DISCLAIMER

The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Ghoul Root A and Tokyo Ghoul:re and other products related to the TG Series are all owned by Sui Ishida, Shin Towada and Shueisha.

F/SN, F/Z, F/KPI and other products related to the Fate Series are all owned by TYPE-MOON, Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi.


Chapter 43: Connection Denied


For the first time in a while, Shirou felt he was going to be sent in an unavoidable trap.

It all started early in the morning when he had reached the main entrance of the CCG HQ and was summoned to a immediate reunion called by Marude.

The man had lost much of his usual snappy attitude and appeared paler than the usual, holding a small bag containing several documents.

The briefing room that should usually hold the 4-men team was now counting more than twenty investigators as its occupants.

"We have quite the situation. Few hours after midnight we received a series of documents and photos showing addresses and pictures of houses spread all around the city."

Some seemed annoyed as it didn't seem much with so little information but to someone like Shirou, this was but the tip of a massive iceberg.

"The sender was Akihiro Kanou, I don't think I need to present the bastard nor I need to explain how much dangerous the doctor is. The main issue with all of this is that the man has advanced an ultimatum about contaminating Tokyo's water supply with a special chemical that would cause an immediate ROS diffusion on the population."

He took a vial out of the bag with some red liquid on it as everyone started to nervously chat to each other about the absurd situation.

"Kanou had sent a small part of the mentioned substance and recent analysis confirmed our fears. He is not bluffing."

The room exploded at the outrageous predicament, while Shirou contemplated the whole situation.

The doctor was not someone to pull such a desperate move, akin to a cornered animal, especially when the investigation was turning to be quite difficult to complete.

He was untraceable, either bribing or using different around the city to move quickly without being detected.

A ghost, a smiling ghost with the darkest of the minds.

"-This is why you will all be divided in 2-men teams. We need to quickly reach the various, possible hideouts and find out where the sorry sob is. Understood, maggots?!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good!" Marude finally grinned, a small trace still present, but nonetheless much more relaxed to know the briefing was over.

The occupants started to leave the room, the Emiya being followed by a more restrained Kichimura as he walked towards the Garage of the HQ.

"Don't you think that Kanou-san is truly clumsy, senpai? To shake the game so suddenly."

Shirou sighed but continued along his path. "Maybe there is a motivation that got the doctor this much trigger-happy. We cannot say for sure until we interrogate him."

"Oh?" The Washuu hummed quietly a song as he thought about something. "Could it be something personal? Like, I would completely be super-strong if someone hurted the ones I care."

"You think so?" Shirou mumbled with a confused tone. "And why would you think that?"

"Dunno!" He chuckled to himself. "He did strike me as a logical man, thus the only way he could do something that much dangerous would be if it had to do with emotions."

"With.. emotions?" Kichimura nodded and smiled at the confusion-riddled expression in the red-headed man. "Yeah, after all he might have someone he cares for- Actually do you have someone special yourself, senpai?"

Shirou flinched a brief moment at that unexpected question. Sure, the black-haired Washuu had been quite friendly, somehow loudmouthed and childish, and had never shown any reason to distrust him.

Yet the foreboding sense of dread regarding that smile still eluded the Magus and.. he conceded something to the inquisitive youth.

"I have some... friends."

A curious look from his partner pushed and asked for more details and he sighed.

"I met some... interesting individuals by a coffee shop in the 20th Ward. Its name is Anteiku."

"Oh? 'Antique', why would a coffee shop be called something so dull?"

The childish remark actually caused Shirou to chuckle as he finally reached the car assigned to them, opening it and sitting on the driver's seat.

The youth followed the action by seating himself by the passenger's seat and putting on his safety belt.

"Well.. Anteiku is structured in a very 'old style' compared to many other similar shops."

The Emiya blinked for a moment, remembering that they didn't need any distraction in that moment. "Maybe we will continue this talk after the mission, Kichimura-kun. I promise you."

Kichimura pouted and crossed his arms close to his chest with an annoyed expression.

"You are truly a meanie, senpai. I try to be the nice and all kouhai but you seems to cruelly trick me into not knowing about you."

How is that cruel?


The small flat isolated from the capital and in the general outskirts seemed more of an haunted attraction than something a wanted scientist would use as an hideout.

Cases in their hands, Shirou and Kichimura moved close to the entrance and noted that the door had been broken down, signs of large claws still present on the damaged wood.

"Be careful. We might not be alone."

The Washuu merely nodded at the Emiya's warning, curious but attentive eyes looking around for any possible monster lurking in the entrance room.

A sudden and distinct sound caught their attention as they both looked at sound instrument set on the far right corner of the room.

"Good to see that my little effort to get you in the right place had been fruitful. Good morning, Shirou-san."

"What is your game now, Kanou? Why are you condemning the whole city?"

"Condemning Tokyo? How would I be doing so? After all it was just a small request-"

"Ultimatum, Kanou-san."

"O-Oh right. I admit I might have been quite panicked in my planning as today was a very important anniversary for me."

"Oh? So you have someone special?" Shirou shoot a warning glare at the overly-stupid tackle the partner was taking and the young Washuu seemed to take notice of such reaction and look sheepish.

"I... had someone special. My mother was truly a beautiful woman.. an angel taken away so early in my life."

