Again, I won't have time to address the reviews as much as I'd love to, but thank you for writing them! I read them religiously, and love feedback!
Thank you, and please enjoy this!
There won't be any author notes at the end of this chapter, but I'll post them in the next chapter afterwards.
Thinking about adding half-chapters in between arcs or just whenever it feels appropriate. Half-chapters that are non-canon to the fanfic, like silly scenarios or heartwarming stuff.
Anyways, like I wrote above, please enjoy this chapter!
Driving under the maximum speed limit, as to avoid raising suspicion onto himself and his passengers, Nico did his best to calm his shaken nerves by tuning into the catchy pop song playing on his van's stereo system. "… Busy night, isn't it?" Nico mused casually with a slightly sarcastic tone, as he watched a fleet of armored vehicles equipped with heavy artillery racing down the highway leading back to Corniculum.
Sitting beside Eto, who had been put back together for the most part thanks to the healing abilities of Nico's kagune, Mutsuki kept her hand on the older woman's shoulder while staring into her grey and dissociative gaze.
"Ma'am…? Are you… Are you doing okay?" Mutsuki asked in a cautious and uneasy tone, as she silently took notice of the fact that Eto's bloodshot eyes were leaking out a combination of blood and tears from their corners.
"… N-No dear, I'm… I'm far from being 'okay'," Eto said wearily and uncomfortably, due to her throat still being sore from her recovering from being electrocuted twice. "… Mutsuki, can I… Can I ask you something?"
Feeling anxious at the idea of answering whatever question Eto had to ask, Mutsuki swallowed the lump in the back of her throat before nodding slowly. "Y-Yeah, sure thing… What did you want to ask?"
"… Do you hate me?" Eto asked in an exhausted yet still nervous voice, as she continued to stare down at the floor of the back of the cramped van that they, along with Yomo, Touka, Uta, and Itori, occupied.
"N-No ma'am, not at all…!" Mutuski said reassuringly with a small smile on her face, that quickly faded the moment Eto slowly shifted her gaze over at her.
"… Would it be wrong of me to ask you why that is?" Eto asked coldly, as she continued to stare directly into Mutsuki's green eyes from the corner of her blurry vision.
"Um… What… What do you mean?"
"What I mean is… Why? Why don't you hate me?" Eto clarified back in a slightly vague manner, as to purposely allow the quinx to give her an open-ended answer that warranted the explanation that she sought for. "I've done horrible things to CCG and to so many others; it's been that way since I was fourteen-years old… That's over a decade of blood on my hands… I've brought harm to you, your friends, and to Sasaki… I can't see how there's some part of you that's not capable of despising me to some degree."
"… I know about what you've done in your past… I'm not blind to that aspect of you, ma'am," Mutsuki replied back in a somber voice, as she reached over to take a hold of Eto's limp hand that was still in the process of healing. "But, even so… I understand what it's like to have a past that you're ashamed of; what it's like to live day-by-day wishing that things were different… I get that, I truly do… It'd be hypocritical of me to condone you for trying to move on from a life you weren't proud of."
Smiling a joyless smile, Eto let out a small chuckle before exhaling slowly. "… So, that's it then? The only thing stopping you from despising me is the principle of anti-hypocrisy? Or is it because you feel connected to my past to a lesser extent; a sense of empathy, perhaps?"
"… No, it's not just that, Yoshimura," Mutsuki said dismissively, while smiling more genuinely as she thought more of her actual reason for not holding anything against Eto. "… You remind me so much of Sasaki, do you know that?"
Caught off guard by the comparison, Eto's sore eyes widened a bit as she shook her head to dismiss Mutsuki's statement. "Child, you flatter me... No, I wish that were true, but… Sasaki's sweet, loving, kind, fun, and… Well, I can't say that I'm truly any of those things without having to act like I am…"
Nodding slightly with an intrigued expression on her face, Mutsuki pursed her lips ever so slightly before following up Eto's response by asking, "Is that so? Then… Wouldn't that mean that you don't actually love us then? Saiko, Shirazu, and I, I mean."
