"Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat."
— from Invisible Man , by Ralph Ellison
Eto had always observed things by holding them at arm's length. Not because she was afraid to look at them close-up, but rather she did not want those things to stare back at her. As a result, she knew people thought her distant. Even if she played up her friendliness— ditzy maneuvers, brief touches, fake smiles— it was a trait that she had never truly been able to hide.
But it worked. People stayed away from her. Or rather, she was able to stay away from others. Because if they got too close, they would see how ugly she was. How ugly she had always been. They would see the corpses she dragged behind her, who once bore names she would never know.
She wouldn't admit it, but that scared her.
Even now, with someone sleeping by her side for the first time in years, she was still scared. It felt like she was still staring at it from afar, from a deep pit of blood not her own.
It felt like someone else's body, she thought, as rotten hands grasped her bloody bandages. Was that really her, asleep in that bed, next to Ken? Was it her that kissed him? Was it her that embraced him?
It sounded like a pipe dream. Or maybe a trashy fantasy. She was just an unnecessary byproduct of a bygone relationship; if her own parents couldn't love her, that made her inherently unlovable.
And yet…
Eto stepped to the edge of the pit and reached upward, toward that dream that once seemed so distant. She found a suitable cliff, and gripped as hard as she could.
(Climb.)
The corpses had always been heavy, and she bore them as always. The stone cut into her flesh, her nails cracking from the pressure. But a new weight made this climb even more difficult—
(Higher.)
The fear of falling back down. Of regressing. But she had to press on. She had to live. There were people waiting for her.
( Higher .)
When she reached the top, it was morning.
Ever a light sleeper, Eto was awake the moment her eyes opened, and opposite her was Ken. A fellow failed soul, who no longer wanted that to define him.
He was real. This was real.
Her mirror was on his side, like her, and she watched his chest gently rise and fall in a steady rhythm. He'd elected to clothe himself again after she implanted her bone. Now that she was awake, she felt her stomach twist in disappointment. Not that she didn't understand. Last night was much-needed stress relief, not a magic solution to their problems.
While he slept, she reached out again, and her palm slid against his cheek. She rubbed her thumb caressing the area just beneath his eye.
The moment they touched, Ken's breathing changed, and she smiled. "Good morning," she whispered, coaxing him out of sleep.
Gray eyes, like gleaming silver, fluttered open. They met with her green ones and were locked there. "Morning…" he mumbled back with a yawn. "I didn't kick too much, did I?"
"Oh, of course you're a kicker." She giggled. "But you were fine. This time."
He chuckled back. "I'm glad."
Eto continued to stroke his cheek with her thumb, her gaze roaming over the rest of his face. The sway of his white locks bending to gravity. The curve of his nose. His lips.
She scooted across the bed and, as best she could, kissed them lightly. But when he kissed her back, her throat closed up and she pulled away.
(I don't deserve this.)
She shut her eyes and turned her head down.
(It should be someone else.)
When she looked at him again with damp lashes, he was looking at her steadily and patiently.
"I-I'm sorry," she managed, about to brush away those unshed tears.
His hand crossed over to do it for her. "You don't have to be; I understand." Because we're similar .
She pressed her own hand against it, and brought it closer to her with a smile. "Thank you."
(Accept it. Embrace it.)
He returned the gesture, and they tried again. This time, Eto leaned into the sensation, greedy for more. Wrapping her leg around his waist, she rolled on top of him to get a better angle. When he opened his mouth, her tongue slipped in to taste what was inside.
However, now that her hair was a lengthy wolf cut again, the strands tumbled onto his face and got caught between their lips. He sputtered with laughter as he brushed them out of the way. It was an infectious sound, and she settled in the crook of his neck, shaking with pleasantly unfamiliar giggles.
This was real. This togetherness, this freedom, this movement. All real. It was beautiful, she thought, that two ugly people could be like this.
" Wabi-sabi ," she said, prompting him.
"Beauty in the incomplete," he responded. "I agree."
She snuggled closer, sighing contently.
Silence made itself known. Just the two of them. It was nice. And Eto reminded herself that 'nice' was okay for her. It was okay. It was a new privilege she couldn't squander.
But others couldn't enjoy it like she could. There was still work to be done.
"… We should get up," she said, though she didn't move.
Ken nodded slightly. "Yeah. We should." And he unironically rose up. Because of course he did.
She snickered, turning onto her stomach. "You're terrible," she teased.
"What?" He turned, in the midst of adjusting his pants.
"Oh, nothing." She grinned at him. "You amuse me, is all."
"When have I never…?" He shook his head and mirrored the expression.
There was a knock on the door. "Ken?" came Hinami's voice. "Are you up?"
Eto cursed under her breath, and leapt out of the bed to at least put on her shirt. Not that it mattered; the girl's superb hearing already gave them away.
Ken opened the door once he saw that Eto was properly covered. "Hey, Hinami," he said, hand up in greeting. "You're up early."
"The kids were being rowdy," the girl replied, palm pressed against her eye with a yawn. "It's so early; how do they have so much energy?"
"And now you know how it feels." He grinned.
"I-I wasn't that much trouble, was I?"
He just laughed. "I'm teasing, don't worry."
She huffed, but was smiling. "Well, anyway, they want to see Eto. They're at the park right now, but…"
At her name, Eto perked up. "Me?"
