Chapter 12: One's Own Mind
{Moon Demon Cafeteria: November 21st, 2020, 5:58pm}
The entire place was buzzing with voices, people chattering as Sayuri glanced in through the doors before looking towards Guren who was wearing a self-satisfied smile upon his face. Because of the victory today, he had organized a small celebration for the people who had fought on the border and most importantly within Tokyo City. Due to this, he had neglected to inform the fourteen teenagers that they were waiting on, were the ones who were the guests of honor tonight, and the Lieutenant Colonel did this on purpose, being thankful that everyone present was in street attire due to their injuries, but would be celebrating all the same.
"Are you sure it was the smart thing to do by not telling them?" asked Mito.
"Yea, why?" she frowned, puffing out her cheeks.
"Because, both Yuu and Mika aren't that fond of surprises, remember Guren?" she stated as the Lieutenant Colonel sighed.
"Yea, yea… they'll be fine, besides… I have a few plans in place for tonight as well…" he looked around at his team, all of them wearing casual clothing, looking nice, but not adorned in the uniform.
At his right was Goshi, wearing dark slacks and a deep gray button-up shirt, seeming to be rather comfortable as he smoked his pipe while standing next to him was Mito, wearing a pair of black jeans and a dark purple sweater with black sneakers, her hair up in its usual ponytail. Shigure was wearing a pair of black pants, a black sweater, and matching boots, looking professional but comfortable while Shinya looked to her with a sweet smile, Guren rolling his eyes as his brain reminded him that the two of them were dating. His arms folded across his chest, his attire simplistic and consisting of black pants, loafers, and a white button-up shirt while just beside him, was Sayuri, wearing a pink sweater, fair jeans, and simple sneakers, seeming to be a bit of a tom-boy as she stood there, her hair down and falling across her shoulders.
"Well, I'm shocked, you're all in normal clothes," stated a voice as Guren looked to see the fourteen children standing behind them in the hallway.
"Hell, can you blame us? We're too sore to wear that blasted uniform…" Yuuichiro sighed, shaking his head, adorned in dark colors save for a deep green long-sleeve shirt while Shinoa stood beside him, wearing leggings, boots, a dark beige skirt and a white button-up shirt with a red tie and matching sweater, her hair down as well.
"No, I can't…" Mika said as he stood next to Mitsuba. Guren eyed him, noticing that he wasn't using crutches.
"Did they fix your leg?" the blonde shook his head.
"Yuu did it before we got cleaned up, he said he'd recovered enough of his energy to do that much," he explained.
"Just don't expect me to do too much for the next few days, I'm utterly spent. Which reminds me, why are we having this little party tonight?" Guren smirked.
"Morale boosting, we need to let loose a little, and a small party while healing never hurt. So, are our Ghoul friends doing okay with those suppressants?" he inquired as Touka made a slight face at his question.
"Those things were disgusting… but, we're okay… I get the feeling this is going to be a trial and error sort of thing?" he nodded.
"We figured this would be the best way to test it, in an environment where you would have to eat normal food in front of people. If you can do this though, it'll help you, and before you ask, no, the pills don't suppress your abilities, so don't worry, we fixed that already," Guren assured them as Shinya stepped forward.
"Exactly, and I saw to it that everything was prepared for all of you, including some clean clothes that were the right sizes with the help of my future sister in law Yukina. So, enjoy yourselves, and then we'll recover ourselves over the next few days, alright?" all eyes went to one another before Ayato shrugged.
"Hell, why not? lead the way guys," he said.
"Fine, but first, I have to go and do something…" Guren entered the doors, the room growing quiet as a few hushed whispers broke out and all of them sighed while Yuu and Mika had rather put out expressions on their faces.
"We're not going to like this… are we?" Sayuri laughed nervously.
"Most likely," she admitted.
The group of fourteen awaited the okay from Goshi to enter and soon they went through the doors and were greeted with loud cheering, some whistling as Guren stood at the front of the cafeteria, a smirk upon his features as he was joined by his team who ushered the fourteen teenagers to stand just by him while his teammates stood on the other side. Those in the room cheered, applauding them as they all stared wide-eyed, having never seen the Moon Demon Company so jovial or excited in their lives before. Yuu and Mika had grown up around these people, and to see such a sight was extremely rare, and only appeared on a few occasions: namely New Year's, weddings, anniversaries, or specific holidays or small festivals. To see this sort of response from just entering a room, somewhat startled them.