Slightly offended at the proposed accusations being laid at her feet, Eto immediately sat up straight and tightened her grip on Mutsuki's hand after her arm finally finished healing. "Absolutely not, child…! I might be a monster, but that doesn't change my love for you three; I consider you all to be my actual children."
"I see, I see… And when we play board games or watch movies, are you not actually having fun? Or when we go out to the park or do some shopping?" Mutsuki further inquired, which made Eto's cheeks burn up with frustration.
"Don't be ridiculous…! Of course I enjoy our leisure time together; you children are extremely entertaining to be around, and I cherish the time we spend… Why are you asking such questions, Mutsuki?" Eto asked with a perplexed and mildly annoyed expression on her face, as she stared at the slightly smug look on her adopted daughter's face.
Sitting on the other side of Eto, Yomo had been watching the two women interacting with one another long enough, and decided to make the record straight on behalf of his friend. "What Mutsuki is trying to say is that you and Haise are extremely similar. Everything that you said Haise is that you aren't isn't true; Mutsuki just disproved that," Yomo piped up, while smirking proudly at Mutsuki.
Usually being the sharpest and most perceptive one out of any previous group she's been in, Eto silently blamed the fact that it took her a bit to finally understand what Mutsuki had said on the account of her brain having been fried earlier. "… Oh. Oh, so that's what you were implying…"
Chuckling under her breath at how cute the half-ghoul sounded when she muttered that, Mutsuki smiled even wider before further comparing the two by stating, "I mean… If you think about it, not only are you two like parents to us, but you both even have two names that you go by!"
Never having thought of that particular connection Mutsuki brought up, Eto's eyes expressed genuine surprise in them as she mused aloud, "Huh… Sasaki is also 'Kaneki', and I go by 'Sen Takatsuki'… Speaking of my author alias, I'm going to need to make a stop soon at my old apartment to grab a few things."
Confused at Eto suddenly mentioning her apartment, Mutsuki cocked an eyebrow at the half-ghoul who previously couldn't remember anything about her life as 'Sen Takatsuki'. "I thought you gave up on finding it?"
"I did, but I remember the address now. In fact, I even know the combination of the safe I keep in the closet," Eto announced in an excited and proud tone in her voice, before suddenly going wide-eyed and pale. "Holy shit, I-I can't actually believe that I remembered that!"
Flinching at the sight of Eto excitedly stomping her feet down against the van, Itori frowned a bit before nervously finding herself daring to ask the half-ghoul who had ripped her teeth out a question. "T-That's good news, I guess… But, umm… How are you going to get into your apartment, if you haven't been there for like… What, six months? Was it six months, Yomo?"
"Yep, sure it was," Yomo replied back to the busty ghoul, who was tucking herself closer to Uta in an effort to feel more protected from Eto. "Itori has a point, Yoshimura. Wouldn't they toss your shit or sell it, considering that you weren't there to pay the rent?"
"As far bills and rent go, they're all on auto-pay, and my wallet's in the safe, so everything should have been left where it was," Eto reasoned, while still feeling nervous at the idea of someone searching through her belongings in her absence. "Should be, at least… But hey, you know what? I could use whatever money I've accumulated on top of my savings to pay for Shirazu's little sister to get that treatment…! Hell, I could even pay for it underneath my author alias, that way it looks less suspicious than just some random person paying for it…!"
Excited and enthralled by the news, Mutsuki smiled widely to take part in the anticipation that Eto had. "Y-Yoshimura…!? Y-You have that much money?! Y-You… You'd actually do that for him?!"
"Absolutely, Mutsuki! In fact, I'll… I'll be using whatever I have left in my account to invest into your futures…!" Eto said with a wide smile on her face that conveyed to the onlookers around her about just how proud she was of her newly formulated idea. "When this is all said and done, I want to pay for your, Saiko's, and Shirazu's university tuition…!"
"Y-Yoshimura, I…?!" Mutsuki stuttered out with a bewildered and astonished look in her eyes, after just being told that her adoptive mother wanted to put her through university. "I-I can't accept that from you, t-that would cost too much…!"
Squeezing her daughter's hand, Eto stared up at Mutsuki with a somber and bittersweet look directly into the other woman's eyes to convey her feelings of persistence. "Child… I love and respect you with all my heart… But I'm not going to stand by and allow you three to struggle your entire lives the same way I did. I won't allow that… Same goes for you, Kirishima."