Hinami looked past Ken. "Eto!" she said. "How are you feeling?"
Eto chuckled. "Much better."
Those two simple words made Hinami beam. "That's good!" She looked back at Ken. "Oh, I also came because Chie's looking for you. I guess she and the PR team are ready?"
"Already? They work fast…" Ken scratched his head and glanced back at Eto.
"Go on," Eto said, reading his mind and shooing him away for it. "You don't need my permission."
He laughed and walked out with a shake of his head. Hinami watched him for a few moments, brow furrowed, before approaching Eto's bedside.
"He's like a lost dog sometimes," Eto said, flopping back onto the bed.
Hinami giggled, taking a seat at the stool. "It's part of what makes him Ken."
She rolled her eyes at that. It only made Hinami's smile wider.
"You've made a decision, then?" she said.
Eto groaned, covering her face with her hand. "Am I just an open book now? I've really lost my touch."
"It's not all bad, is it?" Hinami reached out and picked the hand off. "If you can be read, the people around you can help you. Sometimes better than you can."
"So wise, Ms. Fueguchi. Tell me more!"
The girl laughed. It was a wonderful sound, full of joy. Defiant in the best possible way: a declaration to be kind in spite of everything else. And when it got past you, it was infectious .
Before she knew it, Eto was laughing back. Full, real peals of laughter she didn't even know she was capable of. It wasn't even because of anything funny, but it felt good .
Maybe living wouldn't be as hard as she thought it would be.
Hinami stood up. "Are you able to walk, then? The kids have been waiting for you to wake up."
"Kids?" Eto asked.
She nodded. "From Aogiri. They asked for you specifically."
Aogiri…
As it originally stood, the organization seemed so distant now. An organization meant to encourage thought by defying the narrative of the very thing they fought against. Ghouls prey on helpless civilians? Aogiri only attacked Doves and problematic ghouls, both of whom could defend themselves. The CCG is a pure organization dedicated to fighting against the threat of ghouls? How would the Washuu, ever prideful, react when their food supply— dead Doves— was being directly hijacked by their own kind, who they despised so much?
It was a rebellion in every sense of the word. It gave ghouls a reason to think things could improve, to think that if the world was wrong, they could distort it until it was something better.
Eto looked away.
It was gone, along with so many of its members. Even the ones who joined Goat were just a fraction of a fraction made of those who fled Rushima and those who survived it. A ghost of the past.
Aogiri was gone.
(All those lives…)
(Tatara…)
(Gone.)
Hinami's hand found Eto's, halting the flow of thought for a moment. Eto flinched upon contact, then looked at the girl, who was smiling softly.
Eto drew her knees to her chest. "I should have been there," she whispered. "On Rushima. I should have tried to save anyone stupid enough to stay behind. Ayato was gone, and I was getting myself arrested; Tatara was… He wasn't going to win by himself."
Hinami didn't say anything. How could she? It was true; though Eto had saved her life, the lives lost on Rushima were far greater than that of the Gask Masks and the ghouls under Ayato.
"Their blood's on my hands," Eto continued. "I could have made a difference. I could have done more ."
Hinami frowned. "Eto…"
"But I can't change the past. No one can." She gave a small smile. "I can help you change the future, though. With whatever I have left to offer."
The grip on her hand tightened slightly. A grateful tightness, Eto thought, clinging to the promise of being better, and wanting to feel closer. It was nice.
"Hina, before we go, can I ask a favor?"
The girl nodded quietly.
"Can you make me a cup of coffee?"
A gasp, then the brightest smile Eto had ever seen. "Of course!"
—
The door to :re opened, being the closest spot to brew a cup. Touka, of course, was manning the counter, and for a single customer.
At the sound of a bell, Koutarou Amon looked up.
(Oh, boy.)
Hinami swallowed. "Mr. Amon."
He nodded. "Fueguchi."
She went behind the counter to Touka. "Can you show me how to use the brewer?"
Touka smiled. "Sure."
They went to work as Eto sat two seats away from Amon. The sound of ground coffee beans hitting against the thin paper, followed by the hiss of a boiling kettle. Touka gently instructed Hinami, informing her of where everything was with a brief overview.
Amon spoke first. "Eyepatch told me about you. You're the One-Eyed Owl? The real one."
Eto nodded. "I am. You've recovered nicely, Floppy."
He hummed. "You're also Eto, the one who was with Akihiro Kanou."
"I am."
"And you're Sen Takatsuki as well."
"I am."
He took a sip of his coffee. "And… you're the one who killed Akira's mother. Kasuka Mado."
"I… I am." Eto leaned forward, chin in one of her hands.
She felt Amon's eyes on her. Hinami glanced over from the counter, frowning.
"I see," was all he said. He took another sip of his coffee. "How unfair, that neither of her parents are alive, and yet you and the Rabbit are here."
Hinami turned back around, and Eto heard a sigh of relief escape her.
Eto smirked. "I agree," she said.
(I should have been the one to—)
Touka showed off the burr grinder and explained how it worked to Hinami. The girl appeared absolutely fascinated by it. Her eyes shone with that hunger for knowledge Eto was so fond of. It was nostalgic, in a way, and it brought a smile to her face.
(No. Stop.)
Eto recalled devouring book after book in Noroi's possession. They were old books, and some of them were even stained in mud, tossed out in the rain by careless owners or even members of V.
