Thank you for the feedback on the last two chapters! I'm glad that there were people who enjoyed the lemon, and those who enjoyed the last chapter as well.
The author notes will be at the bottom, thank you again, and please enjoy!
Excelling in his administrative position that originally was given to him as a way to punish him, within the six months that Urie had been forcibly switched from being a ghoul investigator into a bureaucratic investigator, his work life improved drastically. Starting off as nothing more than a desk jockey, Urie's motivation and work ethic had made him a cut above the rest of his colleagues, and gotten the attention of CCG's remaining higher-ups.
After what CCG had dubbed the 'The Cochlea Massacre' that Urie secretly had been responsible for over two weeks ago, many bureaucratic investigators were forced to become ghoul investigators, due to a lack of manpower. The forced transition led to many bureaucratic investigators walking out on the job, and leaving the administrative side of CCG overworked and struggling.
Masturi Washuu, seemingly the only surviving Washuu-Clan member who stepped up to be the new Chairman, had gone into a state of depression after word was received that his family had been assassinated by a masked man during the The Cochlea Massacre, while his father's command ship had crashed on Rushima Island during CCG's failed attempt in wiping out the Aogiri Tree.
With every rescue mission resulting in an absolute failure and mass casualties on CCG's part, the morale amongst personnel was at an all-time low. So when word got around that Ayumu and her two surviving squad members were attacked by Haise Sasaki, a man who Matsuri had thought to be dead, every investigator had been questioning his leadership since then.
The other ugly truth that Masturi wished to be a lie was the fact that the One-Eyed Owl had been seen in Cochlea during Arima's defection, and her return started to weigh heavy on the minds of every ghoul investigator. Rumors were spreading around each facility, many revolving around the idea that Eyepatch Ghoul and the One-Eyed Owl coming back from the dead to enact their revenge were often excused as nothing more than campfire tales.
However, the thought of Haise and Eto hunting down investigators as some part of a revenge scheme were rumors that didn't seem too far-off from the truth in the minds of even the most rational investigators. Especially since only a day had passed since Haise had killed Hachikawa.
With no close friends or reliable family members to turn to, Matsuri had only Urie to rely on. Begging for the help of someone as calculating and calm as the reliable man who had once been a quinx, Matsuri had promoted Urie from bureaucratic investigator to being the new 'Division II Commander'; a position that was once held by Itsuki Marude, who was presumed to be dead along with his father.
At Matsuri's request, Urie had set up a private meeting between them and a private military company that had been 'recommended' to Urie by a 'friend'. Sitting down beside Matsuri who seemed to be dressed in his finest attire, Urie felt his phone vibrating as he received a new voice message. While he wanted to hear it, Urie knew better than to risk Matsuri eavesdropping on anything he didn't want him to hear.
Just on schedule, a young boy with dark-raven hair walked into the office with a young girl with short black-hair that was parted down the center of her forehead following behind him. Already beginning to feel himself question the credibility of the two teenagers who Urie had claimed to be experienced mercenaries, Matsuri decided to voice out his most concerning question.
'Good afternoon... Mind if I ask how old the two of you are?" Matsuri asked as professionally as he could, as the two young teenagers came to a halt the moment they reached the other side of the desk across from where he and Urie were sitting.
"I'm fourteen years-old," the young boy replied back with a confident and eager voice, as he smiled cockily at the older man. "My name's Hajime Hazuki; pleasure to meet ya."
"And my name is Shigeri Mayuzumi; I'm fourteen years-old as well," the young girl with a wide smile said as she introduced herself, before opening up her black armored-robe. Reaching into her inside-pocket to retrieve a pack of cigarettes and a flint-box lighter, Mayuzumi smacked the bottom of the small paper box a few times before pulling one out.
Watching with disgust, Matsuri was speechless as Mayuzumi placed the filtered cigarette in between her lips before reaching up to light the tip of it. "W-What in the world…?!"
With Mayuzumi being too distracted with taking her first few puffs, it was up to Hajime to get her attention by elbowing her ribs. "Hmm? Oh shit, my bad… Did you want one, Mr. Washuu?" The young girl asked curiously, as she extended the pack of cigarettes out to offer the baffled man one.
Outraged by how juvenile and obnoxious the two mercenaries were, Matsuri finally felt himself snapping. "THAT'S ENOUGH," Matsuri shouted out in an angered voice while slamming his fist down on the table out of frustration; an act of intimidation that did nothing to phase the two young teenagers. "Put that damn thing out, and get the hell out of my office! I don't ever want to see you two little brats around here again!"