Caught off guard by hearing her name while she was in the midst of pondering over Haise's safety and deciding an appropriate time to drop the news about the Black Reaper's identity, Touka lifted her chin wearily up to turn her head to face the generous half-ghoul. "What?"
"Kirishima, you're only twenty-one years old; you have a bright future ahead of you," Eto said endearingly, as she smiled warmly at the exhausted looking ghoul. "You have a smart head on your shoulders, which is why I think studying business will benefit you and the coffee shop… Who knows? You could probably even turn it into a franchise... You might just be able to spread the spirit of Anteiku to not just Tokyo, but the world…!"
While her first initial reaction was to quickly dismiss Eto's offer in a more assertive fashion than Mutsuki, Touka suddenly found herself toying with the proposed idea of transforming her mom-and-pop cafe into an actual recognizable brand. 'I could build a successful future for Kaneki and I that way… I would be able to share the old manager's teachings, and create a legacy for him and Ayato… Perhaps even reopen 'Anteiku' when this is all-?!'
Interrupting Touka's thoughts were the flashing lights emanating from the fire engines and police cars parked outside of what was left of her property. Having already been the first to notice that :re had already been burned down into nothing more than a charred ruin, Nico quickly drove to the shoulder of the sidewalk to prepare for what he knew to be inevitable.
Without saying a word, Touka and even Eto were the first ones kicking open the van's back doors to make their way over to where the ambulance and firemen were posted, just outside of the caution-tape that the police had ample time to put up around the aftermath of the coffee shop's fire.
"SAIKO!" Eto screamed out loud, as she called for the name of her daughter that had been left behind in order to ironically keep her safe. Sprinting past the lower level cops who were trying to prevent her from entering past the caution tape, Eto began to tear apart the burnt remains of the coffee shop while continuously calling out for Saiko.
Even though her entire coffee shop had been tragically lost by a reason she couldn't even begin to fathom at the moment, Touka's managerial position forced her into being the one needing to investigate rather than emotionally losing herself like Eto.
Approaching an important looking figure who's uniform identified himself as being a fire battalion chief, Touka made her way over to where a group of firemen were in order to get his attention. "Excuse me, sir?" Touka addressed, as she approached the man with her purple-hood up to protect her from the chilling cold.
"I'm the owner of this establishment. That woman over there is my assistant manager… We had an employee stay behind to watch the shop while we attended the party; hence the get up." Touka said with an uneasy laugh, as she gestured towards their outfits. "... What I'm trying to ask is, well… Is she alive?"
"Saiko Yonebayashi, you mean?" The battalion chief said with an inspiring smile on his bearded face, as he turned around to point across the street where there was a group of cop cars parked and a single black-van. "We found her tied up and beaten inside what used to be a storage closet. She's giving her statement right now to the police; I think she mentioned someone calling themselves the 'Black Reaper', or something crazy like that, being the one responsible for hurting her… It's just a miracle she's still alive."
Having to hide her inner rage underneath the facade of confusion, Touka did her best to pretend as though she had never heard of the Black Reaper. "… What kind of name is that?"
"I have no idea, ma'am… Nowadays, it's rare to see people commiting crimes on the street; ain't like it used to be, back in the day," the battalion chief mused with a sigh, before adding, "you and your assistant manager better go check on her; the police are gonna want to talk to you. Here, take my card; it's got my information on it. Give it to your insurance company and keep a copy of it for yourself; I'll do whatever I can to make this nightmare a little easier for you, ma'am."
"Insurance…? Oh! Y-Yeah, fire insurance…! Of course…!" Touka laughed nervously, as she took the business card while silently swearing at herself for not getting fire insurance when she had the chance a month ago. "Goddamnit… Thank you," Touka said with a frustrated smile.
"All a part of the job, ma'am. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call that number. I'll get you in touch with the right people," the older gentleman said with an empathic look on his face, and made sure to give the manager a friendly pat on her shoulder before returning to his duties.
