It's been a while since I've last updated, simply because I've had to rewrite this chapter several times before finally being satisfied with it.

Edit (7/31/2020): Fixed Dr. Kanou's name.

By the time Kaneki and Arima were rudely awakened by Yomo and Ayato and had been given a short period of time to briefly answer whatever questions their ghoul hosts had, the morning dawn's sun was beginning to rise from over the horizon of the war-strucked city. With the only light illuminating the chained-up coffee shop being the rays of sunlight that were able to make their way through the closed blinds and the occasional bullet hole alongside the wall separating the dining area from the aftermath of last night's chaos outside, Yomo sipped greedily at his dark coffee as he stood at the end of the largest dining table.

Threatening to push the limits of his body's ability to stay awake, Yomo took a moment to close his eyes to take in the comforting steamy-warmth that the warm drink in his hand was able to provide him. That's when he suddenly tasted something wrong with his coffee; not only were there still coffee grounds inside his drink, but at a second glance, it had appeared that he had accidentally been given some of his nephew's coffee creamer. "This tastes terrible… Ayato, I knew you were tired too, but God damn…! I don't think even Touka's coffee tastes this bad, and even then, at least she doesn't put shit I can't drink inside of it..."

With dark bags underneath his eyes that were only half-covered due to the white surgical eyepatch that he wore, Ayato was still able to convey a look of outrage in response to hearing his uncle insulting his freshly brewed coffee that he had served in his current sleep-deprived state.

"What the Hell did you just say, Yomo!? I don't know who's ass you've been eating to ruin your tastebuds like that, but the coffee I brew is the same recipe the Manager uses to make his!" Ayato retorted with an annoyed look in his blue and bloodshot eye. "Besides, I didn't pour cream into your cup… I accidentally gave you mine by mistake, was all."

Letting out an annoyed groan underneath his breath, the ghoul resisted the urge to shatter the ceramic mug into thousand pieces onto the wooden floor below. The floor of the dining area was already covered in shattered glass and chunks of drywall, so there was no point in Yomo having to add onto the mess that he knew he would probably end up having to to clean anyway.

Feeling that his morning was already starting off on a bad foot, Yomo took a moment to glance across the table to where the two people who he held a grudge against the most stood: Kaneki, who he saw as nothing more than just a vessel for Arata, and Arima, who he still held a grudge against. "... So, are you two whiny bastards ready to get down to business, or are you going to complain about being hungry again?"

Placing down the dirty cup of hose water that Yomo had given to them as a substitution of a healthy breakfast, Kaneki arched a brow at the white haired ghoul's insult. "Well that's just rude… Anyway, I don't see why you're being hostile right now, considering that there's no reason to be under any sort of distress, because I already have a plan on what we need to do."

Dumbfounded at how confidently Kaneki looked when he had announced to him and everyone else in the room that he had already formulated a plan within the first twenty minutes of being awake, Yomo soon found the young man to be just as arrogant as Arata was when he was alive.

"Really? You're telling me that you've somehow come up with a plan to end the violence between CCG and Aogiri Tree, without actually knowing what's going on, other than what you've seen last night while running away from my niece?"

"... Yes, but I feel as though the way you just worded that, along with the look you're giving me, is an indication for me to be under the assumption that you're mocking me." Kaneki replied back with a frown on his face. "Even if that's the case, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and go on ahead and explain my plan."

While Ayato was too tired to make a quip of his own, the teenager opted instead to lower his elbow down onto the table so that he could get comfortable by placing his chin down on his open palm to support his head, while he and the two other men in the room waited for the qunix to speak.

*Tell them how we're going to wipe out Aogiri Tree for the second and last time, and how we're going to be the one to destroy Tokyo's CCG chapter once and for all.

*Because deep down, you know that's really our only realistic goal, in light of the fact that both sides want one another to be destroyed as well.

'Stop it.' Kaneki scolded Arata inside of the sanctity of his mind, in order to avoid being seen as crazy, before announcing to everyone of his quickly formed thought-out-plan.