Snickering to himself at how funny Matsuri looked when he was angry, Hajime reached into his robe to pull out a business card before laying it down on the table. "If that's what you want 'big-boy' then that's what we'll do. If you change your mind though, or finally get your head out of your ass long enough to realize just how fucked you are, shoot me a message or hit me up, aight?"
Now visibly red in the face, Matsuri got up from his chair before screaming at the two rebellious teenagers, "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Pointing with his outstretched hand toward his office door, Matsuri glared daggers at Hajime and Mayuzumi with the expectation of them fearing him.
"Suit yourself, boomer," Mayuzumi said nonchalantly with a shrug, and made sure to put out her cigarette on the Chairman's prized desk before she and Hajime took their sweet time leaving the office.
Once the two teenagers had left Matsuri's office, the man immediately spun around to scowl bitterly at Urie, who sat calmly in his chair with an unphased look on his face. "Mind explaining what the actual hell that was?! Was that supposed to be some sort of joke?!" Matsuri demanded as he gripped the side of his ruined desk tightly enough to begin to crack the oak rim.
"You wanted mercenaries who were capable of assassinating Sasaki, the One-Eyed Owl, and Arima's terrorist group, so I called the only group willing to fulfill that tall order for you," Urie answered with an unbothered look in his eyes, while Matsuri continued to glare at him. "Those kids, the 'Oggai', aren't like our standard investigator… Imagine if you will, an army of one-hundred teenagers who are just like Juuzou Suzuya. They feel no pain, no fear… Tell me, do you remember Dr. Kanou?"
"... Dr. Kanou? As in, Akihiro Kanou?!" Matsuri asked with a slight change of emotion in his voice, as he slowly lowered himself back down in his chair. "Of course I know him… I knew him back when I was stationed in Germany, when we were both in 'GFG'... What of that mad doctor?"
"Those children, they're orphans, such as myself… However, they weren't ever under the foster care system, but rather resided both in the streets of Tokyo, and underneath the literal streets, down in the 24th Ward." Urie explained, and watched as Matsuri's expression continued to change, as if what he had heard explained Hajime and Mayuzumi's behavior. "The reason I'm telling you this is because they claim to be the surviving test subjects from Dr. Kanou's lab; the one that was raided two years ago, I believe."
Confused at the revelation he'd received from Urie, Matsuri shook his head to himself with a baffled look in his eyes as he placed his elbows down on the desk. "That's impossible… That's, umm… That's when Sasaki, back when he was the 'Eyepatch Ghoul', attacked a group of investigators with… Hold on," Matsuri muttered to Urie, before quickly opening up his laptop.
After about five minutes of searching through the collection of files involving important events saved onto his drive, Matsuri finally was able to open up the report created after the 'Dr. Kanou's Laboratory Raid Incident'. Quickly scanning his eyes along the typed-out document, Matsuri turned the monitor of his laptop toward Urie.
"Look, look right there: there were NO surviving test subjects! The report says that Sasaki killed all of them and ate their kakuhous! That's how he developed that half-kakuja form of his! See?!" Matsuri asked in a slightly frantic voice, as he pointed to the picture of Haise in his centipede form that was included in the report.
"And you believe that CCG arrived there on time? Wouldn't it be more sensible to assume that Sasaki released the child test-subjects before CCG's arrival?" Urie challenged, as he turned the monitor away from his direction, while Matsuri's eyes went wide. "With Kishou Arima, CCG's most powerful and seemingly loyal investigator, going rogue, along with Haise and the One-Eyed Owl returning after being declared deceased… Isn't it time you and I start to question our predecessors' judgement and their decisions?"
With the wheels turning in his head and the nauseating feeling of having the world he knew turning upside down on him, Matsuri slowly looked away from Urie's cold and intimidating gaze to instead focus on the picture of Kaneki's centipede kakuja that was still on his monitor. Feeling the palms of his hands growing clammy and his forehead perspiring, Matsuri let out a low sigh as he slowly found himself becoming more-and-more focused on the business card left behind by Hajime.
"... We really outta investigate these 'Oggai' brats once our asses are in the clear," Matsuri mused with a grumble in his voice, as he reached over to retrieve their business card before bringing it closer to him to stare down at the printed phone-number listed on the small piece of paper. "... Let me sleep on it, and see how things go for now. If they're anything like how that crazy sonofabitch Juuzou was, then these brats might be worth using until they become disposable to us."
After the meeting had come to a close, Urie completed the rest of his shift until it was time for him to leave at five o'clock in the afternoon. Clocking out and having to repeat the process of showing his doctor's note to security after the RC-cell gate sounded the alarms, Urie drove his vehicle out of the office's parking lot.
Sitting behind the wheel of his sports car, the sunlight emitting from the early-setting sun over the city's horizon reflected off of Urie's sunglasses as he listened to his favorite thing to hear while driving after work: the voice messages that Saiko would record and send to him.
