Author's Note

Hello, my dear readers. Thank you very much for all your supports. :-)

So, what kind of thing the investigators might see in V14? Here they are.


I do not own One Punch Man.
I do not own Tokyo Ghoul.
One Punch Man belongs to ONE.
Tokyo Ghoul belongs to Sui Ishida.

| Picnic Went Awry |


"Sensei!" called Shinohara as he dodged a pink bikaku kagune.

Aura who stood behind some investigators fired her rocket-launcher-like quinque, Zebizu. The two projectiles managed to hit their target. The ghoul's body exploded and fell to the ground.

Shinohara's team was having a tough time. They didn't expect that they would run into a horde of ghouls. Presumably, they were the members of Aogiri Tree. The situation forced the team into defensive since they were only eight persons while the ghouls were around 20. Most of the bunch were B-rate.

Shinohara, Houji and Amon took the front position while Aura and Hachikawa gave covering fire. The rest of the team were guarding the shooters from kagune attacks. Most of Shinohara's men were exhausted due to constant sporadic attacks they faced before they ran into the horde. They didn't know until how long they would survive. For senior investigators, that was possible. But for juniors, it would be a luck if they went out alive from the combat.

Five flesh-eaters advanced with their kagunes sprung out. Their tactic was to confuse the investigators as they ran while shifting places between them. Amon and Houji took their stance while holding their respective quinque. When Shinohara gave a cue to strike, Hachikawa fired RC-cell shards from his Kajiri. The shards managed to break the ghoul's formation which allowed the front-liner to finish the attackers. Shinohara got one. Amon and Houji made a coordinated strike to kill another. The rest, were ganged by the team.

"Houji, Amon…" called Shinohara as he rubbed his forehead. "How long can you go?"

"I'm still good to go," replied Houji as he held his halberd, Chi She.

"Same as Houji-san," replied Amon as he raised Doujima.

"Good," commented Shinohara. "Sensei, how many we've slain?"

"Ten." Aura replied as she readied Zebizu for another shot.

"They were still many, huh?" commented Shinohara. "Conserve fire! Keep the formation!"

"Yes, Sir." The team replied in unison.

Victory was not impossible, but it might cost their lives. Shinohara's plan was to deplete the foe as much as they could while avoiding any casualty. Yet, they didn't have enough manpower to support the plan.

Shinohara had requested Arima's aid, but it would take around 30 minutes for the reinforcement to come from the nearest route of the network. Not to mention that Arima's team would also slowed down if they found another horde. In the meantime, Shinohara's team could only hit if any of the ghoul came closer to the formation.

Suddenly, Shinohara's radio went off. Meanwhile, both the investigators and the ghouls didn't make any move. They were pausing while thinking about each other's attack.

[Investigator Shinohara, don't go closer to any wall!]

"What?" Shinohara frowned when he heard Arima's sudden warning as he pressed his earpiece. "What do you mean?"

Aura and her teammates who listened Arima's voice also gave same reaction. The warning from the ace was very odd. And the next line would make them thought that the bespectacled man was not sane anymore.

[We'll break through the wall.]

At that moment, the investigators could only blinked. They thought that Arima got a hit on his head. Was that a joke? But soon enough, they realized that Arima was serious.

After the call, the ghouls and the investigators heard cracking sound. Most of the ghouls were freaked out and ran while the team stood still on their place. When the men turned their heads to see what was behind them, they felt strong gust and saw the wall was cracking. It made their blood ran cold as they could not move their legs, out of fear. They didn't know what it was, but they thought it was the work of a kakuja or something more horrible. It seemed that this thing was the stuff Arima had warned them about. Their heartbeat raised into abnormal level as their eyes kept staring at the cracks of the wall which producing strong wind. And what made them shocked was the cracks formed bullseye pattern. Their fear grew even more when the cracked wall was pushed out and cut into ringlike concrete blocks. It left a giant, perfectly circular hole on the wall. They thought it was their end.

The investigators could feel their hearts skipped a beat when they saw some figures behind the dust. When the dust cleared, to their relief, they saw Garou came out from behind the blocks, followed by Arima who walked calmly and Juuzou with his ever present grin. Knowing that it was not what they thought, the investigators let out a long sigh as some of them fell on their knees. Then, they saw Ihei went out after the group with content smile. A moment later, Hirako and Ui also followed. Unlike the other four, the two walked with shaky legs and they were as pale as paper. Even Ui used his Taruhi as a makeshift cane to support him. Their eyes were flickering as their lips quivered. The sight was extremely bizarre. The investigators could not find any word to describe such situation.

Some of the ghouls who noticed Arima got scared and ran for their lives. They knew that they were no match against White Reaper. What they didn't know was Arima brought a much scarier company in tow. They hadn't had any idea that the rumored CCG's new pet was the one who broke the wall. They only heard about Phoenix but they didn't know the man's appearance.