(Maybe I should have died, but I'm not dead yet.)
Stories, poetry, full of what-ifs and could-bes— she read it all and more, with the same expression across the counter.
(I… want to live. As long as I can.)
"But, if both Investigator Mado and Investigator Kasuka were here, it'd be the same, wouldn't it?" Amon said. "They took lives like you and I did. If it's still 'unfair', does that make it right to live at all?"
This world is wrong. The age-old adage.
"I'll tell you what I told the Rabbit: I have no ire toward you. Only to the world that forced our hands and made us do what we did." He leaned over his cup, gripping it with a gentle resolve. "Taking lives, believing that killing 'corrects' the broken system, when really, the system was working exactly as intended. Ghouls and humans both were all fooled by it. They still are."
It made Eto smile. "Seems it wasn't a waste coming to the 20th ward that day."
He scoffed. "You gave me quite the 'tip'."
"It got you thinking, didn't it? That's how tips work." She shook her head. "What will you do now? Will you join Goat?"
Amon thought for a moment. "I… I don't know. I've been an investigator for so long, the idea of fighting for ghouls is… Well, it goes against years of blind belief. And after wandering this world, I know that there are ghouls who should not never be allowed into society, no matter what."
She hummed. "Even within Goat, there are likely some of us who fit that description. People whose sins number so many, to the point where no one should feel safe around them."
"Yes… But, if what your organization is fighting for is true— if you're truly fighting for peace and cooperation— then I'll consider it. We work better when we're together than when we're apart, I've learned." He finished the last of his coffee. "The group led by Tsukiyama found me, and I told them about Rushima. We helped as many people as we could escape the CCG."
Eto looked at him, and gave an uneasy smile. "Thank you for that."
"No need for that." He stood. "It was the right thing to do."
"Humble as ever, Investigator." She rolled her eyes. "Some pride goes a long way."
"Pride doesn't change the world. We must learn to be vulnerable before we can change. And speaking of…" He stood up. "I'm going to see her."
Touka grinned at that. "Good luck," she said. "You got this."
He sighed, but returned the gesture. "I'll have to take what I can get."
After a short breath for confidence, he strode out the shop. When the door shut, Hinami slid her finished coffee across the counter.
"He's… nice," she decided to say. "Nicer than I thought he'd be."
"Certainly doesn't want for nobility," Eto half-agreed, bringing the cup before her.
It was still Kuzen's style. A stench she originally thought represented weakness. Black coffee, the bitterest kind, and yet presented as a symbol of 'kindness'. For it was the only known thing humans and ghouls could enjoy together without question.
"Sugar?" Touka asked, holding up a cup of it.
"No," Eto replied. "Not right now."
To her, it was always a symbol of cowardice. Kuzen had left her, too afraid to challenge V in any way, shape, or form. And because of that cowardice, he could not face the truth.
He thought he loved Eto. He thought he could have both her and V. He thought he didn't have to choose between his love for her and his ties to V. But by leaving her in the 24th ward, depriving her of him, he had already chosen. It is impossible to love something if you aren't even there for it, after all. Yet, somehow, he had fooled himself into thinking he performed a miracle.
Because of that self-told lie, the Owl Suppression Operation had happened. And because of that operation, Ken, and so many others, had been hurt. For no reason.
Purposeless.
She stared at the coffee cup, and lifted it up.
She would never forgive Kuzen. Not even if he appeared right now and begged for it. Not even if he spent what little was left of his natural life atoning. He had let the opportunity pass him by nearly twenty-eight years ago now. Perhaps she could stop hating him, with time, but there would never be grounds for reconciliation.
The steam emanating from the brown liquid brushed her lips.
But though this brew was his style, Hinami had made it. A kind, gentle girl who reached out into the darkness, for Eto. Not for anyone else's sake but their own. Once upon a time, she would have thought it a lie.
Eto took a careful sip.
But now… She could believe it.
The flavor washed over her tongue, and she recoiled at the taste. "Oh, God … Yeah, sugar. Sugar right now."
Touka gave a triumphant smirk, and slid it over. Hinami, for her part, just laughed.
(Strong, lovely girl.)
Later that day, they went to the park. An old abandoned site, like many of Goat's hideouts. The area itself was once a handful of apartment complexes and a school, until some of the staff and residents were outed as ghouls. The CCG made quick work of them, as they often shared bodies and couldn't really use their kagune. It was tragic.
"Hey!" Hinami, leading the way, called.
It was a relatively small park, with a set of two swings, a slide, and a large playground spinner.
Three children looked up from the swings and ran over. "Hinami!" they cried out with the biggest smiles Eto had ever seen.
"Hey!" she repeated. "Having fun?"
"Yeah!" one of them, a young boy barely eleven, said.
"That's good!" Hinami stepped aside. "Everyone, I want you to meet someone."
Three pairs of eyes stared at Eto, who came a bit closer. "Uh, hi…" she said, waving slightly.
Hinami pointed to each of the kids. "This's Haruka, Aki, and Yuki. Like the seasons."
Spring, autumn, and winter. How cute.
"Haruka, Aki, Yuki— This is Eto."
"Eto?" Yuki gasped. "Eto!"
He immediately wrapped his small arms around her. She flinched at the sensation, rooted to the spot.