"Hey Kuki, it's Saiko, ya girl!" Saiko's pre-recorded voice echoed through his car's sound system, as Urie drove past the other cars on the highway while heading toward Chateau: the house he and his old squad members used to occupy together as a family unit.
"How ya doing? Saiko hopes that your day was good! Umm… Oh, yeah! Good news Kuki: Mutsuki found Maman last night! Apparently Mutsuki said that they were staying at a hotel, but apparently from what I heard from Yoshimura, that was a lie… She won't say it, but Yoshimura thinks that they had S-E-X together… But Saiko can't say for sure…"
While Urie never made any advancements towards Mutsuki, a part of him still had feelings for her, despite being in a secret relationship with Saiko. Ever since the two had fought Big Madam during the Nutcracker case, back when Urie first discovered Mutsuki was a woman after smelling her menstrual blood, Urie secretly felt attracted towards her.
So hearing about the possibility of Mutsuki sleeping with someone he once considered to be his rival was disheartening to say the least for Urie.
"What else, what else… Oh! You know that one guy, Shuu Tsukiyama? Yeah, apparently he and Maman are working together to save that Hinami girl… I know you're with the CCG and all, so umm… Try not to be at Corniculum today or tonight, okay? I'm not supposed to say this, but… Maman, Yoshimura, Kirishima and Yomo are gonna raid it tonight so they save that one girl… Corona? Kurona? Saiko thinks that's what the paperwork said…"
Upon hearing the name of the recently captured ghoul from Rushima Island being targeted by Haise, Urie instantly swerved his car over into the furthest left lane to begin looking for an exit off of the highway. "What the hell does he think he's doing…?!" Urie muttered to himself with a scowl, as he immediately made a detour toward the 12th Ward.
"Saiko didn't really read much of the paperwork that Tsukiyama gave us, to be honest… But yeah, that Tsukiyama guy is starting his own organization to overthrow the government or something? I think it's 'United Front', and I think Maman mentioned it being a good thing? Saiko doesn't know the details, but basically Maman is going to bring Kurona back to that fancy-pant's yacht to question her about some Rushima Island thingy…?"
"... Again, Saiko doesn't really know what's going on, but Saiko's a little scared… Shirazu and Saiko are going to be staying at the coffee shop because Kirishima said she didn't want us to come. Saiko… Saiko thinks it's for the best too; Saiko doesn't think she can stomach hurting anyone who used to be our friend…"
"... Anyways, since it's just going to be us at :re, Saiko was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming over to hang out with us? We could watch movies, cuddle, play video games, and… Well…! M-Maybe when Shirazu is asleep, Saiko and Kuki can… You know, fool around~?" Saiko said with a seductive and playful voice, before making a 'rawr' sound.
"… Yeah, Saiko thinks it was around four o'clock when Kirishima and the rest all left, and Saiko doubts they'll be back home until really late, so… Yeah, just don't be anywhere near the 12th Ward tonight around five, and you should be golden… Oh! And bring pizza please; Saiko's starving…!"
"That's about it, Saiko thinks… Saiko loves you Kuki! Can't wait to see you! Mwah~!"
Standing on an old and dilapidated water tower within the property of an abandoned metal factory that had gone out of business sometime in the 90's, Haise's vantage point gave him a perfect line-of-sight for him to use his binoculars on the ghoul detention center. Posted a kilometer away from the fifty-meter walls surrounding Corniculum's perimeter, Haise was able to get a mostly-perfect view of everything outside the prison itself.
Looking through the magnifying lens of his binoculars, Haise took note of the unusually high number of prison guards stationed on the top of the walls and of the weapons they were carrying. From scoped rifles to ranged-quinques that looked to resemble grenade and rocket launchers, each guard looked alert and had spotters with them that were scanning the horizon for any signs of trouble.
With the Barbatos suit keeping him comfortably warm as the cold winter breeze blew against his face, Haise lowered his binoculars and stared momentarily off into the distance. Past the silhouette of Corniculum's walls, Haise squinted his eyes to see the blazing sun that was settling into the far off sea of black clouds; harbingers of the returning blizzard that was hours away from overtaking Tokyo once again.
"What's the matter, Onii-Chan? Are you getting cold feet?" Hinami's voice asked tauntingly from behind him, as Haise lowered his gaze down from the setting sun. "Does this remind you of when I was back in Cochlea? The fear and anxiousness you felt being so close to me, yet too set back by your own limiting insecurities and self-preservation to actually do anything? Are you going to turn your back on me for a second time, Onii-Chan?"