"Alright! Listen up, these fourteen rookies did something incredible last night, they fought through Tokyo alongside my team and because of their efforts, we have reclaimed Tokyo, I know the Japanese Imperial Demon Army isn't one for pinning bouquets on anyone, but tonight, I'm toasting these fourteen kids for their efforts and for the hard work and bloodshed of all of us who went into Tokyo and the surrounding cities for this last month and returned…" Guren looked to everyone, the air of elation remaining as he took in a deep breath.
"I've never seen anything like this before, it's impressive," thought Hide as he looked at the hundreds of people before them.
"In addition, I also grant a toast to our departed brothers and sisters who did not make it to November twentieth, and for those who fell during the Tokyo Raid. To them, we salute their bravery, their courage, and their wills to lay down their lives against our enemy. To our brethren who fell, to our heroes who stand with us tonight, and to the future that has begun to appear! Cheers!" Guren raised a glass, the others following as all the teenagers looked to one another, somewhat startled by all the things they were seeing.
"Guys, don't be shy," stated Sayuri as they looked to her.
"We didn't do anything special though! We just followed orders and fought alongside you guys!" Mito laughed.
"Kids, you've got a lot to learn. Guren does this when we have a successful mission of this magnitude, the last one we had like this was before any of you even came to live with us, and that was Shinjuku just after the fall," she explained.
"B-But, we didn't…" Goshi nudged Yuu in the side gently, being careful about the boy's ribs.
"Who cares what you did and didn't do? This is for everyone, but he wanted to make all of you hoodlums the guests of honor, to not only congratulate you guys on your first full-scale mission, but to honor our fallen and one other thing," he said.
"On my final note for the evening, I wish to formally welcome eight people who worked alongside us and made the Tokyo Raid both a possibility and a success. Kaneki Ken, Kirishima Touka, Kirishima Ayato, Nishiki Nishio, Nishiki Kimi, Irimi Kaya, Nagachika Hideyoshi, and Fueguchi Hinami… because of these eight valiant youths who braved Tokyo City's wild dangers for four years alone, we have been victorious in our first major step to overthrowing the Vampires, and showing them that yes, even their omnipotent Nobles can be slayed! To our newest members of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army, the Moon Demon Company, and our new brothers and sisters! Cheers!" the Lieutenant Colonel once more raised his glass, the others echoing it as the former Anteiku Ghouls and Humans gaped, feeling remarkably touched and warmed by the man's words.
The night after the toasts were said and done, had become a whirlwind of conversations, and learning more about the Ghouls and humans of Anteiku. For the first time in four years, Hide could admit he was satisfied with something to eat that was hot and not out of a can, Kimi found herself engaging in conversations with Sayuri, Mito, and Shigure while Irimi was able to speak with them as well, finding themselves fitting in with little trouble. Touka, Ayato, Nishiki, Hinami, and Kaneki surprisingly had no trouble eating the food, or drinking anything, and they felt nothing but satisfaction from being able to eat a meal and feel full rather than being sick. It was impressive, and as the Ghouls and humans mingled together, it seemed as though the night was going to continue without any more surprises, and that was when all of them were proven wrong in one of the most interesting ways possible.
It had all started when the Guren had taken Sayuri aside, and the teenagers who had known the man the longest gave him a confused look as he pulled the girl up the front of the cafeteria, and right in front of every soul present, got down on one knee, and presented a ring to the woman. Yuuichiro coughed, starting to choke on his drink as Mika patted him on the back, being thankful tha the hadn't taken a drink just then as they all watched and waited, Mito clutching her husband's hand tight enough to break it while Shinya gave his current girlfriend a long look as Kimi smiled, an overwhelming joy flooding her as a sudden whirl of anxiety overcame everyone and they watched.
"So? What will it be?" the brunette woman felt tears well in her eyes.
