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Kazumi

The days were more normal after that. I could focus more on myself and my ghoul investigator work. Second class didn't always mean you were on the field, it meant less office work. Because of the low-profile ghoul shortage and more of Aogiri Tree, I didn't have way too much to do with it. All I really did was the filing and the paperwork most days of the week.

Up until I was promoted.

To be honest, I was surprised. I wasn't that good. Or, in my opinion, I was terrible at my skills. Were they just pitying me? That I wasn't following in my mother's footsteps very well? That must have been it, because I was doing paperwork when they called me to the main office.

I didn't know, actually, that I was being promoted, so instead I thought I was going to get demoted, which was when I started panicking. For about five minutes, I spent my time walking down the building hallway thinking that I would either get demoted to even getting more training in the Academy or getting fired.

Which almost never happened here. Most of the people who pass the Academy stay permanently until they quit, retire, or die in some way (mostly by the ghouls, which happens often). And those who don't pass are the ones who give up.

It's really not easy to be in the Academy because of the very long years of training without too much break get to some people. You have to be some level of smart, quick, and strong. A lot of us are one or the other. The higher-up Investigators who've had more experience, like Arima and Amon, have all of those qualities. Which is why people die.

People here have died a lot.

Even Investigator Mado-san, Akira Mado's father, was killed by an SS-rated ghoul, Rabbit. The one with the kiddy rabbit mask and was looking to be like a girl. The ghoul that had the ukaku kagune and the rage-y type of temper.

But that's why we were all here. To defeat the ghouls. To make sure no one else dies.

The whole promoting thing must have gotten to me, because the moment Special Class Investigator Marude announced that I was a first rank I started laughing hysterically when he passed me the certificate for me to keep and he looked at me with the most surprised and 'are-you-okay' face I'd ever seen.

I was happy, surprised, angry and sad all at the same time. When Juuzou congratulated me, I started laughing hard again and he asked me if I was insane. Instead of saying, "No, you baka!" I hugged him and said "No. Well, probably. Maybe!" And smiled like I was given the sun to wear around my neck.

I think I even accidentally hugged Takizawa.

Well, of course it wasn't accidental because I did like him as a friend.

He was confused.

It didn't matter. I was happy, and that was all that mattered.

One Week Later

"Kazumi, nice job on the promotion! First Rank must be cool! Next up is First Class..." They had said. "You'll do so great! You'll love it! First Rank! When you're up in Special Class, you won't even have to move your spot!" They said. "You won't ever want to quit now! You're getting farther and farther!"

Wrong.

Wrong.

All wrong.

They were all wrong.

I hated it. Moving up.

It was a mission to stop an SS-rated ghoul nicknamed "Crescent" because of the moon crescent mask he wore. Another One-Eyed Ghoul he was. Like those two twins...I wondered if they died, especially the injured one. Nashiro, I remembered.

"Crescent. He's an SS-rated. And a One-Eyed at that. He's been on the loose for quite some time, and he...showed up recently...and asked for a person he had in his mind, I suppose- but that someone was, particularly, a girl who he presumed was about 18 or 19 now, named Kazumi- and we think he was either telling the truth or hallucinating," Taiki said.

"What? He wants someone like me?!" I asked.

"Yes, apparently. You're going with Juuzou and Shinohara and me. So. Be prepared. He might want to kill you," Taiki replied.

"It really doesn't make a difference if I die just because the only people I have are you, Shinohara, Takizawa, and Juuzou," I joked.

"Don't be a jerk," Taiki muttered.

The doors swung open as I entered the building he was presumably located in. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, guru-desu!" Juuzou cackled. I thought he was going to be normal(er) this time, but I was wrong (of course).

"I wonder why he wants a girl named Kazumi," I whispered softly to him. I noticed the excited glint in his eyes as he skipped around the dulled iron room.

"Maybe it's you. You're Kazumi," He said back.

I heard the clink of a boot, and getting my new quinque ready, I prepared myself with a stance.

It was another scythe, but very different from Juuzou's. It was just like a death reaper scythe, but serrated towards the tip of the blade, and double-bladed, a red and black beauty reserved for my use. I still thought Juuzou's was better than mine, at least, because it looked pretty badass.

Who came out was not Crescent, but many lesser ghouls. One of them straight at me with a deafening glare. "Is one of you named Kazumi?" It said in a quite brooding tone.

Instead of answering, we charged for them. Well, Juuzou and Taiki did. I stood there, wondering if I should say yes or no or maybe or some kind of weird comeback.

"Guru-desu...I'm killing you...and your friends! Stay away from Kazumi-chan!" Juuzou grinned with pleasure, slicing through all the ghouls.

Why my name?

Couldn't it have been a Sakura, or Akame, or Kaede, just not Kazumi? Really?

The ghoul's head shot up fast as a whip. "You. You're Kazumi," It pointed at me with a shaky finger.

I still didn't know whether to respond. But, without hesitation, I ran for him, poised to kill. "Why do you want me?" I said in an unstable, non-intimidating tone.

"Akiyama Tamotsu wants to look for a girl named Kazumi. His orders...not mine," It said, dodging my swings. I stopped right in my tracks.

"Akiyama...?" I whispered. "That's-that's my...surname..."

Wait.

Tamotsu...I stood there with horrified and shocked emotions running through my mind.

"That's enough, Katsuo."

A voice that I recognized.

The ghoul named Crescent walked into the room, only focusing on me.

I whispered loudly.

"Oto-san...?"

Aaaand cliffhanger!

Well, sort of. But be sure to leave a review and fave and follow as you wish. Thank you for reading!