Does Man Make The Monster?

Chapter 14

Devils, Ghouls, and Cats

(A/N I FIXED THE CHAPTER A LITTLE MORE! BETTER FIGHT THAN ORIGINAL! I deleted this chapter and finally added some stuff to make IT a bit more enjoyable. Most is still intact. I just put more effort inTO the fight scenes. Please enjoy.)

SOUNDS/sounds

Thoughts

(Last Time)

"A s-sedative?" he choked out, trying to keep his balance.

"I learned from a past mistake not to take chances with you devils," she pointing at her eyepatch. "Once bitten, twice shy as they say."

This was certainly going to complicate things. She moved closer to him as he took some unsteady steps back. The drug was starting to metabolize more into his system. He didn't know what she had used or how much was on her knives. It may only take one or two more before it killed him. There might even be a chance that Tsume was laced with the same sedative. He had to figure out something and fast. There was no way he could tangle with a Class One investigator with the way he was right now. The only true advantage he had over her was that he knew how she operated in a fight. That alone might be the only thing that could keep him alive.

(Present)

Shiro clicked his tongue up under his mask and tried to keep his balance. His vision was fading in and out as the drug worked deeper into his system. Akane wasn't giving him any kind of a chance. He was going to have to fight for his life and from his former partner no less. He balled up his clawed hands and got readied to fight her. He was actually going to fight her and he did not want to do this.

"Well, are you just going to just stand there?" she mocked and pulled out another single shot pistol. "You'll make it a lot easier on the both of us if you do."

"I'm not… Going to do that," Shiro choked out. "I-I would prefer n-not to fight a woman."

"Your chivalry is wasted, monster," she pulled the trigger.

The small caliber bullet zoomed through the air, right at him. However, the bullet never made contact. She heard it ricochet off something just mere inches from its target. He deflected it but how? He seemed to be holding something but she really couldn't see what. There was like a very faint disturbance right in front him. It was messing with her eyes a little trying to figure it out.

"How did you…?" she asked as he swung his arm down and the strange disturbance cut into the cold concrete. "What the hell… Is that…?"

"My weapon… I don't have a kagune," he said, taking his scantly visible weapon and held it out in front and pointed it at her.

"You don't have a… So you're saying that you're not a…"

"I am not… Ugh…Seems—seems to be a big m-misconception around h-here. Mmm…"

"Awe… You're not sounding so good. That sedative is really starting to take effect on you."

"I'm not done yet, you cyclopes…"

That stung to say that to her but that was the button he wanted to push. She let out an angered cry and quickly charged at him, Tsume was poised to cut his head off. She was just mere feet from him as she brought the long quinque around. He countered with the odd "weapon" that he held in his hands. There was something legitimately there as she was fighting to push it back. The opposing weapon was nearly invisible, even being on top of it like she was. Just what did this devil have in his hands? She managed to look into his eyes a little. His eyes were very much like Incognito's and it was driving her anger even more.

"…Devil… You're just a devil," she screamed, finally pushing his weapon back. "You're worse than a ghoul. You're a damn devil."

She noticed a look of surprise and hurt from his electric gold on coal eyes. A moment later those eyes quickly darkened and he took a swing at her. She had just enough time to block it but the force of the hit knocked her back along the ground. She went head over heels when she hit. Dizzy, and little disoriented she quickly got back on her feet as he approached her again. She She shook her head and managed to catch a slightly better look at the weapon in his hands. It looked like a large sword not much different from the large blade in hers. This bastard has to be mocking with a near copy of Tsume in his hands.

"W-we don't have to do this," he spoke again as she responded by taking a swing at his legs.

He jumped back before the serrated edge cut into him. She got back up and tossed a set of throwing knives at him. He blocked two and dodged the 3rd. She swung again with Tsume and he blocked it but this time he was knocked down to one knee. He forced himself to stand again as she pulled out a stun gun and shoved it at his middle. The device crackled loudly as it brushed into his skin.

Shiro let out a small scream and stumbled back to the ground, his "blade" vanishing into the air. She held Tsume up over her head, aiming to split his head open like a watermelon. He rolled out of the way just in time as the sharp blade cut into the hard ground. He quickly spun around to knock her legs out from underneath her. She jumped up just in time and tried again to split his head wide open.

He crawled back way from her on all fours like some strange creature. That act made her body shiver as she looked at the crouching "devil" before her. She had to act quickly and get rid of this thing. She charged again with Tsume, the tip scrapping the concrete.

"I'll cut you down this time you freak of nature!" there was real conviction her voice.

