PLS READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE BELOW LATER!

Chapter 15

The Terror of 8PM

Ward 15, 7:58 PM

"Banjou to Touka. Are you stand by?"

"Team Rabbit, stand by."

"Understood."

Banjou covered his body with a torn red cloth and wore his mask that only covered his mouth. It looked like a gas mask.

His team was behind him, ready to receive orders. Zen was also there with his raven mask which he didn't wear before. The mask was shaped like a raven head, complete with its beak. The mask was the work of his personal request to the maker.

Banjou's team was standing on the roof top of a building which stood on the side of the street. The plan was they'd jump when reinforcements came. They had done this countless times; the fear was more for the heights. But Zen could fly for a short period of time so he was already used to it.

Giro's team was on the other side of the building's roof top. They were also waiting for a chance to ambush the upcoming enemies.

Rize's and Nishiki's team stood by on the street. They were ready to take the enemies head on.

"Oi, Rize." Nishiki called out to The Binge Eater from behind his snake mask.

"What?"

"Where's your boyfriend, now? He said he'll participate this time." Said Nishiki after he looked around to see his leader not in sight.

"He will later. He got something to prepare. Maybe he will come in the middle of the party." Rize chuckled, feeling excited.

Meanwhile the main raiding teams all stood by in front of the CCG's Main Base of 15th Ward. Some were standing on top of the neighboring building to jump quickly to the higher floors. All what's left was the cue that would be given by Touka.

"One minute until mission. Please put on your masks and cloaks." Touka reminded before countdown.

"Yamori, where's the boss?" Kazu asked the blonde who was already ready with his authentic Jason mask.

Yamori grinned beneath that mask as he cracked a finger, "He'll come soon enough. We just have to focus on slaughtering the humans."

"I seriously cannot wait to see Kaneki-kun~" Itori said.

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to see him that long this time. Too bad." Tsukiyama dramatically exhaled.

"Electricity shuts down in 9..."

"Get ready, everyone." Uta said to his team. Everyone began to wear their hoods and ready to strike the moment their captain ran.

"8... 7... 6..."

Rize looked behind her, hearing the countdown always make her feel excited—even though this time she would only guard the entry way.

"5... 4... 3..."

All raiding team members released their kagune.

"2... 1..."

Touka held out her hand, signaling to her members to shut down the building's power source.

"Turn it off."

In an instant, the CCG's base that was filled with light turned pitch black. As if that building was abandoned by its residents.

Some of the members in Touka's team had super hearing and sensitive with their surroundings. They could hear the sound of screaming, they were panicking. And they knew what it meant.

Sudden power failure in 8PM. The terror of Mukade began.

"Begin operation!"

"Let's do this, ladies and gentlemen!" Tsukiyama screamed excitedly as he ran on ahead towards the glass front door, leaving his hiding spot behind. His team followed him from behind and was just as excited as the captain.

"Let's end this quick, shall we?" Uta smiled and also ran ahead leading his team to the back door. They weren't planning on letting any humans escape.

"Let's go!" Itori, with her released kagune and clown mask also ran on ahead. She had already waited long enough in boredom for this day.

"Stay on guard." Kazu forewarned. His team was standing on the neighbor's building, and they jumped towards the fifth floor. The window shattered and the ghouls on the street could already hear the riot.

Rize smirked, trembling with excitement. She really hoped that her part would come really soon. She was kind of hungry and being close to famished.

"Hurry up and come, CCG... Gotta refill my tummy real soon." Rize licked her lips.

Nishiki who stood beside her could sense the madness coming from his vice-leader. He seriously couldn't understand The Binge Eater, let alone Jason. Kaneki might be the only sane one between the three of them.

"Shit! Power failure!?" An investigator who sat in front of his PC glanced around the room frantically, to make sure it was actually someone who turned off the room's light and he was the only one with that crappy computer, "I haven't saved my report! Are you kidding me!?" He pulled out his hair, feeling frustrated.

The whole office room's occupants were also groaning, complaining why in the world it happened so suddenly. The outside was dark so it was hard to check your surroundings. The only little source of light was coming from the moon.

The frustrated man's subordinate pulled out her phone to use the screen as the source of light, "How could it be... It was running just fine these past months... What time is it, anyway?" She checked her phone to see that it was 8PM.

"What time is it, Akemi?" Asked the man.

"8 PM...Wait," Akemi jerked up her head after she realized something important and crucial, "Shit...! It's 8 PM! Centipede is coming!"

