KuzuRe

by Remus973

Tokyo, Japan. After a devastating invasion took place, the city is restored to is former state. However, ghouls still lurk in the darkness, hunting for humans to feed upon. The Ghoul Countermeasure Bureau (GCB) creates an enhanced squad to exterminate all ghouls, once and for all. Leading the squad, they assign Haise Yashida, who possesses an effective, and very familiar, mutation.

2. Ch02

Welcome back. I hope you've all enjoyed the first chapter. For this one, Torso encounters a young woman who knows him, in some way. She brings a message from Aogiri Tree. Meanwhile, the Quinx squad work tirelessly to capture and exterminate Torso. Albeit, divided. One more note, the title. To clear up any confusion, the Re in KuzuRe is to be read as "Ri", like the previous entries. Without further ado, here we go.

Ch.02 – discover: Kept in the dark

(nighttime)

The young woman relayed the message from Aogiri to Torso.

"You've been feeding too much. The doves are already tracking you down."

"The GCB…? Okay, I'll try to keep a low profile. One more thing, I have that thing you wanted."

Torso reached for his left pocket to bring out a USB stick. The young woman grabbed it from his hand and placed it in her purse. Torso says to her,

"The hackers say that getting that from the Yashida Industries network wasn't easy. They were even almost discovered. Just letting you know."

After a pause of silence, the young woman then said,

"Have you heard of Quinxes?"

"No."

"I don't know much about them either, but from what I heard, they're sort of like mutants. Except their powers are much closer to ghouls. One of them could have a heightened sense of smell. If you keep up like you have before, you'll become a leak. So watch yourself from now on."

"Got it…"

As the young woman looked at the city rushing by her in the taxi, how she talked about the Quinxes almost reminded her of someone.

" They almost sound like Kaneki…"

xxxxxx

(Two days later)

Urie and Shirazu met up with Akira at the GCB quinque laboratory.

"Investigator Madou. We're here to pick up out backup quinques."

"Investigators Urie and Shirazu. Good to see you two working together. Any progress with the case?"

"We're doing great!"

Said Shirazi. Urie internally remarked,

" Why did I agree to work with this idiot?"

"We're making decent progress…"

Urie remembered when he and Shirazu met with Chie.

(flashback)

"A photo?"

"Hm-mm. I found one near the scene. I think it's a practice one your ghoul left behind."

Chie looked at what the two Investigators gave her. It was an undershirt belonging to Haise, seemingly unwashed.

"Is this from Haise?"

"We got it from his personal laundry load."

Said Urie with Shirazu adding,

"He was working out in it."

"Sweet!"

Said Chie in a cheery tone, which disturbed both Urie and Shirazu. Urie then shifted his focus back on the photo Chie gave her.

"He took a picture of the victim?"

"That's just sick."

Said Shirazu. Urie asked,

"How was the photo developed so fast?"

"Two words: Instant. Camera."

Chie brought out both her regular camera and an instant camera from her bag, and shows them to the Investigators.

"Instant cameras allow you to develop a photo just as fast as you take them. Fuji Film has most of the market share, but there's a foreign brand that pretty popular here. It's called Immortal."

Chie took two photos. One with the Fuji brand, and another one with the Immortal brand. She then displayed both photos to the Investigators.

"See the difference?"

Shirazu was at a loss, but Urie figured it out.

"The Immortal photo looked faded."

"Gives it a certain kind of effect. On the other hand, the Fuji one doesn't have that kind of filter."

Urie pieced it together.

"Since the photo Torso took is faded, it stands to reason that he's using an Immortal camera."

"Bingo. Since it's a foreign brand…"

Chie took out a specific roll of film. It had the appearance of a camcorder cassette.

"You have to buy it from a specialty store."

(end)

Urie and Shirazu were given their replacement quinques. It was a katana-based one called a Tsunagi. Akira says to the two,

"Don't neglect your quinques just because you have kagunes of your own. This kind of weapon was developed by the former General Chairman Yoshiu Washuu and Ichiro Yashida."

Both Urie and Shirazu noticed the Yashida name being said to them a second time.

"Before the GCB became an international organization, it was primarily a Japanese organization who was tackling the ghoul situation before Charles Xavier revealed their existence to the world. Since then, the U.N had taken notice of our organization and used our experiences as a baseline for all future international branches to follow. What you have in your hands is something that has almost single-handedly drastically improved our effectiveness against the ghouls. Since then, they've been the primary weapon of us Investigators. But now…"

"There's us."

Said Urie. Akira continued.

"Yes…a soldier with the skills and physical abilities of a ghoul. However…even with your enhancements, you're not full ghouls. There are limits to your powers."

"Is this the GCB's attempt to create something equal to an Avenger?"

Akira stood silent before answering Urie's question.

"I can't say for sure. For now, you are the next step in defending humanity from ghouls. And…possibly more…"

After another pause of silence, Shirazu asked,

"Madou…is Mr. Yas a part of Yashida Industries?"

Akira was at a loss of words. Urie explained, hoping to keep his source a secret before Shirazu exposed her.

"It's just Haise's last name is Yashida. Can't be a coincidence."

"…Haise is the great grandson of Ichiro Yashida."

Both Shirazu and Urie were shocked to learn that detail.

"Wow."

"Seriously?"

"Yes…which is why I'm asking the both of you to keep it between us."

xxxxxx

Meanwhile, Haise, Mutsuki and Yonebayashi were on the streets, questioning the friends and relatives of Torso's victims. One of them was a young woman.

"I remember as being beautiful. She had long silky hair that I was jealous of time to time. And you said she was attacked by a ghoul?"

"Yes…"

Answered Mutsuki. Haise then asked,

"I'm sorry to ask you this…but have you seen your friend naked?"

The young blushed a little due to the question. Yonebayashi explained,

"The ghoul that killed her…has a thing for imperfect bodies…"

"Precisely as my colleague says. Did she have any kind of strange birthmarks or moles? Anything that would make her stand out."

"…No. I don't think so."

The three investigators bowed to her as Haise said,

"Thank you for your time."

As they walked away, Mutsuki says to Haise,

"We didn't get anything…"

"That's just how it is sometimes. We just have to keep at it."

