Good to have you all back. Let's not waste any time. In this chapter, Harada and the Black Clan are alerted to the arrival of the GCB, led by Kisho Arima. The X-Force are driven to get back their leader, by any means necessary. However, ghouls will soon arrive at the scene, for their own reason to retrieve Ken Kaneki. What became a battle between humans spirals into an all-out war…
Chapter 14 – turn: The Night of Four Armies
Arima led the Investigators that volunteered to go with him to Sapporo soon arrived at the location where a lone metal Japanese castle tower can be seen alight. Between them and the tower was a small Japanese village. Ui went to his side and says,
"I had no idea that this village was located here…"
"I imagine Ichiro Yashida wanted it that way…"
Arima signaled the Investigators behind him to advance into the village. Juuzo spoke with Mutsuki.
"Hey."
"H, Investigator Suzuya."
"Feeling nervous?"
"A little, but I'm ready for anything."
Juuzo was impressed by Mutsuki's confidence.
"Either way, I got your back."
"I appreciate it. Thank you. Although…I don't see a certain other guy…"
"Yeah, Washuu stayed behind to "coordinate" this mission from the station."
Mutsuki did a raspberry, which made Juuzo laugh.
"That's what I thought."
Both laughed a little before Mutsuki says to him,
"Well, I stopped what people like him thought about me for quite some time."
"I can tell."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Believe me, I'll always see the best in you."
Mutsuki felt a little flustered when Juuzo said that.
"T-Thanks…"
Juuzo then joined with his team while Yonebayashi looked at the talk between them with a sly smile. Ui then spotted a few people running to inside their homes.
"They sound like…"
"They're scared of us."
Said Iwao as he, Suzuya, Hirako, Shimoguchi, Itou, and Madou went to Arima's side as well to see for themselves. Hirako guessed,
"Yashida must've alerted them of us."
Itou asked,
"Why?"
Investigator Madou sees a familiar face and points to him as she says,
"Him, most likely."
Soon, no more villagers were seen as Harada walked down the street to confront the high-ranking Investigators. As soon as he stopped in front of them, Arima says to him,
"Harada…do you know what you have done?"
"It's in the service of my master."
Iwao then says to him,
"Last time I checked, you still work for the Bureau."
Harada then took out a piece of paper and threw it at Arima.
"My resignation."
Ui got angry at Harada.
"You bastard! This man gave you access to…"
"An organization dedicated to the genocide of an entire species."
Ui got angrier for what Harada just said to him. Only for Hirako to interrupt him by saying to Harada,
"Either way, we've bought half a battalion of Investigators here. You are outnumbered."
Soon, a few ninjas arrived on the rooftops near where the Investigators stood.
"The Black Clan has protected the House of Yashida for over 500 years. You have no chance of surviving."
Soon, more ninjas arrived. More occupied the rooftops while some stood behind Harada. The Investigators got a little twitchy at the sight of them. A few of them even got their quinques out. Arima says to Harada,
"It doesn't have to be this way, Harada."
"Yes it does. From the moment you attempted to steal Ken Kaneki from my master's grip, this moment would soon happen."
With a stern look on his face, Arima then says,
"You know what's he going to do to him?"
"Yes. I know that the only way for my master to live…is to erase Ken Kaneki from this world. Erase the source of this family's shame."
"Shame?!"
Said Akira with outrage.
"Everything Ken Kaneki has done is anything but shameful."
"He is the bastard son of the mutant that stole the master's granddaughter from the House of Yashida."
"From what Yukio told me, Shingen attempt to marry Mariko off to some corrupt politician was the reason why she ran to marry-"
Harada instantly unsheathed his katana and pointed it at Akira.
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!"
Alongside Akira was the X-Force, who brought out their kagunes at Harada. The Investigators who saw this took it as a signal to ready their quinques. While the ninjas unsheathed their katanas. Harada noticed that Yukio stood with them.
"So…you decided to live."
"Yes…"
She wielded both her katana and the wakizashi in both her hands.
"And pissed off in ways you cannot understand."
"You've never had honor…orphan…"
"Better an orphan…than a simp."
(play Wanderlust – The Weeknd, start at 1:05)
Harada then gave a command.
"KILL THEM ALL!"
The ninjas on the rooftops leapt down from the roof, How they leapt caught the Investigators by surprise. The ninjas jumped from the village rooftops and were directly above the Investigators. The Investigators see that the ninjas had their katanas out for a descending attack. Investigator Iwao shouted,
"SCATTER!"
After doing so, the Investigators fought against the ninjas in the streets of the village. The ninjas mostly had katanas and bows and arrows to fight against the Investigators with, something the Investigators initially dismissed. Yet, some of the Black Clan also possessed other types of weapons associated with the ninja warriors of the Sengoku era, such as Sai, Kusarigama, Tekko-Kagi, Yari, Naginata, and specialized shuriken made to either explode or stun on skin contact. Although the Investigators were capable of either matching the Black Clan or defeating some of them, the weapons the Black Clan held did not seem as archaic as they seemed. Iwao noticed this and notified the rest of his comrades.
"All forces, stay aware. Their weapons are made of stronger material than expected."
One of the Black Clan ninjas told him,
"Indeed. Our weapons are made from adamantium."
This detail surprised Iwao.
"You mean?"
"Yes. The same metal that coats the claws of the Kuzuri."
The ninjas brandished their weapons in front of Iwao.
"You will not survive the night."
Iwao maintained his stoic, yet positive expression as he replied,
"It's not the weapons that make the warrior."
At another location within the battlefield, Miho Toma of Shimoguchi squad saw something enter the castle tower in the distance. Shimoguchi sees her being distracted and lambasted her for it.
"Toma! Focus on the battle!"
"Sir, I'm seeing movement at the tower."
"What?!"
Shimoguchi sees this as well. A large movement running toward the tower. He makes a call to Assistant Special Investigator Washuu.
"Assistant Special Investigator Washuu, I'm seeing a lot of movement at Yashida tower."
'I'll take a closer look.'
Soon, three large helicopter drones flew over where Shimoguchi squad stood. He also noticed that no other enemy combatants surrounded him where he and his squad currently stood.
"Investigator Satami, report."
"Sir. The Black Clan ninjas saw what we saw and ran toward the tower."
Shimoguchi thought to himself,
"The hell is going on?"
(end music)
xxxxxx
In the head office of the train station, Washuu and his men oversaw the whole operation. Although his team were working with limited resources, they soldiered on for the sake of the mission. Thankfully, Washuu possessed the foresight to order some of his subordinates to carry with them three large and heavy cases, all filled with parts to build military grade drones. Specifically, three MQ-1B Predator drones, equipped with state-of-the-art cameras, two miniguns armed with Q-Bullets and Q-missiles. As soon as they were assembled, Washuu got the call from Shimoguchi. After said call, he gave the order.
"Get those drones airborne."
"Yes sir."
Said one of his subordinates. The drones flew to their destination with no problem.
"Investigator Washuu, we've got visual."
"Give me the feed."
The Investigator typed in the command to give the drone's live feed of the situation at Yashida tower through his personal laptop. After taking a few seconds to examine the footage, he recognized the mass group entering Yashida Tower.
"Rosé…"
"Sir?"
"I can see the heir of the Tsukiyama group leading the charge."
Matsuri typed in a command to display the live to the rest of the subordinates' laptops. All expressed surprise to see Rosé not just in the open, but at the same location as them. One of the Investigators in the room commented,
"But why?"
Matsuri responded,
"Who cares? This might be the opportunity we never believed we can get. A chance to eradicate Rosé, once and for all."
The Investigators nodded in agreement. Matsuri thought to himself,
"If you desire the Kuzuri, Tsukiyama, I'll sacrifice whatever Investigators to deny you…that place will be your personal Tower of Babel…"
Matsuri then gave a notification to all Investigators.
xxxxxx
"Attention all units. Rosé has been spotted entering the Yashida Tower."
