What's happening, forum?

I'll be going over the reviews of the previous chapter like usual, so long as there's enough meat in its substance so I'm not just essentially repeating back the few words they wrote and making a lackluster comment about them.

I'm going to need to rename these chapters to be an arc of some kind; similar to how I did for the first four chapters, and chapters 15-19. Might be calling chapters 36-39 something like 'Dragon Tales I-IV', or 'Sins of the Father I-IV'.

Feel free to recommend anything that comes to mind, or if I should just leave them how they are.

Anyways, the author's notes will be at the end!

Please, enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading!


Turning around the corner of the long corridor that Mayuzumi had led him down, Yusa was immediately forced to use his three tendrils to create a shield between him and the five armed investigators who stood above him on the story-tall staircase that led up towards the second floor of the lobby.

"WE GOT EYES ON ARIMA!" One of the investigators announced above the howling roar of gunfire and clashing of quinques against kagunes coming from the lobby, as he and his team of four other comrades used their ranged-quinques to fire repeatedly to chip-away at Yusa's surprisingly durable tendrils.

Gritting his teeth while being pinned down underneath a consistent rate of fire, the force of the quinque-shards piercing into his kagune made it harder for him to stand straight, and it didn't take long until he had to resort to kneeling down against the floor with his hands against the marble tiles, just to keep himself steady.

Acting fast to protect her king, Mayuzumi ran over to hide behind Yusa's tendrils for cover, before using her ukaku kagune to unravel a large-single wing from her shoulder, before firing a barrage of kagune-shards at the direction of where the five investigators were.

"TAKE COVER!" One of the other investigators shouted from the staircase, which were the words that the oggai had been waiting for. Using her narrow window of time to run out from behind the protection of Yusa's tendrils, Mayuzumi used her scaled-wing as a riot-shield, and raised her glock above the top of her kagune as she swiftly sprinted toward the bottom of the stairs.

Catching the investigators off guard, Mayuzumi hid behind her makeshift shield and was able to safely block the oncoming fire long enough to fire five shots from her pistol that pierced straight through the foreheads of her foes. Satisfied with her own work, Mayuzumi had become momentarily distracted with her own short-lived victory, which was quickly interrupted the moment she heard the sound of a man grunting loudly from behind her.

Gasping the moment she looked over her shoulder to see a large two-handed mace quinque being swung down over her by the muscular investigator who had snuck up behind her, Mayuzumi instinctively tried raising her kagune up to defend herself.

Although she had managed to prevent her attacker from smashing her skull open like a ripe-watermelon, her kagune was shattered by the man's quinque and disappeared into a cloud of red-mist that caused him to stagger back, but not before she fell backwards and landed on her back against the steps.

Letting out a low whimper under her breath, as she felt her ankle twist from practically being slammed against the stairs, the oggai tried raising her glock up to shoot the investigator who towered above her, but was already too late.

"STUPID LITTLE BITCH! The burly man shouted in defiance, as he slammed the blunt end down against the barrel of the pistol; deflecting the bullet that had been fired at him. Putting all of his weight down on his quinque, the investigator smashed the end of his mace down on the hand Mayuzumi was using to hold the gun; crushing the firearm and her hand into a mess of splintered pieces of viscus.

Screaming out in pain, Mayuzumi instantly retaliated by kicking her foot down against the burly man's shin; causing him in turn to let out a cry of agony before falling backwards and down on the snare-trap created by Yusa's three tendrils. Angered more at himself for hesitating rather than at the burly investigator who had tried to avenge his colleagues by killing Mayuzumi, Yusa wrapped his tendrils around the man's large body like an anaconda would do to its prey to subdue him.

Trying his best to not kill the man, Yusa ensured that the man would not be an active combatant by using his kagune to constrict around his body. Breaking the bones in the man's arms, legs, and chest, Yusa lifted the investigator's broken body up above his head, before throwing it down upon the two other doves who were behind him where the RC-cell scanner-gate was.

Estimating the weight of the large burly man, along with the force he used to throw him, would be enough to incapacitate his would-be attackers, Yusa quickly knelt down while on the bottom steps of the staircase to carefully help Mayuzumi. Taking note of just how quickly her hand was already healing, Yusa put one hand on her waist and the other underneath her arm, before pulling her up to her feet.

Feeling ashamed and pathetic after becoming the one who needed to be saved, Mayuzumi limped on her good foot with her eyes becoming glued to the floor, as she and Yusa made their way behind the receptionist's reinforced desk as quickly as they could, before closing the door behind them and locking it.

"... I'm sorry," Mayuzumi said, after needing Yusa's help to be lowered onto the floor with her back pressed against the protection of the q-metal desk, that was built underneath a large reinforced-plexiglass wall that separated them from the carnage occurring in the lobby just on the other side of the transparent barrier.

"There's no need to apologize… Just stay here and try to avoid being seen until I come back to get you, okay?" Yusa said with a somber smile on his face, before making his way on squatted knees towards a loose-sliding compartment that was built into the desk. Removing the cover to the hidden safe that was built into every CCG receptionist's desk, as a part of the agency's standard protocol to provide protection for those who were dealing with the public, Yusa uncovered the metal gun-safe before being with an eleven-button keypad.

While Yusa was doing his best to fiddle with the keypad, presumably trying his best to enter the right code that was hidden somewhere in his fuzzy memory, Mayuzumi stared down at her healed hand, before looking over his shoulder to admire his handsome face. "Hey... You don't think I'm actually going to let you go out in the middle of a battle, do you?" She said with a bit of sass in her voice, as she watched him continue to focus solely on the safe's keypad.