And immediately everybody gasped, followed by curses and yelling. Immediately they grabbed their weapons under their desks, ready to fight.

Suddenly, the window shattered, letting a group of uninvited ghouls inside. They were menacingly standing in front of the terrified low-class investigators, blocking the moonlight and only showed pairs of glowing red eyes.

"Which one of you is the leader?" Kazu asked before he started the killing.

Nobody answered, so he changed the question, "Which one of you is the strongest?"

Again, silence.

"At-attack!" Shouted one of them. The others all released their quinques and began to charge with all their might.

The raven haired ghoul sighed under his mask. Without his order, his team already knew what to do. Kazu always said to them, 'Do what you think is necessary as long as you are still in my line of sight.' Why? The man was just too lazy to order them around yet he still made sure team doesn't mess around. He wasn't much of a talker, and he preferred to be silent when he fights.

The party started when kagune and quinques clashed with each other, creating that satisfying sound. 4 investigators came to Kazu with quinques in hand. With his glowing red koukaku kagune, Kazu slashed the first man's stomach before his weapon even reached him. Then he parried the upcoming attack from the second man smoothly and cut the man's head off. His leg kicked the third man away and he swiftly rotated his body to stab the fourth man's heart. Of course, the strong ghoul didn't forget the last one. So he approached the trembling target and stabbed his heart.

"CENTIPEDES—!"

A woman's screeching voice came from his left. She was the one who realized the upcoming disaster, Akemi. Her quinque was held high in the air, ready to give a down strike towards Kazu. Kazu reflected the quinque with his hard kagune, he felt the force was heavier than before but it wasn't something he couldn't handle. He had worse.

"Are you the strongest here?" Kazu asked nonchalantly. His kagune didn't waver as his red eyes glared sharply towards the human.

The attacker grinned to show her enemy that she wasn't scared one bit, "Why don't you test me?" She taunted. She quickly stepped back and rethought another strategy to behead the ghoul.

Kazu, without much talking, dashed his way towards the brave Dove. Akemi successfully defended herself with her quinque and pushed back. She wasn't really that weak, she could put up a fight.

Akemi swung her blade wildly yet precise. She was determined to exterminate her target. She knew the ghoul who easily avoided all of her attacks was the strongest one amongst the others. Yet she took the chance and took the shortcut to melt the group down. She wanted to minimize the casualties. A lot of her co-workers died around her, but she did not waver and firmly grabbed her weapon.

When Akemi saw there was a small opening, she sent her blade to pierce ahead with its sharp end.

"Hah!"

However, she failed.

The end of the blade met a sturdy wall of mutated flesh. It was glowing again, showing the attacker that it didn't change anything and was a pointless attempt.

"You're just as weak as the others. I shouldn't have expected much from mere Bureau Investigators, huh?" Kazu said before he disarmed Akemi from her quinque. Without waiting any longer, the strong ghoul beheaded the losing Dove, giving her a quick death. The head fell down to the corpse's feet, followed by the body to fall.

Looking at the fresh corpse, Kazu felt the need to eat. He thought 6 cans of coffee were enough to hold his hunger a while longer. But it was futile. The man decided to follow his plan to eat in tonight's mission.

Kazu bent down and rested a knee on the ceramic floor while the other propped his left elbow which he didn't use at all during his fight. The flesh on her neck seemed tasty, making the sleek haired man use his sharp koukaku to chop it like tenderloin.

"Akemi!"

A cry of a running raged man didn't stop Kazu from bringing the juicy flesh into his mouth. He paid the man no interest and kept eating until it was enough to keep his stomach silent from growling. Of course, he did that because he knew one of his teammates protected him from the upcoming blade.

"Sorry, but please don't disturb Kazu-san."

"S-since whe-"

Before he realized, the human died with a hole on his stomach. He coughed some blood and slowly collapsed.

The younger ghoul turned his head around to see his leader. He was wearing a white mask which covered his eyes only, "I thought you've eaten already, Kazu-san." He said.

Happened to have finished his quick meal, Kazu stood up and walked away from the corpse. "I ate enough to wash away my hunger," the team's leader looked around after realizing that it got a bit more silent, "It seems like we're done here." He thought.

"Let's go!" The ghoul who protected Kazu called his other teammates. He realized nobody died and he was grateful for that. Well, the humans here weren't strong at all.

Kazu's team marched on to clear the fifth floor.

