Chapter 4
Juuzou had been furious. She understood why he had been angry, but nobody shouted at her. She hated being shouted at, and she wouldn't stand for it. She had needed to take out her aggression, so after picking up her blades from home, Juuzou had gone on the hunt. She had totally destroyed three ghouls not far from her apartment. It made her feel much better.
Still, when knocked on her door early the next morning, she ignored him. She knew he could hear her, and she wasn't pretending she wasn't home. She just wasn't letting him in.
She'd been asleep on the couch when he knocked, waking her up (which was lucky, otherwise she would have been late for work). She had rolled off and headed towards the door, looking through the peephole and sighing audibly. He was kicking his feet awkwardly, his large body taking up a huge chunk of the hallway. If little next door saw him, she would probably have a heart attack... Though Juuzou doubted that would stop her from breaking down her door and throwing one of her twelve or so cats at her. It was a serious threat that the tiny woman held.
Juuzou had taken her time, showering and eating her breakfast with small bites. She knew he was still out there, waiting for her. For most this would be creepy, but to Juuzou it was just annoying.
"I have to see you at work anyway, moron..." She mumbled as she pulled on her clothes, topping her usual too-big white shirt with a dark blue blazer that she rolled up to her elbows. She double checked her clips before grabbing a bottle of strawberry water from the fridge and heading out into the hallway.
was leaning against the far wall, checking his watch, but he straightened up when he saw her.
Juuzou didn't look well. Her usual dark circles had doubled in size and her steps were sluggish. She didn't acknowledge him as she appeared, just locked her doors and started down the hallway. She hopped down the several flights of stairs with ease, taking small sips from her bottle, before coming to a halt at the bottom.
Now it was he chance to decide how much of a bitch she wanted to be. Chained to a metal grate to her left was her electric blue bicycle. She hadn't ridden it to work yet, but the key was still in her pocket. Would she walk, as usual, or take her bike and make the senior investigator walk alone.
She decided to walk, but quickly, and she would take as many shortcuts as she could. She wanted to show him she was pissed, not that she was a bitch. She hurried down the street, her head held high. She could hear him trailing behind her, and was impressed that he didn't bother saying anything to her. She didn't think she could handle actual words right now. She knew she would say the wrong thing and just generally fail to get her point across. She jumped a handful of fences on her way, and made it to the CCG main building in less than ten minutes, a real record, considering she lived twenty minutes away by normal standards. She was already sat in her chair with her headphones in by the time arrived in their office, his cheeks slightly flushed from trying to keep up. He collapsed into his chair, his head tipping back as he sighed.
"Juuzou, I wanted to apologise." He managed eventually, looking over to his irritable subordinate. Juuzou pretended she couldn't hear him, kicking her feet up onto her desk and cleaning her many quinque blades, lining them up on the desk.
"I shouldn't have shouted, and I understand you didn't mean to crash the car." He waited, but it was pointless. She hummed along to the music softly, her sweet voice hidden behind her lips.
"I've handled the police, they're going to pretend this never happened." He started to work, allowing her to ignore him. She would crack end finally, she wasn't a naturally malicious person. She would want to say or do something eventually.
He wasn't prepared for the hours of silence that followed. They were in for a long night, so it had well and truly gotten dark by the time Juuzou piped up. "Are you still mad at me?" Her soft voice made Shinohara jump, dropping his pen and banging his knee on the table.
"Mad at you? No. It wasn't just you last night, and I shouldn't have raised my voice. I'm sorry. Mado was a good man, and he didn't deserve what he got." Juuzou could see that he was upset by whoever this Mado was, but she couldn't say anything. She didn't know how to handle such things, so she didn't try.
"I'm going to go and get something to eat." She announced after a moment, jumping up and stuffing her blades into their holster around her waist. jumped up too, automatically searching his pockets.
"Here." He tried to give her his wallet, but she turned it down. She didn't want his money, she would find another way to get food.
"Don't forget I have a meeting soon!" He called as she left the room. She hurried out of the building, glad to be free of the tight atmosphere that the CCG provided. She walked aimlessly, looking for an easy target. She was deep in the twentieth ward by the time she saw him.
The boy was taller than her, but not what you would call tall. He had dark hair that fell into his face and a white medical eyepatch on his left eye. Juuzou smiled as she pulled her hair into her face and squared her shoulders, pulling out her boy persona. She stalked forward, banging into the boy. He jumped, holding out a steadying hand.
"I'm sorry!" He apologised automatically, but his voice faded as his eye landed on the strange creature before him.