"If I had to make an assumption, I'd have to say that 'no', you wouldn't be necessarily compliant with that idea," Yusa said with his squinted eyes suddenly opening wide with excitement, after finally gaining access to the small safe. "... But if I'm supposed to be a leader, then I better start acting like it, right?" Yusa said before suddenly letting out an exasperated sigh, after opening the safe to discover that it had already been emptied out. "... I'd also make the assumption that whoever worked here last here was a thi-?!"

Flinching alongside Yusa, Mayuzumi let out a gasp after the plexiglass above them suddenly exploded into tiny pieces of shards that rained down on both of them. Staring down at the floor that was covered in glass shards, Mayuzumi felt her heart skipping a beat as she looked up to see Yusa beginning to stand up from the floor with his kagune at the ready; alerting her that he was about to play hero by throwing himself in the heat of the carnage.

Fearing for her king's life, Mayuzumi in the heat of the moment leaped onto Yusa's body; pinning him to the floor on his back, while wrapping her arms and legs around his body as she straddled her hips against his. "W-What are you doin-"

"-I'm not l-letting you go out there, you dumbass…!" Mayuzumi interrupted, as she buried her face into his shoulder; more so as a childish-mechanism to block out the cries of death and battle, than for any other particular reason. "Y-You're going to die if you go out there, and… And I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you… I… I don't want to lose you..."

Resting his hands on top of her shoulders, Yusa could tell just how terrified the young oggai was, after noticing just how violently her body was shaking, and how shallow her rapid breaths were. Having been under the impression that the oggai that Furuta had introduced him to were fearless warriors who grew to be hardened from living in the 24th Ward, and from the rough streets of Tokyo in general, it was then as listened to Mayuzumi quietly panicking that Yusa began to question whether or not what he was told about them was really true or not.

Having been born and raised at Sunlit Gardens, Yusa himself was accustomed to hostile environments and being placed in battles where the odds were stacked against him. The children who were his distant relatives all had various personalities and outlooks on their grim life, but all of them were equally warriors who learned to not fear death.

That mentality was only challenged when Urie had come to 'liberate' them; a memory that was unraveling itself inside of Yusa's mind, as he watched bullets and quinque-shards flying above the reinforced desk that he and Mayuzumi were covered behind.

"... Mayuzumi, you said that you and Hajime are siblings, yes?" Yusa questioned in a hollow voice, as he began to remember the fateful night that the Black Reaper broke into Sunlit Gardens; announcing himself as the one who would judge who was worthy of living, before beginning his slaughter.

Confused as to why Yusa was suddenly changing the subject, despite the fact that they were right beside an active battle, Mayuzumi opened her shut-closed eyelids before slowly raising her head up to stare into his grey-eyes. "Y-Yeah; we're actually fraternal t-twins… Why are you asking this now?!"

"Because something I was told about you and the rest of the oggai seems… Inconsistent," Yusa explained with calculating eyes, as he began to relive the experience of trying to defend the Sunlit Gardens from Urie, only to be quickly disarmed and gutted by him, before eventually being brought to Furuta, after the facility had fallen and a majority of it occupants had been slaughtered. "... Forgive me if I'm overstepping any of your personal boundaries, but I need to know this: did you and Hajime grow up in the 24th Ward?"

Baffled by the question, Mayuzumi couldn't help but scoff at the inquiry before shaking her head at Yusa. "W-What the fuck?! No, no we didn't grow up in that shit hole…! We grew up in Fujisawa, and ended up getting placed into an orphanage in Tokyo after our parents were murdered by ghouls… We stayed there until some old guy showed up and offered us a chance to 'stop children from suffering what we went through'...Where the hell did you get the idea of us growing up in the 24th Ward?!"

"... Furuta told Urie and I about that… I think-?!" Before Yusa could finish explaining his thought process to Mayuzumi, a loud thunderous boom echoed out from the lobby with enough force that it caused the entire floor underneath and the walls surrounding them to shake.

An aroma that could be best described as astringent and bitter like burnt-chlorine entered the lobby, and with the sounds of battle coming to a complete halt, Yusa was able to hear the distinguishable sounds of electricity sparking from where the main entrance was.

Armless with his exposed RC-reactor causing arcs of lightning to occasionally shoot off toward a random direction, Shirazu's glowing-red eye gazed intimidatingly at all the surrounding faces of fear and shock that were staring at his mechanical body; sizing everyone in the room up and sending fear down the throats of even the bravest investigators in the room.

"... There better be a good reason as to why children are being slaughtered here… You," Shirazu called out through the speakers that were built into his throat, as he turned his head to lock eyes with First-Class Ghoul Investigator Taishi Fura, "explain to me what this is all about."

"... Under orders of Director Washuu, we were ordered to eliminate the oggai mercenaries. The reason behind the order was that Washuu had discovered that these 'things' have been secretly aiding the Black Reaper; hence why their extermination is necessary," Fura replied back in a professional tone, as he kept his hands around the handles of his quinques. "... And who might you be?"

"The name's Ginshi Shirazu… I'm here to escort Yusa Arima back to his hotel, and to speak to Washuu," Shirazu announced to Fura and the rest of the onlookers in the room, before turning his head over to one of the nervous oggai teenagers, who quaked in their boots the moment the quinx's glaring red-eye stared back at him. "... Is that true, kid? Have you and your 'friends' sworn loyalty to the Black Reaper? Because if that's true, then you and the rest of your squad better be ready to throw your lives away for him; because that's exactly what's going to happen."

"I… I just want to go home…" The teenage boy said in a pleading voice, while visibly trembling as he averted his gaze away from Shirazu's singular-glowing kakugan; staring at the splattered blood and bullet casings that were scattered beneath his boots.

