Title: The Masks We Wear
Disclaimers: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul, any music, or any other anime that may be mentioned.
Notes: Yeah, I really needed a break from Tokyo Ghoul, but I'm back to it. This story is coming close to its end, and I'm not really looking forward to tagging it as complete. I also have other stories. Please check them out too!
Song Choice: The Killing Kind by Marianas Trench
Summary: Hikari watches as The CCG faces off with Rose, a group of Blood Ghouls. But something is bothering her. What is this chill on her back? What is this whisper on the wind? What is watching Hikari in the shadows? What will happen when an unexpected ally rises from the shadows? How will this change everything? The truth behind the fallen Caladrius is revealed, and Hikari can not be any more worried.
"Regular Talk"
'Thoughts'
phone calls, texts, and sign language
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Hikari's POV
I watch the battle go on from the command post. 'I don't like this...I should be out there' I think. "Stand Fast, Hikari. I know it is hard, watching all of this, but we must remain steadfast. People depend on us to hold things together." Yoshitoki says and I nod. I watch and observe the situation. This was my first time in this position. So, I was following Yoshitoki's lead. "They have rose on the run. We have Mirumo Tsukiyama in custody." a report comes in. "Hikari, how should we proceed?" Yoshitoki asks. "...Have the forces continue to search for the rest of them. If it can be avoided, do not kill them. There has to be a reason that A peaceful group like this turned to blood. Bring Mirumo to me. We will have some words." I say and step outside.
Soon enough, They bring Mirumo into an area I had set up. I have my back to him as they bring him in. "Apologies for the treatment. Humans tend to get hotheaded when they've been hunted." I say and set a cup of coffee on the table in front of Mirumo. I pour myself a cup of tea. "Please, have a seat, and we'll have a nice chat" I say. Miruma frowns. "Is this some kind of joke?" He asks, clearly aggrivated. "Do I sound like I'm laughing? I am trying to remain civil." I say, my knuckles white. Miruma takes a seat and I sit across from him. "So...Why the sudden change, Miruma? Your family was one of the first to accept the peace laws." I say and take a drink of my tea. Miruma looks at me a moment before taking a sip of his coffee. "The why...Shuu was ill. Has been since Kaneki lost his memories. The flesh given willingly wasn't making any change in his health." Miruma says.
I look at him. "And it never occured that you could have requested my assistance?" I ask. "With the history between you and shuu, I did not believe it to be wise." He says. I nod. "The CCG are on orders to capture, if they can, not kill. A small mercy to your family." I say and he nods. "You truly are one of them, Nagachika" Miruma says. "One of who?" I ask, putting my tea down. "You don't drink coffee due to the Quinic acid found in all coffee. True Unicorns all have this weakness, as do the fallen Caladrius" Miruma says and drinks his coffee again. I watch him a moment. "You truly captured my interest at the auction, Nagachika. However, I'm not the only one that noticed you. There are worse things than blood ghouls and fallen Caladrius hiding in the shadows. Much worse." He says. Then, a sudden chill goes down my back. Miruma jumps surprised. "It's here...A reaper." He says, voice tinted with fear. "What is a reaper?" I ask. Miruma looks at me. "Only the most dangerous of ghouls. A ghoul that only can feed on ghouls. It's particular favorite is fallen Caladrius" He says.
"Nagachika, we have a problem!" Amon says coming into the tent. I get up and grab my quinque. "I'm aware of the situation, Amon. Take Miruma and any of his household to a secure location...things are about to get chaotic" I say and leave the tent. Kureo sees me leave and comes after me. "I thought you were supposed to remain at the command center?" He says, carrying his own quinque. "There's going to be trouble...the kind that investigators won't be able to handle." I say. "Nagachika...Kari, what are you talking about?" Kureo says grabbing my arm. I stop. "Unicorns...weren't rare because of the poor choices of ghouls. They were hunted down, Kureo." I say and he lets go. "What?" He says a little stunned. "Something...worse than Sasayai Shi is here. A ghoul that tops the food chain. A ghoul that can only feed on ghouls, and it's not on anyone's side." I say.
I soon hear a screeching sound that puts me automatically on the defensive, raising my shield around Kureo and myself. My instinct proves accurate when crystals start to rain on the barrier. Drawing my quinque, I look up to see a large form. It looks like a huge Falcon with blood red plumage and black gems decorating its head, wings, and tail feathers. Its eyes, both pure black, rest on me, intent on its prize. The gems on its body begin to glow and it shoots its crystals again. This time, even though the barrier keeps them from going any further, it shatters. I frown "Kureo, retreat" I say. "I can't do that, Kari. I won't leave you with this thing" Kureo says drawing his own quinque. "Stubbron to a fault...don't get mad if I can't protect, you, old man" I say. He snorts. "No one lives forever, Little Kari" He says and I transform into my Caladrius form. The air pressure decreases, causing the wind to whip around us and the air to heat up suddenly.
