Howdy, thank you very much for the feedback and for reading this far into my story. I love reading your reviews and private messages, and get excited when I see them!

In the chapter, we'll be introduced into Arima's group of investigators: Squad Zero. Arima's squad in this fanfic is different from canon, as are a considerable number of other factors in the story as well.

Thank you, and please enjoy!

With her second-in-command by her side, Eto stood at the edge of the destroyed glass window where she had tied the small intensities of the three corpses around the window's metal beam above her. As the warm summer breeze blew past her cheeks and through her unkempt-long hair, Eto gazed over the burning city with a slightly remorseful look on her face, as she took in the sight of destruction. "I always dreamt of this moment… For countless and sleepless nights, I've laid in bed while dreaming of this exact moment to come into fruition. We've reignited the dwindling fire of revolutions that's been suffocated by the oppressive hands of CCG; Aogiri Tree failed last time because I lacked the determination that Arata had; the determination to achieve the absolute above all else... We're on our way to achieve that absolution, and we've done that by cutting off the three heads of CCG's corrupt leadership… Yet, despite the blow we've done to our oppressors, I can't help but wonder to myself if whether or not what we did here tonight is what my dear brother would have wanted… Is this really how Aogiri Tree should have been in the first place? Should we have been feared, rather than loved? Was my father wrong this entire time...?"

Despite Eto pouring her heart out for the younger ghoul to hear in hopes for getting philosophical reassurance in return, Rize simply shrugged her shoulders casually before taking her phone out of her pocket. "I can't say for certain what Kirishima's father would have wanted, but what I can say for certain is that it felt so rejuvenating to finally rid the world of these bastards; that's for sure!" Rize said with a delighted look in her purple eyes, and made sure her smile was photogenically prepared, as she raised her phone up between her and the melancholy half-ghoul. "Come on, let's celebrate with a victory-selfie~!"

"... You're serious, aren't you?" Eto asked with a perplexed and slightly annoyed look on her face, as she ignored the camera to instead stare at Rize inquisitively. "Why on Earth would you want to take your photo and post it on social media? We just killed three highly regarded men; I don't see how this sort of public publicity would benefit us."

Giving only a momentary side glance to address Eto's concerns, Rize quickly turned her attention back toward the lens of the camera before deciding to speak. "If you're worried about having your face on camera, then you're a bit too late, Yoshimura. We were both recorded several times entering through the back door and using the elevator to come up here." Rize reminded her with a bit of sass in her voice, before reaching over with her free hand to grab Eto by the shoulder to pull her closer in, so that the half-ghoul would be in the frame of the picture. "Don't worry about that though, I'm sure Kirishima is handling it already; she's a pretty competent person, you know… Besides, this selfie is important!"

Now feeling completely skeptical of the young woman's intentions, Eto frowned at the Rize before crossing her arms over her chest. "Important? How is taking a vain picture of ourselves count as being important? If I'm honest, I feel like taking a picture of ourselves right now would make us look like a couple of attention seekers. After all, our message has been sent already; others should glorify our accomplishments here today, not us."

Sighing, Rize lowered the camera slightly before turning her head to address Eto while sporting a mildly infuriated look on her face. "Yoshimura, no offense, but you should leave the public relations to me, understood! Do I need to remind you which one of us was able to raise an army of ghouls and incite the young population of Tokyo to riot against the government?." Rize asked with a snarky gleam in her purple eyes, and patiently waited for Eto's glare to subside. Once the half-ghoul fell into a defeating silence, Rize reached up with her free hand to squash together the surprised half-ghoul's cheeks to force her to appear cute and silly before raising her phone back up to snap a selfie. "Say cheese~!"

"... Cheese."

North of where the Main Office was being raided, CCG's prestigious 'Zero Squad' had been tasked with neutralizing hostile raids along with every other squad that Division Commander Itsuki Marude could spare. Having parked their vehicle in a hidden area blocked off by the surrounding woods of the area, Special Class Investigator Kishou Arima led his two squad members of fellow Special Class Investigators, Ihei Hairu and Koori Ui, down the cobblestone brick path that led them through the wooded area. With their only light coming from the burning piles of wreckage and various cars set ablaze over by the nearby gravel-paved parking lot, the three investigators were able to make out the distinct stench of burning flesh over the fumes of gasoline in the air, as they got closer to the large white church that bled black smoke from the top of its roof. The sickly smell of charred flesh was something that CCG's undefeated 'White Reaper' and his partners had gotten familiar with throughout their careers, but it still was an ungodly stench that none of them were ever able to get used to.

Having accidentally taken a breath in through his nostrils instead of using his mouth, Koori's dark-brown bob haircut bounced slightly as he turned his face away from the source of the foul odor to retort in disgust. "A-Ack…! God, that smells terrible…! I knew that this protest was going to, *cough*, be furious... But I never expected it to be 'FIREYOUS'~! The androgynous young man said jokingly, before burying his face into the white sleeve of his long trench coat to cover his loud coughing.

Not at all amused by his pun, Ihei rolled her pink eyes at the other investigator's attempt at lightening the mood. "I'm disappointed in your sense of humor, Koori. Your delivery of the pun was subpar at best, and the way you're expecting us to laugh is a bit embarrassing, if I'm honest. Really Koori, you're practically 'blowing smoke up your own ass' with how hard you're trying to be funny right now~." Ihei replied back, with a small grin on her face as she watched Koori's grey eyes slowly open wider and wider as he slowly got the joke. "There it is! I knew you would catch on!" Ihei said teasingly, as she gripped her thin fingers tighter around the white handle of her large cleaver-like quinque, 'Aus'.

While being a man of few words, Arima was never one to shy away from saying what was on his mind. In this case, the way the sweet and rather adorable young woman swore didn't quite sit right with the squad leader. "Hairu, mind your language."

After having been scolded by the white-haired man who she had looked up to ever since she was a child, Ihei felt her cheeks turn a gentle shade of pink as an embarrassed look came over. "S-Sorry, Kishou! I-I was just… T-Trying to be funny."