"I see…" Shirazu said in a methodical tone, appearing to be trying to decipher if the teenager was lying to him or not. Looking at the difference of expressions between the veteran investigators in comparison to the young oggai, it didn't take very long for Shirazu to realize that every one of the oggai in the room were terrified and were trembling while trying to catch their breaths, while the adults in the room appeared annoyed that their battle had been interrupted by him.

"... All of you children may leave; just know that if I ever see you fighting alongside the Black Reaper, or even those fucks at the United Front, I won't be sparing you a second time," Shirazu announced in a loud voice through the speakers of his neck, before stepping to side to clear the way to the main entrance. "Go… Head to the Marriott Courtyard in the 12th Ward, and I'll be there to help you find a place to stay for the night."

Glaring directly into Fura's squinted and emotionless eyes, Shirazu stood tall with Nutcracker's handle clamped down in his metal jaw, as he protectively waited for all of the oggai in the lobby to say their goodbye to their fallen friends, before heading out of the Main Office's entrance. The quiet sobbing and pitter-patter of blood-stained boots squeaking against the marble tiled floor came to an end after the last of the oggai fled the lobby.

Making sure that the teenagers had enough time to separate themselves from the Main Office, Shirazu used his body to block the entrance of the Main Office for several minutes, before finally beginning to succumb to the battle damage he had sustained from his battle with Urie.

Shirazu's limitations also made themselves known to the investigators after his RC-cell reactor once again started to overheat, and soon his body was beginning to make a constant and loud beeping as he collapsed onto one knee on the floor. Unable to hold back the upchuck of blue-coolant that was shooting up his artificial throat and was pouring down from his metal jaw, Shirazu accidentally dropped his quinque down onto the marble floor; appearing vulnerable enough for the investigators to take their aim at him while Fura approached him with his blades at the ready.

Eyeing Shirazu down while the cybernetic quinx glared back up at him, Fura had a poker face while silently taking note of the man's technologically-advanced body. "... Ah, I think I remember who you are now. You used to be Sasaki's squadmate, correct? One of the three that's been evading arrest now for six-months now too, if my memory serves me right."

"Yeah, you're right about that. In fact, I'm the one who drove the car we used to escape from you bastards months ago. And although I know it's tempting to label me as your enemy, there's more to it than that," Shirazu said with his voice modulator rather than the speakers that were built into his neck, as he subtly took note of the fact that the investigators who were armed with melee weapons were slowly beginning to approach him with their weapons drawn and at the ready.

"Matsuri Washuu has given my friends and I amnesty, as a reward for agreeing to eliminate Kuki Urie… The body you see now is a collaboration of research made between GFG and CCG, and has been given to me to fulfill this purpose," Shirazu explained, before spitting out the remainder of the coolant in his mouth before adding "To make that simple for you: you and I are technically allies."

"Hmph… Odd of you to claim such a thing, considering that you were last seen at the Corniculum ghoul detention center. Rumor has it that you were also seen aiding the Black Reaper," Fura argued back with a blank expression on his face, as he lowered his right arm down to point the tip of his quinque's blade directly over the exposed RC-reactor in Shirazu's compromised chestpiece.

"... The way I see it, you still present a threat to this organization, and more importantly, to the men and women who serve under my leadership," Fura said, while nodding over for his fellow investigators to be prepared to strike Shirazu down on his mark. "After all, you've already made it clear that you're willing to show mercy to the Black Reaper's 'sleeper cell agents'. What else is really stopping you from becoming the Black Reaper's successor?"

"It's going to be like that, huh? Even if I told you that Ihei sent me herself to escort Yusa back to where he needs to go? Doesn't her word mean anything around here?" Shirazu asked while sounding more annoyed that Fura was wasting his time, rather than fearing the fact that he was about to be executed by him and his squad. "A matter of fact, what about Matsuri Washuu?! He's the bastard who wanted me to come here to save his ass from Urie in the first place, while you DICKHEADS were trying to kill kids!"

While Fura wasn't at all phased with anything that Shirazu had to tell him, Yusa, who had been listening to everything along with Mayuzumi, had perked his ears up the moment he heard Shirazu mentioning how Ihei was the one who sent him.

Deciding to take matters into his own hands by deliberating going against what Matsuri had supposedly wanted of Shirazu, Fura raised his foot up before kicking the battle-damaged quinx in his chest; causing him to spew more coolant out of his mechanical jaw as he fell backwards onto his back. Stomping down on Shirazu's chestplate to keep him pinned against the floor, Fura pressed the tip of his quinque through the quinx's RC-reactor.

"My only concern is the safety of my squadmates; not of the words spoken by a heartless man who's a product of nepotism," Fura said with glaring eyes, as the tip of his quinque began to pierce through the metal-shell of Shirazu's RC-cell reactor. "The oggai squad have already been responsible for the deaths of thirteen of my men."

"Violence breeds violence. Those kids were defending themselves and each other from you bastards; it's the same thing you would have done if the roles were reversed, asshole," Shirazu retorted instantly, which motivated Fura into stabbing his quinque into his RC-cell reactor even deeper; causing the arcs of electricity to cease completely as the reactor began to go into an emergency preservation mode.

In order to preserve power, one of the many functions in Shirazu's body that were put on hold happened to be his pain inhibitors; meaning that he was now feeling everything the tears and cuts in his kakuja-fibers.

Watching the qunix seething in agony while letting out a low groan thrilled Fura, who didn't care about the fact that Shirazu was technically right about him being a hypocrite. "Morals and ethics are debatable, young man; what isn't debatable is the fact that you told those little terrorists where you wanted them to go… The 12th Ward's Marriott Courtyard, yes?" Fura asked mockingly with an expressionless look on his face, before using the quinque in his other hand to stab Shirazu in the abdomen.