"You're Eto?!" Haruka exclaimed. "You're pretty without your bandages!"
"Wow…" Aki simply stared up.
Eto looked at Hinami, completely lost.
"You don't remember?" The girl smiled. "You rescued them from the Doves. Aogiri protected them— You protected them."
Oh.
Well, then.
"What do you say?" Hinami addressed the kids simultaneously.
Yuki, from beneath her, grinned. "Thanks, Eto."
Eto blinked. "Oh, uh, you're welcome."
In a stiff motion, she patted the boy's head, as well as the other two, who then moved in for a hug of their own. It felt so weird; they were so small , even compared to her, yet she was overwhelmed. Tiny palms, tiny bodies, and yet so much potential. So much of their future was undetermined, and Eto would only be a small part of it.
How strange.
But that was the way the world was. Only a fraction of you made it into someone else's life, more often than not, and though you would eventually be gone, you would also endure in the world. And the people you've touched would also be gone and endure. Round and round it went.
Her arms, as best they could, wrapped around the other three.
"I'm glad you're okay," she said, genuinely.
Hinami gave a thumbs-up of approval and said, "Wanna play together now? Eto's pretty good at using her kagune, you know."
"Really?" Aki said, jumping away. "Is that true, Eto?"
"W-Well, I… I just have a big imagination, that's all," Eto said. "So you want me to—?"
"How about this…!"
The next hour of the One-Eyed Owl's life was spent using her kagune to carefully craft monkey bars and a three-way seesaw for the kids. It was strange, not using it for violence or capturing or torture or whatever cruel thing was occupying her mind on a given day. It was used for fun. As… it should be.
"Huh," Eto said when the deed was finished, watching the kids play. She sat down and severed the kagune, letting it live on its own. "I never thought I'd be doing this."
Next to her, Hinami smiled. "It's nice, isn't it? Once all the fighting's over, maybe this can be a pastime for you."
Eto laughed. "Construction, hm? Sounds tough."
"So are you." Hinami chuckled back, but then she stopped. "Eto. Look."
Eto followed her gaze, and saw Touka watching them with another figure. Long blond hair, lilac eyes, and wearing a blazer jacket and flats.
Investigator Kasuka's child.
Their eyes locked, completely by accident. Eto looked away to see what Haruka was up to. She couldn't do it. She couldn't face that woman. Not after what happened in F124.
"They left you behind," Eto, barely thirteen years old and already a half-kakuja, stated.
"No, I'm staying behind," Kasuka rebuked. "I'm going to stop you, and go back."
A place to return home to, huh? How nice. How irritating . Noroi's death was still fresh in her mind; the idea that those under V's thumb could have homes to return to while those who rebelled were thrown into the abyss enraged her. And her father was one of those beneficiaries? While she was left to rot and die?
Eto, beneath the cowl of her hood, scowled. "Is that so?" she said. "To that Kureo guy?"
"That man is just a fool." Kasuka readied her quinque. "Now, then, One-Eye… Shall we?"
Eto crouched down. She'd make a mess of this woman, she thought. And put her corpse on display to tell V what she thought of them.
It hadn't been personal, at the time. Not really. But jealousy and hatred were ugly things when they met, and Eto, for years, had been full of both. The consequences spoke for themselves.
So when Touka brought Akira down, Eto went to the swings to observe from afar. Her feet barely scraped against the ground.
The kids went up to Akira and gave her a hug, mystifying the woman. Afterward, Hinami, ever so kind, held out her arms. And then—
"You too."
Eto saw Touka standing before her, hand outstretched.
"You need closure too," she said.
Eto scoffed. "Even if she hates me?"
"It's because she hates you that you should go," Touka answered. "That's how we learn to coexist. You can't change the past."
She sighed. "But you can change the future."
And this time, Eto took Touka's hand.
Akira was released from Hinami, face streaked with tears. Confusion caused by the clash of false belief and reality. Ghouls were people. Humans were people. Both had killed the other, had caused sorrow for the other, and had distorted the world they lived in together. Right and wrong lost their meaning when the corpses and tears looked the same.
Then there was Eto. Sen Takatsuki, the biggest contradiction of them all. A natural one-eye, caught in the crossfire. Blending into both but belonging to neither.
"Owl…" Akira muttered, rubbing her eyes with the palm of my hand. "Come to confuse me too?"
Eto just held out her hand. "To a brighter future."
Akira stared a hole into it, eyes still red with tears. "My parents would hate me if they were here."
"But they aren't. And you aren't them, either." Eto took a step closer. "We can be better than they were."
Her hand remained outstretched and untaken.
"Hate me all you want. I deserve it, and more," Eto said. "Touka too. We hurt you, after all. But leave others out of it. Let them be, and maybe even make friends with some of them."
"Why should I?" The words should have sounded hateful, but Akira just sounded empty. "They're ghouls . You're a ghoul. You crave flesh and blood and nothing else. My flesh and blood. Why risk it? It's my life at stake, not yours."
"If that's how you think it's always going to be, then you'll never move on." Eto frowned. "Are you content with that? Staying in a past that'll never come back? Being empty forever?"
"You're one to talk about being empty." Akira glared at her. "Draping my mothers' insides about the ward like she was some kind of art piece, killing countless investigators, cannibalizing your own kind for years… What a horrible way to live. So selfish."