Yamori killed every human within his sight. His spiky blue rinkaku destroyed their bodies to shreds, deluging the floor with blood. The smell of flesh was filling the air, making Jason more excited to kill some more.

From behind his mask, Yamori searched for more prey. He wouldn't let any single one survived tonight.

The blonde ghoul cracked his finger, "More... MORE! WHERE ARE YOU DOVES!? GEHAHAHAHAHA!"

Feeling impatience, Yamori went ahead to the upper floor to hunt some more.

Having killed a target that seemed to be remaining last one, Tsukiyama shook his head, "Suce! Because of Yamori I didn't get much of my share!" Said Tsukiyama over to his teammates.

"Well... I think that still saves us a lot of time, don't you think so Tsukiyama-san?" Said one of them.

"We're not talking about the time here, it's about the fun! Now where is he?"

"He's already running off to the next floor," Itori answered as she walked closer towards the flamboyant from behind, "Uta and his team followed him to make sure that our Ace wouldn't do anything too reckless."

"Tch. Selfish bastard."

Ignoring his curse, Itori asked, "By the way, have you placed the bombs here, Tsukiyama?"

"Of course. My men had already placed it on each corner."

"Good. Me too. Then let's proceed."

Having finished the job on the first floor, Tsukiyama and Itori guided their teams to proceed onto the next floor.

When they were upstairs, they saw the corridor was filled with corpses. Walls painted with crimson blood. The lingering smell tempted the ghouls to eat right away, but they knew this wasn't the right time to do that.

Suddenly, loud screams were voiced through the other side of the hallway.

"Let's go." Itori said with her kagune released. Tsukiyama followed from behind.

Then flying bodies suddenly crossed path with Itori, who happened to be the furthest from her team. She looked towards the direction where they came from, and saw Uta standing there like he didn't do anything. Meanwhile his team scattered around to kill the other living targets.

"Oh hi, Itori," Uta greeted with a smile, "Yamori left this floor in my care. He's heading to the next floor already." He said nonchalantly.

"If he dies, it's not our fault." Itori sighed. Then she turned her attention towards her team, "Those who carry the bombs, begin to place it wherever!" She ordered.

Four members of her team moved away and did their job.

"Tsukiyama, I think you better go to the next floor." Itori suggested. She implied to take care of things here with Uta.

"If you say so." Tsukiyama ran on ahead, leaving the two remained teams taking care of the investigators here. He killed some on his way to make the path smooth enough for his team to run ahead without stopping.

"Give me the status!"

"We lost the first, second, and fifth floor! Jason is beginning to take over the third floor, sir!" Reported the guy who watched over the CCTV' monitors that were still functioning with emergency power. However, only the highest floor where they stayed that had its backup power on.

"Now this is bad..." Kuramoto Itou smiled awkwardly. His slit eyes didn't show his true feelings at all; nevertheless, was enough to tell that he was also feeling restless. "Our reinforcements better come quick, now."

"Sir Kuramoto, the ghouls in the fifth floor are already advancing towards the seventh floor!"

"Holy shit, those guys are fast. Better act quick before they come here," Kuramoto released his koukaku quinque which is shaped like long sword. "Ishida, Rin, Genji! Follow me!" He called over to his three strongest allies. Together they walked out to confront the ghouls in seventh floor.

"Touka-chan, how many levels does this building have?" Uta asked to the support team's leader over the ear set.

"Twelve levels. Kazu-san's team is already on the seventh floor." Touka replied. She was quite far away from the others' location but her team contains four members who are sensitive with hearing. They could just receive reports over the ear set but that'd be inconvenient to tell each of their movements instead of focusing towards their missions.

"Alright. Any signs of reinforcements coming?"

"So far so good—"

Suddenly a member of her team clad with white mask shouted, "Reinforcements coming from the west!"

"What!? Tell the defense teams now!"

"They're coming?"

"Yeah, just now. Uta-san, I'll have to provide supports for the defensive teams now."

"Ah, I see. Please say good luck to everyone from me and Itori!"

Touka smiled, "Will do." Then she ended the conversation.

The short haired ghoul turn her head over to the others, "Snipers, are you ready?"

Twelve snipers from Touka's team stood up. They nodded their heads, telling the captain that they were ready to deploy. The twelve ghouls had experience in the military, but they were never permanently assigned to a team. Whenever a team is in charge of supporting, they would always be put in there.

"Go to your designated locations. Support the defense teams!"

"Understood."

Then with snipes in hand, the twelve snipers left their location and went to help the others.