"It's rather simple, actually! In order to defeat Aogiri Tree, we're going to have to either have their executive members step down from their position, or defeat them; the same can be said about CCG… It's going to be a rather large scale operation, so in order to stop both sides from killing each other and anyone else in their way, we're going to need to create our own faction as well."

Unimpressed with what Kaneki had to say, Yomo rolled his eyes at the young quinx's half-assed plan before speaking in a groggy voice. "Give me a damn break, kid… And how are you expecting to pursue that goal? Going door-to-door like you're a damned Girl Scout? Besides, who exactly are you aiming to join your hypothetical group?"

"... Goodness gracious, you're in a terrible mood, aren't you?!" Kaneki finally commented with an offended look on his face, which earned him a low grumble from the grouchy ghoul. "Ignoring the fact that you were being more than a little bit rude and sarcastic with me, allow me to exhibit the method of which I plan on exercising in order to recruit members of ANY race into my up and coming 'hypothetical' group." Kaneki said with a bit of sass in his voice, before suddenly turning around to face Ayato, who had accidentally fallen asleep moments after asking his question to the qunix.

Feeling the sudden jolt of alertness from Kaneki putting his hand down on his shoulder to shake him awake, Ayato immediately slurped up whatever excess drool was clinging to his bottom lip before opening his bloodshot eye.

"I'm awake, I'm awake…!" Ayato slurred out with a panicked and startled tone, as he quickly stumbled to catch himself on the corner of the table.

"Ayato." Kaneki addressed with a patient and optimistic smile on his face, as he retracted his hand away from the teenager's shoulder. "We've decided to start up our own faction in order to unify humans and ghouls in Tokyo, which means that I'm going to try to recruit the executives from Aogiri Tree and whoever I can get from CCG to join us. You're still onboard with helping us do this, right? That way, we don't have to end the lives of your friends and family. You want that too, don't you?"

Needing a second to process everything that he had just heard Kaneki spew at him with, Ayato failed to notice the exchanging looks of confusion on both Yomo and Arima's face, as he soon found himself nodding. "Uh.. Y-Yeah? Why wouldn't I want that?"

"Phenomenal! So just that there's no room left for ambiguity in this exchange, you'll be joining my faction then, and support our cause?" Kaneki asked with a wide and friendly smile on his face.

"Y-Yeah… Yeah, I'll join." Ayato replied back with a significant amount of confusion and exhaustion in his voice, as he only then began to look around the room. "So um… What happens now?" Ayato asked, as he began to ponder on what the word 'ambiguity' meant.

"Well first thing's first Ayato: You're not really much use to anyone right now in the current state you're in. So in my professional opinion as a ghoul biologist and as this faction's leader, my first appointed order to you is to go upstairs and get eight hours of sleep! That way, you'll be well-rested so that you can switch places with your uncle, so that you can guard our temporary base of operations." Kaneki replied back in lengthy detail, as he gestured with his head over toward the staircase located across from where they were standing.

*My, my.

*I see you're just as good at manipulating others into doing what you want just as well as a doctor was able to do.

*Ironic, considering that you were his apprentice for an entirely different reason, isn't it?

*...

*It doesn't matter, really.

*The only thing that matters is us finally ridding Tokyo of those two groups once and for all.

"Oh thank God…!" Ayato muttered out in a relieved breath, before beginning to make his way toward his bedroom upstairs. However, his journey to the realm of slumber was cut short when Yomo suddenly reached over to grab him by his shoulder to stop him in his tracks. Turning his head over his shoulder to glare at his uncle, Ayato let out a frustrated groan. "What the Hell are you doing Yomo…?! Didn't you hear Kaneki? I'm gonna go rest up so your grumpy-ass can sleep next!"

"The Hell you are!" Yomo snapped back, before turning his attention back toward Kaneki's overly-optimistic smile, that was now becoming more and more closer to being borderline mockingly smug by the passing second.

"I have to admit, you're one silver-tongue bastard; I'll give you that. Still, who the fuck died and made you king?" Yomo asked in a bitter tone, as he took a step closer toward the unphased qunix, who was beginning to look more and more like how Arata used to back in his youth; which to Yomo, translated into Kaneki having an extremely punchable face.