"I swear… you just know how to put people on the spot… of course I'll marry you!" Sayuri said as she was enveloped into his arms as he placed the ring upon her hand and Yuuichiro placed his hands over his ears, Mitsuba clapping her own over Mika's as the groups of people broke into loud cheering, the entire room nearly vibrating as they watched the two shared a kiss, Yoichi and Hinami going deep red as some of the couples in the group of fourteen eyed one another, the notion crossing the minds of the boys as the girls cheered and whistled while Mika was thankful that Mitsuba had put her hands over his ears as the cheering finally died down and the crowds began to go and congratulate the couple.
"At least the attention is off us," Yuuichiro said as he removed his hands from his ears.
"You knew it was going to get loud?" the boy shrugged.
"It was a proposal, whether Sayuri had said yes or no, it would have been fucking loud as hell in here," he explained as he took a bite of his food, looking back at them.
"Doesn't that mean Sayuri's our mom now?" the black-haired boy looked to Akane.
"Yea, pretty much," Mika stated.
"Wait, I was wondering something, the three of you are siblings, and Guren's your father, right? So why don't you have his last name? And why do none of you look alike?" Nishiki looked to Hinami who seemed a bit unsure, as if she knew what the answer already was, but wanted to confirm it.
"None of us are actually related, we were from an orphanage that had the name Hyakuya, so we took that as our last names, and we've stuck with it since then. Our actual parents died before we came to the orphanage, and we were taken in by the –"Yuuichiro cut Akane off.
"Let's not talk about the past right now, we'll have time for that later. Right now, I just want all of us to have a good time before we start recovering and training together," he said.
"Sure, we can talk about it later, so? Guys? What do you think of the Moon Demon Company?" Kaneki looked to the others.
"They're a rowdy bunch huh?" he asked.
"Not usually, but during parties, events, or celebrations everyone cuts loose a little bit." Mika sighed as he eyed Nishiki.
"How are the suppressants working?" he questioned.
"Just fine, according to the instructions, we take one each morning, and we can eat and drink like a normal person, no real side effects except occasional headaches when we need to eat flesh, when that comes, I don't know what we'll do…" Kimizuki sighed.
"That's probably what the missions will be for. You can eat your fill of Vampire flesh then," he said.
"True, no one will care if you do or not, it's one less fang to deal with and they seem to be scared of you guys, so that's a bonus." Ayato looked to them.
"So… we're really in the Japanese Imperial Demon Army… and we've really joined the Moon Demon Company?" he questioned.
"Yep, you're stuck with us now. So, welcome to the Company, guys." The seven youths across from the other seven Cursers smiled as Guren momentarily turned his attention away from the chattering girls surrounding Sayuri as his soon to be bride cheerful responded, tears still in her eyes as he looked at the fourteen teenagers.
"Seems it's time to set the wheels in motion before Kureto does the same to his own plans for the Spring…"
{Shibuya Park: November 24th, 2020, 10:15am}
"Nishio! Hurry up!" Kimi called, her face flushed as she smiled, jovial as she walked just ahead of her unofficial husband.
"I'm coming…" the Ghoul sighed as he made it to the park bench his wife was at and sat down, the snow around them clustered together as they sat down, bundled up for the chilly weather.
"It's so nice here, don't you think?" she asked.
"Yea, it is… quiet, not that crazy, and it's… just… I don't know… hard to explain…" he leaned back, wrapping an arm around his wife as he looked up at the pale blue sky.
"I know what you mean. It seems strange, not living in fear… existing in a place where someone is more likely to wave at you than suspect you of being a flesh-eating monster… it's refreshing," she told him, leaning against him.
"That's a good word, but I was thinking more along the lines of revitalizing. We're finally going to be living lives not fearing the CCG… we can actually live here in Shibuya, thanks to the Lieutenant Colonel…" he closed his eyes, taking in the sound of birds and the peace surrounding them.
"Hard to believe it's only been three days since we arrived here," Kimi told him.
"I know, and look at how far we've come with healing! Thanks to Yuuichiro and the medical staff in the MDC we're just about all patched up." Kimi smiled.
"And here I was worried that things wouldn't work out. Yet, here we are… sitting down in a park, talking as if it's just a normal day, full of average things," she stated as Nishiki sighed.
"Well, kind of average. Don't forget, in a week, Guren wants us to come in to get our uniforms fitted for us to be recognized as official Army members," he reminded her.