Shinohara who stood still on his place was waiting while staring confusedly at the sight before him. He didn't know that Arima would find him through a completely unconventional way.

"I-Investigator A-Arima…" Shinohara stuttered. "What… happened?"

"Same as your team. We ran into some groups of ghouls on the way. Fortunately, Garou-kun managed to clear the path."

"How many of them?"

"Around 50." Arima replied as he fixed his glasses.

Shinohara was staggered for a moment. But when he remembered about the raid in Itabashi, he knew that something like that was not impossible for the martial artist. In fact Garou slaughtered 30 ghouls in less than half of an hour without any weapon. Not to mention that there were two kakujas. Shinohara still could not understand about how the martial artist managed to do that.

"Umm… I… see, then," said Shinohara as he glanced at Juuzou who approached him. "… Did you use explosive to break that wall? That thing was around four meters thick!"

"Old man did that." Juuzou replied Shinohara casually.

"And he broke six walls in our way here, consecutively," added Arima as he checked his Narukami.

Shinohara hung his jaw as he stared blankly at the figure of the martial artist, standing some meters away from the group. He felt his brain short-circuited when he tried to think about the golden-eyed man who was in his blood-soaked suit. His blank mind came back into reality as Juuzou greeted him.

In the meantime, Houji helped Hirako and Ui who looked as if they had just exited a haunted house. As the investigators were still gawking at the arriving party in utter confusion, all the ghouls had fled from the vicinity. Amon then strode towards the martial artist who was alone.

"Yo, beast! You almost killed us!" The giant greeted the demon with a sarcastic remark as he smirked. "And those blood? People might think you got beaten so bad by ghouls."

"As if they can touch me," replied the former Hero Hunter as he also smirked. "And you're still alive? Seems your stress has gone, huh? Judging by your look, you've a good fight. I'm jealous, you know."

"Well, sometimes we need to vent out, right?" said Amon as he put Doujima down. "Line of work consumed me lately. And I don't have time to go out like usual with Mado-san."

"Bored out of your mind?"

"Yep. Though actually…" Amon paused as his memory wandered back to the event when he was still a new recruit.

"Hmm…?" Garou hummed as he looked at Amon's solemn look.

"Well, nothing." The Doujima wielder smiled as the martial artist raised his brows.

While the hulk and the demon were chatting, Houji and the rest of Shinohara's team were questioning Hirako and Ui who were sitting. Their legs gave up from the mental exhaustion they suffered. The investigators knew that the two didn't get any injury, but their mental state was battered. At least they needed some explanation about how the two became like that.

"Hirako, tell me what happened?" asked Houji.

"Urgh… I can't" Hirako refused. "Ui…"

"Man, why should I…" complained the bowl-head.

Houji sighed. "Okay. Please, just tell us what did you see?"

Hirako and Ui glanced at each other. They were not sure about how they should answer.

"Gore…" muttered Ui.

"So much gore…" added Hirako as his hands trembled while Houji and other investigators put thoughtful look. "I don't want to go back through that way."

"That place is just for people like Mado-san." Ui's statement surprised Houji.

"Take-kun, Koori-kun…" said Aura softly with concerned look. "Rest assured. It's okay. You can tell us later. And Kousuke, don't force them. I think you're too much."

"Sensei, just one more question, please." Houji pleaded to his mentor as he squatted and placed his hand on Hirako's shoulder. "Because this is very important."

"Well… If you say so, then go on," replied Aura as she rolled her eyes while crossing her arms.

"Okay. And the one who did that…?" inquired Houji as he looked at Hirako, then Ui, followed by a pause to wait for their answer.

Hirako and Ui pointed at Garou with their shaky fingers. Houji and Aura turned their gaze at the martial artist as their eyes widened. Like Shinohara had said, the martial artist was indeed a man of surprise. They needed to know more about the truth. And the truth suddenly came from a source they didn't expect.

"…And old man chopped the ghouls into pieces!" Came Juuzou's cheerful voice as he answered Shinohara.

Shinohara's teammates grimaced. Hirako and Ui vomited when the words "pieces" entered their ears. Houji and Aura hung their jaws while Arima closed his eyes. Amon and Shinohara facepalmed. Ihei hid her sadistic grin behind her hand as she rubbed her mouth. And Garou… He only shrugged his shoulders in response.


Soon, after discussing the matter with the investigators, Shinohara agreed with Arima's decision to dismiss the operation. The risk of pressing forward was bigger there were too much disturbance, unlike what they had planned. Unfortunately, they were still far from any escape point. Backtracking Shinohara's route would take much time. There were also some alternative routes but they were not in map, which possibly would lead them into some traps or ghoul bases. The safest option was going through the current route to the rendezvous point where the exit was near.