This surprised the Investigators, but not enough to lose their focus on defending themselves from the Black Clan.
"The heir of the Tsukiyama family is leading at least 300 ghouls into Yashida Tower. Any Investigators not occupied with enemy combatants associated with Yashida Industries, head for the tower immediately."
Arima heard this as well and got angry at Matsuri turning his rescue mission as an opportunity for a promotion. Although he did not express it facially, his actions indicated his emotional state. Much to Shirazu's concern.
"Special Investigator Arima."
"Investigator Shirazu."
"I can get what you're feeling, sir. Say the word, I'll get the X-Force inside the tower."
"Then you know what to do."
"Yes sir."
Shirazu summoned his kagune and launched them at a group of ninjas, creating an opening.
"Go."
"Yes sir!"
Shirazu ran as fast as she could, calling for the X-Force.
"X-Force, do you read me?"
Urie was the first to call.
'Shirazu?'
"Head to my location. I've made an opening to Yashida Tower."
Akira asked,
'Okay, but I should take the lead.'
Saiko interjected.
'Actually, Maman made Shirazu squad leader in case he couldn't.'
'Seriously?'
Asked Akira. Mutsuki then says,
'Kaneki made that call for a good reason. We're heading to you right now, Shirazu.'
"Thanks. If any one of you guys are near Yukio or Danny, get them where I am."
'Roger that.'
Said Deadpool. Soon, the team all followed after Shirazu. Danny then asked,
"Where's Investigator Arima?"
"Occupied. We're taking the lead."
"I've notice that the Investigators here got some sort of message."
Shirazu then says,
"Rosé appeared and are attacking Yashida Tower right now."
"Rosé?"
Urie explained.
"A ghoul group. Their public cover was the Tsukiyama conglomerate."
Although he hid it, Danny felt shocked that Shuu most likely led the charge.
"Damn it Tsukiyama. You can ruin everything!"
Urie continued.
"We thought that they ran before we could root them out as ghouls…"
"Maybe that was the plan. Have both the Bureau and Yashida security forces clash while they get Kaneki."
Said Hisako. Shirazu then says,
"Either way, we get to Kaneki first."
"Right!"
Said the team simultaneously. Deadpool then says,
"Any more people arrive, might as well call this the battle of five armies."
"Dude, don't jinx it!"
Said Yonebayashi. Mutsuki says to the both of them,
"Focus! We have to get to Sensei!"
Both noticed the serious tone Mutsuki took with the both of them.
"Damn! I know we're facing some serious shit ahead of us…"
"It's Sensei. I don't care what he wants to go by. He's one of us, and we're gonna get him back!"
Akira responded,
"I feel the same way as you do, Investigator Mutsuki…but we got an uphill battle ahead of us."
Akira soon discovered Suzuya squad finishing up with a group of Black Clan ninjas. Akira exclaimed,
"Juuzo, if you're done there, try to catch up with us!"
"Okay!"
Juuzo addressed his team.
"Let's go."
"Right!"
Replied his team simultaneously.
xxxxxx
At another location of the battlefield, Kijima squad finished up the ninjas on their end. Investigator Kijima killed the Black Clan ninja with his quinque, Rotten Fellow. It took the form of a chainsaw but outfitted with a kakuhou motor and a Q-Metal blade.
"And cut!"
Kijima dug his quinque into the head of the ninja, the result was the enemy's head split in two with his brain splattering away in different directions. Kijima then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well…these ninjas brought quite a challenge. Never thought that'll happen in my life, let alone my career."
Furuta nervously responded,
"Y-Yes sir."
"Anyhow…let's make out way to Yashida Tower. After all, Rosé wants Haise for some reason…"
Furuta says,
"Sir, don't you mean Ken Kaneki?"
"Well, whatever he calls himself…he's the reason why work has been a lot more…fun than usual."
Kijima cleaned up his quinque before saying,
"Well…let's head for the tower."
Meanwhile, Arima faced off against Harada. Although his usual quinque, IXA, usually did away with any opponent he fought, Harada proved himself to be more of a challenge. Harada's adamantium-based katana and his mutation on manipulating tachyon particles helped him hold his own against the former number one Investigator. Arima commented on this.
"You're quite more than capable."
"Yes. I have been training all my life to serve master Ichiro. And devotion to him always rewarded me."
"Really? Seeing the love of your life taken away by the Wolverine is considered a reward?"
Harada then expressed anger and attacked Arima with wild swings of his sword. Arima, however, defended himself easily. He then says to Harada,
"Your technique gets sloppy when you get angry."
"You don't know what you say!"
The two traded five more blows before engaging in a standoff again.
"I know that you fell in love with Mariko Yashida, but she was engaged with a politician. Arranged by Shingen Yashida."
"That fool is a disgrace to Master Ichiro's legacy."
"I don't know much about Shingen Yashida…but I do know is that you had every chance to fight for her, but you didn't. You can hate the Wolverine all you want…"
Three more blows were exchanged before Arima continued.
"But Ken Kaneki doesn't deserve your rage!"
"Ken Kaneki…DOESN'T DESERVE TO LIVE!"
Harada swung his sword against Arima, but he dodged the swings.
"He is a living remainder of my shame! My indecision!"
The two came to a standstill again.
"That's on you!"
Said Arima. Harada rebutted.
"No! Once Master Ichiro erases Ken Kaneki, he will then focus on resurrecting Mariko! She will have a second chance! I WILL HAVE A SECOND CHANCE!"
The two traded blows seven more times. During said attacks, Arima thought,
"Has he lost it? Or is it a lie from Ichiro?"
Soon, Harada received word as one of the Black Clan ninjas landed down beside him and told him,
"Harada, ghouls have entered Yashida Tower!"
This alerted him as he gave the order.
"Tell all our men to go to the tower! No one gets to Master Ichiro!"
The ninja nodded yes, then brought out a certain hand flag to signal the others to gather at Yashida Tower and defend the place. Soon, the ninjas all stopped fighting the Investigators and headed to the tower. Ui went to Arima's side and talked with him, with Ihei following after.
"Arima, they're headed to the tower."
"And they're not the only ones…"
"Let's go then."
Arima sped ahead of his fellow Investigators, reminding those that bit his dust of why he was still considered formidable in his own right as Kuramoto said,
"Even after Kaneki whupped his ass, he's still the best of us."
"Shut up."
Replied Ihei in a cold tone. Ui reprimanded her for that.
"Investigator Ihei, that's not how you talk to your superiors."
"I do if they praise cheaters."
Hirako then says to her,
"If it was a sanctioned match, then Kaneki still would've won. You're bitter because it was him that defeated Arima, not you."
Ihei was tempted to use her quinque on Hirako but retained her sense of control.
'He's not my target…'
Ihei ran after Arima. Hirako then says to Ui,
"Investigator Ui, keep a close eye on your subordinate. I get the feelin that she may become …a liability."
"…Yes, Investigator Hirako."
Soon, more Investigators followed Arima into the tower. During the run, Ui caught up with Ihei.
"You've shown restraint back there."
"Surprised?"
"Proud, honestly."
Ihei blushed a little when Ui said he was proud of her.
"I…I did because Hirako was not my enemy."
"I know…for now, let's focus."
"Right. I'll go on ahead with Fura."
"Go with a couple more."
"Sure. I'll even bring in the prototype. Just in case…"
xxxxxx
Back at the station office, one of the Investigators notified Matsuri of another upcoming development.
"Sir?"
"What is it?"
"One of the drones has spotted something approaching the area."
"Give me the feed."
Matsuri soon saw what was approaching the area of Yashida Tower. It was seven Bell Boeing V-22 Ospreys.
