I bet you guys are tired of my set up. But trust me on this. S#!t is about to hit the fan. (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 8: A Lover's Game of Chess, Ein Sorgfältig Ausgefalle

Shuu's phone buzzed in his pocket. Excitement bubbled in his heart; he was expecting a call from Yukio-kun about an assignment. He had recovered quickly. The young man had brought him a very nutritious dinner some nights ago and, with support from Kanae, had returned to hunting for his own meals. "Bonjour," he purred into the receiver.

"Nice to hear you're doing well, Shuu." He shuddered slightly when Yukio said his name. "I've got another hunt for you if you feel up for it."

"Anything for you, Yukio-kun." There was a long pause from the other end, what sounded like a woman saying "master", and a brief shuffle of papers.

"This one is going to be a lot harder to tackle," a young child's voice was saying something to Yukio although Tsukiyama couldn't make it out. Insatiable curiosity started to gnaw at him. "Kanae can't come with you for this one." That surprised the purple haired ghoul.

"Why?"

"I don't trust him just yet." Yukio remained quiet for an eternity in seconds, "Hiase."

"Eh?" The living reflection chuckled in Shuu's ear.

"The man you're going after is a CCG officer, Sasaki Hiase. He's no weakling. You'll have to hunt him seriously. Oh, and one more thing, I need him alive. Do you think you can handle it?" The full weight of what he was being ask for pressed down on Tsukiyama. Yukio was trusting him with a difficult task, there was no doubt it was crucial to his plans. He swallowed, suddenly nervous.

"Yes." Tsukiyama could picture the youths perfect, and sinister, smile in his response.

"Good."

*POV

Ayato gritted his teeth pensively as the sniveling bastard was begging for mercy. Turns out not all of the ghouls that worked under Kanou were killed. The few that managed to escape opted to disappear instead of reporting the incident. "Give me one good reason to not killing you," he snarled. Ayato had a fist full of the other ghoul's hair, pulling his head up while his foot, planted on the other's collar bone, crushed him down. A little more force and the pathetic waste of flesh would be kissing his head good-bye.

"I-I know where they are!" he wailed. Ayato stopped pulling, stooping down to look the deserter in the eye.

"What?"

"I know where they are. I-I'll tell you, just spare me." Ayato glanced over his shoulder to Eto. The dusky alleyway shadowed her bandaged face. It seemed to make her sinister in comparison to her normal, albeit sadistic, manorism. She nodded. He turned back to the panic stricken informant, a slight smirk twitching his lips.

*POV

Urie was a twitching wreck. Despite Sasaki's quiet aid he had been growing steadily worse. The doctor had called it rejection. Like any organ transplant there was a risk of the body attacking the new member instead of accepting it. Only this time it was the kagune attacking the rest of him. Eating away at him like a disease. There was a constant prevailing pain pounding in his head, throbbing in his shoulder, and an empty agony in his stomach. He gripped the sheets of his bed in anger and grit his teeth against another wave of anguish. The skin over his shoulder felt like it was boiling. His mind felt shadowed as a voice whispered from inside him. "You are pathetic. Look at yourself, a weak, sniveling, arrogant, asshole."

"Shut up," he responded shakily.

"What is it that you want, hu? Recognition? Revenge? Respect? What motivates you to be such a bastard?"

"I said, shut up." Urie snapped at the voice more forcefully. He was coming undone at the seams, actively attacking himself. He couldn't go on like this for much longer. I signed up for this shit, though. It's my own fault. Urie knew his personality was undergoing changes, he was losing self control, his ambition flagged. He convulsed in silence, but not alone.

Urie felt like someone tugged sharply at his head and was suddenly falling into a dark emptiness. He knew he was hallucinating but these nightmarish, lucid sloggs haven't happened while he was awake before. He opened his eye and was lying on a slab of marble above a twisted night sky. "Up" was the city of Tokyo in all its shining nocturnal glory. He looked around him, ivory steps lead to an ebony throne of thorns on the far end of the slab about ten feet away, the world plunged into infinity three feet from his head which was facing away from the lone seat. The square slab was the only thing in this place that felt secure. Urie didn't want to move, content to watch the bustling city night. The dream would soon be over.

"I really hate you." Urie shot up, suddenly dizzy. A living shadow with a twisted grin had perched himself on the throne and was staring at him.

"You're-"

"I really really hate you, Kuki. You could not begin to imagine my disgust." Urie stared at the burning crimson stars that were its eyes, the only spot of color on him aside for the blinding white smile. He stood and glided toward Urie a horribly unnatural void in the shape of a man followed behind the glowing features, only visible by blotting out the light behind him. "Do you know what I want, Urie?" He flinched back from the creature as it knelt over him, he couldn't move. "I want to see you suffer an indescribable amount of pain, drown in despair, give in to the hopelessness, only to offer yourself to me, begging to be devoured. To just make it all stop. That is what I want." Urie couldn't breath, it was like being near to this thing was choking him. But, despite all his pain, everything was suddenly much clearer. His torment had a "face". He could fight back against the self destruction.

"You are a ghoul," Urie said calmly looking into the red orbs, "the ghoul that my kagune used to belong to." The void laughed harshly, surprising Urie, before lunging forward and sinking its teeth into his shoulder.

Urie shot off the silken sheets with a scream. Hand gripping his shoulder instinctively. He was uninjured. He stumbled to his bathroom and splashed water over his face. His breath came in ragged gulps. Looking up to the reflection of a tormented man, one-eyed kakugan burning forth. He knotted his jaw. "I will not let you," his knuckles turned white with the force he was grabbing the sink bowl with, "win." A shudder rushed through him, leaving him numb. You are just another obstacle that I will overcome, nothing more.

