Chapter 2: Seraphims
{Tokyo City, Ward 15: November 20th, 2020, 7:15pm}
"KEEP MOVING! IF ANYTHING COMES AND IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE AN ALLY I SUGGEST YOU NOT LET IT DRAW ANOTHER BREATH!"
Guren hadn't ever yelled this much in his entire life, and that was saying something if one were to consider who he'd raised. But surprisingly enough, Yuu and Mika never gave him that much trouble – that is until they joined the army – and then it was a freaking free for all. But now, he had another matter to deal with, and that came in the form of some kind of creature that came flying out of nowhere with its internalized weapon out and them breaking through the troops with teeth gnashing. He internally groaned as he sliced through another wild Ghoul before looking over at Sayuri who was nearly caught by a bruise tone tentacle. A moment of panic flew through him before Mito swung in and caught the Ghoul in the jaw and Guren relaxed just a bit at that. He didn't need Sayuri dying on him now of all times, and he didn't think he could bear the guilt if that were to happen.
"LIEUTENANT COLONEL!" Guren turned in time to block a set of Kagune that flew at him at break-neck speed.
"Damn, this is going to be harder than I thought…. alright Yuu, Kaneki, lead your group to the first ward…we'll be waiting for your signal… then, we'll meet you."
Honestly, none of the Moon Demon Company members thought it would ever be as hard as it had been thus far. The Ghouls, the Chimera, the Four Horseman of John, the vampires, and now more Ghouls that decided they still preferred human flesh. Guren felt a sense of unease as he considered what was going on and how to handle it properly. If he were to be honest, relying on Yuu and the others was the last of his favorite ideas, but at current, it appeared that the closer they got to the first ward, and Hans Weisberg, the worst things were getting and the more intense the battle was becoming. Without question, they were going to lose forces during this, but none of them had guessed it to be this swift. Sayuri tumbled out of the way of a Kagune and the troops turned to face their aggressors, and in that second an explosion went off followed by a plume of fire and smoke off in the distance. Guren smirked at that as he took note that the flames were a sharp green and black instead of orange and red.
"Looks like Yuu's having fun," said Goshi as he whistled in surprise.
"I'm sure he's not the only one." A flicker of ice blue shot up into the air as well as a sudden drop in the air temperature.
"They're going all out huh?" Mito asked as she jumped and knocked one of the Ghouls in the mouth, breaking its teeth in as it went down.
"Looks like Eye-Patch is sticking to his word…." Guren turned to look at the others around him who seemed apprehensive to face their opposition.
"Lieutenant Colonel… what do you think we should do?" the man smiled.
"Okay ladies and gents. TIME TO BRING OUT THE BIG GUNS. IF IT LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT TAKE A BITE OUT OF YOU TAKE IT DOWN!" with that Guren beheaded a Ghoul as it attacked.
"Good luck guys…"
{Within Tokyo: 7:15pm, November 20th, 2020}
Kaneki jumped as the others did the same and dodged the attacks sent at them as they began to strike back on the creatures. Yuu had already taken out several of the monsters that had attacked when they'd turned a corner, but it had taken time for them to make a dent and even at this point they were in trouble. Admittedly, when he had chosen to side with the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, Kaneki – or Eye-Patch – knew he would make a few enemies; however, it seemed as if the entire world had decided to turn against him and the others on this night. Some of the beasts they had been facing, none of them had even known were within Tokyo, living alongside him and the others for the last four years. Sighing, he turned, cutting a mid-air flip as he did while landing directly behind Yuuichiro who gave him a swift glance before taking down several more of the monsters.
Despite knowing that it was a tough situation, and that they had clearly made more enemies than they anticipated, he was rather pleased to see that these other teenagers weren't just putting on uniforms and dawning weapons for show: they truthfully could fight. Turning on his heel, Kaneki ended up back to back with the boy named Yoichi who turned and shot a blackish-teal arrow outward to a vampire that had surfaced and was instantly turned to ash. The boy continued forward alongside the others who were taking out the vampires and the singular Four Horsemen of John as swiftly as possible. It was as they came to the end of the street that they all looked to one another and took in the fact that they were in tact still. Yoichi surveyed the area through the sniper-scope of Gekkoin and waved two of his fingers forward to notify Yuuichiro and the others that the perimeter was clear.
"Well, you guys actually do know what you're doing, impressive," stated Hebi as he looked towards the group of teenagers.
"Thanks, you're not so bad yourselves..." the man eyed the pink-haired teen with glasses while Yuu and Mika looked to one another.