"No… No, I know what I have to do," Haise said grimmly while refusing to turn his head back to address whatever horrifying and nightmare-inducing expression was on the phantom's face.
"... We'll see about that.'' The manifestation mused with an innocent yet sinister voice, before fading away just in time for Haise to hear the sounds of footsteps coming up from the ladder below the walkway that he was on top of.
Quietly cursing under his breath, Haise crouched down beneath the railing to avoid possibly being seen by a possible spotter as he silently ran over to the top of the steel ladder. Taking his silenced glock out of his trench coat, Haise took a quiet breath to calm himself before immediately aiming the barrel of his firearm downward toward whoever was on the ladder.
"WAIT NO, SASAKI! DON'T SHOOT, IT'S US!" Eto called out in a loud voice, after seeing the barrel of the silencer aiming directly at her face.
"... Yoshimura?" Haise asked with a surprised look on his face, as he retracted the gun before placing the firearm back into the holster that he had strapped on his chest-armor underneath his trench coat. Poking his head down the ladder hole, Haise was face-to-face with Eto's awkward smile.
"H-Hey Sasaki…! I… It's nice to see you again," Eto said a bit nervously with butterflies in her stomach, as she felt her cheeks beginning to burn a bit at the sight of Haise's warm smile looking back on her. "... C-Could I have your hand? This ladder, it's… It's a bit rusty."
"Of course… Here, grab on," Haise said, as he reached down to grab onto Eto's sweaty hand with his black-gloved hand. Pulling her arm up, Haise used his other hand to reach down to grab onto her hips to further assist her in getting up onto the walkway with him.
Crouched down together and separated by a small space between one another, Eto gazed into Haise's grey and comforting eyes that caused her chest to tighten and her heart to flutter. With the orange hues of cascading sunlight down on Haise's face, Eto's infatuation with the one-eyed ghoul never felt stronger in the very moment.
Yearning for him, Eto closed the distance between her and Haise before wrapping her arms around him. Pulling Haise in and embracing him with her breasts pushing up against his concealed chest-plate, Eto closed her eyelids and pressed her lips against Haise's to steal a kiss from him. Although she could tell Haise was surprised at her sudden forwardness, it didn't take long for her to feel his body relaxing under her touch, and soon she could tell he was enjoying the taste of her lips as well.
'Well… I wasn't expecting that,' Haise thought humorly to himself, while feeling the tip of Eto's tongue teasingly brushing against his front teeth.
Rejoicing in a kiss that she wished to be everlasting, it finally came time for their embrace to come to an end the moment Haise saw Mutsuki's trembling hand desperately reaching out for something to pull herself up on.
"E-Excuse me…!" Haise said apologetically with a bit of a goofy smile on his blushing face, as he gave Eto one last loving look before making his way back to the ladder to help Mutsuki up. "Were you able to get everyone to sign the forums, Tooru?" Haise asked with a smirk on his face, as he helped his underling climb up onto the metal walkway.
"Not yet, Ha- S-Sensei…!" Mutsuki replied back, after having needed to correct herself. "Saiko signed it because she didn't really read it after I told her how much we'd be getting paid once this was all said and done, but… Everyone else wants to meet with Tsukiyama to negotiate their deals… Especially Shirazu," Mutsuki said grimmly, as she stared up at Haise with a concerned look in her green eyes.
"Shirazu? Is he on the ladder too?" Haise inquired with a slightly worried look on his face, before suddenly feeling his chin being grabbed by Mutsuki so she could gently redirect his wandering eyes back onto hers.
"No… Kirishima had him and Saiko stay back to guard the coffee shop…" Mutsuki explained while suddenly lowering her gaze while letting go of Haise's chin. "... I think it was for the best too. They… They wouldn't be able to do what you're already asking of us..."
Sensing a feeling of remorse behind Mutsuki's words, Haise cocked his head slightly toward his shoulder before asking, "Tooru… Wasn't this partially your plan? Tsukiyama sought you out, didn't he? He wanted you to bring me to him?"
Nodding with a tired look on her face, Mutsuki replied with "Yeah… But if I'm honest, Sensei… I'm starting to wish that I never did," she said, before letting out a quiet sigh.
"Is… Is that so?" Haise asked with a conflicted tone in his voice. Giving Mutsuki a weak smile, Haise made his way back over to the ladder to help up the next ghoul. Leaning down to the hold to extend his arm down, Haise was immediately surprised after feeling a sudden tug.
Before he knew it, Haise's upper body was pulled down into the ladder hole. Hanging upside down with Mutsuki and Eto insticvily holding onto his legs after they thought he was falling, Haise's wide-eyed expression only intensified after feeling Touka pressing her lips against his.
