Chapter 9: United

{Tokyo City: Ward One: Battle Arena, November 21st, 2020, 4:05am}

"TENJI-RYU! GUARD THEM!" a torrent of blue flames burst out of the area, the space to the left of the Ghouls burst open as the girl slammed her axe into the ground, taking out a handful of the monsters that had attempted to attack them when their backs were turned.

"Mika!" the blonde-haired sixteen-year-old cut a back-flip, using his Demon's Curse to propel himself out of the way of an attack just in time.

They had been only fighting for fifteen minutes, and already the wear and tear upon them was showing. Mika and Yuu both had activated their Psychometric Gift, hoping for it to give them an edge against the enemy, which it thankfully had; however, they were starting to feel a familiar drain of using it in excess as they had in this Raid, but at this point, they had no choice. Chimera weren't afraid of Seraphim, and the wild Ghouls were so far gone, that nothing even seemed to phase them. Knowing what they did though, both boys could assess that secondary possessions would be required to begin doing damage against these beasts, just as Touka and the other Ghouls were unleashing their full strength, decimating the opposition as quickly as they could; however, when it came to the feral Ghouls, they struggled, only because the monsters could match them. As the fighting continued, everyone pushing together to destroy the monsters opposing them, Guren turned his attention to the area around them and began to consider a strategy against the Chimera and the feral Ghouls.

Without question, Hans Weisburg had been more than well prepared, but that didn't mean that they needed to roll over and play dead. The man jumped out of the way of an attack and swung his sword only to hear a startled yelp as he turned as was met with the tumbling body of one of his children. he hit the ground hard, catching them in his arms before they rolled across the ground and he looked down to see that it was his youngest, coughing and taking in ragged breaths as blood trickled through his fingers as he held them over his mouth.

"Dammit, are you alright?" he asked as he got into a crouch, putting his hands upon the boy's shoulders.

"I got kicked by one of the Ghouls… I'll be fine, just give me a – "the boy coughed again, black hair matted to his forehead from sweat and blood as he took in a ragged breath.

"That was just a damn kick? Brat! Do you know what you're doing?" Guren asked as he looked into the boy's sharp emerald eyes.

"Well… I've never fought a Ghoul before… so I wasn't… anticipating them to be that strong…" the Lieutenant Colonel grabbed the boy by the back of his jacket, helping him to his feet as he looked to him.

"We're going to have to think of a different tactic or we're not getting out of here," Guren admitted as the boy spat out some blood before fixing his grip upon his sword.

"There's one thing I can think of for right now… that doesn't involve relying upon me and Mika's seraphic side…" the man eyed him as he saw the boy's heaving shoulders.

"He's breathing to roughly… we've been in the fight for not even twenty minutes, and he and Mika both are showing extreme fatigue… not to mention… the others are in just as bad shape… there's multiple enemies and we're…"

Guren shoved the boy down and out of the way, knocking him aside as a Chimera swung its paw at the boy's head and instead caught him across the chest, causing the man to let out a pained gasp as the Chimera received Mahiru-no-Yo's curse at full blast as the Lieutenant Colonel went down while his youngest brat swept the monster's feet out from under it before activating Asuramaru's curse, at which point the blade caught fire and pierced the flesh of the monster's belly, searing through it as he turned in a pivot and swung his blade outwards, causing the blood to splatter across the ground as the beast bled out. Emerald eyes met burgundy ones as the teenager went to him and placed his hands upon his chest, the silvery-green opaque hue of his Naturopathic Gift activating and sealing the wound over as Guren looked to him.

"Yuu! Don't waste your strength on me!" the boy shot him a glare, showing him that one of his eyes had a red ring around the pupil.

"Shut up! we had the same damn conversation in Shinjuku, if you're dead then you're useless, and you said we're all coming out of this, so dammit! Let me do my job and help my commanding officer before I break your teeth into your skull!" Yuuichiro snarled, showing him sharpened canines as the man stared before standing slowly as the boy did the same.