"I'm the one who should be sorry. I was lost in thought for a second there." She smiled, keeping her eyes hidden. Her hands knotted together as she spoke, showing off her body stitch.
Clutching his wallet inside her sleeve, Juuzou nodded, moving to pass him.
"Well then, goodbye... I'm in a hurry-" She didn't wait around. She hurried down an alley and climbed over a wall, putting distance between them before opening up the wallet. She pulled out several cards before finding the boys student ID card, providing his name and age.
"Ken Kaneki, age nineteen? That's the same age as me." She moved onto the main component, pulling out the bills eagerly.
"And the vital contents are... Oh, one, two, three thousand yen." She sighed, stuffing the money into her pocket and walking on.
"I won't be able to eat anything great with just this." She complained to herself, frowning. "I should have let give me his wallet after all."
She was wandering towards a small convenience store when she was grabbed harshly from behind, her head being snapped back and her mouth covered by cool, strong hands. Juuzou went still, her eyes wide. "Well, it's nice to know you're not a screamer... You smell so good!" The ghouls low voice cooed into her ear, his head buried in her shoulder. He let go of her mouth when he saw she wasn't resisting. She could see the other two now, their twin grins dirty and perverted. They saw her as a weak little creature, a meal they wouldn't have to work for. Juuzou used her free hand to reach back, fingers curling around the handle of one of her blades.
"We're gonna have some fun tonight, and you're officially invited." One sneered, grabbing her by the chin and forcing her to look at him. She smiled, feeling the familiar warmth develop deep in her stomach as she readied herself to fight.
"Thanks, but I've really got to get back to work." And with that, she struck.
•••
She loomed over what remained of the last ghoul, the pitiful speck of life still trying to crawl away. She had cut off a leg and an arm, yet he still fought her. She assumed he was weak, as she had yet to see his kagune, but that wasn't a problem facing or her. She wasn't in this for the fun, she just wanted it over with.
"I-I'm s-sorry, forgive-" she stabbed a blade into his back, causing a sickening squelch.
"Eh? But you were the one to come to me, weren't you?" She cooed, smiling sweetly. The ghoul whimpered, his deep set eyes full of pain and fear. She didn't understand either, but she loved them dearly.
"I'm so sorry... Really. So please..." She shook her head, skipping over a severed arm.
"So how about we even the scout a little?" She took hold of his face with bloody hands, forcing him to look up at her angelic face.
"Huh..." He gulped, frozen.
"Now then, shall we play a game of 'chef'?" She moved lightning data, forcing her fingers into his nostrils and pulling his head back, standing behind him.
"I'll be the chef-" She took the blade and held it to his throat, forcing him to look her in the eye as she did. She winked as she pushed down, breaking the skin like butter. "And you're the pig."
Blood burst from his throat, signalling her to drop him. She let the body fall to the floor, watching as it twitched and gasped as the life literally drained out of it. She sighed, looking around. She wouldn't bother calling the police for this one. This was a nasty area, and fighting between ghouls wasn't uncommon. She didn't want to spend the rest of her evening being interrogated, especially after last night. So, tucking her blade into it holster, she skipped out of the alley and headed back to the CCG main building. would be wondering where she was, after being gone so long. She was still hungry, too... Maybe the canteen would be open still.
She was too busy daydreaming to notice the police car drove slowly past her, and only took note of it when it pulled up beside her. A young man climbed out of the passenger seat, walking towards her briskly.
"Are you alright?" He demanded, blocking her way. Juuzou frowned, looking down at herself. She sighed when she did. She was covered head to toe in blood, her white shirt spattered with blocks of red.
"It's not mine." She said before she realised how that sounded. The officer reacted very quickly for one so young. She was in the back of the cruiser with a pair of handcuffs and no blades in about a minute flat, her eyes wide.
"I'm a ghoul investigator!" She attempted, looking to the elder officer sat behind the wheel. He paused, looking back at her.
"Do you have your identification card with you?" He sounded bored and honestly like anything she said he had an argument for. Juuzou decided then that she didn't like him.
"No, but if you call my mentor he'll vouch for me." She knew he had a meeting, but this wasn't exactly a routine situation. Juuzou watched the men scoff, frowning.
"We'll see." The elder rolled his eyes, encouraging the younger to do the same. Juuzou bit back her reply, deciding she would play this out.