"What the hell?"
One of the Investigators asked him,
"Is that backup from the Chairman?"
"Highly doubt it…"
Matsuri flew one of the drones near the approaching aircraft. As the drone he controlled flew alongside the Ospreys, he noticed something on the right side of the second Osprey. Matsuri flew the drone alongside said Osprey and used the drone's camera to zoom in on what he saw. Matsuri soon discovered it to be the symbol of Aogiri Tree.
"They have access to military aircraft?"
The side door of the Osprey opened up to reveal an Aogiri ghoul carrying an RPG. The drone's camera feed soon got off when the missile hit the drone Matsuri operated.
"An inconvenience…but perhaps an opportunity in disguise?"
xxxxxx
Soon, the X-Force made it to the interior of Yashida Tower. When they arrived, the team witnessed a litany of ghouls and ninjas fighting each other. Shirazu says,
"Whoa…this'll make a kickass movie."
Akira then says to him,
"Focus, squad leader."
"R-Right."
Mutsuki looked around to see Shimoguchi squad within the brawl.
"Investigator Madou, I see Shimoguchi squad."
Mutsuki pointed to where the squad currently fought, with Shimoguchi fighting against a pair of Rosé ghouls, while Investigators Satami and Toga defending themselves against some Black Clan ninjas. Shirazu says to Mutsuki and Yonebayashi,
"Investigators Mutsuki and Yonebayashi, assist them."
"Got it!"
Replied the two simultaneously. Shirazu then says,
"X-Force, fight through this mess!"
"On it!"
Said the team. Juuzo then address his team.
"Take out as much as you can. We have to make a path for the others."
"Yes, Investigator Suzuya."
Said his team.
(play Cherry Bomb – The Runaways)
Each of the team fought against both the ghouls and ninjas with either their quinques or their kagunes. Mutsuki and Yonebayashi used both to assist Shimoguchi and his squad. Mutsuki says to Shimoguchi,
"Investigator Shimoguchi, we're here to assist you!"
"Does it look like I need your help?"
One of the ninjas attempted to kill Shimoguchi while distracted. Mutsuki responded fast by throwing one of their knives at the ninja before he could make the kill. Shimoguchi followed the direction of the thrown knife, sees where it landed, and stood surprised to see the dead ninja falling onto the floor. He maintained a gruff face as he says,
"Fine. We're trying to get to the to the upper floors."
"Me and Investigator Yonebayashi will clear the path. Saiko!"
"RIGHT!"
Yonebayashi's kagune were a huge pair of giant hands but were soon divided into numerous hands. Both the ghouls and ninjas stood stupefied for a moment, which gave Yonebayashi the opportunity. She delivered a flurry of punches to any enemy in her way while yelling,
"ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI!"
Shimoguchi and his squad stood at how much of a powerhouse Investigator Yonebayashi became. Akira sees this and thinks to herself,
"Saiko's grown so much as an Investigator…Kaneki, you've made this team strong. Strong enough to stand on their own feet."
Only a few opponents were left standing.
"I'll take care of the stragglers. Go now!"
Shimoguchi replied,
"Right! Satami, Toga! Keep up!"
"Yes sir!"
Said the two Investigators simultaneously. As the squad made it to the second floor, they encounter a few more of the Black Clan ninjas. They see them and readied their weapons. Shimoguchi laughed a little as he says,
"I've gotten better at taking you people down. And so have the rest of my team."
"Yes sir."
Said Investigator Satami, with Investigator Toma replying,
"Much better."
Before the ninjas could fight Shimoguchi squad, more Rosé ghouls entered the building by breaking through the glass windows next to the ninjas. Shimoguchi exclaimed,
"Holy shit! More of them?!"
The hallway became a familiar sight. Investigator Satami then says,
"Investigator Shimoguchi, there's a lot more space between them."
"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing. Let's move!"
What Shimoguchi squad did not know was that a couple more squads were behind them. As Shimoguchi squad made their way through the hallway, one of the ninjas attempted to get the jump on Investigator Toma.
"Toma, watch yourself!"
Thankfully, said attack never landed on Investigator Toma as Ihei blocked the attack in time. Toma sees Ihei killing the ninja in her defense and say to Ihei,
"Thank you."
"Keep going. I'm right behind you."
"Right."
Ihei was followed by Fura and a couple of newly joined Investigators. Ihei sees Fura and asked,
"Where's Ui?"
"With Arima. They're catching up to the rest of us. Right now, we're getting reports of Rosé occupying the upper floors of the building."
"What about the ninjas?"
"They seem to be very familiar with the layout of the building and are using possible hidden passageways within the tower to get ahead of both us and Rosé."
"They're really not making this easy for us…still, take them out."
"Right."
Ui squad soon made brutal work of both the Black Clan ninjas and Rosé ghouls.
(end music)
As the bodies laid around them in pieces, Ihei thought to herself,
"I know Ichiro Yashida is basically the mastermind…but I'm still pissed that he's the focus…"
Soon, Kijima squad joined them as Kijima remarked on Ihei's handiwork.
"Well, you've certainly wasted no time…"
"Investigator Kijima, care to join us to the upper floors?"
"Well, this operation hasn't gotten boring on me yet. Question is, how many floors are there?"
"About 20."
Said Furuta, prompting Kijima to ask,
"How do you know that, exactly?"
"There's an elevator over there."
Furuta pointed to the elevator. The Investigators sees the number of floors at the top edge of the elevator. Ihei presses the elevator button, but nothing happened.
"It's not working…"
Fura then says,
"Ichiro Yashida must've ordered all the elevators shut down."
"Well that sucks…"
"Can't help it. To him, we're trespassers."
Said Furuta. To which Kijima replied,
"Well then…"
He brandished his weapon before finishing.
"Let's trespass further…"
xxxxxx
As Arima, alongside Hirako, with Iwao, Kuramoto, Suzuya, and the other half of Ui squad, arrived at the scene, they see only a few Rosé ghouls still present. Only for them to be killed by the X-Force. Arima sees Akira.
"Investigator Madou."
Akira sees Arima and runs to talk to him.
"Investigator Arima."
"Progress report."
"Sir. We've taken out the Rosé ghouls on this level. As well as some of the Black Clan, but a number of them mysteriously disappeared from the battle while the X-Force took out the Rosé ghouls. Might I add that Investigator Shirazu role as squad leader helped us take out this much?"
"That's good to hear."
"How did some of the Black Clan disappear from the fight?"
Asked Kuramoto.
"Daniel Rand witnessed some of the Black Clan use some sort of passageway within the building. It gives the possibility that Yashida had the tower designed for a situation for something like this."
Arima took a moment to think before asking,
"Is the Iron Fist around?"
"He's over there. Both he and the rest of the X-Force are attempting to find said passageways. In the hopes that they will lead to the upper floors that haven't been occupied by the enemy."
The Investigators sees Danny and the X-Force feeling the walls. Arima then gave an order.
"Iwao, Suzuya, your squad will assist them."
"Yes sir."
"Okay."
"Madou, Who's ahead?"
"Shimoguchi squad, as well as Kijima and half of your squad, Investigator Ui."
Arima then says,
"The rest of us will make out way to where Ichiro may be. Ui, contact any Investigators in your squad that made it here ahead of you."
"Well, I see one of them right now. I'll ask."
As Arima and the rest of the Investigator squads got upstairs, Iwao went to Danny, who was assisted by Shirazu.
"Need a hand?"
Danny sees the person talking to him.
"Investigator Iwao?"
"How you doing?"
As the two shook hands, Shirazu asked,
"You know him, Danny?"
"I helped this man take on the Owl a few years back."
"Woah! The Owl?"
Iwao then says,
"Yes and no. It turned out be her old man."
"The Owl is a woman? And she has a dad?"