*POV

Kanae stalked back and forth over the marble of the mansions entryway, his master human pet watching his distressed expression. Tsukiyama-sama had made a full recovery which was good but he had been promised something that he couldn't have. Kaneki Ken was a drug and Tsukiyama was an addict. "Oh, rose, oh rose, tell me truly. What should I do? My master is again bewitched. A trickster has stolen his hope and he is far beyond my powers to dispose of. Oh, rose," Kanae seized the delicate blossom pinned to his purple suit jacket and collapsed onto the milky stone.

The massive double doors swung inward and an ecstatic voice poured into the dim hall. "I'm home~!" Shuu marched up to Kanae and stared down at him with a bemused expression. "What are you doing, Kanae-kun?"

"Contemplating, sir."

"Je vois." His famous grin swept over his features and knelt down next to him. "Kanae-kun, I have a very special task for you."

*POV

Sasaki twirled a pen in his right hand studying the evidence folder on his desk; the rest of the Quinx Squad, aside from Urie, were all busy putting up a crime board that mapped Lover's activity. Two years of murder's just swept under the rug. Two years of killing and no investigation. Two years of a killer getting away with it. The pen nearly snapped under Sasaki's sudden grip. He glared at the board. Mitsuki flinched in his periphery. Shirazu swallowed. Seiko ducked out of sight. Mado looked at him and returned her gaze to the map. He took a large draught from his coffee and walked over to add a point of his own. Kotoro Aya, the girl that Lover spared on the roof of a parking garage, close to the school, and the domino that she was given. We are solving a puzzle without having all of the pieces. "Urie was right," he glanced over to Mado, "the school is the epicenter of all the strange ghoul activity in the district."

"I agree, 1st class Sasaki, the leads we have right now all point to that academy." Mado shifted her weight the her breath came short and pensive, piquing Sasaki's scenes. "We should head there now."

"What about Urie?" Shirazu was clearly uncertain. Sasaki gave him the gentlest smile possible.

"I'll check on him."

*POV

Mitsuki Touro watched his mentor retreating form. Urie had been acting strange recently both Sasaki and Shirazu seemed to know something but had kept quiet. A whole new threat to deal with and one of our squads strongest isn't well. Not even Mado-san knows what is going on. I'm so useless in this situation. He was snapped out of his brooding by a tug on his sleeve. "Are you coming, Touro-kun?" Seiko looked concerned.

"Hurry up." Mado called dismissively as she too turned to leave. Mitsuki grabbed his coat and quinque dagger before rushing after the three other investigators.

The academy wasn't that far really, which was incredibly unnerving. An active predatory ghoul going unnoticed this close to a CCG office, unreal. The campus looked more like a collage than a private High school. Large verdant plant life was everywhere coupling nicely with the buildings that almost seemed to grow out of the gardens. The air was heavy with flowers' perfume but not oppressive. Just being there was euphoric for Touro. Every breath felt fresh like the countryside, not a hint of city smog, but there was something unnerving. Flowers shouldn't be blooming this time of the year. "This place must be really expensive to attend," he commented.

"Yeah," Shirazu's reply held a similar wonder.

"We'll have plenty of time to look around," Mado glared at the administration building while she spoke, "while we talk to the faculty, staff, and students." She glanced at the three of them. "Split up and cover a different section of the campus. I'll head to the North-east admissions block." She started to make her way swiftly before Shirazu yelled after.

"What about us?"

"You're squad captain, Shirazu. Figure it out," Mado was out of sight before he could respond. She's a fast walker.

"Tch, Uh, so Seiko should go...um," Shirazu glanced around for some direction, "South-west to those club buildings over there. It looks like they might be setting up some school festival so talk with some of the students, okay?" Seiko nodded before bouncing away into a crowd of high schoolers. "I'll go this way," he pointed to a series of laboratories to the South-east, "You should check the gardens and sports fields that'a way." Touro had no complaints, being given the greenest area on campus to explore would be soothing.

A single pathway lead from the main gait to a fountain square. From there it was just a few turns until Touro stepped into a miniature forest. The sweat tint to the air was stronger here. The canopy above whisper excitedly as the wind brushed through it. Quasi scattered clearings of various size were adorned with picnic tables, patios, the occasional gazebo, and statues of various make and age lining the footpaths between them. He crossed over a babbling stream. There wasn't a bridge but it was thin enough that a single bound could clear it. Touro didn't mind that either.

Several students were clustered by an infinity pool on the chairs or sitting in the grass. They had a uniform that might have passed for a suit that is except one. He didn't look particularly tall, he was sitting on the edge of the group, and didn't appear to be interested in the others conversation. He had on the same dress pants as the other boys but wore a zipped up hoodie that obscured most of his face. Loose dark hair peeked from under the rim a sharp contrast to his pale skin. "Ne, ne," one of the more excited girls jumped up and tugged gently on the loner's arm, "why don't you show your face to anyone? You know those nasty rumors are only getting worse right? As your class rep I'm worried you know." A class rep, hu? She might be worth talking to but what is up with that guy? They don't know what he looks like either, creepy.

The hooded teen looked over in Touro's direction. The investigator felt his heart sink.

*POV

The bar was quiet and empty during the day. Uta didn't have any customers coming by his mask shop either so he decided to spend the day with the other clowns. But, much to his annoyance, he was quite literally the only person there. He pulled a small white domino tile out of his ripped skinny jeans pocket. Expert fingers traced the elegant "D" carved into the back. As an artist Uta had a great respect for the detailed work. He mused about the strange ghoul that had given it to him. What an interesting mask they wore. It would seem to him that a great deal of entertainment was coming his way.

Move one: Pawn to E4