At the station, they sat her in the main office, handing her a pack of wipes and some water. She cleaned herself up the best she could, checking herself over for injuries. A few bruises, nothing major. She chatted away aimlessly, her words as meaningless as the younger officers attempt at a beard. She managed to convince them to give her given number a go, picking up the phone and rolling their eyes again. Juuzou watched in patient silence as the elder officer spoke.
"If I'm right, you have to apologise." She insisted, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He waved her off, listening to the ring. Someone must have answered, because he started speaking.
"Hello, this is officer Tsumi, I have a young... You're a boy, right?" He looked to her, but she just shrugged. "Uh, we have a young person claiming to be your underling... Do you know someone by the name of Juuzou Suzuya? You do. And is that person indeed your underling? Right. Stitches on the arm? Yep, leads of them." He looked surprised, but didn't hesitate to ask his next question.
"So, would you be able to come and collect him... Her? Alright, thank you." He hung up, rubbing his chin in slow, deliberate movements.
"Well, I guess your boss is coming to get you." He told her, seating himself in his own seat. Juuzou leant back, grinning smugly.
"See, now you have to apologise!" She insisted, playing with the lever on her seat. The officer chuckled, shaking his head.
"Oh, not until I see this guy in the flesh. I still don't believe you're an investigator. Not on my life." He laughed, closing his eyes and relaxing. Juuzou scowled, turning her back to him.
It was about ten minutes later that Juuzou spoke again.
"Please apologise unconditionally." She kicked up a leg, inspecting her comfortable slippers.
"Because I told you from the beginning. Didn't I say it absolutely?" She was trying to annoy him, and she could see it working. The small man stood, leaning over her.
"Alright, I get it already. I had to find out weather it was a lie or not." He grumbled, his sharp tone bordering on a shout. He she was very good at annoying people.
"Jeez," She sat up more in her chair, perching on the edge. "It was only that I didn't have my investigator's identification card on me, you know? Even I am working for the sake of this country, right? Do you understand, I even hold tightly to a blade and..."
"I said I got it already! Damn, you're noisy." He glared at the girl, his teeth bared.
"I'm..." code that moment to walk in, holding out his investigators ID card with an awkward smile. This time, however, he wasn't alone.
A tall man in a white investigators jacket trailed behind him. He was attractive, with short dark hair and a youthful face. He was clean shaven and wore his suit as neatly as a model. Juuzou had never seen him before.
"I'm Shinohara from the phone call earlier. I came to meet and take care of... Her." He nodded to Juuzou who grinned up at him.
"Oh, he actually came..." The officer tipped his hat, sweating. Juuzou nodded, pouting smugly at him.
"I told you that all along." She sang, batting her eyelashes.
"Well, I'm sorry but I couldn't imagine... Her... Being part of the CCG." The officer shrugged, assessing . He nodded, ever professional.
"Nah, your judgement wasn't wrong. You should definitely question someone like this." He was pulling out all the stops, winking at the officer in a confidential way, like they were comrades. Juuzou whined.
"That's true... He had a knife covered in blood too. And on top of that... She just told me 'I'm a ghoul investigator'." He rolled his eyes, as he had done countless times throughout the night.
"Speaking of that... My work tool is too small, so I can't carry it around well! Don't I always say that too, jeez." She moaned, shooting her mentor a pleading look. Considering how angry she had started the day being, she was much more friendly now. sighed.
"More importantly, what where you doing, where were you?" He demanded, placing a hand on her head. She jumped at the contact.
"What?"
The other investigator watched in horrified awe from the corner as Juuzou made her excuses and Shinohara questioned them. He couldn't look away from the ball of colour that was Juuzou Suzuya. She was loud and childish, but there was something strangely old about her.
The officer eased himself into a chair, muttering under his breath.
"Man oh man..."
Juuzou's wide red eyes narrowed and she leaned over the officer, a deadly, icy cold smirk staining her lips.
"There's no 'man oh man'." She hissed, her lips pulling back violently revealing her teeth with each word.
"Hey, I turned out to be a real investigator, didn't I? You made a promise to me, didn't you? Please apologise." There was something deeply wrong with the way she smiled at the officer after she demanded her apology, and it was just getting worse.
"Well... I was wrong, but don't you think you are also at fault here? Aren't you a little misleading?" It would have been insulting to the most sane of people, but the words would be much worse for Juuzou. They would be an excuse. Sadly, the man wasn't down yet.
"If you're a citizen of this country then shouldn't you behave a little more suitably?"
tried desperately to decrease the suddenly mounting tension, his smile forced and full of worry.
"Um... I've already said all of that to her... So you should probably not go any further." He warned, but it was too late. Juuzou was positively secreting anger.