With one hand still wrapped around a step on the old-rickety ladder, Touka used her free hand to caress Haise's cheek as she kept her lips locked against his. Shocked and still feeling nervous after thinking that he was about to be thrown off the ladder, it took a bit longer for him to calm down compared to when he kissed Eto.
But just like Eto's lips, Haise found himself enjoying Touka's succulent and enticing kiss as well.
'Wow… I must be more popular than I thought I was,' Haise thought to himself once more, before slowly easing into the kiss as he felt Touka gently brushing his cheek with her fingers while taking comfort in the taste of his lips.
Although Touka's heart was fluttering and her cheeks were bright pink, she still had a bittersweet and saddened look in her eyes as she parted her lips away from Haise to stare at him while he still hung upside down.
"... I love you," Touka said in a guilt-ridden voice, as she stared through the tears that were welling up in her eyes to gaze into Haise's grey orbs. "I… I shouldn't have kicked you out… What I did was wrong… I'm sorry…"
"Hey, it's okay Touka; I was never upset at you," Haise said with a reassuring smile, that slowly faded as he thought back to what he did that led him and everyone else into their current predicament. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier… Despite what I said, I really am sorry for your loss, and… I want to be there to support you and everyone else… I love you too, but I can't go back until I have Hinami."
"... Kaneki," Touka said with a solemn and hesitant tone behind her words, as she continued to gaze into his determined eyes. "... I love Hinami, and I miss her too… But what you're doing right now for Tsukiyama is idotic… You're putting yourself in harm's way, and for what? Just to be at that bastard's disposal?"
Feeling his smile fading away from his face, Haise felt his heart sink into his chest as he furrowed his brow at Touka. "... I don't understand… Why are you saying this? Didn't you all come here to help me out?"
"We are here to help you, Kaneki… Which is why we're not going to let you be Shuu's pawn," Touka said, while smiling apologetically at the disheartened young man who was starting to feel betrayed. "I love you Kaneki; we all do! That's why we came… You're throwing your life away, all because someone is tugging at your heart strings... It's not what Hinami would have wanted…"
"... You're talking about her like she's already gone," Haise said with a hurt tone in his voice, as he slowly shook his head at the pleading expression on Touka's face. "You… You risked your lives trying to save Hinami; what makes it any different from what I'm doing?"
Poking his head up from underneath his niece's boots, Yomo glared irritability yet still carlingly at Haise before speaking up in a loud enough voice for him and everyone else to hear his words. "Look where that got us, Kaneki! Ayato's dead, and you know what? As much as it pains me to say this… Hinami might be dead too!"
Triggered by hearing that sentence, Haise's eyes widened and his eyebrows furrowed inward as he glared down past Touka to meet Yomo's unphased expression. "T-That's not true… She's alive, I know it…!"
"Open your eyes, dipshit: if CCG can't find her, what makes you think Tsukiyama can?!" Yomo argued back harshly, in an attempt to display his own interpretation of 'tough love'. "Think about it: why the hell would Tsukiyama even want to find Hinami for you?! He already has you where he wants you! The moment you're reunited with Hinami, you're not going to do whatever he says, and apparently he knows that more than you do!"
"B… But what other choice do I have?!" Haise asked desperately, as he finally began to come to terms with how dire his situation actually was. "I can't go back to :re, not… Not until CCG's no longer in power. And even if Hinami's… Even if she's gone, look around us!" Haise shouted with an exacerbated look in his eyes, before extending his arms up to gesture towards the city around them. "This world…! It's twisted! Screwed up, and-"
"-And you look at what's right in front of you, Kaneki!" Touka shouted with tears streaming down her hot cheeks, as she placed both her hands on each side of Haise's head to force him to look at her. Smiling back at him with sadness in her eyes, Touka reached her hand back up once again to stroke Haise's cheek as the two silently locked eyes with one another. "... Look at what's in front of you."
"... I-" Before Haise could begin to formulate a sentence to best convey how he felt, the sky around them suddenly became enveloped by a crimson light. Seeing the look of bewilderment and confusion on Touka's face as well, Haise looked back up through the hole leading to the top of the leader to see past where Eto and Mutsuki were still holding him by his legs to see what was causing the sky to become ignited in red.
Fired up from the top of the water tower they were occupying, a brilliantly-bright flare had been launched into the sky; the red-cloud of magnesium and nitrate-gasses trailed down and gave away their location like a beacon.
'What?! What was that?!' Haise thought to himself as he felt the color draining from his face. 'I… I don't understand…! Was… Was that supposed to be Shuu's signal?!'
