A cat as black as the night itself creeps along the narrow top of a brick wall, its wet fur glistening in nature's shower as rain falls in Musutafu. A powerful beam of light sweeps down from above, momentarily illuminating the feline's depthless eyes, the void's bottomless pit twinkling in the harsh glare. The light then sweeps down and past the animal as quick as it arrived, a thrum of muffled turbines accompanying the moving illumination. The searchlight came from one of several patrol dirigibles crisscrossing the wet surface of a glassy sky.
From up above, the city seems quiet. However, the officers within the blimp know better than to be deceived by a night in the Tokyo Ghoul's hunting ground. The ghoul is a silent but lethal predator. Not a pack hunter that howls at the moon like a wolf. It's more than capable of catching its prey alone, stalking such prey so stealthily that the tranquility is eerie. The officers know just how elusive this hunter truly is. To go this long without being caught proves as much.
As one of the officers pilots the rigid aircraft, another wears earphones connected to a console that controls an array of audio surveillance equipment. The state of the art electronics are channeled into a unit attached to the blimp's undercarriage. Just coming hot off the assembly line and primed off the experimental stage, the gear can detect such occurrences as a voice raised in distress or a scream, often before visual contact.
However, just in case, a pair of military grade binoculars that are connected by a heavy cable to a control unit rests on standby. The bulky frame has several electro mechanical additions that allow the lenses to utilize a modified infrared light, specifically meant to peer into the darkness. Only the best for the magnitude of this stakeout has been supplied to the officers.
They had originally started by simply sitting around on the streets, parked in a police cruiser. When they bore no results, they took to the skies. A searchlight procures no more subtlety than a patrol car, but it does make whatever is lurking in the dark have a harder time hiding there. It's like switching on a big nightlight to expose the monster under the bed.
The blimp continues soaring across the night sky, just beneath a rolling layer of clouds lit from beneath by the silvery lights of the city. Down below, a creature more nimble than the cat glides through the dark slick streets over which the dirigible had just passed.
The creature of the night's destination is just as easy to miss. Among apartment buildings and the occasional supermarket or diner, a small structure made from brick looks to be tucked away in something of a small alley. The only sign of it not being vacant are the glass door and the red glow of kanji hung above it, reading 'CLOSED'.
However, the interior proves to be vastly different from the exterior. Nyan lamps create a well lit array of masks, the presentation having an appearance that would have one believe it all belongs in a museum. The nightwalker brushes by the displays, not even sparing a single one of the art pieces a glance. It seeks the maker, not what they've made.
The designer of the disguises is in the back of the building, dwelling within the staff room. Supplies are kept in storage there, tool cabinets and hangers containing equipment that ranges from small screwdrivers to a large lathe. The back space is poorly lit compared to the front that's meant for customers. The sole lightsource comes from a single fluorescent bulb aimed above a workstation. Strings and wires cover the desk and make a messy workspace.
That's where the shopkeeper sits on a stool, completely oblivious to what lurks in the shadows. It takes the ghoul announcing its presence for the craftsman to notice. Uta holds an unlit cigarette in his hand, gaping at who's standing in front of him, but more so at what they are holding in their hand. Akatani Mikumo shows the mask maker a burlap sack that's been outfitted to be wearable.
"One of yours?", Akatani's accusatory tone is vastly different from the friendly nature Uta remembers. The boy's bone chilling stare sends chills running down Uta's spine. The emerald eye he's used to seeing is shrunken to a red speck and surrounded by a blackened soul.
Uta drops the unlit cigarette, showing his empty palm to let Akatani know that he means no harm. "H- How did you get that?", he nearly swallows his question before he can ask it. The gulp is reserved for afterwards, so that he doesn't ask anything else in his state of panic.
"I took it off the corpse of a guy who was following me, Eri, and Himiko around.", Akatani recaps the events of how he got the burlap sack before tossing it into Uta's lap, "Now tell me.. Is it one of yours?"
Uta looks down at the mask that's resting on his leg. He doesn't need to see it up close to know it is indeed one that he made, but he humbly uses the excuse to avoid making eye contact with the intimidating being that's standing over him. "Y- Yeah. It's one that I made for the Yakuza.", the stitched smile is one that he had threaded himself.
Uta is almost too afraid to lift his head. He feels as though doing so would mean looking death in the face. The way Akatani had presented himself was akin to that of a king coba using its hood to look bigger or a rattlesnake coiling up with its tail shaking. When he realizes he's still alive to be able to mull over a decision though, he's able to gather enough courage. Taking a deep breath, he forces himself to look up.