"We need to keep moving, the closer we get to the center of the city, the greater the danger is going to become. We'll run into the higher-ups of Weisberg's and he's probably got Chimera and who knows what else here hunting us down right now," Mika said as he looked to them. Kaneki looked around the area.
"Right...we need to go left, if we do that it'll take us around a ward...but we need to get towards the CCG tower so that Ayato and your sister can meet up with us and we'll head towards the city center then." Verglas looked to them.
"So, we're going to wait that long? But what if..." Yuu looked to them.
"This is my sister and Usagi's brother... those two will be fine. Between him and Melusine's abilities, I will be pretty shocked if something happens to them," he explained with a sure smirk. Kaneki laughed a bit.
"You're an interesting human, I'll grant you that..." the black-haired boy smiled.
"Good to know, now, let's get to that tower so that Akane and Ayato can meet us," Yuu stated as the rest of them nodded in agreement before they started down the streets again.
The other ghouls watched the teenagers around them as they kept a watch on the area. Mika walked alongside his brother and the others with his Psychometric abilities engaged to keep an ear and eye out for the off chance of an ambush. Mitsuba kept her axe at her side while Kimizuki kept his hands at his side, rested upon his weapon while the rest remained silent, keeping themselves alert while the Ghouls did the same, knowing that any distractions could cause fatalities in a negative manner. As they walked, some began to consider the end results of this raid upon Tokyo City and what would happen after it all. The group with the Ghouls understood Guren had allowed them into the Moon Demon Company in order to protect them, which meant that they would end up living in Shibuya with them, possibly in the apartments they'd set up for the members of the Company.
The group of twelve considered the way life would be once Tokyo was reclaimed, once the Ghouls came to live with them. Yuuichiro considered it as an interesting experience, a chance to learn new things and gain new allies who could manage to help in turning the tides against the vampires once and for all. However, he did get the sense that something wasn't quite right, and while he knew the connection to this strange feeling and the Ghouls wasn't there, a part of him knew that the problem on the rise was nothing that he could concern himself with right then. Emerald eyes glanced to sapphire-blue ones while he tried to convey his sense of ill foreboding. Mika did catch the sense from his brother as well; however, he only shook his head, silently telling him that nothing could be done at this point to prevent it, and the distraction would only cause them trouble. The boy turned his gaze back to the streets, keeping his focus upon what was before him.
"Right now, I need to keep my attention on the problem at hand... any distractions and we'll start losing people... Kaneki and the other Ghouls may know the layout of this city well, but they've never handled a Noble directly... at least... I don't believe they have..." Yuu's attention went to the internalized question and he took in a steady breath before looking towards the Ghouls.
"I have a quick question for you..." all eyes turned to him as they paused, checking the area before continuing.
"Go ahead..." stated Kaneki. Emerald-eyes glanced to him.
"You said that you've went up against Hans Weisberg before, right?" he inquired this of the white-haired Ghoul who nodded.
"Yea, we did... why?" he questioned the black-haired teenager beside him and Yuuichiro hummed in thought.
"Did you see him? Go up against him directly? Or was it his lackeys?" Kaneki looked forward.
"His servants went up against us with Chimera, werewolves, and anything else he could think of. The vampires were the easiest compared to the Chimera and the werewolves weren't nearly as troublesome... but, Hide did get bitten, and we've all received some terrible injuries from the Chimera... as for the vampires...it took some time, but we did manage to kill them off and get the message across. Up until recently, the vampires were leaving us alone...now that we've sided with the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, they seem keen on sinking their teeth into us again," the white-haired Ghoul answered. Yuu nodded as he kept his gaze towards the street, his body lax, but prepared to attack if needed.
"I figured... rarely do the Nobles go personally into battle to deal with something they view as beneath them. Not to mention, they don't go looking for fights unless they grow bored... if that happens, they toy with human lives instead. For Weisberg to go after us, that means he likes the idea of battle...he's thirsty for combat...and wants us to put on a show for him." Hebi frowned.
"How would you know so much about the Nobles?" he inquired. Mika glanced his way.
"I suppose you should know, but first... I want your name..." Kaneki nodded his head to tell Hebi that he was clear to go ahead.
"Nishiki Nishio, Pharmacy student... well... formerly at Kami University...now, on the matter of my question," he said.
"Yuu and Mika were raised in captivity... they grew up in the vampire city of Sanguneim and cut a deal with a Noble named Ferid Bathory. That got them food, medicine, a means of keeping warm in the winter, and whatever else they needed to care for their family..." the Ghouls looked to Shinoa who explained the situation to Hebi – or Nishiki.