As they walked more, Haise asked both Mutsuki and Yonebayashi,

"By the way, are either of you on laundry duty?"

Both nodded no.

"Then who took my undershirt?"

The Investigators continued to interview the friends and relatives of Torso's victims. When they were done, many of the victims all had scars related to medical procedures. The Quinxes soon stopped at a café to put together what they knew.

"Maybe he's attracted to women with scars."

Said Mutsuki. Haise replied,

"But how would he know about their scars in the first place? Either he had a special sense of smell that can detect scars… or he abducts them, and hopes he gets lucky."

Yonebayashi took a sip of her coffee.

"He leaves behind the head, libs, and his kagune secretions."

Haise took out his tablet which had a map of the city.

"Look here."

Both Mutsuki and Yonebayashi looked at the map on the tablet. Circled were the places where Torso struck and hospitals near the areas.

"The crime scenes are also near hospitals that specialize in surgeries. It's not that much of a coincidence to think that these places are where Torso searches for his next victim."

Haise then turned off his tablet and gave the order.

"Let's split up and search area. Question the hospitals as well."

Both Investigators responded,

"Right."

All three Investigators exited the café and searched in their respective areas. Mutsuki's areas had more clinics than hospitals, but was vigilant nonetheless. It was then that he noticed a taxi picking up a woman who just exited a hospital. Mutsuki was near to the cab enough to spot the taxi driver in question. Specifically, his eyes.

" Those eyes…they're the eye of a predator. No question about it."

"EXCUSE ME!"

Mutsuki ran to the cab and took it before the woman could. As Mutsuki rode in the cab, he remembered what Haise said to him if he spotted Torso.

' If you spot somebody dangerous, don't act alone.'

" I know that, but I rushed in anyways. But there just something wrong about this guy…"

Mutsuki asked the driver,

"So…how long have you've been doing this?"

"…About five years."

As the cab drove further, the driver says,

"You know, I look at you and I can't just figure it out."

"What?"

The cab driver stopped the car abruptly as he grabbed Mutsuki with one hand. Mutsuki struggled to breathe. The cab driver revealed that he was a ghoul as Mutsuki struggled to free himself. Sadly, the ghoul proved himself to be stronger than him.

"Let go of me!"

Said Mutsuki. The cab driver yelled back,

"BE QUIET!"

With his other hand, the cab driver opened Mutsuki's shirt, which revealed something truly unexpected. A surgical bra, suppressing her breasts.

"I knew it…You're a girl!"

This violation made Mutsuki remember when the GCB rescued her.

flashback

"We're sorry about your parents."

"The GCB junior academy will provide you with the means to give you a normal life."

"As well as an education for your age."

Young Mutsuki was nervous at the sight of the two Investigators.

"Now, you don't have to become an Investigator after completing school…but if you choose to, just know that there's some preliminary training if you decide to become one."

"It's not the only way to have a better life, but it's a choice for someone of your situation."

After a moment, young Mutsuki says,

"It's…not that I hate ghouls, despite one killing my parents and brother…but there's a place where I can be needed, I'd like to try it. But…there's one thing I want to ask…"

After a pause of silence, young Mutsuki asked,

"Could you…make me…a guy?"

end

Torso was in awe of Mutsuki's secrets. Especially the scars on his body.

"Wonderful!"

Just then, Mutsuki kicked back Torso with his left leg. Which gave enough space to bring out his weapons he kept within his coat. Without knowing, Torso's were sliced. What caused them to be sliced were a pair of quinque knives Mutsuki brought out.

"You're a dove?!"

Mutsuki fought back as hard as he could, but Torso possessed more strength than him. Even after Mutsuki stabbed Torso in the right hand, Torso was relentless in getting Mutsuki to submit to him. The beating Mutsuki received from Torso reminded Mutsuki of a memory he buried so far into the recesses of his subconscious, Torso breathed heavily as Mutsuki was too tired and bruised to resist him any further. Just as Torso was beginning to do to Mutsuki the same to his victims, he noticed a motorcycle speeding its way towards to where he parked. As the motorcycle got closer, it was revealed that two people were riding on it. Specifically, Investigators Urie and Shirazu.

"THERE HE IS!"

"Well, the plate number's right. Taxi 23 driver, Karao Saeki."

Shirazu noticed someone else in the same cab as Torso.

"I think that's Tooru in there!"

Torso used his kagune to pin Mutsuki to the passenger's seat.

"So what if you got friends?"

He went back to the driver's seat, restarted the taxi, and drove away from the two Investigators. Urie yelled,

"FASTER, SHIRAZU!"

"I'LL BE BREAKING THE SPEED LIMIT!"

"WE'RE INVESTIGATORS! IT'S FINE!"

In the cab, Torso was in a state of panic.

" I don't have my mask! DAMN IT!"

As the chase went one, Urie yelled

"SHIRAZU! TAKE OUT HIS TIRES WITH YOUR KAGUNE!"

"ARE YOU F*ING SERIOUS!"

"JUST DO IT!"

Shirazu brought out his kagune. It looked like a spike protrusion emerging from his mid-back. Shirazu's kagune ability was that he could launch claw-like missiles from his back.

"DON'T BLAME ME IF I MISS!"

Shirazu launched his missiles at the cab. Unfortunately, they missed.

"You suck at this!"

"What did I just say?!"

Just then, the sound of a police siren could be heard as a police car raced behind the two Investigators. Urie signaled to the police officers that they were Investigators from the GCB by flicking his wrist upwards from the rear, giving the officers the message that they were chasing someone with a kagune. One of the officers in the car sees this and says to his partner,

"It's a ghoul."

The officers then sped their car to catch up with the cab.

"YOU IN THE CAR! PULL OV-"

Torso reacted quickly as he used his kagune to decapitate the officers matching his speed and derailing the police car. Shirazu remarked,

"Asshole…"

Just as Torso seemed to be in the clear, a roadblock stood in the way of his escape. Shirazu says,

"Got him!"

Urie was surprised at the existence of the roadblock being where it was.

" I didn't call for a roadblock…was this Yashida…?"