Akatani is staring at the stub where Uta is missing an appendage. The red orb is gone and the darkness is receded, his eye back to normal. He gestures to the absent arm, "Did they do that to you?"
Uta lets out the breath that he had been holding, relieved that Akatani is showing concern and not disdain for him. He then realizes the question that he was asked, anxiety returning full force again. "Yes, but it's okay.", Uta gets off his stool so that he can get close enough to Akatani to place an assuring hand on one of the boy's shoulders, "There's nothing to be done about it."
Akatani's gaze hardens more if that's even possible at this point. The hands at his sides clench into fists, tightening until they shake from the amount of pressure being applied. "They've crossed a line.", he growls as his anger bubbles to the surface. He's a volcano waiting to erupt.
Uta sees this and squeezes Akatani's shoulder in an attempt to keep the boy grounded, "Hey. Listen to me. There's nothing you can do about it. Just let it go."
Akatani pulls away, shaking Uta's hand off his shoulder. "You're wrong. I can kill them. Every last one of them.", his eye begins to morph into its predatory state as he loses control of his emotions, "I'll kill them all." Spittle flies out of his mouth as he begins to salivate, "I'll eat them alive as I rip them limb from limb!"
Uta frightfully steps back, taken further aback by the sudden change in the boy he had considered to be kindhearted. Remembering how timid Akatani was when they first met though, he's able to find the bravery to not let that fear stop him from being there for that boy. "Calm down.", he spots the coffee maker he had turned on minutes ago from the corner of his eye, "Have a cup of coffee and consider what you're doing first."
Akatani breathes heavily, not quite leveled out yet, but doesn't turn him down. Uta takes that as a sign that the boy is willing to listen. He grabs the pitcher from the brewer and pours the two of them a couple of cups. Akatani accepts his cup, taking a sip of the tepid coffee. Uta drinks some of his own, treating it like liquid courage; he only wishes there were alcohol in it.
"They didn't keep their word. They didn't leave me or Eri alone.", Akatani breaks the brief silence with a more reserved tone of anger, "And they hurt you." His eyes flick to the missing arm and then back to the coffee.
Uta sighs, wanting to drown himself in the cup of joe, but tries to find the right words to reply with instead. "Maybe, but we're still alive. These are powerful people, Mikumo. As confident as you are of your quirk, I don't think you should be overly reliant. It's just not worth the risk.", he hopes that'll be enough to make the teen understand.
It isn't. Akatani sets his cup of coffee down, opting the object in his hand for the leather mask that Uta had made for him what feels so long ago. "You don't understand, Uta-San.", he slides it over his head so that it covers his face, "I wasn't asking for permission. I'd already made up my mind when you confirmed my suspicions. I'm going to slaughter them.", then he closes the zipper where his mouth is.
The rain flows like a river rather than a showerhead. It pushes everything that it comes into contact with downstream. All that gets caught in the current is swept away. The cat from before paddles in the soaked streets before finding a garbage can to cling onto. The ghoul that's much more resilient wades by, emulating the storm as a force to be reckoned with.
A thick wall serves as a dam, the harsh weather crashing against it, but the sturdy structure not bending to its will. Beyond that is a wrought iron fence topped with spear points, promising impalement for any other force of nature. Even though the ghoul descends from above in a flash of lightning followed by a percussion of thunder, it is a whole other caliber come to wreak hell. Neither barrier keeps it from entering the property and breaching its security.
Trees and brush conceal the traditional Japanese residence that it intrudes upon. Forested land hides the hunter as well. The Yakuza compound is a wooden collection of business office buildings, each of them a dollhouse to be knocked over. What was once a coy pond now overflows, the fish diving below the surface level.
When Akatani enters one of the buildings, finding the interior just as decorated, he recalls those fish swimming down. The absence of the Yakuza means they too have hidden themselves during the storm. The tentacle appendages protruding from the small of his back large and heavy, he brings them down on the floorboards. With a crash as resoundingly strident as the thunder, the ground gives in.
He lands in a metallic basement, debris following him down. One of what will be many men dressed as plague doctors whirls around in a state of disconcerted alarm. The black cape hanging from the man's shoulders blows upwards thanks to the updraft of wind that came on collision, their matching bowler hat flying off their head. Whatever expression they're making behind the beaked mask on their face is not in reaction to the cave-in itself, but rather what caused it.
Silhouetted in the smoke, is a monster, the ghoul's predatory organ shaking like a collection of rattlesnake tails. A single red orb glows in the midst of darkness, pointed at the Yakuza man akin to a sniper dot choosing its quarry to take aim. The creature's face is covered in leather, its artificial teeth permanently bared. The lipless mouth exposes its gums, damp from the rain and looking like spittle.