"Sayuri!" the brown-haired woman came rushing over to them.

"Guren?" she received a long look.

"We're going to have to use a pill to give us a boost. Yuu? How long do you think Mika and you can last with the boost from the pill and your Demons?" he questioned as the boy took in a shaky breath.

"Fifteen minutes… I would say twenty, but… we're too exhausted to handle it that long…" the boy sent a flash of fire outwards, startling one of the Chimera which went right into the electrically crackling blades of Kimizuki.

"Wait for my order, until then do what you can to hold them off, okay?" the boy nodded and jumped back into the fray, activating the weapon in his hands before he swept the area in front of him with emerald fire and black winds.

"Guren?" Sayuri questioned him, turning to put a series of wards up to give the man a moment to recover.

"We're being pinned down… if we're not careful, none of us are walking away… we're going to need as much support as we can get… if Yuu activates what he did during the Second ward's fight…" the woman gave him a terrified look.

"No! If he does that again we might not be as lucky with him being able to control it! He struggled the entire time, and we don't know what that's doing to his body or mental state. Guren, please, don't take that chance," she pleaded.

"We won't if we don't have to… but if he… "the man looked to the two boys who dodged an attack and slipped under one another, using a rotating method to make a dent in the monsters they were facing.

"Lieutenant Colonel… please… don't ask him to do it again!"

Guren stepped away from Sayuri's wards as she formed her sword and attacked alongside him while his mind processed what was happening around them. Everyone was locked in combat, trying to back one another up while keeping themselves alive amidst the chaos of being overran with both Chimera and wild Ghouls. Personally, Guren didn't think that they could have asked for a much worse situation, but after having been on the battlefield since he was sixteen, he knew better than to think such things or say them aloud, thus he took in a deep breath and prepared to think of what to do.

"There's no choice… damn…"

"EVERYONE TAKE A PILL NOW!" the order somewhat startled the group, but in a matter of seconds they had obeyed, rotating off one another to give their partner or whomever they were helping time to swallow the bitter thing before switching out.

The Ghouls watched and within just twenty seconds, the effects began to take place. The group beginning to attack fiercer, the people using their Gifts equipping them to their Cursed Gear to fight back in retaliation as each of them rushed forward. Shinoa swung her scythe outwards, being thankful to see that it was having a good effect now that she was able to focus better with Shikama-Doji's strength. Across the field, Yoichi was working with Hinami, the girl blocking his back while he shot arrows at the Chimera and Ghouls that tried to swarm them.

"Create ripples of discord, Melusine!" Akane spun outwards on her heel, the sudden wave of sharp, glowing blue water flushing across the way and drowning a few of the Chimera.

"I'd call that more than a ripple!" stated Ayato as he cut a flip over the attack and took the head of one of the wild ghouls off.

"Hey, I didn't choose the incantation, okay?" he shrugged.

"Not complaining… the name is just – "he was cut off as he shot a series of shards at one of the Chimera, blinding it as Akane wrapped the water curse around the blade of her rapier and then struck the beast directly in the throat, killing it as she pierced the jugular.

"Misleading, damn, these things have the worst manners," Ayato told her as she blew her bangs out of her eyes.

"No kidding, and we were having such a meaningful conversation too…" Akane stood with her back to the Ghoul as he eyed her momentarily.

"I'm not gonna let you get killed, okay?" he asked, turning his gaze forward.

"Why?" he took in a deep breath.

"Because, no one deserves to die here… so, you aren't dying today if I can help it, Princess," he stated as he swerved a bit and lashed one of the Ghouls with his Kagune.

