Corie=28
Kaneki=23
"Hey, Uta," Corie smiled. "Glad you could make it down here."
Uta fist-bumped her. "Your plan is crazy and chaotic which are two of my favorite words."
"Our plans are always crazy and chaotic."
"That's part of why you're my favorite girl. I guess you didn't have any luck changing your appearance."
"No, but I knew when I asked you that I probably wouldn't be able to do it. It's okay, though, I managed to get my kagune back."
"How? With that much RC suppressant you took, I thought it was impossible."
"Turns out I just needed a really big adrenaline boost."
"That simple, huh?"
"Not exactly. It had to be a specific kind of adrenaline."
"I'm glad that you're back to your old self again."
"Yeah, me too. Well, let's start your training. I think you should go train with Arima. That will be an interesting fight."
Uta started over towards the investigator, but Corie quickly pulled him back.
"And don't get any ideas, you got it? We are practicing."
The tattooed ghoul smirked. "Relax, Cor. I'll play nice."
A couple days later in the middle of another training session, a sudden cry caused everyone to freeze.
Corie quickly stopped her fight with Saiko and looked over to where the sound had come from.
Mutsuki was on the ground hugging herself as she trembled violently while Hide looked at her in confusion.
Corie rushed over to them. "What happened?" she asked Hide.
"I don't know," he answered. "He had me in an impressive hold, so I tried to get him off and I think I accidentally pulled his hair too hard."
She looked down at the terrified Quinx for only a second and then turned to the rest of the group who had gathered around her. "Alright, everyone, get back to training. Hide, go train with Saiko."
"But—"
"Go."
Hide left to go train with the petite investigator.
Kaneki started over towards them. "Corie, I should—"
Corie quickly put her hand up to make him stop. "No. Don't."
She was sure that Mutsuki didn't want to be around a man right now, and Kaneki being the one to help would surely only make things worse both in that sense and the fact that Mutsuki still had lingering feelings for him.
She knelt down and put her arms around Mutsuki to help her stand up. "Come on, let's go."
Carefully but quickly, Corie led her back up to the coffee shop and sat her down at one of the tables.
"Take some deep breaths for me, okay? I want you to focus on me and only me."
Corie continued talking about whatever came to her head first while she made some coffee so that Mutsuki had something to focus on rather than whatever memory she had gotten lost in. Then she put the mug down in front of her.
"Here you go, drink this."
Mutsuki took a few slow sips of the warm beverage.
Corie took a seat at the table and looked at her seriously. "Mutsuki, you're a talented fighter and a talented Quinx. I don't doubt your abilities, but I need you to be honest with me. Do you think that you're going to be able to go through with this operation?"
Mutsuki just tightened her grip on the mug as she stared at the brown liquid inside.
"This is going to be the hardest and most important mission any of us have ever faced. When the fighting starts, everyone is going to have to be focused on the Aogiri ghouls which means that no one is going to have time to stop and make sure that you or anyone else is okay. Mutsuki, I don't know what you've gone through, but if you freeze up like that during this operation, you will get killed."
"I'm…I'm sorry."
"No," Corie said firmly. "I do not want you to apologize to me. You have gone through something traumatic, and you are still feeling pain from it. Don't ever feel like you have to apologize for that. Do you understand me?"
Because Mutsuki had never discussed her fears with anyone, she had never had someone talk to her like this before. No one had been there to tell her that it was okay to feel scared and that it was okay that she was still hurting from what she been forced to endure as a young girl.
"I just don't want you to go out there if you're still dealing with this."
"I want to help."
"And I want you to help. But I also don't want you to get killed because you've been put in the middle of something you're not ready for."
Mutsuki clenched her jaw, but she didn't say anything.
Corie gently put her hand on hers. "I don't know what you've gone through, but based on what I know about you, I can warrant a guess. Mutsuki, listen to me. I am going to do my best to make sure no one hurts you like that ever again. And if they do, then I promise you that I will personally beat the living tar out of them."
Mutsuki tried to push back the tears welling up in her eyes. How long had it been since another woman had been there to really comfort her and assure her that she would be protected?
Corie was blunt and honest. She didn't say that she would always protect her, she just promised to do her best, and Mutsuki knew that she really would, even after Mutsuki had been nothing but angry at her ever since the woman's true identity had been revealed back at the CCG.