"That's fine Hairu, just 're-EMBER' to be sure that you can 'handle the HEAT' if you're going to try and 'BURN' Koori back." Arima said with a subtly noticeable snarky grin, while Ihei wordlessly stared at the back of his snow-white hair with her jaw agaped.

While Ihei was speechless after having to witness Arima lay down three puns at once, Koori couldn't help but let out an amused laugh at the squad-leader's antics. "Hey, that was actually pretty clever! Oh, and speaking of that idiom you used Ihei, did you know that the expression, 'blowing smoke up your ass' originated in the 1700's?" Koori asked with a smile on his face, as he used his long spear-like quinque, 'Taruhi', to push aside a pile of burning Holy Bibles to the side in order to clear up the path toward the front entrance of the church. "The expression is a reference to how doctors used to tell their patients to spread their asses open so they can stuff the ends of their pipes into their rectums and blow smoke inside them. Crazy, huh?"

"T-That's utterly repulsive, Koori!" Ihei retorted back with a sickened look on her face, as she brought Aus up to slide it into the custom q-leather scabbard that she had on her back. "What kind of websites are you browsing on your off time?!"

"Hey, what are you trying to insinuate...?!"

"I'm implying the obvious, of course..." Ihei answered back in a low and uncomfortable voice, as she released her grip from her sheathed weapon in order to grab the black handle by her hip to unholster her ranged quinque, 'T-Human'. Bringing T-Human up in order to use its tracking device, Ihei used its RC-Cell seeking radar to give her a general idea of how many ghouls were inside the large halls of the church. "Arima, there are about thirty-one ghouls inside, and we still don't know how many church goers they have hostage. How are you wanting us to commence with the operation?"

"Yeah Arima, what are you wanting us to do?" Koori added in, as both he and the pink-haired young woman standing beside him turned their heads around to eagerly await for the tall and white-haired man to give them his orders.

Stabbing his large and ebony lance-like quinque, 'IXA', into the grass beside him to free his hand, Arima reached up to push his thin-framed glasses back up along the bridge of his nose before speaking calmly to his slightly-anxious squad. "They're waiting to ambush us inside, so entering the church through the front door wouldn't be a tactical approach, and would leave us open for an ambush. From what I can tell while we were walking here, they've turned off the lights, and appear to be using a fire from within the church as their primary source of light; hence why there's smoke. Because of these circumstances, more than likely their eyes have already been adjusted to their low-light surroundings. We can use that against them. Here's what we do…"

The desecrated holy sanctuary couldn't have been a more fitting place for his gang to defile in the Devil Ape's glowing red eyes. Standing at the podium where holy words were spoken onto the group of Christians who had tried to find safety from the riots, Enji Koma couldn't help but feel empowered as he looked down at the burning pile of bodies laying before him that illuminated the surrounding white halls in a dim glow orange. "When there's a power imbalance in society, it's almost impossible to break free from conformity once you find safety in it. After all, it's been made apparent here today that freedom doesn't matter so long as the illusion of safety is present… In this world, you either have to conform with what's expected of you and your social status, or you rebel in order to seek change. That's what you Christians had to do back in the Roman days, wasn't it? Martyr for your cause, all for the sake of wanting change?" Enji asked in a mocking tone, as he turned his head over his shoulder to stare back at the young fourteen-year old ghoul who he had tied to the large golden cross standing tall and proud at the back of the stage where he occupied. "Just like your beliefs and your god, your safety brought onto you and your congregation were nothing more than a fantasy given to you by our human overlords… Where is your god now?"

Beaten, bruised, and frightened after having to bear witness to the sight of seeing her parents and congregation murdered and covered in gasoline before being ignited into a burning mass, Hinami Fueguchi did her best to keep her eyes shut, as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "Why…? WHY?! W-Why did you do this?! W-We're g-ghouls…! J-j-just like you...!" Hinami asked hysterically through her fit of sobbing, as she mourned the loss of her family. "Why…?! I-I… I can't understand why you'd do this…!"

Scoffing at how Hinami had seen herself and her congregation as his equals, Enji turned around from the front entrance where his gang of ghouls stood guard so that he could look up at the heartbroken young girl. "You and your group of weaklings are nothing like us! Unlike you and your weak flock, my gang and I never stopped fighting for what Grave Robber laid down his life for! We refuse to be silenced, and no longer will be forced to live underneath the boot of tyranny!" Enji spat out hatefully, as he took a step closer to the three meter tall cross that housed his hostage. "Perhaps you're too young to understand how cruel and beautiful our world truly is, but allow me to explain it to you: in order to establish a meaningful change in society, power needs to be taken back from our oppressors! CCG has done more than just hunt ghouls down; they've come to expect us to suffer underneath their reign, and when some of us finally do go werewolf and try to fight the system, they're able to just track us down and squash us like bugs… What's going on around us isn't some riot, child; it's a war for our rights! Rights that you and your group of religious fanatics traded in for a false sense of security..."

Sniffling her nostrils to clear up her running nose so she could speak, Hinami's bottom lip quivered as she hesitantly opened her bloodshot eyes to stare pleadingly down at the angry and hateful eyes of the ghoul below her. "W-We didn't do anything wrong t-to you… W-We came here to pray for you all, not to hurt anyone… I'm sorry, p-please…! Please, l-let me go...!"

Rather than quickly brushing off her plea and choosing to mock her harshly to her face as some of his fellow gang members figured he would, Enji decided to take on a crueler option instead. "... Hey kid, do you really believe in God? Like, do you honestly think there's some big guy in the sky who's watching down on us?"

Although she was still shaking and found communicating to be difficult, Hinami swallowed back the lump in her throat and gave her captor a weak yet confident nod. "Y-You're oversimplifying Him… But yes, I do… A-And it's not too late for you to repent for your wrong doings! M-My mom said that it was never too late to right your wrongs…"

"I see… Well then, how about I do you a favor? As soon as we take care of those three investigators outside, I'll end your pathetic life and the. you'll see for yourself whether or not God exists." Enji replied back with a sarcastic tone in his voice, and watched in sadistic pleasure as whatever hope that Hinami had left in her died out. "Profligates like yourself and your submissive flock is why we REAL ghouls needed to resort into using violence to begin with, kid. Blame your misfortune on your heritage and upbringing..." Enji said with a self-righteous smirk behind his red-ape mask, before turning back around to impatiently glare at the entrance of the church. "... What are they doing out there? That's the only way into this shit-hole, why are they taking so l- HOLY SHIT!"