Torso stopped the cab and got out with his shirt covering his mask. The Investigators forming the roadblock thought it looked ridiculous but stayed focused.

"Shoot him down!"

As Torso used his kagune to defend himself, Urie and Shirazu attempted to rush him from behind. Shirazu jumped into the air and launched claw missiles at Torso. Baffled, Urie asked,

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Making sure he stays still!"

The claw missiles missed their target, instead hitting the ground near Torso. The explosions heightened his state of panic, making him blind to everything else around. Urie got close enough to slice Torso in various spots across his upper body.

" Damn Quinxes…"

Mutsuki got out of the cab and sees both Shirazu and Urie fighting Torso.

" I gotta fight too…come on, kagune. Get out already…"

Despite the will to aid her comrades, Mutsuki could not summon her kagune as he desired.

" Damn it…"

Both Shirazu and Urie got Torso on the ropes. Despite this, Urie felt frustrated.

" If Yashida stayed out of this, I've could've gotten all the credit for this."

Just as Urie and Shirazu finally got Torso in a weakened state, suddenly another figure appeared.

"Sorry to interrupt…"

The mysterious turned out to be a ghoul as his kagune furiously wiped away the roadblock in front of him. The Quinxes got nervous while Torso felt relief. The ghoul that arrived wore a snake mask.

"But I can't let you have my…acquaintance."

Shirazu asked,

"Who the hell is that?"

Urie answered.

"It's Orochi. I've read about him. He's about rated S."

"Woah…"

Orochi asked,

"Are you three…Quinxes, by any chance?"

" He knows about us…"

Urie internally remarked.

"You doves make me sick, you know that? You're no different from Aogiri. So sick…I JUST WANNA F*K YOU UP FOR EXISTING!"

Despite Urie and Shirazu still feeling fine from almost capturing Torso, Orochi wiped the floor with the two Quinxes. Shirazu jumped in after Orochi performing an axe kick to Urie's head. However, Urie had both his kagune and Quinque out. Urie attempted to hit Orochi, but the ghoul was quicker than the Quinx, and struck Urie with his kagune. Causing Urie to fly backwards and slam into a nearby concrete wall. Orochi says to the Investigator,

"I never hold back against doves. And I can't risk leaving you alive…"

Orochi attempted to kill Urie with his kagune, but Shirazu used his to save his comrade. Orochi then turned his attention to Shirazu.

"The hell was that? A BB gun?"

Shirazu got angry as he said,

"Not a scratch…"

Urie got angry as well as he took advantage of Shirazu distracting Orochi and attempted to slice off Orochi's head. However, Orochi reacted faster than Urie acted and got out of the way. Urie kept slicing away, hoping to hit Orochi.

"Come on! Hit me already!"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M DOING?"

Orochi got close in front of Urie's face and gave a flying spin kick to his face, which made the Investigator fly backwards once again. This time, to the ground. By the time Urie got up, his kagune faded away.

"Dicking around, apparently."

" Damn it…the time limit is still too short…"

Orochi sat upon a pile of car he flipped over earlier.

"You guys are a bunch of posers, you know that?"

Mutsuki saw how everything turned out, ad feared for his life.

" Not even Urie stood a chance against him…I can't move…"

At that moment, Orochi spotted Mutsuki.

"One more?"

" I don't stand a chance…"

Orochi aimed his kagune at Mutsuki.

"Honestly, I think I'd be putting you put of your misery…"

At that moment, Shirazu yelled as he jumped towards Orochi with his kagune out.

"TOORU! LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

Shirazu fired his claw missiles at Orochi.

"TAKE THIS! POINT-BLANK BOMBER!"

The claw missiles exploded at and around Orochi.

"Well that's just stupid…"

Orochi then swiped Shirazu away.

"And a little disappointing…"

Shirazu slid on his face to Tooru's side.

"Ouch…you in once piece, Tooru?"

"Yeah. Thanks…"

"I can't fight any more right now. We gotta get the hell out of here. Run for our lives."

Those last words triggered Urie into a fit of rage as it brought back a memory.

flashback

Two men appeared young Urie to inform him of his father's death.

"Our squad leader ordered us to retreat as he stayed to face the One-Eyed Owl."

Young Urie then received news that would form him into a bitter young man.

"I'm sorry, Kuki. We couldn't protect Special Investigator Urie. We're responsible for his death."

end

"BULLSHIT!"

Urie began to eat himself, which shocked both Mutsuki and Shirazu.

"The f*k you doing?!"

"Feeding so my kagune come back! If I can get my powers up to about rated S, then my odds of getting a white wing badge go up!"

"That's just f*ing crazy!"

"Urie, we have to get out of here!"

"I'd listen to them."

Said Orochi to Urie.

"That whole 'chip on your shoulder' shit is gonna get you killed."

"SCREW YOU!"

Urie kept on feeding himself to the point of madness. In his mind, one word repeated itself.

" PROMOTION!"

Orochi readied his kagune to kill every one of the Quinxes in front of him.

"Alright you three. Time to die."

Orochi's kagune went straight for the trio. The Quinxes were helpless at the moment. Mutsuki, more so. In his mind, he wanted one thing.

" Sensei…"

At that moment before Orochi could do away with the Quinxes…

SNIKT!

Haise arrived. With his claws, he sliced Orochi's kagune into pieces. He stood in front of his squad. While Shirazu and Mutsuki looked with relief, Urie looked with contempt. Mutsuki whispered,

"Sensei…"

"Stay here for a while…"

Replied Haise before he slowly walked toward Orochi. Bemused, Orochi asked,

"Let me guess. Their boss…"

Orochi took notice of the claws from Haise's knuckles.

" Whoa. Those look…"

Haise then ran as he got closer to Orochi. He swiped left and right in order to land a hit on the ghoul with his claws. Orochi kept his distance but closed in as he saw an opening. Orochi took advantage of said opening and swiftly kicked Haise in his face. The force of said kick made Haise hurl to the ground. He also threw up a little blood from his mouth. As he got up, he was stumped as to how to fight Orochi.

" Been quite some time since I face a ghoul like him… what do I do?"

God damn it, Haise.