She went for a hard thrust, only to find a large red glowing light coming from his fist. He swung his arm back, chucking the energy from his hand. She fell back hard to the pavement as the energy blast just missed her. She could actually feel the heat come off that. That alone left her dazed and her heart thundering in her chest. A small explosion followed a second later. She forced herself back up and dared to look behind her. The ground was scorched and a small fractured crater was embedded into the rough manmade ground.

She whipped her head back around to him. Honestly, she was sitting no more than two feet (0.61m) away from him. It just dawned on her how close she was to the enemy. That blast could have killed her if her reaction time wasn't as honed as it was. Her right hand tightened on Tsume's leather wrapped hilt. She couldn't wield him with just one hand she'd have to swing her other arm around and that could be costly. Not only but she was little too close. She wouldn't be able to get proper leverage.

"Mm… I wouldn't try… That if I-I were you…" he said, pointing at the large blade.

"I'm not," she snapped, rolling over onto the back of her shoulders and curled legs toward her chest.

Shiro didn't have time to move as two heavy boots where shoved square into his face. The back of head was slammed into the hard ground. He let out scream as he rolled over to his side grabbing the back of head. She rolled over and got back her feet. She picked Tsume back up and held it up over her head. While he was disabled it would be best to cut him in half.

Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her knees as the joints were forced back. The devil just kicked her right in the knees. She crumpled to the ground with a scream. The large blade just missed her right leg and Shiro's face. He pushed the blade away and allowed himself to sit back up. He still kept a talon tipped handed on the back of his head.

Akane wasn't going to waste another second. She swung her left arm forward as a small quinque blade came out from under her coat sleeve. The small quinque brushed the side of Shiro's mask, almost clipping his ear up under his hood. She pulled her arm back going to take another swing. Instead he caught her wrist and twisted her arm around. She let a piercing scream, trying to get out of his grip.

"I'll br-break your arm, woman," he warned as she tried to pull his fingers from her small wrist. He gave a hard squeeze and a hard jerk. "I'm not… I'm not m-making an idle threat!"

"G-go screw yourself," she bellowed, swinging back with her right arm this time.

An identical blade shot out but this one was about twice as long as the first. The slider quinque hit the front of his hard mask, before bouncing off. A fairly large crack was made in his mask placed right between his eyes where his nose met his forehead. The crack spread out in all directions, looking like a spider's web. She swung back again aiming for the same spot. He quickly caught that wrist as well and rolled over on to his back. He pushed his feet into her armored middle and held her up over him, using his legs.

"Wha… What are you doing?!" she screamed at him, kicking franticly, trying to get off.

"I-I have no idea…" he muttered, struggling to keep her from falling. "I didn't th-think this all the w-way through…"

She just glared at him like he was the biggest idiot she had ever laid eyes on. He put her into this awkward maneuver, only to have no idea what to do right after. He seemed to be getting a little stamina back and she wasn't going to allow that. This might be the only way to get out of this. She made a hocking sound and brought something up from the back of her throat.

"Don't you dare!" Shiro yelped as she forced the wad of saliva and phlegm past her lips.

The warm spit wad landed directly into his right eye. Out of reflex he used his legs to poll-vault her over him. She landed hard onto her back with a loud, spine busting thud. She screamed out, reeling from the agonizing pain shooting up and down her back. Shiro sat up and trying to remove the unwanted bodily fluid from his eye.

"Yeah, that's wh-what you get…" he snapped at her, shaking some spit off the tips of his talons. "Ah, it's under my m-mask! Gross…"

She was thankful to have on that body armor. That landing could have been very costly. Akane forced herself back onto her knees. She supported her upper body with her quivering arms. She needed to get back up. She was a sitting duck being on the ground. She could see Tsume's hilt just on the other side of the enemy. She needed to get to it before he did.

This is going to hurt like hell, she thought, getting into a crouching position. I just need to move around him and grab that quinque.

She forced herself up and ran right for the large blade. She managed to dart around that devil , quicker than she thought. She stretched out her gloved hand and was only inches away from her quinque, when a foot was pulled out from underneath her. She slammed hard into the ground and watched as the devil grab hold of Tsume.

"Give that back," she hissed, forcing herself up onto her feet and chased after him a little ways.

She lunged forward bringing both of them down onto the hard pavement. She wasn't going to waste another shot at him. She raised her right arm with the slender quinque fully extended. It came down straight into his back, cutting right through his cloak and clothes to get to his skin. That quinque meant everything to her and she would do anything to keep it in her possession, even if it meant stupid stuns.

Shiro yelled out in pain and bucked her off. The quinque had dug down deep into the back of his chest. His healing wasn't hindered but he got a full dose of sedative that time. The wound was closing up but the sedative was already circulating in his veins. It didn't help that the wound had been so close to his heart. He coughed up a good amount of blood as he scooted along the ground away from her. The thick red liquid ran down and out from under his mask and little bit dribbled through the mask's teeth.