The group then followed the main route to reach the initial destination. Bringing a group of 14 through the tunnel sometimes proved difficult since not all the path were wide enough. If the ghouls ambushed them when they passed narrow paths, they could be wiped out easily. Yet they felt safe since Arima could handle such problem.

However, Arima himself started to think that Garou was much more capable than him. The absurd ability of the golden-eyed man was something the ace of CCG didn't possess. Arima was still confident that he could still met people's expectation. But he was aware that one day, the martial artist might took his position. Beside that, Yoshitoki had put an eye on the guy since day one. Moreover, Garou also attracted most senior investigators. However, Arima didn't hold a grudge towards the new recruit. Instead, it was his chance to prepare Garou as his successor. He would add the martial artist to the hidden agenda he had designed since a decade ago. There was no guarantee it would be successful. But it was worth the effort.

Along the way, the team had slain around 20 flesh-eaters. Most of these ghouls were trying to make a sneak attack but failed due to Arima's quick reaction and the team's readiness. The martial artist took a passive role because he saw the investigators performed better than those in Itabashi raid.

Garou who didn't take his chance to join the kill admitted that the surprise element dished out by the ghouls was excellent. The usage of terrain and mastery of kagune were the key elements in the attack. The monsters from Monster Association could not devise this smart strategy when he entered their lair to save Tareo. But the fact that Arima could block their attacks and beat the ghouls was more remarkable. It impressed the former Hero Hunter. His respect towards Arima grew. To have such kind of reflex and speed for a human was really outstanding. Garou believed that Arima's ability was the result of a long training through countless combat, like Mado did.

Garou also noticed some other investigators who fought besides Arima. He had seen how Shinohara, Amon and Houji fought. For the trio, he gave rough estimation of their ability as those who settled between upper B or lower A class heroes. Kiyoko Aura also performed really well when she used Zebizu's dual blade form. It surprised Garou since back in his world, he never found any female professional hero who wielded melee weapon with such mastery level. He thought that Aura was an adept. However, the performance of Arima's subordinates really caught his eyes. Despite their mild sickness after seeing Garou's rampage, Hirako and Ui still could fight really well. And another one who made him interested was the one whom he suspected as his stalker. Ihei's abnormal speed, reflex and the pattern of her movement was similar to Arima. The martial artist was curious, but it would be a question for later.


The team finally reached an open space, half way through their journey. They decided to stop to get a quick rest. After Arima's team breached the walls and continued their half-hearted mission, the team hadn't taken a rest because stray ghouls always popped up along the way. The place looked safe, so they took their time to replenish. Most of them sat on the concrete floor and had the provisions they brought, or just chatted while some others guarded the place.

When Amon drank his water, Shinohara, Houji, and Hirako seated themselves around him and had some talk. Garou and Juuzou joined them afterward. Aura who brought some chocolate shared them to her teammates. Garou smiled when she gave him the delicacy. He didn't think that she had a deep interest in him. Meanwhile, Ui was leaning on a wall, a little bit far from the investigators as he took his cigarette to ease his mind. Like the rest of the team, Arima also took a rest. He drank from his bottle as he looked at the map to mark some locations while Ihei sat near him, gulping her boxed milk. She still took some momentary glances at the martial artist as she looked at the map.

The dim light from the nearby lamps made the situation looked like a campsite. They were drowned in their warm chatting as they enjoyed the snacks. The situation made the golden-eyed man pondered about the last time he really had fun, together with people he could call as friend. When he went into camping in elementary school, the situation was not like this. It was thanks to Tacchan and his teachers, he should sleep in a tent for storing tools and supplies. He was tasked to guard that tent for two nights, alone. It made him sad and angry when he thought about how he felt. It was so unfair. As he lost in thought, Juuzou tugged his jacket. He saw the ace had folded his map and drank what was left in his bottle.

The rest was over when Arima stood from his place. The investigators followed suit as they grabbed their quinque. The team left the place afterwards to continue their mission, without knowing the scale of danger that had been waiting on their way.


If nothing came into their way, the group could reach the rendezvous point in 15 minutes. However, most of group member felt something odd. Right after they left their resting spot, no ghoul came out to ambush them. They only hoped that nothing would happen, but their gut feeling kept telling them the incoming danger that lurked. Garou knew such situation very well. Based on what he had experienced when he plunged himself into the hellhole called Monster Association HQ, this omen was a very clear sign of monsters, hiding somewhere near them. He was not nervous at all, but his tightening skin already alarmed him to prepare a combat. And it came, when the group saw glowing red beads in the darkness after they passed an intersection of a tunnel. The group didn't really know, but there were at least 50 ghouls.