"Unless you're wanting to take up the position of a leader that's capable of being able to recruit and have others follow your orders into what has to be done, regardless of what's right and wrong, I'm more than willing to take that position." Kaneki answered back with a determined smile, as he continued to stare back at Yomo without breaking eye contact.

"We can continue to bicker about this another time if you're still unhappy about my self-appointed leadership role, but for now we're going to have to work together in order to find a far larger and more secure structure to call our headquarters."

"... What the Hell are you trying to say? You don't think that Anteiku isn't good enough to be a stronghold?!" Yomo asked with a bit of snarkiness in his voice, as he was beginning to finally lose the last of his dwindling patience with the qunix.

"Anteiku has a supple amount of meat for ghouls to consume on, along with coffee and rooms with running hot water and electricity. On top of this being more than a sufficient place to operate from, we have a cellar in the kitchen that'll grant us access to the underground flood system, meaning that we're able to travel without risking being caught in the line of fire between CCG and Aogiri Tree."

"Oh that's great news…! That means that we'll be able to keep this place as one of our places of operations after all!" Kaneki said ecstatically, which was quite the opposite reaction that Yomo had been anitpcating. "That'll make things less complete in the long run… Yomo, I think I have a solution to solve our power struggle."

"Power struggle…?! What 'power struggle'?! I never even agreed for you to lead me, you little shi-"

'-How about I make you an executive, and give you control of Anteiku's operations and personnel?" Kaneki asked with a cooperative look on his face, as he stuck out his outstretched hand for Yomo to shake. "I believe it'll be for the best, considering that it's apparent that you know more about this coffee shop and its layout than myself; as in, I know like three rooms in this entire place."

Stopping his hand from reaching up to shake Kaneki's hand, Yomo found himself tightening his grasp on his nephew while considering what the qunix had offered with a grain of salt. It was true that unlike the manager of Anteiku, Yomo himself lacked the Yoshimura-Charisma to recruit others to not only join his cause, but to follow his orders.

He knew who Arima was, and wasn't under the guise that the Special Class Investigator knew how to lead outside of a small group of his own who were appointed to him to begin with.

Considering that his options to choose a leader were limited to a sadistic daughter of the Washuu clan, a fourteen year-old religious ghoul with a savior-complex, and his asshole nephew who hated socializing, there wasn't really an alternative for Yomo to really choose from aside from Kaneki..

Earning a low whine from Ayato due to how hard his grip was becoming, Yomo released his hold on his nephew before letting out a sigh of defeat. "… Fine." Yomo said reluctantly, which came as a surprise to Kaneki, who was expecting the ghoul to put up more of a fight.

*Yomo has always been stubborn.

*If I were to make an assumption to explain why he's being this cooperative with you, it's more than likely because he's too tired to argue anymore.

*However, with that being said...

*To ensure that he does follow our commands without posing as a liability in the future, let him know that he can consider our orders as merely 'suggestions'.

*That way he can keep whatever pride he has left intact.

Arata suggested to Kaneki, who couldn't agree more with the advice being given to him by the voice in his head. "If it makes you feel better Yomo, you can consider my orders as 'suggestions' instead," Kanekiu chimed in with only the best of intentions. Of course, that only pissed Yomo off even more.

"Alright smartass, let's just get down to the brass of what your first 'suggestion' is…" Yomo retorted back begrudgingly, as he prepared himself to be once again disappointed at what Kaneki had to say..

"How about this? Arima and I will head back to whatever's left of the Main Office to look around for any weapons we can use or supply to any future recruits; that way, we're able to equip him and Ihei with the necessary arms to utilize their abilities to their fullest extent?"

While Yomo had never been enthralled by the idea of risking the lives of his friends in similar past operations, Kaneki and Arima were not his friends by any stretch of the imagination.

Unlike the feeling of disappointment that he was expecting to feel after listening to the qunix yet again, Yomo was actually extremely supportive of the idea of sending Kaneki and Arima to what could potentially spell out their deaths. He would either rid the world of them, or be rewarded with supplies and potentially even ghouls who were willing to help their cause.

For Yomo, it was a win-win situation.