"Got you where it hurts, didn't I?" she huffed, holding up the bloodied quinque attached to her arm. "You got a right good amount in you. Heh… I'd like to see you rally this time."

She painfully forced herself back up to her feet and grabbed Tsume's leather hilt. The large blade scrapped the ground as she stumbled over to him. He wasn't moving too much anymore and he had left a little blood trail from where he pushed himself along the ground.

"Look at you… All broken and bloodied," she leered, standing over top of him. "We're going to have so much fun pulling your corpse apart and see how you tick."

"You really… Know your st-stuff…" Shiro choked out, looking up at her.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she snorted, picking Tsume up all the way. "I'd like to keep your corpse intact if at all possible. A poorly butchered animal is worthless."

"I-I will not… Let you…" He forced himself to his feet stumbling and barely even able to stand up straight. "I happen to like… My l-life as shitty as i-it is…"

He was going to waste a good bit of energy doing this but he had to do something. He was going to have to be careful when it did this. He didn't try it earlier when he was first drugged because he was worried about how he could handle sonido. It might be what gets him out of this mess. She brought Tsume back ready swing the large quinque like a large bat.

Shiro knew he was more than within striking range. She quickly spun around putting her full weight into the swing but he vanished. The blade sliced through empty air where his neck would have been.

"Where the hell did he—?" her voice locked in throat as she realized that her target was now right behind her.

She could feel his weight on her back. His hands slid down her arms, grabbed her wrist, and broke her grip on the hilt. The large quinque hit the ground loudly. She instantly started to struggle to get of his grip. She picked up her foot and drove the thick heel into his toes. He let out scream as they both hit the ground. He landed on top of her. She rolled over onto her back trying to him off her. He wasn't moving much.

"You can't t-take much more, c-can you?" she mocked her voice laced with hate and pain. "You're just about at y-your limit."

She pulled out her very last single shot gun. She was shaking as he slowly lifted his head and glared at her from up under his mask. She was running out of stamina and she knew she had to end this. She didn't know how much more this beast had to give. So far he's proven to be very resilient.

"Go b-back to hell," she bit out, putting the gun to his head.

She missed him at pointblank range and he somehow managed to move off her. She didn't a have chance to look where he vanished to before she felt a tight grip on her left arm. She was jerked and yanked all about the pavement like an abused dog toy. She felt her shoulder pop in and out of the socket several times. She finally rolled to a stop, landing on her stomach. Her coat was cut up along with any bare skin that made contact with the concrete. Several of her hidden weapons now littered the ground.

He collapsed next to her, his face not more than a couple of feet from hers. Both were breathing hard at this point. He reached out and pulled himself closer to her. She tried to push back but he wasn't giving any. She went to stab him with small quinque in her left arm but realized she couldn't move her arm. It was still out of joint. She tried to roll over and use her right arm instead. He just put his weight on her instead.

"Don't… Don't take th-this the wrong way…" Shiro said, reaching up to his mask and broke off the bottom half of his mask. "But I... I need s-something from you."

The exposed skin was coated in his blood from earlier. He got a little closer to her with his blood soaked face.

"Need what?" she snapped, trying to wriggle out from under him but she wasn't finding the strength she needed. "Get off me! Off, now!"

What did he want from her? She wasn't giving him the chance. She slammed her forehead into to his, which she quickly learned wasn't the brightest idea. The action was akin to hitting a brick wall. They both yelped at the impact. He pushed off her a little bit as she groaned from nearly knocking herself out.

"Th-that was stupid…" he muttered at her, shaking his head and looked at the dazed woman.

His body was getting weaker and weaker. He had one last ditch effort that might flush the sedative from his system. This was not something he would normally do, nor liked. He discovered, by accident, that when in dire straits, his healing ability could be kick started into an accelerated rate. The only problem was… He'd have to take the energy of others. It didn't take much and he didn't have to do it on a regular basis, just when the situation was headed straight towards hell. Much like right now and a little energy went a long way. The only person around at the moment was Akane. It had to be skin to skin. She was was all bundled up in her coat and armor and he was keeping a hold of her with his hands so using his hands to do the deed wasn't an option. There was only one course of action to take and she was not going to like this.

"…off. Get off," she mumbled into the ground, coming around to her senses again.

He had to act now. He wasn't going to last much longer especially if he got hit with another tainted quinque. He leaned in a little closer, putting his lips on her forehead. Contact was made no more than 3 seconds before he pulled back. He took a moment before he got to his feet. He stood up straight, still a little unsteady but the effects of the sedative had started to dwindle quicker than he thought. His others wounds were all memories now. He shook his head and rolled his shoulders a little bit. Akane rolled over on her side and hissed out in pain.

