DISCLAIMER

The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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

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Case 8: Green Obsession (3)

The next two days were particularly calm. After signing the appropriate reports and thinking about the situation that was unfolding with Tatara and the other mysterious ghoul, I ended up sitting down by the briefing room with Hairu.

A new case had come out, one that was actually tied to Aogiri and… that we were supposed to handle on our own. No Arima, Marude had said without hesitation and bringing up how the entire thing was meant to show or not if we were ready to go through 'solo' missions without our senior commander keeping watch over us. Kind of surprising how quickly this happened, mostly because of how the pinkette had been in the field for slightly less than I did.

I planned to inquire some more to Arima himself what made him think that this was actually doable once we were done with the case and… then my attention shifted to our current mission. I quickly felt perplexed when I started to read the description tied to the file, frowning at the current disposition we were actually in.

Ten minutes later as we were making our way to our destination, Hairu decided to give it a look herself and she too took notice of what we were supposed to for today. Frowning at me, she spared me a confused look at some unusual bits of the paper.

"We're protecting a writer?"The girl asked with a frown while tightening the hold she had for the case containing Aus. We were already hitting the streets, taking the proper time to reach the close location we were supposed to arrive.

"Takatsuki Sen reported and brought out letters that have been confirmed to have been legitimately written by officials of Aogiri Tree," I began explaining to her. "All those death threats are not to be dismissed with ease, especially since this isn't the first time they made an unpleasant display of major supporters of harsher regulations against them."

"But wouldn't that actually… push for those stronger rules to be implemented?"

"If people were able to overcome the fear of one day being cornered, kidnapped, butchered and then killed by Ghouls, then I think that would be the best solution, yes."

"So we have to keep watch of this author for the time being?"

"Until the threats have completely disappeared," I remarked quietly. "We know that Aogiri will not try to put too much effort into it if the CCG is actually moving to stop something so 'small', no matter how pissed they might be about her."

The girl nodded. "But for how long and… what if the Aogiri will just wait out for us to leave?"

"While that could actually happen, the risks of that being the case are very low. They know that, if the CCG is interested in this, the organization will keep monitoring the woman even when we investigators are done with our current mission. We're here to frighten any stalkers off from trying anything funny."

That seemed to convince the pinkette and soon we resumed our calm wandering through the First Ward and toward the apartment of the author. It was quite surprising that we were working with limited mission details compared to previous cases we had together. Especially since that deprived me from the capacity to actually help more Hairu in this unusual case we were working on but... maybe there was a good reason. There has to.

The Second Ward shined a little less brighter than the First but it was still one of the most beautiful quarters of the capital. Until after WW2, this was considered the 'Central Ward' of Tokyo and the place where the Bank of Japan had its main headquarters. The First Ward was able to catch up thanks to the new corporations and Zaibatsus rising from the post-war Economic Miracle, the new companies bringing new life to the poorer district at the time and becoming the main section of the city.

Hairu inquired some more about the ward, mostly because this was the first time she actually spent so much time around this area. To be fair, this was one of the few Wards we didn't have the chance of exploring properly, and I took it upon myself to promise her of giving her a tour of it once we were done with this case.

But during our conversation, an unexpected topic came out as she seemed to adopt a curious expression when I started to mention how Juuzou and I spent some of the weekends to properly explore the safe spots of all Wards back when we were still students at the Academy.

"Speaking of Juuzou-senpai, I don't remember you mentioning that he got a new teammate, Senpai?"

I blinked, feeling a little surprised at the unexpected topic and the fact only now I realized that I didn't speak with Juuzou about what drove him to come back home drunk. Since I woke up in a particularly awkward situation, I just forgot about it and the next day was particularly calm as he came home at the usual hour. He wasn't drunk, but I could tell that he was distracted for some reason. I was also distracted by the duties I had with my current ward, with most of it being helping Kaneki around whenever he needed to walk around to deliver papers at the Uni he was enrolled in and making sure that Hide didn't slack off with his own homework.

"That's because I learned of this just recently myself," I admitted calmly. "Still, I suppose you had the chance of meeting with her, I just know that she's a member of the Taiwanese Branch."

The pinkette nodded. "I believe her name is… Hsiao Ching-Li. She was part of the… Garden too."

I frowned. "So, she is daughter of-"

"No. She was actually an orphan that was taken in and trained to become a member of the CCG," Hairu explained, her expression turning uneasy at the mention of the Sunlit Garden. "She was sent to Taiwan a year ago to gain some field experience and she gained a few praises for her hard work."

I could feel my frown deepening as I realized that her tone was leaving out something else about this Ching-Li.

"But?"

"But… I don't know why she was tasked with aiding Juuzou-senpai. As far as I can tell, they shouldn't be working together due to opposite personalities."