"Raised in captivity huh? That's sick..." muttered Usagi. Kaneki glanced her way and nodded in agreement.
"So, what happened to your family? Did they survive?" asked the brown-haired girl nearby wearing black with a flower headband. Yuu glanced down at that and Mika looked away from her.
"Myself, Yuu, and Akane were the only survivors... the rest of them, were younger than us and..."
A flash of the bloody scene from four years ago echoed within Mika's mind as he considered how close they had been to dying that day. Yuu's Naturopathic ability had saved both him and Akane, however small of a mercy that was, the three of them had never been certain, but they did consider it a small grace and were thankful for it all the same. Mika's words had clearly stunned the Ghouls who seemed both horrified, and curious about the story as they continued to walk down the ruined street and further down the way towards the tower. The red-haired girl in riot gear next to Yoshi – or Hide as they had learned he was called – bit her lip before looking to Mika.
"I'm so sorry, I know this really isn't the time for all of us to get to know each other..." Yuu shook his head.
"Actually, sometimes this is better. Knowing more about your teammates can make it easier for all of us to work together, plus, some chatter can ease the tension... we don't need everyone jumping at every little sound," he stated with a small smile.
"Okay...so, how did the three of you survive?" Yuu glanced to Mika who smiled with a shrug.
"Well... we were attacked by Ferid... Yuu was the only one who wasn't gravely injured, but that doesn't really matter... see... I tried to distract the vampire and he tore a hole through my stomach and severed my right arm... Akane was bleeding to death because of the injury to her shoulder and throat...Yuu was trying to save her and me, but she made him leave her behind...he grabbed my arm and then pulled me up onto his back and went as fast as he could out of there after he shot Ferid in the head... we ran down a tunnel and cut a flip in the snow..." Yuu glanced his way, but said nothing.
"What happened then?" asked Cho as she came a bit closer to him and fell into pace with Yoichi.
"I was losing too much blood and we had tumbled down a steep hill... but... we were okay... for the most part. See, Yuu here curled himself around my body in order to keep me warm and try to stop the bleeding...it was when we started to lose hope that Guren, Sayuri, and Shigure found us out there barely alive and half frozen to death...they took us back to the car that the others of their unit were meeting them at...and took us to Shibuya where I was treated and was able to recover...Yuu had to go through a lot of reconditioning to be around people again, and so did I to a point...but, we started our new lives after that." Mitsuba glanced down, feeling a bit of a painful sting in her heart as she heard the story while the others remained silent.
"That was the first time we met Sayuri, Shigure, Mito, Goshi, and Guren... the man who adopted us and gave us a home... a new family if we wanted it... he let us keep living," Yuu stated calmly as they turned a street corner and moved towards a building as a Four Horseman of John scurried past them.
"Well, I liked Guren before... but to hear that he did something like that for two people he had no relation to... that's just remarkable... he's a good person, huh?" emerald-eyes glanced towards Hide and the others.
"He can be an arrogant ass, he talks big and acts all tough and is a real annoying son of a bitch when he wants to be... but... yea... he's pretty amazing..." Mika smiled a bit as he heard a hum come from Nishiki.
"What?" he asked.
"So, your brother had to be reconditioned?" sapphire-blue glanced to emerald-green.
"Yea... Yuu was so wild that first half of a year we spent with Guren and Sayuri that they were beginning to wonder if they could even rehabilitate him..." Usagi frowned.
"When you say wild do you mean he just didn't want to listen?" she inquired.
"Nope, when he says wild he means that I bit, scratched, kicked, clawed, would grab anything I could and throw it, I would hide from them and bare my teeth and growl if I was cornered or felt threatened... so, if you wanted the proper term... I think feral would be better..." Yuu's statement had caused the Ghouls and some of their teammates to flinch.
"That bad huh?" asked Kaneki.
"They used us as livestock... drug us around by our hair if we protested, threw us down staircases... they broke your bones, blinded you... did whatever they wanted so long as you remained alive... some vampires even did some pretty unspeakable things to the older kids... it took a lot out of me, Mika, and Akane to keep some of them away from the younger kids and we also had to watch our own backs..." Mika nodded.
"Brutal is too nice of a word for what they could do to some of us... not to mention... they always seemed to take an interest in Yuu and me... I think we know why now..." Mitsuba smiled a bit.
"Yea, your pretty eyes just enticed them too much... not like your glowing personalities would attract them," she stated. Yuu shook his head at her.