With everyone silent and wide-eyed by what they were watching unfold above them, it was Touka who actually lost her grip on the ladder after the moment a symphony of cannons emitting from the supposedly abandoned factory. 'Are those mortars?! What the hell is going on?! Is this his doing?! Why didn't he just tell me-"
"-KANEKI!?" Touka cried out in horror, as she lost her footing on the ladder. Falling backwards, Touka felt the world slowing around her as she watched Haise's kagune activating within less than a second after she had called his name. Shooting outward at speeds that even she had a hard time keeping up with, Haise's tendrils wrapped themselves around her body and helded up while she was suspended in the air.
While Haise wanted to comfort and reassure Touka that he had her, the one-eyed ghoul was too distracted and entranced by the hundreds of smoke trails being created by the numerous amounts of mortar shells being fired directly at Corniculum's West wall.
Just like the biblical tale of Jericho's walls being torn down by the trumpets of heaven, the ghoul detention center's fifty-meter-high walls came crumbling down after its foundation and support sculpture had been compromised.
Sirens filled the air, and Haise was only able to catch a faint glimpse of a squadron of attack helicopters taking off into the air before he along with the rest of his group of friends were blinded by spotlights. Throughout the confusion brought on by the chaos unveiling itself around him, the familiar high-pitched screeching sound that Haise instantly recognized as being an incoming missile caused the one-eyed ghoul to instantly think back to six-months ago.
'I-Isn't it funny…?! The same v-very people you probably thought of to be your friends… They're fully willing to throw your life under the bus and write you off as collateral damage…' Haise could remember Eto telling him six months ago, moments before the two of them were blown apart by CCG's anti-kakuja missile.
Feeling his PTSD kicking in, Haise's mind immediately thought of freeing himself from Eto and Mutsuki's grip, as the two of them were reacting in their own way at the sight of the incoming projectile.
'... If only they truly saw you as one of them… Maybe they would have done more to save you rather than damn you.' Kicking both Eto and Mutsuki off of his legs to free himself, in Haise's mind, he wasn't at Corniculum, he was back at Luna Eclipse during the Tsukiyama Family Extermination Operation.
Pulling Touka closer to his body, like he tried doing with Eto six months ago, Haise kicked his legs against the metal underside of the walkway and passed Yomo while holding Touka protectively in his arms. Wrapping his tendrils around both their bodies as they spiraled down toward the ground, Haise could feel the heat and pieces of shrapnel tearing through his kagune from the blast of the explosion detonating from the top of the water tower.
With the fate of his other three friends unknown, Haise could only focus on hearing the loud creaking of the water tower's metal foundations bending as the structure's integrity began to collapse in on itself. With the water tower falling down, Haise tightened his hold on Touka's waist as he unraveled himself from the cocoon he had made with his kagune in order to use his tendrils to anchor himself to the large roof of the four-story factory that they were falling beside.
Redirecting their momentum by pulling himself toward the dust-stained windows, Haise propelled himself through the glass that shattered underneath his armored boots, as he and Touka entered into the factory. With his nose invaded by the mixture of kicked-up dust and pungent aroma of gunpowder in the air, Haise and Touka began to cough violently as the sounds of gunfire and boots slamming against the ground filled their ears.
Not a few seconds passed after Haise lowered Touka onto her feet until suddenly a rifle was shoved into the one-eyed ghoul's chest. Looking up with a crazed and bewildered look in his eye, Haise was met face-to-face with Karren, who along with every other ghoul around them, wore digital-black cargo pants and fatigues underneath their armored vests; all of which had 'UNITED FRONT' somehow labeled on their apparel.
"We are making our advance onto Corniculum's grounds. We will focus on combating their personnel and provide you with cover fire. You and your group are to secure the 'VIP' and install the drive into the server room," Karren quickly briefed both Haise and Touka, before immediately turning her attention towards the explosion erupting from the other side of the factory from Corniculum's direction.
Ducking down with Touka, Haise kept the rifle secured under his free arm as debris fell onto them while the heat of the explosion washed over their bodies. Looking through the large burning hole where the explosion had been, Haise looked past the sight of several United Front soldiers splattered across the pavement of the factory to look out into the sunset sky.
Past the fires and flames enveloping the hole along the wall, Haise felt both a mixture of relief and panic set in as he watched Eto's kakuja soaring through the air towards Corniculum's exposed wall. Worried about the reason why Eto was choosing to suddenly attack CCG rather than following whatever Touka's original plan was, Haise could only watch from inside the burning factory as the One-Eyed Ghoul began viciously attacking CCG's helicopters that were trying to engage in combat with her.