The ghoul takes to crawling on its red limbs, zig zagging in a low poised position that resembles an arachnid ready to strike. Then it does. The liquid muscles that make up its Kagune pierce its intended target. Each tentacle threads the Yakuza's body, wrapping around the skeleton embedded within, and then pulls. Flesh tearing, blood curdling not just from the victim's scream, and another boom of thunder reverberates off the metallic walls.
More Yakuza come to check what all the commotion is about. A blonde with their chin length hair parted to the left, a muscular guy with his head shaved, and another spikey haired blonde in a yukata run into the chamber from one of many tunnels. The ghoul is only now realizing that it's entered an underground labyrinth. However, it won't be the same as a mouse in a metal maze, not when the 'cheese' is coming to it instead of having to be seeked.
The blonde who's hair isn't pointed notices the malled and mangled corpse of their fallen comrade first. "Oh my God..", their face goes pale even before their impalement. From across the room, one of the Kagune limbs arched over its owner and acted as a scorpion's stinger.
Before the bald Yakuza member can share the same fate, the still living blonde jumps in front of him, "Watch out!" A dome shaped forcefield materializes seemingly out of thin air to protect the two of them. It just barely does. The obstruction is the blonde's quirk, he grunts and shows physical strain when the yellow barrier cracks upon being struck. A second strike is all it takes to finish the job. Once the barrier is broken, the man in the yukata is torn into by the ghoul's liquid claws, joining his allies in a hell of anguish.
"Bastard!", the remaining prey crystalizes his body so that he doesn't die immediately from his own stabbing. All he did was prolong his suffering. Akatani's liquid muscle imbeds itself into the armored skin, the power of the strike pushing the man back and nearly knocking him over. "You're the one who killed Soramitsu too, aren't you?!", the bald Yakuza grits blood stained teeth as he tries to pry the ghoul's appendage from his chest.
Able to harden and soften his predatory organ at his own will, Akatani applies a little more force to overpower his struggling catch. Blood flows from the man's mouth before exiting through the gaping hole in his abdomen. Then he's discarded with a flick of the tail, body crumpling over somewhere out of sight.
The ghoul spins in a circle, searching for anyone else to eliminate. When it finds nobody, it chooses the corridor it's facing to look for more. The creature bounces wall to wall, springing from corner to corner, clearing the stretch of hallway quickly. When it finally finds another opening of space, it's pleased to discover another living being occupying that area.
This one is much larger than the others were. Thicker muscles, broader shoulders, and tall enough to reach the ceiling. The ghoul doesn't deem this stature threatening though, it figures this just means its next victim is meatier. The hulking Yakuza wears a signature plague mask, enraging the ghoul. It wants to sink its teeth into the behemoth's exposed flesh, the black tank top doing nothing to keep them protected.
But a fist the size of a bulldozer overkilled by added knuckledusters comes barreling towards Akatani before he can make the first move. He's forced to leap over the punch in order to avoid it, the metal gloves augmenting the missed strike preventing him from returning the favor just yet. When he lands behind the oversized man, he regains his footing immediately, readying himself to dodge or attack.
"An intruder. What a drag.", the giant groans in complaint while spinning around to face the trespasser that just jumped over him. Akatani crouches low when he sees the mountainous man reaching for him a second time. "Come here, you little twerp.", but the brute doesn't realize he's just backed the ghoul into a corner like one should never do with a dangerous animal.
Akatani's appendages lash out, slashing as a pair of claws. They slice through the Yakuza's thick fingers, the digits dropping to the ground with heavy thuds. Only then does the giant pull back their hand, but by then it's too late. After a cross between a scream and a curse, the Yakuza grabs his hand that's sopping with blood, reeling in pain.
Akatani pulls the tab on the zipper of his mask, going for the jugular next. However, the brutish being manages to put the mass of his arm between his throat and the killing blow before the ghoul can sink its teeth in. Instead of biting the man's neck, Akatani gets a mouthful of the giant's elbow. The behemoth growls more than the animalistic boy who doesn't let go regardless of missing his intended mark.
The brutish barbarian uses this as an opportunity. His other arm free, fingers still attached, the Yakuza grabs the ghoul who unknowingly made themself an easy to catch target. By latching on with his teeth, Akatani forfeited his mobility. Now the giant can use his quirk on the boy, having met the qualifications for activating it; the touch based power begins siphoning Akatani's stamina. Akatani can feel his vitality being stolen, his strength to struggle against the Yakuza's grip lessening. Meanwhile, the muscular man increases in size, veins bulging as they pump pure power into his system.