At that moment, Haise was in a mindscape comprised of nothing but black and white squares. At the center of the mindscape was a young man with white hair and black fingernails wearing nothing but a pair of white pants.

He's gonna kill your squad, and you just f*ing around on the ground.

The young man was now in front of Haise's face.

GET ANGRY! You don't want your friends to die? GET MAD! BE THE ANIMAL YOU WERE BEFORE!

" But I…"

BUT NOTHING! You either go big…or go home. What's it gonna be…Yashida?

Haise knew that if he gave in this part of himself that fed on fighting, he feared he would never be himself again. However, he cared about his squad too much, despite one of them acting insolent to him.

" Fine…"

Mutsuki looked at Haise. He felt that something was troubling him.

"Sensei…"

Shirazu asked,

"Tooru, what's the matter?"

"I don't think sensei feels so…"

Haise roared an animalistic roar. As he did, one of his eyes turned black. Like a ghoul. Both Orochi and the Quinxes were stunned at the sight of Haise roaring like a beast. Such a roar reminded them of what they saw on the news all those years ago.

" It's…it's really him…"

For Shirazu, Haise's roar reminded him why he wanted to be an Investigator. With blinding speed, Haise went toward Orochi with both claws out. Orochi defending himself by using his kagune as a shield, but Haise sliced it into pieces like before.

"It'll regenerate soon…"

Said Urie, which was correct as Orochi's kagune grew back into its original form and size. Haise sees this and says to Orochi,

"Bet that takes a lot of calories to maintain."

"Man, you have no idea…"

Orochi's reply baffled the Investigators.

"I feel like a Saiyan, sometimes. I eat a lot of food only for this thing…"

Orochi pointed to his kagune.

"To take most of it."

Orochi then took something out of his pocket. A Takoyaki wrapped in parchment paper. He lifted his mask to expose his mouth, took a bite out of it, and puts it back into his pocket.

"I'm partial to chocolate, but I went to this shop that offer more flavors. It's really good. You guys should try it. If you survive, that is."

Every Investigator in sight were stupefied at the sight of a ghoul eating regular food in front of them. Always, they ate human flesh to survive. But not Orochi. Haise asked the ghoul,

"How are you able to eat that?"

"Well, it's not exactly rocket science. You put it in your mouth and-"

"NO NOT THAT! Don't you need human flesh to survive?"

Orochi chuckled mirthlessly as he replied,

"I haven't had human flesh in a long-ass while."

Both Haise and the rest of the Quinxes were furthered shock of a ghoul casually saying that he did not eat human flesh for an indiscernible amount of time.

"Anyhow…back to this!"

Orochi rushed toward Haise and delivered a flurry of punches to his stomach before finishing it with a kick and somersaulted Haise away from him. Haise landed on the ground, back first.

Jesus, you are pathetic…

Soon, Mutsuki ran toward Haise, with Shirazu following him.

"SENSEI!"

"Tooru!"

Haise got up before his squad could get to him and raised his left arm to signal them not to get close to him.

"Stay back."

Mutsuki was at a loss while Shirazu replied,

"We can still fight!"

"THAT'S AN ORDER!"

Mutsuki instinctively disobeyed Haise, but Shirazu stopped him from doing so.

"Tooru, stay out of the way."

In his mind, Mutsuki remarked Haise's attitude.

" It's almost like…he's a different person."

Orochi sees Haise walked towards him. This time, there was a gruff nature about him.

"You're definitely different from your lackeys. But I'm still leagues above you."

Haise cracked his neck and responded,

"All right, bub. Show me what you got."

Haise's kakugan returned as he ran toward Orochi with blinding speed once again.

" Whoa. He's quicker than before."

Orochi then noticed cuts on his arms that were not there before.

" Shit, I think he can beat me now…"

Orochi was too focused on avoid Haise that he was inadvertently cornered. Haise then says,

"Got you right where I want you!"

Haise's muscle mass seemed to slowly increase, which caused the sleeves of his dress shirt to slowly rip apart at the seam. This amazed both the squad and Orochi. With the irises of both eyes faded away, Haise delivered a flurry of claw stabs to Orochi while yelling,

"ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!"

With Haise done, Orochi laid against the wall and slumped to the ground. His mask fell off by itself, but his face was still obscured by the shade of his hood. Haise walked closer to Orochi to get a better look on his face.

"Damn…guess you still got it…"

Haise got a look on Orochi's face.

"But…you got yourself brainwashed again…"

The sight of Orochi's face shocked him.

"Kaneki…"

Haise whispered,

"Nishio…?"

Suddenly, Haise felt a rush of memories coming back to him. So much so, it overwhelmed him. Shirazu heard Haise whisper something.

"Who the hell is Nishio?"

Mutsuki asked,

"Shirazu, what's happening with him?"

"Beats me…"

Haise then screamed from the top of his lungs from his mind being overloaded from the rush of information. Orochi took it as an opportunity for an escape. But not before saying,

"Sorry, pal…"

Haise attempted to pursue after Orochi, but still suffered from his breakdown. The Quinxes attempted to help him, but multiple figures garbed in black suddenly appeared. Urie remarked,

"What the hell are they?"

Shirazu guessed.

"They kinda look like ninjas."

Suddenly, two familiar faces made themselves apparent. Yukio and Harada were the only ones whose faces remained unmasked. Harada raised his right arm to give the signal. The ninjas were all armed with bows and arrows. They also seemed to drip with some sort of liquid. They then fired said arrows at Haise. Some of the arrows either missed or were sliced by Haise's claws, but the few that did hit landed on his shoulders and legs. Haise then felt stiff as a board. This shocked the Quinxes. Urie, more curious than shocked.

" I thought they were with him. Why do this?"

Harada then signaled stop. The ninjas stopped firing and withdrew. By the time both Harada and Yukio went to Haise's side, a black car appeared. The driver exited the car while carrying a small white case. He presented the case to Yukio while opening it. It was revealed to be a large syringe with a needle half a foot long. Harada says to Yukio,

"We don't have a lot of time."

"I know."

Yukio quickly walked toward Haise with syringe needle in hand. As she gripped it with one hand, she looked at Haise with a look of pity as she softly said,

"I'm sorry."