"The reinforcements are coming. Everyone get ready. Once they're down there, we jump!" Banjou ordered.

"Yessir!"

Zen was suddenly getting nervous. He wasn't before! He believed he was ready! The boy felt cold sweat drenching his palm. He was afraid.

Afraid to die.

Zen shook his head right away. He didn't want to think anything negative right now. He wasn't alone. This time, he had Banjou who he could count on.

Voices of countless running shoes were heard. Not only that, the sound of engine was also present. Probably their van. From his place, Banjou saw the troops running forward. Two-four vans were also coming from behind. Probably contained even more people.

Banjou spoke to his ear set, "Rize-san, Nishiki, they're getting closer. And Giro-san, I think we both have to take care of the vans first..." Banjou stated towards the older ghoul on the other side of the building, "What do you think?"

Banjou could see his senior nodding his head, "You take two, I'll take two."

Rize and Nishiki who were standing by in front of the building with the others released their own kagunes. They were ready than ever.

"Don't get in my way, slimy snake." Rize smirked. Her four glistening red tentacles were swaying around behind her back menacingly.

"I'll mind my own business, you glutton bitch." Nishiki retorted. He wore his hoodie to cover his brunette hair. His bluish bikaku was swaying around slightly; it was ready to stab anyone at any time.

"How rude. If Kaneki was here your head would be in the trash can by now." Rize smiled slyly.

"Might as well use the chance, no?"

From where they stood, Rize and Nishiki could see the troops of human. They were holding machine guns like always, just ordinary soldiers. The two captains were confident to not receive a single bullet from those petty humans.

Between those soldiers, some guys with trench coats and different kind weapons were present. Top tier investigators, ready to take on A and above rated ghouls.

The soldiers halted their march. The distance between them and the ghouls was only 20 meters away. The clock seemed to stop ticking. Both sides were glaring at each other as if they were trying to kill their targets only with sharp stares.

The investigators stepped forward first. Their quinques were released at hand. One guy with spiky grey hair and round glasses raised his voice first.

"Tonight will be your last raid ever, insects."

"Oh? What makes you think so?" Rize replied. Her tentacles swaying around even wilder. She was getting impatient to rip everyone to shreds, especially this guy who acted cocky in front of her.

"Because the investigators here are only rank 1 to special classes." The man released his ukaku quinque—everybody followed the action.

"You think that'd scare us?" Rize grinned, "Tear them apart." She finally gave her first command to her members.

Nishiki cracked his neck and flexed his muscles. It showed he was getting serious. "Oh, man... Gonna make this quick then. Move your asses, people."

As the ghouls of Mukade charged forward, the ordinary soldiers from the CCG's side also moved their feet with machine guns in hands. Screams and shouts echoed throughout the silent streets of Ward 15.

"Utterly disgusting! How can anyone live with this kind of rotten flesh inside their body!?" The Gourmet spit away the little piece of meat inside his precious mouth. It left a bad aftertaste on his divine tongue. "My tongue feels weird now!"

"Why don't you start by not eating while we're in a mission, Tsukiyama-san?" One of his teammates dared herself to give an advice.

"Don't tempt me to eat you instead, Miza-chan." Tsukiyama replied. But the female ghoul knew he was kidding. Tsukiyama wasn't a cannibal, taste was always his top priority, and a ghoul's flesh is not very appetizing. And also, killing your own teammate was forbidden.

"Hhh... And you said it was disgusting..."

"The meat's grade is just not my class." Tsukiyama said spitefully.

"Then if you want to eat, eat at your own ghoul restaurant, Tsukiyama-san!" Miza finally felt annoyed because that leader of hers was really stubborn.

"Tsk, tsk. I'm the Gourmet, Miza-chan. I need experience of taste." Tsukiyama smirked. He looked over to the corridor to see his men doing the right job.

"Let's go. We still need to find the big guy." He said, referring to Yamori. Miza didn't say anything but she moved along when Tsukiyama walked ahead.

Reaching the very end of the corridor, Tsukiyama chose to turn left. He smelled more blood coming from that direction. The smell wasn't weak, definitely fresh. His men hadn't reached this part yet and the only thing that came up to the purple head's mind was 'Yamori definitely already went to the next floor.'

"Are you kidding me? He's really fast in times like this, isn't he?" Tsukiyama groaned. He also hated that right hand of his amazing leader for taken so much of his fun. "What a selfish guy! I feel like always taking the role of the Bomb Man every time he's with me!" Tsukiyama scoffed. Miza thought her leader looked like a spoiled kid.