I blinked, confused by this very comment. "How so?"

"Well, Ching-Li might be quite open to friendly manners, but she if quite no-nonsense during missions. Knowing Juuzou-senpai... it seems like a wrong take considering how he has yet to properly take on the investigator's seriousness."

I could only nod at that comment, knowing way too well that Juuzou was a little far from making it to that point. He was making progress, but I could tell that if he kept this kind of behavior so much he was going to miss many promotions. He was capable and smart, but stubbornly childish and that prevented him to go for that big step forward.

We finally arrived at the apartment, and were greeted at the entrance of the building by a nervous-looking man. Formally-dressed in a blue suit, with his dark hair combed in a short and respectful style, Shiono Shunji was someone that quickly established himself as the meek individual. Someone that sounded scared of everything, even his own shadow. Yet as I looked at his mannerism and ignoring the uneasy pace he had with his own action, I could tell there was some bravery that was willingly kept hidden from the others. It was really a confusing sight to be exposed to but… I could just ignore it for the time being.

"A-Ah, the other two investigators. Th-Thank you for arriving so soon."

I nodded his direction while Hairu merely smiled as we were led inside the building. The place looked to be cheap, which was common sight when it came to people that weren't tied to stable and well-paid jobs. While Tatatsuki scored plenty of good hits, I doubted she would just drop the place she was most accustomed with. Authors just preferred to keep as closest as possible to the settings they were most familiar with while going through their usual work. That was something I remember learning about when a French Writer gave an interview on the matter, something that I caught on while I was browsing the channels without a particular interest at the time.

"B-Before leaving you to Takatsuki-san, I think I should explain... a few things about her," He said while pausing in front of the door of the flat, sounding quiet and almost silent with his tone. It was as if he was worried of being too loud and to make the only occupant of the apartment aware of this conversation.

"And that is?"

Shiono sighed tiredly but nodded my direction. "She can be quite... overbearing with her questions- b-but I can assure you both that she is genuinely trying to restrain herself from going too far with them."

"That sounds... normal?" Hairu muttered, confused as I was by this very detail. It wouldn't be unusual for some wards to inquire about the situation they were in, it was a coping mechanism to fight off the sense of limitation generally caused by these circumstances. But… I could also tell that there was something ominous about this warning, and I was sure this little quirk was being sugar coated now for some big reason.

"Just... bear with it for a while. She will get bored and pass on to another topic."

The door opened and we were presented with quite the scene. Sitting half-hidden within a comfy-looking kotatsu, Sen Takatsuki was giggling like mad while writing at a high-pace on her laptop. What really made the scene incredibly weird was that she was wearing only a sleeveless black shirt and light-pink shorts. To add more to that crazy scenario, she had a straw placed down in a big cup filled with coffee.

The moment we all entered inside the living room, she stopped with her current task and turned to stare at us. A gasp left her mouth as she quickly slipped out her warm seat and rushed towards Hairu, her eyes glowing an unholy light. I don't know why, but she definitely felt familiar for some reason. Her pace was just… incredibly upsetting.

Meanwhile, the pinkette tensed up as the woman grasped at her shoulders and stared at her with a giddy look. "She is so cute!"

...What the heck, lady? Never heard of personal space?

The pinkette blinked in surprise, eyes wide open, as the woman circled her frame, almost drooling at her while nodding at herself in true confirmation. Like a shark trying to study her possible newest prey.

I was appalled by all of this, but I was beaten to a loud reaction by the manager himself.

"T-Takatsuki-san! Stop harassing the kind Investigator!"

From the stern tone taken and the braver stance used by the guy, I could tell that he was well aware of this kind of problem and he seemed to have built up enough annoyance to behave this frustrated so visibly. Even in front of two investigators from the looks of it.

Sen's efforts lessened at the words but she continued to stare at the Kohai, the girl confused and quite embarrassed by what had just happened. I spared her a sympathetic look, but she was still pulled in a sudden tight hug by the fellow woman.

"But she is a cutie, Shiono! She could be my Venus."

The pinkette tilted her head at the word, failing to grasp why this could relate to the situation, something I recognized quickly as a silent request of help. I didn't waste any time to call the author out before things escalate any further.

"Takatsuki-san, I suggest that you calm down."

"Or what?" She dared with a 'cute' voice. I was really growing bored of trying to be reasonable with her as I could tell she was just taking this as a chance to piss off people as much as possible.

"Or I might have to ask the headquarters to provide you with stricter investigators and, trust me, they will send some not-so-cute ones if you keep molesting my partner."

The harshness in my voice seemed to be enough to shake her off from Hairu, but what I failed to take into account was that the eccentric author had just shifted her attention to me. She took a step forward, her stare aimed up at my face as she regaled me with a mirthful smile.