"Now that's an idea that I can get behind…!" Yomo said with a half-cocked smirk on his face, which relieved the tension in the room for Kaneki, who was beginning to consider the possibility that the stubborn ghoul before him was finally willing to cooperate.

"I'll stay here and watch over everyone, while Ayato… Oh, he's gone already." Yomo said out loud, as he along with Kaneki and Arima turned their focus toward the spot where the young blue-haired teenager had been standing just moments before Yomo and Kaneki began to argue. "Little bastard… In any case, I'll ensure that Anteiku is secure in your absence, and keep things flowing smoothly until your uncertain return."

"Wowie! You mean it?! Y-You're actually going to listen to me now?!" Kaneki asked out loud with a genuine look of surprise and relief on his face; which broke whatever confident facade he had going for him. "That's really good to hear…! For a while there, I figured you were going to be far more problematic for me… Or worse, haha ha… Ha."

"... So long as your 'suggestions' are in line for what's best for Tokyo and my family, I suppose that I'll cooperate and play nice with you… So long as you're willing to take criticism and not let that power get to your head." Yomo said sternly.

Snorting quietly at the thought of allowing his leadership position to overtake his already questionable moral compass and judgement, Kaneki shook his head at the idea. "Of course I'm not going to let that happen! Who do you think I am? Some sort of megalomaniac?"

Resisting the urge to answer the question truthfully, Yomo swallowed back his tongue just long enough for him to build up the gull to not speak his mind openly. "... I hope you aren't." Was all the ghoul was going to let on, before finally having enough of the two CCG affiliated members standing in his coffee shop. "I think you two should go now while it's still early."

Looking over Yomo's broad shoulders in an attempt to take a peek at the ravaged streets outside, Kaneki decided to just wait to open the front door before finally nodding his head. "I agree completely… But uh, Arima, you um… You've been extremely quiet during the period of this exchange. I'm actually, um… Unsure whether or not you're willing to actually join my faction."

*That's quite normal for him.

*Kishou was never much of a talker unless you were important to him.

Arata said reassuringly to Kaneki, while Yomo began to join in on having his suspicions on what the White Reaper's intentions actually were. "The kid has a point, Kishou; your lack of communication is leaving us in the dark here. I mean, you've always had a sense of loyalty to CCG, after all."

"Yomo has a valid point, Arima. I was only a part of CCG so that I could learn directly from Dr. Kanou himself as his apprentice." Kaneki admitted, while Arima stared quietly back at him; more specifically, the investigator was focusing directly into Kaneki's right eye. "What I'm asking from you is for some quality reassurance for me to know that you won't immediately try to kill me at the first chance you get."

After finding himself transfixed on the red iris that was stirring a flurry of emotions within the heart of the White Reaper himself, Arima finally broke his silence with an elongated sigh. "... Kaneki," Arima spoke quietly, as he continued to make eye contact with the qunix, "you said you're some sort of conduit for Arata to relay his knowledge and presence to, correct? As in, he's constantly listening to whatever conversation you're having?"

"Not only that, but his presence can sense movements and detect attacks before they actually happen, even if it's out of my line of vision! Thanks to his cognitive ability, he was the reason why I was able to survive my encounter with Touka in the first place… Why, were you hoping to talk to him, or something?" Kaneki asked with a curious look on his face, which was met by a calm nod from the White Reaper.

*I suppose it's to be expected that he'd want to speak to me.

*Him and I have an extensive history together, you see.

*Although, I'm curious as well as you are to see how this relates to him answering your question...

Arata mused to Kaneki, who was more than ready to become a real-life medium. "How exciting! Speaking to the dead, beyond the grave! I really should focus on expanding on the field of supernatural science once I finish doing what I need to do as a ghoul biologist…!" Kaneki said out loud with a wide-toothy grin plastered across his lips. "I'll just repeat whatever he says so… Ask away!"

"... Arata." Arima finally said aloud, after finally putting whatever lingering doubts he had aside in order to at least give talking to the apparent spirit of his rival a chance.

*Kishou.

Although he still wasn't sold on the idea quite yet, hearing Kaneki addressing him the same way that Arata once had sent a shiver down the investigator's back. "... Can you tell me about our last fight?"