I shoot up into the sky, where there is more room to fight without putting everyone else in danger. The Reaper follows me, firing more crystals. I roll, avoiding them, my instincts screaming to run. It turns into a chase as I try my best to avoid his attacks. I turn and fire my own crystal feathers, Washi No Tsume giving me the extra power I need to fight him back. The feathers explode on contact, but I know that didn't stop him. I have barely have time to avoid the coming attack. The smoke clears with a powerful beat of the reaper's wings as he races back after me. I fire again, but this time, it dodges with ease and his talons dig into my wings. I dig my own claws into him, trying to escape, a small part of me in a full panic like prey caught in the predator's clutches. The reaper bites down on my neck, tearing a strip out of it. I manage to break away from it, my vision starting to get blurry.A fire starts to spread in my body from where the Reaper bit my neck and I start to lose the ability to fly straight. The reaper soon catches up to me. 'So...this is the end...Hide, everyone...I'm so sorry...I wasn't strong enough.' I think as I barely feel something catch me in its talons as everything goes black.
I wake up, my body heavy as lead, and aching. My neck and arms are heavily bandaged along with my chest. Then, my mother walks in and I try to get up...try to defend myself. She rushes over. "Hikari...no, stay down. You're in no condition to be moving around." She says, the venom from our last encounter no where to be found. "I..I don't understand..." I say as she makes me lay back down. "I would be surprised if you weren't confused at least a little" She says putting a cool wash cloth on my forehead, easing the ache in my head. "You have a fever and the Reaper's poison is still coursing through your body. It will take time for your body to expell it." She says. The door opens, revealing Yoshimura. He looks worse for wear, but alive all the same. "Yoshi...mura..." I say starting to tear up. "It's really me, Hikari. I can handle this, Tsuki. Get some rest. It's been two days." He says and my mother nods and leaves him with me. He takes the seat beside me.
"Where..where are we?" I ask. "We're currently on Rushima Island with Aogiri Tree." Yoshimura says. My chest siezes up, making me cough. Yoshimura makes me sit up and steadies me as I go into a coughing fit. It's a few minutes before it eases and Yoshimura helps me drink some water. The door opens again, this time Sasayai Shi comes into the room. He looks a little worn, a bit more...human than the last time we met. "How is she, Father?" He asks, surprising me a bit. "The poison is constricting her lungs, but it should pass soon, Kenji" Yoshimura says. He nods and sits in the other chair. "You have questions...I can tell." Kenji says. "Why?" I say. "Why save you?" Kenji asks and I nod. "You may find this hard to believ, but I was never truly against you, Hikari." He says. "I'll brew you some tea, kenji" Yoshimura says and leaves me with the owl of corruption. "I was part of a group of Unicorns that fought against the reaper for many years. It never stops hunting...never stops feeding. Due to it only hunting ghouls, it was able to remain hidden from the CCG. This also allowed it to grow its power without restraint." He says.
He helps me sit up as another bout of coughing comes, making my body shake. "The reaper's poison is a potent version of an acid found in coffee. It is this acid that keeps ones like us from enjoying coffee like other ghouls. Unicorns were never about the choices of the ghoul, but a rarity born like a healthy one eye ghoul like my sister, Eto. For you to be a one eye ghoul and a unicorn is like hitting a bullet with a smaller bullet, riding a horse, blindfolded, and drunk." Kenji says helping me drink the water he offers. "The reaper has existed for a very long time, and his power is strong. However, he is not without his weaknesses. Reapers only hunt at night. The sunlight is like acid on their flesh. Reapers also are weaker in their humanoid form. They also can't mingle in public. They stand out too much." Kenji says. "How so?" I ask, my chest starting to loosen up. "Well...they look like a rotted corpse, like those zombies in those horror movies. Can you imagine the panic that it would cause just walking through tokyo?" Kenji says and checks my temperature. He sighs. "Your fever finally broke. That means the poison is weak enough for your body to begin recovering." He says.