Caught in a trance-like state as he watched Eto rip apart a helicopter before grabbing its tail-end to throw at another air-bound helicopter, Haise nearly jumped out of his skin as Karren gripped his shoulder tightly to grab his attention. Looking through the German ghoul's helmet-mounted visor, Haise stared at the intense look Karren had on her face as she screamed, "RAUS, RAUS (GO, GO)!"
Feeling her releasing her grip from his shoulder, Haise watched as Karren turned around to begin sprinting out of the factory that was beginning to become encompassed in flames and black-smoke. Caught under the howling roar of guns coming from outside, and the fear of Eto having to be the primary target for Corniculum's heavily-armed personnel, Haise felt nothing but despair and fear fueling his need to take action as he was reminded of Yomo and Mutsuki still being missing.
Turning around to face the shell-shocked and worried expression on Touka's face, Haise found himself being able to smile reassuringly at her without having to fake it, despite how scared he was himself. "Hey… It's going to be okay, alright?"
"How…? How do you know that?!" Touka asked with desperation and panic in her voice, as she shrunk underneath the chaos erupting around them, while memories of her failures at Cochlea began to seep into her mind.
Left with only an assumption of what was going on through the young woman's head, Haise extended his arms out and brought Touka into a warm and loving embrace, while allowing her to press her face into his chest as he stroked the back of her head.
"I-I want to go home, Kaneki…" Touka said in a trembling voice, as she wanted nothing more in that moment but to be back at the coffee shop with Haise comforting her. "But you're right… I don't think we can ever truly be 'at home'..."
With Touka's psyche being hindered by the panic attack that was overtaking her, Haise knew that he needed to formulate a plan in that very moment.
"... Touka," Haise said in a comforting voice that felt calming to the coffee shop manager's ears. Staring down at Touka's bloodshot eyes, Haise's smile remained genuine and reassuring as he gently kissed her on the forehead. "... I need you to find Mutsuki and Yomo, and make sure that they're okay… Once you do find them, head back to :re; I'll be there tonight, I promise."
"N-No! No, no I'm not letting you do this again…!" Touka cried out defiantly with fear in her eyes, as she instantly was reminded of the time that Kaneki had tried saving Anteiku's staff during CCG's raid. "Y-You always do this, Kaneki…! Y-You make promises that you can't keep… I-I'm not… I'm not going to let you go alone this time." Touka said with conviction replacing the fear in her voice, as stood up while still in Haise's embrace.
"T-Touka… You… You don't have to do this," Haise said worryingly with a fading smile on his face, as he slowly released the suddenly determined ghoul from his arms to stare at her with confliction in his eyes.
"And I'm not going to abandon ever again, okay Kaneki? I want to be with you, no matter what we have to do…" Touka said with a bittersweet smile on her face, before slowly exhaling out to recompose herself. "... If this really is our fate Kaneki, to always be fighting against the tide… Then so be it, but we can't do this while under Shuu's thumb. Yomo's right, he's just going to keep using you and the rest of us until he doesn't need us anymore."
"I see… Looking back on it now, I guess everything he said did sound a little good to be true." Haise said with a half-cocked smile, while being able to get a small chuckle out of Touka as well. "I mean… He did technically trick me a while back ago, so… I suppose this wouldn't be the first time he's screwed me over."
"Duh...! I mean, that whole flare-shit he pulled was a pretty obvious indication that he doesn't really give a damn about you or us, wasn't it?!" Touka mused while rolling her eyes, as she along with Haise began to sort of forget about the fact that they were in a burning building that had oil in it.
"You know what I say, Kaneki? I say let's fuck both CCG and Shuu over, take that Kurona-bitch for ourselves, get our own information out of her, and then… And then let's're-negotiate' with that French bastard, and 'make him an offer that he can't refuse'."
Amused by Touka's sudden eagerness to throw herself into the mix of United Front's war on CCG, Haise couldn't help but laugh before coughing a bit as smoke entered his lungs. "Goodness gracious, slow down there 'God-Father'...! Where's all of this coming from?"
Frowning not at Haise, but at the topic itself, Touka took a step back to really look Haise dead in the eye before saying, "It's coming from the fact that you, and as much as I'd hate to say it, and Shuu have a valid point: so long as CCG is in charge right now, our lives aren't going to get better… It doesn't matter whether or not Hinami is here or not, the fact of the matter is that unless we do something, we'll always just be sitting ducks bidding our time… And I want to change that for all of us."
"... So, I'm guessing you have a plan of your own then?" Haise inquired with an interested look in his eye, as he watched Touka reaching into her violet hooded-tunic to begin searching for something on her person.
"Yeah… Yeah, you could say that I have a few ideas for how we take back our lives from these assholes, and screw them over in the process," Touka said with a bit of spunk in her voice, as she retrieved a white cartoon-rabbit mask from her tunic before pulling out a black-leather half mask with a square-eyepatch attached to it.
