(One last thing *POV indicates a change in point of view, however since part of the fun in my writing is for my reader to figure out whose pov they are in, I won't outright tell you who is whom.)

Chapter 6: Ravens and Writing Desks, Der Tödliche Arzt

Ayato paced on the roof of a rather tall building, each motion punctuating his annoyance. Eto was late. Very late. They had been assigned an important task and she wasn't punctual, as usual. He heard the light, sighing laugh that accompanied Eto's presence. "'Bout time you got here." He snarled, "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you to show?"

"Sorry, Kirishima-kun." She didn't seem sorry at all. More likely she found his irritation hilarious. Aogiri had run into some... problems regarding deaths of their informants. The One-Eyed King called the two of them in to deal with that "problem". The structure on which Ayato had been pacing was the perfect vantage point for launching a counterattack. Under normal circumstances Aogiri would just abandon the base but Dr. Kanou's research was being stored in the subbasement. If Ayato was honest with himself, he would admit to being afraid. There had been no survivors. The data on all of Aogiri's officers would also leave Toka, his shitty older sister, at risk, if the CCG were to get their hands on it. The mission was to exterminate the invaders and reclaim the good doctor's work. If the worst case scenario was true then the CCG would be able to launch organized assaults on a large number of Aogiri bases.

There wasn't a whisper from the old factory building for those many hours Ayato was waiting. If the CCG did find this base why wouldn't they secure it? An Aogiri location this close to a human populace is more dangerous than any case they would be working right now, so where are they? No way it could be a lone assailant. We had too many troops for that. Eto jumped, or rather skipped, off the building onto the factory roof below. Her petite stature even more miniscule against the massive backdrop. Ayato followed, landing heavily on his right leg. The firmness of the shock wave rippling up through his body was an odd, but pleasant, feeling.

The factory, dingy and run down as it was, was a crucial sleeper cell location for a direct attack on this district. It being discovered, not to mention taken from them, was a big loss. The pair of ghouls dropped through a broken skylight onto a metal catwalk above the factory floor. They lost contact with the cell less than a day ago but the stench that curled up from the ground was far too fetid. Something was definitely wrong with the scent. While any ghoul would find the taste of another repulsive the scent of flesh was the same for either a ghoul or human corpse. Even still, ghouls have a natural gag reflex when they smell food that is to rotten to eat. Ayato was almost dizzy with nausea.

Bodies were strewn everywhere. Some mangled in horrible ways, others with expressions of agony warping their features, and even more where partially eaten only to be tossed aside when they were dead. "Eerie~" Eto said, her voice still perfectly calm. One thing if nothing else was abundantly clear, this was the doing of a ghoul, and a powerful one at that. Ayato lead the way to the sublevel. The farther down they went the more horror they saw. Most of the time he didn't care if the week died but to be killed in such twisted ways and then displayed like a trophy, that was wrong. Aogiri's pride, and by extension his own, had been insulted and no one got away with that.

Eto pranced ahead into the next room and then stopped to stare at the bodies carefully lined up in rows. Most of them were women and children, those that Aogiri had forced to join, each killed cleanly and set aside with...grief? Was the intruder sorry he had killed them? What the hell is this guy thinking? His scowl pulled into a snarl and his eye's shifted into kakugan. Ayato balled up his fists. "I'll kill that bastard." It wasn't until Eto snickered that he realized he had vocalized his feelings. He simply huffed at her and stalked onward.

Echoing sounds of surgical equipment hastened their stride. A muffled whimper twisted a spike of foolish hope in Ayato's heart. The food processing room had been turned into an impromptu laboratory, more of the same twisted corpses litter the various tables. The room itself was below Ayato and Eto as they came, the same type of metal walkway encircled the perimeter with a single stairway leading down. It was well lit, large splashes of blood painted the off-white walls crimson. A tall, emaciated, stick of a man, stood over a flayed open ghoul, bound to the table. He was dressed in a tailored black suit with a red tie, a doctor's coat, old fashioned, heavy duty, medical gloves, and a bloodstained surgical apron. It didn't seem to do much good considering the coat was also speckled with crimson. Ayato stood, frozen in shock. How was it possible that this guy wiped out the entire Aogiri force?

The "doctor" chuckled, picking up a scalpel. "I really love working with ghouls, such well behaved patients, such durable bodies, too." He sliced into his victim's left ventricular, eliciting a scream. He laughed, a laugh that dripped with insanity. He pulled a red domino tile out of his pocket and pushed it through the incision. The poor ghoul on his table couldn't even twitch anymore. "You've been so good that I just might let you live." His patient whimpered. "Nah." With a practiced and sudden ease he flicked the scalpel, severing the primary arteries. It bled out in seconds. The doctor straightened up, as much as he could with his hunch, and adjusted some kind of specialized lence on his mask. It was a bone white bird's skull in design, perhaps a mockery of old plague masks, a large crack ran down from the right side to just above his brow, a red eyepatch attached over his right eye with a large black "A" on it. The mask only covered the upper half of his face. His short, greasy, feather thin hair shifted slightly as he turned to face them. "Ah? What's this then? Did I miss some?" A demented grin flashed out from under the beak.

Three ghouls stood there for an eternity in seconds, one horrified, one impassive, the last, eletaited. Ayato's kagune flared out as he charged down the steps. Indignant, obstinate, fury burning in his eyes. "A" kept stepping just out of reach, cleaning dodging any projectiles Ayato launched at him. Eto watched from the doorway.

*POV

It's not like she hated Ayato, he was fun to play with after all, but he was too quick to let emotion dictate his fighting. The stranger wasn't even that fast but he was certainly experienced. To be able to evade Ayato's attacks so easily, it didn't help that Ayato telegraphed them, means that he was very skilled at reading opponents. She saw everything, every action, every reaction. It was no surprise that this ghoul would finally start fighting back. He was a bikaku type.

The insectoid tail flicked over his right shoulder and slammed into a table, barely missing Ayato. It was segmented, thin almost hair-like spines ran down its length ending in a wicked looking stinger. Before the doctor had looked like a vulture, now he was a scorpion. Ayato stepped well out of range. The doc's tail dropped down to his waist. He pulled a long curved needle out of his coat pocket and leered at them. "I designed this myself," he chuckled, "it took quite a bit of work but the results are well worth it." The stinger on his tail unfolded, he gently placed the needle in it, and folded it closed again so the stinger had more of a point. He charged Ayato this time. Ayato was having a hard time. Part of this opponent's strategy was intimidation and it seemed to be working.

The tail lashed forward again, Ayato evaded, another close call. It struck a corpse that had been slumped against the wall. The body began to decompose at an alarming rate. Eto knew then and there that this wasn't someone to play around with. Ayato was going to fail. She stared at the fetid pile of flesh and everything just clicked into place.

Ayato's agonized cry snapped Eto out of authorial trance. His right leg was shattered, he couldn't get away from the mad doctor's final strike. Even with her immense speed the tail was uncomfortably fast. She grabbed Ayato and bolted. There wasn't enough room for her to fight well and one hit from his stinger would be game over, even to a kakuja. His insane laughter rippled through the night behind them. "Run run little birdies! Fly back to your cage and tell them that Alpha sent you!"

Ayato swore under his breath.