Unharmed, but disoriented, Akatani twists for leverage some more. Despite maneuvering to free himself, he still can't muster enough energy to do so. That must not be enough to satisfy the Yakuza. The giant wants to pay the boy back with equal pain. So the Yakuza puffs and draws his anaconda arms tight around Akatani's waist until he's able to clasp his own wrist. "You shoulda known better to pick a fight with me, kid.", the beaked brute breathes into the ghoul's face.
The ghoul hisses as it pushes down against the elephantine forearms, but the grip remains locked. Seeing there's still some fight left in his opponent, the Yakuza squeezes tighter. Akatani wants to argue that the instigator was the Shie Hassaikai, but having the air forced from his lungs, the only comeback he manages is another shrill seethe through his bared teeth.
The Yakuza isn't the only one who can regain their stamina by taking from others though. The ghoul bites into one of the biceps attached to the arms that are currently crushing it in a bear hug. Except this time, instead of keeping his teeth embedded or releasing, he viciously whips his head back with immense force. The motion rips a chunk of flesh from the giant's equally ginormous arm. The ghoul then swallows it, barely bothering to chew.
The humongous hulk roars in a cross between agony and rage, but doesn't loosen his hold. They'll come to regret that, when the ghoul goes for seconds. And thirds. A fourth bite. A fifth. When Akatani finishes ripping a sixth piece of meat from the Yakuza's chunky arms, that's finally when the goliath has enough. He lets go of the boy cannibalizing him, never ceasing his anguish screams. Free from the giant's grasp at last, Akatani performs a backflip to put space between the two of them.
Akatani lands, one hand to the ground, ready to spring back into action already. The Yakuza staggers a step, but otherwise flexes with the adrenaline pumping through him. Neither spare another second. They're both running on a cocktail of bloodlust and vim vigor. They come at eachother swinging. Akatani blocks the giant's thick arm before slamming a right hook into their plague mask. The goliath keeps his skull pointed straight ahead, not even turning to absorb the impact.
Wrapping his beefy arms around Akatani, the giant tries to overpower and tackle the much smaller being. The ghoul holds its ground, pressing its hands against the wide shoulders of its larger quarry and pushing. Tendrils slam into the ground and stab themselves into the Yakuza, providing that extra shove. Each male strains, trying to force the other back and prove themself the alpha. Neither would bend, but the ghoul's conviction proves greater, aiding in its efforts. The soles of the Yakuza's oversized shoes would soon be scraping along the ground.
The Yakuza yells as he starts to lose the grudge match, realizing he'll have to forfeit it or lose. Maintaining his grip, the giant hurls them both sideways, bringing them crashing to the ground. They roll, and the massive man uses his greater weight to force Akatani beneath him. Holding his enemy in place with one elephantine arm, he pounds away with the other.
The first punch catches Akatani's nose and bounces the back of his skull against the ground. It only made the ghoul angrier, outmatching the Yakuza in that regard at the very least. After that, each time a fist came down, Akatani twisted his head out of the way and jabbed. Alternating his left and his right, he connected four times for every one of the behemoth's glancing attacks.
When the gargantuan goliath picked up speed, the ghoul matched him. Finally, that beak started to split, the skull beyond turning this way and that. Realizing he was losing, the Yakuza tried attacking with both hands. Seizing the opening, Akatani folded his knees to his chest and shoved his feet into the man's abdomen. Sure enough, that hefty torso rose.
Free of the weight, Akatani manages a backwards somersault with the help of his extra limbs. Before the Yakuza enforcer can raise his mighty arms to block, Akatani lands a solid slash across his chest. The tank top rips in half, exposing the man's bare chest.
They go at one another for one final round, this one a wreck, both of them welling with bruises. Two feral animals tear into eachother, punching and kicking as they brawl, no longer caring what they hit as long as they hit something. The ghoul coils itself around the massive man, constricting its tails and giving the Yakuza a taste of his own suffocating medicine. Losing his advantage, the bigger being succumbs to the beating and drops to one knee.
A final whip from one of the ghoul's tails strikes the giant's head harder than a gator's would have. His huge form rocks one way and then the other. He reaches desperately with a fingerless hand for one of the hallways, crawling towards it only an inch before landing face down.
The ghoul senses other presences coming from that direction, raising its head. Indeed, two newcomers step into the ring. "Did you see that, Chronostasis?! This guy looks like the real deal! He brought down Katsukame!", another beaked bastard gleefully slams his brass knuckles together.