"Yes…but that's a story for another time…"
Shirazu could tell that Iwao went through a lot involving the Owl.
"Okay. Danny, I think I'm feeling something here…"
Shirazu felt some sort of small fracture within the wall. It did not feel like some sort of covered up accident, but rather a hidden opening set there on purpose.
"Right here."
"Show me."
Said Danny. Shirazu set himself aside as much as he could while still putting his right index finger on the possible lead.
"I got it, Shirazu."
Shirazu then completely stepped aside for Danny to feel the part of the wall Shirazu examined earlier. Soon, he made the same discovery.
"Nice one, Shirazu. There's definitely something here."
Soon, more of Iwao squad and the rest of the X-Force gathered where Danny felt a possible passageway. As Danny felt more of the wall, he swiped his hand against some sort of hidden scanned. It bleeped while giving flashes of red, indicating refusal.
"Here it is."
Said Danny, to which Iwao replying,
"But it's denying us access."
"I got an answer for that."
Danny summoned his ki within his body, causing his arms to glow gold. This amazed much of the X-Force. Much more so Deadpool as he thought to himself,
"Kaneki was right…"
Danny forced both his hands into the sides of the hidden door. Soon, cracks appeared as Danny slowly ripped the hidden door from the wall. Danny slowly peeled the hidden door, revealing a stair path. Both the X-Force and Iwao squad responded positively.
"Nicely done."
Said Iwao. Akira then says,
"Let's go."
As they made their way through the passageway, Juuzo expressed how he felt.
"Man, it's never boring with you guys!"
Mutsuki asked,
"Normally I agree with you…but right now…"
"I know. Kaneki's in danger, and we have to help him."
Mutsuki smiled at Juuzo, much to Yonebayashi's notice. She gave a smug kind of laugh, alongside the smile to go with it. Shirazu asked,
"What's with you?"
"I just shipping those two…"
Urie scolded Yonebayashi for this action.
"This isn't an anime. You don't ship real people."
Just then, each Investigator received a notification from Matsuri via their earpieces.
'Attention all Investigators. We have confirmed that Aogiri will arrive in less than five minutes.'
This floored every Investigator listening.
'They seemed to have acquired military aircraft for them to make it this far out of Tokyo. The mission remains the same. Washuu out.'
Each of the Investigators felt emotions ranging from irritation to outright fear. For Arima, his frustration became slightly visible to Ui.
"I've never seen him like this…"
Arima thought to himself,
"Damn it, Eto…"
xxxxxx
Shimoguchi squad made it to the seventh floor. As they entered the floor, he and his squad find a lone ghoul, wearing a mask with six eyes and a big, almost creepy smile. Shimoguchi thought to herself,
"Is that one of Rosé's? No matter. He's dead-"
Before Shimoguchi can act, his arm instantly became disconnected from his body. He screamed in pain, causing his subordinates to run to his side.
"Sir!"
Exclaimed Toma. Although still in pain, Shimoguchi told his subordinates,
"RUN, YOU GODDMAN IDIOTS!"
"Sir, your arm…!"
Said Satami. Shimoguchi replied,
"I SAID RUN!"
The ghoul kept on staring at them As some of the pain subsided, Shimoguchi thought to himself,
"My wound is killing me…damn. If Shibashi was here…he'd probably wouldn't fail them…"
"Right now…I hate to be the two of you. Shibashi got himself dead at the auction. Because of that, you get stuck with me…truth be told, I thought the two of you were an absolute drag to be stuck with. Even right now, I'm getting tired of looking at the two of you. Just get the fuck out of here already…"
Both Toma and Satami instantly knew that their squad leader acted this way to get them to run. Both refused the order as the two got in front of the ghoul. Toma says to Shimoguchi,
"Sorry sir."
Satami then added,
"You're stuck with us."
Both valiantly fought against the ghoul, but underestimated just how vicious the ghoul truly was. Shimoguchi could only sit by, writhing in not just the physical pain, but also the emotional one of seeing his subordinates slaughtered before him. However, both sensations instantly faded away as, from his point of view, the world seemed to tilt on its side and turned red. In his mind, Shimoguchi's life flashed before his eyes. In reality, Shimoguchi was decapitated by the ghoul. The ghoul took off his mask while holding the head. It was revealed to be Kanae as he marveled at the sight of the decapitated head and says to himself,
"I must show this…to Master Shuu…"
Kanae stuffed the head within his coat, broke a nearby window, and climbed up Yashida Tower.
"Come home, Master Shuu…Come home to me…"
Soon, Kijima squad and the other half of Ui squad arrived at the scene. Although unfazed, Kijima says,
"Looks like Shimoguchi and his squad bit the dust…"
"Such a shame…"
Said Furuta. Ihei looked at the scene with indifference, and thought,
"Weak…"
xxxxxx
Up at the final floors of Yashida Tower, Dr. Sarkissian oversaw the transfer currently taking place. She orders one of the few Black Clan ninjas guarding the floors,
"Bring in one of the dwarves."
The ninja nodded his head. After a moment, he brought with him a man half his size, scrawny, nervous looking and slightly weary. He also possessed a fully-grown beard, brunet colored hair, tanned skin and chestnut brown eyes. He wore black sweat clothes his size.
"Hello, Sindri. I just wanted you to assure me that this machine you and your brother made will work according to the specifications we gave you."
Sindri looked at the machine currently at work, as well as the two individuals attached to them.
"Well…we did nothing short of our best with all that you gave us. So, yes. The machine will work according to the blueprints. Really, the only X-Factor…is the sword powering the thing."
"Well, you said that transferring one consciousness from one body to another body requires a magical power source. The Muramasa fit that criteria."
"That is correct. That sword has a lot of magic power needed to make this operation possible."
"So, why call it an X-Factor?"
Sindri took a closer look at the Muramasa within the transfer machine.
"Well…the source of its magical energies is that there's a person's soul inside it. Even though me and my brother got it to be compatible, there was no denying…"
"What is it?"
Sindri turned his head to Sarkissian and says to her,
"It's angry. Why though…you kept us in the dark on that part."
Sarkissian went silent before giving the order.
"Send him back with his brother…"
The ninja nodded, grabbing Sindri by his left arm.
"Ow. Easy there…"
Sarkissian remembered the conversation she had with Ichiro before the procedure began.
flashback
Two of the medical staff arrived, each pushing a stretcher. One held Ichiro Yashida, seemingly near death. The other, Ken Kaneki, devoid of any consciousness. She asked the medic pushing the stretcher carrying Kaneki,
"Has the subject displayed any consciousness?"
"Negative. It's a pure vegetable."
"Wonderful. Let's begin."
As the medics set the stretchers at the base of the machine, Sarkissian went to Ichiro.
"Feeling well?"
"Less and less."
"Well…if the procedure goes well, you can put it behind you. All of it."
"Yes…I look forward to it."
"This procedure will revolutionize medicine as we know it. Your company will change this nation for the better once again."
"Yes…after this is over, I look forward to…pushing this technology farther."
"I look forward to this as well, sir. But let's focus."
"Yes…begin the procedure."
The medics placed the thin wires with the white pads on both their heads. Sarkissian went to the machine and activated its holographic keyboard to input the command for a systems check before ceding control to Delta.
"Delta?"
"At your service."
"I'm ceding supervision of the machine's systems check to you. Once that's done, notify me the moment you begin the procedure."
"Affirmative."
Just then, Sarkissian sees Harada arrive.
end
Although the machine worked perfectly, the warning she received from the dwarf nagged in the back of her head.
"Either way…I'll adapt."
xxxxxx
Up at the 15th floor, Shuu, alongside Matsumae and Milo, took down a few of the Black Clan.
"Milo, remind me. How many floors does this building possess?"
"20, master. The remaining three floors are merged into one room."