The group formed a formation immediately. Aura and Hachikawa were defended by the melee wielders while Arima stood at the front. Garou was ordered to keep Juuzou in the back row since the boy would likely rush into the horde. The horde charged at the team. In response, Aura fired her Zebizu while Hachikawa pulled Kajiri's trigger. The blast of Zebizu's projectiles managed to kill some ghouls while Kajiri's shards stabbed some others. When the ghouls were not slowing down, Arima fired a series of thunder balls from Narukami. It managed to stop the flesh-eaters from advancing as they took a better look at the one who was firing the electric blast. The flesh-eaters retreated in response when they realized who was Narukami's wielder.

From afar, a row of ukaku users then came to the front and sent barrages of RC-cell shards in an attempt to slow down, if not kill the investigators. Before any of the shards impacted the team, Garou had leaped and landed in front of Arima. In a blink of an eye, he performed Bombs technique to make a whirlwind. The rotating air current managed to change the course of the shards. When the ghouls ended their RC-cell barrage, the investigators had just realized that the silver-haired man was standing in front of Arima, making a stance. They did feel a strong gust, but they didn't know the source. The happening was too fast for them to register and what they saw were only strewn around RC-cell shards.

Only Arima who knew what had just happened since he saw the shards only hit the floor and walls, instead of hitting him. He had a glimpse at how Garou performed Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist earlier when they breached the walls to reach Shinohara, although he didn't know how in the world it could produce such strong air blow. It was very fast, but he could conclude that the martial artist deflected the shards with such move.

As the attack nullified, the baffled investigators were looking frantically in search of what had just transpired. Arima decided to test Garou further. The ace shared Shinohara's concern for the team, so he thought that giving the job to an extremely competent guy was normal. Besides, the researcher side of the bespectacled man was still begging to know more about the full extent of Garou's ability. After all, what was the aim of the test in this Tokyo sub-terrain if not for seeking the answer about Garou.

"Garou-kun–"

From his tone, the martial artist knew that the ace wanted to order him. He knew that Arima was his superior. His expectation towards the Narukami's wielder had just rose. And he was also aware that he was still a freshman. But to be called around to grind some tentacled-cannibals at this point was somewhat… annoying.

"Yare, yare…" Garou cut Arima's speech as he looked at the ace, forced out a smile, while pointing at the direction of the fleeing ghouls. "You want me to finish that bunch? Nice! Let's get this over! I want to go home. Just lend me a quinque."

"Oi… Garou!" Amon yelled due to the demon's disrespectful manner towards the ace. "You–"

"It's okay, Amon-kun." Arima smiled as he raised his hand to calm Amon before he faced Garou again. "Just choose which one suits you."

The martial artist decided to borrow a quinque, merely because he was really bored. Bored and mentally tired to punch and kick the ghouls. He could finish the man-eaters with either Bang's or Bomb's techniques, but it got stale. Killing with bare hands had become totally unsatisfying since the enemies possessed very potent weapons but never be able to put a fight. He needed something refreshing. Being a prodigy, he needed something new but not too foreign.

When the martial artist took his time to eye the quinques wielded by the investigators, the horde had run further into the tunnel. Perhaps they were shocked to see their attack was failed by an unexplained phenomenon. They also took Arima's presence into consideration since he was so famous as the White Reaper, the one who defeated the Owl. Their boss. A mere legion like them would not survive. And what their dead comrades never told them was the Reaper brought Phoenix who had killed some patrolling party, earlier that night. To make matter worse, there was only a single straight way in the network. Their anguish and painful death had yet to come.

The martial artist had finally found his choice. He looked at Koori Ui as the image of a certain Class-A spear-wielder came into his mind. Garou had took a glance at how Ui used his Taruhi, and frankly speaking, it was mediocre. Compared to Stinger, Ui looked amateurish. But he didn't care. The martial artist just wanted to see until how far he could put Taruhi into its full potential by mimicking Stinger's technique.

"Garou-kun?" asked Ui confusedly.

"Can I borrow your quinque?" The martial artist asked as he hunched a little bit.

"Just give him, Ui." Arima said with commanding tone as he glanced at his subordinate.

"Uhm… sure." Ui handed Taruhi as chill from Garou's stare and his leader's voice crept down his spine.

"Garou-kun, are you sure you want to use a halberd?" asked Shinohara with concerned look as Houji nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Wouldn't it be better if you wield a sword?" Hirako offered his quinque. It was reasonable since Garou recently took training in kendo club. "You can bring my Nagomi if you want."

Most of the investigators hadn't had any idea that Garou was a fighter who could copy moves just by looking. He realized that the response from these people was normal since they hadn't seen his technique-copy ability. What he needed to do was just show them that he could do the job.

"Thanks," spoke the martial artist as he spun Taruhi over his head like what Stinger did. "But I think this will do."

Seeing the bespectacled ace let the demon took a quinque, the investigators could not agree more. Arima's judgment towards a recruit was always accurate. CCG always took his views as consideration to determine the career of investigators. At the moment, the team was waiting for what the martial artist would do.