The doctor coughed and sighed. "Sadly I cannot spend much time talking with you, Washuu-kun, as I wish to have a private chat with your senior partner. Shirou, please enter the room in front of you and close the door."

"Why should I be doing that?" Another sigh at the Emiya's unwillingness caused the doctor to deliver the next set of words.

"If you don't comply to my quite lenient orders I will not only release the ROS-X content on the water supply but I will also trigger the bombs I had set in the other fake hidehouts."

Wide-eyed and pale, Shirou realised that the entire CCG had been fooled in that ploy.

If he failed to accept the requests, the Emiya would have caused not only the death of innocents but also the end of the organisations that keep the more violent Ghouls in line.

He gulped nervously. "O-Okay."

"Kichimura-kun, feel free to sit in one of the couches as Shirou-kun and I have a nice discussion."

"Senpai." The Washuu muttered quietly as he fell on one of the comfy furnitures with a distraught expression on his face. "Be.. Be careful."

Shirou blinked and felt that maybe this was the most genuine tone he had heard from the youth. "I will."

The Emiya left the Quinque Case behind as he walked towards the door and opened it, closing it behind him.

As he turned around, he found himself in the most normal room of the house.

It was a study room of sort, several bookcases and a single fireplace with a soft but determined flame going.

"Good thing that you actually accepted, Shirou-kun. I would have been quite displeased to commit such heinous action to humanity for this little, brief discussion. Please.. sit."

The Emiya complied and sat on the chair-couch opposite to the one where Akihiro Kanou had made himself at home, a cup of warm tea on his side and an opened book on his lap.

"You threatened to poison Tokyo and to destroy the CCG.. just for a talk?!"

The old man sighed at the summarised situation. "I can understand the need of venting and I will not deprive you of such but... time is very scarce to someone wanted thus I would be more than delighted if he focused on the issue at hand."

"You see, Shirou-kun, I've decided to give a bit more thought about researching you in what I was able to get in my hands." Kanou blinked as he closed the book. "But I was even more surprised when I found myself dabbling in... unknown subjects."

Oh no..

"To learn that 'magic' or magecraft as your kind call it was truly an amazing discovery. To know that there is some 'science' studying the paranormal phenomena around the world... and to learn it was all caused by something similar to RC cells."

Oh no!

"What do you want then?" The man stared into Shirou's eyes and nodded.

"Tell me, Shirou-kun... how did Ghoulkind appeared in our world?"

There were more dreadful questions the doctor could have asked, questions about immortality, about power.. and yet he choose that one.

"What?"

"I understand your surprise. I would have loved to learn more about this Moonlit World, yet I find myself stuck with a very limited time and delving too much in those new things would drag me away from my vision. Just limit yourself to answer the question."

Relief soothed his panicked mind but he kept his guard up.

"Ghouls... their origins had been discovered quite recently by the... church-" "The church too? That would explain why witch hunts and other similar situations have happened in the past." Kanou seemed to notice he had interrupted the younger man and sighed in embarassment. "Sorry, please continue."

"Their origin is linked to the late Age of Gods. It was the period were the Age of Man was slowly replacing the Age of Magic and... last magicians were the ones that felt the worst of the change as their bodies were barely able to keep up and soon many perished."

The old man blinked and then his eyes widened. "You mean that the minority... the minority mutated."

"It was a phenomenon caused by the mutation of the excessive quantities of prana being mostly converted in biological matter. Those became RC cells."

"Marvelous!" The doctor glowed in awe and glee at this revelation. "Then Ghouls had been humans centuries ago... that means that-" He paused, dread washing on his face. "This changes many things."

Shirou merely stared at the outburst and kept quiet, unwilling to cause the doctor to snap and do something dangerous.

"You... may leave."

The Emiya blinked in surprise at the request and was about to speak. "I SAID LEAVE! I NEED TO THINK ABOUT THIS WITHOUT NUISANCES!"

The red-headed man skipped out of his seats and in the living room, where Kichimura waited for him.

The young man noticed him and the older of the two nodded shakily. "We need to go."

The two left the almost abandoned house as Kanou was left with so much to think about, so much that needed to be planned once again.


AN

I've been asked a lot about making the origin of the Ghouls and here it is. Still, I think Shirou's panicked explanation was a tad bit.. lacking, thus I decided to make this.

History of Ghouls N1: Not much is known about the exact period that saw the end of the Age of Gods and the beginning of the Age of Man, but Ghouls could be considered proof of what exactly happened to True Magicians. Many historians had thought that the death of the last Magician had led to the Age of Man, yet it was discovered twenty years ago that the theory was wrong. The Age of Man.. brought the end of Magicians, forcing their body in excruciating transformations that forced their unusual quantity of converted prana to turn in biological matter because of the new Physical laws that ruled the world. Many died because of the painful mutations but a minority managed to not only survive but also control their new mutations to optimal levels. Those were the first Ghouls.

I will continue to add more bits of 'history' by the AN of the following chapters. I've planned 14 more descriptions before replacing it with.. something else.

Review Q&A!

KRKing: I am not underestimating anyone. I still think his inclusion in the past would rose some confusions if he would appear in some cameo of the present.

Kayen1024: I think you misunderstood. My current plan is having this second arc reach Chapters 52-54 and then the final, third arc will span another twenty-thirty chapters. It is not going to end anytime soon..

larmmason: I know the pain, man. I remember that starting Uni was like a punch on the face to my first, confused schedule.