Reminisce
Chapter 5: Chaotic Encounters
Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul or any of the characters involved except Guardian D. Death and Guardian H. Hollow
Kaneki, Touka, Death, and Hollow descended the stairs into Anteiku, entering the café they were greeted by Yoshimura.
"I see your mission was a success," he said, nodding toward Hollow.
The younger man's gaze slid away from the older ghoul.
"Yes, now that I have Hollow in 'custody' I'll be ensuring that our presence here has not disturbed the Story of your World, and then be moving on," Death said as he placed a hand on Hollow's head.
"A good idea, you Guardians always bring trouble if you stick around too long," Yoshimura replied with a nod.
"Surely not too much trouble, right?" Hollow asked as he looked from Yoshimura to Death.
"More than we'd like," Death answered.
"Well, if you're going to be staying for a while longer, the least we can do is offer you some of our hospitality," Yoshimura said as he produced two mugs of coffee.
"You're too kind," Death said as he sat at the counter and took one.
Hollow looked from Death to Yoshimura, and back again as Yoshimura set a mug in front of him.
"What is it?" He asked, pointing at the cup.
"A drink, I'm surprised you don't know about it given where you grew up," Death told him.
Hollow looked at the cup in front of him before picking it up and sipping it. He shivered in surprise as he swallowed the hot, bitter brew.
He retched a bit as he said, "How do you drink this stuff?" He asked.
Death paused, his cup halfway back to the tray as he looked at Hollow.
"You… don't drink coffee?" he asked.
Hollow shook his head, "If that's what it tastes like? No thanks."
Death looked to Yoshimura who was chuckling.
"There aren't many people in the world who don't like a good cup of coffee. Let me see if I have something more palatable for you," he said as he turned around to the large array of bags behind the counter.
"Do you drink tea?" he asked, looking back at Hollow.
"I… haven't had it before, is it as bitter as coffee?" He asked.
Yoshimura tilted his head as he considered the question, "It can be. But there are many ways to make it. Let me see if I have something sweeter."
Death nodded his thanks before patting the seat beside him.
"Sit Hollow, we have much to discuss," he added the last part to Touka and Kaneki who had remained by the door.
The group arranged themselves at the counter, then Death cleared his throat.
"So, a quick crash course in the way this is going to work: Hollow and I will be doing some investigating around the area. While we're doing that, I want you two to come along with us and help provide an extra pair of eyes."
"What are we looking for?" Kaneki asked.
"Anything out of the ordinary. We, Guardians, are used to seeing some odd things, and sometimes it's hard for us to tell what's normal for a World versus what isn't. Having someone who lives in that World along helps us tremendously."
"Do you think you'll find anything?" Touka asked.
"Probably, the Corruptors will not have missed my actions here. My concern is not if we'll find anything, but what we'll find. An agent has likely been sent already, it's a matter of finding them, and dispatching them."
"I… uh, might know who it is," Hollow said.
The trio turned to him.
"Chaos and I… we both came here at the same time. Soon after we arrived he set me loose to do what I pleased. I started following Mado around because he was hunting some little girl's parents who were ghouls, and they seemed pretty strong. So I wanted to fight the guy who had killed them," Hollow explained.
"That explains a lot," Death replied, then sighed. "So, Chaos is here. Great, just what I needed today."
He sighed again before taking a sip of his coffee.
Yoshimura used the lull in the conversation as an opportunity to slide a cup of tea in front of Hollow.
"Try this," he said.
Hollow took the cup and lifted it to his mouth, the brew inside was very sweet, and his eyes lit up in surprise.
"This is delicious!"
"You're definitely my son," Death muttered to himself.
"What makes you say that?" Hollow asked before taking another drink.
"I prefer very sweet foods, but I have to limit myself these days."
"Why?"
"It's… a long story. Suffice it to say my body cannot process several things anymore, including sweets."
"That sounds like a crap way to live," Hollow replied.
"Seems we'll have to work on your tact," Death told him.
"If I can interrupt? What's the deal with this Chaos guy?" Touka asked.
Death and Hollow turned to her, "Chaos is the leader of the Corruptors, in terms of power he's stronger than me," Death answered.
"Way stronger than me too," Hollow added.
"So if he's so much stronger how are you going to deal with him?" Kaneki asked.
"We'll leave," Death said like it was obvious.
"That's it?"
He nodded, "Chaos is only ever interested in thwarting the efforts of us Guardians. If we don't give him anything to thwart, he'll get bored and leave. Unless we have a Gate with us, we know we can't stand up to him. Even Hollow and I would be hard-pressed to fight him two-on-one. And while I don't mean to be insulting, any of you coming to help us would do more harm than good."