"You sick bastard," she snapped, finally sitting up on her knees and wiped off her forehead. "Disgusting!"

"Yeah, well…" was all he said, taking the few short steps over to Tsume and picked him up once more.

Akane scrambled the best she could back to her wobbly feet. Thanks to the clunk to her head she wasn't having much success in standing steady. She took a step or two towards him, her body was hunched over and her breathing was heavy.

"Give that back. G-give that back to me! Give it back RIGHT NOW," she screamed, pulling out a throwing knife. "I-I will not allow my p-partner's quinque to fall into... Into the hands of a monster!"

He just looked at her and snorted.

"Not caring," he answered, running his free hand over the bottom of his face.

The broken half of the mask repaired itself without a single crack in it and untainted by blood. He did the same with the crack between his eyes. Her arm fell to her side, the weapon her hand landing with a clank. She witnessed the mask healing itself at his very touch. That wasn't just a mask… That was a part of him? Panic struck her like lightning. Just what was this creature? Maybe he really was a devil. She was frozen to the spot. He gave the large quinque a look over, before slinging it onto his shoulder and started to walk off.

"D-don't leave with that," she almost begged, reaching out for him. "Give Tsume b-Back! Give him back to m-me!"

"I'll take care of him," Shiro said, turning to face her. "He's in good hands."

"Investigator Hayashi. We're here to help!"

They both turned to see about 10 so CCG soldiers headed their way. He drew in a deep breath and groaned at the encroach troop. He turned to face the investigators directly and manifested his shadow sword into his left hand.

"STAY BACK!" Shiro yelled at them, jumping up into the air and gave a small swing with the sword.

A small blast came out as a result, hitting the concrete and threw a large amount of dust and chunks of concrete at them. They were knocked back to the ground from the blast. Shiro took this time to leave while they were blinded. He needed to get over to the annex building. He wasn't that far from it. He felt better about using Sonido now that the sedative was gone. Sonido like Shun-po required precision. He didn't have that during the fight and he didn't want to screw something up, despite Sonido being his best asset. If he had done something wrong he might have hurt himself or both of them.

He arrived in a flash and he stumbled over to the building. He drove Tsume into the ground and leaned up against the building for support. He was a lot better now but he still wasn't a full 100%.

"Give it a couple more minutes…" he mumbled to himself, catching his breath a little. "Looks like I still need to get stronger… Heh."

He looked down at his hands and flexed them a little. There was always room to improve. He just made a large mistake. He let his former friendship get in the way. He should have ended everything a little sooner but he didn't want to fight her, scare her; but he did that in the end. He closed his eyes trying to gather his thoughts.

A moment later he jumped noticing someone approaching him. He jerked his head to his left to see a young man, standing only about 10 feet (3.05m) away. He pushed off the wall noticing how blood soaked the person was. Shiro eyed Tsume for a split second and then back to the young man with the blood stained white hair and a tattered black shirt.

Clearly the boy was a ghoul but only one eye was showing a kagugan. It was just his left eye. The other eye looked human. He had a rather murderous look on his face saying that he was ready to fight at the drop of a hat. It might be wise not to engage him. Ghouls like that were at their most dangerous. It would be best just to step back.

"I'm leaving…" was all Shiro said as he stepped backward, grabbing Tsume as he moved.

"You're not a ghoul…" the young man stated, taking a step towards the slowly retreating Shiro. "And you're certainly not human."

"No, no I'm not…" Shiro shook his head.

"So then… What are you?"

"You needn't concern yourself."

"I want an answer."

"It's not your concern—UGH!"

Suddenly, Shiro found himself under attack of a rinkaku type kagune. He pulled Tsume in front just in time to block the barrage of bright red tendrils coming at him. He didn't want to know what had set this ghoul off but he didn't wish to set him off any more than he was. He must have been one of the ghouls from inside the building. The ghoul stopped and landed lightly on his bare feet. Shiro peered out from behind Tsume to see what was going to happen next.

"You know how to use a quinque?" he asked, wiping some drying blood from his face.

"To a small extent."

"I feel like you're lying."

"Sorry, I can't keep entertaining you. I have other issues to deal with."

The ghoul sent another tendril at him and once again Shiro blocked it. The ghoul wasn't playing. If he made one slip up he was going to be ripped apart. He already made one mistake tonight and he needn't make another.

The ghoul rushed him again. Shiro ducked and jumped up, avoiding all four coming down at him all at once. He landed a good ways back, making sure to keep his distance. This young ghoul was really itching for a fight. The ghoul charged again once again with his kagune leading the charge. Shiro pushed back the red tendrils but failed to notice round house kick coming at his head. The ghoul made a solid kicked to the side of Shiro's head. He stumbled right into the side of the annex building. The hard kick forced his mask to break along the left side. A couple of chunks even flaked off.