"Ugh, this feels sticky…" Garou muttered as he put down Ui's quinque to put off his tie, blood-soaked jacket and shirt, leaving his black T-shirt for the top. "Oi, Juuzou, bring my cloths!"

"No! Your cloths are stinky, old man!" retorted the boy as he pinched his nose.

"I don't care."

The investigators could only stare at the martial artist as their jaws dropped. The perfect muscles behind the tight T-shirt was another display to behold besides his combat skill. Being the only women in the team, Kiyoko Aura and Hairu Ihei blushed as they looked with wide eyes while covering their mouths.

"Sh-Shin-san…?" Aura stuttered in muffled voice as she was still covering her mouth. "Is-is that real?"

"Of course it is. Well… I think this is my first time seeing him showing off his asset," replied Shinohara as he scratched his cheek. "Though, I think he did so, out of convenience."

"Garou-san…" uttered the pink-haired investigator.

Arima who had seen Garou's form from close was not surprised. He thought that it was normal for such 18 years old to have bulging muscles. With hard exercises and strict diet, Arima was certain that one could attain those state of body building within a year. But what he could not believe was how such muscles could help the owner to do impossible things.

Garou himself didn't care about the investigator's reactions. As he picked Taruhi, he walked towards the escaping ghouls, leaving behind the team. He walked, then sprinted while pointing the quinque forward, producing strong wind that blew past the investigators.

The spectator still could not swallow what they had just seen. Deflecting shards, abs, and then running faster than a train, all of them were too much to perceive.

"There he goes," said Houji as he raised Chi She onto his shoulder.

"Such a pain." Amon commented as he faced Arima. "Investigator Arima, please, forgive him–"

"Don't take it seriously, Amon-kun." The ace interjected as he showed hearty smile which made the giant gasped. "It's normal for a strong individual like him to act that way."

Ui gulped when he saw his quinque was taken by someone who looked more like a warrior. He could also feel Taruhi was saying that she had found a competent master while smirking at him. He could not deny it since Garou outperformed him. Such reality hurt him really much.

As the wind from Garou's dash blew his hair, he saw Ihei's cheeks were red. The fact that the pink-haired girl became more attracted towards the new recruit hurt him even more. It was such a tragedy that the girl he liked would likely fall for another guy.

Furthermore, Arima's approval towards Garou's action despite his lack of discipline and respect crushed Ui's heart. It seemed that he would resent the golden-eyed demon for the rest of his life.


In 5 seconds, Garou had covered two kilometers. The rear of the crowd came into his sight, running clumsily. Since the martial artist wanted to stun the bunch, he skipped and aimed further where the bulk of the crowd located. He stomped the concrete floor below to jump and made some midair flips. The moment he dove down, he swung around Taruhi to cut the ghouls below. The spear head and the axe blade gave flexibility and advantage for slashing. The coverage of slash given by the two type of weapons was excellent.

Seven was down when the martial artist landed in the middle of the horde. Some of the ghouls who got panic unleashed their kagune in an attempt to strike Garou. But he dodged and the attack hit the other ghouls instead. The unintended strike soon turned into a riot when the ghouls who got attacked turned against the other. They were hitting at each other as they were quarreling about their loyalty toward Aogiri. Garou could only smirked as he jumped out from the fray to chase the front row who hadn't noticed what was happening. 'Pathetic. So they were just a bunch of untrained grunts? Totally useless.'

Garou jumped and skipped through the crowd as he slashed around. His incredible movement speed and randomized attack confused the ghouls. He went on with the killing as he found new excitement in wielding weapon. Obliterating enemies using martial art was cool. But using quinque was fancy and luxurious. Now, he could understand the sensation felt by heroes like Metal Bat and Atomic Samurai when they swung their weapons to cut monster. It was, amazing. It made him wondered whether he could apply Water Flowing Rock Smashing Fist for wielding weapon.

Five minutes from his first kill, Garou had reduced half of the bunch. He swung around Taruhi and piked the disoriented flesh-eaters while evading kagunes. Screams filled the air, blood gushed like geysers, and bodies piled. Most of the ghouls were not aware that a single man was attacking them. They felt as if they were ambushed by a group of investigators. The martial artist's speed, agility and flawless foot-work allowed him to squeeze his way from every opening in the crowd. His experience when beating Tank-Toppers helped his body to adjust with such battle.

Pole weapon was actually very dangerous for the wielder if being used inside a confined space. But the martial artist turned the downside into an advantage with his sheer power by swinging it forcefully whenever Taruhi's blades stuck into anything. This brutish fashion of wielding pole weapon could not be called spearmanship at all. But it was effective enough to diminish the number of enemy, dramatically. After that, the martial artist tried Stinger's signature attack.

