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 1: A Sad Symphony (END)

"This is a mess.."

I was silent as Marude finally arrived to the place where the woman had perished.

Emi had long been taken by a curious Juuzou back to our shared appartment, his questions thankfully avoided by the promise of explaining later after I had finished to report back to HQ.

"This will have to be analysed by out techies but.. I think you might have found the responsible of the deaths.." The man sighed as he put the blood-stained knife in a special container for further controls. "A cannibal, living in this Ward for crying outloud.."

I didn't felt the need to express my agreement to this explanation, knowing that I was stepping dangerously near the bad end of the line that could have got me not only removed from the CCG but also jailed for having aided a Ghoul.

No defense about my reasons and my solutions would have worked in a normal courtroom and thus lying was the only viable way for the moment.

N-Nobody told us that there were half-Ghouls back at the Academy! No one. What should I have done? What was the real standard procedure for this kind of scenarios?

So much left unanswered and the bitter taste of having orphaned a child I knew about and trusted me...

What a bloody irony, the orphan that makes orphans.

I closed my eyes and sighed to myself, praying to not mess up once returning back to the flat.

It wasn't Juuzou that was going to be an issue. The white-haired teen probably had already started to play silly games with Emi and-*Sigh*- I was going to deal with this fallout.

Emi had killed her own mother for.. me. I was a stranger, an unknown individual but the child had decided to help me, sacrificing her only parent in the process.

Why this made no sense, WHY NOTHING MADE NO SENSE AND-

"You are not at fault, kid." The senior Investigator muttered as he crouched down close to me. "This woman... she wasn't right in her head."

"I could.. I could have tried to avoid confrontations, I could-" "You could have died but you didn't."

I kept quiet as the man sighed, taking a small smoke packet from one of the pockets in his pants and putting it in his mouth.

"Every case, may it be simple, complex and even crazy... they all take something from us, they make us think more and more about our past actions." He blinked as the smoke was lit up from his lighter. "You defended yourself and I hope that this woman wasn't harboring any child in this hellhole. Brutal thing, I suppose she was."

I actually paused my thoughts with that last bit of information.

Marude wasn't wrong about the dead mother had been way too much murderous for her to be actually normal around Emi.

A small part of me, that very part that knew how truly sick this world was, started to whisper a doubt.

A doubt so big and dreadful that I couldn't but realise how possible it was it to be.

What if the blood in that knife wasn't just from the victims... but there was Emi's too?

Terrible shivers went through my bones but I managed to keep myself unmoving during that reaction to that thought.

Now he felt like he had to truly reach home as quickly as he could.

"Go back home, Ryouga. I will deal with the hag myself.. but just this time! Don't make me regret my generosity with this case."

I sighed as Marude effectively pulled me away from dealing with some annoying bureaucratic process I would have had to suffer for my first case.

The walk back home was uneventful.. yet I felt somewhat naked without the Quinques, as if I was confined in a world of wolves and I was the only sheep.

Maybe it was because my investigator's mindset had kicked in or-No. I sighed again as I continued for my steps towards the apartment, knowing full well that the very situation of getting jumped by someone and being almost killed was... terrifying.

The handle of the front door stood before me as my hand grasped it softly, turning it and unlocking the door to the flat.

I had already resigned to deal with- "Wooho! That was cool, Emi-tan!"

I could hear Juuzou's cheerful voice mixed with familiar giggles, making me incredibly concerned for two major reasons.

1) Juuzou was very difficult to get this happy without showing anything dangerous to him and 2) there was only one thing that Emi could do to actually surprise.

... OH NO!

I rushed towards the living room, the lights and the sounds coming from there confirming that they were inside that specific part of the house and I- gawked as I stared at the incredibly absurd scene.

Juuzou was in tears from the laughs he was having, several fruits in his arms as he threw one or two at Emi.. the girl having her Kagune fully deployed and enjoying doing... Fruit Ninja?!

"Juuzou!"

The teen paused and turned towards me with a big smile. "Ryo-kun, you could have told me Emi-tan is this cool!"

The girl's spear-like tendril dissolved as the girl rushed at me. "Kai-niichan!"

As her short frame impacted onto mine, my mind started to slowly reassess the situation and.. WTF!?

I blinked as I picked her in my arms, the girl's eyes a little red and puffy but it seemed like she had cried much long ago and that she was recovering from it. "H-How are you, Emi-chan?"