"How about we just go up two more levels rather than searching for Jason on the next floor? I bet he'll catch up. It's not like—huh?" suddenly the young ghoul received a message from her ear set, "Eh!? Understood. We're going there fast!"

Tsukiyama tilted his head, questioning the reason behind his teammate's frantic voice. It didn't take him to ask why—Miza already explained what report she received from just a moment ago.

"Kazu-san's team needs immediate help. They're facing four first-class investigators on the eighth floor."

Tsukiyama quickly worked on his feet, fast. "Four first-classes? That's a lot. This has never happened before." He said between his run. Miza could tell that her leader was also getting a little worried.

Tsukiyama only hoped that Jason had already reached the eighth floor before him. But he thought that'd be impossible. They were on the third floor and he knew the mad bull was busy happily splashing blood around. So The Gourmet decided to just skip some floors and not meddle too long in one particular floor.

The team finally reached the next floor. Tsukiyama already braced himself for a disturbing maniacal laugh that could be heard from around the corner. However, he didn't hear anything at all. It was quiet.

"Is Yamori already on the next floor?" Tsukiyama asked to no one in particular. But he knew who would be the one most likely to answer him.

"Probably. We should just focus on helping Kazu-san's team, Tsukiyama-san!" Miza said. She was feeling restless. Some of her friends were in the sleek haired guy's team, and she was really worried if they died.

"Why are you really pushy tonight, Miza-chan? You're making me miss Kanae even more." Tsukiyama sighed dramatically. He turned around on his loafers again and continued running ahead leading his team to the upper floors.

"Kanae is currently not here to serve you so he asked me to look after you instead!" Miza yelled at her captain. She knew it was impolite for her to do so, but sometimes The Gourmet could act so very spoiled! Miza didn't so easily agree to Kanae's request to take over his position as Tsukiyama's right-hand man for a while. This Kanae guy was having an important business with the Tsukiyama family. His absence reduced the man power of the team in half, but Tsukiyama could cover it easily. Also, Miza was strong.

Suddenly the tall ghoul heard a heavy sound from above. The ceilings were shaking slightly, and The Gourmet knew he had to haste on.

"Come on, we can't waste our time too much," said Tsukiyama. His team was back on track and hoping that the mad bull they were talking about wouldn't wreck too much havoc.

The moment the vans stopped running, both Banjou's and Giro's teams jumped for their targets.

The muscular man was ready with his ukaku kagune spread behind his shoulders. The sharp wind blew through him but it didn't make his vision get worse. Giro also calmly jumped down with his body leaned down like a bullet.

The investigators and small troops seemed to realize the incoming attacks.

"Fire!" The man who seemed to be responsible in giving orders calmly shouted his command.

Anti-ghoul bullets from machine guns were coming from below like small little fireworks. Knowing that this would likely happen, Banjou turned over his body in the air to make his back face the ground below. Oh, he was not a fool to let his bare back got shot by hundreds of bullets. The big guy spread his kagune wider to shield his own back and the others who were falling before him.

When the gunfire ceased, Banjou set his eyes on Zen, telling the teen what to do without saying a word. Zen understood this and waited for the cue.

As they were falling, Banjou spun his body around and his kagune that slapped the air around sent a shock wave down to the surface. The force astonished the humans who were standing below and they used their arm to block their faces. Banjou shrunk back his kagune and this became Zen's cue.

The brunette boy used his raven wings kagune to shoot sharp feathers down below. The puny soldiers who didn't have any advanced experience and skill in combat couldn't do anything. When they looked back, they also saw Giro's team who were attacking their allies on that side. The situation was starting to get hectic.

The boy thought that with his proud sharp wings, he could cut down the enemies's numbers. He almost let a happy smile formed on his face. He was wrong.

Two investigators parried all the incoming feathers. The fallen victims were so few that even Zen could say how many died precisely. Five. Perfect.

"Banjou-san!" Zen shouted his captain's name.

"Leave it to me!"

As soon as their feet touched the ground, Banjou attacked the two investigators head on. His strong ukaku made the two Doves almost stumble on their feet. But of course, they couldn't be underestimated. The same goes to the big ghoul. Banjou was strong.

"Hawk..." The dark haired investigator grinned, "This time I will definitely kill you. You've been my target since the last raid in the 9th ward after all." He said calmly.

Banjou glanced around himself. His teammates busied themselves quick with the other surviving soldiers. He also saw some of them went to attack the vans. Then he just remembered about Giro's team.

