Here we are. The midway point, and goddamn! There is a lot going on. The X-Men finally arrive at Japan, and meet with only an old friend, but also potential allies in order to rescue Kaneki. And then there's the GCB all ready to go to war with Aogiri Tree after making the 11th ward devoid of civilian life. Blood will be spilt as Kaneki is "interrogated" for information. Guess who doing said interrogation. here we go.
Chapter 14 – Storm (part 2)
Charles Xavier waited in front of his school for his X-Men to arrive. The first to do so was Ororo. She used the wind to fly her way to the mansion.
"Hello Charles."
"Welcome home, Ororo."
The two hugged.
"It's been far too long."
"How's T'Challa?"
"Same. Stoic, but adorable. But I have missed you."
A car soon rolled up the driveway, revealing to be both Hank McCoy and Kurt Wagner.
"Hank. Kurt."
Said Charles in a pleasing tone.
"Guten Tag, mein friends."
"I can't tell you how I happy I was to get your call. Between staff meetings and university food, academia was starting to get a little…stale."
"It's good to have you all-"
Charles was interrupted by the sounds of a motorcycle revving down as it slowed down. Everyone was shocked to see Scott come back. He got off his bike and said hello to the team.
"Hi everyone."
Everyone remembered how Scott was when Jean left the planet. They all remembered how broken he was since that day. The tense silence was broken when Kurt teleported behind Scott and spooked him.
"GHAAH! Kurt! I thought you stopped doing that."
"Ah. Just a little fun, old friend. Still stiff as a board after all this time."
Scott sighed as he was still the same stick in the mud he ever was.
"Seriously…"
The team laughed at how this brought up pleasant memories.
"Welcome back, Scott."
Said Charles, to which Scott responded,
"It's…really good to be back, Professor. So, what's the occasion?"
Charles then had a solemn look on his face.
"It's rather a sad situation that we…must take action on."
They all eventually went to the briefing room in the mansion underground.
"This is the mission I called you all for. This is Ken Kaneki, Logan's son."
Everyone reacted to hearing about the mission being about Kaneki.
"I thought he was missing. After…"
"His death. Yes, Ororo. However, he would eventually be found wandering the streets of Tokyo. This is him now."
Charles showed both the student ID photo taken by Kami University, as well as the news footage of the chaos that occurred more than a month ago in Tokyo's 9th ward.
"It would seem that Ken Kaneki has been following in his father's footsteps."
Said Hank with Scott asking the following question.
"Is he in any danger?"
"Unfortunately yes. I was contact by an old comrade of ours. Piotr."
"Colossus? What's he been doing all this time?"
"He's an Investigator for the GCB in Japan."
"So, our old metal comrade is now a ghoul-jaeger?"
"Yes Kurt. He first contacted me about Kaneki…seven years ago, if I'm correct. Then he did so again two more times recently."
"Recently?"
"The first time was about his capture."
Everyone in the room were shocked to hear Kaneki being kidnapped again.
"There's a lot to explain. So, I'll start with the relevant details. Kaneki was captured by a group of ghouls in the area. Ordinarily, Piotr could handle something like this on his own, but recently, The GCB in Tokyo, Japan have been embroiled in a developing situation that demanded an evacuation of an entire city ward."
"How? Have the ghouls been growing stronger?"
Asked Ororo.
"In some ways, yes. From what I have been able to gather, there's an organized ghoul movement that has the city on high alert. Several GCB assets are preparing to mobilize into the 11th ward as we speak, where this ghoul group has been located."
Kurt then asked,
"How is Kaneki been connected to all this?"
"He has captured a fair amount of attention due to his mutation, and…"
Charles then showed an online video of Kaneki defeating Kraven the Hunter.
"His recent victories against high-profile criminals. It may have led them to believe that Kaneki was positioning himself to be the city's defender."
Hank replied,
"That is one explanation."
"Which leads me to the other call. Piotr has asked me that we all meet at this location."
Charles then showed a map of the 20th ward in Tokyo. The computer's GPS pinpointed to a coffee shop. Ororo spoke out its name.
"Anteiku?"
"Piotr requested that you all meet him there. He'll explain why once all of you arrive."
All nodded as Scott ended the briefing.
"Suit up."
Everyone switched from their previous clothing to their old X-Men costumes. They were mostly uniform, consisting of blue and yellow spandex suits, with few minor alterations to accentuate their individuality. Once prepared, the X-Men then went to the jet, the Blackbird. Both Hank and Ororo sat in the pilot seats.
"So Hank, you think the blackbird will still run? It hasn't been used in under 20 years."
"This plane was made to last twice as long, with room to make proper upgrades of course."
"Maybe we should've taken some time to get those done."
"If Hank says she can still fly, she'll fly."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Scott."
The overhead opened up as the Blackbird started to ascend to the sky and immediately took off to Tokyo.
xxxxxx
(11th ward)
Kaneki slowly woke up. As he did; he found himself in his uniform, all tattered, his wrists, chained together, and on a chair. In front of him was Yamori, sorting out his tools. All while having blurry vision for a while.
"Ah, you're awake. This is my room. This is where I have my…interrogations. Don't hesitate to make yourself comfty. Tatara wanted any and all information on Weapon X out of you. By any means necessary, of course."
Yamori finally finished sorting out his tools.
"At first, I was happy that he gave the job to me. When I first saw you, I just couldn't wait to see how you squirm. But you…"
Yamori cracked one of his fingers.
"Are a hard kid to crack."
He then put on his hockey mask. Kaneki sees the mask, and his eyes widened as he found the ghoul he was looking for. Yamori grabbed the top of his head.
"Let's try again, shall we?"
Yamori reached out to the table that head his tools and picked up a syringe.
"Normally, I would use serums that make a ghoul feel nothing but intense pain. That's why I had to leave for a while. Believe it or not, you're the first mutant I'm doing all this to."
He then injected Kaneki with an unknown chemical, which slowly started to burn throughout his bloodstream.
"My special blend of sodium pentothal. Something I made up on the spot. My finest work, in my opinion. Before you're compelled to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; First, you're going to feel like I just injected magma into your body."
Kaneki screamed as he felt an intense burning sensation all over his body.
xxxxxx
(GCB Branch office, 20th ward)
"Here's the situation at hand. Two months ago, the shopping mall in question was occupied by a large force of ghouls. Over the last week, they've substantially increased their numbers. So far, we count 500 ghouls…"
As the briefing went on, Amon looked at the quinque he picked from the collection that Madou gave him.
flashback
Shinohara stood alongside Amon, determining which quinque was better suited to him. After trying out three, Shinohara chose one that he believed better suited him.
"You sure, sir?"
"Long-range and mid-range combat, you're average. Where you excel is close-combat. Madou believed this as well."
end
As the briefing went on, Amon thought hard about the quinque given to him.
"I won't let you down, Mr. Madou."
The briefing stopped all of a sudden when Shinohara entered with vital news. News that Marude eagerly expected.
"The evacuation has been completed."
Before Marude could give the order, Shinohara then said,
"I also have a new development I have to report."
Everyone murmured to each other while Marude seethed in anger as he felt cockblocked.
"It better be good."
"I got a report from Piotr Rasputin."
"And what did the metallic Russian want?"
"Ken Kaneki was kidnapped by Aogiri Tree two days ago."
This report struck a nerve with Amon.
"Jesus Christ! What bullshit is that kid in now?!"
"Well apparently, video footage of him taking down an enhanced criminal went viral more than a month ago."
Shinohara went up, and used the system to bring up a recording of Kaneki taking down Kraven the Hunter. A few of the Investigators talked among themselves about what they were seeing.