She smiled. "Rei-niichan is cool! You should see him do that thing with his stitches-" "Juuzou, I hope you didn't show her that."

The cheeky grin in his face meant he had shown that to her and that he felt proud about it. That little moron- "Oh, and show him the plasters!"

Plasters?

By rolling one of her sleeves, Emi showed that there were... multiple plasters with happy animal faces spread around her arm.

This was an odd scene to stare at as it both confirmed that she had been abused by her deceased mother but also that Juuzou had noticed and taken care of that.

"Those are... cute." I commented quietly, causing the girl to giggle again at my reaction.

"Thank you, Kai-niichan." Her face moved and I felt her kiss my cheek, confusing me by no little mean. "Rei-niichan said that I had to do.. that?"

I slowly turned towards Juuzou, the friend staring away and whistling in faux innocence. "Is that so?"

She nodded and snuggled closer to my chest as a little smile played in my features. "Then that means Juuzou will have to give half of one of his pizzas to this adorable child here."

That catched the red-eyed young man, causing him to twist and march towards me, only to be greeted with the pleading look from the chibi in my arms.

It was oddly satisfying seeing Juuzou defeated by the very means he had mastered during his time in the Academy to boss me around. "Fine..."

Someone like Marude Itsuki had some morals when approaching idiotic individuals.

It was in his vein to usually prey upon his target once he was sure to be able to engage in a private discussion with him/her.

When he finished ranting to the snotty receptionist about the peculiar case that was solved by one of the rookie of the Investigators, he started to slowly walk towards the elevator and waiting for the floor he was supposed to get onto.

Two minutes later and he was knocking at the door of the man that was currently leading the CCG.

Tsuneyoshi Washuu had been a very powerful investigator in his prime, leading the organisation through the hardships of two Ghoul organisations threatening the safety of the city.

Now he was old and most of his duties as director of the CCG had been taken over by his son, Yoshitoki.

Yoshitoki.. he was a good man, an exceptional investigator and a decent friend but.. he lacked the charisma and the mind of the man that was his predecessor and it was no secret many are now hoping for the successor to retire early and for Matsuri, his son, to take over in few years from now.

The senior investigator opened the door and was already mouthing the first lines of his tirade when his eyes fell right onto the individual his rant was going to be about.

Arima stared quietly as he entered fully the room, confused by this interruption but not as much as the director. "Senior Investigator Marude, I hope this is important. I was having a talk with Arima-san about-" "Sir, this is about Arima-san actually."

The old man frowned at this. "Is that so? Then please continue."

"Today finished Ryouga Kaizo's first case and.. the aftermath wasn't as pleasant as many had hoped."

"Some blood need to be shed when fighting Ghouls, if the boy cannot-" "He didn't face a Ghoul, Tsuneyoshi-dono, it was a human woman."

The Washuu blinked at this, confused by the situation. "A human woman? Why would he had to fight someone we strive to protect?"

"She was a cannibal, sir. She had jumped at him and as she tried to kill him, Kaizo landed a killing blow with Yukimaru."

The room fell in silence and Marude hoped that the situation was sinking on Arima's and the director's mind.

Then the elder spoke. "Is he fine? Has he shown any signs that he might require a psycologist?"

"He has taken it well, sir.. but I think those are the moments that might root the most in his mind. He should need an emotional help from his mentor, not a stranger."

The jab seemed to have no particular effects on the white-haired reaper and yet the man stood up. "Then I will make sure he is-" "Arima-san, be quiet and sit down."

The glass-wearing investigator stared in shock at the director but complied to the orders.

"Ryouga Kaizo.. Marude, you shall bring me earnestly his files and please contact him that I wish for a private chat with the youth tomorrow.. I think during post-lunch tea time will be fine."

The senior investigator nodded slowly at the orders and felt as if he had ended up making things much worse than he had thought of accomplishing.

Meanwhile the dark-haired man struggled to leave the room without showing his confusion, Arima sat on his seat with a blank look, his mind going through numerous thought processes most of those about the prodigy he was indeed neglecting.

He turned to stare at his father and the man smiled. "Tell me, Kishou.. who is this Ryouga Kaizo?"

AN

Marude, Marude, why are you so hellbent in making things difficult for others?

P.S. The price of Reviews has reached a new time low... THEY ARE FREE NOW! xD