned close to give Juuzou a smooch, shocking the white-haired boy. Other than the slutty Kurona, no girl dared to kiss him first before.
If it was a dream, he didn't want to wake up for now. He wrapped his arms around the girl and she straddled her legs around his waist.
Knock knock knock.
No way, Juuzou did not want to wake up yet. He's kissing a beautiful stranger right now.
Knock knock.
For once, he just wanted to kiss someone that he didn't have to manipulate or lie to.
"Suzuya, are you there?" the moment Juuzou heard Akira's voice on the door, he pushed the girl away and realized he wasn't asleep at all. This wasn't a dream. He was really making it out with this stranger. "Suzuya?"
"I- I'll be right there Akira-san!" he yelled.
He wanted to leave the bed but the girl was still straddling him. "You're leaving?"
"I- I have to get back to work. We can do this again another time." he says.
"Who's that woman?"
"She's a friend." Juuzou replied, but thinking about it, who the heck was this girl? "Wait, I don't even know your name or how you got in my room!"
The girl simply shrugged. "Told you, your window was open." she answered.
"Alright never mind, stay here. I'll be back." he instructed and she let him go. He kissed her one last time and ran to the front door where he expected to see Akira but to his dismay, it wasn't the blonde.
He wasn't alert enough to dodge Big Madam's sharp tentacle but thanks to the girl from earlier who pulled him by the collar, he was not grazed by Big Madam's tentacle.
"AH MY REI!" Big Madam said laughing. "I almost got you didn't I!?"
"What did you do to Akira!?"
"Oh the poor tart isn't harmed yet. But I will after I make sure you don't get in the w-"
Stepping between Juuzou and Big Madam, the girl glared at Big Madam, raising the knives in her hands. "You're not touching my Juuzou." the girl says, making Big Madam laugh.
"Where did you pick up this dainty creature?" she mocked.
"Well I honestly don't-"
Juuzou stopped mid-sentence and eyed three tentacles manifesting from behind the girl. She had dark violet tentacles, all its tips were like blades of a sharp sword. It spread apart, one was protecting Juuzou while the other two were positioned to attack Big Madam if she dares to make the first move.
"'Three-Blades'." Juuzou gasped.
"Oh the girl from Aogiri." Big Madam says in recognition of the tentacles. "Aogiri or not, get out of my way and let me face my Rei alone!"
"Try laying a finger on him and you will lose it." the girl threatened.
While Big Madam and Three Blades were busy, Juuzou looked up at the ceiling, seeing the device installed in the ceiling was blinking red. It was a sensor whenever someone would step inside his room through the front door.
Thanks to the issue with Akira and him, it was forbidden to allow anyone to enter his room. This device will alert CCG Sub base's main office. And by the amount of time that has passed, he was sure that CCG investigators are on their way to him.
Juuzou quickly got back on his feet and pulled the girl by the hand, pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her in preparation of what's about to come.
"I'm protecting you!"
"Hide yourself." he instructs her and the next thing the three knew was the sound of bullets firing.
[Anteiku - 20th Ward]
"Can I see it?" Yomo spoke to break the silence.
He was relieved that she had stopped crying but he wanted to face it. There was an embedded scar on her back and a probable reality that... he doesn't even want to think about it.
"See what?"
"The scar he left." Yomo says, his hand caressing her back. "Here."
She shook her head. "No."
"I want to see if we can cure it. Please." he requested and she stood up.
Irimi stood by the bed, having a bit of trouble unbuttoning her vest. Yomo was standing behind her, helping her take the vest off and helping her loosen her tie as well (since her hands were like shaking and twitching from time to time). He braced himself to see the scar in her back as she unbuttoned her white uniform and took it off.
Yomo stared at the scar still plainly visible in her back. He gulped and traced it with his finger.
"Does it hurt?" he asked.
"Not as much as before." she replied. She whimpered when his finger touched a part of her scar that Jason loved biting on.
Yomo saw her flinch and quickly pulled his fingers away. "Sorry." he says. "I thought Uta gave some kind of ointment for this. And yet..."
"It's not a magic cream. It doesn't work like that." She pulled her uniform up again to cover the scar and started buttoning her uniform. But after successfully buttoning the first one, she could not do the rest as her fingers suddenly grew numb. Yomo turned her to face him, helping her with the buttons.
Then he held on her arms, slowly he slithered down to her hands covered in bandages, lifting it up to see it up close.
"It's not effective to help your hands either." he tells her as his hands caressed on her hand covered in bandages.
She sighed and sat down the bed. She wanted to recover instantly as well, but it's not possible. There wasn't even a single case that is similar to hers. She buried her face in her hands, frustrated at the thought of not returning to her normal state.