As though it was a divine intervention itself, a beam of blinding yellow light tore through the entire wall surrounding the front two wooden doors of the church, and obliterated the already broken ceiling of the roof; leaving in its wake a cloud of dust and yellow particles that floated up into the exposed night sky above. After the smoke from the rubble had subsided, Enji and his band of ghouls wearing ape masks produced their kagunes and had quickly prepared themselves to immediately overpower the three investigators with their sheer numbers. However, after looking around to find their targets, it soon became apparent that there wasn't anyone inside the church with them. The lack of visible investigators brought confusion to not only the gang of ghouls, but to their leader as well.

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle…! Where the Hell did they go?!" Enji shouted in with a heightened sense of fear and anger, as he along with his posse searched frantically around the interior of the nearly demolished church to see if perhaps the investigators had somehow made it past them. "God damnit… Apes, I ain't MONKEYING AROUND HERE! I want half of you to search every nook and cranny in this church, and the half to…?!" Before he could finish giving out his orders, Enji trailed off from his sentence the moment he caught a glance at one of the many active RC-Suppressant grenades thrown into the church rolling up to his feet, along with what looked like several flash bangs. "Oh, bananas..."

The moment the flash bangs sprang into action and successfully blinded and deafened every ghoul in the room, the three Special Class Investigators leapt you from behind their cover and stormed through the destroyed entrance of the church with their weapons drawn, while the RC-suppressant canisters flooded the halls of the church in a white cloud of kakuhou-weakening gas.

Aiming the tip of IXA down at the wreckage underneath him, Arima activated his quinque to extend its lance-like shaft out to propel himself up into the air. As he expected, the ghouls underneath him were swinging their fists blindly around at where they were expecting him to be; and perhaps would have made contact with their fists had Arima decided to run directly toward them. With a stoic expression on his face, Arima's cold and calculating eyes quickly scanned the four ghouls underneath him, as he formulated his next course of action.

With incredible speeds, Arima retracted IXA's extended lance before aiming it down at a ghoul who was unfortunate enough to be his first victim. Using IXA's extending ability again, Arima plunged the ebony quinque's tip through the tip of the ghoul's head and out through the other side of the ghoul's groin. In a matter of seconds, the entire extended shaft of IXA had skewered itself through the ghoul's entire body, and allowed Arima to use his ivory and rapier-like quinque, 'Narukami', that he had in his left hand to rain down a barrage of high-voltage yellow bolts of RC-lightning onto the other three ghouls; causing them to convulse violently before falling over with blood and cerebral fluid flowing out of their orifices. Holding on tightly to IXA's handle, Arima lowered himself safely down and landed on top of the impaled ghoul. "Thank you." Was all Arima had to say to the ghoul who he had used to break his fall, before quickly decapitating him with one swing from Narukami.

Having witnessed the very theatrical and seemingly pre-choreographed stunt that her squad leader had pulled off, Ihei couldn't help but feel upstaged by Arima. 'Kishou, you're amazing… Too amazing; I'll have to try harder if I'm going to get your praise!' Ihei thought determinedly to herself, as she raised T-Human out in front of her to take aim at a row of two ghouls standing in a straight line, before blasting a concentrated beam of energy that broke through the skulls of her victims with ease. Smiling her usual soft grin at her handiwork, Ihei watched with a proud look in her eyes as she saw the black puffs of smoking trailing up from the melted flesh and bone of her two victims' destroyed craniums. 'Perhaps T-Human doesn't have the area of effect that Kishou's Narukami has, but it's far more powerful, that's for sure! That, and it's also pink like me… I wonder if Kishou likes pink...' Ihei mused to herself, just before letting go of her ranged quinque to Call somersault forward while ducting underneath a barrage of k-bullets that had been fired blindly toward her direction. Looking up toward the direction of where the bullets had come from, Ihei stared excitedly at her next victim, which was a ghoul who was now trying his best to escape after firing all of his kagune's crystallized-organic projectiles. She liked it when they ran. "They don't call me the 'Merciless Reaper' for nothing!" Ihei announced out loud, before getting back up to her feet to quickly unsheathe Aus to swing the quinque in a downward motion to sever the cowardly ghoul's left leg. Hearing her victim scream only made it that more satisfying for Ihei to raise Aus once again to finish her attack in style. "Too slow, too slow~!" Ihei sang mockingly to the ghoul underneath, before swinging down straight through the top of the ghoul's skull and cleaving her blade completely through his entire body. After only needing to swing her blade down once to finish off the ghoul, Ihei had successfully bisected her victim from the top of his to all the way down through his groin. "... Who's next?!" Ihei asked playfully out loud to the deafen ghouls, before leaving the gorey-red canarged mess that was left of the ghoul in her wake.

While Arima and Ihei were quickly cutting through the opposition with little resistance being met, CCG's 'Hopeful Reaper' had a different goal in mind. With the spearhead of Taruhi extended out in front of him, Koori skillfully pierced the skull of a ghoul who had tried to attack him before continuing his search within the chaotic skirmish for hostages. "Get out of my way!" Koori screamed out in his feminine voice, as he pulled Taruhi's spearhead out from the ghoul's skull before swinging the edge of his quinque horizontally across to quickly decapitate his foe from the neck down before returning to his search and rescue mission. "AUGH! DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!"