Yukio then lunged the needle into Haise's kakugan and injected the liquid directly into Haise's brain. Haise felt limp as he slowly fell unconscious. Harada ran just in time to catch him and carried Haise on his back.

"I'll get him inside."

Mutsuki yelled,

"Wait! Yukio, right?"

Asked Mutsuki to Yukio.

"Where are you taking him?"

"That…is not your concern."

Mutsuki was a little distraught seeing Yukio acting so cold. Shirazu got angry and yelled,

"The hell it ain't! That's our leader you got on his back!"

Shirazu pointed to Harada. Yukio responds,

"Not if our master has any say in the matter."

Shirazu got angry to the point that he brought out his quinque and rushed toward Yukio.

"THE HELL YOU SAY?!"

"Shirazu, don't!"

Said Mutsuki. Yukio looked at the driver, to which he got the message. The driver quickly went back to the car and retrieved a sheathed katana. He then threw it at Yukio. She grabbed the katana just in time for Shirazu to be in range. She quickly unsheathed her katana and defended herself against Shirazu's quinque. Both were in a sword lock. Shirazu was stronger than her, but Yukio knew all techniques in Japanese sword fighting. Enough to hold her own against the Quinx. Shirazu was floored to see this seemingly young woman going up against him.

"What?"

Yukio spoke to him.

"This sword…is hundreds of years old. It was named Danzan by the first samurai who used it. Do you know what it means?"

Yukio slid to her right to throw off Shirazu. As Shirazu was off-guard, Yukio sliced both his hands clean off his arm. The Quinxes were flabbergasted at the sight of a human defeating a Quinx with ease. Shirazu was on his knees as he entered a state of shock at the sight of his hands on the ground and his arms bleeding away. It was almost surreal for him.

"Separator."

Yukio cleaned her katana of Shirazu's blood.

"Ideal for separating limb…"

She placed the sharp edge of her katana on Shirazu's neck.

"Or head from body."

She sheathed her katana and walked back to the car. She says to Harada,

"We're done here."

With Haise in tow, Harada and Yukio left the scene. With no ghouls either apprehended or kill today, the Quinxes felt lost as to what to do next. It was then that a number of cars arrived. The Quinxes all saw Akira with Hirako squad. Alongside them was Yonebayashi. She saw her comrades in a state of disarray and went to them. She asked,

"Where's Maman?"

The Quinxes did not say anything as they were still at a loss of what just happened. Yonebayashi then sees Shirazu with his hands cut off.

"Shirazu!"

While Hirako squad investigated the area, Akira went to Shirazu and asked him,

"What happened?"

"…Someone took Haise…"

This made Akira panic a little. She asked,

"By who? Aogiri?"

"Haise was taken by his people."

Said Urie. Akira asked,

"His people?"

Mutsuki clarified.

"A couple of people Haise personally knew came here to get him after he…"

"Went berserk?"

Said Akira. Mutsuki felt a little surprised that Investigator Madou knew about this and silently nodded yes. Akira then said,

"Were their names Yukio and Harada?"

This time, the three Quinxes that witnessed the whole event were surprised by what Akira knew. Mutsuki says,

"Y-Y-Yeah. Haise talked to them about the Torso case, but only in how to get the information we needed"

Akira grunted in an angry way when Mutsuki mentioned that fact. Hirako overheard this and said,

"You do realize that Investigator Yashida committed a misdemeanor, at best."

Mutsuki spoke up for Haise.

"Haise didn't mean it! We were just trying to figure out about Torso and how to prove ourselves to everyone else! That's all."

Akira assuaged Mutsuki.

"I know that Mutsuki. But the fact of the matter is this. Haise shared highly confidential information with civilians. Worse…he shared it with them…"

Akira went to Shirazu's side and picked him. Yonebayashi stuck by his side while Urie got up himself. Akira then ordered the Quinx squad.

"Go back to the Chateau. Me and Investigator Arima will take care of everything."

The Quinxes collectively felt a little nervous when Akira mentioned bringing Arima into the situation. Urie simply responded,

"Right."

Urie said to the squad,

"Let's go home."

xxxxxx

(The next day)

Haise woke up in his bed. Not the bed he slept in the Chateau, but the bed he laid previously when he used to go home from work in the GCB. The walls felt familiar to him as it was the same walls he looked at when he lived with his grandfather, grandmother, and great-grandfather in the spacious and traditional Japanese home within the first ward. It was modeled after the ancestral home of the Yashida clan before the Sengoku era. A fact Haise's grandfather never forgot to drill into his head. As he got up his futon he got dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants. He exits his room to walk around the Yashida household. Eventually, he found his grandmother, Tomoe, and his grandfather, Shingen. While Shingen was cold as usual, Tomoe welcomed back Haise with open arms.

"Haise!"

"Hello Grandmother."

"It's good to see you again. I thought you decided to move out."

"Something I would have no problem with."

Said Shingen, in his usual demeanor. Tomoko scolded her spouse.

"Shingen, that's no way to speak to Mariko's son."

Haise was comforted by the fact that he received nothing but love from his grandfather and great-grandfather. It was his grandfather that gave him nothing but grief.

"We never had a daughter."

That last statement struck a chord with Haise. Although he did not remember his mother, the way Shingen spoke about her with such spite made him angry.

"Yes you did. And you have no one to blame but yourself for that."

What Haise just said made Shingen angry. He stomped towards Haise and slapped him in the face.

"YOU BRING NOTHING BUT SHAME TO THIS FAMILY!"

"Funny! The way you run the family business, that's like the pot calling the kettle black!"

Shingen got so angry; his face turned red. Tomoe attempted to stop the two from fighting.

"Please, not now."

"Silence woman!"

"Don't talk to grandmother that way!"

"And you should've never been-"

Just then, Shingen felt a needle on the back of his neck. Both Haise and Tomoko saw Yukio appear from the back without anyone noticing.

"Could you try to keep it down? Master Ichiro is speaking with some important people."

Yukio withdrew the needle, much to Shingen's relief, but instantly turned angry at Yukio for what she did.

"Haise, Master Ichiro requested your presence."