"Mr. Rasputin believes that this, combined with what happened in the 9th ward, made Aogiri Tree believed that he was a threat to what they plan, and captured him before that would happen. At least that's what he told me."
"What of it?"
"He wants to participate in the operation on the condition that Ken Kaneki's rescue is put into the mission parameters."
The Investigators talked further while Amon continued to silently seethe.
"Impossible. Even if I grant him that, there's over 500 ghouls in the area."
"He knows that. Which is why he's asked of another condition. He wants to bring in both Daniel Rand with him…"
"The so-called Iron Fist?"
"Yes. And…"
Everyone waited for Shinohara to finish his sentence.
"The X-Men."
The last thing he said made the room explode with surprise as the Investigators commented on how having the X-men involved could tip the scales in their favor. Amon stood surprised as well, but for different reasons.
"The X-Men you say?"
"Piotr intends to debrief them of the situation and asked for their help in this, in return for not only his safe rescue, but also to get him out of the country for his own safety."
"Is that all?"
"Pretty much."
Marude gave a big sigh of relief.
"Hell of a deal, if you ask me. I'd do anything to get that little prick to stop giving me headaches."
"Well, that make two. I told this to Kamibochi, and he actually looked relaxed about it."
Nearly everyone in the room laughed before Marude gave the order.
"Let's kick some ass!"
"YES SIR!"
All of the Investigators suited up with their weapons by their side, exited the building, and entered the combat buses taking them to where Aogiri Tree fortified themselves. Police officers stood ready in the streets as they guided the buses to their destination.
xxxxxx
(Anteiku)
Everyone waited in the barely-lit café, waiting for Piotr to bring in his former teammates in aiding the rescue. Touka, Nishiki, and Hinami waited with silent tension. Danny held Irimi's hand in consoling her nervousness. Tsukiyama simply enjoyed a cup of coffee. Koma was watching the news report about the on-going situation at the 11th ward.
"At this moment a joint force of over 1,000 GCB and law enforcement are awaiting the order to storm the 11th ward. The man responsible for leading the operation is Special Investigator Marude Itsuki."
Marude stands in front of a camera, holding a microphone, giving a speech to the city.
"We give our lives for the success of this operation. We will put everything on the line to save 99 percent of the people of this city. For the one percent, they will have to rely on you working together. With your cooperation, we will bring peace and order to the 11th ward."
As the report went on, Nishiki spotted a Humvee and a brown-haired individual wearing rose-tinted sunglasses riding a motorcycle.
"I think they're here."
"You think?"
Asked Touka.
"Don't start. Look at that humvee."
They see an X in a circle on the side of the humvee. Soon after, they see people exiting the vehicle. Two of which had visible mutations. Mutations that made Hinami look with astonishment.
"This the place, Piotr?"
Asked Scott as he off his bike.
"Da. Please. Come inside."
As everyone saw Piotr leading his old team, Koma turned off the TV as Touka said,
"Someone get Yoshimura. They're already here."
By the time she finished, the X-Men already entered. They all looked around to see the state of the café.
"Seems this place has seen better days."
"Kurt, don't be rude."
Replied Scott, reprimanding him for his obnoxious comment. Hank took a sniff of the place and sees blood splatters on the floor.
"I think this place has seen some…unwanted action."
"A lot more than you know."
Said Danny, catching the attention of Hank. He took a moment to remember where he seen Danny before.
"You seem familiar somewhat."
"Right. Allow me to introduce everyone to each other."
Piotr cleared his voice to get started.
"To my left are the Individuals that make the X-Men. The man in the sunglasses is Scott Summers. Callsign: Cyclops."
Scott points to his sunglasses.
"These things aren't for show. My mutant powers are that I shoot lasers out of my eyes. Problem is, there's no off switch."
Everyone thought positively of Scott as he seemed the responsible one.
"He is also team leader in combat situations. Next is this lovely woman."
"If I may, Piotr?"
"Please."
"My name is Ororo Munroe. My callsign is Storm."
A small gust of wind arose from inside the café. Everyone covered their eyes a little, but Tsukiyama kept his open to see in awe what her powers can do.
"Sacre Bleu."
Everyone then saw what Ororo was doing. He was using the wind to levitate herself from the ground.
"I can manipulate the weather to do almost anything I want."
"Amazing, is it not?"
"Ce magnifique. That's all there is to say."
"The next two have their mutations pretty visible."
"Unfortunately so. Allow me. My name is Hank McCoy. On the field, I am referred as Beast."
Hinami looked from behind Touka. She was not afraid of the X-Men. Rather, just shy around new people. She looked at Hank wanting to know him better, but her shyness initially prevented her acting on her desire.
"His appearance doesn't show his true talent. Hank is genius-level intellect. His knowledge of almost every field of science has aided X-Men in critical situations."
Hinami slowly walked forward to Hank and tugged on his jacket.
"Excuse me."
Hank looked around to see Hinami, looking timid.
"How can I help you, young lady?"
"Could I…shake your hand?"
Hank presented his left hand to her. She gently grabs it, and holds it for a while.
"It's warm and fuzzy."
She smiled at Hank, to which he returned.
"Fascinated by me, young lady?"
"I think you're cute."
Everyone laughed a little as nobody called Hank cute before.
"I love your fur. It's really soft."
"Then you should love mine as well, fraulein."
Said Kurt as he appeared behind her. She sees him and made a small shriek as she hid behind Hank. The X-Men groaned at his behavior.
"Nice one, Kurt. She's scared of you now."
Said Scott, in an annoyed tone.
"Apologies. It was not my intention."
As he laughed away, the ghouls of Anteiku deadpanned at how much of an airhead the thin, dark blue mutant acted.
"This one is Kurt Wagner. His mutation, aside from his demon-like appearance, is that of-"
"Wait! I wish to demonstrate."
Kurt then promptly disappears in a puff of smoke. This put made almost everyone negatively surprised. The X-Men looked on with annoyance while Tsukiyama clapped.
"Tries bien. Tries bien. What is his ability, again?"
"It's teleportation."
"Hank is correct. His callsign is Nightcrawler. He once worked in a traveling circus before Charles Xavier found him."
When Piotr told his ghoul allies that Kurt's mutant ability was teleportation, Koma asked,
"When you said teleportation, he can appear anywhere he want to?"
"Da…"
Piotr suddenly realized how all this was going to go south real fast.
"Oh no…"
At first, the X-Men were confused as to what was going on.
"Piotr, what is it that you're worried about?"
"It is the reason why you are here-"
Kurt teleported back to the café with both of his swords as he pointed them to the yet-revealed ghouls. At first, this upset Scott.
"Kurt, what the hell are you doing?"
"These people are ghouls! I just discovered bags of flesh within one of their storage rooms!"
Everyone was shocked to hear that.
"Piotr, is this true? Are they ghouls?"
Danny stepped up and spoke to them in a calm voice.
"Please. Just give us your patience. I'm sure that if you listen to Piotr, he can give you a good picture. However, Mr. Summers, let me assure you. No one here has any intention to hurt anyone. So please, tell your teammate to put his swords down."
Everyone looked at Scott to make the right decision. In his mind, Scott knew that part of the responsibilities of the X-Men was to protect both humans and mutants from ghouls. The people in front of them were his de-facto enemies. And yet, it did not feel right to start a bloodbath where one was not necessary.
"Kurt, sheathe our sword."
"Scott-!"
"I said sheathe, not put them back in the humvee."
"Understood."
Hinami instantly went to Touka's side. Hank looked on in shock in being presented the opportunity that she was a ghoul.