"Whatever you say Gremlin, whatever you say…"

A wave of silver-toned ash burst just past Goshi as he looked to see Mika standing there with a withering glare upon his face while pale-blue frost-like patterns spread up his cheek, the demon of his weapon turning the blade a startling shade of blue as the boy swung the weapon outwards, calling upon his Demon as a giant white wolf with solid blue eyes touched down and howled, the echo resounding around the area, the noise almost mind numbing, and affecting the Chimera enough for Goshi to send an illusion outwards to confuse the beasts as a black blur shot by, wiping out the dazed creatures as emerald flames slid by and the black-haired bullet of a person cut a flip, slicing the head off of one of the Ghouls as the boy came to a stop, breathing in raggedly as the blonde-haired man looked at him.

"Have you fucking gone nuts moving that damn fast?! I know because of your Psychometric Gift you're wicked fast, but don't be reckless!" Goshi scolded as he heard a cracking noise before turning around to see Mito having just crushed in the skull of a Chimera.

"We're either fast and alive or slow and dead, take your pick Goshi!" Yuuichiro called as he took in a deep breath and picked up momentum again, knowing that the speeds he was moving at would catch up with him in a bad way soon.

He rarely used this kind of speed when activating his Psychometric Gift; however, because of the swift attacks of the opponent, he had little to no choice, and had to rely upon it as he used the fast pace he had been running at to his advantage and round-house kicked one of the Ghouls in the head, a surge of electrical energy coursing through him as he managed to remove the creature's head in a single sweep before he landed in a crouch, slicing through another one with Asuramaru. To some degree, it felt like flying, going as fast as he was to the point that the world almost seemed warped as he rushed by, trying to back up Mika while Mitsuba took care of Shinoa's cover for the time being.

The four of them had decided to swap partners for the time being; however, it wasn't going to last long, and he knew that as he took out a Ghoul behind Shinoa who sliced a Chimera in half, taking in slightly shuddering breaths as she fought while he rushed by, preparing to strike one of the Ghouls only for the large creature to swing, nailing him in the abdomen, and then it grabbed him by the throat, slinging him across the way and against the wall with a thunderous clang.

"YUU!" Shinoa rushed to cover him with Kaneki who slid in front of the Ghoul, hissing as he did while he kept his Kagune out, threatening it, and daring the beast to take a step closer.

"Is he alright?" he asked as Shinoa looked to him while the black-haired boy attempted to take in deep breaths, but couldn't get his chest to expand properly.

"I-I don't know… Yuu! Come on! Please, you've gotta talk to me…" the boy opened his mouth, feeling his heart hammering in his ears as his addled brain began to process what was happening.

"It's crushed my breast plate, and my ribs… I can't breathe…"

"YUUICHIRO!" a hand seized him, a sharp sting racing through his body as his vision began to swing between blackness and visibility.

"Hang on! I am not losing you here!" Mika's voice called to him as he struggled, his body pleading for air as his heart attempted to keep beating.

"Am I dying? I can't… breathe… what's… happening…"

"Not today you aren't, between Mikaela and your bloodlines… you aren't going anywhere… Yuuichiro…" Asuramaru's voice spoke to him, and a sudden crack resounded within his ears the ringing of voices echoing in the distance as his vision began to come back and a painful heat spread through his chest, causing him to clutch at it as he gasped, air rushing into his lungs as several of the people who had gathered around to try and save him jumped back, startled as the boy shot up, heaving in gulps of air as the clang of weapons continued onward.

"Y-Yuu?" emerald met tangerine.

"I'm… okay…" he choked out as he struggled to his feet, swaying just a fraction as he looked to see Yoichi knelt down not far from him, glancing out at him momentarily as he took in a deep breath and focused on his shield again.

"You had us worried," stated Mika.

"S-Sorry… come on… we better get back to the… fight… they… need us…" Asuramaru was wrenched from the ground and he took in a deep breath as he stepped out of the barrier just as Yoichi disarmed it and the others stood, preparing to fight as he looked at the monster that had thrown him.