"Curious…but irrelevant. Our objective remains the same. Milo, do you have the layout of the building?"
Milo took out his smartphone to look at the digital version of the files he gave to Shuu earlier. He then sent to Shuu's phone.
"Thank you."
"Gladly, master."
"Right then. From here on, it'll be straight to the top floors. Matsumae, how are the others?"
"They're holding off both the Black Clan and the Doves, but you have to hurry."
"Me?"
"Master, there's no telling how much time we have. I must ask that you allow me and Milo to hold off whoever enters this floor."
Shuu felt conflicted but knew that the whole point was to retrieve Kaneki from Ichiro Yashida. Begrudgingly, he accepted Matsumae's request.
"Fine. I'll go on ahead."
As Shuu located and opened the entrance to the passageway by using the severed hand of a Black Clan ninja, he says to Matsumae,
"Come back alive. Please promise me."
Matsumae remembered when she made her first promise to Shuu.
flashback
"Matsumae, will you play Scrabble with me?"
Asked Young Shuu. Young Matsumae replied,
"I'm sorry Master. I have to go to school."
"What~?"
"I'm sorry, Master Shuu. Master Mirumo told me that school is necessary for a ghoul to survive in this world. You'll go too one day."
Young Shuu asked while pouting,
"Will you be back by four?"
"Yes. That's a promise."
"Really? Then kiss my left thumb!"
"Your…left thumb?"
Young Shuu explained.
"My daddy taught me. The left thumb represents conviction. Kiss it so I know you mean it."
end
Matsumae felt her heart break when she responded,
"I cannot promise you that…Please go."
Shuu went on without either Matsumae or Milo. As the two readied themselves for any opposition after Shuu, Matsumae thought to herself,
"Master Shuu…please live…My life has always belonged to you…"
Milo then spoke with her.
"I have the security feed of the building. Some of the technicians we brought with us made it possible."
"Who's coming to this floor?"
"So far, none of the black Clan have broken through the barriers you've set up in the passageway here. We just haven't covered the entrance here yet."
"What matters is that we buy enough time for Master Shuu to succeed."
"Very well. But you should know…she's here."
Matsumae narrowed her gaze as she guessed,
"Hairu…Ihei?"
"Yes…she's here alongside Fura, a couple more. As well as the Investigator that almost killed Yuma…"
"If the Iron Fist hadn't interfered."
Matsumae now felt a measure of anger rising within her. She remembered the last time she fought against Investigator Ihei. She still blamed herself for not getting to Yuma in time to prevent him from being captured by the Doves. As she and Milo heard the steps of the Investigators on their way, she thought to herself,
"Forgive me for breaking your heart, Master Shuu…but please understand. My love for you is that of a big sister and little brother…that is why I am making this sacrifice…"
Both Matsumae and Milo faced off more than a dozen Investigators. Most familiar to them were Investigators Kijima and Ihei. Matsumae said to them,
"Hello again…"
With a smug look on her face, Ihei responded,
"More like goodbye…"
Kijima slowly revved up his quinque, eager for the slaughter ahead. All of a sudden, an explosion occurred at the wall near both groups. After the smoke cleared, it was revealed to be Harada leading about 60 Black Clan ninjas. This greatly upset Matsumae.
"No…"
While this came as an unexpected surprise for Ihei.
"Huh…thought you were dead…"
Harada says to her,
"Allow me to correct that-"
Suddenly, the glass windows of the hallway broke apart. The cause were the sounds of guns firing. Ihei yelled,
"TAKE COVER!"
The Investigators retreated to the stairway that led to the previous floor, while Harada and his ninjas went back to the passageway. Matsumae and Milo, meanwhile, simply stood still as the bullets broke the windows apart. As soon as it stopped, both ghouls sees some sort of aircraft hovering next to the open windows. Matsumae also sees the sides of said aircraft open. She sees a group of cloaked individuals, with said cloaks all bearing the same symbols. Something Matsumae recognized.
"Aogiri?"
xxxxxx
The X-Force (consisting of Akira, Koori, Ginshi, Saiko, Tooru, Deadpool, Yukio, and Hisako) and the Iron Fist teamed up with Iwao and Suzuya squad as they ran through the passageway discovered earlier. Soon, they found the exit of said passageway. Juuzo pushed the door to see themselves on a similar-looking floor.
"Anyone know which we're on?"
Asked Shirazu. Mutsuki looks around to see a nearby building map.
"There's a map over there."
Deadpool went to the map and tells everyone,
"We're on the 11th floor. And based on what this says…we're about either nine or seven floors away from Kaneki."
"Seriously?"
Asked Yonebayashi. Investigators Madou, Iwao, and Suzuya went to where Deadpool currently stood to get a better look at the map.
"It looks like the top three floors are all together…"
Said Akira with Iwao responding,
"I agree. Either way, we're close."
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
"Right…"
Akira then addressed the X-Force.
"X-Force, let's get-"
Before she can finish, the windows next to them suddenly broke. When the glass landed, Iwao was the first to see who they were.
"Aogiri!"
Juuzo added,
"And one of their executives is leading them."
The Investigators recognized him to be Noro. Iwao says to Suzuya squad and X-Force,
"Juuzo, get X-Force to the upper floor! I've got this one!"
"Right!"
Iwao led his team to attack the Aogiri ghouls, making a path for them.
"Move!"
Exclaimed Akira. Both teams made it to the 12th floor. However, once again, Aogiri ghouls stood in their way. But they were not the only ones. Both Rosé ghouls and at least 50 Black Clan ninjas were battling each other.
"Oh shit…"
Said Deadpool, with Ginshi replying,
"Oh shit is right."
Juuzo readied his quinque, as did the rest of his squad. He says to the X-Force,
"We'll create an opening. Go when you get the opportunity."
"Got it."
Said Akira.
(play Bonfire – Childish Gambino, start at 0:12)
Suzuya squad ran into the fray, slaying any enemies in their path. Although the ninjas were preoccupied by the horde of ghouls, the presence of the Investigators did not go unnoticed. The team leader of the ninjas on the floors signaled five of them to go after the X-Force. Koori noticed this and says to the team,
"We got incoming."
"I see them…"
Said Deadpool as he brought out his guns and began shooting at the ninjas running toward his team. Although he managed to take down one, the other four leapt up with their swords out. Akira yelled,
"Mutsuki! Shirazu!"
"On it!"
Said the two simultaneously. Mutsuki summoned her kagune the two ninjas landing toward them. One of her kagune tentacles stabbed the second ninja in the heart, but the first one sliced the ones aimed at him with his katana. Mutsuki however, stood unfazed by this setback and brought out their knives to parry the katana strike before dealing a fatal against the ninja by slicing his neck and stabbing his heart. Shirazu, meanwhile launched his kagune missiles at the ninjas. The resulting impact not only hurt the ninjas but blew them back to the fray where they subsequently got ripped apart by some of the Aogiri ghouls within the fight. Akira commended them.
"Nice job."
"Thanks."
"Nothing to it!"
Afterwards, Urie spotted the opportunity.
"I see an opening!"
"Go!"
Exclaimed Akira. The X-Force ran through the crowds of enemies fighting each other but took advantage of the spots where there was no fighting to advance to the stairway. All three enemy camps took notice of the X-Force and acted to prevent them from advancing, but considering their alliances, their priorities were lost in the chaos of the fight. The X-Force soon made it to the stairway to the next floor, as Deadpool exclaimed,
"Five more to go!"
(end music)
xxxxxx
On the 15th floor, about 30 Aogiri ghouls arrived to fight against both the Investigators on the floor, as well as any Rosé ghouls in their way. However, what they did not expect was the arrival of Harada and the ninjas he currently led with him. Milo says to Matsumae,
"This will get…difficult."
"Doesn't matter."