"And you are Ryouga Kaizo. I've heard a lot about you. You were in the News."

I blinked, having been told of this way too many times to actually care. I just was too careful nowadays to not give off to many reactions about it, especially now that I was dealing with such a bizarre individual. "Possibly."

Her smile widened. "To think that I would receive some premium offer in these circumstances. Terrible ones, but still fascinating one."

"What?" I had to ask, Sen sighed and then walked up around me and to the small kitchen area within the living room. There was no explanation what she was trying to do but, as she reached the counter, she stopped and turned around.

"How do you like your coffee?"

Something was really off about this situation. I wasn't exactly sure what, but I could tell that the woman wasn't really that sane and… the entire predicament just felt wrong. What was she planning about? And why could I tell that it wasn't something good for me or anyone else in that room?

"Macchiato," I calmly answered, expecting for the request to be complied due to the openness of the offer.

She huffed. "No milk, sorry for being so limited but… I like the simplicity."

It was clear that she was doing all of this to unnerve me, but I still shrugged and picked a normal bitter one, same for Hairu and Shiono. We sat down, with only Sen picking up the comfiest position possible through the Kotatsu- it was really starting to grate onto my nerves how easygoing she was behaving in such a situation.

Sure, it was simple and easy if she didn't panic and create any unpleasant situations, but I really didn't need to be frustrated like this. I just couldn't tell why, but… something screamed at me that I had to be wary about her. Especially since Rize reacted this unpleasantly about her. Maybe she knew something about it? I had to ask, but I had a feeling I wasn't going to like it.

"Oh? I suppose you would prefer if the cup was red."

I blinked, the comment catching me off-guard due to its suddenness. "What?"

"Just a thought. You do seem like the kind of guy that thinks red as their favorite color."

I forced my face to hide away any surprise since… that was actually true. Red was my favorite color, with purple close behind and I really found that guess really… upsetting. How did she know that? And… why? Why was she using this against me?

I was really perplexed, but I schooled my features to remain calm. This was really different from when I went for that book-signing event with Rize. Her manners just felt so different and almost the opposite of what I had imagined to find in that distinct circumstance. The rest of the day went smoothly as I continued to remain unperturbed by the woman's attempts to shake my patience. She noticed, and she renewed her efforts, with poor Hairu speaking up and helping as much as possible. All without becoming the target of attention for the cheeky writer, that is.

The first day passed mostly smoothly and I was relieved that another group of investigators was going to take over for tomorrow as I really needed to keep distant from this individual. Something about her told me she was trouble, I just didn't know what kind of trouble and… why. There was a clue within her bizarre comment, something that she was just poking at me to unravel as I felt unsure of what it was all about.

The staring was unsettling, so was the cozy mannerism she took while around me. If with Hairu the teasing was kind of childish, with me it took a completely different level. I had to know why, and I had to know as quickly as possible. With the case just started and this meant to get through for two weeks, I knew that the best way I had to understand what was going on was to keep my guard up all the time while around the mysterious author.

Hairu seemed to spot something off too, but she was quick to label it out as a defense mechanism from the fellow woman. Which, while possibly true, didn't seem to fit with her intense attention she had over me.

"W-Well, senpai- she is a young woman, particularly lonely and… you don't look that bad."

I actually wept because of that theory that not only set me for some horrible days, but it also highlighted a troublesome detail I hadn't noticed until that moment. I just couldn't imagine a world where someone as pure as Hairu could just give out this kind of response. I just couldn't. And I definitely had a lot to think about when it came to absurdities as I ended up seeing Juuzou scowling while leading around a young woman. I spared just a glance. She was young, way younger than any investigator and… she looked at me. A tiny smile formed as she respectfully nodded.

Ching-Li, I thought silently and I could tell that, whatever was going on with Juuzou, it wasn't really tied to his newest partner. If before I was worried about myself, now I had concerns for my closest friend. I could tell that something had him really annoyed, fairly frustrated, so much that he had to resort to alcohol to hide how pissed he was.

And I wasn't planning to allow this matter to slide away once more. Not when it was clearly hurting Juuzou.

AN

AH! Eto is playing a sketchy game. I wish to say that, while it does sound like flirting, there is a layer of trouble that lingers with her careful approach. She was aware of Kaizo's arrival and she has taken steps to… screw with his mind. I don't need to remind you all that she is well capable of this and right now this might bring up some unpleasant memories from him.

If I have to be honest without spoiling things, this second arc is dedicated to… both Juuzou and Kaizo, their defining problems and their interest in fixing those on their own. You may draw conclusions with how this will end but… let's just say that their relationship will change a fair lot because of this.