"I'm giving you five minutes, Piotr. Please tell me…that being here didn't turn you into a species traitor."
Piotr felt hurt being called that. Touka could see it on his face as he expressed it. As she felt the desire to speak up, the door of the café opened to reveal Yoshimura, Yomo, and Uta entering.
"Uta?"
"Hey there Touka."
All three could see what was happening, but failed to find the words to describe it, momentarily.
"Wow. Looks like a throwdown waiting to happen."
Yoshimura pleaded with everyone to stay calm.
"All right now. I think a conversation is in order. Piotr, are these people your old team?"
"Da, Yoshimura."
"Excellent. Which one of you leads this team?"
Scott raised his hand.
"I am. Scott Summers."
Yoshimura extended his hand to Scott.
"I am the owner of this establishment. Call me Yoshimura."
The two shook hands.
"I imagine you already know what we are."
"Pretty much."
"Well, before we get to the…ugly details, how about I make you some coffee?"
The X-Men accepted his unusual offer. Whey each of the X-Men took a sip, Ororo was the first to voice her pleasure.
"This is absolutely delicious."
"I agree. You've really brought out the texture and taste of the beans."
Said Hank with Kurt agreeing.
"Ja. What he said."
Scott took a sip as well. He too liked the coffee, but this only brought up more questions.
"Is this something your kind enjoys?"
"Yes. Coffee is one of the few things we ghouls enjoy as much as you and humans do."
"So, how did you get Piotr come to your side? And Kaneki for that matter?"
"Therein lies a story. One I hope you'd be…open-minded to listening."
"Well…I wouldn't say no. As long as it…answers some of the questions that came to my mind."
"I'll do the best I can."
Yoshimura then started on how Anteiku came to be, how Piotr came to be supportive of the goals he intended to achieve. So far, the X-Men slowly came to respect both him and what he set out to achieve for his species.
"Well, I can…certainly see the sincerity in your words."
"I agree with Scott, Yoshimura. Attempting to create a bridge between ghouls and humans have the impression of a herculean task. Then again, the same was once said for human-mutant relations."
"I appreciate that, Mr. Summers. As well as you, Dr. McCoy"
"That only leaves me with one question. How did Ken Kaneki fit into all this? I really want to hope that you brought him into your group without ill intentions."
"Ill intentions?!"
Said Touka in an anger-filled voice.
"All you've done since you came here is judge us just for being ghouls! How can you-?!"
"TOUKA!"
Yelled Yoshimura. The sudden outburst of anger snapped everyone into silence. So much so that it shocked him as well. He then clears his throat.
"Apologies. One of my employees has strong feelings and the opinions that go with them. I don't discourage them, but I do stress that there is a time and place for them."
"I…see."
Said Scott as he reminded himself of his previous question.
"I apologize if I sounded like I took the honesty behind your words with a grain of salt, but you have to understand. Ken Kaneki is the son of a fellow mutant whom we consider to be family."
"You mean the Wolverine?"
"Yes. He was dear to us. We consider Kaneki to be a part of us as well, whether he knows it or not. In all honesty, I feel guilty about not staying in touch the X-Men. I was in a bad place before, and it took me more than 10 years to get myself together. By then, it was too late. I discovered…Logan died during that time I stayed away from the X-Men."
Everyone felt sad for Scott for losing somebody he considered family due to personal problems.
"I want to make up for it by saving Kaneki and getting him to safety. So, I am really hoping that what I will hear from you is that you took him in because I want to believe the kind man you clearly present yourself to be."
Yoshimura could feel the weight of Scott's words. His plea for wanting to hear that Kaneki was treated with the same mercy and empathy the X-Men would gladly give him carried an air of regret.
"I wasn't always a kind man. But I learned to be one…out of desire, regret…and weariness."
The employees of Anteiku as well as Piotr and Danny, felt that Yoshimura briefly exposed himself to Scott Summers.
"What I learned, I put into Kaneki. For the most part, that was what he received when I took him in."
"The most part?"
Yoshimura sighed as he knew that what he would tell Scott would leave him in a flurry of negative emotions.
"Life as a way with chaos."
Yoshimura then told Scott about how Kaneki came to Anteiku. About the steel beam incident, about his encounter with Tsukiyama, which made the X-Men raise their hostilities at him for a while before it was defused. He also told them about the Wing Kong Exchange, with help from both Piotr and Danny, and how Hinami thought of him as the big brother of his life from when she lost her mother to Rize Kamishiro. Lastly, Yoshimura gave the X-Men the full story about the chaos that happened at the 9th ward. When he was finished, the X-Men were left in a state of absolute bewilderment of the events that got Kaneki to where he was right now. Kurt was the first to audibly react.
"Mein Gott in Himmel…"
"Indeed. He's been through too much."
Said Hank with Scott asking Piotr,
"And you didn't report to Charles about all this?"
"I…was too busy maintaining my cover. To make sure that his efforts would go…unimpeded."
Scott got up from his stool and confronted Piotr.
"Piotr! Kaneki has suffered more than anyone should."
"I had no idea that Weapon X kept him here. Please, believe me, dear comrade. If I had known, I would've risked everything for him to be safe from those bastards that made him into weapon."
Scott sighed as he really could not fault for not knowing about that Weapon X had a base of operations in Tokyo.
"Fair enough. Guess that makes us being here all the more important."
"I take it that means that you will join us?"
Scott faced Yoshimura.
"Yeah. We're in."
Everyone felt elated that Kaneki would soon be rescued from Aogiri Tree. And yet, Scott gave one caveat for the rescue mission.
"You know that we can only cooperate without the GCB knowing about it."
"I understand."
Touka then asked Uta,
"So, are you really coming with us?"
"Of course. Can't leave a valued customer to such a gruesome fate."
Yoshimura then gave the order.
"Let's go."
xxxxxx
During the ride to the shopping mall where Aogiri Tree occupied, Shinohara was looking over the case file of Yamori, who was actually named Yakumo Oomori. Amon sees him looking over said file.
"Something wrong, Shinohara?"
"It's nothing. I do have a question. When you and Madou fought him, did you get any read on him?"
Amon took a moment to remember how the fight went.
"Definitely unique. He had a certain vibe about him, but that hard to put into words."
"That helps. The only photo we have of him was before he started going by Jason. After his initial arrest, he was taken to the Cochlea ghoul detention center. The Investigator who put him there had a certain…affinity for psychological torture."
Amon imagine what kind of atrocities must have been committed on that dark day.
"He was tortured in ways that would make even the CIA turn away in horror. The process of surviving was so brutal, his mind repressed the whole thing. When it did, a whole new personality was born. One that was more than willing to go to more depraved depths than his captor was afraid to dive into himself. After that, he busted out. But not before getting some payback. Since then, he was always willing to do then same thing to whoever he captures. His victims are subjected to the same torture he suffered through."
Shinohara hands Amon the file on Yamori. He looks at it as he listened.
"He started calling himself Jason. After that movie serial killer. Crazy shit, am I right?"
xxxxxx
Kaneki screamed at the top of his lungs when Yamori twisted his left leg.
"Have you been counting backward from 1000 by seven?"
In between the screams, Kaneki yelled,
"UP YOURS!"
Yamori, disappointed by his replay, twisted his right leg next. Kaneki screamed during that tie as well. Yamori swiped the sweat form his brows as torturing Kaneki proved itself to be a difficult endeavor.
"Every time I cut him; he heals like it never happened. Maybe I need to try something different. Something he could heal back from, but hates doing so…"
He then sorts out his tools once more.
"I'll be back soon. Now don't forget…"
Yamori gabbed the top of Kaneki's head to make him face him.