Eto pursed her lips. The corpses were watching intently. "Yeah. It was. Those lives will never come back, and that time will never be regained."
The burden would be a heavy one. It already was. But…
"But if I stop and wallow in them, that's the end. I'll never be beyond a killer. And I don't want that." Eto jiggled her hand to remind Akira that it was there. "Can't you do the same? You've taken lives too. You and your father were quinque addicts, as I recall. Playing with ghouls' lives, like toys in a box. Because they're just 'man-eating monsters', right?"
"Eto…" Touka warned, but Eto silenced her with her other hand.
"'They aren't human'. 'They deserve to die'. That about sum it up?"
Akira gripped the sleeves of her coat, looking down.
"You reduced ghouls to their Cochlea numbers. You thought them beneath you, at your mercy. Their corpses will drag you down to your grave." Eto stepped closer, so that her hand was within reach. "Will you let them?"
Akira hesitated, weighed down with years of biases and false truths and black-and-white thoughts. The years of cadet training at the CCG, the quinques, the loss… Everything would be challenged. So the question became: did she leave it behind for a mere chance?
Did she leave her parents, their ghosts, in the past?
Eto's hand, throughout it all, remained outstretched. Watching, and waiting.
"Your words sting," she said, after much consideration. "I hate it; it's like you can see right through me."
"I am an author," Eto responded, smiling. "It's an occupational hazard."
"… Why does Haise work with you?"
"Who knows." Eto shrugged. "Ken's mind works in mysterious ways."
Touka and Hinami shared a look, but said nothing.
"But if I had to hazard a guess… It's because he thinks I can be more. And if I can be more, so can you." She stuck out her hand more insistently this time. "So let me ask again: will you let yourself be dragged into your own grave, having achieved nothing, or will you fight?"
Akira stared at the hand again, then shook her head and turned away. "I'll think about it."
Eto smiled. "Do be quick. Takizawa's always been hard to keep in one spot."
There was a small pause in her stride, but she didn't let it deter her. She took her leave of the park, her back straighter than when she arrived. Eto watched until she was a speck in her vision.
After a moment, Touka coughed, tilting her way into Eto's vision. "So, uh… 'Ken'?"
(God fucking dammit.)
The Clown Siege is over. The morale of the CCG has plummeted after realizing that humans were mixed into the crowd of Clowns, slaughtered against their will.
A video flickers on, streamed online and uploaded for later viewing. A simple room of concrete, with nothing but a desk and a stool. And on that stool sits the One-Eyed King.
"Hello, everyone," he says, bowing. "My name is Haise Sasaki, a former Ghoul Investigator. As some of you might know, I am a ghoul, and the One-Eyed King, leader of Goat."
When he looks back up at the camera, his lone kakugan is active. It remains active throughout the video.
"I want to start by offering my condolences to those who lost their friends, their loved ones, and their lives to the perpetrators of the Clown Siege." He dips his head again until it is parallel to the floor. "What happened there was horrible, unforgivable, and the exact sort of thing we at Goat wish to prevent.
"I also want to give my thanks to the brave investigators of the CCG who fended off the Clowns, such as Kuramoto Itou, Koori Ui…"
He continues listing off names. At a later date, it was revealed that each name belonged to someone he worked with at the CCG.
"… Juuzou Suzuya, and the members of the Qs Squad, led by Kuki Urie." He looks up, and he's smiling a sad smile. "Urie, Mutsuki, Saiko… I don't know if you're watching this, but you've grown so much since I was your mentor. I wish I could be there in person to say this, but thank you. For everything."
He takes a moment to wipe his eyes, then moves on.
"I don't claim responsibility for the Clown Siege, and the investigators present at the 22nd Ward can attest to this; we of Goat fended them off alongside them, working in harmony to save as many people as we could. I wish to expand this relationship, and build a world where humans and ghouls can coexist without having to kill each other all the time.
"This may sound like a lofty goal, and I admit, it is. But it isn't unattainable. We fight for ghouls and humans both. So that ghouls don't have to pretend they're something they're not, and so that humans don't have to go to bed every night afraid of something tearing them apart."
He takes out a familiar book: the controversial King Bileygr by Sen Takatsuki, pronounced dead by the CCG following the December Cochlea raid.
" King Bileygr challenged many of your preconceptions, I imagine. Outside of that, it was a stark contrast from all of Takatsuki's other works. Her full works were always tragedies, reserving comedies and lighter tones for her short stories." Kaneki flips through the book now, a nostalgic sort of smile on his face. "But this one was the opposite of tragedy. It was hopeful. It was happy. It believed that humans and ghouls could work together and become something more . And I, for one, agree with her.
" Bileygr also gave us all something valuable: knowledge. And knowledge is power. That is what she believes, and it is what I believe too. So I will be giving you knowledge, so that you may think for yourself and hopefully join me in achieving my lofty goal."
The brief livestream ends, and the CCG releases a statement in the newspaper:
"The CCG has eradicated Haise Sasaki."
Nishio, next to Kimi, read the day's headline aloud. "Well, how about that? Same day we take to the web, our friend the Bureau Chief takes to the newspaper. Like some kinda metaphor."
At one of Goat's hideouts, the organization's executives, their king, and still others sat or stood around the concrete room as multiple computers uploaded copy after copy of Goat's videos. Ghoul culture, biology, RC cells and transformations… It just kept going and going. All in simple, bite-sized videos.