"How did you fall? If I can ask." I say. "It...It was a very bad experience. There's a group called the clowns. They're ghouls that serve as the hunters for the reaper. They bring him food, they live to pull their strings and get to study him." Kenji says. "Study?" I say confused. "Yeah, they want to make more reapers. The organization known as V raised me originally to fight against the reaper, but soon decided that they would do better to cause me to fall and feed me to the reaper. That's what they were doing to you, but you never noticed." He says. "What do you mean?" I ask. "Yoshitoki and his whole family are Blood ghouls that serve the reaper. Ever wonder what happens to the ghouls at cochlea when their time is up?" He says. "It's a perfect set up...It has a near constant supply of food" Yoshimura says coming in with tea for us both. "So, how did you end up here, Yoshimura?" I ask taking a drink of my tea, the warm liquid easing my sore throat. He sits down. "Kenji and Ayato located where the artifical ghouls were being made. They could only get me free before they were discovered, unfortunately." he says and I nod.
Kenji gets up. "I'll leave her to you, Father. There is something I must do." He says and leaves. "Things look better between you two" I say and Yoshimura nods. "After Ayato told him what really happened to his mother, he started to change. I think your mother also had a hand in his change. It's not impossible for a fallen Caladrius to regain their humanity, but they will never be a pure Caladrius again. Their bodies are already stained by blood." He says and I nod. "So, what happened to the reaper?" I ask. "Kenji and I arrived in time to catch you before the Reaper could. Apologies for your chest injuries. I did not mean to cause them." Yoshimura says. "You were the one that caught me" I say and he nods. "It's alright. I'll heal." I say. "Not for some time though." Yoshimura says. "The poison greatly weakened your body. It will take quite some time to be able to get on your feet again without help." Yoshimura says and I nod.
Time skip after the attack on cochlea
I watch the screen, horrified. "The body count continues to rise as more ghoul centers are attacked, leaving carnage in it's wake. The Ghoul codenamed Reaper has been attacking Ghoul communities left and right. It's hunger seems to have no end. Where is the so called Unicorn? Reports say that it has been killed in the first open battle against the Reaper. The CCG held a memorial service for the Young director of the twenteith ward branch, Hikari Nagachika. Nagachika is survived by her husband, Hideyoshi and her son, Hineki-" Yoshimura turns the tv off. "You shouldn't be watching that" Yoshimura says bringing me some tea. "I know...I just...my boys...everyone thinks I'm dead." I say starting to cry. "It was better that way. You needed to recover. You're still recovering." Ayato says coming in, but he's not alone. My eyes widen. "Hide..." I say and he rushes over and hugs me tight. "Dammit, Kari! I told you to come back" He says but not really mad. I hold him tightly afraid to let him go. "Where's Hineki?" I ask. "He's with Eto. Her, Amon, Touka, Kaneki, and the others will be here soon. A good chunk of the CCG is dead from trying to fight off the reaper at Cochela." Hide says but he's holding something back.
"Hide? What is it?" I ask, making him look at me. "Kenji...he's dead. The reaper got him while he was helping defend one of the ghoul settlements." Hide says and I look at my hands. Kenji was gone..."Eto is going to take it hard." I say. "She already is. She hardly sleeps anymore and Amon has to convince her to eat, but I think she'll cheer up when she sees her father" Hide says and I nod. Hide looks at my injuries. "You went missing over a month ago. Shouldn't those be healed?" Hide asks. "The reaper's poison weakened my body quite a bit. It's taking me as long as a human to heal this time, but tomorrow the bandages come off" I say and he nods. Soon, the others arrive. They stare at me in shock. "Mama..." Hineki says and reaches for me starting to cry. Eto hands him to me and I hug him close to me. "Hey baby...Mama missed you" I say and kiss his head. "Kari..." Eto says. I look at her. "Sorry I didn't contact you guys. I was too weak to even pick up a teacup some days." I say and they nod. "Ok, the border is secure." I hear as my dad, Yomo comes in. "What's everyone doing just standing in the door?" He asks and they let him past them. "Hey dad" I say.
Yomo slowly comes over. His face gives away no emotion, but his eyes betray the mix of emotions under the surface. "This isn't a trick, right?" He says. "No, Yomo, it isn't" my mother says coming in. My dad stares at her in shock. "Yuki..." He says. "It's actually tsuki, but yeah. It's me" She says and comes over to me. "So, this is the little cutie you told me about." She says and tickles hineki's chin, making him laugh. "Tsuki...I.." Yomo says. She frowns. "Not right now, Rei. We will talk, but not right now." She says and leaves the room. Dad watches her leave. "Kenji and her were married" I say. My dad nods understanding now and hugs me and hineki both. "Sorry for the wait." A voice says making everyone freeze but me. "Dad..." Eto says as he puts a tray of coffee cups on the table. He smiles softly. "Hello, everyone" He says and is tackled by Eto. He hugs her as she cries, face buried in his chest. "It's ok, Eto." He says rubbing her back. Eto finally stops crying and looks up at her father exhausted. "You should rest, Eto. You have to be strong to carry your baby" Yoshimura says surprising everyone. "Eto?" Amon says coming over to him, the mark obvious on his neck from Eto. Eto nods to amon and he whirls her around.