The ghoul charged him again with a hard punch. Shiro caught it and swung the young man around, slamming him into the hard side of annex building. The ghoul was barely phased as the stumbled back onto his feet. Shiro pulled Tsume out in front just in time as the ghoul sent a massive barrage of attacks his way. Shiro was knocked back again. He managed to right himself and landed perfectly on his feet.

The ghoul right here was a problem type. They didn't give a rat's ass about anything. They didn't care how much they got hurt if it meant that they could win. They had no interest in anyone or anything, only what they wanted. He glared at the young ghoul as a sense of familiarity slowly started to creep in. Did he know this ghoul? He tried to place him but he just couldn't put his…

Shiro snapped back in surprise. Even the ghoul noticed his sudden jump and inched forward. This was Kaneki? What the hell happened to him? The change was so drastic that he didn't know who he was at first. This wasn't the clumsy, bookworm he had known. This was a completely different person standing before him. Shiro swallowed a knot from his throat.

"Kaneki Ken?" Shiro asked as the ghoul's kagune wavered for a split second. "That's you, isn't it?"

"And what if I am?" his voice came out with a strong warning ring.

"I-I'm with Anteiku. I've already talked to Yoshimura, Irimi, and Hinami this evening. Everyone is out looking for you," Shiro said as Kaneki's eyes widened. "I didn't recognize you from the description I was given… What happened to…?"

"You don't come out of hell the same as you went in," Kaneki snapped, sharply. "So, you say you're with Anteiku?"

"Y-yes," Shiro nodded. "You have Hinami to thank for that."

"Couldn't have come any earlier, could you?" Kaneki hissed, looking Shiro up and down. "And who you are?"

"Oh, uh, Shiro. Well, that's just a code name," Shiro replied quickly, rubbing the back of his cloaked head.

"Shiro, huh?"

Shiro didn't move and neither did Kaneki's kagune. This wasn't good.

"Don't really trust me, do you?"

"No, I don't. You haven't given me any reason to. You could just say anything you want."

"Then let my actions speak for me instead. I will help you with whatever you need. I'm just asking you to trust me. Please."

Kaneki still didn't seem to give any and Shiro didn't know what else to say. One misstep and everything was going to end poorly. There had to be something he could say that would help ease the tension. Actually there might just be a way.

"So I hear you got to know Kurosaki Ichigo before he passed."

"And?"

"Only those from Anteiku would know that. Not to mention Mrs. Fueguchi being able to communicate through the cockatiel, Hetare. That's credibility right there, isn't it?"

Kaneki studying the being before him coming up with a conclusion. He wasn't in the mood to trust anyone right now but the creature made a valid point. Only those from Anteiku would know about Ichigo and the cockatiel. He still didn't feel easy about letting some "creature" help free Banjo and the others.

"So, do we have some sort of deal?" Shiro asked, taking a couple of cautious steps forward and extended his hand. "Just let me prove myself. That's all I ask."

Kaneki knocked his hand back and Shiro dropped his arm back to his side. There really was no trust.

"I'll believe it when I see it. I'll be watching you, you understand? You can start by helping me free some friends of mine."

Shiro sighed as Kaneki turned and started to walk off. Shiro picked up his feet and stayed back a few feet, giving Kaneki a good bit of space.

"Hm? You cut me," Kaneki said, looking dully at his hand.

"Uhh… That wasn't intentional! I swear! I just have really sharp claws!"

"Hm! You're too easy…" Kaneki smirked.

Why you little…

"I'm getting real tired of this," Yomo said, pushing back a dying Aogiri Tree member, adding to the collection on the floor.

"Yes, I have to agree with you on that," Uta groaned, stretching his arms into the air. "They just keep coming out of the woodwork, don't they? We seemed to have lost the Doves a little while ago."

"I wouldn't get too comfortable, Uta," Yomo said, hearing the distinct sound of heavy boots and the smell of gun powder not too far from them.

"Well, it seems I spoke a little too soon," Uta sighed, turning to looking in the same direction Yomo was. "It's just a few stragglers. Three it sounds like. Think we can sneak by them?"

"There's really nowhere else to go but that way," Yomo said and Uta just shrugged.

They got ready for the approaching group of heavily armed men. The small group just did round the corner and were greeted by Yomo and Uta. They took aim without hesitation.

"F-fire," one of them yelled.

The solider barely got the word from his lips when something leapt towards his face. He unconsciously fired his gun into the walls and ceiling. Everyone took for cover to avoid being shot.

"What the devil was that about?" Uta asked, looking over Yomo's shoulder.