Eto, glancing at Chie, the editor, was impressed; the digital age was truly something else. She almost regretted not having an online presence as Takatsuki. Almost.
(It's the perfect place for misinformation too.)
"According to Taiwa Act," Chie said, typing away at her own laptop, "some of the more anonymous sources of their funding— politicians, for example— have withdrawn. So the new Bureau Chief's act has definitely had an effect. Public opinion's mostly against us now."
"So we're at a disadvantage, no matter how you look at it," Irimi said, arms folded. "Our position is tenuous at best, and it's mostly within the investigators at the 22nd Ward. There weren't any special investigators or big name Clowns there, either. If we'd worked together with the former or eradicated one of the latter, the CCG would have to choose whether to cover it up or not, and we'd have been able to exploit either one."
"Yeah," Touka agreed, "but that didn't happen, so we shouldn't spend time on what-ifs. These videos and Kimi's team are all we've got for now."
"We need to go bigger," Ken agreed. "But not without something to stand on. Kimi, how is research going?"
"The formula, at least, is complete," she answered, adjusting the folder in her arms. "But procuring the necessary materials, especially with even the anonymous donations toward Taiwa slowing, makes mass production impossible."
"It doesn't taste half-bad, to let you guys know," Nishio said. "Theoretically, at least."
"Good." Ken nodded. "Then we're right on schedule."
"But," Kurona said, "we don't know what to expect. Kanou had some real freaks on Rushima; do we know what sort of thing Furuta's using him for?"
At that, Kimi stepped forth and opened her folder. It revealed diagrams of the human body with a kakuhou. "They're called Oggai. The finalized version of Kanou's artificial half-ghoul."
"Who're the subjects?" Banjou asked, peering over but understanding exactly zero of the material.
"Dead children. There are a hundred of them."
The room fell silent. Eto grimaced. That man truly had no moral compass when it came to the birdcage, did he? She shook her head. What a shame. What a waste. He had gone where not even she would follow. She'd known about his supposed 'change' after the death of his mother, but this was absurd.
The dead did not speak, even if you drew them up by strings and moved their mouths.
Kurona spoke up. "When I fought against Kanou's Qs, one of them— Okahira, I think— mentioned he didn't have a choice when he attacked me. He even apologized, before he, well, snapped my neck."
Kimi nodded. "I'm a little fuzzy on the science, but it's a sort of brainwashing technique. And kids are easier to work with, especially when they're only cadets—"
"What the hell were you doing , Kimi?" Nishio interrupted, staring at her. "Were you really—? Kids ?"
Killing. Desecrating. The words went unsaid.
Kimi's grip on her folder tightened. "I… I was. The stain on my hands will never be clean, but… I'm here now, right? For peace."
For peace . It went around the room. No one in that room could claim moral superiority, after all— They were all killers, who ate and stole and took. Sometimes for survival, sometimes for pleasure, sometimes for something in between. And now they were attempting something that had never been done before.
For peace.
"What can the Oggai do?" Irimi asked, moving the conversation along.
Kimi took a deep breath, and continued. "They're effectively the next step from Ken Kaneki. They use Rize's kakuhou, but we took some extra notes from Chigyou's Quinx surgery to implement a second type, or 'frame', based off of a second ghoul: Noro. So, in other words—"
"Me," Eto finished, brow furrowed. "I knew they took Noro's body for Ginkui, but…"
They just wouldn't let him rest, would they? She supposed it was her fault for dragging him around everywhere in the first place; now he was packed into a hundred tiny coffins.
(I'm sorry.)
"Dual-wielding half-ghoul zombie kids…" Irimi muttered. "What kinda peace can you make from that?"
"There is one thing," Chie said. "But it's pretty heartless."
"What might that be, little mouse?" Tsukiyama asked, a little curious, morbidly so.
"We get it on camera."
"Beware the Ides of March."
Members of Goat appear again in white suits, appearing in the 16th ward in broad daylight. They are masked and attract immediate attention. Some people even take out their phones.
Two of these members step out and set up a short box, and a third climbs onto it. It is a young woman with four-leaf clover pins in her short brown hair. She looks around, nervous, at the gathering crowd, full of both curious and cautious eyes. She inhales, eyes closed, and when she opens her eyes, the sclera is black and the pupils are red. Out of her back come her twin kagune: a koukaku shaped like flower petals and two rinkaku tendrils like spines.
Many people gasp.
She speaks.
"My name is Hinami Fueguchi, and I am a ghoul!"
The initial reaction is confusion, and with it comes fear. One of the other members, a young man with long black hair and a piercing in one ear, reaches for Hinami's wrist, but she shakes her head. She continues.
"I-I am an orphan," she says. "My parents were killed by the CCG, hoping that I, at least, would live."
Some people were already phoning the CCG hotline. Others elect to run. Still others are frozen in fear. And some few listen to her.
"But I never went to school!" the ghoul, Hinami, shouts. "I never made friends my age, and I never had my own room! I've always been running, because of who I am!"
Though her very presence and her speech invite discord on the streets, she continues to speak about herself. Her experiences, her life, and all the things she has yet to do.
—
On the border between the 6th and 18th ward, a similar situation occurs. This time, the leader is a short woman with braids framing her face and a long scraper ponytail. She stands upon a taller box, but her voice does not carry any shorter.