Kaneki and Touka looked at each other, surprise on their faces.
"Exactly how strong is this guy?" Kaneki asked.
"And what's a Gate?" Touka added.
Death sighed, he had lifted his cup to his lips to take another drink, then set it down.
"Chaos is stronger than most of the Guardians we have in the current active service. There are only nine Guardians today who can fight him one-on-one: The four members of the council and the five Gates. The Gates are to us Guardians what Yoshimura is to you ghouls here at Anteiku. They lead us, organize our efforts, and in rare cases come to aid us in battles or missions. But, they're always busy and it's hard to get one to come out to a World on a whim. Even if Chaos is here, other pressing matters keep the Gates busy, despite his capture or elimination being a high priority. It's a matter of timing. If a Gate is in a World when Chaos is, an attempt is made to capture or kill him. If one of us lesser Guardians finds him, we're to retreat and let him be. If this helps: On a scale of one to ten, ten being the strongest. Chaos is a solid nine. I would rate in at a four, Hollow a two. Yoshimura would be somewhere around a three, and you two would be… well, saying you're a one would be generous."
The pair's eyes widened at his explanation.
"He's that strong?"
"That's what I just said," Death replied as he took another drink.
"So that's it then? You're just going to leave?" Kaneki asked.
Death nodded, "That's the plan. As I said, there's nothing much Hollow and I can do here, and the longer we stay the more involved Chaos is going to become. We can't afford to put you in any more danger than we already have."
Yoshimura took Death and Hollow's empty cups.
"I take it you'll leave immediately then?" Yoshimura asked.
"We might as well, otherwise Chaos'll come calling, and that's the last thing we- "
He was cut off as the bell chimed from the front door.
The group turned to see who was entering the café, Death and Hollow froze, their eyes widening in shock.
Chaos was standing at the foot of the stairs leading up, a grin plastered on his face.
"Well, well, well, look what I've found," he said as he put his hands on his hips.
Death shot up from his stool, he extended his hand and summoned his scythe.
"Whoa there Death, I'm not here to fight. I'm here to talk to Hollow," he said.
Death scowled at him from beneath the mask, but lowered his arm, letting his scythe disappear.
"What do you want with him?" Death asked.
"I just wanted to confirm something," Chaos told him.
Hollow poked his head out from behind Death.
"Hello… Mas- I mean, Chaos," He said.
"Hello, Hollow."
Hollow stepped out from behind Death and walked toward Chaos, stopping a few paces away so that the two faced each other.
"So. This is where we part ways then?" Chaos asked.
Hollow nodded, "I'm sorry. I'm thankful for everything you've done, but-"
Chaos held up a hand, "It's quite alright my boy, no need to apologize to me. I just ask you to do what you think is right, and let Death show you the ropes."
Hollow nodded.
Kaneki leaned over to Touka and whispered to her.
"With how bad Death made this guy sound, he seems pretty chill to me."
Touka nodded in agreement.
Chaos looked up at them, overhearing their conversation. He let a small grin form before speaking again.
"I've come to tell you that I'm leaving Death. This World is boring me, there's not enough going on, and if Hollow is going to pursue the path of the Guardian I have nothing tying me here."
Death nodded slowly, not sure where this was headed.
"That was all, no tricks, no plots, no secret agendas. I figured if I came and told you in person you'd be more inclined to believe me. I know our relationship has been strained since… that, but I hope you still have enough trust in me to know I'm speaking the truth."
Death went to reply, then stopped himself.
"Very well Chaos. My thanks for coming to tell me."
Chaos nodded, then turned on his heel, raising a hand in farewell.
"Until next time my morbid friend!"
He ascended the stairs and the bell chimed again.
"Well, that's that I suppose," Yoshimura said after a moment of silence.
"Yes, I believe it is. Hollow, we're going."
Death held up a hand, and a portal of swirling black energy appeared.
"What? Right now?" Hollow asked, his voice rising in pitch with surprise.
"Yes, right now. Come."
Death stepped through the portal. Hollow watched him leave, then turned back to the others and gave a bow from the waist.
"Thank you for everything, I hope we'll meet again sometime," he said before following Death through the portal.
After it closed the ghouls remained in place for a few seconds, waiting to see if anything else would happen. When nothing did, they slowly returned to work.
Meanwhile, outside
Chaos watched through the window of Anteiku as Death opened his portal and left with Hollow.
"Excellent, things are proceeding according to plan," he said.
"Good, now that those meddlesome Guardians are out of the way, we can begin phase two," A voice said from behind Chaos.
He turned back and smiled, "At your command, Master."