Matsumae summoned her kagune, which took on the form of a spiral sword and a hammer-like shield, but not before giving an order to Milo.
"Make the barrier. No one gets through."
Milo nodded and used his kagune to create a red flesh-like barrier made to prevent anyone from reaching the upper floors. The time to get it done staggered everybody witnessing the act. Harada ordered his ninjas.
"Kill everybody here."
The ninjas nodded, attacking every ghoul and Investigator in their sight. The Aogiri ghouls summoned their individual kagunes to defend themselves. Kijima parried some attacks that a few of the ninjas that attacked him. While defending himself, he remarked,
"This is getting quite complicated."
While defending himself, Furuta asked,
"Regrets, sir?"
"NOT AT ALL!"
Kijima got on the offensive and killed the ninjas he previously defended himself from.
"Just a little curious at how it all will end."
"If we're lucky, we survive this!"
Said Fura, to which Ihei replied as she finished off both an Aogiri ghoul and ninja,
"Only the weak believe that happen."
Soon, she sees one part of the kagune barrier attempting to attack her but slices it apart with her quinque. Shortly after, she quickly dodged a sword strike from Matsumae. Ihei sees where such an attempt on her life came from and sees the ghoul facing her.
"You look like you have a bone to pick…"
"With you."
Ihei lightly chuckled before saying,
"That's a nice-looking kagune you there. Be a shame if something happened to it…"
Both went on the offensive as the two confronted each other. Ihei attacked with brutal efficiency, but Matsumae defending herself with skillful strength. However, even she acknowledged the fact that the Investigator in front of her left no openings.
"None of my attacks are getting through…"
Ihei simply looked at the ghoul with indifference as she felt an opportunity will arrive soon.
"Just gotta keep this up, and she's dead meat in no time…"
As Kijima caught a break, he sees Investigator Ihei facing off with one of the two Rosé ghouls.
"Wow. First time seeing Miss Hairu struggling against a ghoul…"
As Matsumae maintained her defense, she remembered what she learned about sword fighting from her youth.
flashback
"Well Matsumae, you're certainly the best among your peers."
Said the instructor that oversaw the sparing match. Her partner at the time was a younger Yuma.
"Take it easy next time…"
"More like you need to practice more, Yuma."
Then young Matsumae heard her name spoken by somebody else.
"Matsumae…"
She soon found out that Mirumo arrived at the garden where she and Yuma practiced.
"Sir!"
"I will be your training partner."
"Yes sir."
After a sparring match that resulted in young Matsumae losing, Mirumo asked her,
"Matsumae…why did you think you lost?"
After catching her breath, she replied,
"I…didn't move my shield…fast enough…to block your sword."
"I disagree…"
Young Matsumae felt a little surprised when her master said that.
"Of course you need technique to properly wield a sword…but the power behind each strike. That's what you lacked during the fight."
"Power?"
"Yes…"
Mirumo pointed to Matsumae's left chest to illustrate his point.
"Your heart is your power. Use it to be the mightiest sword fighter this family has produced."
end
Matsumae then acted as if her fighting became sloppy, fooling Ihei to believing,
"Now's my chance…"
Investigator Ihei went for a killing blow, assured of her victory.
"Like I said before, I'm invincible…"
However, Matsumae instantly blocked said blow with her shield, shattering any expectation of victory Ihei held before.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Matsumae then dealt a killing of her own by stabbing Investigator Ihei in her lower chest. Soon, Matsumae backed off, leaving the Investigator to slowly die by herself while taking out more of either Black Clan ninjas or Aogiri ghouls. Investigator Ihei was by herself for a while, seemingly ignored by everyone. Only Fura and the other two Investigators in Ui squad saw this. Fura asked Kijima,
"Kijima, hold the rear."
"Roger that."
Fura and the rest of Ui squad went to Ihei's side as Fura asked Ihei,
"Hairu, are you okay? Hairu!"
She seemed out of it, acting as if she was born yesterday. Only when she examined herself did she slowly realized,
"A hole…Oh…I'm d-"
Soon, Ihei snapped out of her slight delirium and got angry. Angry enough to get up and say,
"Okahira, you still have it?"
"Y-Yes Investigator Ihei."
"Give it to me."
Initially confused, Okahira asked,
"But you injury-?"
"I SAID GIVE ME MY FUCKING QUINQUE!"
Yelled Ihei. Okahira relented and threw her a quinque she reserved for operations such as the one she kept to herself.
"I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL EVERYBODY HERE! THEN I'M GONNA KILL KUZURI AS REVENGE!"
Investigator Ihei's quinque was named T-Human, an Ukaku quinque that resembled Arima's other usual quinque, Narukami. The handle of the quinque resembled a rapier handle, but the weapon itself possessed satellite-like panels, fashioned to look like a cannon. The panels began to spin in a circle, generating a plasma bolt. One seemingly powerful enough to wipe out anybody with terrible force. She aimed her quinque at the ghoul who stabbed her earlier. The resulting shot could be seen by everyone on the floor. Milo felt something powerful coming his way.
"I must hold on…for Master Shuu…"
However, Ihei experienced disappointment again as Harada stood in front of the blast. Fura exclaimed,
"THE HELL YOU THINK YOU'RE…"
Harada used his mutant ability to not just block the plasma bolt from Ihei's quinque, but somehow harness it. The tachyons he emitted allowed him to manipulate the energy within the plasma bolt. Said bolt was still attached to Ihei's quinque. Still reeling from the shock, Ihei's grip on her weapon slightly weakened, which Harada noticed and pulled back his katana as there was still a plasma thread connecting the bolt he still has on his sword and Ihei's quinque. Harada used his mutant ability to absorb more of the plasma energy from Ihei's quinque until the quinque broke apart. Soon, all of T-Human's plasma energy was contained by Harada as a large ball of tachyon-powered electricity. The Investigators and ghouls all stood in awe and terror of Harada's mutant ability. With one hand, Harada wielded enormous power. With the other, Harada took out a smartphone. He says to Investigator Ihei,
"Still think you're invincible?"
Ihei struggled to breathe as not only she suffered from her injury, but also knelled shocked as to how Harada heard this.
"We have ears everywhere in this part of Japan."
He tapped the smartphone in his free hand to play the recording of Ihei's boast from earlier.
Oh, I'm never gonna die. I'm far too strong for any ghoul to kill…
For the first time, fear crept into the heart of Investigator Ihei. A sensation completely new to her. Said sensation was intensified when a recording of her boasting her abilities was heard.
I've had more than 200 kills in my time here, I consider that proof enough that I'm basically invincible…
Fura got angry at Harada for doing something like this but before he could act, Harada yelled,
"THOSE LOYAL TO ICHIRO YASHIDA, CLEAR OUT!"
The ninjas went to the passageway from earlier. As Harada swung his katana, he released the energy at both the Aogiri ghouls and the kagune wall Milo created. Matsumae got out of the way in time as she went out the cracked open window. The Aogiri ghouls instantly became fearful and tried to run, but they were too late as the energy instantly vaporized every ghoul within the room. This gave dread to everyone not a ninja on the floor. None more so than Matsumae as she got back inside and went Milo's side. She sees Milo still in one piece but coughing up a little blood due to the impact of the energy that killed all the Aogiri ghouls.
"Are you all right?"
Milo coughed up a little before replying,
"I'll live…help me up."
Matsumae nodded and did as he asked. After that, the Black Clan ninjas soon returned to Harada's side. He says to them,
"Wipe out the Investigators. The ghouls are mine."
The ninjas nodded before focusing their attention at the Investigators. Before carrying Ihei, Fura says to Investigator Kijima,
"Kijima, hold the fort until I get backup."
"What?!"
"I have to get Investigator Ihei out of here! Please!"
Kijima grunted before replying,
"You better get backup."
"I swear!"