"It's a… It's a damn cat?" one of the CCG soldiers choked out.

"That thing's got to be rabid," the final soldier took aim.

"Stop! You'll shoot, Toriyama!" he snapped pushing the gun up.

"It's tearing his face off! What else am I supposed to do?"

A moment later the cat's yellow eyes fell on the last two members of the CCG.

"It can't be…" Yomo whispered. "It's that cat from earlier."

"What cat from earlier?" Uta asked, sounding rather confused.

The black cat then jumped like a large, fuzzy bullet to the second soldier. The remaining soldier flipped his riffle around, aiming to hit the cat with the stock but right as he took a swing the cat jumped off. The stock landed square into the side of his comrade's head. The poor soul just hit the floor, out cold. The remaining officer stood there a bit shocked as to what he had just done. He slowly turned his head to look at the cat only a couple of feet from him. He pointed his gun at the cat and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. The sound of something scrapping the floor echoed in the hall. The CCG member looked down to see that the cat was pushing a magazine forward with its tiny paw. The man rolled his gun over realizing that it was his magazine at the cat's feet.

"I… I'm out!" he shouted, turning tail and bolted. "Screw this freaky shit!"

The black cat then turned towards Yomo and the ghoul behind him. The cat walked over and seemed to smile at them.

"Well, fancy meeting you here, Yomo was it?" the cat's deep voice echoed as it looked up at the pair of ghouls before her.

"Is… Is that a cat talking?" Uta asked, pointing down at it.

"Yes, I am a talking cat. What of it?" the cat said, turning her attention to Uta.

"Nothing… Nothing whatsoever…" Uta said as Yomo took a couple of steps forward. "I've just never seen…"

"I can say most haven't seen something like me…" the cat almost laughed. "But I do love the reactions I get out of people, however."

"You're that cat…" Yomo said as it nodded.

"The one you punted earlier?" the cat snapped at him. "Yes, that was me. My ribs still hurt."

"Yomo, do you mind explaining just what is going on?" Uta asked, moving closer to the cat and peered down at it. "You look like any other cat and you smell a great bit like a cat…"

He quickly reached down and rubbed her ears. She swatted at him.

"Stop it…" the cat hissed. "Now look, we don't have time to waste. We need to meet up with my partner. He said something about finding Kaneki. He said that the situation doesn't look too good."

"So Kaneki has been found?" Yomo asked, noticing Uta circling the cat, studying it. "Where do we need to go?"

"I'll just escort you… What are you doing?" she asked, looking up at Uta.

"I do apologize but I just can't figure out how you're talking?" Uta answered, crouching down again and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

She bit the offending digit.

"Ow…" Uta responded dully.

It hurt but there was no blood drawn, the luck of being a ghoul.

"Uta, stop playing around," Yomo ordered as Uta looked up at him. "Worry about it later."

"But it's a talking cat," Uta said with his finger still in the cat's mouth. "You don't seem to be at all phased by this. You generally don't like this kind of stuff. So what gives?"

"Later… Let's get moving," Yomo said, jerking Uta to his feet.

"Ugh… Fine, fine… Don't be so rough," Uta said, fixing his shirt and looked at his chomped finger. It was barely red. "All right, little kitty, where to?"

"First I'd like to reclaim my clothes. They're just over here," the cat said, bounding down the dark hall.

"Clothes?" Uta asked, turning to look at Yomo who only shrugged.

The two men followed the cat down a couple of halls.

"They're under here," the cat said, knocking back some ceiling tiles. "Had to hide them somewhere."

"This is…" Uta said, picking up the heavy vest as Yomo grabbed the green helmet.

"Same principle as you. The best way to infiltrate a group is to become one of them," the cat said, putting a paw on one of the boots. "I'm not a ghoul. I couldn't very well pretended to be one."

"So then what are you?" Yomo asked as the cat stepped back away from them.

"Huh, these clothes smell like a—" Uta was cut short.

POOOOF!

Both men waved the thin smoke from their faces as a figure stepped forward. They froze looking at the mocha skinned woman in front of them. Her long, deep violet hair cascaded down her smooth shoulders. That alone was a shock to them, knowing that the cat could actually turn into a woman at will. After all, the cat sounded like a dude. A moment later it also became quite apparent that she was as bare as a new born babe.

Yomo dropped the helmet to the floor and Uta did the same with the armored vest as they stared at her in shock. She stood in front of them looking, quite proud as she grabbed her under clothes. Their faces flashed bright red up under their masks.

"Hellooo, kitty…" Uta choked out.

"H-Have you no sh-shame?" Yomo snapped at her.

She just shrugged at him.

"Do me a favor and keep a watch out while I get dressed," she smiled at them.