"Right…"

Before Haise left with Yukio, he said to his grandmother,

"I'm sorry for what happened, grandmother."

He bowed before leaving with Yukio. Tomoe looked on with worry while Shingen expressed his discontent.

"Mariko always looked for ways to piss me off."

Tomoko slapped her husband in the face.

"Sometimes I wonder if you were born pissed at the world…"

Tomoe left to another part of the house that did not have Shingen in it. While Yukio led Haise to where Ichiro was. During the walk, Haise asked Yukio,

"Did you really have to bring the cavalry last night?"

"You got berserk. Didn't leave me much choice…"

As they got closer, Haise could hear his great-grandfather speaking with a couple of familiar voices.

"Master Ichiro have been arguing with Investigators Arima and Madou since this morning. It got heated for a while."

"As long as it didn't go catastrophically bad…"

Before opening the door, Yukio asked Haise,

"Before we go in, I wanted to ask you…did you remember anything when you went…?"

Haise took a moment to think about what came to him last night, but the more he thought about it, the more his mind gave him physical pain. Which Yukio noticed.

"Stop."

Haise did as Yukio asked.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine, Yukio."

Yukio turned around to slide the doors open.

"Master Ichiro, I have brought Haise as you requested."

"Thank you, Yukio."

Yukio bowed before getting out of Haise's way. Haise sat down at a spot on the table between Investigators Arima and Madou and Ichiro. Before Yukio closed the door, she noticed Madou giving some side-eye, indicating great displeasure. Yukio dismissed it and left. Haise felt as if he entered a battlefield. Arima began to speak first.

"Haise, do you know why you're here?"

"…Like…in the grand scheme of things or for what I did yesterday?"

"…Yesterday."

Haise laughed nervously as he knew Arima's question was anything but a rhetorical one.

"Well, I know I went berserk yesterday. I'm guessing Orochi knew something about me if he could trigger my berserker rage like that."

"Berserker rage?"

Asked Ichiro.

"It was something my father had when he was under the control of Weapon X."

"And how do you know about that?"

Haise hesitated to answer. Arima did so for him.

"The GCB file library, I assume?"

Haise nodded yes.

"It's where we keep all information from the details of our operations to the intricate knowledge of ghouls themselves. One section of our collective files is dedicated to Weapon X. It's most likely he read everything our organization had on his biological father. As well as…"

"The fate of my granddaughter…"

Ichiro had a sullen look on his face when he heard what happened to Mariko. Akira then reminded everyone of why they were all here.

"More importantly…Haise."

She gave him a look to successfully expressed how displeased she was about mentioning the details of the torso case to someone outside the GCB.

"You talked about the Torso case with Yukio. You know what come with that."

"Dismissal…"

"Exactly! It's because she knew that you were on the Torso case that she basically kidnapped you."

"I only gave Yukio an assignment to watch over my great-grandson if he ever went berserk. He would've killed your Quinx squad if Yukio intervened."

"And how do you know about-?"

Arima raised his hand at Akira, signaling her to stop.

"Regardless, the fact that one of our Investigators spoke about classified matters to a civilian is a grave mistake any one of our operatives, field or otherwise, can make. Therefore…I come to you with a proposition."

"I'm listening."

Said Ichiro.

"Haise will stay at the Chateau for the foreseeable future. His work with the Quinx squad is paramount for our organization's efforts against the ghouls. In return, two of your people will stay alongside Haise."

This compromise shocked both Akira and Haise. Akira, more so.

"Sir, you can't be serious!"

"Akira…you do know that Yashida Industries that develops a large chunk of our weaponry?"

"Yes sir, but that doesn't mean we should submit ourselves to an authority outside the chain of command."

"Agreed. But the fact is this. Why this arrangement is happening is quite frankly…"

Arima turned his head to face Akira.

"Well above your paygrade."

Akira could only stay silent as she dared not to go against Arima.

"As I was saying, two of your people will stay within the area of the Chateau to maintain surveillance of your great-grandson. I will even arrange for them to have a kind of deputy status within the GCB. Bear in mind, they will only have access pertaining to Haise's well-being. Nothing more or less. Those are my terms to you, Mr. Yashida."

Ichiro took a moment to think on the deal Arima presented to him. He liked the idea that he could assign two people he could trust to maintain an eye on Haise's health within the organization. On the other hand, it would mean that his great-grandson would have to stay somewhere far from the main household. Before making his choice, Ichiro spoke with Haise.

"Haise, you remember when you came to this house?"

"Well, before that, it was all a blurry haze. I remember you coming to see me. Telling me that you were great-grandfather. After that, you and Yukio took me here. A place that I would come to call home. Grandmother was the only one who open her arms for me. Grandfather on the other hand…less so."

"Yes…"

Ichiro nodded, knowing what his son thought of Haise.

"I stayed only in the house for a long time. The first few months, I didn't mind. But sometime afterwards, I started to get a little…restless."

"Was that the reason why you went to the docks?"

"Well, that didn't come until a couple of days later I sneak out…but to my credit, I didn't get into trouble with the cops. I just wanted to get out."

"Understandable…So, why the underground fighting?"

"…because…sometimes I would ger little pieces of memory of me fighting…sometimes it was ghouls, sometimes, mutants gone bad, or even…supervillains, I think. I needed a place to work out these instincts. But they stayed with me."

"I could tell that day."

Said Arima.

"What I heard about you, it sounded something like something that would help in the fight to protect humanity. It wasn't just the GCB needing something like you. Rather…I needed someone like you. Someone who possessed the skills worthy of a champion. Worthy of an Avenger."

Haise was humbled that Arima compared him to a member of the Avengers.

"Haise, I will still guide you to being the best that you can be. All I ask…is that you avoid mistakes such as these."

"I'll do that in the future."

"Thank you."

Seeing the bond that Haise made with Arima, he agreed with the terms presented to him.

"Very well. Yukio."

The door sild open as Yukio asked,

"Yes master?"

"You and Harada are assigned to watch over Haise as he stays with the Quinxes in the future. However…you are not to interfere with his Investigations."

"What of his…treatments?"

Arima asked,

"What treatments?"

"For his amnesia."