Without even knowing the reason why she had flipped out when Hide had pulled her hair, Corie had quickly figured out what Mutsuki needed and handled everything herself within a matter of seconds.
Now she understood why her former superior loved her so much and looked up to her as an older sister figure. Both her words and overall aura protectively wrapped around Mutsuki like a warm blanket she had always been searching for without really knowing it.
"I want to go train some more," she said to Corie.
"All right."
"And…can you…not mention any of this to Sasaki…or Urie?"
"I wasn't going to."
The misfit group trained together for just over four weeks, gaining both strength and trust between them all every day. Though it remained to be seen what all of their relationships would look like once the operation was over.
Corie took a swig of water and wiped the sweat from her face.
Svetlana came up next to her. "This is huge," the Russian ghoul remarked. "No matter how this operation goes, we have several investigators on our side for the first time. You've done good, Cor."
Corie smiled a little. "I wouldn't be here without you, Matthias, or Antoine. You've all been incredible teachers."
"You're not bad yourself, it looks like. Everyone says you're the hardest teacher they've ever had even if they do learn a lot from you."
"Well, now that you've helped train everyone, they probably don't think that anymore."
Svetlana laughed. "Pain is the best teacher, especially in our world."
"I'll give you that."
The blonde went back to training with Saiko.
"Corie!" Touka called from the stairs. "You have to see this!"
Confused, Corie followed the young woman up to the café which had been closed to allow the ghouls to train below.
The other ghouls and investigators followed her up to see what was going on. Immediately, all pairs of eyes glued to the TV situated up in the far corner.
"We are not exactly sure what this mysterious gas is, but it seems to be coming from a building in the 18th ward and is spreading across all of Tokyo," a news anchor announced, thick mist forming behind her. "The gas started leaking through major cities only hours ago and since then, all communication in the ward has ceased. The gas is odorless and no casualties have yet been reported. There is a possibility it—"
The anchor stopped speaking as she gasped in pain and knelt down at the waist. Coughing and gasping for breath, she looked up at the camera.
With one kakugan.
She lunged at the camera and the screen went black.
Corie put her hand to her mouth as everyone in the café attempted to process what they had just seen.
This gas, which just so happened to have started at Aogiri headquarters, was turning people into crazed half-ghouls.
Touka shut the TV off, and Corie turned to face everyone. "Okay, change in plans. We're going to need a lot more help." She frantically began to pace. "Um…Irimi, Koma, do you guys still have any followers?"
Koma smirked. "The Devil Ape always has followers."
Irimi put her hands on her hips. "I think there's still some Black Dogs with fangs to bare."
"Good. Find them. We're going to need them. Uta, what about you? You and Itori have some backup we can trust?"
"Backup, yes. Backup you can trust might be a little more difficult."
"I'm not going to have time to worry about rogue ghouls. Only contact the people we know will actually be useful for this operation."
"I'm on it."
"Okay. But that's not enough. We need more people. Um, who else do we know?"
"Maybe we could be of assistance," a new voice announced.
Corie's head snapped to the entrance of the café. "…Hinami?"
"Hi."
"And…Ayato?!"
Ayato shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away from her.
He looked much, much different than the last time Corie had seen him. He'd grown up a lot and he didn't look so angry at the world, acting like it owed him something. No doubt that was due to Hinami's influence. They were an unlikely pair, yet somehow, they suited one another.
"After the Anteiku raid, Aogiri Tree took me in when I didn't have anywhere else to go," Hinami explained. "Eto kind of had a soft spot for me. They didn't make me do much really. Just gain intel for them when needed. But now…it's too far. I can't keep helping them. Neither of us can. And…I brought some others who feel the same way."
At least thirty people walked into the café, all members of Aogiri Tree who had been hurt by the organization in some way and wanted to be done with them. Even a few members of the White Suits were among the crowd.
Corie couldn't believe her eyes. She stood up onto the counter so all the people gathered together to fight could see her. "Everyone, get ready. Today's the day. We're moving out in three hours."
Once their additional reinforcements arrived, Kaneki, Corie, and Arima explained the more complex details of the operation. Then everyone quickly began to prepare for the battle that lay ahead, whether it be gathering masks for those who didn't have one or fine-tuning any last-minute maneuvers.