Fura then says to Okahira,
"Okahira, help me carry her!"
"Yes sir!"
Both carried Ihei out of the floor to the one below it. Kijima felt his back against the wall as the remaining ninjas slowly crept closer to his squad. Furuta says to him,
"Feeling any regrets, boss?"
Kijima remained focused on the task ahead of him, but still replied,
"Too late for regrets…"
While Harada focused on the two ghouls ahead of him as he walked toward them.
"Your master will be too late to stop what is happening."
Matsumae remained stoic while still holding Milo.
"Let me go."
"You sure?"
"What matters…is that Master Shuu succeeds."
"I admire your loyalty…"
Harada stopped for a moment and pointed his katana at them.
"Kneel…and I will grant you a merciful death."
Matsumae summoned her kagune once more, as did Milo. This time, his took the form of an arm blade, similar to Matsumae's.
"We were trained to be warriors on behalf of the Tsukiyama family."
Said Matsumae with Milo added,
"Anything less is to smear the name we serve."
Harada smiled before saying,
"Then I have the pleasure to give you…a warrior's death."
xxxxxx
The X-Force made it to the 14th floor. Danny remarked to himself,
"We're almost there, Kaneki…"
Just then, Saiko sees some people going downstairs from the previous floor.
"Possible incoming!"
"I see them!"
Said Shirazu as he readied his kagune. However, he stopped as soon as recognized someone.
"It's Fura, and he got Investigator Ihei."
Hisako instantly got worried when she saw Hairu in an injured state.
"Hairu!"
Fura recognized the voice that called out Hairu's name.
"Investigator Ichiki?"
"Fura. What's happened?"
"We encountered two Rosé ghouls blocking our way to the remaining upper floors. Before we could fight them, we got more headaches to fight against."
"Harada?"
Asked Urie. Fura replied,
"Him, about 60 ninjas, and Aogiri. We were fighting all of them. During that, Investigator Ihei faced off against a ghoul and…well see for yourself…"
The X-Force all see the gaping wound on Ihei. Hisako almost wept when she saw Hairu carrying such a fatal wound. Danny sees this as well and says,
"Let me handle this."
All eyes were on Danny when he said that. Fura asked,
"Can you save her?"
Danny checked for Ihei's pulse on her neck.
"She still alive, but I have to act now. Put her on the floor."
Fura did what Danny said. Shirazu asked,
"You can help her?"
"Yes, but I need concentration."
"Sorry."
Danny took a deep breath before both his hands glowed. The summoning of his ki amazed every Investigator surrounding him. He then placed his hands above Ihei's wound. Soon, Ihei began to glow a little on her own. Her breathing became less ragged, her face looked as if life began to return to her. Danny then says to the X-Force,
"Go on without me."
"Rand?"
Asked Akira.
"This is gonna take a long while with Hairu. Even if I completely heal her wound, her recovery might take on more time than we've got. You have to go on ahead."
Although the X-Force did not want to leave behind Danny, they knew their priority. Akira then says,
"Yonebayashi. Stay behind with the Iron Fist."
"But Maman…"
"That's an order."
Saiko looked depressed. Hisako attempted to remedy it.
"We'll get Kaneki. I promise."
"…okay."
Yukio asked,
"Investigator Fura, is Harada still up there?"
"Last time I checked. You guys better get moving. Kijima squad is holding out position, but I don't know for how long."
"Thank you, Investigator Fura. X-Force, move out."
xxxxxx
Having lost all but Furuta, Kijima squad was reduced to two members. Although it seemed hopeless, Kijima reminded himself of why he saw what he was seeing.
"Both Aogiri and Rosé reduced Harada's forces by half. Then, before they killed the rest of them, my squad took down almost 20 of these ninjas. A lot of them are due to yours truly."
Nevertheless, Kijima felt a great deal of fatigue, and sees the same on his second-hand man.
"Furuta looks like he's on his last legs as well…"
One of the ninjas says to Kijima,
"We'll gladly give you one more chance to surrender."
With a large amount of anger rising within himself (which gave a much needed second wind), Kijima revved up his quinque before replying,
"Ninja please."
Kijima yelled as he went on the offensive. As he fought against said ninjas, Kijima reminded them of why he reduced their numbers in the first place. Kijima's disregard of his own safety played a significant factor in killing Harada's forces. By the time Harada looked at how his forces were faring against the remaining members of Kijima squad, he stood surprised to see his numbers already dwindled to less than a couple handful.
"That scarred Investigator is a maniac…he cares little for his life…"
At that moment, Matsumae says to him,
"Pay attention!"
Harada returned his focus to the two Rosé ghouls he currently fought against. Both Matsumae and Milo proved themselves to be fierce opponents. Instead of anger, he felt humbled to fight against two opponents who held the same convictions as he did. Harada felt that, like him, these two ghouls held virtues of fidelity and duty within them. In his mind, Harada thought to himself,
"I cannot feel but…conflicted…I know why I fight…"
Harada blocked a few attacks from Matsumae and Milo.
"And yet…I share a lot common with these ghouls…"
Harada summoned tachyon particles into his sword to finish the fight sooner. And yet, both ghouls proved themselves much more agile than previously believed.
"This is the kind of fight…I have not seen since…"
For one moment, Harada thought of one member of the X-Force he more than tolerated. Harada thought of Shirazu. At that moment, the tachyon field around his sword began to dwindle a little. Matsumae sees this and exclaimed,
"Now!"
Both ghouls rushed Harada together at the moment they see their opponent faltering for some inexplicable reason. Although Harada defended himself just in the nick of time, he received two cuts from the two ghouls. One from Matsumae evident on his left face cheek, and the other from Milo on his upper right arm. Both bled copiously. Matsumae asked Harada,
"Why does it look like you're doubting yourself?"
Harada touched his face wound before resuming fighting stance.
"Merely a momentary pause…rest assured my master will be done with Ken Kaneki before your master would even look at him again."
"Why say that?"
Asked Milo.
"Because my master will erase that which has given his family nothing but shame and grief."
"Based from I have seen, Ken Kaneki conducted himself with bravery."
"Mariko's bastard is merely an animal playing hero. Nothing can erase what he has done to my master's honor. But that will soon change. Through Ken Kaneki, Master Ichiro will become immortal. The closest thing to a god."
This slightly worried Matsumae.
"Is he that delusional…or it Ichiro Yashida?"
Harada continued.
"Already he is close to reviving Mariko from the dead."
Milo responded,
"Impossible. The dead stay dead for a reason."
"Not for my master. Once he gains immortality, he will finish reviving Mariko…and she will be mine again."
Harada summoned tachyon particles into his sword again.
"This time…no one will steal her from me again!"
As Harada resumed his fight against the ghouls, Furuta saw this as he "recovered" from fighting against the remaining Black Clan ninjas and stood up. Kijima sees this and asked,
"Finally joining in?"
"Well sir…"
Furuta did something truly unexpected and slashed off the arm where Kijima held his quinque. This not only floored Kijima, but the ninjas as well. Both Kijima's arm and quinque flew up in the air. Kijima asked,
"THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"
"Ending the charade."
Before Kijima could talk further, his quinque landed on his head. Still activated, his quinque dug into his skull and rapidly ripped apart his brain. This caused Kijima to act in an erratic manner as he ran toward Matsumae. Matsumae, however, made quick work of him and stabbed his chest and decapitated him. And yet, she stilled reelin from the shock of seeing one of the Doves act in such a treacherous manner. She looks at the dove and sees something most familiar and impossible at the same time. Harada sees this as well and became shocked to see the lone Investigator bear a familiar mutation. Furuta possessed bone claws, two in the top of his knuckles and one from underneath his wrist. Matsumae asked,
"Are you another of Wolverine's children?"