Banjou looked over the two investigators' shoulders. It seemed like the commotion was already happening.

"Are you ignoring us, Hawk?"

Suddenly, two blades came to attack him from both sides. Banjou didn't realize their sudden disappearance but his reflexes were good. Using his 'wings', he defended himself. The forces were also light. He almost didn't feel anything.

"Sorry, got distracted." Banjou said. He pushed away the two investigators by spreading his wings roughly. "Hey, may I ask you something?" Banjou asked the human who talked to him first.

"Make it quick." The man replied curtly. His hand was gripping his quinque very tight.

"From the last raid in the 9th ward? Why that one? It's been a long time since then." Banjou tilted his head. He seriously didn't have any idea why this man put a grudge on him. Well, sure, Banjou had killed a lot since he joined his beloved organization. But nobody had ever taken any interest to really kill him over personal reasons.

The man suddenly looked offended. He gritted his teeth and lashed out, forgetting his calm demeanor for a moment.

"Don't you even remember me, Hawk!? DON'T YOU!? I thought even ghouls have some respect!" He yelled out. If it were afternoon, you could see his red face.

This took the Hawk aback. Why the heck this investigator yelled at him, instead of trying to kill him mercilessly?

"W-why are you angry!? Seriously, who the hell are you anyway!?" Even Banjou got surprised over his stuttering.

Another attack came from behind him when he busied himself talking with the stranger. The big ghoul used his big wings to defend himself then countered it with his sharp feather bullets. The other investigator managed to avoid most of them and only grazed a bit of his arm.

"Dammit, Numa! Don't interfere!"

"Sorry to interrupt your happy reunion but we seriously need to finish this, Tateshima-san!"

"Tateshima...? Oh!" Banjou turned his head around to Tateshima when the memory about the said man came to him, "I remember you! You're that first-class investigator! We've fought several times! I didn't see you last time!" Said Banjou nonchalantly. That carefree attitude irked Tateshima so much.

"It's amazing to see someone who remembers a name more easily than remembering a face!" Tateshima mockingly grinned.

With his quinque, Tateshima attacked the Hawk fast. Banjou defended himself easily with his sturdy wings. The beefy ghoul didn't stop there. With quick movement and enough skill, Banjou shrunk back his kagune, making the weapon in contact with the empty air.

Tateshima was astonished. "Huh!?"

Using his left hand, Banjou gripped Tateshima's wrist roughly, preventing him from swinging his blade towards his shoulder. His other hand already balled up a fist, and Banjou sent it towards the human's stomach straight on.

"Gah—! "

Tateshima flew ten meters away from the impact. The Hawk's strength was no joke. His sturdy body was not only for show.

"HYAAAAAAH!"

Banjou sensed an incoming attack from behind. Of course, it was that fat nerdy looking guy again.

"Now I've never seen you before. Who are you?" Banjou asked.

"YOUR END!"

When the quinque came to him, Banjou just stood still, waiting for it to come close enough within his grasp. Then at the right timing, Banjou kicked that weapon far away, like a mere soccer ball that was passed to him. If only there was a goal post then he'd try to kick it there.

Numa was speechless. How could it be so easy for him to lose? He felt a sudden powerlessness. He felt like a mere pig in front of a T-rex.

"Tateshima is certainly stronger than you... Are you sure you're up for this?" Banjou asked as he stepped forward towards the fat guy. Jun Numa cowered in fear. His quinque was far away from his reach, and if he ran away, it'd be useless. He'd get shot in the back. "You shouldn't have come here..."

The Hawk spread his wings, readying himself with another round of feather bullets. The human before him couldn't run away. His feet were rooted strongly on the asphalt.

"NUMA!"

When Banjou almost fired the shots, the sound of Tateshima's scream stopped him from doing so. When he looked back, Tateshima was running towards him with blood around the corner of his lips. Banjou clucked his tongue in annoyance.

Just when he was about to turn his body around to fight his persistent enemy again, a figure rushed over behind him and received the attack that was supposed to be for him.

"I'll watch your back, Banjou-san!"

He was Zen.

Banjou grinned. Without replying anything, the big ghoul rushed over to the still standing investigator. He wanted to throw away unnecessary obstacles first.

"I can't believe you're still standing there instead of running to take your quinque," said Banjou before he pushed over the man's face down to the ground with his strong hand. The poor guy died with his face crushed like pancake. "Looks like I am your end."

