Akira wears a crop top
Within a few days Akira managed to convince everyone that their position was far too precarious, waiting around in the open for something to happen.
Yoriko and the more vulnerable young ghouls were quickly moved underground. Take and the kids from Squad Zero joined them, along with Tsukiyama and some of the more recognizable wanted ghouls that had followed Kaneki out of Cochlea. Touka took Hinami aside and personally tasked her with guarding her besieged human friend.
The baker had been surprisingly comfortable with the various ghouls passing through the little house, but down in the 24th ward where daily life no longer had the veneer of the human world would be another story.
The first group's job was to set up a new place to stay, a living space big enough to house the ever-growing ranks of Goat.
Maris Stella was sent along with them, on the premise that she would keep vermin away. Akira knew full well the cat would sleep most of the day, though. It was a worthwhile falsehood.
The rest of them would stay topside as long as they safely could, both to destroy any evidence of their retreat for a seamless disappearance, and to keep a better eye on how the situation was developing.
"Quinque's there." Touka pointed to the case behind the counter. "We really have to leave this place, huh."
"Thanks." She looked around the café. It had been closed to the public since shortly before Rushima, ostensibly for renovations, but they were still congregating there. "Yes, and fast. It's too well-known as a favorite among investigators, especially investigators who are now persona non grata. You've got to move completely off-grid."
"I know. You're right. I'm just sad to see it go." Touka looked around, then walked up to the front door and adjusted the privacy shade. "How long do you think we have?"
"If no one's been by to talk to you yet, it could be any day."
They discussed what else they needed to do to clear out of the café. Armed with a checklist of everything that needed to be done—shred any documents, clear out the register and the safe, erase all security recordings, wipe all electronics, remove any trace of the people who worked there and any hint of where they'd been or where they were going—they got to work.
Ichika was handed off to Kaneki, who was sent upstairs to watch her. Him and Touka were being a bit cagey around each other, and they certainly had a lot to untangle between her deceiving him and him leaving her alone for several months, but Akira thought they'd be alright. At the end of the day, they wanted to be together, after all.
Yomo and Nishiki were pressganged into helping the cleanup.
The goal was to abandon the place by lunch.
Within two hours, they were nearly done. They took a break in the back, having a quick round of coffee and mourning what was probably their last drink in the café.
Someone had left a TV on, and the news was replaying clips from Furuta's most recent press conference—as he gave a bombastic speech about how he would annihilate ghouls and finally bring peace to the city.
Sick of the glum atmosphere, Touka turned it off. "What an asshole."
"Slippery little snake," Akira added. "He says that's his aim. I don't believe it for a second."
"What is he up to, then," muttered Nishiki.
"I can't figure out his plan, but I think I know his angle." Akira leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. She'd spent every waking moment thinking on Furuta, and this was the only answer that made some sort of sense. "There's some seeds that can only sprout after they've been through a fire. That's their best chance at having access to the space and sunlight and nutrients they need, when the old forest has been cleared away by an inferno. I think…that's what Arima wanted. Maybe Eto, too. An inferno that could clear the way for new life to have a chance. Furuta, though…he's saying stuff like that on TV, but we know behind the scenes he's with the Clowns, he knew about me but didn't report me, he seems to make choices that'll run the CCG into the ground…he wants an inferno to scorch the earth so nothing can ever grow again."
The table was silent.
Finally, Nishiki muttered, "Pretty freaking bleak."
Suddenly, a loud knocking sounded on the front door.
They all froze.
It sounded again.
Touka stood up. "I'll go handle whatever it is." She glared at Akira.
The blonde shook her head. "It's not my fault. I just know how investigators think."
The ghoul slapped a smile on her face and headed out to unlock the front door.
Once again, Akira, Yomo, and Nishiki piled into the small back office to watch the security camera.
It turned out to be Kuramoto Ito stepping in as Touka held the door open for him.
He loosened his tie as he entered and set his quinque down near the umbrella stand. So he's not here to hunt ghouls…
He looked tired—gloomy even. "I'm sorry to bother you guys—am I interrupting something?" He stared at the disorganized shelves and boxes on tables.
"Nah," said Touka. "We're just getting ready to remodel the dining room. What can I help you with?"
"I'm trying to figure something out for a friend of mine. I hear you sell baked goods from Yoriko Kosaka?"
