Sorry for the late and rather short upload, I've got a lot on my plate right now and I'm finding less and less time to work on this. I hope it isn't too disjointed. I'm trying my best to keep up with my schedule but it keeps coming out and biting me in the ass. I'll try to do better next time. ^-^

"Shit…" Ginshi Shirazu spat as he dragged the unconscious Urie through the rubble of the Aogiri stronghold. His hand was pressed tightly to his side keeping his internal organs from being ruptured as his gaping wound healed. Sasaki was still duking it out with Zombie. The two ghouls had been at it for hours, but they were so evenly matched that all they ended up destroying was their surroundings. A loud crash, accompanied with a plum of smoke to Ginshi's left announced another clash of the two SS rated ghouls.

He had never seen Sassan in this state, not even when he was fighting Serpent. His desperate ferocity was terrifying. The wall to the left of Ginshi blew apart and a battered bloody body crashed through it and kept on going, traveling through the next wall, and from the sounds of it, the next after that. Ginshi had just barely caught a glimpse of the flying figures white hair, but when a almost equally battered Zombie stepped through the hole on the left, his fears were confirmed. Sassan was losing.

The Zombie didn't seem to take notice of the two batter quinx. He continued through the path made by Sassan. Ginshi knew that he had to take action, but he also knew that standing between those two was an invitation to be separated into more than a few pieces. Urie was the strongest of the quinx but even he hadn't been able to lay so much as a finger on Zombie.

The quinx had split up hoping one of their groups would get out. Tooru and Saiko had made for the back exit while Ginshi made for the front entrance with Urie. He didn't know how the others were. All he could do was hope they all made it out. More crashes, reminiscent of explosions could be heard and they were getting closer. Ginshi had only seen Sassan fight seriously once or twice. But he found himself remembering a talk he had with Akira. Ginshi, did you know that there were other ghouls, aside from the Owls, that the CCG considered giving the rank of SSS? she had ask him. No ma'am he had responded. There have been three that were considered. The ghouls Noro, and Tatara from Aogiri, and... he voice grew cold, Centipede. He knew just what that meant.

If Zombie is beating Sassan, does that mean he is SSS rated? He only had a few more feet to go until he got to the fence, then he could use his kagune to make a hole big enough for him and Urie to get through, then they would be safe.

Victor charged after Sasaki again, spinning his shadowy kagune around before letting it crack like a whip at the investigator. Sasaki blocked using his kagune, but it only barely held. He grunted in pain as he was thrown back through another wall. Victor pursued him again. Only to find Sasaki crumpled on the ground. He hadn't made an attempt to get back up. Victor walked over to him and noticed that the black streaks in his hair had dissipated over the course of the fight. Now there were none left. Victor bent down to see if he had killed the investigator. But Sasaki was alive, lying on the ground silently crying.

"What the hell is your deal, Investigator Sasaki?" Victor asked, he scooted back as Sasaki raised his head. One eye was a full kagunan while the other seemed to not know what it was. There was a splotch of black arcing around the iris. Victor hadn't noticed that before. Up to this point he had just assumed that The CCG investigator was just a quinx. But at that moment he put the pieces together. "A half breed…" he whispered.

The half-ghoul's tears were begin to form a small puddle beneath him. Victor wondered what could have made him lose all his fight so quickly. He knew that Sasaki wasn't exceptionally injured, and even with that, ghouls had an interesting regeneration ability which was already going to work on Sasaki.

"What the hell got into you, Investigator Haise Sasaki? I thought we were fighting!" he roared as the half-ghoul.

"I remembered something…" was all Sasaki said.

"This just gets more and more interesting, doesn't it Tatara," chuckled the bandaged form of Eto. The white cloaked ghoul glared out at the scene that was unfolding.

"Maybe for you, but from that display of power, he may prove difficult," Tatara grumbled glowering at Eto's childish persona, "An assassin after the king worthy of an SSS rating." Tatara turned letting Eto trail behind him. She skipped along playfully. The white robed ghoul wheezed, making a loud sound as his breath resonated through his masks speaker as static. "Must you always put on the ridiculous persona?" he ask, his voice remaining calm and collected. For her part Eto looked at him dumbfounded.

"What do you mean?" she finally ask.

"You need to learn some professionalism," Tatara stated flatly. The roof they were on had a ladder on the far side and The white robed ghoul grabbed on to in sweeping his clothes behind him. It was Eto's turn to glower as she said in a pouty voice,

"What's the fun in that?"

Sorry if that last little bit seems out of character but come on, Eto acts like a little kid, and comparatively Tatara is as formal and stern as can be, anyone like that would get slightly annoyed at Eto's behavior.