'Gigantic Drill Stinger,' mused Garou as he thrust Taruhi while dashing forward. Taruhi didn't have the mechanic which allowed its blade to spin like Bamboo Shoot. And it's nature as a halberd was not really suitable for doing such move. Despite the disadvantage, the martial artist strength could cover the gap. He just needed to adjust the balance around the shaft when he ran.

And the result was horrible for the victim. Taruhi's cutting edge split the ghouls who stood on the way. Most of them were bisected. Ghoul's basic regeneration ability would not enough to mend such wound. They died instantly. With that attack, Garou managed to cut 15 in one go.

Ten out of 56 remained. These last of them were lashing out their kagunes desperately, only to be parried effortlessly by the martial artist. Ui's quinque also proved to be an effective weapon to block any attack. He was amazed that a mere bladed-stick could become a very versatile weapon. Before Garou finished them, he needed to take useful information.

"Oi… Actually for whom do you work?" Garou asked nonchalantly as Taruhi clashed against a rinkaku kagune.

"GRAAHH! It's none of your business!" The ghoul hissed when he lashed out his kagune as hard as he could. "FUYUKI!"

"TAKE THIS!" the other ghoul shouted as he jumped to shot RC-cell projectiles from his wings.

The martial artist spun Taruhi in front of him to block the shard hail. The other ghouls also rushed toward him. He changed into defensive in order he wouldn't kill them before he got any intel.

"Useless!" the martial artist dashed and made a shallow cut on the ukaku user's left shoulder. "Come on, just tell me about Aogiri or something. I know you're one of them."

Garou tossed Taruhi and used his bare hands to turn the remnant of the bunch into 10 pretzels. As he twisted their arms and legs, an orchestra of loud, long, and unholy howl filled the space around them. It was so loud that the incoming investigators could hear the echoing scream of agony. The bone-chilling sound made them stopped for a moment as they thought that probably Garou was in trouble. Without hesitation, they hurried to catch with him.

Within 300 meters, the investigators could smell fresh blood. Fifty meters later, they saw bodies. The next fifty meters, there were more mangled bodies as the air became very nauseating. Hirako and Ui took their handkerchiefs in response. Arima was certain that the next thing they would see was something unimaginably disturbing. And some meters later, in the darkness, they heard sound of murmur and Garou's voice.

"So… you work under a guy named Noro, huh?" inquired Garou as he looked at the ghouls who were laying on the floor.

"I-I don't really know. Usually there was a representative f-from A-Aogiri to give us o-order." One of the ghouls answered with shaky voice.

"And where on earth is this representative?"

"GRRR… YOU'VE JUST KILLED HIM, EARLIER!" yelled one of the ghoul as he lashed out his bikaku kagune, despite being limbless.

Garou grabbed the kagune and threw the enraged flesh-eater towards the wall, cracking it. Before the ghoul slid down, the martial artist took Taruhi and threw it. Ui's halberd impaled the chest and nailed the ghoul on the wall.

"See… That's what happened if you try to oppose me!" Garou spoke as he smirked at the rest of the ghouls who could stare in shock and horror.

The macabre decoration was seen by the investigators, which made them paled. And their blood froze when they saw the nine pretzels, served by Garou. Arima even grimaced at the display of such brutality. That was too much. He should stop the demon like what the Director had tasked him.

"Garou-kun. That's enough." Arima stepped closer towards the golden-eyed man as the investigators waited in worry.

"Hoh?" The martial artist who stood casually near the ghouls perked his head up. "Did you say enough, investigator Arima? Even if they had killed countless population of Tokyo?"

"You have inflicted unnecessary pain toward the ghouls."

"Article 13, huh?" The martial artist raised his eyebrows as he remembered the countermeasure law. "And how about the interrogators in Cochlea? I heard they have freedom do this kind of stuff.

"That's different. Our task here is to keep the civilians from ghoul's threat." Arima argued as he looked at Garou straight to his eyes.

"Are you sure? If we don't do this, how can we put an end to Aogiri?" Garou doubted Arima's reason. "Don't say to me that CCG only takes passive role as a peacekeeper."

Amon was gritting his teeth. He was really mad at the martial artist's derisive manner towards the ace. 'Damn you, Garou! Do you think you're smarter than investigator Arima?!'

"GAROU!" The giant came out from the row of investigators. "STOP IT! THIS IN AN ORDER!"

Seeing the angry giant, the demon sighed. Actually he just wanted to understand Arima's way of thinking and dig any knowledge if the ace could give a better solution. But it the situation became annoying.

"Well. I think this is not a nice place for discussion, but…"

The martial artist paused for a moment as he felt one of the ghouls raised and attempted another sneak attack. In response, Garou sent a roundhouse kick to behead the flesh-eater. The head flew and landed in front of Hachikawa, which made him widened his eyes in disbelief. As kagune came out from the headless body, the martial artist punched the body towards the wall decoration he made earlier. Taruhi's shaft impaled it. The quinque had become an awful barbecue stick.