"M-My… My name is Miza Kusakari, and I am a ghoul!" she says, her bikaku kagune out and her kakugan active. "My clan wanted to avoid humans, so we fled underground! When I became leader, I led the first of us above ground, and finally learned what it was like to feel the sun!"
—
Again, in the 10th ward. White suits, and a speaker.
"My name is Jiro, and I am a ghoul!"
—
The 20th ward.
"I am Enji Koma, the famous Devil Ape, and I am a ghoul!"
"I'm Ikuma Momochi, and I'm a ghoul!"
—
"I am a ghoul!"
"I am a ghoul!"
The same cry echoes throughout various wards of Tokyo. Ghouls of all kinds speak about themselves: the places they've been, the friends they've lost, the things they've never been able to do. And the things they want to do.
The story of the ghoul is laid bare for many to see, and it is streamed online through various sources. As more of them speak, more people listen. More people sympathize.
However… Many more pause. Many more fear these ghouls. Fear the lengths they had gone to sate their appetites. To trick, to fool, to hunt. They dial the CCG, they scream for help, they drown out the voices. The reality.
This world…
The 16th ward.
Police sirens wail. People, listener or otherwise, are pulled away by authorities as the area is blocked off.
"I believe we can coexist!" Hinami continues despite the looming chaos. The young mang tugs on her wrist, but she keeps talking. "I believe there can be peace! But we can't have peace if we continue to fight!"
A small group, children dressed in black, arrives, and their apparent leader presses their hand to their ear. "This is Tatsu of the Oggai Squad. Found them; now proceeding to eradication."
Hinami cries out. "Please! We don't have to do this! Violence won't solve anyth—!"
A large tendril erupts from the child and hurtles toward her.
On the big screen, Kichimura Washuu, the new Bureau Chief, is being interviewed on live television.
"Bureau Chief Washuu," the interviewer, Haru, says. "We're getting reports that ghouls have been outing themselves in public. They appear to be sharing stories about themselves."
"How strange," Kichimura replies with a smile. "Ghouls are nothing more than a threat to us, aren't they? I believe they are lying to our faces, so that when we get close, they get another meal."
"AYATO!" Hinami shrieks, running back toward the fray. His arm has been bitten off by one of the children in black. "AYATO!"
However, before she can get there, she is seized by another woman.
"Let me go!" She struggles to no effect. "Touka, w-we have to help him! Ayato's in trouble! He's—!"
… is wrong.
"Ghouls make nothing but mistakes," Kichimura says, leaning back in his chair.
"I know!" Touka shouts back, pulling the girl away from the fighting. "But we can't !"
Ahead, Ayato is the last left of their small group, struggling against the Oggai.
"Ayato…!" Hinami sobs. She succumbs to Touka's pull.
"They are little more than the grotesque predators of man. It is their nature," he continues. "My predecessors also made mistakes by not cracking down on them sooner." He chuckles bitterly, almost to himself. "But now that I am chief, I will protect Tokyo and the world from the threat of ghouls!"
A human— one who had called the CCG— screams as the children begin piling the bodies in front of them. Severed heads, torsos, and arms are put freely on display while a CCG cameraman gets set up.
One of the children comes up to the human and yanks them down by the collar of their shirt.
"I'm Mayazumi, of the Oggai squad," they said. "The CCG thanks you for your cooperation."
This world…
A young woman with blue pigtails watches the struggle as her squad arrives at the scene.
"Urie…" she whispered to her squad leader. "That's—"
"Fueguchi," he finishes. "And the Black Rabbit…"
She watches Fueguchi struggle and sob. "She's the one that saved Maman… Do you remember? At the Auction?"
"I remember, Yonebayashi," Urie replied. "But we shouldn't."
"What?"
"Sasaki betrayed the CCG, and he is a ghoul. The same goes for any that follow him." Yet as the words leave his lips, his fist clenches. "For peace."
"What is the CCG's goal?" Haru asks, curious.
"Tokyo dissolution, so to speak," Kichimura replies easily. "The eradication of every single ghoul here, so that we may finally sleep peacefully at night."
"NAKI!" Miza cries.
A deafening scream— maybe even a laugh— stops her from going after him. It is terrifying, but it reminds her of their mission.
She trembles, but refuses to waver. "Hooguro, we have to go," she says. "Now."
Hooguro shakes his head. "No. You gotta go. People know your face now. I'm staying with my faceless bro."
His friend steps forward as well. "Miza, go."
"Shousei, not you too!"
"Sorry, Miza, but we're not leaving him." Shousei, with Hooguro and their fellow White Suits, stand between her and the investigators. "Save as many people as you can, though, yeah? I don't know much about kids, but they can be reckless. Especially strong kids; someone can always get hurt."
… is wrong.
In the crossfire, from opposite sides, Saiko's eyes meet Hinami's. Recognition flickers over both their eyes. Memories of the Auction wash over them at that moment, to a time when a certain person was in trouble.
Saiko trembles, recalling a second memory. "'Keep asking yourself if you're making the right choices,'" she whispers, just loud enough for her squad to hear.
Ayato, the last of the Suits standing, is still fighting, still bleeding, still breathing. The Oggai are toying with him at this point, laughing as he struggles.
"'That will always be right.'"