"Please do me a favor…"
At almost blinding speed, Furuta sliced the necks of every ninja still standing. And he did so with a crazed smile on his face.
"Don't compare with that drunken brute."
Furuta then ran toward the ghouls and proceeded to fight them. Although both Matsumae and Milo defended themselves, they noticed that their kagunes became slightly chipped. Although they regenerated the chipped areas, they fact they were chipped in the first place concerned them. Matsumae says to Furuta,
"Allowing your leader to die…and by your hand? Have you no respect?"
Furuta then sliced off both Milo's and Matsumae's arms that held their kagunes. Harada only stood by, seeing someone make easy work of his opponents.
"You're the ones that killed my boss, not me."
Furuta flicked off the blood from his claws.
"It's irritating seeing man-eating monsters acting as if they possess honor. Hell, the sight of seeing people kill each other while acting they something as worthless as honor…pisses me off to no end."
Just as Furuta went for the killing blow for Matsumae first and Milo afterwards, Harada acted in time and blocked said blow with his katana.
"Well this is a plot twist."
Furuta backed off before resuming.
"You're defending these monsters? Talk about being a race-traitor."
Harada asked the two ghouls,
"Can you stand?"
"Why?"
Asked Matsumae.
"Why defend us? We act against your master. Why let us live?"
"…because we are too alike."
This surprised both Matsumae and Milo.
"We…prioritize loyalty and duty above all else. I also felt your emotions as we fought. Finding kindred souls…is honestly something…I believed would never happen."
For Furuta, this made him internally cringe.
"It made me…wish that circumstances would be different…I would have…liked to be friends with the two of you…it even made regret not making a friendship with someone in the X-Force."
Harada held back the emotions he felt right now. At that moment, Furuta made fun of his moment of vulnerability.
"Cry me a river…"
Harada turned his attention to Furuta.
"It's honestly laughable the way you relate to the very monsters that you mutants demonized just to get the humans to stop killing you."
"You are a mutant as well!"
"Not completely…"
Furuta then revealed his kakugan. However, he only had one manifested on his right eye. This shocked not just Harada, but both ghouls as well.
"I was called by another name…"
Furuta brandished his claws to Harada before finishing.
"X-25."
Suddenly, a large, looming figure passed everyone by as it ascended to the upper levels. This worried both Harada and the two ghouls. Furuta, however, simply maintained his smile as he says,
"Well…guess we're not the only ones Ichiro Yashida has lied to…"
Harada ran upstairs to his master. Milo, with his remaining strength, got Matsumae up and says to her,
"We have to hurry Master Shuu!"
Matsumae recovered enough of her strength to run ahead, with Milo right behind her. Before Furuta could run after them, he heard footsteps from the staircase behind him.
"Damn…gotta make this look good…"
Before retracting his claws, he stabbed his left arm, upper right chest, and right leg to create a believable cover. He managed to placed himself in a certain position near the corpse of his "boss" before seeing the X-Force making it to the next floor. The first one to see Furuta "injured" was Akira.
"We got a survivor!"
The X-Force all went to Furuta without stepping on the dead. Akira asked,
"Investigator Furuta, what happened?"
"Harada…"
Yukio then asked,
"He did all this?"
"Well…he used his mutant ability to kill every Aogiri and Rosé ghoul…that were on this floor…"
The team were shocked to hear not only Aogiri reached this floor, but Rosé as well. Furuta continued.
"He ordered his ninjas to kill our entire squad while he handled the ghouls. Investigator…Kijima killed every one of the ninjas before…Harada went for the killing blow…"
The team were further shocked to hear Kijima held out for so long.
"He was willing…to save the ghouls for later…before killing me…"
"Why did he hesitate?"
Asked Yukio.
"Something passed us outside as it rose up to the final floors…something big and definitely a ghoul…"
Just then, Akira received a call. She put the call on speakerphone after answering.
"Madou here."
The one who called was Arima.
'Investigator Madou? Has your team made it to the final floors?'
"Just about. We've discovered that Kijima squad has all been wiped out, save for one survivor. Investigator Furuta."
'…That is unfortunate to hear…What's your status?'
"Investigator Furuta has informed us that a large ghoul has made it to the upper floors and may be in route to Kaneki, sir."
'More unfortunate…'
"Sir?"
Asked Akira as she dreaded to hear the next words out of Arima's mouth.
'The One-Eyed Owl has arrived…'
This news now filled the X-Force with absolute terror.
"Sir?!"
'We've confirmed it for ourselves. When we reached Iwao squad, we've found them taking on Noro. Even with the combined forces of my squad and Itou squad, he was difficult to defeat…'
"But you did defeat him, right?"
'Yes I did…but not without sacrifice…a few minutes after Noro's defeat, we sighted the One-Eyed Owl ascending up Yashida Tower. Whatever the Owl wants with Ken Kaneki, we cannot allow it to reach him. Akira…it's not much of a leap to say that the X-Force is our last line of defense…'
The team did worry about their chances against the One-Eyed Owl for a little while but did not waver in their commitment to rescue Kaneki. Shirazu voiced as such.
"Investigator Arima…"
'Investigator Shirazu?'
"We understand our chances against the One-Eyed Owl, sir. Honestly, it feels like that time we tried to take on Orochi. Before we became the X-Force. But…we're not gonna stop until we rescued Mr. Kaneki. We refuse to fail him…and we refuse to stop…"
Shirazu accurately reflected the emotions of the team itself.
'Investigator Shirazu…I'm starting to see why he made that call…'
Although he tried to hide it, Shirazu blushed a little. Saiko did not hesitate to bust his chops a little, but Hisako stopped her from saying anything by grabbing her left shoulder and whisper,
"Don't ruin it for him, please."
Saiko pouted a little. Akira then said to Arima,
"We're advancing right now. Madou out."
As soon as she hung up, she asked Shirazu,
"Investigator Shirazu?"
"Right…let's go."
xxxxxx
(The final floors)
Shuu finally made it to where Kaneki was held.
"Étonnant…" (Astounding…)
Within the shadows, Sarkissian sneaked her way behind Shuu. She studied ghouls well enough to use a certain chemical concoction to mask her scent. This advantage gave her the opportunity to use her mutant ability on Shuu. Her fingernails were sharp enough to penetrate Shuu's ghoul skin. Not to make him bleed, but to penetrate his neck to deliver a paralyzing poison to stop Shuu in his tracks. Shuu soon knew who paralyzed him as Sarkissian finally faced him.
"Bonjour, Monsieur Tsukiyama. J'espérais que tu n'étais pas…trop gêné pour arriver ici" (Hello, Mister Tsukiyama. I hoped that you weren't…too inconvenienced getting here.)
Shuu wanted to curse, but the poison within him stopped him.
"Please allow me…"
Before she can do anything with Shuu, a sudden break of glass erupted. Sarkissian said with an annoyed tone,
"Great. More broken glass…"
Both see a ghoul with a certain mask on. Sarkissian asked the ghoul,
"Can I help you with something?"
"Da…" (Yes…)
Then the ghoul summoned its kagune, grabbed Sarkissian and threw her aside hard enough to kill her.
"Strib…Schlampe." (Die…Bitch.)
Shuu recognized the ghoul just by the sound of his voice.
"Kanae…is that you?"
Even in his deranged state, Kanae still recognized him. He acted sane in front of what he lived for
"Hello…Master Shuu…"
Part two done. I initially wanted this to be the mid-season finale, but there's a little more story material to flesh out concerning the X-Force, Shuu and Kanae, Harada and Yukio, etc. All of you have one more chapter to look forward to, so no hiatus…yet. Thank you all for reading. Don't forget to leave a review or share with your friends. Also, shoutout to the reviewer on Kuzuri: Route X for the idea of Furuta being Daken. He's a version that I'm going forward with. Thank you for the feedback. Until next time…