Yomo realized he struck a nerve and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry...if I keep saying the wrong things."
"What if there is no way for me to recover?" she spoke, her head still down.
"Don't say that."
"It's been two weeks. I still can't work, I can't even wear my uniform right. I still need to bother Hinami or Touka to help me.""
Yomo can feel that hope was crushed, she was stressed at the possible reality that she may never regrow her tentacles again and for some reason, without her tentacles, her body is suffering some sort of breakdown.
'Enji was right. But what am I supposed to say? Do I lie and say everything will be alright? Or do I just comfort her?'
"Give it time." he chose to say. "I will ask the manager to allow me to research about a tentacle's anatomy and hopefully find an explanation as to why this is happening. You just have to...to.." was he supposed to say 'trust in him?' he could not assure her that everything will be alright. "Just.. don't lose hope."
"And if there's nothing?"
"There should be something."
The two were quiet. Until a few moments later they heard someone knocking on the door. "Come in." Irimi tells the person knocking. Enji opens the door, poking his head in and seeing the two sitting down the bed.
"Manager wants to talk to you." he eyed the silver-haired man. "Alone."
Yomo turned to his lover, leaning his forehead to hers, "I'll be back." he whispered and left. He refrained from kissing and the such, assuming she was still traumatized of the incident.
When Yomo left, Enji stayed by the door. "How's the house dog doing?" he teased, making the woman chuckle.
"Ailing."
"That bad, huh?" he says. "Well, in case you're still in high hopes, Uta is remaking your mask. Got your black coat ready. I can't wait to walk side by side with you again on a perimeter check, partner."
"Don't expect much. I am not making progress, I still can't write or hold anything without dropping them." she informed him.
Enji decided to keep the gloomy aura away, the subject is a little sad, so he gotta divert it somewhere. "Because you're not supposed to use your paws." he joked. "But jokes aside, you and Yomo, huh? Since when were you on his tail? Or was it him following you around?"
"Long story."
"I remember the day we first met him." Enji said, chuckling. "We literally jumped on him because we thought he did something to the manager."
"And we both got grounded." she added, joining him in his memory.
"There wasn't a day I ever thought of you two getting along. Literally you were at each other's throats. And it scared me when manager dragged both of you out of the shop and went Owl-mode!" he began to say. "Where did he drop you guys?"
"He threatened to drown us in the ocean if we didn't stop fighting." she answered him and Enji laughed at the thought of seeing the two in water. "We didn't."
"But I guess there's a reason why he loves picking a fight with you, eh?" Enji joshed. "Same reason why I also pick a fight with you before." he said with a smile, and she looked up at him, not realizing his feelings before. Enji chuckled at her shocked expression. "You were pretty dense in the past. No matter how much I hinted that I wanted to be your mate, you just treated me like a brother."
"Enji..."
"But I'm glad... I like the sound of you two together."
"Manager?"
"Yomo, please sit down." the manager says and Yomo did so. But he felt uneasy with the manager's current mood. "I've been doing my research for the past weeks and I was able to confirm something."
Yomo takes a deep breath, whether or not he wants to hear this, he better be ready to. "What is it?"
"Once a tentacle is stripped off their tentacles from the very roots, it will not grow back no matter what healing abilities the tentacle may have." Yoshimura says and Yomo was not happy one bit. "However, there are rumors that there is someone with the power to help regrow tentacles."
"Who and where?"
"It's a rumor, Yomo. There is no solid leads if this person exists." the manager says.
"Then why are you telling me this?!"
"I'm still searching for answers. I told you this to give you an idea of what I found out by far." he explained. "I want her to recover as well but we must also brace ourselves for the possibility that... that she may have to live like a human now. A human with disabilities that is."
Yomo balled his fists, staring on the floor. "I can't believe I'm hearing this from you."
"We're not giving up but we also can't cling to false hope."
While the two were talking, Hinami was outside, eavesdropping at their conversation. She didn't want it to end this way. She wanted to do something... everyone'd done something for her... now it's her turn to do something for them.
She turned the knob and entered the office without knocking.
"Manager I want to propose something." she says and Yomo was surprised to see her. The manager had a hunch of her little presence though.
"What is it Hinami?"
"While you are searching for a possible cure for her... I want to cancel all our preparations for my schooling. I will stay at home instead, be home-schooled by Irimi-san." she expressed her resolve to help. "Everyone's done so much for me, and I am really happy to be here, meeting everyone, being with everyone... I don't want to be just a kid anymore. I want to help."
"Hinami..."
"She could not write still, nor hold a book to help you learn." Yoshimura wanted to clarify.
"She can still talk and move. We can work with that." Hinami says. "There are times her limbs would grow numb but there are times it's not. I have a better time studying her condition and help you with your research."