Touka hummed, pretending to think about it. "Yeah, I think that's her full name. We just needed to outsource our baking to save time and money. She was suggested by a couple of customers." She looked at him with big, innocent eyes. "Why?"
"She's gotten caught up in some bad business, and we're trying to locate her. I'm worried she isn't safe. You haven't heard from her?"
"No. We're temporarily closed, though, so we haven't needed our normal order of pastries lately. She always seemed so nice when she was dropping off our orders. I hope she's okay."
He handed her a poster with a couple of photos on it. "Here's some recent photos of her in case anyone's seen her. Would you mind putting this up in your front window?"
"Sure, if you think that'll help."
He pulled a second paper out. "And this one, too. She may have changed her hair, so this poster has a few old photos of her with a couple of different hairstyles…from high school…" He trailed off as he stared down at the posters. Looked back up at Touka. Took one slow step back.
Touka sighed. "She only ever got me in one photo, and you had to pick that one."
He took another step back towards the door.
In the back room, Akira jumped up. "Shit. You two go out the back. Go around the building and flank him when he runs. But don't hurt him!"
She grabbed her quinque from where it was leaning against the wall as she ran into the main dining room.
Ito was startled to see her pop out from the back room. "Mado?!"
"Ito, if you could just take a seat and have a chat with me…"
He spun around and dashed out the door, snatching up his quinque as he went.
Akira and Touka raced into the street after him.
Yomo was already waiting out front, ready to herd Ito back around the side of the building and into the alley behind it.
Ito spun, looking for another way, but quickly realized he was cut off from any exits. He deployed his quinque as he backed into the alley, using the spear to hold his pursuers at bay.
When he backed into Nishiki, who was waiting in the alley, he startled and spun around.
The investigator lunged at Nishiki, swinging ferociously.
The ghoul jumped back. "Whoa! Calm down!" He narrowly dodged another swing, but then Ito had him pinned against the wall.
Touka and Yomo were staying behind Akira, blocking his exit and freeing Akira up to take the lead in managing the situation.
She knew Ito was going to try and take down Nishiki fast to clear a path, and of course the ghoul would defend himself, and everyone would get hurt.
As Ito prepared to stab at Nishiki and Nishiki's eyes turned red in preparation for a counterattack, Akira activated her own quinque and lashed out to break up the fight.
His quinque clattered to the ground near her feet, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she kicked it into a nearby storm drain. Then she realized all the ghouls were staring at her.
Touka took a step towards her. "Um, Akira…"
Oh…OH. I'm fighting a human, not a ghoul. Oh no.
She spun back around to Ito and saw…really, just a ridiculous amount of blood. Actually, maybe only a pint or two, but it was everywhere. Splattered all over the sidewalk, the walls, Ito…
"Fucking shit! You cut my hand off!" Ito grabbed the wound with his remaining hand, but it was still bleeding a lot.
Oh boy. And it was probably wrapped around the quinque that I just kicked into the sewer.
Akira hurriedly used the sharp edge of her own quinque to start a rip in the bottom hem of her t-shirt, then finished tearing a strip off by hand. "I am so sorry!"
He was starting to look pale and clammy as he sank to his knees. "Sorry?! That's what you're going with?"
She slapped his hand away and tied the fabric a couple of inches below his stump. It's a very clean cut, at least. She wrapped his arm, then pulled the tie tight with all her strength.
"Shit! That hurts worse than when you lopped my hand off!"
"Uh…we can fix it! I think we can fix it!" She patted her pockets. "Does anyone have a marker? What time is it?"
Touka grabbed a pen out of the apron she was still wearing and handed it to Akira.
"A quarter past 11," said Nishiki as he checked his phone.
Akira grabbed Ito's chin in one hand to hold his face still and wrote "11:15" on his forehead.
"Oh, screw you, Mado," he said in a shaky voice. "Like cutting off my hand wasn't enough."
"Gotta record time for tourniquets," nodded Nishiki.
Akira looked at him. "Want to call Banjo and test out your ideas on treating humans with RC cell infusions?"
The ghoul pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Yeah, let's give it a go."
Ito was starting to hyperventilate. "That's the hand I write with. I was gonna go climbing with my sister this weekend! I can't believe you did this to me, you bitch."