Before either investigator knew what was happening, Juuzou had her tongue in the officers ear. He made a sound between confused and disgusted at first, then he started screaming.
Juuzou had latched on, her eyes closed in concentration. slapped a hand over one eye, too transfixed to really look away. His forces smile had finally faded into a look of resigned horror. Juuzou pulled back from the screaming man and spat something bloody at the floor, unfazed.
"As I though, your ears seem to be useless." She wiped her mouth, standing with a cocked hip. "They're rotten."
With one foot she stepped out and crushed the mass of bloody whatever she had pulled from the officer, hands behind her back.
"This is also no good, I'll dispose of it!" There was a soft cracking sound.
finally cut in, pulling her away and hissing into her ear.
"You, come over here! You intend to make me fill out another compensation form?" She struggled, but didn't manage to look guilty.
"Ouch, that hurts !" She looked fine, so she was clearly just saying it.
Amon was horrified, unable to tear his gaze away from the scene. How had someone like that made it into the CCG? Were they taking anyone these days?
Suddenly, Juuzou was stood before him, a smile on her face. She looked very proud of herself, despite the drops of blood at the corner of her mouth.
"Are you ?" She asked, waiting for him to respond. He managed a small nod in reply.
"I'm underling, Suzuya." She saluted him, a huge smile taking over her face. Amon took a step back. This girl was insane...
"It's nice to meet you."
Was it? He couldn't help but be glad about that. He was a trained ghoul investigator, yet he wouldn't rush into a fight with this psycho... She was clearly not right in the head.
"Oh my, you're big, aren't you... That must be great." And like that, Juuzou had decided she wanted a new friend.
•••
The part Juuzou had ripped from the officer had been the bone of his ear, and by stepping on them, she had destroyed them beyond repair. It would be a long and painful insurance hearing, but she wouldn't have to go, so she didn't care. According to , the look on her face had been something not-quite human. That hadn't bothered her at first but after a night to think it over... It was an uncomfortable thought. With so much time spent with the ghouls, how else was she supposed to behave? You wouldn't expect a wolf to act like a lap dog, would you? She was raised by the predators and expected to be prey. It wasn't as simple as it looked.
She had wanted to make up for her mistake by arriving for the meeting especially early, and had arrived at six am. The meeting was at eight. By the time Amon came through the large wooden door, Juuzou had started on her many hidden bags of sweets and had finished off a full can of energy drink. She was positively bouncing in her seat as she regarded the new arrival happily.
"Good morning!" She sang, grinning from ear to ear. Another thing had told her was that she could be quite threatening, and that she shouldn't do that if she wanted to make friends. So, she was trying to be as unthreatening as possible.
"Your greeting is... Good, Suzuya." Amon told her awkwardly, unsure of what to make of the girl before him. She was dressed just as strangely as the previous night, sans the bloodstains.
"I was the first to arrive." She stated, popping a sweet into her mouth and pretty much swallowing it whole.
"What's with your clothes? You're so slovenly." Amon looked her up and down, his dark eyes narrowed. Juuzou looked down at herself, puzzled. Had she gotten dirty? She hadn't been anywhere messy.
"Huh? Is there something wrong with my clothes somewhere, rank one Amon?" She twisted to look at the back of her.
"It's be harder for me to find anything right! Button your shirt up to the very top, and where is your tie? And put on some pants that go all the way to your ankles. And also, don't eat in the meeting room!" Amon pointed at her, his voice rising an octave. Juuzou stared, wide eyed. Was she in trouble? What had she done? She had been early, and let her eat at work... The doctors had told her to try to put on weight, and with all the running around she did, well, it wasn't easy. So why was Amon so angry with her?
Juuzou sat back in her seat, watching him wearily.
"Besides that," he sighed, seeing the instant show of submission she had unwittingly shown him. She had backed down immediately, and not argued as she normally would have. "I've been wondering, what are those stitch marks? Now that I've looked at them, they don't seem to be for closing up any wounds."
Juuzou grinned. She was tempted to show him the still healing wound on her side, but chose not to. It wasn't a normal thing a teenage girl would do, and that was what she was meant to be. A happy, healthy teenage girl.
"You mean this?" She held out her arm, showing off the beautifully styled red thread she had put there. Amon nodded. "It's called body stitch. I learned it from a friend, she's a body modification aficionado." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a clean needle and a thread, holding them up for him to see.
"It starts to bulge a little bit under water though... Shall I show you how it's done?" She showed him her wrist as she threaded the needle through, narrating as she did.