"The reason why it didn't hurt as much at the start was because you…"
Yamori took out his handkerchief to swipe off the sweat dripping down Kaneki's face.
"were honest to me. But then you decided to piss me off, and that's why…"
Yamori then put pressure on Kaneki's left leg to emphasize the point. Which gave additional pain to Kaneki.
"This had to happen."
He then let go of his leg and proceeded to exit the room.
"I'll be back soon."
As he began to exit, another person in a crimson cloak entered the room, pushing a water-filled janitor bucket with a mop inside said bucket. Yamori gave him the order.
"Clean the place up."
"Yes sir."
Kaneki knew who the voice belonged to. As he got closer, Kaneki asked for his name.
"Banjou?"
"How are you holding up?"
Kaneki felt his legs re-inserting themselves back to normal.
"Believe it or not, I've been through worst."
"Yeah, I can imagine. I'm sorry that you have to go something like this again. The moment I see an out, we act on it. So don't you quit on me."
"And give that hockey-masked prick the satisfaction of breaking me? Like hell."
Both laughed a little.
"Why me though? I know I got business with him, but what the hell did I do to him?"
"He thinks you had something to do with Rize's death."
Banjou continued to mop as spoke.
"The next shift is Shu and Haru. Friends of mine. If they can find the opportunity, they'll act on it."
Banjou finished up cleaning.
"Is he making you see everything?"
"…Yeah he is. My punishment for trying to get you out of here. Stay strong."
Banjou exited the room as Kaneki sat silently.
xxxxxx
Up on the roof overseeing the highways, the leadership of Aogiri Tree see the large convoy of combat buses heading to where they stationed their ghoul army. With them was also Nico.
"They got here sooner than we thought."
Said Eto with Tatara giving the order to the Bin Brothers.
"You two are with the main building."
The two replied,
"Right."
"Kirishima, take the annex."
"Got it."
"Noro, you got it from here. Eto, we should move."
Ayato asked Nico,
"Where's Yamori?"
"Still with that mutant, last time I checked."
"Seriously? The interrogation should be done by now."
"Well, little Kuzuri is proving himself to be one tough nut to crack."
"Well that's just great."
Ayato then put on his mask to perform the orders he was given.
xxxxxx
Kaneki heard the doors open and shut. He knew it to be Yamori.
"I'm back. And I have something special for you."
He looked up to see Yamori holding a red and black millipede on his left hand.
"What fresh hell did you bring today?"
"Since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. I'm going to put this little guy into your ear canal. Won't that be fun?"
Yamori laughed like a madman as he did so, making Kaneki scream in utter torment.
xxxxxx
The combat buses parked in front of the shopping mall where the ghoul armies of Aogiri Tree fortified to be their stronghold. The officers had both their rifles and riot shields all ready for battle. The ghouls stood ready for war as well as they had weapons of their own. In addition to their kagunes, they also possessed rifles of their own as well. All of the Investigators and armed police officers waited for the order to advance in enemy territory. While both sides waited to slaughter each other, the Anteiku group split into two teams. One composed of Yomo, Tsukiyama, Uta, Nishio, and Touka. Then, a signal flare rose into the sky and exploded. This prompted the Aogiri ghouls to open fire first at the GCB forces. The GCB returned fire, hoping to take down a few of the enemy forces. Marude sees all this while inside one of the command trucks.
"What the hell? They're picking us off."
"Enemy forces are employing both kagunes and scopes, sir. We also spotted them using Stark Industries rifles."
"Replicas, more likely. So, these damn flesh eaters fancy themselves solders?"
He got up from his seat and kicked the door open.
"COME ON, MEN! DON'T LET THESE BASTARDS SHOW US UP!"
Marude took a rifle from one of the soldiers and began firing himself. He proved himself to be a capable marksman as he took down a few of the enemy forces.
"You see that?! That's how you take down a sniper's nest, you sack-less clods!"
As the soldiers looked at Marude as how an officer of the GCB should act, the sounds of a revving motorcycle could be heard.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Your bike was brought over from headquarters, sir."
Marude could see who it was on his motorcycle. It was Suzuya, Shinohara's subordinate.
"Hey stitches! What the hell are you doing with my bike?"
"Don't worry, okay?!"
Suzuya inadvertently turned the pedal for acceleration as he sped forward to the shopping mall. He laughed like an excited child as he did so. While Marude looked on in horror as his beloved motorcycle was hijacked by an off the wall teenager.
"Wait! What do you think you're doing?! Get back here, you psychotic ape! No no no no no no no no no no! Don't turn my baby into swiss cheese. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME!?"
The ghouls of Aogiri Tree looked at the speeding motorcycle in befuddlement as Suzuya used the stair of the shopping mall to leap high into the air. As he was in mid-air, he leapt off the bike as he yelled,
"EIENY, MEENY, MINEY…"
The bike exploded as it impacted into the barrier that the Aogiri ghouls created to keep the GCB out while Suzuya shot the first ghoul he saw with the rifle he took with him.
"MOE!"
As he entered into the sniper's nest, he shot his weapon while also slicing dead the ones he missed with his gun with a knife he takes with him at all times. The GCB could only look from afar as the enemy gunfire slowly faded away, thanks to Suzuya's "unconventional" efforts. He smiled as the made an O with his arms as a signal to advance to his comrades. Marude laughed and cried over the loss of his motorcycle, but recomposed himself as Suzuya's actions, chaotic as they were, gave the GCB forces the opportunity to advance unto Aogiri territory.
"GET IN THERE AND RAISE SOME HELL!"
The soldiers yelled as they charged into enemy territory while taking down any ghouls that they see in their path. Meanwhile, the Anteiku group made their way inside of the mall, searching for Kaneki. They encountered a group of Aogiri ghouls along their way.
"Hold it. Which team are you with?"
The Anteiku group made short work of their obstacle. Touka answered the dead group's question.
"Team Anteiku."
A GCB platoon led by Shinohara encountered a group of Aogiri ghouls.
"Incoming, three o'clock. I count 10 targets."
The soldiers fired their rifles at the enemy forces while advancing. One of the soldiers potted enemy reinforcements.
"We got more incoming!"
"Hirako. You're up."
The Investigator by that name stepped forward and activated his kagune. It was a bladed weapon that was black and red. It was short and wide at first, but when he slain the additional ghouls that came, it became tall and slim. As soon as he was done, he reported his status.
"Southern entrance, blocked and secured."
Shinohara then gave the order as more soldiers came inside of the area.
"I want the entire perimeter secured."
He then reported his status to Marude.
"This is Shinohara. We've taken control of the second-floor entrance. Orders?"
"Divide into three units. Move in from below, then secure the parking lot and the interior. Rendezvous topside."
"Roger that. By the way, haven't seen Suzuya."
"I can't let that patchwork psycho die until he pays for my bike. Send someone to snag him."
Shinohara sighed a little as he knew that Juuzo would do something to get on Marude's bad side.
"Copy that."
xxxxxx
Kaneki sat silently once again after another round with Yamori. This time, he doused Kaneki's face with a bucket full of hydrochloric acid. It burned him something fierce. His face looked like a smoldering raisin as he felt it melting his face and head. His healing factor soon kicked in, re-growing both the melted skin and his hair. Before he healed himself, Yamori saw something metal on his face when it was melting.
"What'd you got there, little mutant?"
Yamori wanted to take a closer look, but Kaneki's skin prevented him from doing so. He shrugged it off as a minor inconvenience.
"So, how far does it go? Answer honestly."
"…my entire body."
"No shit. You serious?"
"Dead."
Yamori laughed a little.