"You know, I've been getting called that a lot lately." She grabbed his good arm and helped him to his feet. "This is ten kinds of unethical, but we're going to take you hostage, use you as a guinea pig, and kind of temporarily turn you into a ghoul. And if you're lucky, your hand will grow back."
He whimpered.
"Oh, be brave. I got shish kebabbed, and I'm fine."
"Yeah, well you're braver than I am…an adult wearing a crop top in public…"
"Or we could just kill you," she grumbled.
They marched him back to the café. Luckily it was a very slow weekday and there were few passers-by to notice them hurrying along the pale investigator with a still-bleeding stump where his hand should be. As long as no one looked too closely, between the sick look on his face and the pen on his forehead, he could pass for any random businessman who'd had a little too much fun the night before.
"We'll be clearing out of here soon anyways," muttered Touka. "So it's fine to stash him here."
Yomo and Nishiki were left to finish shredding documents downstairs, while Akira and Touka helped Ito up the stairs. He was already a bit unsteady on his feet from blood loss.
Touka pulled out her cellphone, a new one she'd gotten shortly after Rushima. "I'll call Ayato, he should know where Banjo is."
Akira opened the door to the spare room upstairs.
There was Haise—Kaneki, she still wasn't used to that—sitting on the floor in front of Ichika's baby carrier, deeply focused on feeding the child a spoonful of applesauce.
"Hey, what was that noise? Do you guys need help moving some furniture—" He looked up and was shocked to lock eyes with Ito.
"There was a little incident just now," explained Touka while she dialed her brother.
"I…can see that. Hey, Ito."
The poor investigator leaned against the wall. "Hey Sasaki," he said with a hysterical giggle. "You know everyone's been looking for you?"
"I heard." He quickly gave Ichika another spoonful of applesauce, since she was getting impatient. "Well, what are we doing next?"
Nishiki quickly explained their treatment plan.
Touka finished talking on the phone with her brother. She turned to Yomo. "Can you bring a car around back? We can meet Banjo over at the safe house."
Then Kaneki turned to her in thought. "Akira, can you watch Ichika for a while? I think Touka and I should clear out of her apartment as fast as possible, too."
Akira tried to keep her cool as she drove Ito to the safe house in an absolutely packed sedan, with Nishiki and Yomo as his prison guards, and Ichika playing with her feet in her car seat. They parked in the driveway and quickly headed to the building, trying not to look too suspicious.
Amon stopped them on the way in. He'd been posted at the safehouse, a small two-bedroom building in a very quiet residential neighborhood, with orders to keep watch over the street and sound the alarms if anything suspicious happened.
He opened the door to greet them, and to find out what the commotion was, but stopped and stared at the sight of Akira in her newly cropped T-shirt. He didn't even notice Ito at her side. "You weren't dressed like that when you left, were you?"
She felt her eye twitch in rage. Surely there are more important things to discuss. "No."
"Holy shit, you're alive, Amon?!"
Amon was startled to notice Ito at her side. "Ito?! What are you doing here? What is written on your face?"
Akira hustled her hostage into the building. "Everything's under control, don't worry about it!"
"Help me! She cut off my hand!"
"What?"
"It was an accident, I'll explain later, just get back to keeping watch." Akira handed Ito off to the ghouls. "Shove it, Ito, he's on my side."
Amon looked at her, confused, before he gave up trying to understand and nodded.
"Thanks," she said with a smile.
A couple of hours later, Akira was at the hideout holding Ichika and watching Ito get his RC cell infusion from Banjo.
The baby kept flailing her arms and making frustrated little noises at him, upset that he wasn't paying enough attention to her. "Shh, Ichika, leave him alone. He can't hold you right now."
"And whose fault is that?" Ito glanced over at his stump, now wrapped in tendrils of Banjo's kagune. "That's a friendly baby."
"Too friendly," said Akira. "She's going to have a difficult life if she keeps waving at investigators."
"So she's…"
"Uh-huh."
After getting Ichika to settle down for a nap, Akira finally decided to clean the writing on Ito's forehead off—now that the tourniquet was not in play, there was no need to keep track of when it was tied. They were interrupted by Touka and Kaneki entering the safe house carting a duffel bag and a backpack. And that stupid pot of pink flowers.
"The café and my apartment are now scorched earth," declared Touka. "As soon as this guy is dealt with, this place is too."