The one he was talking to, Chronostasis, wears a white raincoat with the hood drawn up. It shielded him from the blood splatters, tiny red specks evident on the fabric. "Don't get carried away, Rappa. We-", he only gets halfway through warning his comrade before a tentacle from the ghoul thrashes him. Slammed with immense force into the wall, ceiling, and then ground, he's broken like a pinata with intestines pouring out instead of candy.
Rappa bursts into laughter, not seeming to care for the grotesque murder of his partner. He's too fired up by the prospect of fighting the opponent in front of him to care. "Oh yeah! Finally, someone to fight who I can stake my life on the line with!", he celebrates prematurely before rushing at the ghoul with all of his eagerness, "Give me the thrill that I seek! Satisfy me!"
Akatani doesn't budge from his position to kill this one either. He lets the resilient appendages that make up his predatory organ do all the work. Flexible with a flow smooth as water, they wrap around Rappa's arms before he can wind them up for a punch. Firm that they can't be pulled and sturdy that they can't be pushed against, the Yakuza is snared. The tendrils then pull in opposing directions. Rappa would have screamed as he was torn in half, if not for the kagune chopping his head off first.
The ghoul stays crouched on all fours for a moment, catching its breath after its grudge match with the mammoth of a man it brought down. It won't waste time waiting though. It doesn't want to take a break. It wants TO break. The tendrils of its kagune lay themselves flat on the ground, drilling past the covering and digging into the dirt. The pedipalps serve as sensory organs now, feeling for vibrations beneath the floor's surface. Acute sensitivity allows them to perceive the footfalls of someone no matter the distance. It seeks a knowledge through feeling to find where the remaining Yakuza are and learns what direction to go in.
Removing its tentacles from the floor first, the ghoul primes itself to hunt. Then bolts down the corridor it knows has more prey. The tendrils that sensitively felt for it now become sturdy footholds for it to bound across the halls. The predator salivates at the corners of its mouth as it draws closer to the yummy Yakuza.
Another plague mask, this one white, identifies the being as short as Eri. It's another one of those beaked Yakuza bastards. Their black bodysuit does nothing to protect them from the ghoul's bite. It comes out of nowhere, the prey foreseeing its sudden demise. A jaw strength as strong as an alligator's element of surprise shreds the man in half. It's a sudden strike with an immense bite force, not unlike the land lizard surprising a gazelle. Or in this case, a buzzard.
The Yakuza lets out an ear piercing cry as they're torn in half. The scream alerts a long haired man despite their drunken state. The alcoholic staggers, letting the beer bottles in their hands fall from their grasp. Not because of how plastered they are, but because of the gruesome instantaneous murder they just witnessed. Akatani can tell there's a horrified expression behind the plain mask they have on, the fitted drains serving as eyeholes letting him see how wide they are. For a fleeting moment, Akatani feels a sensation of vertigo, like he's the one who's buzzed. It doesn't stop him from taking out the long haired man too though. Once he does, the dizziness fades.
After that fast feeding frenzy, it almost doesn't stop there. Especially with the personal vendetta it has against the remaining beaked Yakuza. The ghoul has enough self restraint to stop itself though. It wants this final one to suffer a little more than the others first.
The leader of the Shie Hassaikai stares at the mess Akatani has made with bewildered disgust. His green bomber jacket is speckled with blood from his subordinates, making him discard it in a germaphobic panic. The surgical facemask Akatani had seen him in last has been replaced by a magenta bird beak embroidered with gold. Uta was right when he said the distinguishing feature was a pretentious one.
"Boy..", the Yakuza leader seethes in rage, "Just what do you think you're doing?"
Akatani grinds his fingernails against the ground, wishing they were sharpened claws that he could use to rip the man's throat out. He figures he'll just have to settle for his kagune. "What anybody does when they're hungry. I'm eating.", the ghoul snarls like a rabid animal.
The Yakuza leader squints like he's staring at the most unsightly thing he's ever laid eyes on. "Bullets!", then he calls for his disposable shoulders to deal with it. Imagine his surprise when they don't come. The pawns have already been eliminated. If this were a game of chess, Akatani would have beaten him in it worse than he did when they played Go.
"I kept you for last, main course.", Akatani taunts and titters, "Don't worry. I saved my appetite."
The repulsed man eyes the gleeful boy warily, reaching for one of the gloves covering his hands. The Yakuza leader's hands are his weapons. Like a gun, if he can just pull the trigger, he might stand a chance against the ghoul. "I should have disposed of you back then..", he regrets allowing the monster to hunt him down in his own home. Even with all of his devoted followers, he's left to face the rising star of villainy. "The Yakuza was supposed to rise up from the underground, not you!", he has no choice but to challenge that power with his own.