Ducting down to avoid a right hook of a ghoul who had tried to attack her now that the dazzling blindness effect of the flash bangs was beginning to wear off, Ihei dodged the attack before deploying her counter-attack. Leaping up with the tip of Aus' blade pointing up underneath of ghoul's neck and jaw, Ihei pierced her blade through ghoul's head before tearing it off from his neck. With the ghoul's head stuck on Aus' red-veiny black-blade, Ihei swung her blade down to launch the decapitated head into a pile of nearby rubble. "Koori, there aren't any hostages over here! Go check the stage, I think I saw-GRK!" Gasping in pain, Ihei's pink eyes shot open wide as she watched a beam of pink light blow a burning hole through her stomach before fading away into a plentea of bright-sparkling particles. "Is this a j-joke...?! With my own quinque...?!" The young investigator asked out with a mixture of disbelief and frustration in her voice, before falling face forward onto the ground below. "How… How embarrassing… I'm sorry… K-Kishou..."

Standing a safe distance away from Ihei's collapsed body, Enji felt nothing short of euphoria, as his heart raced inside of his chest. "I did it…! I-I killed a Special Class Investigator… I killed the Merciless Reaper herself, and with her own weapon nonetheless!" Enji shouted proudly to his dwindling gang, as he raised T-Human victoriously into the air above him to rejoice in his accomplishment. "With this weapon, the Devil Ape will rise back to power! I'll claim my mountain top on society, and lay waste to my enemies to reach the absolution! HEAR ME GRAVE ROBBER?! THIS IS FOR YOU!" Enji screamed in a hysteric fit of maniacal laughter, as he struggled to fight against T-Human's ghoul-tracker to take aim at Arima.

Having witnessed the sight in the corner of his eyes, Koori felt his heart skip a beat, as he quickly swung Taruhi's edged tip down on a ghoul to split open the ghoul's head before turning around to face his fallen colleague. "IHEI!"

Normally Arima considered himself to be a reserved man who chose to be stoic even in the face of danger and uncertainty. However, seeing the young woman who had trusted him with her life falling onto the ground with a burning hole in her stomach made him feel an emotion that he rarely felt: anger.

Ramming the tip of IXA into the ground to spring a surprise attack that killed three of the last remaining four ghouls by splitting them in half, Arima's deathly glare focused itself on the leader of the gang who had snuck around his dying men in order to use T-Human against its user. "... This won't stand."

From the pink sparkings of plasma emanating from the elongated shielding surrounding T-Human's barrel, Arima knew instantly that Enji already had the upper hand against him, and that Nakimura wouldn't be able to fire in time. Rather than waiting for Narukami to charge up a bolt of energy to fire upon Enji, Arima instead took aim at the Devil Ape before throwing his quinque like a javelin. Before Enji could react to Arima's unorthodox method of attack, the ghoul was already letting out a holler of agony the moment he felt Narukami's blade pierce directly into his lower abdomen; and soon it had pinned him into the ground behind him. "... Y-YOU! I'LL KILL YOU DEAD, HEAR ME?! KILL YOU DEA-?!" While squirming underneath the quinque that had skewered him into the wooden and concrete floor, the berserking ghoul soon quickly realized that Narukami had been activated just before being thrown inside of his kakuhou. It wasn't until Enji saw the first spark of yellow energy wrap itself around its ivory blade that he realized that his fate had been sealed. "No…! No! I'M THE DEVIL APE! I CAN'T BE KILLED! I'M THE DEVIL APE, I'M THE DEVI-" Dying in the midst of his defiant cries of anguish, Enji's upper body was enveloped in a blinding yellow flash before exploding into red gorey mess that was splattered across the floor of the destroyed church.

Surrounded by the bodies of their fallen enemies, Arima turned around to look over at Koori before silently gesturing to him to continue on with his search for hostages. Although the androgynous male wanted nothing more than to rush over to his injured commerade, the look that Arima gave him made him know that the squad leader was already on it. "Stage, she said to check the stage…!" Koori quietly told himself reassuringly, as though he had to verbally speak aloud to himself in order to motivate himself to continue on with his search.

After making sure Koori was going to follow his order, Arima quickly dashed his way over to Ihei before kneeling down beside her in a matter of seconds. "Hairu, I need you not to move too much; I'll have to call for Marude to send in a medic unit to help."

Gazing up into his grey eyes, Ihei was able to see the emotions of fear and heartbreak hidden behind Arima's stoic facade. Smiling as confidentially as she could bring herself to, Ihei stared back warmly at the man as she reached up with her hand to gently stroke the side of his face. "I… I'm sorry, Kishou… I s-should have… Been more careful, ah..." Ihei spoke quietly to Arima, while also finding it sweet that the usually seemingly-emotionless man was doing his best to comfort her by quickly grabbing hold of her outstretched hand to give it a reassuring and gentle squeeze. "... I guess they'll have to change my title on my eulogy from 'Merciless Reaper' to 'Wreckless Reaper', huh…?" Ihei mused wearily with a humorless glimmer in her pink eyes, while Arima remained stoned face as he gazed down at her.

"Don't say that… You're going to be okay."

Snickering quietly at her idol's scolding response to her comment, Ihei smiled as widely as she could muster at Arima while the floor underneath her became soaked and stained with her blood. "Oi, calm down, calm down… It was only a joke…! Besides…. A-Aren't we in a place of worship…? M-Maybe… Maybe if I pray hard enough, God… God might give me the time of-OW!?" Suddenly finding the inner strength to scream out in pain, Ihei quickly pulled her neglected hand back to her side the moment she felt a small shoe stomp down on it.

Hovering over the two, Koori stood behind the bruised and freed hostage that had her tan and wing-like kagune stretched out from her upper back with two long red tendrils armored with the same smooth tan-material swaying behind her. "DON'T BE AFRAID! I CAN HELP YOU!" Hinami screamed reassuringly on the top of her lungs to where she thought Ihei was laying down, as she did her best to fight off the still-present dizziness and disorientation she was struggling with ever since being caught-off guard by a flash bang.

"... Or maybe G-God will send 'Ghoul Helen Keller' to come and help me during t-these t-trying times…! Koori, what… What's the meaning of t-this...?!" Ihei demanded aggressively with squinted eyes and an upset look on her usually calm face; being completely too outraged to be bothered with remembering that she was still moments away from death.