"However… Unlike your unpredictably loner-ass, Kaneki, we can discuss my plan later when we're all home… Right now, our goal is to rescue our people along with that Kurona girl; all while kicking the asses of whoever gets in our way." Touka said with a bit of a sinister grin on her face, as she handed Haise his old half-mask.
"... Kicking ass and taking names, huh?" Haise said with a quiet chuckle, as he stared down at his mask's white teeth and zipper that seemed to be smiling back at him. The mask in his hands carried a lot of memories; many of those memories filled with a righteous and repressed anger that would serve him well for his upcoming battle.
"Yeah… What do you say, Kaneki? How about you and I show everyone what the spirit of Anteiku is all about?" Touka asked from behind her white-rabbit mask, as the long-strands of pink artificial hair from the wig that came apart of her mask glimmered in the radiant fire that was beginning to burn the factory down.
Dropping the rifle on the floor that Karren had shoved into his chest, Haise fitted the half-mask around his neck and made sure to zip it up before attaching the square eye-patch to the small-metal latch that went over his nose. Reunited with his mask once again, Haise felt a rush of rejuvenation coursing through his very being at the thought of fighting for his own goals rather than fulfilling the goals of others.
With no gods or masters to control his life, Haise abandoned the white-trench coat that bore the name 'United Front' on its shoulder, before ripping his turtleneck sweater off of him as well. Decked out in sleek-armor that reminded Touka greatly of Kaneki's old battlesuit that he used to wear underneath a black-hoodie and cargo-shorts, Haise felt prepared for whatever he needed to do to save his friends and get their lives back.
"... What a wonderful idea, Touka." Haise said in a low and calculating voice that sent shivers up Touka's back, due to Haise speaking the same way he used to back when he went by his old name. Cracking his finger, Haise's kagune once again was unraveled, and his glowing red-tendrils curled up with anticipation as his one black-and-red eye glowed menacingly. "... Let's go."
Thank you for reading this chapter! I enjoyed writing it.
Like always, I'll do my best to address the reviews.
A lot of feedback I'm getting is to have Haise only sleeping with women, which I agree. Juuzou's a trap, but still a trap nonetheless.
Haise being like James Bond is funny lmao. Eventually, Eto, Touka, and Mutsuki are all going to have a talk and agree on what they're going to do in regards to being in a relationship with Haise.
I think eventually :re will get Ayumu to publicly announce her side of the story, and Eto getting to tier 15 with Haise? Totally going to see that happen, so she can assert her dominance.
Honestly, the only women I see Haise starting a family with are Eto and Touka; as of now, anyways.
Eto's finally lost it in this chapter lol. She went from sweet Sen Takatsuki to Eto Yoshimura. I honestly do find that correlation that she and Haise share to be interesting: they both have their sweet and endearing sides, and then they have their violent sides as well
The turtleneck is gone as quickly as it came.
Eto spanking Mutsuki sounds kinky, and I like the idea! I don't see them doing that outside of performing a threesome with Haise though.
Carla, you called it: Eto went back to her old ways as soon as she was under attack.
Honestly? Having Haise with Ihei would be great, and Chie Hori, I could definitely see that being a 'quick-fuck' scneario, where it's just Chie letting Haise use her. Later, I'm going to have Haise come to the conclusion that having an orgasm is what calms his mind enough to function properly.
Stress is what causes his hallucinations, after all.
But yeah, him getting with Akira and Ayumu would be great too. I just like having Haise bang girls, I guess; so whatever works, tbh.
Eto wears glasses, so it's safe to assume that she'd be open to wearing contacts so she can see properly. I figured I'd try and squeeze 'slices of life' moments here and there. Honestly? That would be an endgame goal, to have the staff of :re save Tokyo and have a peaceful life.
Karren eventually might sleep with Haise, just not at the moment lol. That, or I could have her sleep with Tsukiyama. After all, incest isn't out of the equation with it comes to the Tsukiyama family.
Speaking of which, I might do smut of Saiko and Urie. Probably would put Kurona with either Haise or Juuzou too.
Haise having a high-tech spy car would be amazing, but sadly wouldn't fit Tokyo Ghoul very much. Despite the fact that TG's universe has more advanced tech in it than James Bond. Oh well… Secret Agent? More like, domestic terrorist in Haise's case.
If Haise turned himself in, he wouldn't get the bounty money. If someone else were to turn him in, they wouldn't get the money until Haise's been imprisoned and waiting to be executed. Unless they were to rescue him from Cochlea or wherever CCG decides to put him. They might do that, to be honest, or something along the lines of that.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you all have a wonderful day!