The ghoul returns the threat with its own, lifting the appendages that are now its forelimbs, the unzipped mask displaying its fangs. The tails are a blur. The impact with what they lash out at, however, has more substance. Their intended target was able to use his quirk before they made it to him. The floor shifts like tectonic plates during an earthquake, a makeshift wall jutting out from the ground. That's what gets obliterated by the force of the ghoul's predatory organ instead of the Yakuza boss.
Akatani lands stationary on a hexagonal piece of the ground, then ricochets off of it, heading for the Yakuza leader himself. He gets close, but that's all. A makeshift spire from shards of the ground reaches up to intersect the ghoul's path, deflecting the intended attack. One of the boy's limbs whips across the spike, severing it before it can sever him.
The beaked crimelord slaps his other hand down, his fingers first creating a ripple, before the floor lifts upwards as a giant wave comes crashing towards Akatani. The ghoul surfs it, riding the wall as it pushes him back. When the shield begins protruding spikes like the one he'd broken earlier, Akatani starts ascending it.
The appendages are moving, mirroring and imitating Akatani's every gesture. They respond not only to mental commands, but by pure instinct. The limbs are an extension of the ghoul's mind. They effortlessly defend against the spires while simultaneously destroying them. The arms shatter the barrier between them and their prey, pursuing the Yakuza leader relentlessly.
Akatani's opponent continues to modify the ground, reshaping the area in a way that separates them from one another. When manipulating the surroundings to keep the ghoul at bay doesn't work, the young head of the Shie Hassaikai uses it to maneuver himself in order to flee. Akatani anchors himself to the ceiling, avoiding the controllable surface below and changing tactics. Two stone spears shoot for where the ghoul was, but he's no longer there. He's swinging from the limbs that attach themselves to the ceiling, moving at a much faster pace than before.
The kagune rips loose from the roof, sending the ghoul into a freefall. One of the flexible limbs solidifies, swinging like a sword. The Yakuza leader shrieks in both pain and indignation as his left hand is torn off from his arm. The sight of his own blood causes the germaphobe to break out into hives, but he's already reeling from the loss of a limb. The pullback causes him to misstep and fall over the ledge of his own makeshift tower.
Both fighters flailing through the air, they plummet towards a demise of jagged points jutting out from the ground. The ghoul reacts with its limbs once more. The wall to its right shatters, pounded apart by the impact of those tentacles. Debris rains down with them now, making for floating stepping stones to not only slow the fall but to get nearer to the Yakuza boss.
Akatani's tentacles descend on their victim, stabbing through his stomach and lower left thigh. He cries out in agony again, but this time reacts with a vengeance. The hand that's still attached grabs onto one of the ghoul's liquid muscles. Once caught in his grasp, the overhaul ability of the beaked villain is able to disassemble the appendage. Akatani's blood bursts forth and the remains of the tail retracts in a wagging frenzy.
The prey shoves his uncaptured leg into the predator's gut, pushing off in order to escape. Akatani screams with his enemy as they break apart. The Yakuza places his remaining hand over his chest, clenching through the fabric of his shirt. Then using his quirk on himself, he reassembles his molecules to heal. The process is extremely painful for him, but his missing hand returns and the two holes in his body are refilled by the time he's about to smack against the floor beneath him.
Akatani stabs the tower nearest to him, sliding to a stop before he can collide with the pointed peril at the bottom. He looks up to see his enemy has also made contact with the tower, his quirk aiding him in charging up the side of it. The ghoul roars as rage overtakes it, its viscous tentacles hauling it up and after the Yakuza. A high speed pursuit ensues as they race to climb up the pillar.
Seeing the animalistic boy gaining on him, the Yakuza extends the tower's length. It grows higher and higher, becoming tall enough to pass through the metal sheeting of the underground base and straight through the wooden structure above it. In an effort to escape hell, the villain reaches desperately for the heavens. The demon chasing after him won't allow that to happen though.
Akatani stops climbing the structure, coming up with a different plan to catch the beaked bastard who's taking flight just like an actual bird. He decides it's easier to chop the pillar down as though it were a tree to tear down instead of trying to reach those same heights. The ghoul's tentacles smash this way and that, sending pieces of the tower flying. It crumbles before giving way to the onslaught, bending as it's put off balance.
Akatani perches himself on the top of what's left over once it topples. He watches as the rest timbers downwards. Riding it down is the Yakuza leader, yelling as he tries to cling to it. The collision of the stone on top of the wood sends splinters and pebbles flying skywards, nearly pelting against Akatani.
He slides down the side of the slippery slope, raptorial tendrils slithering behind him. Just as he's about to touch the ground, those same limbs push off the pillar to gain air. Akatani sails overhead before catching a piece of the foundation with his hand. With one fluid motion, he spins skyward before landing on his feet.