With a nervous look plastered on his face, Koori stared down at the glares of confusion he was receiving from both Arima and Ihei, as he quietly did his best to help Hinami find a spot to kneel down so she could be beside the injured investigator. "W-Well… S-She saw that beam of light come out of T-Human, and then s-saw you fall… Um, she uh… S-She um, s-started screaming at me to let her go, b-because, err.. Because she told me that… Ya know, she could heal your wounds, so… Yeah, here we are." Koori said awkwardly with an uneasy look in his eyes, as he reached over to guide Hinami's small hands over to where Ihei's wound was.

"And you actually believed her…?!" Ihei spat out with a frustrated look in her eyes, before looking away from her fellow squad member to watch nervously as Hinami's wing-like kagune carefully pressed its large red-circular spots on top of her wound. "I-If she kills me K-Koori… I'm going to come back as a g-ghost to k-kill you myself...!" Ihei hissed out half-jokingly through her clenched up teeth, as she along with everyone else watched in anticipation while Hinami's kagune produced a white gentle glow underneath its wing-like appendages. "It's… Pretty."

Closing her eyes to concentrate over the loud ringing sound in her ears and her nausea, Hinami focused solely on transferring her concentrated and unique glowing cells from her kagune into Ihei's wound. Hinami was heartbroken and still crying over the loss of her friends and family, but with the help of a silent prayer, Hinami was able to keep her mind focused on the vital task at hand. With her small and gentle hands pressed up against each other, Hinami finished her prayer with a silent 'amen' before having her kagune disappear into a white and glowing mist. "There… You should be okay now, ma'am." Hinami said with a painful smile plastered on her busted lips, as she stared blankly ahead at nothing in particular.

Arima and Koori watched wordlessly with looks ranging from intrigument to being completely dumbfounded as Ihei leaned herself up against her squad leader's knee to take a gander at what the ghoul had done to her wound. "My, my… It would seem as though 'Ghoul Helen Keller' was true with her intentions of saving me. I suppose that I should be thankful that she didn't hear me call her that rude name, huh?"

"... W-Who's Helen Keller?" Hinami asked quietly through her low fit of sobbing, as she looked up from her palms to glance over with tearful eyes at the nervous looking woman.

"Uhhh!? S-She was a very important woman who err… Um…?!"

"... She was an American author from the late 1880's who was the first blind woman to earn a bachelor's degree in art." Koori interjected, as he chimed into the conversation in order to help Ihei out of her predicament. Looking over at her with a sly and confident smirk on his face, Koori felt a proud sense of accomplishment for his trivial-surface knowledge and quickly dismissed whatever criticism Ihei had earlier given him in regards to his pursuit of practically useless facts. "Anyways, I think Ihei has something to say to you… And maybe something to say to me too, while she's at it."

Still in disbelief at what had just happened before her very eyes, Ihei kept her focused on her healed wound while she used the hand that Hinami had accidentally stepped on to feel around her newly built skin. Poking and prodding at her abdomen without bothering to care who was watching, everything underneath her skin seemed present as far as Ihei could tell. The wound had healed so well that Ihei didn't even feel an ounce of pain or discomfort in her abdomen; it was as though she had never gotten shot in the first place. "I… I'm obligated to say thank you child; you saved my life, and as much as I'd hate to admit it… I probably would have died had it not been for you and your warm and gentle kagune." Ihei mused solemnly with a somber look on her face, after quickly realizing that there wasn't a chance in Hell that Marude would have actually sent for medical assistance in the first place. Due to CCG training their high-ranking officers to see their personnel as expendable, Marude more than likely would have counted her off as a casualty due to the Division Commander already not having enough personnel or resources to quell the city-wide riots. "... Kishou, what are we going to do with her? She's a ghoul after all, isn't she…?" Ihei asked with a conflicted look in her eyes, as she looked deep into her squad leader's eyes for an answer on what to do next.

Outraged that Ihei would even consider suggesting that they needed to end the life of the same young girl who had saved her life just moments ago, Koori quickly picked the sobbing girl up from the floor before placing her back on her feet beside where he stood. "Ihei! I know being merciless is something you're known for and all, but being heartless?! How can you even imply such a thing after she saved your life?!" Koori demanded in a high-pitched voice, all while trying to avoid letting Hinami from knowing that they were talking about killing her. "I say we find her parents and just move on! We don't have to investigate this right now, it can wait another day!"

At the mere mention of finding her parents, Hinami physically flinched as a new wave of distraught and despair washed over her. "S-Sir… Those ghouls… They did… They did THAT to my mom and dad…" Hinami choked out quietly through her fit of whimpers and soft crying, before pointing a small and trembling finger behind her at the pile of burning bodies. "I… I know you three are investigators, and you probably want to kill me… B-But maybe you can find it in your hearts to spare me…? I-I can't go to heaven yet; I h-have to help everyone first, j-just like how my parents and pastor said I was d-destined for!"

Seeing the surprising level of conviction and bravery in such a young and frightened girl made Ihei feel a wave of guilt wash over her, as she glanced away from Hinami in order to stare back at Arima. "... Kishou, what are we going to do with her? We don't have all night to decide what to do, and… Kishou, are you listening to me?"

Although he wasn't trying to ignore Ihei's frantic attempts of trying to get his attention, Arima felt himself feeling a disorienting sense of déjà vu coming over his psyche as he stared intently at the bloodshot eyes of the small ghoul sobbing before him.

Five years ago, Arima had been sent out on a solo mission to assassinate the bane of CCG's existence, 'Grave Robber', who had single handedly ended the lives of over a third of CCG's most skilled investigators; all of who which thought they would be the lucky ones to end the reign of the powerful SSS+ rated ghoul with their damned squads dying by their sides. The source of his family home located in the 20th Ward came from the word of an apparently high-ranking Aogiri Tree member, who had agreed to disclose the withheld information in exchange for her freedom, after she had been caught by Arima himself. The deal itself was only approved by the Washuu clan themselves, who didn't even bother to ask the name of their conformant nor what she looked like.

To Tsuneyoshi Washuu and his kin, all that mattered to them was neutralizing The One-Eyed Owl and The Grave Robber, in order to turn the tides of war.