"Clearly the face is a no go. Thankfully, I know one part of the body where I can easily find out."
Yamori pointed to Kaneki's right foot.
"Did you know that a sizable percentage of the central nervous system can be located on the human foot? Specifically…"
He placed the bucket of hydrochloric acid near him before raising Kaneki's leg.
"The toes. Part of the reason why it hurts so much when you stub your toe is because…"
He then dipped the metal cup he used before to melt Kaneki's face and hovered it over Kaneki's right foot.
"There are so many nerves in each little piggy. Hard to imagine, am I right?"
Kaneki struggle to get his right foot out of the way, but Yamori possessed a vice-like grip on his leg. He laughed manically as he spilled the acid all over Kaneki's right foot. Kaneki screamed louder than ever before over the acid melting his foot off. The melted skin revealed exactly what Yamori saw before. The bones of the foot were covered in a strange metal that he had never seen before. This fascinated Yamori. When the healing factor restored the foot, Yamori let go.
"You…"
He grabbed Kaneki by the hair.
"Are a fascinating subject. I hope this war goes on forever. I wanna see what make you tick."
Yamori then let go of Kaneki's hair as Shu and Haru entered as per his instructions. Yamori left the room as the two began clean-up. Shu swiped what was left of the acid with water and soap on Kaneki's right foot.
"This is barbaric."
Both Shu and Haru were cleaning up Kaneki before he spoke to them.
"Thanks."
"Just so you know, Banjou still hasn't given up on you. He's still looking for a way to get you out of here."
"How's he taking everything?"
Haru then said,
"Not well. That time with the millipede kind of…affected him. Yamori ordered us to bind him every time he starts interrogating you."
They both got up as they finished. Shu then said to him,
"Try to hang on, Kaneki."
Yamori soon entered as soon as they were finished. When Shu and Haru did so, Yamori grinned in excitement for some new horror he had in store. Kaneki looked at him with a serious look and said to him,
"So, what do ya got for me now?"
Yamori did not say anything at first he took out a blindfold and placed it over Kaneki's eyes.
xxxxxx
The assault on the Aogiri stronghold continued. Touka took down a number of Aogiri ghouls while looking for Kaneki.
"Damn it, Kaneki. Where are you?"
Amon took down a couple of ghouls as he took part to secure the third floor of the mall. By then, he spotted something large and metallic.
"Whoa. Is that…?"
Some lights turned on while loud, mechanical noises were heard. Meanwhile, some of the Aogiri leadership joined the fight as they killed large numbers of the GCB forces. Noro was spotted at a stairwell by some GCB soldiers as they began shooting at him.
"Empty your clips!"
The shots seemed ineffective as Noro showed no signs of pain. He then activated his kagune. The shape was a fleshy tunnel with large teeth formed at the mouth entrance. Its primary colors were crimson and violet. He used it to grab one of the soldiers shooting at him. Then, as his kagune slowly devoured the captured soldier, he turned the blood of his victim into small red blades that killed the rest of the soldiers shooting at him in a rain of swords. At another part of the stronghold, Ayato encountered some GCB soldiers of his own and they started shooting at him. It proved itself useless as he used his kagune to create a spinning barrier to protect himself against the bullets. He then leapt up into the air, landed right behind them, and killed them with crimson crystals from his kagune.
"Not bad. They've actually made some headway."
Then he heard loud, mechanical noises from a certain direction. Followed by a large boom.
"Sounds like the doves found our special weapon."
Amon soon came face to face with a large mech, piloted by an Aogiri ghouls.
"Not so tough now, dove! I'd like to see your weapon go up against this."
Amon almost recognized what kind of mech it was.
"Is that a…Sentinel?"
"You've guessed right!"
The sentinel mech slammed his hand to the ground where Amon stood, but he dodged it at the last second.
"Took a lot of work to get it to be like this, but crushing both you and your comrades is gonna make it worthwhile."
Amon now became angry.
"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!"
Amon dodged the arm swings of the mech and struck its left leg. However, it proved itself ineffective.
"What?"
Amon was subsequently kicked to a nearby wall. Although he survived, he sustained considerable damage.
"Time to clip your wings, dove."
Touka saw all this from afar. Her hatred for the doves never went away, but she also had some sense of honor to know that this was an unfair fight.
"He deserves death, but…"
The ghoul pilot turned the right hand of the mech into a fist and aimed it at Amon while he was still down.
"But not like this."
Amon felt death inching closer to him. He radioed any of his fellow Investigators near him to tell them of a startling new development.
"All forces, can anyone hear me? Enemy forces are in possession of a mecha. It made out of a decommissioned Sentinel. I repeat, enemy forces are in possession of a decommissioned Sentinel."
Shinohara heard the transmission and immediately responded.
"Amon, what's your position?"
No response.
"I repeat, what's your position?!"
Amon readied for the end. His last thoughts were on Madou.
"I know you said that when the enemy is in front of you, don't be afraid to give them hell, but…"
The Sentinel fist now sped its way to crushing him to a blood splatter on the wall.
"You didn't say anything that covered ghouls piloting robots. Well, if where I'm heading is where you are, you'd probably laugh at how I died."
Just as he faced the giant fist flying at him, he then saw a familiar costume appear before his eyes. It was primarily red and yellow. He looks up to see the back of a metallic head.
"Mr. Rasputin?"
"Mr. Amon. It is good to see you alive. However, for tonight…"
Piotr pushed away the Sentinel fist that almost killed Amon away.
"You may call me Colossus."
Amon was amazed to see Piotr in his previous uniform. While Touka moved on, seeing Piotr handling the situation without her interference.
"What the hell? A mutant?!"
"I am not only one."
Thunder from the sky could be heard over the ghoul pilot with a large gust of wind following soon after. Then, a red laser hit the Sentinel on its left. The ghoul pilot then sees three mutants at the direction the laser came from.
"You think that's enough to take me on?!"
A lightning bolt then hit the Sentinel on its right as Storm descended from the sky with her eyes glowing bright white. Scott then said to the ghoul pilot,
"We'll accept your surrender now. But only now."
The ghoul pilot growled at the fact that now mutants were taking part in the fight. Shinohara finally arrived at where Amon was when he asked Marude to trace the transmission he made. Soon, he saw four mutants at the scene, alongside Piotr in a familiar-looking uniform and Amon struggling a little to get up. As he ran to them, Piotr helped Amon up just in time for him to join.
"Rasputin, are they…"
"Da."
The Sentinel fired one of its palm repulsors at the X-Men, only to miss. Scott fired an optic blast at its chest in retaliation. Both Beast and Nightcrawler struck it from the bottoms, dealing only minor damage to its legs. Shinohara then asked,
"Is that a Sentinel?"
"Yes sir."
Said Amon with Piotr clarifying,
"A type two, to be accurate. I remember fighting against things while I was in X-Men."
"We can trust you to deal with this, right?"
"Of course."
"All right then. Amon."
"Yes sir."
Both Amon and Shinohara left to resume eradicating Aogiri Tree while the X-men dealt with the Sentinel mecha. The ghoul pilot sees a couple of doves exiting the area and attempted to stop them.
"You're not going anywhere!"
As he tried to stop them, Beast intercepted the fist in time to block it with his own bare hands.
"Go!"
As the two Investigators ran back to their battlefield, Shinohara radioed in to Marude.
"This is Shinohara. I got Amon."
"The hell happened to him?"
"It seems the enemy got their hands on a decommissioned type two Sentinel."
"You're kidding me!"
"Even worse, they reworked it so that a ghoul can pilot it like a mecha."
"Crap! Our intel didn't cover that."