"F-Fuck you…!" Shirazu spat out through the pain he was enduring, as he felt Fura's blade scrambling the fibers and wiring inside his abdomen where his stomach used to be.

"I'll keep that in mind," Fura said in an unimpressed tone, before finally deciding to end the quinx's life with the help of his squadmates. "Fura Squad: execut-?!"

Before he finish ordering his squadmates to help him slaughter the cybernetic quinx and tear him into pieces of scrap metal and blood, Fura was suddenly caught off guard as he and the rest of his investigators turned their heads around to see Yusa standing up from the desk, with Mayuzumi still trying to drag him back down underneath the safety of their cover.

That momentary distraction was all Shirazu needed for him to deliver his counter attack. Using the powerful kakuja-fibered muscles in his legs to spin his body around by kicking the floor, Shirazu spun around on his back with the speed of a helicopter-propeller with his legs stretching out horizontally as far as they would go, similar to how a breakdancer would perform.

Due to how comfortable and cocky the Fura and his squadmates had gotten after seeing Shirazu's body beginning to display complications, the CCG personnel had all gotten within leg-range of the quinx, and were all in the radius of his attack.

The momentum and blunt force applied to the bodies of the investigators who had made the mistake of circling themselves around him caused their torsos to explode into thick-viscous clouds of gore; chunks made up of their bones and other body tissues flew in all directors and splattered alongside the raining blood that coated the once pristine walls of the Main Office's lobby.

Having been caught in the 'splash zone' of Shirazu's execution on Fura's squad, Yusa's entire upper body was sprayed by their collective blood, and soon he staggered back after the upper half of a woman's rib cage was flung against his chest; causing him to get winded before slipping and falling.

Landing on his back with Mayuzumi kneeling beside him to wipe his eyelids free of blood, Yusa let out a low and pain-ridden groan as he fought past the burning sensation in his lungs to catch his breath. By the time that Yusa had finally recollected himself and was back to being able to breathe normally, he and Mayuzumi were staring up at the glowing-red eye of Shirazu, who towered over them; looking like absolute shit.

"... You're Yusa Arima, right?" Shirazu asked with Nutcracker's soiled handle back in his metal jaw, as he looked down at Yusa's uneasy and awkward expression that was staring back up at him.

"Erm… Y-Yes, sir; that's me," Yusa replied back in as respectfully as he could, while watching as Shirazu's gaze shifted from him toward Mayuzumi's intimidated stare.

"... You're an oggai, correct? Does your loyalty lie with the Black Reaper?" Shirazu asked through his neck's speakers, while making sure to flash his blood-soaked quinque at the terrified teenager by Yusa's side.

"N-Not at all! M-My loyalties lie with the 'One-Eyed King', Arima!" Mayuzumi stuttered out hastily with a nervous smile on her face, before lowering her hands underneath Yusa's back to lift him up slightly off the ground. "Specifically THIS 'Arima'; n-not Kishou Arima…!"

Taking a few moments to silently make a judgement call in his head, eventually Shirazu gave the nervous girl a nonchalant shrug with his armless shoulders.

"... Good enough for me, I guess," Shirazu said, before turning his attention back towards Yusa. "Ihei told me that you'd be able to clue me in on just what the hell is going on around here… Any truth to what she said, or was that just her trying to make you sound more important than you actually are?"

"I'd like to help you sir, it's just, well... What you're asking from me is rather vague, wouldn't you agree?" Yusa refuted with an uneasy look on his face, as he and Mayuzumi got up to their feet to stand before the very unimpressed quinx, who seemed to not like the answer he was given. "If you're referring to the inconsistencies I've been told by my dead relative, then well… I'm currently trying to uncover the truth behind what's going on myself."

"... So what you're saying is that you don't really know anything, let's say… About a 'dragon' of any kind? That does ring a bell?"

"... 'Dragon'?" Yusa repeated back with a baffled look in his eyes, which elicited an eye roll from Shirazu.

"... So I guess that was fucking lie then," Shirazu muttered bitterly to himself, before turning his back to Yusa and Mayuzumi. "Welp, good luck getting to Marriott with your girlfriend, kid; I'm sure you and your GOAT friends can take care of those oggai. I've got shit to do, so… Yeah, later."

Watching with a shocked expression on his face as Shirazu casually began to walk out from behind the receptionist's desk to make his way toward the elevator's corridor, Yusa ignored the comment made implying that Mayuzumi was his girlfriend as he and his female companion chased after the cybernetic man.

"N-Now just hold a minute, Mr. Shirazu," Yusa said with excitement in his voice, as he and Mayuzumi trailed behind the annoyed quinx, "I think you and I should stick together; you and I used to be investigators after all, so us being able to collaborate over any evidence we find could proof to be insightful!"

"... Look, kid, I appreciate the enthusiasm you have to help my case, and you really seem like an alright-enough sort of guy… But let's be real here: you don't really look like you have much to bring to the table, and you and your little girlfriend will end up just getting in my way if I have you two tag-along with me. So why don't you just clean yourself off, go back to your fancy little hotel, and-..." After having lectured about how useless Yusa and Mayuzumi would be if he teamed up with them, Shirazu trailed off aftering finally meeting with his match: the elevator's call button.

Without having any hands to activate the call-button to have the elevator reach the ground floor, Shirazu was, literally and metaphorically, stumped. Awkwardly taking a step back, Shirazu silently watched as Yusa softly reached out to press the white-button, before retracting his hand back to his side.

"... Thanks," Shirazu said awkwardly, after realizing how stupid he looked after needing Yusa's help after all.

"... Don't mention it, Mr. Shirazu," Yusa said with a soft smirk on his face, as they waited for the elevator to come down. "... If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Shirazu, are you… Okay?"