Arima was mentally prepared to engage in an intense battle with the legendary ghoul himself, and had already made his peace with the world that morning. However, rather than being face to face with the man known as 'Arata Kirishima', Arima was more than surprised when he was instead greeted with the sight of a thirty-three year old mother standing in front of her two young children and her younger brother.

Hikari Kirishima knew who Arima was, and why he was there. She of course also knew that she was no match against the 'White Reaper' himself, so she instead found herself falling to her knees before the man with her hands displayed down on the floor in submission.

"Please, sir…! L-Let my children go, I beg of you! They're good kids, and don't deserve to die over a war that they had nothing to do with! P-Please, don't take them… Take my life instead, and spare theirs! Please! Find it in your heart to spare them, and show mercy!"

Arima always hated remembering that day, and never had forgiven himself for not going against the orders he had been tasked with. However, his only saving grace that day was allowing the mother to say her goodbyes to her children before sending them off with her younger brother to escape.

Although Arima never once lifted his quinque against Hikari, the man still felt responsible for what later happened to her in captivity after he had arrested her and sent her to the ghoul prison in Cochlea.

"Earth to Arima, are you there?! Hey, hey! I'm talking to you!" Ihei yelled out frantically, as she quickly resorted in trying to annoy her squad leader to fill him back into reality. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! He-"

Immediately after snapping out of his flashback, Arima lowered his free hand down to press his two fingers against Ihei's lips to silence her rambling so that he could focus on the incoming transmission that was blaring on his radio.

"Division Commander Marude to Zero Squad! When you're finished with your objective in the 23rd Ward, I need you three to get your asses back to the 20th Ward's Main Office! It's being overrun by those damn protestors, and according to the dispatcher, it's the work of Aogiri Tree! The Washuu clan has been murdered, and we're still trying to figure what happened… I don't have any men to spare right now; we're spread out too damn thin! I need you three to reclaim the 20th Ward by any available means… I'm putting my faith and trust into you three; don't let me down."

With the message from their Division Commander received loud and clear, Arima pulled his fingers away from Ihei's lips before handing her his radio. Bringing the device up to her mouth with a nervous look on her face, Ihei pressed the button on the side of the radio before speaking briefly into its built-in microphone. "C-Copy… Our mission has been a success, and we'll be heading over to the Main Office ASAP."

"Good, now hurry up! We don't have a lot of time to waste!" Marude barked angrily over the radio before the room became silent once more; the only noise being present in the halls of the church were Hinami's soft sobbing and the sound of the flickering embers rising up from the pile of burning bodies in the center of the desecrated sanctuary.

All eyes fell on Arima once again, and before either Ihei or Koori could speak up, the squad leader had already formulated a plan of action. "... She's going to come with us; her ability to heal wounds will be a crucial advantage we'll be able to utilize in our efforts to reclaim the Main Office. She's not to be left alone, and under no circumstances is she allowed to be left with any other investigator aside from us." Arima ordered firmly to his two squad members, before shifting his attention over to the aforementioned ghoul. "Thank you for saving Hairu, I… I really appreciate what you did. My squad and I are going to protect you, but we need your help in saving our friends from the same kind of people who did this to your friends and family. I understand that I'm asking a lot of you, and you aren't obligated to help us if you don't want to, but I would greatly appreciate it if you could help us save the lives of others."

With the three investigators staring down at her, Hinami kept her focus on Arima's grey eyes. Despite Arima's eyes appearing to be cold on the outside, Hinami took comfort and felt a warmth resonating from him as he smiled back gently at her. Raising her sleeve up to wipe away the tears in her eyes, Hinami did her best to be brave for the sake of honoring her congregation's memory before nodding her head. "I'll help you if it means… If it means I can help save others from having to go through what I went through! All… All I ask is that you don't let your people hurt me, or take me away… And… And I want you to come back with me to this church, a-and… And I want you to help me bury my parents and friends in the courtyard in the back of the church. T-Those are my conditions…! D-Do we have a d-deal, s-sir?!" Hinami asked as confidentially as her shaky voice would allow her to, before extending her trembling hand out toward Arima.

Smiling alongside his squad members, Arima nodded his head toward the young ghoul before extending his arm out to shake Hinami's hand. "Deal… Welcome to Squad Zero, ma'am; may we have your name?"

"My name… My name is Hinami Fueguchi… I-It's a pleasure to meet you all…"

After allowing for her children and younger brother to flee through the back door, Arima sat across from Hikari Kirishima and stared at the worried look on her tear-streaked face. "My kids… My brother… You're not going to chase them, a-are you?" Hikari asked with an anxious and terrified look on her face, as she trembled violently within her cuffs. "Please… Please give me your word, Mr. Arima, that whatever happens between you and my husband will stay between you two! I n-need you to promise that you won't hurt my family! Please… I need to hear you promise that!"

The request that the begging goal was asking of Arima was complicated, and wasn't an easy promise to keep, so rather than giving Hikari a fake answer, Arima decided to explain the situation before replying. "... I can't predict the future and what might need to be done later down the road, Mrs. Kirishima. There may come a time when your children or brother want to come back to avenge you and your husband; if that's the case, I'll have no other choice but to stop them. Until then though, you have my word that I personally won't pursue them, and will continue to avoid them so long as they remain peaceful and only feed on corpses of the already deceased. That much I can promise you."

"Thank you, Mr. Arima… I understand that this situation isn't comfortable for you to be in either… I'm sorry that you were the one who had to come here."

"... Thank you, ma'am. I'm sorry that it has to be this way as well. Maybe one day things will change, and we can sit together as friends, and no enemies."

"Yeah… Wouldn't that be something?"