"It's being taken care of as we speak. Our reinforcements have just arrived."
"You mean?"
"The X-Men are here."
Both Marude and the comm officer inside were surprised to hear that just now.
"That's…great to hear. Is the Iron Fist there with them?"
"Good question. Didn't think to ask that, unfortunately."
Marude signed as he did not want to seem ungrateful.
"Well, the fact that they're here means that whatever surprises the enemy might have, we got some of our own. Continue the assault."
"Roger that."
xxxxxx
Far from the war, Yoshimura waited alongside Hinami and Irimi.
"I've lost their footsteps. No wait…got them. They've all made it inside."
Hinami expressed her admiration of Irimi's skills.
"You can hear them? That's amazing."
"With a little practice, you can do it do."
"Kaya, update on the X-Men?"
"On it."
Kaya took a moment to locate Piotr, along with the rest.
"Got them. They're in the middle of battle. They're fighting against something…big and metal. They sound like they're doing all right. But at the moment, they're far away from our people."
"And Danny?"
"One moment…He's hasn't been seen yet, but he's searching for Kaneki. He's far as well."
"The GCB."
"…They've split up their forces. At the moment, they have the advantage."
Yoshimura then activated his red eyes.
"Then there's little choice. I'll have to buy team some extra time. Look after Hinami while I'm gone."
"Yes sir."
xxxxxx
As Shinohara and Amon were making their way back to the rest of the GCB forces, they would soon be blocked by blue, flesh-like ribbons.
"Mr. Shinohara!"
Amon used his quinque to thwart the attack, sustaining minor injuries in the process.
"Who are they?"
"Don't know, but that one shrugged off a number three combo."
"Not bad for a human."
Both Investigators knew who the two ghouls were.
"The Bin Brothers."
"S-Rated."
The two ghouls charged at Amon.
"Sir, get out of here."
"Amon…"
"Sir, the men need you. I'll join you soon after!"
Amon rushed toward the twin ghouls, quinque swinging. The skirmish gave Shinohara the opportunity to get out. One of the brothers see him escaping, but Amon fighting him prevented from doing anything about it. The brothers then re-grouped and took on another formation to defeating the dove. Amon deflected both of their strikes as he stood his ground. The question of defeating them came to his mind.
"Can I take down two S-Rated ghouls? Do I have what it takes. I know Mr. Madou did…"
flashback
Amon and Madou were enjoying an oceanic scenery together in-between patrol. Madou then asked his partner a question.
"Here's a question for you. How can a regular human overcome his limitations against a powerful ghoul in an all-or-nothing brawl?"
"I suppose building up muscle mass and stamina could do the trick."
"True. However, you can't depend on brute strength in a fight against a ghoul. You'd never be able to overpower them. Just give the question a little more thought. If one's training isn't enough to fall back on, what can you do to close the gap?"
After a moment of thinking, Amon fell short.
"I'm sorry. I don't have the answer."
"You must be clever. Knowledge is your first, and foremost, weapon. Even without weapons like what the Avengers possess, what you've learned in the battlefield is your greatest weapon. Sometimes, you must be willing to fight dirty to get ahead of your opponent. Against ghouls, don't hesitate to pull off a trick that will turn the tide of battle in your favor."
Amon took a moment to absorb the lesson his partner gave him.
"In my collection of quinque, there's one I like to call Kura. I think it's a perfect match for you. When the time is right, of course."
end
The brothers then sped toward Amon as they whipped out their kagunes against Amon in such a speed so fast that Amon could barely think in-between strikes. The brothers could see Amon weakened to the point of defeat, and charged for a killing blow.
"Number one combo."
"Got it."
As the brothers circled around their target, Amon remained a level head as he looked at his enemies, looking for any opportunity to present itself. The brothers then used their kagunes to hit Amon between cycles. Amon held his ground as long as he could, but felt that whatever defense he could come up with, the ghouls would switch tactics anytime. Amon knew that his lesson regarding underhanded tactics against ghouls seemed more relevant than ever before. He split his quinque into two, and slashed the one of the Bin Brothers closest to him. His knowledge of his quinque abilities and his determination proved themselves invaluable as he summarily made short work of the ghoul he slayed with immense fervor.
"I won't let it end like this. I will honor your legacy, Mr. Madou."
The other Bin Brother screamed as he charged toward him, wanting vengeance against the human to killed his sibling. Amon killed the last Bin Brother with medium effort as he dodged the initial attack, sliced the gut of the ghoul with one blade, and with the other, sever the head from the body. He took a small break to catch his breath. Suddenly, a massive figure ascended into the air in front of him.
"What the hell was that?"
xxxxxx
As Noro went to another part of the stronghold, he would soon be cornered by both Uta and Tsukiyama.
"Well, well. What do we have here?"
Tsukiyama laughed.
"I follow my nose, and who do I see but Mr. Hi-C himself."
He spoke in French a little as Noro summoned his kagune once more to eliminate anyone who stood in his way. Yomo soon joined in afterwards.
"Watch yourself. He's not to be underestimated."
Tsukiyama snapped his fingers as he summoned his kagune.
"My, what a charming mouth you have. I believe a passionate Bizet may be in short order."
Noro looked at his opponents before Yomo gave the order.
"Take him out."
All three Anteiku ghouls charged at him. Tsukiyama got the first strike as he enthusiastically counted every attack he made with his kagune in French. By the tenth one, he switched things to Uta, who buried his fists into Noro.
"That's weird. Not a lot of resistance, is there?"
Yomo then charged in for his part in the fight.
"Uta. quit pulling it!"
Yomo kicked Noro's head off of his body.
"Arrivederci."
Said Tsukiyama, not knowing that the fight was far from over. The head soon reattached itself to Noro's body by using long strands of blood. Noro was in one piece shortly after. Uta then said,
"This guy can't be a regular ghoul. If he was, that should've killed him."
"His resilience is astonishing. And I bet he tastes nothing short of divine."
Yomo was at a loss for a strategy that would effectively kill him. Then, an alarm clock rang, giving Noro some sort of signal. He then calmly walked away from the three. Uta asked,
"Should we follow him?"
"Let him go. We need to keep moving forward."
xxxxxx
Touka continued her search for Kaneki. She kept running all over the Aogiri stronghold, looking every place she could see. Eventually, she went to the one place she did not look at yet. However, her search would be interrupted by crimson crystals appearing out of nowhere. She almost got struck by them, but Nishio appeared just in time to cover her. The crystals pierced his body, creating serious injuries.
"Be a little more careful, will ya? Unlike Kaneki, I don't like playing the hero."
"Nishiki…"
He succumbed to his injuries.
"Well, look who we have here. My dumbass sister, and her equally dumbass friend…"
"Ayato…"
"The hell you doing here?"
"Settling the score."
Both siblings turned their eyes red at each other.
xxxxxx
Investigators led by Shinohara were heading upstairs to secure another part of the enemy stronghold.
"Squad A has secured the annex, third floor, and front exit. Squad B has secured main building, second floor, and west exit."
"Any sign of the Iron Fist?"
Asked Marude.
"Affirmative. He was last seen assisting Squad B securing the second floor."
"Shinohara, what's your status?"
"Securing parking lot and fifth floor. En route to rendezvous."
"Reminds you of the good ol' days, don't it?"
"Sure does…they were good men. All of them…"
As they made to the upper parking lot, both Shinohara and his squad could see the X-Men finishing up on defeating the enemy Sentinel. Claps of thunder heard from the sky mildly spooked one of the members.
"Sorry sir. Caught me by surprise."
"Not to worry, rookie. It's really just her."