"I'll watch, no problem there—" Uta said, only to get knocked hard in the head by Yomo. "OW! What a real killjoy you can be, Yomo…"

Uta sighed and turned to look down one hall as Yomo looked down the other. A couple of minutes ticked by before she finished getting dressed, slipping on her vest last. She pulled her long hair back up into its usual ponytail and put the helmet on over that.

"So, let's get moving," she said as Yomo and Uta turned back around to face her. "Enough playing around."

She turned on her heel and picked up a stolen riffle from off the floor. Yomo groaned as he and Uta followed right after her. This had to be a strange sight; two ghouls following behind a"CCG operative."

"So, uh, I'm pretty sure I can't just call you Ms. Kitty… Do you mind telling us your name?" Uta asked, getting a little closer to her. "I'm Uta."

"Shihoin Yoruichi," she answered, looking over her shoulder at him. "But for the time being just refer to me as Kuro-neko, 'kay?"

Uta nodded as they worked their way through halls of dead bodies.

"I take it you are one of his friends?" Yomo asked and she nodded in response.

"Don't sound so bitter about it," she huffed, coming to a stop and turned around to face him. "He changed his ways… He helped you in the end, sneaking out all that information."

"You mean, Hawk?" Uta asked and she nodded. "Yeah, that was quite a surprise when I heard about that. I never would have thought he would do such a thing. I mean turning on the CCG is suici—AH!"

He got a real dirty looked from Yoruichi. The shopkeeper took a step back from her. If she could decimate 3 fully armed, grown men in her cat form there was telling what she was capable of in her true form.

"Not a wise choice of words," Yomo reprimanded.

"I realize that and I do apologize…" Uta said, rubbing the back of his tattooed neck. "My mouth got ahead of me."

Yoruichi sighed and took a step back and something went crunch under foot. She looked down at the small object that looked like a mix of glass, plastic and wires. She picked it up to get a better look.

"That's a body cam," Yomo said.

"Not good," Uta said, crouching down and found another one intact on a dead solider. "I hope these aren't live feeds…"

"SHIROOOO!"

Shiro jumped at the angry shout coming from his radio. Kaneki, Banjo, and the others looked at him oddly as he grabbed it from his holster. He was actually a little bit scared to respond to her but knew better than to ignore her.

"Y-yes, I'm here…"

"YOU IDIOT! You overlooked a large detail! Some of these soldiers are wearing body cams! Are any of these live feeds?"

Shiro didn't say anything but stare down at his radio feeling rather uneasy. Kaneki and the others looked at him. He was started to visibly shake.

"Are you going to answer her?" Kaneki asked. "She sounds upset.

"Yeah, might be wise, dude," Banjo added. "Nothing's worse than a pissed off woman."

He pushed in the button on the side of the radio.

"M-my bad… Hehehe…"

"Don't make a joke out of this! Could any of these be a live feed?! Yes or no?!"

"Well, uh… Some are but I think most are going to be recordings."

"So what are we going to do about it? We can't get rid of all these cameras! This poses a large problem. Not so much for me but for the others. As far as this world is concerned I don't exist but the others do. They can't be seen here."

"I-I don't know… Call Hat-n-Clogs and see if he can pull off one of his little miracles. The man is always 3 steps ahead of everything. He must have something for this, right?"

"You better hope so or it's just going to remain being you and me."

"I would prefer it that way as you know but just in case…"

"I'll see what I can do… Finish up with what you're doing and get Kankei out of here."

"I'm not leaving. I'm going to stay and fight," Kaneki answered, glaring at Shiro.

"But… Everyone is fighting to make sure that you're…" Shiro said, turning to look him.

"I know and that's why am I staying. Take Banjo and the others and leave. I'm not going anywhere. I'm tired of people fighting for me."

Shiro sighed. He knew only too well where Kaneki was coming from. He'd been powerless before and once he had the power to pull his own weight it felt good. Real good. Kaneki wasn't going to be stepped on anymore and Shiro could only respect that.

"Kaneki has opted to stay and help fight," Shiro said into the radio.

There was bit of a pause on her end.

"Then let him fight. He won't know what he's capable of until he pushes himself beyond what he knows. Growth is a part of life. It doesn't do anyone good to stifle it. Give everything you have and push it to a 110%, Kaneki."

"You heard that, right?" Shiro asked, looking at the ghoul in question.

Kaneki just gave Shiro a bit of a prideful smirk.

"I have every intention of doing that," Kaneki clicked.

"He copies. Just see if there is anything Hat-n-Clogs can do."

"Keep your fingers crossed. Out."

Shiro put the radio back into its holster. He turned to face the rest of the group.

"Let's get the rest of you to safety first," Shiro said, walking past them.