"0420…? Damnit, that's not either!" Hide cursed under his breath, as he watched the small light located in the upper corner of the underground parking lot's keypad turn red. "Okay, okay… Erm, let's try… 6969!" Hide said desperately to himself, as he used his trembling fingers to type in the next combination entry into the keypad, only to be greeted with the red flashing light yet again. "Goddamnit…! Just my luck; of course my card doesn't have the credentials to open ONE door that I could have escaped from!" Hide sighed frustratingly to himself with a humorless laugh, before pressing his back against the concrete corner wall beside where the keypad was located. Sliding down with his back still against the wall, Hide fell down to the floor and sat there with his heart racing in his chest, and his eyes staring blankly down at the black pavement below. "... Heh, I uh… I guess this is what I get for being selfish, right? Trapped down here, just waiting for those ghouls to show up and see me. Oh well, at least I was able to make that phone call to the Division Commander down here; at least they can remember me for doing that, if not anything else..." Hide spoke aloud to himself, as a sinking pit of dread sunk its way down his very core. "Who knows…? Maybe they'll feel sorry for me and let me go? Pfft… Yeah right, as if! With the luck I'm having right now, I wouldn't be surprised if they ended torturing me first!"

"What are you talking about?"

Nearly leaping out of his skin, Hide quickly scrambled on the floor to turn around to see where the voice had come from. Needless to say, seeing someone who looked like a black knight with one singular glowing red eye staring back down at him with small sparks of lightning emanating from their upper back made Hide nearly shit himself. Even more so, it didn't take long for the CCG's recent academy graduate to remember which genocidal-megalomaniac ghoul once sported that very same kagune as their very own murderous kakuja.

"... OKAY, YEAH SURE; WHY NOT?!" Hide shouted out with an expression of both frustration and disbelief on his face, as he silently damned whatever god had decided to forsake his luck. "Of course I'd end up running into the worst ghoul to be faced with: GRAVE ROBBER HIMSELF! Are you kidding me?! Just when I thought that I MIGHT have a shot at being shown mercy, I ended up meeting the guy who's known to KILL whoever he wants when he FEELS like it...! UGH!" Hide sighed with a hopeless breath, before looking up at Kaneki with a tired and exhausted look. "Figures that you'd end up crawling back from whatever shallow grave Arima sent you to… Oh well, j-just make it quick, will ya?"

Confused and feeling a bit awkward after having witnessed the young blonde man's mental breakdown happening right before his very eyes, Kaneki watched with a frown hidden underneath his kagune-covered face as Hide leaned forward on the ground to extend his neck out for Kaneki to presumably slice down on. "... I believe you're confusing me with Arata Kirishima, or 'Grave Robber', as you might know him as." Kaneki spoke calmly to Hide, who instantly looked up from where he was kneeling.

"Oh… So uh, are you just a different ghoul with a similar style of kagune, or…?!" Hide asked curiously with a bewildered look in his eyes, as he slowly got up to his feet. "I mean… That has to be the case, right? The real Grave Robber probably would have lobbed my noggin off by now, and actually… Now I think about it, Grave Robber probably would have just straight up killed me before bothering to walk all this way to talk to me."

*A clever one, isn't he?

*And he's right, partner; I would have blown him into smithereens by now.

*Of course, if you would be so kind as to allow me to take control of this mortal vessel that we're sharing, I'd gladly show you a live example.

'Shut up… I told you already that I'm in control, not you!' Kaneki argued back at the voice inside of his head, while appearing outwardly disgruntled to Hide. 'This is my body still, and even if you're claiming to have control over my soul, I refuse to allow you to hurt innocent people! Hear me!? I REFU-'

"Um… My dude, are you okay? You're kinda being twitchy right now." Hide pointed out with an uneasiness in his voice, as he was still unable to tell whether or not the man before him was still planning on still killing him or not.

*He thinks you're schizophrenic.

*You're feeling embarrassed right now, and now starting to quietly wonder to yourself whether or not your sanity is still intact.

*...

*You should work on improving your body language, partner. People are going to start thinking that you're losing your mind.

Shaking his head violently to himself, Kaneki hissed out a breath involuntarily as he tried his best to silence the taunting voice in his head, but to no avail. "I'm… I'm okay, I think." Kaneki said uncertainly to both Hide and himself, before taking a moment to recompose himself. "There's not a lot of time to explain it, but just know that I'm a human just like you; well, I was human, but now I'm a hybrid cross between a half-ghoul and a… You're not believing a word I'm saying to you, are you?" Kaneki asked with an annoyed tone in his voice, as it became extremely apparent to him that the young blonde man was just silently judging him rather than taking what he was saying to heart.

"No my dude, no I am not." Hide answered back honestly with a nervous grin on his face, as he reached up behind the back of his neck to rest his hands comfortably behind the back of his head. "I mean, I guess that doesn't really matter right now though, right? All that matters really is that you're not going to kill me, and that maybe you can help me get out of this mess by telling your Aogiri Tree buddy, uh… 'White Rabbit' (Yeah, I think that's her name) to let me leave here peacefully…!" Hide said with an anxious and hopeful look in his chocolate eyes, as he did his best to flash a friendly and charismatic smile at Kaneki. "W-What do you say!? C-Can you do that for me!?"

*You are curious about what this blonde child is talking about. You know that Aogiri Tree fell back when Grave Robber and The One Eyed Ghoul rebelled against what the group was becoming. So you wonder why he mentioned them being here.

*You are also curious to know who this 'White Rabbit' is. From what the blonde child has let on, it would seem as though this 'White Rabbit' could be rather important.

*You're going to confront this 'White Rabbit', and put an end to their life.

'Why are you narrating my thoughts…?! And hey, we're not- I mean, I'm not going to put an end to anyone's life here unless I absolutely have to...!' Kaneki argued back once again with the voice, as he physically and metaphorically put his right foot down to emphasize his stance on enforcing his beliefs against senseless violence.

Flinching before hastily stumbling to take a step back from the small cement crater where Kaneki had stomped his foot, Hide felt beads of sweat beginning to perspire on his forehead. "H-Hey buddy, so uh… W-Was that a 'yes' by chance?! As in, 'you're going to save me', maybe?!" Hide asked hopefully, as he chuckled uneasily at having to be forced to rely on someone as seemingly unstable and as intimidating looking as the man before him.