Yomo and Yoshimura turned to each other, weighing the proposal that Hinami had. It seems like it was a good idea but...
"Are you sure about this?"
"School sounds fun." Hinami shared. "I can see from Touka-neechan whenever she'd come home but what makes school fun is the friends she makes outside and the family that greets her with a smile when she goes home. Irimi-san is family. I can't be happy when she's struggling."
"Very well."
"Thank you, Hinami." Yomo says, surprised with her resolve but thankful of what she could offer to help.
[Unknown Location]
Miza walks back to their hideout, happily skipping inside to see some of her comrades sitting down in boredom. "Nothing to do?" she asked.
"No orders yet." the one wearing a red iron mask over his face says.
"Eto is still conceiving- or digesting- or whatever she calls it." the one sitting beside the man wearing the iron mask says. "Where have you been all day?"
"Out." she answered vaguely. "Well if we have nothing to do, I will do my scouts tomorrow so I won't look as miserable as the two of you." she says and walked towards a room that belonged to her.
"Miza, no interacting with the doves." the man wearing the red iron mask reminds her. "If they find out Aogiri is within the area, they will suspect that we had something to do with the massacre."
"But aren't we really the one behind it?"
"We are misleading them to blame someone else remember?"
"Of course."
Miza entered her room, lying down in bed and covering her eyes with her arm. It's been a tiring day yet it's also been fun. Really fun in fact. She was able to kiss that white-haired boy and protect him. He was not afraid of her and he covered for her when the rest of the doves arrived.
"He's different." she mumbled.
[Akira's Apartment - 20th Ward]
Akira just arrived in her apartment, relieved to hear the news that her father will finally receive the burial he deserves. She did not understand what the point was to delay it when they couldn't even find a single clue about the unidentified tentacle for weeks.
The door clicked open as soon as she unlocked it. She dropped her bag on the side and groped for the switch on the wall, turning the lights on.
Massaging her head, she walked further inside only to be surprised to see that there are thousands of notes posted in her apartment. From the walls to the frames, the furnitire and even the windows.
'You're father is a murderer.'
'Assaulting a female tentacle is a crime.'
'Kureo Mado doesn't deserve to die yet.'
'He must pay for his crimes.'
'Female tentacles are women too.'
'DIE MADO!'
'May your daughter receive the same fate.'
'MURDERER.'
'PSYCHO.'
There are more on the walls, spray paint mixed of black and red was everywhere. Even the windows. Almost as if the whole apartment was vandalized by the whole community. The living room was trashed and some frames were shattered.
The red paint dripped almost like blood. Wherever she'd look she sees the compilation of many different accusations and curses from whoever wrote it.
"MY FATHER IS NOT A MURDERER!" she shouted at the poster on the wall near her and stripped it off, tearing it to pieces, only to see that there is another set of vandalism behind it, also cursing her father and accusing him.
She hurried to pull off all the other papers and banners that was taped on the wall, seeing that under it were also a set of pictures of Kureo's previous hunts along with words like 'Murderer', 'Rapist', 'Psychopath' associated with the photos. Large and bold lettering.
Akira almost shivered at the sight of it and immediately tore down all the other taped papers on the walls and windows. "HE DOESN'T DO THAT! HE KILLS TENTACLES BECAUSE IT'S HIS JOB!"
Crumpling the posters and papers she's gathered, she was tearing them apart, not wanting to see what was written on it but as she looked down on the floor... she sees that it was also vandalized.
Black and red paint cursing him still. Pictures of his hunts was scattered as well.
'Do you even know what your father did?'
'Are you also like him?'
'The Mado's should just die.'
'You should've just died, Mado Akira.'
Akira falls backward, her back hitting the wall as she's read more writings all over the apartment. It was everywhere, written in different sizes, written in caps, almost as if it was a declaration or written out of anger.
'Kureo Mado does not deserve a burial.'
'He must be BURNED even in his death!'
'YOU should just DIE WITH HIM.'
Gripping her head with her hands, she was shaking. She couldn't understand if it was out of fear or she was in some sort of nightmare. She could not understand the feeling. Was it anger? Rage? Pity? Anxiety? Frustration? Or was she afraid? Or what?
She did not notice that tears have been pouring down from her eyes since then. These words, these writings... it almost felt as if it were voices of the people who hated her father.
They were shouting at her, ridiculing her because of her father. The words became like a voice that was yelling at her.
"STOP! STOP! MY FATHER IS NOT A MURDERER! YOU'RE ALL WRONG!"
The placed her hands to cover her ears, hoping that the imaginary voices would stop already.
"You're all wrong..." she mumbled to herself.