Arima was curious as he did not know about Haise receiving treatment for his memory loss.

"That's news to me."

Haise explained.

"Forgive me, Investigator Arima. It slipped my mind. I take my memory recovery treatments here. Great-Grandfather has created a room where our family receives our medical care. He takes it for his cancer treatments. Grandmother and Grandfather have their checkups. And I have my memory-loss treatments here as well."

Arima was still curious, but he put it aside. For now.

"I see…well, if it doesn't interfere with your Investigations, then you'll return here for said treatments."

"Then we have achieved a consensus."

Said Ichiro. Both Arima and Akira stood up and bowed to Ichiro. Both Haise and Ichiro bowed back in return. Yukio guided the two Investigators to the entrance of the Yashida household, where a car waited for them. Yukio bowed to the two Investigators as they left. Before that, Akira spoke with Yukio.

"Before I leave, I want to say something to you"

"Yes?"

"…I don't like you."

Yukio remained stoic while Arima expressed mild surprise.

"Mind you, this isn't coming from a place of insecurity. Or anything so stereotypical. My dislike of you is your disregard of boundaries."

"How so?"

"First, you trick Haise into divulging classified information by taking advantage of his need to please his superiors. Then you kidnap him in front of his own subordinates. But worst of all, you injured one of our Investigators! I may not be privy to everything that happens between Investigator Arima and Haise's family, but rest assured. you pull shit like that again, and they'll have to fire me for what I'll do to you."

Yukio remained stoic as she replied,

"What I do is under the purview of my master. I will do what I have to fulfill my master's orders."

"And there's no line you will cross?"

"…None. You keep on hating me if you like. It matters not to me."

Akira and Yukio stared at each other with relentless but subtle animosity. Arima then says,

"Akira."

"Yes sir…"

Akira went to the car where Arima waited for them. Before the car left, Arima asked Yukio,

"Would you make sure that Haise arrives at the Chateau at least by tomorrow?"

"I will personally make sure of that."

"Thank you."

As the car left, Yukio returned inside. She went to Haise's room, where she saw Haise packing up his clothes.

"Getting ready, I presume?"

"Yeah. Grandmother was a little heartbroken, but Great-Grandfather explained everything. Grandfather…"

"Decided to celebrate early?"

Haise sighed as confirmation to Yukio's guess.

"He hates me."

"He hates everyone. Himself, most of all. It's because of his father issues."

"Who doesn't?"

"You and me, for starters."

Both laughed a little before Haise resumed packing.

"Grandmother was sad to hear me leaving."

"Leave Tomoe to Master. You focus on your job for now."

"Right. So, how far will you and Harada will be?"

"Not far. I'm sure that Master Ichiro will locate a suitable place for us to stay."

"You and Harada?"

"…are you assuming something?"

"No. I'm just impressed that you and him get together without anything happening."

Said Haise in a playful voice. Yukio proceeded to chop him on his forehead.

"Get back to packing."

"R-Right."

xxxxxx

(A few hours later)

At the chateau, the Quinxes were around the house. Each of them lamented on what happened last night in their own ways. For Mutsuki, he was worried about Haise. He wanted to know how he was, and if he was safe.

" Sensei…"

For Shirazu, he felt the same way as Mutsuki, but he was also concerned about how Yukio was able to defeat a Quinx like him.

" I thought I was stronger than someone like her, at least…"

Yonebayashi was in her room, playing games and eating snacks. It was her way of coping of what happened last. For Urie, however, he was angry at himself for allowing Torso and Orochi to get away due to his own weakness.

" I need to be better. I can't get the promotion I need to get the hell out of here."

Although for different reasons, last night made an impact on the Quinx squad. All shared the conclusion that unless things change, the Quinx squad will be seen as a monumental failure of the GCB. It was at that moment that the doorbell rang and the door opened. Each of the Quinx that were in the area of the door went to see Haise arriving with a couple of suitcases in tow. Mutsuki was the first to speak.

"Sensei!"

"Hi, Mutsuki. Glad to see you okay."

"Me? What about you?"

"For real, Mr. Yas. How'd you survive?"

Haise understood the panic in their voices.

"Well, first of all, I'm fine. Yukio and Harada sent me home due to me entering my berserker rage."

"Berserker rage?"

Asked Urie. Haise explained,

"It's…something…Weapon X installed into my…genetic code."

Each of the Quinxes present were curious about the reason why Haise acted the way he did last night.

"When they kidnapped me at a young age, because I was Wolverine's son, Weapon X wanted to turn me into a weapon."

The Quinxes each reacted to this detail. Some less than others.

"Before they were metal, my claws were bone. The process they did on my father…they did on me…"

Mutsuki asked,

"Did…did your father rescue you from that?"

"…I honestly don't know. Some of my memories are still lost when I came back."

The only one who did not feel anything for Haise was Urie.

"And yet, I don't see you rejecting what they gave you."

"Urie."

Said Mutsuki with Shirazu adding,

"Not cool."

"It's okay."

Said Haise with Mutsuki protesting,

"But sensei-"

Haise raised his hand to signal Mutsuki to stop. He then says to Urie,

"Please continue."

"Alright…you come back here telling that you're going to live here, and give us a sad story so we feel sorry for you."

"I said all that because I want us to feel more like a team. Something you seem to object to."

"What I object to is hypocrisy. You sound like you regret your powers, but you use them to be an Investigator almost equal to Arima! For someone who seems to hate Weapon X, you almost look grateful for what they gave you!"

That last comment made Yukio drop Haise's luggage and wanting to slice one of Urie's body parts clean off. Harada grabbed her before she could do anything, signaling her to let Haise handle Urie. Haise felt his anger rising, but kept it even as he says to Urie in an eerily calm tone,

"What they gave me…I didn't get a choice in the matter. Because they never gave me one. They took me from my family…and made me a killer. Meanwhile you…you signed up for being a Quinx. Whatever reasons you have for doing so, right here, right now…you're a killer. You wanted this…"

Haise slapped Urie in his face hard.

"So don't bitch at me if you suck at this."

That slap shocked the Quinxes present.