"I'm more than willing to do my part in making sure that you're able to go home safely. However, from what you've told me so far, it sounds like you're not the only one in here who's in trouble." Kaneki explained with a calm and collected aura of confidence in his voice, before continuing to speak to Hide. "Aogiri Tree was a terrorist organization that began twenty-three years ago, and was formed after CCG had raided a large underground civilization of ghouls who had lived their lives away from humans, and would only eat the collected corpses of the already deceased… Their organization was reported by CCG to have collapsed just only two years ago now… And what you're saying is that Aogiri Tree is back, which is a claim that I find to be odd, considering that most other largely militant groups take far longer to regroup; especially after CCG reported that their entire chapter was wiped out. So, my question to you is this: Who's claiming to be Aogiri Tree, is there anyone else in danger, and where are they now?"

Standing there in front of Kaneki, Hide opened his mouth to speak, but then suddenly took a moment to pause in order to shift his attention over to where the entrance leading back into the Main Office. "... My dude, I really wish you were the 'strong and silent' type of guy, and not the 'I probably have Asperger's syndrome' kind of guy." Hide mused with a deadpan and tired expression, as he nodded his head forward to gesture Kaneki to look over his armored shoulder. "They're the ones claiming to be Aogiri Tree, and now both of our lives are in danger… Oh, and as far as where they are, I think it's safe to assume that they have us cornered… So we got that going for us."

Surrounding them were around fifty hooded ghouls armed with firearms, quinques, and their own kagunes; all shimmering different hues and colors underneath the fluorescent light bulbs built into the ceiling of the underground parking garage.

Had it not been for Kaneki's kagune covering his entire face and every inch of his skin, Hide would have seen the color disappear from the Qunix's body in almost an instant. "... I see." Kaneki said quietly to the blonde young man, before placing himself in front of Hide to shield the vulnerable human. "Do you have combat training?" Kaneki asked calmly, as he quietly observed the large crowd of ghouls. with his cold and calculating eyes. "If so, try to find cover and use whatever available means of defense you can scrounge up… There's a lot of patrol cars here, I'm sure you can find something."

Caught off guard by Kaneki suggesting that Hide would join him in battle, the young blonde man stared back at him with a look of bewilderment. "Dude, I only went through the academy… I've never fought a ghoul before!"

"Don't feel self conscious about that aspect; I've never fought a ghoul either." Kaneki said reassuringly to Hide in hopes that hearing him say that would make him feel better.

Of course, hearing that his life was in the hands of someone who was just as inexperienced in combat as he was didn't quite make Hide feel any more confident about their chances for survival. "... Perfect. Anyways, since we're going to die together, I might as well tell you my name before these goons make their move." Hide said nihilistically to Kaneki, who was still scanning his eyes over the army of ghouls, who for some reason appeared hesitant to make their advance toward them. "Hideyoshi Nagachika is my real name, but people just call me 'Hide' for short. What about you, edgelord? What's your gamer tag?"

Rolling his eyes as Hide's attempt at trying to use humor to lighten the mood of what was to come, Kaneki let out a quiet sigh while still not daring to break eye contact with the Aogiri Tree ghouls. "My name is Ken Kaneki, I'm seventeen years old. I'm moved to Tokyo to achieve my dreams with the help of… A dear friend of mine." Kaneki said respectfully, while trying to also not upset himself in such a dire moment. "Hide, I want you to do what I said, and try to find yourself a weapon to give me support… I know that this is scary, and you don't want to fight, but… This has to be done, and going against hesitation will lead us to victory."

*... Ah, I see.

*You're finally realizing that it's either them or you.

*'Because it has to be done', right?

*Here partner, allow me shoulder your burden and help you in your endeavors.

*Ahem...

*Aogiri Tree Novices: The only thing these clearly inexperienced ghouls have going for them is the sheer size they have in numbers. It's apparent to you that many of them have never held a firearm in their lives before, and their combative stances are not only lackluster, but fabricated and mimicked from what they believe to be effective martial arts stances.

*You can tell that many of them are visibly shaking in your presence; they recognize the kagune you have, and know of the tales of 'Grave Robber'.

*They're afraid of you.

*...

*And they have every right to be.

I had Arima fight the version of Enji Koma that never joined Anteiku for two reasons.

One: To give a look into Tokyo Ghoul Root QX's universe and how it differs from the canon. In the previous version of this fan fiction, I felt restricted a bit because I felt the need to write my fanfic while forcing it to fit canon as closely as I could make it, and the result was lackluster. I want to show the creative freedom in the fanfic.

Two: I wanted to make money puns.

Also as of now, Ihei and Arima aren't related.

On a different note, I have several character dynamics that I've wanted to list out in the author's notes to share them with you.

Kaneki and Hinami have a dynamic different from the canon. Both characters want to do their part to help others by uniting them and achieving a lasting peace. However, Kaneki seeks this by trying to use science to his advantage, while Hinami relies on her faith and her mysterious kagune abilities. They essentially represent science and religion that work together to improve the lives of others. They've both suffered from recent tragedies and are forced to push their heartache aside to pursue a righteous goal. They are very similar yet come from polar opposite backgrounds.

Arima and Ihei are extremely close, while Koori and Ihei often have petty arguments, mental and playful banter. Ihei is sweet, gentle, yet fierce and enjoys fighting. Koori enjoys helping others and protecting his friends while pursuing justice.

Arima is hands down the best fighter in Squad Zero, and is far more skilled than Kaneki will be. The only real edge that Kaneki has when it comes to fighting is the raw power and improved reaction time that Arata gives him.

Hide will be there in the story, and will be important. However, this will not have him as the main protagonist like the previous version.

Eto and Arata share history together, and it'll be revealed more as the story goes on. Rize is more conniving than Eto, and while she appears to be working in favor of Eto, Rize of course has a bigger picture in mind. She knows Eto, despite being powerful like Arata, would be a tyrant who would try to implement the ideas of a violent society to make the strong in charge.

Without the Washuu Clan, V will fall apart, and without Arima or Yoshimura supporting V, their group will not be the antagonist of this story.

Anyways, these ideas are pretty much what I have in mind, but they aren't set in stone. If you have any ideas or thoughts of where I could make improvement, please don't feel discouraged to let me know! I love criticism!

Thank you, and have a good day!