"Why don't we fight too?" Banjo said.

"Yeah, we can put up a fight. No problem," Jiro interjected.

"You're all a liability," Shiro stated bluntly.

"What?!" Banjo asked, looking rather up set. "Say that to my face!"

Shiro got right in Banjo's face. The hulking ghoul swallowed a hard knot, looking into the strange gold and black eyes before him.

"You. Are. A. Li-a-bil-ity," Shiro dug a claw into Banjo's chest. "We already have those from Anteiku to worry about. We don't need any more added to that. We can't afford any costly mistakes. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah… I get it. Just get us out of this hellhole first," Banjo said as Shiro stepped back.

"Then let's stop standing out here like sitting ducks," Shiro sighed.

"You can take them, Shiro. I'm going on ahead," Kaneki said, braking off from the rest of the group.

"Hey, now! Don't just rush in there," Shiro warned. "Kaneki, hold up."

Kaneki looked over his shoulder at Shiro. He didn't have time to waste and he didn't feel like being under another person's thumb. He was going to take the reins this time and go where he wanted.

Kaneki just took off running and jumped up out of sight back into the fray. Shiro shook his head before looking at the group again.

"I still can't believe that's Kaneki," Banjo said with a sigh. "He's changed so much."

"I don't want to know what he went through…" Jiro added. "I never would have expected him to become like this."

"There's no telling what Yamori did to him. Sadistic bastard," Ichimi bit out. "And what about Koto and Kei…?"

"Might be best not to know," Santo stated.

"Yeah, but I mean maybe we should go and look for them," Ichimi insisted.

"No, Santo is right. It might be best not to know," Banjo said, looking at his friends and the others in the group. "We have to look after who's here right now."

"But, Banjo," Ichimi snapped.

"Just us! We need to worry about us and only us right now," Banjo bit out, trying to keep a stern face. "I don't like this either but… We don't have a choice. I-I'm the leader, right? I…"

Banjo's voice faded as he stared at the ground.

"Who am I kidding? I'm a horrible leader…"

SMAAAACK!

Banjo held his throbbing face as he looked at Shiro glaring at him. He was suddenly lifted up off the ground by the front of his cloak.

"I'm going straight and to the point on this! Stop acting like an idiot! You have a strength that these people admire or they wouldn't have picked you as a leader in the first place! So do me a favor, put up or shut up! These people need you right now and you're acting a fool! Get over your fear, stop doubting yourself, and do your damn job! Just use the strength that made you a leader in the first place."

"Wow... Y-you are absolutely t-terrifying," Banjo breathed, slightly shaking.

Shiro dropped him to the ground and started moving again. Banjo was left stunned, looking at the ground.

"Uh, Boss?" Jiro asked, crouching down to his level. "Are you okay? Why are you shaking?"

"H-hey! Shiro, you bastard," Banjo snapped, getting back to his feet, startling the others.

"Yeah?" Shiro drawled, turning to look him. "Look, you guys coming or not?"

"Hold on just one damn minute," Banjo snapped, rushing over to him. "Did you really mean that just now?"

"Yes, I meant every word so stop looking at me like you don't understand."

"Stop screwing with me! Just what do you think my strength is? I'm curious to know."

Shiro turned to face him again. Shiro closed the small gap between and looked Banjo straight in the face before jabbing a clawed finger into the ghoul's chest.

"What are you doing?" Banjo asked, looking confused at the black clawed finger.

"He means your heart, Banjo," Ichimi stated, walking over with the rest of the group.

"My heart?" Banjo blinked.

A moment later Shiro flicked Banjo hard in the nose.

"Ow!" Banjo clamped a hand over his abused nose.

"It can be your greatest strength but also your greatest weakness. Learn how to balance it. That means using this too as a counter weight."

He jabbed Banjo in the forehead. Shiro then gave a sharp turn on his bare heel and started moving again. He made a come gesture for the others to follow. The ghouls started to follow him as ordered. Banjo stood motionless as the others started to leave.

"He's right you know," Santo said, standing beside his leader. "Physical strength doesn't make a leader. We follow you because of who you are. He read you like an open book. C'mon, Banjo, let's go before we get left behind."

Santo hurried on over to the others, following behind Shiro. Banjo watched for a moment or two before rushing off after them. A slight smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. If this was all really true maybe he should a little harder to be what the others wanted of him. He just actually had to put forth the effort.

(A/N Not my longest chapter and I am sorry. But I wrote all that I could at this time. I hope this makes all of you happy to see it move forward a little more. I think this fight between Shiro and Akanke came about a bit stronger. I'm still sorry for how short it is but I think I got out a good little bit. Thank you.)

Millie M. Banshee