"It was because we were hybrids..." the blonde nodded to him.
"I know that, Yuu... I was just teasing you..." the boy looked forward again.
"Hybrids?" asked Usagi and Hide at the same time. Yuuichiro glanced towards them before taking in a deep breath as he considered how to word this.
"Yea, Mika and I are..."
A loud crash went off as an enormous Four Horsemen of John appeared and the group scattered as they tried to avoid it. Kaneki turned a flip mid-air similar to Usagi and the others who had jumped out of the way while Cho tumbled across the ground, having been unable to get away in time. Yoichi turned mid-air, looking at the sight of the impossibly large creature and the girl before he summoned Gekkoin to his grasp and loosed three arrows into the creature's eyes. Seconds later, he was upon the ground, running towards her at a fast pace before he scooped her up and jumped away, falling in line with the others. As they realized what the creature was: a type of Four Horseman that Cho had named a Tyrant for its massive size and impossible power. Kaneki turned around in time to see the others scattering into groups, Usagi, Yuu and Shinoa landing next to him as they looked at the monster.
"What the fuck is that?!" called Kimizuki as he looked at the monster in nothing short of shock.
"This is a Tyrant Horseman, one of the largest types of the Four Horsemen of John...these things are almost impossible to beat...we took down one about two years ago..." Yoichi kept his grip upon Cho who was still in his arms.
"And? Did you kill it?" asked the archer as he looked to Kaneki.
"Yes... after fighting it for three days straight... it nearly killed us, and their shells are impossible to cut through without constantly hitting the same spot... problem is... their wicked fast and their barbs are poisonous..." from the roofs of the buildings, Kaneki could see Irimi waiting for a directive.
"So, what do we do?" Yuu asked Kaneki this as he turned to him and he looked back to the monster.
"We have to evade it...killing it isn't an option, unless we can pull off a really powerful attack... but... even then, that might not be enough for this one..." the group looked to the Ghoul and Irimi tensed upon the roofs, unsure of what the move would be.
Mika and Yuu glanced to one another, their demons tensing within the weapons they bore as they looked towards the Tyrant, analyzing its appearance and weak points as they tried to find where to hit it best if they ended up having to fight it. The two glanced once more to one another before placing their hands upon their weapons hilts, knowing that the risks were fairly high. They had a bigger group than normal, the other seven with them weren't used to the energy output that both had in some of their abilities; however, with such a large area, both of them could loosen their restraints on their speed and strength and allow it to do what it could: if they could find its weak point. Yuu turned his Psychometric ability on, looking the monster up and down as it swayed to and frown, awaiting one of them to move. Due to Yoichi's quick thinking, it was blinded in one side which meant it had been temporarily stunned, but that wasn't a permanent fix to their problem. Taking in a deep breath, Yuuichiro looked it over once more and then, he saw it: a chunk missing from its shell. The open area was remarkably near a vital spot on the monster's throat and he knew exactly where to hit it, their biggest problem would be hitting it right the first time and with enough force to kill it.
"Hey, Mika... its jugular is exposed... there's a chink in its armor... if we hit it right... we can get this thing off our case... but... we'll only have one chance," he stated. Mika nodded and drew his sword.
"Right, let's not take any chances." Asuramaru glowed in the dim light of the moon before looking towards the others.
"What the hell are you two doing?!" called Mitsuba as she looked to them.
"This thing will track us... we'll take it out quickly and be on our way." Kaneki looked to them in concern.
"You can't do that! There's no way that the two of you can destroy that thing... so what if there's a small opening? The chances of hitting it and killing it in one hit is almost impossible!" the white-haired Ghoul ran the idea over in his mind and knew that if the two brothers had some sort of specialized skill, they might have stood a chance, but there was no assurance of it succeeding just because of that.
"This won't work...if we just let them do that they'll be killed or worse, it'll destroy the area and expose us to the vampires... shit... I bet you they sent this fucking thing to stall us!"
Yuu and Mika glanced to one another as Kaneki tried to find a solution to the fact that the creature was rousing from its stunned state and was looking around for prey. Yuu tightened his grip upon Asuramaru's hilt and Mika did the same for Fenrir before he looked to his brother who nodded. They both decided then and there not to waste any time with their normal attacks, they would hit it with an extreme force once, and be done with it and hope that it worked. Yuu knew that between Asura Canon, Fenrir's Howl, their Psychometric ability and their Seraph forms they could destroy the thing as if it was nothing, but the question was: should they use that much strength? Their question was answered when one of the barbed chords shot out at the group and they jumped while a trail of acid ate through the ground. Yuuichiro's eyes widened as he realized that it was a very similar substance that he noticed the reaction to.