His ears were still ringing, his body reeling from the overuse of his Psychometric Gift, and the sudden impact of being thrown and rammed in the chest and stomach by a fist that was as wide as his entire torso. The boy shivered just a fraction, feeling the residual tugs of his Gift while his Naturopathic trait began to flood him with warmth and energy as Asuramaru hummed, preparing to be used as her master desired. The Demoness sighed in his mind and he took in a deep breath, swallowing around the lump as the monster that had nearly killed him turned to him and he took in a deep breath.

"Fan out! Asura Canon!" the red glowing swords appeared in a fan behind him, somewhat startling the Ghoul who had never seen it, and those amongst Guren's group who knew he could use the secondary possession but had not witnessed it yet. The others tensed, preparing to attack to take out the giant of a Ghoul.

The beast roared at them, the Rinkaku Kagune sprawling out behind it in a dark, bloodstained shade as Kaneki licked his chapped lips, thinking of the best way to take the behemoth of a Ghoul down while he looked between it, Yuuichiro, and the boy's weapon. It was a katana, and a good one, but not the greatest for taking out a creature that strong, and even with the appearance of about thirteen other swords behind him, there was no telling what it could do to something that huge. When he had seen the boy get caught and then thrown, he knew he was hurt when he didn't get up immediately, and to hear the sounds he made when he struggled to breathe, it had without question, scared him near death, and that was because he knew that sound. The way the black-haired boy was breathing, it was clear as day that his rib cage, and breast plate had been smashed, and he would suffocate if his Gift didn't heal him fast enough. At that point, Mika had stepped in and worked his own Gift, stabilizing the boy long enough for his healing ability to kick in and save him. The white-haired ghoul, his Kakugan eye visible, looked to the boy as the creature lumbered towards him.

"Hey! Yuu! What are you doing! That thing will kill you!" Yoichi called.

"Yuuichiro! Hey!"

"Dammit! BRAT YOU BETTER RESPOND!" shouted Guren as he turned to move towards the boy. As the creature drew closer, the boy looked up, eyes glowing acidic green as he drew in a breath.

"SAIKO!" the fan of swords spread out further, turning as they shot out in threes twice, the blades sheading the hilt and guard as they flew by in a burst of flame as the boy followed them, jumping upwards as the raw blades went straight through the rabid Ghoul and out the other side as it gurgled and looked up before the boy drove Asuramaru directly through its skull, staring it in the eyes as he did before cutting a backflip, curling into himself as he turned, sliding across the ground in a crouch.

The monster fell with a sharp thud, the ground seeming to tremble as the others looked at the scene while the boy took in a few deep breaths, licking the corner of his lips as a line of the Ghoul's blood trailed down his cheek and over his mouth. Kaneki tensed as the boy took in a deep breath, swallowing the blood he'd gotten in his mouth as he did.

"He… swallowed that blood… what the hell?" thought Kimizuki as the boy slowly stood, taking in shaky breaths as he looked at Asuramaru's bloodied state and sighed before shaking it off as he looked around at the corpse-laden area.

"Yuuichiro?" asked Akane as the boy shook his head, breathing out again, displaying fanged teeth to the others.

"I'm… fine… just a bit… shaky is all…" the others nodded, finally seeing the damage around them as Guren's attack took out the last two of the Ghouls, leaving a few scattered Chimera who were starting to circle in on the group.

"Does anyone else get a bad feeling about the amount of them left?" asked Kimizuki as everyone in his squadron shot him a long look.

"You fucking had to jinx it, didn't you?" the pink-haired teen glared.

"I didn't – "Akane sliced through a randomized attack from a smaller Chimera before striking it in the throat.

"You were saying?" she asked.

"Okay! You know what?! Never fucking mind! It seems I'm cursed!" Yuuichiro rolled his eyes.

"Just figured that out, did you?" he stated as he coughed a bit.

"Are you sure you're okay?" the boy shook his head.

"Not really, but right now I can't do anything about it… I'm healing, so just bear with me…" the others nodded, the group of twenty forming into a circle.