Amon noticed Corie slip out of the café and go down the stairs to the rooms below. He put his hand to Kaneki's shoulder. "I'll be right back."
"All right," Kaneki answered.
Amon went down to the rooms beneath the café as well and saw Corie's door open and the light on inside.
When he peeked into the room, he saw the poor woman curled up in a ball in the far corner, her hands over her ears and her breathing coming in short frantic gasps.
This wasn't the first time he had witnessed something like this. A lot of people during his days at the CCG, especially the junior investigators, came down with panic attacks when faced with their first mission or a particularly critical operation.
He didn't know what hurt more: seeing her like this or realizing she had intended to suffer through this alone.
Amon quickly rushed over to her and knelt down in front of her. Taking her hands away from her ears, he said firmly, "Corie, take some deep breaths. Focus only on me. Only on me, okay? Breathe in and out."
He breathed deeply for her to see, and soon enough, she focused on matching his rhythm until she had calmed down. Had this been any other situation, she might've laughed that he was the one to tell her to focus on his voice rather than the other way around.
Tears began to form in her eyes. "I'm so scared," she said softly.
Once again, Amon was painfully reminded that Corie had her limits. She was just an expert at hiding them. For the past two weeks, she had handled their combined training sessions with the utmost patience and confidence. But here now alone, he saw that all this time, she had been hiding just how terrified she truly was about the whole plan.
He gently began to run his thumbs over her fingers to keep her grounded.
"This whole operation was my idea," she continued. "Everyone is following me. What if it goes completely wrong? What if everyone gets killed? What if this has all been for nothing? What if I'm just marching everyone to their deaths?"
Amon knew that feeling all too well. He had had the same thoughts every time he led a squad on an operation which made him feel each and every loss that much more profoundly.
Two tears ran down her cheeks. "And what if…I'm forced to face my cousin…and I can't do it? I hate her so much, but even after everything she's done…she is still my family."
Amon sighed heavily. "Corie, I respect you too much to lie to you, and I don't think you want that either. I don't know how this is going to go. Chances are that a lot of us are going to die. It might even be me or you. But no matter what happens, I want you to remember this. You, a ghoul, earned the respect of the most widely feared investigator in CCG history. You and Kaneki got him to willfully work alongside ghouls to fight for peace. No one has ever been able to do that. And I think that despite everything that is going to happen, you and Kaneki have changed our world forever."
He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks then moved to sit next to her and put his arm around her all while still holding her hand.
Corie leaned into his embrace, and the two of them sat in comfortable silence for as long as they could.
Eto could do whatever she wanted to her, but Corie held onto the fact that her cousin would never be able to take this one perfect moment away from her.
Corie stared into the mirror in her room, her hair once again done into a French braid to keep it out of her eyes for the fighting ahead.
She turned when someone knocked on the doorframe.
"You ready?" Kaneki asked.
"I don't think I've ever been more scared than I am now. Kaneki, I've never led a huge group of people like this, and most certainly not into a fight like this one. They're all expecting to follow me, and…I may be leading them right to their deaths."
Kaneki sighed and stepped further into the room. "No one said being a leader was easy. But you've never been one to do things that are easy. You have worked so hard to earn their trust and respect, and that's why everyone is here ready to fight with you and follow you into something like this. If it's worth it to you, it's worth it to them."
Corie felt like she might be sick at any moment, but his faith in her ability to lead helped ease her nerves if only a little.
"I will follow you anywhere you go. I always have. Because I trust you more than anyone to make the best decisions in moments like this."
"You'll stay by my side, right?"
"Of course. We're stronger together."
Corie took a deep breath. "Then let's go."
They walked up to the café where everyone, ghoul and investigator, was ready to walk over to the CCG headquarters and begin the operation they had spent weeks preparing for.
Corie stood up on the counter. "You've all worked very hard. Today, all personal feelings have to be forgotten. I will have each and every one of your backs, and I'm counting on all of you to have mine and each other's. I know this is a risk. It may turn out that it's only us against the Owl and Aogiri Tree. The investigators might even start killing us the second they see us. But let me say that no matter what happens, I, for one, am honored to be able to fight by your side. Now…let's head out."