Staring down at the business card, Touka read the name 'Yukinori Shinohara, Tokyo Fire Department, 3rd Battalion Chief,' followed by several phone numbers and an email to contact him by. Looking away from the business card, Touka arched an eyebrow as she watched Shinohara walking awkwardly back towards a group of firemen underneath what she presumed to be his command.
Deciding to place the card into her tunic's inner pocket just in case, Touka stared longfully at what used to be her coffee shop and her testament to her old manager before letting out a sigh. After being given the okay from Shinohara, the police allowed Touka past the caution tape, where she made her way over to Eto to kneel down beside her.
"Come on, Yoshimura… Saiko's with the police; she's okay," Touka said in a tired and defeated tone, as she crammed her thoughts of Haise's well-being into the back of her head, so she could deal with the mess of having to deal with the aftermath of Urie burning his coffee shop, down along with attempting to leave Saiko for dead.
"… What are we going to do, Yoshimura?" Touka asked with a humorless laugh, after finally processing how absurd it was that both coffee shops she once called home ended up falling victim to arson.
"… We'll figure it out, dear. Let's… Let's just finish up what we have to do here, and make a decision then." Eto replied back with an equally exhausted voice. "... There's much work to be done."
Waking up disoriented and groggy, Shirazu was blinded by the spotlight from one of the many helicopters flying overhead the decimated ghoul prison. Shivering and in overwhelming agony, Shirazu let out a low painful groan as he felt his sore abdomen quivering, while his entire body shuddered from the snow covering his body.
Blinking away the small ice crystals from his eyelashes, Shirazu was hyperventilating and beginning to feel the effects of hypothermia taking effect on his fingers and toes. Thinking that perhaps he was in the middle of a rescue mission being orchestrated by CCG, the helicopter that had awoken him suddenly burst into flames after a missile was shot directly into its motor.
Staring upwards with shock, Shirazu swore underneath his breath as he shot up from the snow that had piled itself on top of him, in order to begin running away from the spiraling helicopter. "… Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" Shirazu screamed in terror, as he sprinted away just in time to narrowly avoid being caught in the blast radius of the exploding helicopter crashing down.
Leaping forward to avoid being hit by debris, Shirazu laid on top of a blanket of snow that covered what he presumed to be rubble underneath him. Hearing nothing by the muffled cries of warfare and gunfire roaring over the ringing in his ears, Shirazu gazed up with a devastated expression on his face as he watched CCG's reinforcements aided by teenaged boys and girls with kagunes and masks battling it out with the second wave of United Front soldiers sent in by Tsukiyama.
With the two armies savagely tearing one-another apart, all for the sake of being someone else's pawn in some grand plan, the remorse and self-hatred Shirazu felt for condemning Haise made the Qunix feel disgusted with himself.
"… Sassan!" Shirazu yelped out with dread filling his very being, after looking back toward where Corniculum once stood to see neither Haise nor Urie occupying its ruins. Thinking it at first to be near impossible for him to locate Haise, due to the night sky and snow washing over the massacre around him, it wasn't until Shirazu caught the sight of two large kakujas climbing along what remained of the last standing wall that was still in shambles and destined to fall at any minute.
With Urie's armor proving too dense for him to pierce or to even dent, Haise was forced to be on the defensive side of their on-going battle. Climbing up the wall, Haise had to crawl sporadically in a zig-zag fashion in order to avoid being crushed or cleaved by Urie's massive blades that he used to climb up the wall after him.
"YOU'RE JUST AN INSECT, SASAKI! AN INSECT THAT DESERVES TO BE EXTERMINATED (DIE BUG, DIE)!" Urie howled out with a cackle in his voice, as he drew ever closer to his prey. "I'VE ALWAYS HATED YOU!"
While Urie's mind was unstable and past the point of making comprehensive plans, much less comprehensible strings of thoughts, Haise within his half-kakuja state had a far better grip on reality, and was still capable of making strategic decisions. Albeit, that didn't mean his raw hatred stemming from the act of betrayal by Urie's hands wasn't something that Haise was exactly quiet about.