"Alkaline acid? Or is it... hydrochloric? Their similar... but judging by the rate of corrosion... I'd say it's a pure acid...Alkaline definitely... okay, so this thing harbors a similar acidic quality in those barbs that Mika and I do in our teeth and claws... alright... so attacking it like that won't work... fine..." Asuramaru glinted as Yuu rose it up.
"Mika, we're hitting this bastard with everything we've got...if one of us gets hit its curtains…"
"Right..."
The group disbursed once again as the Tyrant Horseman struck the ground near them. Sapphire-blue-eyes turned electric-blue as emerald-ones turned acid-green while Shinoa skidded back, prepared for whatever onslaught could come next. Yuu and Mika prepared themselves, their bodies gaining a boost from the Psychometric ability while the marks of their demons appeared upon their faces. The Ghouls watched, tensed and prepared to do battle if they must while the other members of the Moon Demon Company seemed to be holding their breath. Yuu crouched as Mika did the same and the creature turned to them, preparing to attack before the group launched into action. The others distracted the creature, Shinoa shouting at the top of her lungs as the others began to catch on as the two boys kept their eyes upon the weak point and prepared to attack. Yuuichiro took a swift look at the monster once more and noted that the area looked to be an injury of some kind, but couldn't be sure what it was from.
"Mika, we're going to use one of the partner formations that Guren taught us when we were kids...do you remember which one I'm talking about?" he asked as he posed Asuramaru at his side. Mika nodded as he got himself into position as well.
"Yea, let's do it quick before this thing attacks again..."
"Now!"
The group watched as the two boys leapt off the ground in a blinding speed, their bodies a mere blur as they shot into the air and in a matter of seconds a blast of red and green energy shot off into the weak point of the monster's throat alongside a blue and white flare that also hit the same spot. The Tyrant howled in agony as blood burst from the area and it swayed, nearly tumbling forward as it tried to stay standing and began to lash out in agony. Yuu cut a flip mid-air and landed in a crouch beside Mika as Yoichi drew Gekkoin's arrows and loosed them into the same location that the two others had attacked. The monster howled once again, blood pouring from its throat as Yuu scanned the creature and looked to its legs as they shook.
"Take out the legs!" Kaneki and the other Ghouls responded, slashing the legs with their Kagune as they went, and the monster went to the ground.
"Attack at once... everyone!" Shinoa watched as Yuu took control of the orders and formed them into a singular unison attack as if he'd had decades of battle experience and was putting it to good use.
"He'll make a fine General one of these days...especially with what I'm seeing..."
She watched the hyper, energetic, mouthy, sarcastic, and brash teenager before her take charge and give out commands for the attacks as if it was nothing, and it was a surprisingly attractive thing, seeing someone who she was so smitten with show that despite what people thought, he could indeed take charge of the matter as if it was his rightful place. The others followed the command and when the creature gave a final howl of pain it conclusively went down. The group stared momentarily surprised that it had died so swiftly after they'd taken the time to check its weaknesses while Nishiki and Kimizuki had a similar sensation and thought in mind as they turned their attention to the black-haired boy who had just sheathed his sword. The two had wanted to make a statement about the boy's sudden directive; however, a certain periwinkle-haired dwarf from hell got to him first.
"My, oh my, did you just display strategy skills and command on the battlefield?" she asked as she got close to her boyfriend.
"I was just trying to keep the attacks steady...is there something wrong with that?" she shook her head.
"No, I thought it was impressive. Apparently, those classes did sink in because you remembered a delta formation that is used by Guren's squadron on dealing with high-level vampires," she stated. The others seemed slightly surprised, but the boy merely shrugged.
"It's not that impressive... all of the others can do it too you know, Shinoa..." she giggled.
"Yes, but we also have another factor in place: you're a combative tactician. A little rough around the edges, but you have the proper skills on a natural level that could definitely make you rise in the ranks quick," she stated as Kimizuki rolled his eyes.
"I forgot that he could do that..." Nishiki glanced his way alongside the other Ghouls.
"What do you mean?" the pink-haired teenager sighed.
"Hyakuya there, as well as his brother and that purple-haired devil are really good at making up a strategy on the fly. I've seen them do it a few times; however, this is the first time I've seen Yuuichiro do it in such a seamless manner," he explained.