Zen who watched his mentor killed for the first time felt a sudden inability to speak. If he was human he'd probably throw up right on the spot. The head was destroyed like a fucking cake. Just how strong could that mere hand be?

Zen creased his eyebrows when he saw Banjou widen his eyes at him, "Zen, watch out!"

Immediately the younger ghoul snapped back. He jumped back away but his reflex was too late. The quinque landed a hit on his shoulder.

"Shit!" Zen winced in pain. But despite the pain, he was angrier with himself, blaming his slow reaction and carelessness.

Banjou immediately hurried over to his junior's side. He checked the horizontal wound on Zen's shoulder. The big man sighed in relief when he saw it.

"Thank goodness. It's not as deep as I thought. Can you still move it, Zen?"

The younger ghoul tried to swing his right arm. The wound prevented him from moving it too much because of the sudden sharp pain when he moved it upward. Nevertheless, Zen nodded his head, saying that he was fine.

"I can. I'm okay, Banjou-san."

"Good," Banjou nodded his head. Then he returned his attention towards Tateshima, who happened to have a very nasty angry face. "Back me up, Zen. You know what to do."

"Yessir!" Zen put on his fighting stance. His black kagune was ready.

"Hawk..." The mad investigator called out to his most hated ghoul with a shivering voice, "How many of my comrades do you think you have killed? I will definitely kill you. You will definitely die tonight—!"

Without warning, Tateshima attacked Banjou with all his might. It may look like it was only a wild attempt to execute the ghoul, but Tateshima was a first class. He knew what he was doing. He was looking for vital points within the big ghoul's body which he had seen several times in the past.

The Hawk realized this. This man was good, Banjou complimented. Banjou avoided it all but, it seemed like he wasn't off the hook yet. The quinque swung vertically his way, fast.

Banjou used his kagune to jump backward further. The sharp tip managed to leave a small cut on his abdomen. Whatever, that wasn't a problem he couldn't handle.

"Gh—!?"

When Banjou thought he had a chance to breathe, he was completely wrong.

Tateshima chased his prey with no pause. He jumped as high has his whole body's height and landed his weapon on the ghoul's kagune.

"I'm going to cut this ugly 'wing' of yours, Hawk." He said spitefully between his gritting teeth.

"...It's heavier?" Banjou tried to push the human back, but strangely that man's quinque didn't fly away. The strength was even, and Banjou started to think that the quinque really was going to cut his kagune.

"GAH!"

Shock flashed through his gaze. The human saw the ghoul who shot his back from over his shoulder. At that moment, he regretted the situation where he had to confront another ghoul aside from The Hawk. The anger took over him, and Tateshima got even angrier towards himself.

"You fucking brat..." Tateshima cursed.

"BANJOU-SAN!"

Over his junior's shout, Banjou pushed away the force that was weakening greatly. He disarmed the man who really despised him and punched his face.

"GUH!"

Not stopping there, with his strong fist Banjou punched Tateshima's ribs hard. Before the aged man flew away, Banjou could hear the successful cracking sound of it.

Tateshima seemed like he hadn't given up yet. The aged Dove tried to stand back up using his trembling legs.

Seeing this, Banjou shot two sharp feathers of his kagune to Tateshima's shinbones.

"ARGH!" The investigator fell back on the broken asphalt.

Feeling confident with his work to make sure the man couldn't stand up again, Banjou looked over towards Zen.

"Finish him off, Zen. I have to help the others," said The Hawk.

"Y-yessir!" Zen obliged.

The teen walked over to the fallen first-class investigator. He was groaning in pain. His ribs were broken and the man couldn't possibly have enough strength to fight back. Forget about picking up his quinque, he couldn't even stand up.

"HAWK!" Tateshima screamed hard. Blood was stuck in his throat; it consumed so much energy just to shout. But to take back his most hated ghoul's attention back, Tateshima found it not important.

Zen almost jumped because he was surprised that the human suddenly shouted his captain's alias out loud. He shifted his big doe eyes to check on his captain, if by any chance he looked back. Oh, of course he would.

"...This is over, Tateshima. You lose." Banjou said from over his shoulder.

"Back there... Our battle in the 9th ward..." Tateshima spoke despite of his pain.

This pulled out Banjou's attention. He almost had forgotten his question about the 9th ward problem. True, Banjou remembered. He remembered Tateshima. He had met him several times in the raids, but in the end he couldn't kill him because they were retreating fast. The big ghoul realized that the human had something personal against him.