"And when Tokyo is peaceful, we will expand operations," Kichimura says. "My ultimate goal is a peaceful world. One free of mistakes."
A young woman with a camera and some computer equipment walks alongside a tall man in a raven mask. "Our reach is way bigger than I initially thought," she comments. "I mean, we can just waltz right in here!"
The room is dark, but humming with electricity. The woman feels right at home.
"Well, then, Mr. Yomo, let me get set up, then I'll let you do your thing."
However…
Urie's eyes widen. "Saiko, what are you—"
"Keep moving, Urie."
And Saiko is gone. She leaves her position, kakugan crackling to life. She breaks through the laughing Oggai, catching them off guard, and scoops up Ayato with her kagune.
As if on queue, another Quinx rushes after her, blocking the Oggai's immediate counterattack.
"Saiko!" Urie shouts. "Hsiao!"
"What should we do, sir?!" the remaining Quinx under his command asks.
What a stupid, foolish…
Urie grits his teeth.
"That's all the time we have for today, folks," Haru says, grinning at the camera. "Bureau Chief Kichimura Washuu, everyone!"
Kichimura waves. "It's been an honor-or-or-or-or-or-or-or—"
Static.
This world…
"Did it work, Chie?" Yomo asks, steam emitting from his kagune.
"Like clockwork," the woman replies. "Wish I'd taken a picture of you. Could make a good poster. Later?"
Yomo pauses. "Maybe."
Heads turn as the news is replaced with another video. A different video.
A green eye fills the screen. "Wow, I just can't keep up with modern techno— Oh, are we live?!"
The eye moves backward, revealing a very-much-alive Sen Takatsuki.
"Hello! My name is Sen Takatsuki, and I am a ghoul!"
… is ours.
Saiko stumbles with Ayato in her grip, who is much bigger than her, as the Oggai catch her off guard. Hsiao, though assisting, is outnumbered and separated.
"The Quinx Squad—!" Urie begins.
"We need to—!" Hinami said.
However, both were cut off by a figure rushing out from behind her. From the ranks of the White Suits, the One-Eyed King appears, defending Saiko and Hsiao.
"M-Maman…?" Saiko whispers.
"I'll be right behind you," he says. "Go."
Saiko nods and, with Hsiao's help, carries Ayato to Hinami and Touka, and he is embraced. Half-conscious, he still hisses from the contact. Touka rolls her eyes and drapes him across her shoulders.
"S-Sorry…" Hinami mumbled. She looks at Saiko. "Thank you. So much."
Saiko nods. "For peace."
Hinami smiles back. "For peace."
We have to guide it. Nurture it.
Sen waves with a slight smile. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but I have an important announcement to make."
Some of the investigators paused. Someone strange had just intervened, standing in between them and the remaining White Suits. He has not injured anyone, but he has destroyed multiple quinques with one of his own.
One of them recognizes the figure. "Wait, isn't that Koutarou Amon?"
"Special-Class Koutarou Amon?! But—"
"Didn't he die in the Owl Suppression Operation?"
"This is a call to the Bureau Chief!" Sen says. "Goat wants to speak with you. No tricks. Just talking. We want peace just like you do. And the preamble of the Ghoul Countermeasures Law states—"
"'Peace is valued above all else, and members of the Commission of Counter Ghoul shall spare no effort in its preservation'!" Koutarou shouts at the investigators. "Tell me: does this look like peace to you?! Is the blood on your hands— the corpses at your feet— Are those peace?!"
A few of the investigators swallow these questions. The Suits make the most of the moment and escape, dragging Naki's body with them. Some investigators move to stop them, but Koutarou shoots a glare at them, and they stop.
"Don't we take enough from each other already?" Sen continues.
"Death is a pit that we will all fall into one day," says Ken Kaneki, making eye contact with Urie. "Pushing others ahead will solve nothing."
"Just once— can't we try for something better?"
"Taking lives, making quinques… Let's stop it all!" Hinami shouts, emboldened by the king's appearance. "We can live together, if you just let us try!"
"And so we present an alternative!" Sen produces a document and shows it to the camera. "This document contains the formula for synthetic meat for ghouls! Thanks to the Human Genome Project, the largest collaborative biological project in the world, this is possible! And we'd like the CCG's help in producing it!"
Touka steps forth as well. "Your pride, your hatred, your suffering— it only holds you back! Leave it behind, and let's talk!"
Anything wrong with it… is because of our own failures.
Itsuki Marude watches the illegal broadcast with binoculars. "Well, shit," he mutters. "Ghouls are coming outta hiding, Takatsuki's alive… Are you sure your friend needs help?"
Next to him, the Scarecrow ghoul scribbles something and shows it to him. 'More help is always good.'
"I guess you're right… Still, a solution to the war? After all the bloodshed? Sounds like a pipe dream to me."
More scribbling. 'I believe in him.' A page flip, and another scribble. 'Don't you want this to mean something?'
Marude scowls. "Don't put words in my mouth."
'We should hurry, then.'
Sen spread her arms. "So please! The world cannot be righted by a reaper."
If we ignore those failures, then we are well, and truly helpless.
"Osamu Dazai wrote in The Setting Sun : 'I want to implicitly believe that man is born for love and revolution.' I want to believe that too…"
— from Tokyo Ghoul
A/N: Love inverting tragedy. It's pretty neat!