"... That depends; what's your definition of being 'okay'?" Shirazu asked sarcastically in good humor, while Yusa and Mayuzumi watched as his chest continued to gently ooze out coolant that was slowly dripping down out of his damaged chest-piece.

"I think Yusa was talking about the fact that you look like you're not doing so hot, Mr. Shirazu," Mayuzumi chimed in nervously, after also having taken a liking to calling Shirazu 'Mr.', as a way to stay on his good side.

"... Yeah, I think I've been better, now that I think about it." Shirazu replied back with the same amount of sarcasm in his voice as before, while impatiently tapping his clawed-foot against the marble tile. "I'm still alive, for the most part, so… I think if I just take it easy and not exert myself more than I already did, I should make it back to the Weapons Labs to get my repairs don- Ah, there it is," Shirazu said aloud through his neck's speakers, after the doors to the elevator finally opened up for them.

Stepping inside after the quinx was the first to step foot into the sleek-chrome walls of the elevator, Yusa and Mayuzumi made their way beside him. "Mr. Shirazu, what floor is Washuu's office on?" Yusa asked respectfully, as he extended his arm out to hover his finger over the elevator's control panel.

"It's the 94th floor; the one just below the roof access level," Shirazu instructed, while watching as Yusa pressed the keypad on the elevator to type in the number '94', before pressing 'enter'. "Yep… That asshole just HAD to have his office placed on the highest floor of this building. It sure made it difficult for me earlier when I had to leap through his window, after climbing this damn skyscraper to save his sorry ass from Urie."

Hearing Shirazu talking about needing to rescue Matsuri from Urie intrigued Yusa, who was making it one of his top priorities to figure out what was actually going on with the Black Reaper, and the shadowy work done by Furuta before his death. "Wait, 'saved'? As in, Urie was trying to attack Matsuri?!"

"Well, I think 'attack' is putting it lightly, kid; try wanting to 'brutally murder him'," Shirazu retorted with a small chuckle, as he thought back on how close he was from being too late to save Matsuri; who he still believed to be alive. "Yeah, basically what happened was that I woke up thinking I was in purgatory or some shit, and was told by this old dude that Matsuri Washuu had my body recovered from Corniculum, and had it reconstructed using the remains of a ghoul named 'Ayato Kirishima', along with some high-tech shit they had laying around..."

"... After coming to terms with how fucked up my life is now, I was about ten minutes into training with my new kagune and fancy body when I was suddenly told that Matsuri needed me in his office as soon as possible; that he was about to blow the cover of Urie and confront him about his identity of the Black Reaper, and needed me there to have him brought in for questioning," Shirazu explained, as he kept his eye focused on the elevator's control panel; paranoid that their ascension up the floors of the Main Office would suddenly come to a halt by someone trying to call the elevator for their own use. "Last I saw before throwing Urie out the window and pursuing him, Matsuri was… Ah shit, I wasn't even fucking paying attention to him…!"

"Wait, what…!?" Yusa asked with an uneasy tone in his voice, as he felt a sinking feeling washing over him. "I thought you just said that you got there just in the nick of time!? How can you NOT have been paying attention to the man you supposedly saved?!"

"I was busy dealing with Urie's sorry ass, that's how!" Shirazu rebutted with an irritated tone in his voice, as he suddenly found himself unsure of whether or not he actually did save Matsuri. "For what it's worth, I saved that spoiled bastard from Urie at least ONCE, so… I mean… I'm pretty sure Matsuri is still alive and kicking… I think?!"


Although there was no sign of where Urie had gone, the path of destruction in his wake that was currently being reported by several major news channels and the emergency services, who were combating the fires of the steel-mill, was proof enough for Arima to know that his apprentice had a hand in Ihei's attempted murder, and for the mayhem that was going down in the 20th Ward.

While the news channels were busy getting eye witness accounts and footage from civilians who had filmed on their phones what they considered to be a 'real life anime battle consisting of a cyborg ninja and a pink-haired winged-waifu fighting against a sith lord,' Arima carried Ihei's soot-covered and blood-mattered body bridal style, while hiding in the safety of alleys to avoid being seen by any wandering eyes or cameras.

Thankful that Ihei's kakuja-armor had protected her from the fire, and that she had managed to land on the metal edge of the tank where the oil had been burning, Arima smiled in relief as he wrapped her body with his white-trenchcoat, after having found her completely naked and covered in the ashy remains of what used to be her undergarments.

Locating his sports-sedan that he had kept ever since his days working for CCG, Arima could hear Ihei beginning to cough and clear her throat as she stirred awake, after he had buckled her into the passenger seat. "Ihei, it's me, Kishou… You're safe now," Arima said as preemptive reassurance, as he closed the door on her before making his way around the hood of his 'Infiniti Q60 White Sport 400' to get into the comforty-leather driver's seat.

Blinking the soot and dried blood clear from her eyelashes, Ihei turned her head slowly over her shoulder towards Arima, before suddenly being offered an aluminum bottle of iced-cold water by her older brother. "T… Thank you, Onii-Chan…" Ihei said with a gentle smile on her face, as she graciously took the gift from the White Reaper, before uncapping it and gently sipping the cool-liquid that alleviated her dry and scratchy throat.

"You're welcome, Hairu," Arima said in his usual emotionless and indifferent voice, despite the fact that he was clearly happy to see his younger sister still alive, and well for the most part. "I got a call from Yusa while I was investigating the explosion I saw in the sky earlier, the same one that led me to you."

"Oh…? A-And is everything okay with him?" Ihei asked in an uneasy voice, as she couldn't help but worry about the condition that her younger sibling was in, all while still holding onto the bottle of cool water as Arima began to drive out of the 20th Ward, and toward the direction of the 12th Ward.