"YOU'RE A MURDERER, URIE! A FILTHY FUCKING MURDERER!" Haise screamed out back to his pursuer, as his red tendrils quickly shot out in front of him to rip the minigun off what remained of a helicopter that had crashed into the crumbling wall. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"
Clenching his jaw, Urie was forced to retract one of his kagune blades out from the concrete wall in order to shield himself from the volley of q-bullets being rained down on him. "SHIRAZU GOT WHAT HE DESERVED! AND SO WILL YOU (SO MANY BULLETS)!" Urie retorted, before climbing up the wall with his kakuja's claws, while using one of his kagune blades to act like a shield.
Using his own tendrils that were fitted with opposable thumbs and fingers, Haise continued to fire the minigun from behind him using his primary kagune while he anchored himself into the wall with his centipede tails. While buying himself some time with whatever bullets still remained in the minigun, Haise was able to quickly climb into the helicopter's wreckage to scrounge around for something he could use.
After about twelve seconds of continuous gunfire, the minigun that Haise had desperately used against Urie had finally run out of its expensive custom rounds. Seeing Haise as vulnerable, due to the one-eyed ghoul still trying to find aid in the destroyed aircraft, Urie let out a squeal of joy as he leapt up the wall with his kagune blades pulled back in preparation to slice the centipede into chunks.
Upon finding what he was looking for, Haise tried throwing the minigun at Urie to slow him down long enough to leap out of the destroyed helicopter, but to no avail. Laughing at Haise's pathetic attempt to buy himself time, the minigun did nothing to slow Urie down as he swung his two blades down on him. "USELESS, USELESS, USELESS!"
Leaping out of the helicopter as Urie swung his blades down, Haise gritted his teeth as he felt the side of his torso getting sliced open by the Black Reaper's kagune-blades. With his two-centipede tails still anchoring him to the wall, Haise ignored his injury to flip himself upside down in order to aim the quinque in the shape of a cannon directly at Urie.
Not knowing anything about what the weapon in his hand was capable of, Haise pulled the trigger and watched as six glowing spiked-balls landed on Urie's armor, just as the Black Reaper lifted his blades up to attack once more. Dread coursed through Haise's mind after considering the possibility of his quinque being useless, and was once again forced into an uphill battle against the other ghoul who was better at close-quarters combat than he was.
Forced to use his kagune to grab a hold of one of Urie's blades, Haise clenched his jaw as he felt Urie's other four-meter long blade pierce his abdomen. "GOT YOU!" Urie squealed out with a maniacal laughter, as he plunged his blade down with Haise still attached to it in order to pin the one-eyed ghoul into the side of the burning wall.
With no other thought than to survive, Haise continued to use his kagune to wrestle with one of Urie's blades, while using his pronged-centipede tails to wrap around the Black Reaper's body. Just as he could feel Urie's blade beginning to rip through his chest while his centipede tails began to crack-open his Arata-infused kakuja, Haise had only a second to watch the blinking spiked balls suddenly light up before suddenly exploding.
Due to how much of Urie's kakuja took a majority of the impact from the explosion, Haise's body only suffered from burns and mild organ ruptured before the two of them began to free fall down the side of the wall that had just been dealt its final blow.
After about ten seconds of falling, Haise's bones shattered and his half-kakuja faded away into a cloud of black-mist upon landing on the snow-covered ground. Laying on his back, Haise stared up at the burning wall and watched as the large clusters of debris began to fall down around him.
Trying to lift himself up from the ground, Haise was only able to catch a glimpse of Urie's mangled and burning armor from the corner of his eye before suddenly feeling Ginkui's shattered blade piercing through his chest, and into his heart.
Using the last of his strength, Urie was able to produce a small enough shock to disrupt the rhythm of Haise's heart before being kicked off. Landing on the pile of snow, the flames that had enveloped Urie's armor were extinguished soon after he remained still; unable to move due to injuries he had sustained from the explosion, and from his dragon-cells.
"Uri- Agh…!" Haise grunted out painfully, as he writhed on the ground. Unable to do much other than seemingly shuffle his limbs around, Haise's attempts of trying to catch his breath became even more of a challenge as his heart tried regenerating while being off rhythm.
Encumbered by his heart failure, Haise felt powerless as he watched two teenagers dressed in black armored robes and masks similar to the Black Reaper's rushing past him to pick Urie up. Completely ignoring him, the Oggai mercenaries paid no mind to the one-eyed ghoul and found joy in leaving him to die a slow and painful death in the cold, rather than wasting time by putting him out of his misery.