"Right, but… what do you think about that other thing he said he'd tell us about once we arrived for the fitting?" Nishiki shrugged.
"Who knows, maybe it's those weird weapons that the others were using, the Cursed Gear? He may want us to test it out and see if we can use them," he mentioned as the red-haired woman frowned.
"Cursed Gear? But you, Ayato, Kaneki, Touka, and Hinami are Ghouls, why would you need weapons?" the twenty-one-year-old looked at his wife.
"Because, if we show up on the battlefield with the others, and have no weapons, we'll look suspicious. Not to mention, what if we can't use our Kagune in certain situations? What if we need to remain undetected by our enemies until a certain point for a strategy to work? Then what? In the end, it all adds up to the same factor: we'll stick out otherwise. If we do, then we'll be in danger of jeopardizing the mission and or get our comrades killed," he told her.
"I see your point… so, I'm going to try out for the Cursed Gear too… and I'm going to take up the training offered by Mito…" Nishiki looked to her.
"Are you sure you want to do that? I know Touka and Hinami have taken up the training offer like the rest of us, but Irimi has found work within the clerical offices and as an aid to the other units within the Moon Demon Company, wouldn't you feel better doing that?" he questioned.
"No, I wouldn't. After seeing the kind of battles that you and the others… including Yuu, Mika, Shinoa, Mitsuba, Akane, Kimizuki, and Yoichi will be facing… I decided I wanted to fight alongside all of you, just like I did four days ago… so please, don't try and sway me from it Nishio…" the man gave a heavy sigh, looking forward.
"I'm not going to, I just want you safe, that's all," he said.
"Nishio… if I'm with you, I couldn't be safer. So, don't worry about me, I can do this, and with Mito's training, I'll be fine, you'll see." She smiled, and he returned it, placing a quick kiss to her lips before humming.
"You know, seeing the Lieutenant Colonel and his girl the night we arrived and that whole thing in the mess hall took place… it got me thinking," he stated.
"Got you thinking about what?" he took in a deep breath.
"The whole husband and wife thing we have… it wouldn't be such a bad idea to make it official…" Kimi felt her eyes widen.
"Are you serious?" she questioned him, checking for any insincerity.
"Of course, I am. So, what do you say? Kimi?" she hummed.
"Let me think… oh, don't give me that look! Let's do it, we'll make it official, just something small though, only our friends," she stated.
"Sounds fine to me… let's do it after we get our uniforms though, okay?" she nodded.
"Alright, I love you Nishio," she told him, intertwining their fingers.
"I love you too..."
{Lieutenant Colonel Ichinose Guren's Office: 10:45am}
Shinya stood by awaiting papers from Guren who was busy signing a few forms, preparing them to be sent off as the blonde watched him, occasionally looking out the window to see some of the newest members of the Moon Demon Company spending time together, having recovered well enough with the help of Yuuichiro and the other healers within the medical staff of the Army to finally start moving around after a couple days of rest. They would need more time to heal completely, but once they were, they would begin training, assignments, and learning how to work together. Which was why Shinya was waiting on Guren's paperwork right this moment.
"Are you sure you want to do this? I know you asked them a while back about it, but at that point there was only seven of them," Shinya stated.
"I am, this guarantees their safety… all of theirs. Specialized Units work under one specific commander and only if something happens to them, does it transfer to the next holder of the warrant, which is you, Shinya, so I don't have to worry about those kids if I die one day soon." The blonde frowned.
"You aren't planning on dying, are you?" he questioned.
"Nope, but who knows what could happen, and I'm not keen on taking chances on those kids being left as the play things of Kureto." Shinya hummed.
"That would be a good assumption, to be honest. Brother Kureto always sticks his nose where it doesn't belong, not to mention he's far to brutal and greedy, he needs to learn that he can't always have what he wants," the blonde man said.
"No shit, but this is why I want to make sure that everyone is safe, just in case. Now, how is that weapon coming?" Guren asked as Shinya smiled as he watched Hinami tug Yoichi along down the side walk and away from the others, telling him something as the older teenagers waved at him before carrying on their way.
"Just fine, but I do wonder if they'll take to it well, considering what is inside that weapon…" Guren shrugged.