The next day, I'm finally able to move around. I go outside and find Kaneki leaning against a railing. "Hey Kaneki" I say and he looks at me. "Hey, feeling better?" He asks and I nod. He watches the kids play as Akira comes up with her father. "Little Kari" Kureo says surprised. I smile a little. "Hey you guys" I say and Akira punches my arm. "Akira! She only just recovered" Kaneki says as she pulls me into a hug. "You had everyone worried" She says. "I didn't intent on vanishing like that. I really had no choice. The reaper's poison almost killed me" I say and she nods. Kureo comes over. "Well, things became a mess after you vanished. We lost Arima and Kijima." Kureo says and I look away trying not to cry again. "Hey, Arima went how he wanted. He got sick without you boosting his immune system. He went down fighting at cochlea, but he told me to makes sure you got this. He said that Kenji requested it be made from him for you." He says handing me a quinque. "Sorry to say, your's is destroyed. We found it after that fight." Akira says.
I move far enough away from them before I bring it out. 'Sorry I broke my promise...take care of Aogiri for me' Kenji's voice says as we sync without issue. My powers react to it and it starts off as a sword, before Rc cells flow from it, going up my arm, leaving black armor with white and gold accents in it's wake. When it's done, I'm holding a greatsword and wearing a suit of black armor with white and gold accents and wings. one wing is black with red crystals and the other is white with blue crystals. Both my eyes shine from behind the mask, one gold, the other red. A long, demonic like tail curls around my feet. "Whoa...that was a pretty intense reaction." Akira says. "The Unicorn, even though fallen, died to protect others. If a murdered unicorn's quinque kills the user, the other end would combine with the existing power of the user. Never thought I would actually see the Nephalem Quinque." Kureo says. I soon put it away, returning to my normal self. "Thank you, Kenji. I will carry out your final wish" I say.
That night, we hold a party for Kaneki and Touka's wedding. I smile and a glass is shoved in my hand. I look to see Hide grinning like crazy. "Hide...you know I don't drink" I say. "Come on, Kari, just one glass. For Kaneki and Touka" He says and I sigh. "Fine, but I cannot be blamed for my actions" I say. However, before I can take a drink, the area lights up like the daytime. Shielding my eyes, I see Tooru standing at the edge of the area with a group of people. "These ghouls are classified as blood ghouls, execute without mercy." We hear Tooru say. "We have to evacuate!" I say and the others start getting people to safety. I stop Tooru as she tries to kill a child. "Tooru, are you insane!" I say, tooru's knives biting into my palms. "So, the rumors were true, You turned your back on us, Hikari. I didn't want to believe it, but here you are with teach. You two...are coming back with me to face justice." She says and tries to attack again. "Kari!" Hide yells tossing me my quinque. I activate it and the armor blocks Tooru's attack.
She flips back and glares at me. "So typical of you, hiding behind your toys. Just like you did in the qunix squad!" She says and charges at me. To most, it would seem like I teleported behind Tooru, but it was just my speed. "I hid behind no one, Tooru. I never saw anyone as something to be thrown away." I say and block her attack again. 'Should knock her out if I can't get through to her. I have a lot more power than I did before. I can kill her if I'm not careful' I think. We hear a scream and Kaneki looks that way. "That was Touka!" He says suddenly worried. "Go! I have this!" I say. he nods and runs off towards Touka's screams. "He won't make it...and even if he does, he's a dead man." Tooru says. I'm about to attack Tooru, when Urie gets between us, making me stop. "Tooru, stop this!" He says looking at her. "...Tch, get out of my way Urie!" She yells at him. Urie moves, but not out of the way. He hugs Tooru. "Tooru...please stop this. Please, don't make me kill the one I love" He says making her freeze. "Urie..." she says dropping her quinque. Urie kisses her, sending his message home. She blushes. "Oh, Urie, you're not gay. Tooru's a girl" I say making Tooru laugh at his then hear a loud noise as the ground starts to shake. I frown as a familar sense of dread washes over me. Suddenly, what looks to be giant centipedes shoot out of the ground. My eyes widen, and I take flight, racing for where Touka is. "Touka!" I yell and grab her outstretched hand. I get her away from the area. "That...that was Kaneki" She says once we land. "What happened?" I ask. "They cut his arms and legs off and he kept coming...then this" She says and I nod.
To be continued
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Notes: Yeah planning on finishing this story the next chapter. But who knows really?