"Look, it goes like this. You should only use a sterilised needle though!" She looked up to see his horrified expression, his eyes focused on her wrist.
"S-stop!" Amon gasped, sickened. Who in the hell willingly stabbed themselves with a needle? It was insane!
"It can be so pretty with all the different colours... Look, it's a flower!" She held out her wrist, showing off the small flower she had stitched. He swallowed hard, unable to look away.
"Ok, well I'm not feeling it, so I'll take it out." She grinned as she snipped away the thread, pulling it away.
Amon was silent, far away in his own mind. Juuzou smiled to herself, relaxing into her chair and humming to herself.
"Good morning." Seidou entered the room, his usual grumpy persona snapping into place as soon as his gaze landed on Juuzou.
"Juuzou, put away that candy, this is the meeting room!" He ordered, scowling down at the woman across from him. Juuzou had never actually told Seidou that she was female, but she had hinted. He probably just thought she was a gay male, or at the least incredibly flamboyant and flirtatious.
Juuzou ignored his warning, opening another sweet and putting it to her mouth. He grabbed the sweet out of her hand, demanding her attention.
"Gonna ignore me, huh?" He fumed, looming over her. "You're younger than me, aren't you?"
Juuzou had had enough of stupid boys yelling in her face, so with very little thought, she punched Seidou in the nose. The man reeled back, holding his injured face with one hand while steadying himself with the other. Amon paused in his thoughts to stare at his fellow investigators. When he saw the state they were in, he sighed.
When arrived, the meeting began. It wasn't too bad, Juuzou managing to speak up and actually show she wasn't a total idiot a few times. It was decided that the Binge Eater case would be left in the hands of and herself, and promised that if Juuzou managed to kill the Binge Eater she could have a proper Quinque. They all left the meeting room, Juuzou skipping slightly behind the two senior investigators. She didn't care what they were talking about, it wasn't her problem. Instead, she imagined herself wielding her new weapon, feeling the power it contained. She would kill the Binge Eater, and she would get her Quinque, there was no question about it.
waved goodbye to the rest of their company, pausing to wait for her. She nearly bumped into him she was so deep in though, but she caught herself just in time.
"Right, Juuzou... We've got some work to do, but we should be able to leave early tonight." He smiled down at her, leading the way to their office. Juuzou grinned, clapping her hands happily.
"Woohoo! I really wasn't feeling an all nighter." She followed her superior into the room they shared, hopping onto her seat and bringing her knees up to her chest. watched her fondly, sliding into his own seat gracefully. They each had a simple wooden desk, though his was considerably fuller than hers. The main spectacle on hers was a sketch she had been working on a few days ago. It was a parrot. Birds were relatively new to Juuzou. Though mama had taught her about the basic animals, she hadn't really expanded. She'd had the animal alphabet, but most animals were still new to her. The P on her alphabet had been a polar bear, not a parrot or penguin. She still wasn't used to how many species there really were.
"Oh, by the way, what did you do to Amon? He seemed slightly sickened when I arrived." asked, seemingly amused. Juuzou shrugged, suddenly reminded of the newest set of holes in her skin. She giggled to herself quietly.
"He asked about my body stitches, so I showed him... I don't think it's his thing." chuckled, shaking his head.
"No, I wouldn't think so... Well, just do what makes you happy, Juuzou." He shot her a smile before getting on with his work.
Juuzou finished a small pile of paperwork she had been putting off while watching in amazement as completed more than three times that amount. He worked like a machine, it was insane. When he finally looked up from his desk, Juuzou was staring at him, mouth open, head tilted.
"Are you alright, Juuzou?" He asked, concern filling his dark eyes. Juuzou shook her head, fighting herself.
"I'm fine! Can we go home yet?" She had already made up her mind on going out. She had two days off to enjoy, and she was starting as soon as possible.
sighed, nodding his head.
"Yes, you may go... Please behave yourself though! We don't need another incident." Juuzou beamed at him as she grabbed her things and headed for the door, giving him a two finger salute.
"Will do, !" She promised, skipping out of the room.
Juuzou had set herself a goal, so there would be no time for messing around. The natural occurrence of sex had been brought to her attention, or namely, how she wasn't having it. She was surprised to have made it all the way through a meeting with Seidou without him bringing up her lack of a sex life, or experience. So she had decided to throw it in his face. She would go out and, as he so graciously put it, 'get it on' with someone. Leaving the CCG building, Juuzou focused, revising her perfectly thought out plan.