"You killed my brother right in front of me... Do you even remember him?" Tateshima bitterly laughed, "He took the blow from you. Stupid kid... He almost got promoted to be a first-class..."

Zen, who heard this man's story, felt a sudden pang in his heart. The story was almost the same like his. His twin sister also died for his sake. The young ghoul almost felt sorry to the man but quickly shoved away those thoughts. Thinking like that wouldn't make anything better. This guy was an investigator, and Zen wouldn't be so soft.

"I see..." Banjou muttered, "I'm sorry."

Tateshima widened his eyes. An apology. He got an apology from a ghoul he hated the most? Or was that sarcasm?

"I do remember him, now. You were badly hurt and he protected you. He wore glasses and his hair was tied, am I right?"

"...he did." It was hard for him to speak. This ghoul remembered a human he killed? Was there anything so special about his brother to The Hawk? "How could you remember him...?" He decided to ask.

"I..." Banjou seemed to hesitant to answer, but he decided that it wouldn't hurt to tell, "I would remember every face of men that I had killed. If possible, the names too. Only those who had put a decent fight with me. But your brother was..." Banjou tighten his fist, "He was the very first man I killed in my whole life."

Zen who had been listening the whole time finally gasped. He was listening to his teacher's past, and Zen was glued in his spot.

Tateshima slowly laughed after he was speechless.

"Hah... haha... Hahahaha! Your first kill? Don't give me that crap! You ghouls are man-eating creatures. You feed on us. You made us suffer! And now you say my brother was your first kill? How could I possibly believe that bullshit, huh!?"

Not answering any of that, Banjou once again pulled his hood over his head. He thought that was enough explanation. That was enough talking.

"If you don't believe me, then so be it. I'll remember you, Tateshima." Banjou glanced over towards Zen who was still quiet. "I leave him to you." The big ghoul left the place and went to the vans, which happened to be crowded with ghouls and small troops. It seemed like things were heating up more and more by each minute.

Zen glanced over to the fallen Dove. He was still breathing and didn't have any strength to stand up. His legs were pinned down. Even if he used his hands to pull out the 'feathers', it'd only leave holes in his legs, and there was no way he could walk properly.

This was his complete end.

Zen gulped down. Hard. What Banjou said about this man's brother being his first kill made Zen think the same.

Tateshima would be his first kill in the raid.

"What are you waiting for?"

The voice snapped the young ghoul out from his daydream. It brought him back to the reality of the war between humans and ghouls. His first war.

"Kill me already, brat."

Zen got annoyed. This guy called him a 'brat' twice, and being called a 'brat' was something he really hated.

"Shut up! I know!" Zen yelled.

The teen walked closer towards the wounded man. His raven wings were ready to end the man's life. Just two or three shots of bullet to the heart would definitely do it.

"Any last words?" Zen asked before he launched his shots. He felt a sudden guilty pleasure for asking that. Wasn't he big-hearted enough to hear the man out?

Tateshima stayed silent. Zen figured that he didn't want to speak or didn't give any shit. But when he was just about to finally kill him, Tateshima opened his mouth.

"Tell Hawk that I would settle things with him in the afterlife."

"...Got it."

With that, Zen did his task: giving the final blow.

The moon was shining its dim light behind the clouds. It had seen countless battles from up there since four years ago. It couldn't do anything to stop, to interfere, to end. This time, it also couldn't stop the coming of the strongest ghoul in Mukade.

Kaneki Ken had arrived.

I figured Banjou's kagune is ukaku because do you remember that time when Banjou managed to pull out his kagune even though it was only a very small part of it? If I'm not wrong it was when Kaneki went to find Kanou. I remember it was on his shoulder area but I srsly couldn't imagine a big guy like Banjou being an ukaku type, tho... I'm really curious to see his appearance in Re!

I crated that 'Hawk' alias. You see, we still don't know about Banjou at all in Re so I had to made this up. IMAGINE BANJOU WITH HAWK LIKE KAGUNE WEW!

Tateshima doesn't have a brother (at least not mentioned at all)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WAITING! I was actually planning to write all the raid battles within one chapter but I guess this chap is too long already. So for every next raid, I will write 2 to 3 chapters!

Disclaimer: The names of the investigators here are not made up aside from Kuramoto Itou's subordinates and Akemi. So I own nothing except them and Giro, Kazu, Zen here!

Seriously I made Tateshima too important than the original. He's actually only a cameo but indeed, he's a first class.