*Straight to the point, and through the taboo, huh Kishou?

*Figures that you would use that as a test...

*After all, once I finished killing Tatara, you and I were alone down underneath the 11th Ward, weren't we?

*...

*I digress.

*February 28, 2018:

*After I killed the executives and whoever was foolish enough to stand in my way, that's when you came at me wielding a quinque made up of my own kakuja.

*Although, if I remember right, you had blue hair back then, didn't you?

*Did that quinque I ended up destroying before receiving the killing blow from you really take so much from your youth?

*You were only twenty-six years old when we fought.

*You looked so young back then.

*...

*Now, you look far too old for your age, Kishou.

*Far too old.

Although his sotic face didn't show it, Arima was actually shaken to the core at how accurately Kaneki was able to relay the day of Arata's death. Knowing that there was no way that Kaneki, let alone Yomo, would have known about that fateful day, Arima finally realized the horrifying truth that was staring right back at him.

Arata was truly back, and he had taken residency within the soul of the young man who was Hellbount on ending the two others' factions; a goal that was identical to Arata's own back when he was still alive.

"I see… So, it really is you, isn't it?" Arima finally asked out loud, after needing a moment to process what he had just heard.

*Yes, it really is, Kishou.

*Now, get on with that you were going to say.

*We don't have time for these incessant and pointless questions.

Shifting his grey and red eyes from Arima back to Yomo, Kaneki let out a nervous chuckle after relaying Arata's snarky comment. "Don't look at me like that; I'm only repeating what Arata's saying…!" Kaneki said defensively, as he reminded both white-haired men that he shouldn't be held responsible for what was coming out of his mouth.

"Of course…" Arima muttered with an expressionless look on his face, as he took a moment to push the thin frame of his glasses up the bridge of his narrow nose before speaking once more. "Arata, you remember me mentioning earlier that I was at the 20th Ward's Main Office during the same time that you and Kaneki were there, correct?"

*Yes, I do.

*Go on.

"... What I didn't mention to either of you was who I was there with." Arima said ominously, which earned him an intrigued look from both Kaneki and Yomo, who were mere spectators to the conversation being held before them.

"Last night, I was there when Rize was killed by one of my squad members… He was killed by Eto."

*Really?

*...

*I never figured that Eto had it in her…

*Still, regardless of my younger sister's dramatic change in character, I have to ask the reason why you're telling me all of this?

Needing a moment to push past the sense of melancholy that his self reflection was forcing him to go through, Arima let out another deep breath of air before continuing to speak. "She… She asked me why I was fighting, and what was my reason for being able to look past the atrocities that I've been willing to commit…"

"... Eto essentially was asking me how I was able to go on the way I've been living my life for all of these years."

*...

*And you weren't able to answer that question, were you?

Smirking joylessly at how accurately Arata was still able to see right through him, Arima let out a dry chuckle as he softly nodded. "Yeah… Yeah, you're right; I wasn't able to give her an answer… How did you know?"

*Simple.

*Because I remember her asking me that same question before I left her behind to kill the rest of Aogiri Tree's executives.

*And…

*And I wasn't able to answer her question either.

*The question that's plague even the most enlightened philosophers throughout the ages:

*She too asked me the question of 'why?'

Although he wouldn't admit it openly, not that he needed to, Arima felt a strange sort of kinship with Arata, and always had in the past as well. They were both two enigmas who were powerful and took it upon themselves to commit evil for the sake of wanting to change the world in a route paved with good intentions.

Of course, both of them weren't oblivious to the fact that their good intentions weren't ever good enough to truly justify the lives they've both taken.

"... I've been thinking about what she said, and in light of last night's events, I… I think I finally have a reason to be brave enough to do what's right for once in my life." Arima lamented with a sudden determined tone in his voice, as he stared intently at Kaneki; as though Arata was standing right before him in that very dining area.

"Despite whatever reputation my squad was able to accumulate for ourselves within the duration of our lives with CCG, at the end of the day, we were considered as nothing more than expendable tools."

"... It really became self-evident for me, to the point where I could no longer ignore it any longer when Hairu last night had been fatally wounded, and CCG had made it a priority before hand to inform us that we wouldn't be able to receive medical attention for last night's mass counter-terrorist operation."