"Thankfully he is; he's with one of the Oggai Squad's commanders, along with an old friend of mine: Ginshi Shirazu… But I'm sure you knew about that, considering that you were the one who sent him to find Yusa in the first place," Arima said with a weak smile on his face, before slowly frowning as he continued to keep his eyes glued on the road before them.

"... From what I've collected, Matsuri left behind a video on his phone explaining briefly about the oggai children being a product of the 24th Ward's dragon, along with ordering out a pardon for Sasaki and his friends. Yusa told me that he's already downloaded the files from Matsuri's computer, and took his phone and hard drive with him, before the three of them left the Main Office."

"I… I see; I guess that wasn't just crazy talk coming from Urie when he started to ramble on about there being a 'dragon' of some kind," Ihei replied back with a worried look in her pink eyes, as she continued to stare longfully at her brother as a way to comfort herself, "and… And what about Matsuri? From the way you're talking about him, it seems to me like he didn't make it."

Grimacing in response Ihei asking about the status of the one person who would have been their best bet in reforming CCG in the easiest way possible, Arima gave his sister a somber nod before sighing. "Yes… From the pictures they sent me, I think Urie landed a killing blow on him before Shirazu could get him away from Matsuri… Before he died, Matsuri came to the conclusion that Urie is a direct product of the 'Underground King'; I'll explain that later to you once we get to the hotel room... I think Dr. Shiba might have worked behind Furuta's back, and ours as well."

"... So, he needs to die then is what you're saying," Ihei muttered sarcastically under her breath, with a look of dread washing over her face, as she sank back into the seat while finding herself being able to express her worries to Arima without being judged. "... Did you find Urie by chance? I would have handled him myself, had it not been for someone getting the drop on me."

"No, I didn't see Urie anywhere while on my way here… And someone got the drop on you, you say?" Arima asked with a protective glare in his eyes, as he did his best to keep his eyes focused on the road while abiding to the traffic laws. "Did you see who it was that hurt you, Hairu?"

"Unfortunately, I didn't. I just know that they had a kagune, which produced four wedged-tendrils… They must have been using a quinque or two, because I felt two blades entering my spine after they used their kagune to impale my chest and stomach." Ihei explained with fuzzy details about the means in which her attacker used to ambush her.

Lamenting over the possibilities of who her attacker could have been, Arima muttered quietly under his breath, "Whoever did the act must have known who Urie was, and had access to a quinque like you said… Those tendrils you mentioned could have been from a kagune; I doubt Sasaki would attack you, and his aren't wedged… CCG wouldn't have been there alone, so that means…"

"... That means what, Onii-Chan?" Ihei asked with a perplexed look in her furrowed eyes, while staring deeper into Arima's grey eyes. "Do you have any suspects in mind about who tried to kill me?"

"I might, but… I'll need more evidence before I make any accusations; might have to make it a point later on to talk to Dr. Shiba," Arima replied with a thoughtful look in his enigmatic eyes. "But that can wait; there's something else I wanted to discuss with you... It's about Yusa," Arima said solemnly while gripping the steering wheel tightly, "he, well… He now has a single kakugan that's formed in his left eye; I don't know why he's become a half-ghoul, or if he's even that."

Taken aback by the news of what Yusa had become, especially since she herself had a distaste for ghouls, which partially even included Haise and herself, Ihei's eyes widened as she felt a cold-shiver running down her spine. "My God… W-Why?! It's not like he got the surgery to become an artificial one-eyed ghoul… T-That can't be right; he must have been seeing things, or-"

"-That's not all: Yusa also told me that he has a rinkaku-type kagune now. In fact, it's… Remarkably similar to how Haise's kagune used to be, back when he was just beginning to earn the alias of 'Eyepatch Ghoul'," Arima revealed, much to Ihei's anguish. "He's also been having trouble remembering the events that took place during his time in Sunlit Gardens, and believes that he now has Haise's old memories that date back to when he worked at that ghoul coffee shop: Anteiku."

Remembering how similar Urie's story was to Yusa's newly acquired transformation, Ihei cringed a bit before taking a moment to drink another gulp of water before speaking again. "Urie, he… He's also been changing. He told me that his memory is also suffering, and…" Ihei trailed off momentarily, before needing another brief moment to recompose herself; fighting off the tears in her eyes as her worry for Yusa grew more-and-more.

"... A-And he told me that he thinks he is becoming the 'Eyepatch Ghoul', which is creepy because he… He even looks like him now, Onii-Chan; white messy bowl cut, and all," Ihei told Arima, who in turn nodded his head while listening to what his little sister had to say. "He… He also told me that he wants to kill you… He thinks that you and Furuta took everything from him."

Having been bearing the guilt of knowingly making Urie go beyond his moral limits to commit evil acts in the name of creating a better future for Tokyo, many of which included acts of betraying his friends and those who he used to fight alongside, hearing Ihei relaying the way the young one-eyed ghoul felt emotionally was painful for Arima to listen to. Even so, Arima was still was more than willing to accept the blame for essentially destroying the life that Urie once had imagined for himself.

"Although I can't speak on behalf of Furuta, and whatever 'good' intentions he thought coincided with our original plan, I… I can fully understand why Urie hates me, and why he wants me dead," Arima said with a straight face, "afterall, he's right: I'm responsible for help making him the monster that he is now."

"Nonsense, Onii-Chan! Don't blame yourself for Urie's self-destructive behavior, and the way he handles himself!" Ihei protested, even though she knew that it was Arima and Furuta who made Urie commit the vile acts that he told her about in the factory.

Arima, being the prospective person he was, knew that Ihei had said that out of denial of wanting to accept that her big-brother wasn't the hero that she thought of him to be; which made it even harder for him to tell her the truth about what he did to Urie.