"Alright, MDC! Roman formation!" Guren ordered, Hide picking up on it quickly as the group formed into small numbers, moving around one another back-to-back as they kept their eyes on the Chimera.

"Oh, a tactic used by Roman soldiers to increase their Defensive positions, impressive, it takes quite a lot of trust to use such a formation," Weisburg mentioned.

"Great… the windbag is back…" the Vampire glared at the others.

"Finish them off, their weak my pets… enjoy your meals!" he snapped his fingers and the monster's lunged.

Everyone took in a deep breath as the beasts moved to close, and in the instant that the first one would have landed a strike, a scarlet tendril swept by, slicing the beast in half as a barrage of crystals shot down another one, a blue tail cut another's legs, a gun resounded, and the clacking of bones was met as another one was shot away. The Ghouls surrounded the Moon Demon Company members, glares apparent on their faces as the others prepared to fight while Kaneki took in a steady breath.

"All of you watch our backs… we'll take vanguard this time," he stated as Guren looked at them in surprise.

"Heh… alright, that works for me Eye-Patch!" four red tendrils spread out, the white-haired Ghoul locking eyes with the Chimera as it roared at him and he returned it, letting out an almost inhuman sound as it whined, still bearing its teeth as the group of Ghouls charged outwards and the Moon Demon Company members followed swiftly behind, using their strength to demolish the last of the Chimera.

Blood splattered across the ground, their persons, and the walls as the last of the monsters were taken down, their bodies burning from exhaustion and over use, and far too many close calls as Guren looked at the others while they all remained, struggling to stand amidst the blood-soaked ground, and the corpses while all of them took in shaky breaths, their bodies paying for the abuse they'd just endured. His burgundy gaze went towards the two boys struggling to stay standing as he looked to his youngest, seeing the crimson around his pupils having spread out further than earlier.

"He's pushed it more than he should have… but they don't know… no matter how many times I wanted to tell them… I never have… once this is over… I'm going to have to tell them the truth about how dangerous a Psychometric Gift really is…" another series of clapping sounds came from just above them as the noise of mechanical gears working came to their attention as the Tenth Progenitor continued his clapping until the stage was on the ground once more.

"Impressive, yes, very impressive. All of you have splendid fighting skills, but I noticed there are… five of you with quite a bit of skill, but while it would be quite entertaining to go hand to hand with all twenty of you, or even five of you, that is too much for me to take to some degree. So, in fairness, I will settle this with ease…" a clatter came about them as bone and metal ripped from the ground, startling them as the Vampire held a hand out, the material forming around in a steady circle, causing the group to stare on shock and confusion as to what was happening as a series of attacks struck around them, and Yoichi thought fast alongside Sayuri and formed a shield with protection around it while the bones of the deceased creatures and the metal of the ground formed a cage around them.

"Weisburg! What the hell are you doing?!" snarled Guren.

"Having some insurance just to be certain that I will get what I desire, nothing more…" the group stared at him.

"What you want..." Yuuichiro clenched his fists, his gloves stained in blood as he stood next to Kaneki who narrowed his eye at the man.

"Indeed! It was a rare treat to see me use my Gift to imprison someone while singling out my four favorite entertainers," he explained as the statement began to level out the reality of the situation as the group within the gruesome cage looked at the four-people standing outside of it while the Tenth Progenitor watched them.

"Your… Gift?"

{…..}

Can you tell me how to feel? Cause I don't feel anything…

{…..}

Author's Note: Someone please tell me who saw that ending coming? Because, even I wasn't sure if I did or not. So, the next chapter is the last one in this arc, and is also where we have our showdown with Weisburg, and judging by the state of the group, this is going to be a hellish fight. A part of me doesn't know if I am looking forward to writing the end of this arc or night, because of everything that comes after it, but eh, what the hell, story progress is what matters. Now, tell me what you guys thought, and I'll be looking for your reviews.

Sincerely,

ShadowDragon94.

Chapter 10: Firelight End