"More importantly, you've shown how ill-suited you are in being squad leader. Your conduct in engaging Orochi is inexcusable. There is never a reason for risking the lives of your squad members."

Urie contained his anger at Haise as he replied,

"There's also never a reason to show your back at a ghoul."

"If you continued to engage with Orochi, you would've been dead for sure! If you encounter a ghoul more powerful than you, run like hell! No matter what!"

It was those words "run like hell" that pushed Urie. However, he kept his composure.

"I only acted in the best interests of the squad."

"I sincerely doubt that. Which is why I am relieving you of the position of squad leader."

Urie remained calm , despite his anger rising further.

"It's often the rule that the highest ranking officer is the de-facto squad leader."

"Usually yes. But we're not talking about me. We're talking about you, and your disregard for your teammates. You cannot treat your teammates as an afterthought. I know I never treated you as such."

What was supposed to be words of compassion, Urie took it as an insult.

"EASY FOR YOU TO SAY! OF ALL THE FREAKS THAT LIVE IN THIS HOUSE, YOU'RE THE STRONGEST!"

That statement made everyone within range mad at Urie for a different reason. Since he was the closest, Shirazu punched Urie in the stomach while yelling,

"URIE! YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

Urie bent over because of the shock of Shirazu's punch. Shirazu then grabbed Urie by his shirt collar and admonished him.

"Mr. Yas put his life on the line for us! AND YOU GOT THE BALLS TO CALL HIM A FREAK?! I OTTA KILL YOU RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

" Go for it, you f*king nerd…"

"Urie…"

Said Mutsuki, getting Urie's attention.

"I…I want you to apologize to Sensei…he doesn't deserve what you're calling him…"

" Useless hypocrite…"

"Shirazu, let him go."

Said Haise as Shirazu did what he told him.

"I've already my choice about Urie. And the new squad leader. I'm appointing…"

Haise pointed to Shirazu.

"Him."

Everyone in the room were collectively surprised at Haise's decision. Even Yukio and Harada. Harada whispered to Yukio,

"It that the hot-blooded idiot you talked about last night?"

"…Pretty much."

Shirazu eventually expressed what everyone was feeling after taking a moment to process.

"Me…? HOLD ON, MR. YAS! Usually it's someone smart that takes that job. Hell, Saiko is better than me in academics."

"Shirazu, you're a lot more qualified than you know. For me, a leader is someone who works for the team instead of the other way around."

Shirazu only had one thing to say.

"Okay…"

As Haise shook his hand, Shirazu asked,

"What the hell does a squad leader do?"

"We'll talk more about it tomorrow. Right now…"

"Right!"

With newfound confidence, Shirazu gave his first order.

"Urie! Help those two move Mr. Yas's stuff to his room."

Urie closed his mouth to hide the fact that he was grinding his teeth as he was now under Shirazu's command, making him feel further from his goal.

"Fine."

Urie went to where Harada stood and grabbed the two luggage bags. He then went back to the Chateau to put them in Haise's room, but not before Shirazu saying,

"Urie…you disobey me, and I'll eat you!"

Shirazu laughed while Urie's anger and indignity went to new heights. Yukio then went to Haise and says to him,

"We'll be nearby if you need us."

"Thanks Yukio."

She bowed as she and Harada soon left Haise with the Quinxes. After Urie and Shirazu helped Haise fully unpack, Haise then prepared dinner for his teammates. The smell of food was enough for Yonebayashi to get out of her room. She was elated to see Haise okay. As she ate the dinner along with her comrades, she was given the update of the squad. When she heard Haise was going to stay in the Chateau, she was happy to hear such news. Then she felt a little melancholy when she fond out the Urie was no longer squad leader. But what she felt most was absolute befuddlement when she was given the news that Shirazu would be squad leader. Needless to say, that day was eventful for everybody. By the time dinner was settled, everyone was already for bed. Haise was the first to head to his room, but not before saying to everyone,

"Good night, everyone."

Everyone but Urie responded back. As Haise went back to his room, Shirazu spoke with Urie.

"Urie…"

"Yeah what?"

"I wanted to say sorry about threatening to eat you. I didn't mean it like that."

Urie had a blank stare on his face.

"I mean…I did like that Mr. Yas made me in charge, so a lot of that was just like…power in my head or something like that…but I do want to earn respect from you and I want you to respect me…so like, tomorrow let's start over. Be a better team."

Shirazu put his right hand forward to Urie. Urie shook Shirazu's hand.

"Sure. I look forward to that."

" Idiot. Yashida is gonna regret the day he put this dipshit in charge. By the time he does, I'm already out of here. Just gotta keep tabs on my anger from now on."

Haise was in his room, leaning against the door. As he did, he slowly felt a wave of sadness washing over him. So much so, he began to cry. What Urie called him left a bigger impact than he thought.

Xxxxxx

Meanwhile, in another house within the same neighborhood as the Chateau, Yukio was finishing up making dinner for herself and Harada. She then retrieved a pair of plates and silverware, placed both dinner and silverware on the plates, and carried them upstairs to the second floor. As she walked toward the last door on the left, Yukio knocked on it with her left foot.

"Dinner."

The door open to reveal Harada standing in front of a large computer monitor displaying six different camera feeds.

"How is he?"

Harada retrieved his dinner as he says,

"He just finished having dinner with his comrades. Good thing we had the whole squad distracted as we planted."

"So nobody is the wiser?"

"No one. Not even the hikikomori of the squad. One of my men planted the camera with no problem."

"Really?"

Harada pointed to the camera feed showing Yonebayashi in her bed playing on a gaming device.

"Well, that's just careless."

"Still, we got the job done."

"That was just the setup. The real job starts now."

Harada then sees Haise crying in his room. Seeing him cry reminded Harada of someone he and Yukio used to know. Yukio commented,

"He has a lot of his mother in him."

"Yes…but he also shows his father as well."

Responded Harada.

"I know…but remember…"

"We have our orders."

All camera feeds each show the rooms of the Quinxes and the front living room with Harada and Yukio staring at the screen.

And this is our stop. Thank you all for reading. I hope to have the next chapter out by the end of the month. I'll see you all until then. Treat each other with kindness, because the world is cruel enough itself. TTFN!