"... I was the one who drilled the idea of Urie needing to die as a martyr, in order to protect and save his friends, and give them a future in which he wasn't allowed to live in," Arima lamented, while Ihei silently stared back at her older brother with a shocked look in her pink eyes. "We… I took advantage of a young boy who thought he had lost the only family he's ever known, and I used his grief to my advantage."

"... In a way, I did the same with Haise, back when he was nothing but a psychologically-broken and scared little boy who was locked up in Cochlea; crying endlessly about needing to save the friends that I told . Neither Haise nor Urie would have ever agreed to do what was asked of them in the first place, had it not been for me breaking their spirits in and shaping them into what I needed them to be."

Becoming visibly confused after hearing the truth behind Haise, Ihei let out a quiet gasp as she wrapped her head around the image of seeing someone as nice and sweet as him in the condition that Arima had just described. "You… You told me that he willingly joined CCG. You told me that he wanted to help us stop the Aogiri Tree from hurting others, not that… Not that you broke him into doing CCG's bidding."

"I… I lied to you about that," Arima admitted with a heavy weight being lifted off of his shoulders, that almost made up for the self-loathing he felt after realizing just how much he had lived his life lying to others.

"I… I see," Ihei spoke quietly while feeling her heart sinking into her chest. "... W-What else have you been lying to me about?"

"... When Urie found out that Haise had finally awoken from his coma, he wanted to return back to his friends, and live life how they used to… He told me that he was going to leave GOAT. I… I told him that if he left, that I would hunt them down, kill his friends, and burn down their coffee shop that they called 'home'," Arima spoke aloud to Ihei, who became more-and-more stunned with every ugly piece of truth that her brother was telling her.

Turning on a corner of an intersection, Arima silently drove up the ramp that he needed to take to get on the highway, before dwelling back to the morning that Urie had shown him Saiko's text message about Haise being awake from his coma.

It was the same morning that eventually led to Arima and Urie driving to the snowy shores of the beautiful 'Lake Yamanka'; a large body of crystal-blue water that reflected the glorious image of Mt. Fuji that resided over the horizon. "... I took him to the lake for a 'talk'," Arima said with remorse in his mostly monotone voice, "I told him that he and I were going to 'settle' his 'dilemma' like men." Arima spoke in a more hollow voice, as he seemingly moved and shifted gears in a way that could only be best described as him driving on autopilot, while his mind was elsewhere.

"I knew just how durable and regenerative Urie's body was, and I knew how much pain he was capable of enduring. I'm ashamed to say that I… I didn't show him mercy on that day," Arima said in shame, as Ihei silently started to tear up from the sheer level of contempt she now had for her older brother.

"When I was done with him, his hair had gone white, his eyes grew back to look like Haise's… So believe me when I tell you this, Hairu: I created a monster, and I killed whatever good was left in Urie's broken heart on that day."

"... How disgusting," Ihei spoke quietly through her silent sobs, as she turned her head back forward before pressing herself against the passenger door, and away from the man who proved to be more of a monster than she thought.

The rest of the drive to the Marriott Courtyard hotel consisted of Arima driving in silence, while Ihei rested her head against the glass windshield of the passenger door; not one of them having the heart to speak to one another, even after they had arrived at the hotel, and entered the room to be greeted with Yusa, Mayuzumi, and Shirazu.

The words that couldn't be said were kept between Arima and Ihei, as all five of the room's occupants planned for their next move.


Arima and Furuta, although they did horrible things to turn Haise and Urie into the polar opposites of each other that they are now, weren't completely dishonest about wanting to make a better future for Tokyo.

It's like Matsuri said, in order for someone to be capable of gaining access to the Underground King's body, they would have had to have access to a lot of manpower, as well as enough money and connections to purchase top-of-the-line mining equipment, and have it transported there without alerting CCG.

In other words, someone with more resources and connections than the Aogiri Tree would have to not only front the bill for removing the dragon from the 24th Ward, but they would have had to transport it out of there and have access to high-tech equipment to process and make use of the dragon.

A group that would benefit from exploiting Tokyo, and using the power of the dragon to further their own goals. Someone without enough power, money, and interest to invest into something that would be considered an act of global terrorism.

Anyways, let's get to the reviews, shall we?

Thank you for reviewing, Saitama! And Mutsuki never has once actually given a shit about anyone other than herself, except for maybe Haise, but even then that was because she wanted him for herself in the same way someone's possessive of a prized object. Haise giving her dick is something that would have admittedly distracted her, and would have prevented her from rescuing Urie and trying to kill Ihei.

I'm going to have Mutsuki begin to reveal her true sadistic nature, and eventually she will get her white hair after getting an 'upgrade' done to her, to help her fight alongside Urie. Why is she fighting with Urie, you might ask? Well, that would be spoiling it if I told her what her motive was, and who she was truly trying to help in order to get what she wants: Haise Sasaki all to herself.

Remember, Mutuski loves to lie; even to herself.

Urie realizing that he was becoming more-and-more like Kaneki started when Arima beat the living shit out of him, to the point where he was an inch-away from dying. I'll probably have a flashback later on, showing just how brutal Arima was when he 'taught' Urie that his life was no longer his to control.

And I'm sorry you spoiled the next arc, but I promise that it's just an outline. Arima may or may not live, and more people might be involved.

Thank you for reviewing, Carla! Haise giving Eto a tiara for Christmas would require him to know everything about her family's past, and the connection between her and the Underground King. Also, on a side note, Eto technically is a distant relative to Arima in this story, lmao.

Haise might try to give her something else special though; maybe something that reminds her of their time spent together as children.