"He's probably just coming into his own, you know how that goes...he's what? Sixteen?" Kimizuki looked to Kaneki and Hide frowned before laughing a bit.
"Take that advice from our own combative tactician. Kaneki here has been the one to come up with most of our battle plans since this mess started... not to mention he's an ace at altering it to benefit the others in our group when needs be. It's impressive, all of you guys are," he said.
"Thanks... so, Kaneki? Where to now?" the white-haired Ghoul looked to them.
"Take a left, but we'll have to go around the Tyrant," he pointed to where they could get by it and started to walk while Mika rotated his shoulder.
"Let's just hope there's no more of them..." Yuu nodded in agreement.
"Yea, I kinda don't want to deal with that again," he said.
"Did it really take that much out of you guys?" Yoichi and Cho approached, and the two brothers stretched a bit, Yuu putting his arm curled over his shoulders and head to stretch a bit.
"Sort of... it was a lot of energy output... probably a bit more than we should have used...it kind of drained me a bit," Yuu said. Mika nodded in agreement.
"Same here, but we'll be fine. No worries." No one in the group noticed how ever so slightly a ring of crimson had developed around both the boy's pupils before slowly fading away.
{In the Streets: Western Side: 8:01pm}
"Come on!"
Ayato grabbed Akane's hand as he led her through the streets of Tokyo and towards the CCG tower as a series of loud, mechanical crashes began to follow them as blaringly bright lights began to appear from the buildings and streets. Akane looked around, seeing Tokyo City's lights turn on around her and Ayato as they ran as quick as their feet would carry them towards the white tower of the CCG where they were to meet up with the others. She glanced to him once again as the lights flashed on around them, turning the city on and causing screams of panic to appear from several monsters. As they turned a corner and the tower started to come into focus.
"Rise and shine you bastards," Ayato muttered as a shadowy beast slithered off into the shadows to avoid the bright lights.
"They're scared of the light?" he nodded.
"They've gotten so used to total darkness, that anything bright hurts them. Your Lieutenant Colonel is the one who turned the lights on in the city. It's probably got a lot of the monsters scared out of their pathetic brains at this point," he explained as they kept running.
"Well... not all of them..." the two looked up to see a vampire in front of them, causing them both to tense.
"Get out of our way!" Ayato snarled as he kept his eyes upon the figure.
"Awh, a little Ghoul and... ahh... a Moon Demon Company Curser is with you! That means that the Raid has begun... so... how should I go about this? Start with the blood thirsty monster? Or the greedy livestock?" Akane took in a deep breath and stood beside Ayato before drawing her rapier out.
"Neither..." the vampire laughed.
"As if you have a choice!" the vampire lunged and Akane's blade tinged a deep aqua-green as a drop of water fell from i's tip and touched the ground.
"Guard us... MELUSINE!" Ayato put up his Ukaku to block and a wave of aqua-green water formed between them and the vampire. The girl drew her sword back and crouched before the vampire roared and she jumped through the wave, slashing the vampire with the curse active as the water fell in a torrent, leaving the girl standing there as ash disappeared and the water rushed around her. Ayato stared at the girl in moderate surprise before taking in a deep breath.
"What a girl... she's really pretty to... for a human... ack! What am I thinking, stay focused!"
"Ayato? Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yea, come on, your brothers are probably worried sick about you by this point." she nodded with a smile as she took his hand again and they started running again.
"Right, let's go..."
"His hand is warm..."
{….}
Crippled by a promise broken…
{…...}
Author's Note: Dear lord these chapters are a pain in the patella. Hey guys, sorry it took so long for me to get back to these stories, I was setting up the premise of some other ones that these characters show up in and finally am where I can kind of work on these. Now, allow me to explain how this stories will be updated:
I'm using something called a Core System. Like in anime, the episodes are released in sets of a certain number – typically is 12 in each one – and in my updates, their following a similar system. The way this will work is very basic:
Core 1: Chapters 1 – 10.
Core 2: Chapters 11 – 20.
Core 3: Chapters 21 – 30.
Core 4: Chapters 31 – 40.
Core 5: Chapters 41 – 50.
Core 6: Chapters 51 – 60.
As of now, we're in Core 1, the first ten chapters and the Tokyo Raid. The next set will follow along almost like a season 2 set up. The entire core will be updated pretty much at once after a point, but it may lag on occasion, so, if that happens, I'll try to get a double chapter up. This story is as you've read: 60 chapters. After some serious thought, I decided to do a little expanding upon these events, but you'll see soon enough. Hope you guys are having a smashing holiday season.
Chapter 3: Ghouls