"…If I were you, I'll take the offensive."

That was the least of answer Arima ever wanted to hear from a new recruit. He thought that Garou shared Mado's idea regarding ghouls. At this point, he should not let the golden-eyed man to linger too long with his old mentor. It would be best to put him under control since with such power and ability, it was not impossible for Garou to slaughter ghoul population all over Tokyo within a year or so. Such thing would totally endanger CCG or even Japan. Ghoul population should be pushed under control. But a total annihilation would simply become a disaster for the organization.

"I see…" muttered Arima.

Garou had lost his motivation to squeeze any information about Aogiri. Arima's presence broke his mood. As the investigators gawked at him, he walked away to take Taruhi. He yanked the halberd out from the wall and pulled the dead ghoul from the shaft.

"Then, is my job done? There are still eight." Garou stated as he walked back towards Arima.

"Yes. I'll handle them." Arima answered calmly as he held Narukami tightly. "Thank you, Garou-kun."

The ghouls grimaced when they saw how Garou treated the body of their comrades. If they were stronger or knew earlier about the Phoenix, they could escape from his freakish execution. But it was too late. Now, the White Reaper had stood in front of them. With two swift swings, the ace executed them. Garou stared at the moment with uninterested look as he held Taruhi. Meanwhile, the investigators looked at the event with mixed expressions.

The human predators were dead. Garou walked lazily towards Ui to give back his quinque. The owner was flustered when he took back his bloodied Taruhi.

"Thanks. This thing helped me really much." Garou said to Ui with inexpressive look. "Hope that I'll get this kind of thing."

The investigators could only stared in confusion and awe. They couldn't find any word to express their feelings toward the martial artist. Their eyes had seen the event but their minds always refused to accept what was just going on.

However, Amon was still really mad at the martial artist. He thought that Garou had changed to become better. But in fact he wasn't. The demon should be disciplined more to fix his attitude. Especially towards superiors.


Some minutes later, the team at last had escaped from V14. They came out near a line of subway track. Since the operation was over, most of the investigators went back home. Hirako and Ui were also among them. Coming out from the station, a bus from CCG was ready to pick them up. At last, they could breath fresh air. Meanwhile, Shinohara and Aura stayed to have some talk. Arima and Ihei were also there. As Juuzou was looking at some posters on the station's wall, the former Hero Hunter who sat on a bench, zoned out from the remaining investigators. He was mentally drained since he could not enjoy the battle to its fullest. Amon who decided to stay then came to see him.

"Garou, I must warn you!" The giant gave the martial artist a stern look.

"What? Did I do something wrong!?" Garou retorted as veins were bulging around his jaw.

"Obviously. You've disrespected investigator Arima." Amon replied as he put Doujima over his shoulder. "And your response toward investigator Hachikawa was too much."

"Don't get me wrong, Amon-san." Garou argued as he crossed his arms. "I didn't mean to insult investigator Arima. I just want to give my opinion. That's all. And about investigator Hachikawa, I think he deserves that."

"That's it. You're lacking obedience toward your superior. And you let your temper consumed you."

Garou let out a long sigh in response as he slumped on the bench. Perhaps Amon was right. He lost his cool when Hachikawa mocked him. And he argued the ace in a less elegant manner. Maybe he should learn how to express his objection properly. When he thought about that, the bespectacled investigator came to see him and Amon.

"Amon-kun, Garou-kun. You don't go home?" Arima smiled at the two.

"Oh. Investigator Arima." Amon greeted the ace nervously. "T-there are s-something we're talking about."

"Is it about me?" asked the ace as he looked at Garou who faced him in return. "Amon-kun, please, don't mind about it. Instead, I'm happy that there is a new recruit who can express ideas in a more direct way. Anyway, thanks, Garou-kun."

The demon only nodded confusedly while Amon's jaw dropped slightly. But the giant felt that he was not finish yet.

"Very well. But remember, Garou." Amon directed his gaze again towards the golden-eyed man. "Not every person is kind enough to accept your attitude."

"Alright, alright." Garou surrendered as he stood then bowed to Arima. "Please, accept my sincere apology, investigator Arima."

The ace let out a light chuckle. He thought that it was funny. Though suddenly, his chuckle ceased as a his mind projected the images of his duel at the training ground against the martial artist. Added with the way Garou slaughtered the ghouls and his idea about offensive role, that was enough to shake the man who had once defeated the owl. Cold sweat dripped on his forehead. Actually, the one who should lower the head was him instead of Garou. The amusement turned into a dread.

"Alright, Garou-kun." Arima maintained his facade as he looked at the demon while smiling. "I accept your apology."