Eto's kakuja is technically very similar to how the 'Perfect Dragon' will be, due to it essentially being very similar to an actual dragon (ie. the wings, ability to fly, being able to shoot out fire/plasma from her mouth, durability, insane durability and strength). In a way, her kakuja is a dragon, just a very less refined and perfected version of it.

Kaneki's dragon in the manga/anime is grotesque, slow, large, and incapable of actually thinking for itself, whereas the 'Perfect Dragon' in the future of this story will be the opposite.

Rather than being birthed from psychological trauma and inability to control one's own kakuja, the 'Perfect Dragon' will be made by someone who is capable of having perfect control of their emotions, thoughts, and resolution. Eto is almost capable of forming a dragon, but still has trouble controlling her emotions while in her kakuja form.

Unlike the large worm-like creature with mouths all over its body, just like Kaneki's kakuja in canon, the 'Perfect Dragon' will be described as 'mythically entracing' and 'regal'. In short, it'll look like an actual dragon, and not a cancerous blob.

And to end my thoughts, Carla: you're welcome, and thank you for reading and showing interest in the fanfic!

Saiko being a hentai-addict is something that pairs well with her being a gamer, tbh. It's easier for her to look at porn and get off, rather than trying to actively seek out the real thing. The closest she got to the real thing was sending Urie nudes. But don't worry, Saiko will be talking dirty when she and Haise have sex.

The story is mildly doing well on A03, but for some reason it isn't doing too well on Wattpad, for whatever reason. Maybe I'm not tagging it correctly, idk. If anyone wants to copy-and-paste the chapters from A03 and post it on Wattpad for themselves, feel free to! I don't even care if I don't get the credit, tbh lol.

Washuu being the cause of everything is fitting, considering that they're the ones who started CCG to combat the problem that they had the answers to the entire time.

The steel-mill getting renovated by the fire made me lol.

Mutsuki wants Haise's ass, but because Urie and even Yusa look so much like him/Kaneki, I'm sure she wouldn't mind having a piece of them while waiting for the real one to be hers.

Urie has nothing left in his life but wanting revenge against Arima, who he figures is responsible for having a hand in the dragon's whereabouts and the true origins of the oggai. In actuality, Urie's hated Arima since being denied the right of being allowed to return to his friends/family, and more than willing to justify murdering him.

Urie knows he's going to die soon either way, and just like Kaneki when he was the Black Reaper in the canon, he wants to 'go out in style'. A part of Urie knows he can't beat Arima, but because of how hate is the only thing he has left in his life, he can't help himself but to rebel against him.

Ihei got the same surgery as Ken Kaneki, just more updated and it allows her to produce a more advanced kagune/kakuja than him.

Call of Duty Zombie vibes, just because I wrote about CCG collaborating with GFG during the end of World War II?! The nazis that I'm referring to are more like the ones from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency, lmao.

Eto being a tsundere makes sense, Guest; considering that she never really got over Kaneki, and always had hyper fixated on him. Eto using some sort of equivalent to yellow pages to track Kaneki down would have made sense, and if she was in the right mind she could have investigated what happened to him.

However, she was an angsty teen with abandonment issues and low self-esteem. Instead of thinking rationally, she made the mistake of just accepting that Kaneki left her the moment he could. Getting angry, bitter, and resentful was easier for Eto, rather than trying to chase after Kaneki. She was young and dumb back then, and she would have done things differently if she knew better.

Thanks for reviewing, L, and I love Krakatoa Squidward lol. Thanks for making me laugh.

Thank you for reviewing, Root A! I wouldn't say that Urie doesn't want to die, it's just more so that he regrets his decisions, and hates what he's become. He was manipulated into becoming the monster that he is now, but also can't come to terms that part of that was his own fault for blindly following Arima and Furuta. And yes, his father would be disappointed if he ended up dying for nothing, and leaving nothing as his legacy, except the blood that's on his hands.

Haise will definitely not be happy with Mutsuki, and thankfully Arima saved Ihei.

Only someone who cuts corners like the modern Washuu-Clan would leave hazardous oil in containers, rather than disposing of them properly.

The Oggai haven't pledged their loyalty to Urie completely yet, as seen in this chapter. They were just told to be loyal to Urie and Yusa; some of which are more loyal than others, such as Mayuzumi.

Mutsuki raping Urie while he's knocked out wouldn't be out of character for her.

Thank you for reviewing, Reviewbruh! While I can't reveal who's been pulling the strings behind the curtain, I can say for certain that the way it was done was done with inside knowledge of Arima's ability of catching liars.

Look at this way: If a liar tells 'Person A' a lie and 'Person A' believes them and goes on to tell 'Person B' the false information they were told, that wouldn't be a direct lie, correct? The scheme behind the dragon and the oggai was done by manipulating and using proxies to their advantage. The mastermind villain of the story has already been mentioned several times over, and his plan was done deliberating with the same method someone who plays 4-D chess would use.

The joke's on you, Guest; I spent that money on Club Penguin doujinshi.

Honestly, the fact that Rize was going to be used as a breeding woman by her own family is pretty not cool, huh? Pretty messed up, tbh. Furuta rescued Rize just so he would be his wife… Who he would use his own breeding woman without having to share.

There being a curse where all the Yoshimura family ends up with less-than-stellar parents who want to be good parents without actually parenting is poetic tbh, considering that Eto herself would be the one who would be more likely to 'neglect' spending time with her children, as opposed to Haise who's going to be fathering more than ten children.

Eto would love her children, but because of her being an author and her wanting to protect her children from the world that's going to be born after the end of this story, she herself might not always physically be there for her children.

Sort of like the expression: I'll always love you from afar.

And thank you Guest, for telling me that my nerdy-ass expansion is better than Tokyo Ghoul's background canon; or lack thereof.

Anyways, that about does it for now.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day!