"... Seeing her dying in my arms was the most scared I've ever been." Arima said with a solemn expression on his face, which actually managed to catch Yomo off guard. During the entire twenty-four years that he had been alive, Yomo never once imagined that the White Reaper himself was capable of showing humility; a revelation that wasn't new to Arata in the least.

*...

*That girl's ability to regenerate organic matter is what saved her, wasn't it?

*... That look in your eyes.

*...

*She means more to you than just a ghoul, doesn't she?

*Just as you see that Washuu girl as more than just your subordinate, isn't that right Kishou?

"... Yeah, that's right.." Arima replied back with a small smile beginning to form on his lips. "I know that I've let so many people down, and I've been a fool to myself for far too long… Before last night, I thought that I couldn't live for anyone else…"

"I even thought that living for myself was outside the range of possibility as well…"

"But ever since last night when my life was saved by my fallen co-... By my brother, who sacrificed his own life to save mine, not because he believed in CCG's cause… But because he loved our squad like his own family."

*...

*I understand what it feels like to want to turn back time, Kishou.

*But what's done is done.

*...

*You're going to carry that weight, so the best thing you can do for yourself is to respect that the ones you love mean more than anything.

*That's the best advice I can give you.

"... Kaneki," Arima said, as he addressed the young man rather than the voice inside of the qunix's head; which admittingly caught Kaneki off guard and nearly made his heart skip a beat.

"Y-Yeah?" Kaneki asked with a surprised look on his face, after having been so deeply enveloped with the conversation that Arata and Arima were having with one another.

"I won't stand by and let either CCG or Aogiri Tree lay another hand on my family; that should be enough reassurance for you to take solace in." Arima said with a momentarily serious look on his face, before slowly beginning to smile once again. "Who knows? With Arata and I on your side, we might have a better advantage of being able to use our influence to recruit both humans and ghouls who might not otherwise join our cause."

Although Kaneki was more than emotionally touched after having been a medium for Arata and Arima to once again rekindle with one another to finally join forces once again, Yomo couldn't help but feel a stinging sense of cynicism from what he had just heard.

"What a load of bullshit…!" Yomo spat out venomously, which earned him a glare from his newly-appointed leader.

"Yomo, you're stepping out of line… If we're going to be operating as an efficient team, you'll have to let go of whatever was in the past, so that we can stay focused on the objective on hand."

Smirking humorlessly at how closely similar Kaneki was really starting to sound like how Arata spoke, Yomo shook his head at the qunix before finally losing his temper. "Shut the fuck up, kid…! This has NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, to do with you or your egotistical ass…!"

No longer willing to put up with how Yomo was speaking to him, Kaneki felt himself tightening his fists into balls at his sides as he felt himself baring his teeth at the ghoul. Before he was able to speak up for himself and risk further aggravating the ghoul, the voice inside of his head spoke to him once again.

*Don't.

*This needs to happen.

*...

*Just let him say what he needs to say.

Biting back his tongue as instructed to, Kaneki begrudgingly released whatever anger he felt for the white haired ghoul, and waited for him to speak as Yomo looked away from him to address Arima.

"Am I supposed to just forget the unforgivable shit you've done to my family? Or did not matter back then, Kishou? Tell me, does the concept of family only matter to you now that you're claiming to have one of your own...?!"

Turning his head to stare back at the ghoul with a look of empathy in his grey eyes, Arima simply shook his head softly before speaking. "I'm not going to pretend what I did back then was justified in any sense, Yomo. What I did to Hikari was an instance of me blindly following an order without being able to muster up the courage to question or defy it…"

"... You're not the only person I've wronged, Yomo; there's far too many wrongdoings that I've done in my life working as an investigator that need to be atoned for." Arima continued to explain, as he stared cooly at the clearly upset ghoul before him, who wasn't having any of what the man was trying to tell him.

"You being sorry about what you did to my older sister and my family doesn't mean jackshit to me!" Yomo spat back under his low voice, before turning his glare over to Kaneki. "Arata, that was your wife! This bastard's the one who practically signed her death warrant when he sent Hikari to Cochlea! How the Hell can you talk to him like old men catching up on life!?"

Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Kaneki was forced into a position where he had to quickly fumble with his thoughts before repeating what Arata had to say in response to Yomo's outrage.

*...

*Yomo, believe me when I say this:

*You're not doing yourself or Hikari, me, or either my children any favors by holding onto that grudge.

*We've all done deeds that both ruined and ended the lives of others; your older sister wasn't an exception or mattered and more and less than the lives we've taken ourselves.

*...

*Let sleeping dogs lie, Yomo.

*Because at the end of the day, your hatred for Kishou isn't going to bring your sister back.

Eyes wide while grinding his molars against one another, Yomo couldn't believe what he had just heard; or maybe he could, and didn't want to believe what he was hearing.

"... I should have known better than to ask you, Arata; it's not like family ever meant anything to you to begin with." Yomo said with a disappointed and enraged look on his face, as he turned away from Kaneki to face the shattered windows that were only covered by whatever remained of the white blinds.

With his back turned toward Kaneki and Arima, Yomo let out a quiet sigh before speaking quietly in a hushed tone.

"... Leave." He said, before finally shutting out the rest of the world.

*...

*There's nothing more that we can do for him.

*Leave him be.

Although he had no part in whatever drama was taking place before him, Kaneki himself couldn't help but feel frustrated from seeing how stubborn his newfound teammate was being. "It's like watching a Telenovela…" Kaneki muttered under his breath, which ended up being louder than he had anticipated it being.

Luckily for Kaneki, no one in that room knew what a Telenovela was, so all he got was a sideways glare from Yomo and a confused stare from Arima before they went back into sulking in their own sorrow.

To reinforce his position as his nameless faction's leader, Kaneki decided to take charge of the situation in the room by turning around to face Arima with an optimistic and determined look on his face, to show the older man that he at least had the confidence to pretend that he knew what he was doing.

"Arima, we should get going; Yomo can handle himself here, and we should head over there before all of the firearms and quinques are taken." Kaneki declared, before gesturing with his head for the Special Class Investigator to follow suit behind him, as he headed toward the entrance of the coffee shop.

"It's a nice day outside, and I think we oughta survey what's going on the surface before we think about traveling underground." Kaneki said suggestively, as to give off the appearance that he wanted to make a tactical decision. But in reality, Kaneki really just wanted to go for a morning walk for the sake of enjoying the weather outside.

While Kaneki was walking away to open the front door, Arima came to a stop just as he made his way behind Yomo. Turning his neck so that he was staring at the swept down backside of the ghoul's white hair, Arima said nothing as he reached up with his hand to place it on top of Yomo's shoulder.

Although his initial reaction was to turn around to punch the other man straight in the jaw, Yomo hesitated as he felt Arima's finger tightened reassuringly on his shoulder. Realizing the gesture to be an act of Arima giving him his sympathy, Yomo instead remained still.

Practically having held his breath during the entire time he turned his back to Kaneki and Arima, Yomo felt a burdening weight freeing itself the moment he felt the White Reaper letting go of his shoulder.

The moment Yomo heard the door closing behind him followed by the symphony of silence in the dining area to let him know that he was truly alone, he released his shaking breath through a elongated sigh before reaching up to wipe away the tears from his eyes that he had tried to hide from the other two men.

"G-God Damnit…!"

A bit of a short chapter compared to my previous ones, but I felt like a short one was needed to introduce the second arc, and to showcase how and why Kaneki and Arima will be working together.

Not a lot of action in this chapter other than dramatic tension and arguing, but hey, after writing this chapter about five times, this is what I felt worked best to act as a transition into Kaneki and Arima exploring the 20th Ward and getting into trouble together.

Arima is mostly in character, save for his revelation that was explained and given backstory to.

Rather than having a goody-goody-two-shoes Kaneki like my previous first edition of this fanfic, Kaneki isn't an innocent person as we were able to see in this chapter. He's a bit of a megalomaniac, and shares a lot in common with Arata, despite their different approaches, they both want the same thing.

Anyways, hopefully the next chapter comes out sooner. Thank you for reading, and have a good one.