Garou smiled as he raised his face. In response, Amon put down Doujima as his lips curled up. Yet, if anything could go worse, perhaps it was this time when Ihei stepped to see her investigation subject. Arima's mind raced to find an excuse if he could defend his subordinate. He knew that Garou was aware of Ihei every time she was in mission. And he knew that his subordinate had developed interest towards the golden-eyed man.

"Umm… Garou-san," said the pink haired girl as her cheeks reddened. "T-thank you."

The martial artist tilted his head as Amon quirked his brows in confusion. Arima closed his eyes as he imagined the worst scenario which might happen.

"For what?" asked the golden-eyed man as his frown became rather menacing.

Ihei gulped when the silver-haired man stared at her. Yet, she braced herself as her hand clenched Yukimura's handle tighter. She used her quinque to steady herself as she endured the man's gaze.

"F-for saving me." Ihei answered shyly.

Amon's questioning look turned into a smug smirk. As his eyes fixed at the priceless perplexed-expression of Garou, he thought that the demon got a new admirer. However, Arima's heartbeat was still thundering as seconds passed.

"What do you mean?"

"Earlier, you saved me from the shooting shards."

Memory about the moment when he pulled her flashed in his mind. He didn't think too much about that since he focused on the ensuing battle. Suddenly he put a faint grimace when he remembered that she was the suspected stalker.

"Oh… Yeah, just don't mind about that." Garou's grimace became more apparent as Ihei's eyes gleamed. "But actually, I want to ask you."

Arima stiffened when Garou's words launched at Ihei. Meanwhile, Amon frowned since he didn't knew what was really going on.

"Eh?" The pink-haired girl was confused.

"Well. Are you the one who stalked me? I just feel that… I always being watched." Garou put a disgusted look as he rubbed his nape. "It's creepy, you know!"

Garou's statement made the girl flinched as her face turned red in embarrassment. She didn't know how she should explain about that. Meanwhile, Arima felt his heart would stop if this went further. Amon widened his eyes as he realized the fact about Ihei.

"I'm so sorry… I-I-I…"

It was too embarrassing. As Ihei's face became redder, she felt her head became lighter. She could not hold it anymore and she blacked out. Arima caught the girl before she fell. The giant and the demon could only stared in confusion. For Arima and Ihei as well, that saved them for the moment. But leaving Garou without any explanation would surely bring problem in the future.


Sitting comfortably on a couch in his home, Director Yoshitoki Washuu was reading some reports. He was assessing the progress of CCG's programs. However, the progress was disturbed by Aogiri's activities which lately became more aggressive. However, putting too much manpower for suppressing the ghoul organization was not a good choice, since he regarded Aogiri as an angry mob. As he flipped the pages in front of him, his smartphone which settled on the desk rang. Yoshitoki smiled when he looked at the screen. The caller was the man he was waiting for.

"Ah, Kishou… How was the operation?" Yoshitoki smiled as he held his phone.

[I cannot say anything… But I think I'm really getting old.]

Yoshitoki felt an unusual vibe from Arima. It was weird since the Reaper always composed, especially when he was on phone. The way Arima talked contained some hint of nervousness. Yoshitoki then tried to ease him.

"What did you say?" The Director chuckled. "Come on, Kishou. It's totally unlike you. Just tell me what happened."

[Well… Thanks to him. There was no casualty. And… He outperformed the investigators. Even me, combined.]

That was the real news. Hearing the shocking thing about Garou from the ace, Yoshitoki paused for a moment. The fact that there was someone who could outmatch Arima and all investigators was too much to bear for the Director. Based on what he heard about the event in Itabashi, he concluded that the new recruit was an extraordinary person. But to know Garou could make Arima so distraught shocked him. Yoshitoki never expected that the martial artist was that strong.

[I think you're right, Chika-san. We should give him First Class or even Associate Special.]

"Wait, wait, wait! Kishou! What do you mean?!"

[I think first rank is too low for him. Still, we need to put him under constant watch.]

Yoshitoki could understand Arima's reason about the freshman. But what he couldn't grasp was Arima's tone which could be described as worried. Worried as if bad things would happen. The way he spoke conveyed so much burden. In the end, Yoshitoki could only suggest the ace to not overexert himself.

"Kishou… Seriously. You must take a rest. Let's talk this matter tomorrow."

[Alright. I guess you're right. See you tomorrow, then.]

"See you."

Yoshitoki let out a huff after he hung up. Little did he know that the special seed CCG was nurturing would pain the ace, really much. He could only hope it would go well and didn't hinder any plan at the moment.


Author's Note

And that's it. Amon gets along with Garou. Ui hates Garou. Arima fears Garou. The investigators were amazed by Garou. And… probably (just probably) there would be love rivalry between Ihei and Aura. For those who want to see Garou meets Hinami… it's still a long way.

So, I hope you enjoy my story. Thanks very much for reading this story.

See you next time. ;-)