The guy in question was curled up on the futon, and beginning to look a bit clammy. "Ugh, I feel like shit. How much longer?"
Akira snuck a closer look down at his hand which was, to everyone's fascination and horror, in the process of regrowing. First with spindly protrusions that resembled a kagune, which then slowly became tendons, nerves, and skin.
Nishiki glanced over at him. "Unless you're one of the lucky few who could survive a kakuho transplant, you're probably going to have an immune reaction to the RC cells. We think they'll outperform your immune system and heal any damage caused for a short window of time, though."
Banjo spoke up. "Going by Akira's recovery, we keep it up until you can't handle any more or you're healed, then you get an RC suppressant injection." He pressed a hand to Ito's forehead. "You've got a low fever, but I think that's ok for now."
The investigator groaned. "And then what, you eat me anyways?"
Akira scoffed. "No, as long as you behave yourself. Look around. Does anyone look like they want to eat you?"
He surreptitiously glanced around. Yomo and Nishiki were studying a map of the city over coffee, Banjo was rereading one of Takatsuki's old books, and Kaneki and Touka were organizing the belongings and clothes they'd hastily grabbed. Ichika was now sleeping in her carrier next to Akira's seat.
"…no…" he muttered quietly.
"You look too lean to make a good meal, anyways," called Nishiki from across the room.
Touka shot back, "Shut your yap, you're not helping."
For a second, Akira caught eyes with Hai—no, Kaneki. He had an expression between shocked and happy, as if he never expected to be in this crowded room with these people, joking around.
Enjoy it while it lasts, kid.
She refocused on Ito. "You came alone, so I'm guessing you weren't at the café on official business. What you're going to do next is call in sick to work. Say it's the flu. You already sound crappy enough. That'll buy us a few days."
He closed his eyes. "And after that?"
Akira thought. "You were investigating alone to try and find Yoriko. For Takeomi? How is he doing?"
Ito was drifting off to sleep as he tried to answer. "Not good. Poor guy looks like he hasn't slept since Rushima…"
"If we send you back to the CCG, good as new, can you get me a meeting with Takeomi?"
He snorted. "Why? Where do you think this ends? Even if the White Reaper is gone…you'll all die." His head lolled back on the couch, listless. "I always liked you, Mado…but Juzo's gonna kill you, and Haise, and Hirako…"
She stared at him, feeling sick to her stomach with anxiety. He wasn't wrong. They had their next step, but what came after that? How could they live on the run indefinitely?
Akira stared at her...former colleague. He still looked sickly, but he could probably tough it out long enough. His hand was healing nicely.
"That part's not for you to worry about," she said. "I just want to reassure Takeomi that Yoriko is safe."
Ito frowned. "Fine. Only because he needs it. You should just get her back to us so she doesn't die, too."
"Thank you. And for the record…I intend to survive."
He waved his partially reformed hand at her in a dismissive motion. "Can't wait to watch you try, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Why'd you have to end up like this, Mado? Haven't we lost enough people?"
She stared at him. That intuition in the back of her brain rattled—she knew the end she wanted, she saw the next obstacle in their path, and in a flash the path was illuminated.
"Oh, no…" she trailed off. Sometimes I really hate the way my brain works.
"What is it now?"
Oh no, I have an idea. She tossed his confiscated phone back to him. "Unlock it and let me watch you call in sick, then ask Takeomi to meet you for drinks tomorrow evening. Don't take no for an answer. I'll hand you off to him, and you'll be free to go."
He stared at his phone silently for a moment. "You won't ambush him?"
She shook her head. "I just want to right a wrong. That's all."
His one remaining thumb hovered over the fingerprint sensor on his phone screen, as he thought for a long, long time, before he finally pressed down and unlocked it.
Has anyone else ever watched Blood+? This chapter has the same vibe to me as the part where everyone is laying low in an NYC apartment.
This is the part of the story where, like, everything got jam-packed plotwise and some stuff from the main story might get even more glossed over or not mentioned at all for my own sanity…but I also wanted to get to this part to explore some other possibilities and fix a couple of little things that bothered me. Case in point: It annoyed me so much that everyone was in the open at the café for way too long! I think having Akira in the mix adds a voice of reason, telling them to get out faster and not to just sit around waiting for things to get really bad.
Next week: Akira grabs a drink