"Who knows, but that type of Gear was designed with them in mind, it just took less time than Cursed Gear. So, is it almost ready? We've been having the smithing teams making them since we made that agreement with the Ghouls a few weeks ago," he mentioned as he signed a few more papers and went to the next one.
"Don't worry about it, they'll be ready just before the second week of December…" the Lieutenant Colonel nodded.
"Good, now, are the uniforms being altered a bit for their Kagune?" Shinya nodded.
"Yes, and I also am making sure that they're given a few slight differences in the uniform details should we need them," he stated.
"Oh? What kind of artistic liberties did you take this time?" Shinya laughed.
"Nothing to extravagant, just a few changes that I think will help them," the blonde told the black-haired man as he finished with the last few pages and then started filling in names.
"Such as?" the Major General sighed.
"You'll see when they get them, but speaking of the set-up, are you sure you want to do that? I mean, Shinoa is the squadron leader, but is she qualified enough?" Guren shrugged.
"We'll send them on a mission soon. I just received intel on three of the people that Kaneki asked us to look for, and I know where they are, so we'll be sending them on a mission just after they get their uniforms, which'll be in what? Five days?" Shinya gave him a startled look.
"Whoops! I told them a week," he said.
"Inform them that it'll be five days, and that they better heal up and begin exorcises because I have to send them on a mission soon to see how the dynamics are going to work." Shinya nodded.
"Okay, I'll get to work on that. By the way… Kureto wanted to speak with the boys…" Guren stilled.
"Did he now? And? what happened?" he questioned.
"Yuu and Mika went… but from what I understand, Mika nearly broke brother Kureto's teeth in… apparently he pushed a boundary on asking Yuu a few questions and the boy didn't take it well." Guren laughed.
"Well, that dumbass must have done some serious shit to have Mika pissed off enough to attack him with Sangu Aoi present. But, were you there?" Shinya nodded.
"He toed a few lines that weren't welcomed by myself or Mikaela… because of that, I dismissed them and warned him that if he spoke of such a thing to either of them again… I would personally make him suffer. He laughed and walked off, and I immediately warned the Grand General naturally," he stated.
"So, the old man doesn't trust Kureto?" Shinya shook his head.
"No, he doesn't. The main reason is, that though Sangu Aoi won't say it, it is heavily suspected that he slaughtered his own men for some reason," he told Guren.
"And that psychopath is the one spear heading the strike during the Spring? Tch, what a load of bullshit." The blonde sighed.
"That doesn't mean father fully trusts him, but he can't prove anything just yet, and he intends to keep a watchful eye upon him. After all, it is Yukina and Seishiro doing this little spying gig, between them, they'll be fine," Shinya assured him.
"True, so… everything is just about finished, but why do I have to present a name?" the other laughed.
"So, to differentiate them naturally," he mentioned with a smile as Guren sighed before looking to the paper as he thought before a smirk came to his face.
"I think I have the perfect name in mind…" a small series of scribbling noises was heard before he held the stack of paperwork out to Shinya who took it and looked at the last one that had been handed to him.
"Oh! That is a good one! I'm sure everyone will like it," he said as he started to sort the papers in order before taking one last look at the name on the form.
"Let's hope so, I can't change it once it's sent in…" Shinya smiled, grabbing the stack before heading to the door.
"Don't worry, things will work out the way their meant to, and you and I both know that all of those kids can do the impossible as it is, so keep your chin up, you are getting married just after New Year's after all," he said.
"I know that airhead…" with that the door closed and Guren closed his eyes, listening to the smooth jazz music playing.
"Still, these coming months should prove to be pretty damn interesting…"
{..…}
Searching through the darkness below…
{….}
Author's Note: Guren and Sayuri are going to get married! Finally! Well, while the beginning of this chapter started off rather jovial, as it went down, things started to become less bright and a bit darker as Guren plans things to keep Kureto Hiragi in place, and Shinya works to help him while he does a bit more preparing for something happening in the Spring. While I was originally going to put in the entire interview situation from episode one of S2 of Seraph of the End, I decided against it for the sake of developing the relationship between the Ghouls and the original seven members of Shinoa's squad. Also, I suspect all of you can guess that some very interesting things are about to take place, huh? Well, batten down the hatches I always say. Let me know what you think!
Sincerely,
ShadowDragon94.
Chapter 13: Black & Green.