"Kaneki, you are a First-Class Investigator"
I keep repeating this sentence to myself while I keep walking with Arima to the main offices of the CCG, trying to make the pieces of this puzzle fit, but I feel that the main piece that binds everything is missing. My career in the CCG catapulted meteorically, I received a prototype quinque, and I'm currently under direct orders and protection from Arima, the strongest human being without a doubt. In what kind of world does this make sense? I don't…
-Kaneki, you are still unfocused – One more time, Arima can easily read through me.
-I'm sorry, mister Arima – Damn it, there's the "mister" once again – It's just that I find it hard to assimilate all of this.
-In that case, it's better if you assimilate it fast, because we are going to receive our first mission soon.
-Wait, what? – A mission? So fast?
-The details will be explained there; right now it would take a lot of time. Also, it would be convenient that you know the rest of the squad already.
Hearing that last sentence made my energies reach level 0. I was so focused on my appointment as investigator and my quinque, that I completely forgot that Arima is the leader of Squad 0, the main force of the CCG, and probably our only hope against the strongest ghouls. Since I'm Arima's assistant, it's natural that I join squad 0 too. What kind of people will be in his team?
I don't have much time to think about it, because we already arrived to a room inside the CCG offices. Without notice, we already went through the RC scan gates scattered around the corridors. Good, I avoided some headache. It's just that, every time I pass through one, I feel a little stitch. Also, I avoided eye contact with the investigators that we met through the corridors, and all of them were saluting Arima with joy. I don't really have anything against them, but I believe that they do have something against me, and if they can avoid me, they are fine. Anyways, we walk into the room and I see a small group of people there, and everyone is wearing combat suits designed for investigators. I don't have any doubt that they are Arima's special team; all of them are serious guys, always ready for action. None of them pay attention to me; they just salute Arima with a light head shake.
-We are here, Marude. Please, explain the details of our mission – Arima introduces us to the guy standing in the center of the room, Special Investigator Marude.
-It's an easy task this time, Arima. Do you remember the ghoul restaurant from ward 7? Well, it seems that there's a considerably large group of ghouls that are planning to retake its operations. Without a doubt, something really stupid, considering that we know the exact location of the place, but there are rumors that an S rank ghoul protects them, might even be an SS one. Our intelligence reports won't confirm it, sadly – Marude seems troubled by this fact, and he changes his tone of voice to an angrier one - We lost many men conducting recognition operations. Damn it, we lost TOO MANY men for recognition only. That's why this mission was assigned specially to your team. Annihilate them, Arima.
-Be it S or SS rank, we are going to take care of it – I feel chills through my body due to Arima's coldness.
-Always the serious guy, eh Arima? C'mon, smile a bit, man. The details of the operation are inside this envelope, but they are just tactical references. What's inside that restaurant remains unknown.
-Thank you, Marude – Not even a single reaction from Arima that already stopped talking to him, and now he talks to the whole team, including me – Alright, let's go. You know the mission, and I expect nothing but perfection from you all.
Without a word, the whole squad 0 starts marching behind Arima that makes me signals to stay close to him. While we walk through the CCG corridors, I can feel whispers on my back.
-Hey, why are we assigned such a stupid mission? It's really easy – Who is it talking? I don't really know.
-I don't know, do you think it has anything to do with the new one? – Are they talking about me? Wish I knew their names.
-He is Arima's personal assistant, why does he have such an honor? – And now, another voice joins the whispers, is it ever going to stop?
-I heard that he is… - That I am… what? I couldn't hear, because we all stopped at once when Arima turned around.
-Anyone that thinks that this mission is stupid is free to leave the squad right now. Also, everyone duty-free will personally handle our condolences to the family of the investigators that died during the recognition, and shall explain why they considered that this mission is stupid, even though many men gave their lives away to help.
Everyone, absolutely everyone, was cold in their spot, without saying a word. Arima's stare hasn't changed at all since we left the laboratory, not even his voice. Without a doubt, he is an extraordinary human.
-If no one plans to leave the squad, we shall continue. We lost 15 seconds right now.
The CCG reaper, captain of squad 0, and my mentor. I have a lot to learn from him, undoubtedly. I think about this while we walk, now a little bit faster to compensate the "time lost". The whispers already stopped, but I still feel a weird atmosphere, like disapproval. Not even my own team recognizes me, how am I supposed to feel? To be honest, it's frustrating.
-Kaneki, for this mission, I want you to stay back.
-Why is that, Arima? – This order really takes me by surprise, and I give a rash answer. He doesn't trust me, either? – I'm sorry; I didn't mean to disrespect you.
-Don't think about it, I already told you can call me Arima. Now, I'm going to be serious with this order: Stay back and watch all you can so you learn about our tactics. Also, there will probably be recognition investigators around there that will need protection.
-I… I understand, Arima. I will follow my orders.
More relaxed now, I can think clearly. Arima is right, I don't know the formations and tactics of the squad, and the best way to learn would be watching them live. And the fact that he cares about the other investigators really helps. Now, even more determined than before, we leave the CCG offices and head towards ward 7. The ghoul restaurant.
For some reasons, thinking about that place gives me a light headache.
To be honest, I planned to make this chapter longer and include the ghoul restaurant part. But I'm so busy right now with exams that I wouldn't manage to describe it as I imagined it, so instead here's this little(?) chapter. Sorry about it.
¡Gracias por el apoyo! :)