Lightning bolts descended unto Storm's hands as she controlled its raw power, severely damaging the Sentinel's right arm to the point of it falling apart while still attached to the body. Shinohara and the squad he led cheered at this. The ghoul pilot, on the other hand, was on his last nerve dealing with mutants.
"GODDAMN MUTIES!"
The pilot charged the repulsor on the right hand and shot it at Cyclops. Cyclops turned the knob of his visor to match the power levels of the repulsor aimed at him. And so, the two beams clashed with each other, playing an ionized version of gladiator hands. Cyclops stood confident that his hopes of victory.
"How long can you keep this up?!"
"Shut the hell up!"
"Beast!"
"On it!"
Beast used the opportunity to scale the Sentinel and locate where the pilot could be.
"Now, where are you, Mr. Ghoul?"
Beast sniffed the air a little to see where the cockpit could be. He eventually followed the scene to the chest of the Sentinel.
"A little obvious when you think about it."
Beast used his strength to tear apart the panel protecting the pilot from any outside harm. However, by doing so, the ghoul pilot activated his kagune to defend himself. It caught Beast by surprise. Although he got away unharmed, he was still reeling from the shock.
"That was extremely unpleasant!"
"F**K YOU, FURRY!"
The ghoul pilot's kagune was formed like a scorpion tail as it shot a plasma-like projectile from the sharp end of the tail. He relentlessly shot Beast while the X-Man dodged the shots with grace.
"I could keep this going forever, Kurt. But I don't want to!"
The ghoul pilot was confused at first…
"ZEIT…!" (TIME…!)
Only to feel two swords dug into his heart and throat. He sees another blue-furred mutant suddenly appearing behind him.
"den staub zu beisen, fleischesser." (to bite the dust, flesh-eater.)
The ghoul let go of the control responsible for the Sentinel's palm repulsor as he died. Cyclops' optic blast tore apart the Sentinel's right arm. With Storm dealing the final blow, the X-Men demolished Aogiri Tree's Sentinel. The doves led by Shinohara cheered over their victory. Shortly after, Amon joined them.
"Mr. Shinohara!"
"Amon."
Amon took a moment to catch his breath.
"What's the situation so far?"
"Victory is in our hands so far. We just witnessed the X-Men taking down the enemy's Sentinel. They just took it down."
His squad each commented how it looked like what they read on the manga based on their adventures. Shinohara then asked,
"So, how'd it go with the Bin Brothers?"
"Sir. I defeated them both."
Now the squad were amazed by how Amon defeated two S-Rated ghouls by himself. Even Marude was impressed by him. However, the celebration was short-lived by the appearance of a large, almost towering figure. Marude was concerned by the loud, thundering noises he heard over comms.
"What's happening?"
After a moment of ominous silence, Shinohara responded,
"Maru, it's him…The one-eyed owl."
Marude then gave a set of orders without all the attitude he would usually give.
"Listen…very…closely. Only those who are willing to die with no regrets stay behind. Because you probably will."
As Marude gave his orders, the owl then made manifest his kagune. Red lightning sparked around it as silver metal-like stone emerged from its cloak.
"If you can't hold him off then no one can. If any of the X-Men are around, get their help. You'll most definitely need if you want to get out of this alive. Don't throw your life away. It won't slow the bastard down."
Just as the Investigators readied themselves for the fight ahead, another individual entered the scene.
"Room for two more?"
They turn around to see the Iron Fist entering the fray.
"Mr. Rand?"
Asked Amon.
"Call me Iron Fist. At least when I look like this. And I brought someone else."
They soon all see Colossus as well entering the parking lot. Shinohara then reported to Marude.
"This is Shinohara. Both Iron Fist and Colossus have just joined."
"Excellent. Your chances may have improved, but it still pays to be careful. The One-Eyed Owl has taken the lives of many of our comrades more times than you can count. Don't be reckless. Trust in your teammates to get you out of this alive. Godspeed."
The One-Eyed Owl walked toward the Investigators and the Iron Fist. A small crimson mist emanated from him as he walked.
"Well well. If it isn't the young man who took my arms from me ten years ago. I see you've gathered some friends to join you on your…suicide run."
All stared at him with the intent to lay waste to him.
"You seem to be doing well for yourself since we last met. Perhaps I should've done to you what I did to your superiors last time and taken your dominant arm instead, Special Investigator Shinohara."
"Ready, Iwa?"
Asked Shinohara. Iwa nodded to yes to his question.
"Hirako, stick with us."
"Yes sir."
"Amon, lay back with Colossus and Iron Fist. Don't move until we give the order. Everyone else, go find more of the enemy forces and wipe them out."
The three other squad members did as they were told. Colossus placed his hand on Amon's shoulder.
"If it gets bad, we'll move in. Wait for good opening."
"Yes, Mr.…Colossus."
Hirako then asked both Shinohara and Iwao,
"So, you two gonna bust out your quinques or what?"
"Already wearing them."
Said Shinohara as he and Iwao pushed a button located on the back neck of their battle uniforms. Large patches of a flesh-like substance spread over their chest and torso area, and hardened into a dark suit of armor. Then they activated their quinques. Shinohara's took the form of a large butcher's knife while Iwao's was that of a shield fashioned after a scythe. Both stood ready to face the One-Eyed Owl. Finally, they charged toward the towering ghoul. The Owl shot some crimson plasma bullets at the Investigators, but the duo blocked every single shot aimed right at them with their weapons. When they got close, they gave the first hits, but the Owl took a giant leap backwards to get some distance.
"I know these are just prototypes, but these Aratas are some top-notch defense."
Iwao agreed with Shinohara.
"If we had stuck with the same gear from ten years ago, we'd already be dead."
"Agreed."
The two Investigators clashed with the Owl. Both Investigators swung their kagune with swift ferocity while the Own stuck on defensive move during their respective attacks. Both clashed with the Owl long enough for Colossus to see an opportunity.
"NOW!"
Both Hirako and Amon yelled as they charged toward the Owl while Colossus and Iron Fist stayed silent as they closed in on the Owl. Amon and Hirako hit the Owl from the back, Shinohara and Iwao from the front, Colossus executing a powerful punch to push him back, and finally, Iron Fist leaping into the air by jumping off one of Colossus' shoulders, and striking the Owl right in the face with a chi-infused punch to its face. That made the Owl make a noise infused with shock and pain. Iron Fist within close range to see if the combined efforts made any difference. The Owl kneeled after that attack. In his mind, Iron Fist remembered the conversation from the café.
flashback
"Before we begin our rescue of Kaneki, there's something I must address to the non-ghoul people in the room."
Everyone listened.
"If you should encounter me during the raid in the 11th ward, you must act as if I am your enemy. As well as any of the ghouls of Anteiku."
Everyone was shocked to hear such a thing from Yoshimura. Touka was the first to voice her concerns.
"But why? We're all allies here."
"In here, yes. But outside of our circle, the world still sees ghouls as the enemy. Both humans…"
He then stared at the X-Men. And Danny.
"And mutants."
Touka wanted to speak more, but Danny interrupted her.
"I…may have to agree with Yoshimura. We will have to pretend to be enemies during our attempt to rescue Kaneki. But only under mitigating circumstances?"
"I believe I know what Mr. Rand is getting to."
Said Hank, elaborating further.
"If we are seen by Aogiri Tree underlings, we may simply silence them so that our respective enemy may not know anything. We can assume friendly allegiances right there and then. However, if we are seen by GCB forces, then there is no choice but to act as if we are at each other's throats. For the sake of appearances."
"That's true. There's a lot of hatred for ghouls even among mutants."