With the snow and night sky engulfing the Oggai carrying Urie's broken and depleted body away, it wasn't long until the hazard of falling rubble once again poked its ugly head out for Haise to deal with. Narrowly being crushed by the last remaining pieces of falling rebar and concrete from the explosion, Haise looked up to see a large ten-meter tall piece of the wall beginning to lean down towards him.
Desperately trying to move, Haise could do nothing but watch as the leaning wall began to tilt down closer-and-closer to him. Hearing the rebar that was keeping the chunk of concrete together beginning to creak loudly as it began to snap, the only thing Haise could think to do was just to close his eyes and wait for the inevitable to happen.
Just as the piece of the wall came falling down on top of him, Haise slowly began to open his eyes to see why he wasn't crushed. Standing over him with his frameless kagune pressing up against the chunk of concrete that must have weighed almost two-thousand kilograms, Shirazu was the only thing keeping Haise alive for the time being.
Feeling the pavement underneath him and Haise beginning to become uprooted by the sheer pressure that the weight of the concrete was putting on the floor underneath them, Shirazu let out a guttural cry of pain as he stabbed his own foot with Nutcracker's blade in order to prevent himself from losing his footing.
"SASSAN! HURRY!" Shirazu screamed out while feeling his back beginning to break.
Seeing his adopted son under so much distress, Haise's initial reaction was to try and save Shirazu, but after trying to get up to his feet or using his kagune, it soon dawned on the one-eyed ghoul that he had no chance of saving him. "S-Shirazu…!" Haise muttered out painfully, before reluctantly using all of his willpower to pull himself away from underneath the chunk of concrete.
Feeling his broken quinque-frame ripping into his body while his rib cage ruptured his lungs and other organs, Shirazu fought to keep himself steady on his shattering kneecaps and femurs as he watched Haise drag himself away while suffering heart failure.
The world around them seemed to slow down after Haise managed to narrowly escape the shadow of the colossal cluster of concrete, and it was then that the one-eyed ghoul watched helplessly as Shirazu's legs finally gave out. "NO-!" Haise wailed out while trying to reach his arm out towards Shirazu, as he watched the concrete wall come crashing down on him.
"-HARU!" Shirazu screamed out, as his last thoughts before suddenly being crushed underneath the weight of the debris was of his little sister; back before her RC-cell oversecretion disease forced her to bed bound.
Laying down on the hospital bed, Haru did her best to comfort her older brother as he walked into the room, after having finished his consultation with the hospital's financial advisor. "Hey big bro… I'm guessing that our trip to Disneyland's gonna have to be postponed, huh?" Haru said with a bit of sarcasm in her voice, in an effort to lighten up the mood on Shirazu's distraught face.
"… For now, yes," Shirazu replied back after needing a moment to wipe his eyes with his sleeve. Silently, Shirazu stood at the door with his bangs covering his bloodshot eyes while Haru simply sat up on her bed.
"… I'm feelin' kinda lonesome. Why don't you saddle up over here, cowboy?" Haru said in a western accent, before scooting over a bit to make room for Shirazu to sit. "Come on Ginshi, I don't bite… Hard."
Pursing his lips in a failed attempt to flash a smile at his sister, Shirazu dragged his feet behind him as he forced his body to make its way over to his sister's bedside. Sitting down with his back facing his little sister, Shirazu wept silently while taking quiet gasps of air.
Even though she could tell that her brother was taking whatever news had been given to him poorly, Haru knew better than to ask Shirazu about what he was feeling. Instead, she kept her own spirits up, so that she could be strong for the both of them.
"… You know, in spite of everything going on right now, I'm not actually not afraid of what's going to happen." Haru mused aloud with a genuinely optimistic expression on her face, as she stared out of her hospital room's window. "Everyday is a blessing, right? It's what dad used to say all the time… I know you aren't really all that religious or spiritual nowadays, but even now… I feel… Blessed."
Unable to believe what he was hearing, Shirazu turned his head over his shoulder to stare bewilderedly at his younger sister through his tear-ridden eyes. "'Blessed?' How could you possibly say something so stupid?! You're not blessed; if anything, whatever fucked up god is out there screwed you over!"