Sprawled out at those feet, lies the fallen leader of the Shie Hassaikai. The magenta beak that would be covering his face is cast to the side, straps torn and corners chipped. A horrifying human expression is covered in ash, soot, hives, and blood; anger contorted with terror leaks out with the sweat. Akatani sees why when he tries looking for the rest of the Yakuza boss. The lower half of the man's body is separated from his upper half, intestines trailing between those parts like flimsy strings.
The Yakuza leader tries lifting one of his arms, but it's pinned by a bunch of rubble. When he realizes his struggle is to no avail, he quits trying to pull it free. He resorts to using his other arm, hoping to restore himself. Except, Akatani won't let that magic trick work twice. He stomps on the Yakuza's wrist, pinning the arm down like its twin. A cry comes through the man's bloodied lips when he's given more agony.
Those cries continue as that agonizing torture increases. More blood is spilled, from more than just the Yakuza's mouth. Like a flightless bird, he is devoured by the predator that waited for it on the ground. Akatani recalls the dove analogy that he told Toga. He'd compared themselves to the buzzards that rip at the flesh of the fallen. Now, he realizes the true vultures were the Yakuza. They were feeding off the remains of what they could to stay alive. In order for creatures like ghouls to survive, they must do more than live off of scraps. They must hunt.
The ghoul feasts on what he's hunted. Its teeth gnash together as it swallows the flesh of the flightless Yakuza. Its tendrils cut and dig into that meat as though they're a set of utensils, slicing chewable pieces. The body of the man being eaten alive writhes but is unable to escape being devoured. All the end of a criminal generation can do is yell at the glassy sky above it, the looking glass fogging up as its vision of the future fades.
Clouds as thick as ice cover the sky like a cooling blanket. The murky overcast cracks when it's struck by a streak of lightning. Jagged lines split the sky, slicing through the vapor like the ghoul's predatory organ that digs into the flesh of its quarry. A grey fog descends from above, no longer content with just drifting overhead.
Not a single car splashes through the flooded streets. The rising water would be more suitable of a terrain for boats. Periodically, streetlights gleam overhead, shadows dark and crisp in the flickering glow. The sound of emptiness hums with the dying bulbs, only to be disrupted by a loud gregarious boom of thunder.
Himiko recognizes the view of it all. It's a night like the one she met Akatani during. It's right outside her window, rain tapping against the glass like someone knocking at the door to be let in. Her fingers trace the lines of water that trail down the window. To her, it looks like the sky is crying. The amount of tears is enough to flood the entire world.
She feels something nuzzle against her bosom, snapping her out of it. When she looks down to see the culprit, she remembers where she is. Curled up in her lap is Akatani's illegitimately adopted sister. Akatani had asked her to watch the little girl while he went out. He'd brought her to his home to do so. She turns her head from the window to see the collection of books that are warmly lit. Having Eri pick out a bedtime story took so long that Himiko had expected Akatani to return by now. It's a bittersweet feeling. To be in his home with the sweet little girl.. but without him.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. She perks up when she hears the door unlocking. Who else but Akatani enters. The sound of his return rejuvenates all the energy that was drained for Eri to fall asleep. "Akata-nii! Akata-nii!", she cheers with delight as she bolts from Himiko's lap to her big brother. Himiko's laugh at the nickname the boy's little sister gave him hides the part of her that laughs in overwhelming relief.
"Did you miss me?", Akatani wraps Eri in a hug so warm that you'd never suspect he'd come from the cloudburst outside. Without his mask, he's just a bright eyed boy with an equally radiant smile.
"We both did, silly!", Himiko joins in to make it a group hug, "What kinda question is that?"
Akatani laughs, knowing that question is as rhetorical as his own was. Once the hug is over, he pulls away to take something out of his pants pocket. "Thanks for watching Eri. I've got something to pay you back for the trouble.", he keeps digging to find whatever it is he wants to give her in return for the favor.
But Himiko holds her hands up in objection to stop him, "She was no trouble at all! It was my pleasure.", she insists when she sees he hasn't stopped digging, "Seriously! I'll babysit any time! For free!"
"Even so.", Akatani pulls something out of his pocket to give her, "I wanted to thank you somehow." Himiko thinks it's money, until the fingers uncurl from his fist to reveal a few vials of blood instead. The blonde is shocked speechless, her mouth hanging open in a breathless gasp. "I was only able to collect a little for you, but-", Akatani nervously scratches the back of his head when he sees her reaction, unable to read her emotions from it.