Said Scott, giving the final explanation of the logic behind Yoshimura's request. Touka had no choice but to agree with what had been said.
"I am glad we've covered this. Let's get going now."
end
All six men stared at the Owl with Amon whispering,
"Did we get him?"
Danny replied,
"It's never that easy."
The Owl first repaired the damage dealt to him followed by more kagune creations on his body. The Investigators were surprised to see the Owl still had some fight left in him. Then, pieces of both Amon's and Hirako's quinques fell off.
"You're right, Rand. It was too easy."
With one powerful swing of his arms, The Owl blew away Amon, Hirako, and Iron Fist. And yet, Iron Fist stood his ground while Amon and Hirako eventually slammed unto the ground, far from the fight. Shinohara and Iwao charged toward the One-Eyed Owl once more with Colossus joining in.
"Iwa, Colossus!"
"Let's go!"
"Da!"
Although the Investigators put up a good fight as they clashed with their enemy, the Owl still proved itself a superior opponent as it disposed of the Investigators with greater skill and agility than either men were capable. The only one left during that skirmish was Colossus as his steel skin made the mutant a harder challenge to overcome. Colossus continued to take the Owl's strikes as he clashed with it. Iron Fist soon joined in.
"Colossus, take a step back."
"Right!"
As he did, Iron Fist soon dealt some damage of his own to the Owl. His small stature, combine with his speed, and agility, made him a harder target for the Owl to hit. When Colossus caught up with his breath, he attacked the Owl once again. The team dynamic between the two was a sight to see. Whenever the Owl could not hit Iron Fist, Colossus would take advantage of the momentarily window of confusion. And when Colossus focused on defense, Iron Fist would then act on the offensive by performing chi-infused punches to whatever part of the Owl's body. While the two powered men fought against the Owl, both Shinohara and Iwao were still recovering from when the Owl made them look and feel like rank amateurs.
"Damn it. How much do you think we can push the prototypes?"
"Only one way to find out…"
"You in, then?"
"Might as well. Those two might in big trouble soon."
Shinohara sees how the fight between the Owl and Colossus and Iron Fist currently went. The Owl soon wised up to the strategy the two went for, fought back in such a way that disrupted their dynamic enough to get an edge on them. The Owl first swung his arm to create a large gust of wind. It served as a distraction as the two powered men did what he wanted them to do. They both covered their eyes while standi their ground against the wind. This allowed the Owl to first focus on Iron Fist as he stabbed him on his left shoulder, lifted him up as he was still stabbing him, and slammed him to the ground.
"Rand!"
Yelled Colossus. However, he was too slow to react to the Owl in time. The Owl performed a series of rapid-fire attacks at Colossus, which pushed him back unto the ground, absolutely exhausted. Both Shinohara and Iwao see how two powered individuals were defeated so ruthlessly and nodded at each other. They then pushed a button on the back neck of the Arata armors. The armors them began to glow red and started to move a little by themselves. The Owl looked at the Investigators he defeated previously.
"Here goes… Arata…"
Said Iwao with Shinohara then replying,
"Eat away."
The armors then went from black to a dark shade of red as the Investigators looked at the Owl with murderous intent. Their eyes glowed a bright red as they got up. The Investigators then charged at the Own once more, but their attacks were faster than before. So much so, the Owl felt it necessary to try harder to defend himself. Amon soon got up himself, and see both Shinohara and Iwao fighting against the Owl with greater energy and fury than before.
"Amazing…"
Both Colossus and Iron Fist got up as well, and saw the fight between the Investigators and the Owl as well. Iron Fist commented on how different the two were from before.
"What is it that they're wearing?"
"Kakuja armor quinques. Their strength and combat capabilities have been greatly enhanced…"
Said Colossus as the two continued to watch. He then added,
"But such power comes at such a terrible price."
"What is it?"
Shinohara yelled out in pain, but not because the Owl hit him. The kakuja armor began to eat away at his flesh. Iwao stopped to go to his comrade's side.
"Shinohara!"
Iwao went to work ripping the armor off of him.
"It's got it claws on me…It's gonna eat me alive at this rate."
The Owl slowly walked toward the Investigators as it observed the armor that was eating Shinohara.
"What an atrocious weapon you've got there… Ghoul kills man, man kills ghoul. Sometimes, even ghoul kills mutant as man kills mutant. It never ends. We tend to attain any justification for continuing such a tragic and barbaric cycle. In the end, nothing can exonerate the murder of another creature. The act of taking another life…"
The Owl then stopped just in front of the two Investigators.
"Is pure evil."
Danny then joined in.
"It is a form of evil, I'll grant you that."
The Owl then turned his attention to Iron Fist.
"The Iron Fist. Sworn enemy of the Hand. Defender of K'un-Lun."
He was surprised to know how much the Owl knew about him.
"I have my sources. Tell me, are there greater forces of evil you've felt the need to kill?"
"I try to avoid it. However, such enemies I face… are nothing short of inhuman."
"Oh. But clearly, I am inhuman as well, in the respect that I look nothing like these men."
"I meant inhuman in the respect that they would be willing to throw away values such as mercy and empathy. In the name of power they did not deserve in the first place."
"Am I such a being to you, Iron Fist? Someone who would throw away mercy and empathy for power?"
"If you were, you wouldn't think about the big questions like the existence of good and evil. Instead, you would believe that those with power decide what is good and what is evil. You just want to know if these things existed before power itself existed."
"Hmm. A thought-worthy argument."
Iwao was at a loss as to what both the Owl and the Iron Fist spoke of.
"What the hell are those two talking about?"
Shinohara continued to writhe in pain in his armor. The Owl then looked at Shinohara.
"Tell me, Iron Fist. If it is true that every living being has a soul, then could it be that Arata has no intention of showing this man any mercy?"
"You mean…?"
"These men create their weapons out of the kagunes of the ghouls they kill. Pieces of their corpses were violated to create things that end creating more dead ghouls. Which means more weapons to kill more ghouls. Do these men deserve mercy?"
At that moment, Iron Fist was at a loss for words.
xxxxxx
In the empty streets of the 20th ward, Hide was riding on his bike like a bat out of hell. He sped his way to the 11th ward, fearing that Kaneki was there for some reason. After riding for quite a long time, he eventually saw a roadblock into the 11th ward.
"Damn it…"
He went to look for another way in that the GCB did not know about.
"Please don't be there, Kaneki…"
He saw from afar the battle that currently took in the 11th ward.
xxxxxx
In Kaneki's mind, he was surround by a field of white roses. His dripping blood made the ones within his sphere of personal space turn into Higanbana, or red spider lilies. Then, he hears someone approaching him. At first, he feared it was Yamori. When it was actually Wolverine. He could feel a hand covered in a latex glove.
"How you holding up, kid?"
The blindfold covering his eyes undid itself as he saw his father in his X-Men uniform, but the mask attached to the uniform was off.
"He's putting you through the ringer, hasn't he? I'm sorry to say…it's gonna get worse from here."
The sounds of metal doors opening could be heard.
"Get ready for another round."
The field of white roses soon reverted back to the interrogation room. Yamori entered with his hockey mask on. Carrying with him, a pair of pliers. The same one that Asaki Fueguchi made for him.
And we're going to end things here because I want to save the best for the end. And we are at the end. We're close to the last chapter of the story, and yet here we are! The last chapter of the last year of the decade. What a ride, am I right?! Part of me feels like I want to get to Route X already, but I need to focus on my career for a while before I get back to this. And I will. For now, the next and last chapter of Kuzuri will be posted sometime on January. Don't forget to leave a review if you feel like it, and share with your friends. Until then, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May the force be with you. (wink, wink…)