Unphased by her brother's emotional outburst, the smile radiating positivity on Haru's face didn't fade in the least bit. "I'm blessed because I got to live my life with you, Ginshi; not a lot of people have someone who's as loving and caring as you. Besides, I think you're overreacting! I'll be taken care of while you're out doing whatcha need to do to get the money! Don't worry about me, it's not like I'll be going anywhere, hehe…"
While it was true that the doctors and nurses in the hospital would administer routine check ups and care for Haru, so long as she was admitted to the hospital, Shirazu hated himself for not being able to help his sister immediately. The idea of having to let someone as sweet and fun as Haru suffer while waiting for him made Shirazu angry, but mostly heartbroken.
Still, even if he himself had his own thoughts about his sister's situation that differed from her optimism, it didn't stop Shirazu from turning around to lean over to embrace his sister. Reveling in one another's company, the two siblings closed their eyes and buried each other's faces into the other's shoulder.
"I love you Ginshi… It's going to be okay."
"I love you too…! I'll… I'll do whatever it takes…! When this is all over and done with, I'll… I'll take you to Disneyland! I-I promise… I… I'll give you the life you deserve…!"
"Promise?"
"… Y-Yeah… I promise."
Laying on his side, Haise was speechless and felt shell shocked as he stared at the large chunk of concrete that had just crushed his son. Feeling cold from the blizzard and from the blood loss, Haise ignored the agony he was in as he forced his failing heart to work through its irregularities as he clawed his way back to the edge of the concrete.
Refusing to accept the limitations brought on by his critical condition, Haise got onto his knees and dug his fingers underneath the edge of the concrete in a fruitless attempt to lift the debris off of Shirazu's corpse. Only being able to strain himself for a few seconds, the moment Haise's heart stopped beating was when he finally was forced to give up, as his body slumped forward.
Laying with his upper body and head resting against the very thing that crushed his son, Haise could feel his vision fading to black while it became harder-and-harder for him to catch a breath of air. Thinking that he was finally going to die, Haise tried to take solace in what seemed like his last moments on Earth, believing himself to be heading to wherever Shirazu was in the afterlife.
Before everything finally faded to black as he lost consciousness, Haise felt a pair of hands gripping his bare shoulders before suddenly being pulled away.
"Don't worry, cutie! Momma's got ya~!" Roma said in the most reassuring voice she could muster out, as she dragged Haise's body away from the concrete chunk before leaning down to scoop him up and carry him in her arms. "Oooo, you're a pretty boy~! I might keep you after we get you patch up, baby~!" Roma mused, as she stared lustfully at the unconscious one-eyed ghoul in her arms; eyeing his naked body with a sinister grin on her face as she fled the vicinity of the battlefield
As the Clown's leader fled with Haise in her arms, the blood shed continued on the hallowed grounds of Corniculum. With the Oggai aiding CCG's reinforcements, the two were able to battle on equal terms with the United Front's heavily armed soldiers, and eventually the CCG achieved an empty victory that lacked anything aside from despair and heartache.
The battle lasted all throughout the night, with both sides having suffered massive casualties. Unable to spare any personnel to pursue the ghouls who had fled into the night under the veil of the blistering blizzard, CCG's dwindling forces were forced into Matsuri's last-minute rescue mission that ended up costing the lives of over one-thousand investigators, thirty Oggai mercenaries, and four hundred and sixty-three ghouls fighting underneath United Front's flag.
With the ghoul detention center beyond saving or repairing, the morning spent for CCG consisted of preparing the bodies of the dead to be buried in mass graves, while the bodies of the Oggai and ghouls were transported to various laboratories to be harvested. As for the perimeter surrounded by fallen walls, the property itself was closed off to the public by chain linked fences and other cheap obstructions that CCG could barely afford.
The bloodiest day of the year happened that night, and what would become known as 'The Corniculum Massacre' was what finally caused CCG's morale to be crushed.
And what sparked Furuta's interest in taking over his brother's position early.
Thank you for reading, and I hope that you have a wonderful day!
I'll post extra author notes at the end of the next chapter, I promise lol.