It's the boy's turn to be dumbstruck when Himiko catches him off guard with a kiss on the cheek. She takes the vials from him during that moment of short lived intimacy before briskly heading for the door. Flushed red from overheating in embarrassment, Akatani's brain barely reboots in time for him to remember the weather Himiko is going into. "Wait, the rain-", but the blonde has already hurriedly made her escape.
Standing in the middle of the doorframe, between his home and the hallway, he's amazed that she's completely erased her presence. Not even the ghoulish aspect of his quirk is able to detect her by scent. He briefly wonders if he should add the theory that she's related to the Ingenium family to her pages of his analysis notebooks. After brushing it off, he discards the thought and returns his attention to Eri.
The little horned child has her head tilted to the side, white hair hanging, her attentiveness having watched the entire exchange evident. She blinks up at Akatani full of innocence, "Are you and big sis gonna turn into my mommy and daddy now?", but asks the furthest from innocent of questions.
Short circuiting for the second time that night in such a short span of time, Akatani has no other way to respond than a curt, "Time for bed!"
But unfortunately for Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, now was anything other than time for him to go to sleep. Despite the intense bags he's developed under his eyes, rivaling that of a raccoon's and Eraserhead's simultaneously, he continues to read the tiny print of paper reports. Regardless of Makoto's constant badgering for him to get an eye exam, he refuses to wear glasses. He contemplatively rubs the stubble that's been growing itself out into a goatee, the lack of having time to shave and what's occupying the space on his chin also helping him to look more and more like Aizawa every day. The thought of growing out the hair on top of his head too in order to complete the look makes him shudder.
The detective's office is as unorderly and unadorned as the man himself. A gooseneck lamp flickers with a dying bulb as it struggles to illuminate the stack of manila file folders varying in thickness. The swivel chair he's sitting in needs a new ball bearing as much as its occupant needs a break. Naomasa's title stenciled on the frosted glass window of his office door would never allow a vacation though.
Instead, the detective works overtime trying to juggle both cases of the Yakuza and the Tokyo Ghoul. Little did he know he was about to receive a phone call from Eraserhead that would somehow end one of those investigations while making the other much more complicated. He answers on the third ring after considering just waiting for it to go to voicemail, "I don't have enough coffee in me for another one of your theories right now."
Neither the underground hero or the detective are accustomed to formalities such as saying hello when answering the phone, so Aizawa is quick to cut to the chase as well. "I wish all I had for you was a theory.", the usual exhaustion in Eraserhead's tone leaks through the line but it's accompanied by a sense of dread that unnerves Naomasa, "Are you seated?"
Already frustrated, Naomasa slides his hand up from his stubble covered chin and runs it through the hair on the top of his head instead. Forget growing it out. At this rate, his stress will give him a receding hairline. "What does it matter? Just tell me.", he grumbles just loud enough for Aizawa to hear him over the phone.
But still, Aizawa doesn't relent. "You may want to sit down for this.", the sound of rustling accompanies the underground hero's voice.
"Yes! I'm sitting! Just tell me!", Naomasa finally snaps, having had enough. He notices from the corner of his eye that Sansa Tamakawa, his subordinate, is standing outside his doorway with a paper in hand. He holds up a single finger to signal for the cat-like officer to wait.
After a brief pause, perhaps a moment of hesitation on Aizawa's part, the underground hero finally shares with the detective his reason for calling. "The entire Yakuza has been massacred with an M.O that looks like the Tokyo Ghoul.", but no way of ripping that metaphorical bandaid off slow or fast would have ever been the right way to do so.
"WHAT?!", Naomasa abruptly shoots up straight in his swivel chair. The broken swivel chair. The one that needs a new ball bearing. The sudden movement is too much on it, putting it off balance and causing it to topple over. With its occupant. Naomasa's butt collides with the floor, his tailbone taking the brunt of the fall.
"Sir!", Tamakawa attempts to rush to his superior's aid having witnessed the blunder. However, he only makes it two strides into the office before Naomasa is back on his feet with an outstretched arm, palm flat, to let him know he's okay.
"Give me an address and I'll be right there!", the detective runs around his desk and past Tamakawa faster than the officer with supposed cat-like reflexes was able to move. Once he's finished sliding his arms through the sleeves of his overcoat, he grabs its matching hat from the hanger.
"Um, sir-", Tamakawa tries to insert himself between the detective and his frantic rush to the door.
"Not now, Tamakawa! Save it for when I get back!", Naomasa brushes the officer off while literally brushing against their shoulder. If only he'd known Tamakawa was holding a fax from one of the patrol blimps about spotting an usual character by the mask shop, maybe the detective wouldn't have been so dismissive.