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.

6. Ch06

Welcome back, readers. I hope you've all enjoyed the last chapter. Especially the appearance of Deadpool for some readers. If any of you are worried that Deadpool's characterization from either the comics or movies is gonna hijack the story, I assure it won't. This version of Deadpool is different. He actually substitutes a character from the Re; manga. Guess which one? Anyhow, on with the story. In this chapter, Ohshiba squad has their hands full with Nutcracker, The Quinxes are split between different parts of Zeum Hall, and Investigator Washuu hides a certain agenda as the Auction operation draws to a close.

Chapter 06 – cover: To thine own self, be true

(One hour earlier)

Ohshiba squad arrived at the area where their leader believed the Madames currently hid.

"All squad members, secure the control room!"

"Yes sir!"

Replied the squad at the same time.

"The Madames are here somewhere. I know it."

Unfortunately for the squad, Nutcracker waited above them, holding on to some of the ceiling piping to stay above the Doves. She relished at how clueless her predators acted right now. Not wanting to waste an opportunity, Nutcracker targeted Investigator and dropped towards him. One of the Investigators near Ohshiba looked up and sees Nutcracker lunging toward the squad leader and yelled,

"INVESTIGATOR OHSHIBA, ABOVE YOU!"

The leading Investigator looked up, sees Nutcracker summoning her kagune and instantly blocked it with his quinque. Nutcracker landed on her feet and zig-zagged to elude the Investigators out to kill her. Investigator Ohshiba commented on the nature of her kagune.

"It's a bikaku. Rated A, most likely."

He then says to his fellow Investigators,

"Although we outnumber her, watch yourselves! Bikaku-type kagunes are a bitch to fight against."

"Yes sir!"

Responded the rest of the squad simultaneously. Although the Investigators evaded her attacks, Nutcracker proved herself to be a lot nimbler than they all thought. Investigator Ohshiba says to the squad,

"Hold her!"

One of the squad members uses his quinque to pin her kagune to the floor.

"Nice work!"

Investigator Ohshiba leapt up to land the killing blow. Nutcracker sees the smile on Ohshiba's face and chuckles at the arrogance behind said smile. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, something quickly emerged from the ceiling and stabbed Ohshiba in his left leg, which greatly shocked both Ohshiba and the rest of his squad.

"She…planted that there…"

Nutcracker leaned backwards as her kagune lifted her to fling the Investigators that pinned her earlier, severely injuring the majority of them in the process. She soon freed herself from the Investigators that crowded her. Ohshiba felt floored at how capable Nutcracker was than reported.

"Does she have another type of kagune?"

Investigator Ohshiba got on his radio and reported Nutcracker's newly discovered capabilities.

"This is Ohshiba…Nutcracker possess a compound kagune…She's got a kokaku with her bikaku!"

Before Ohshiba finished his report, Nutcracker interrupted him in the nastiest way possible. She used one of the heels of her stilettos to crush one of Ohshiba's testicles to bloody mush. A loud crunch presented itself before Ohshiba yelled his loudest scream, foam forming at the sides of his mouth before passing out from the pain. Nutcracker ripped off the crotch portion of Ohshiba's pants and picked up the busted pieces of one of Ohshiba's balls she personally cracked to hell and ate them.

"Mmm…yummy…"

Then Nutcracker sees a female Investigator within Ohshiba squad and instantly went to her. Nutcracker grabbed the Investigator by the face to examine her "qualities."

"Big round eyes…perfect forehead…luscious lips…you're beautiful…"

Nutcracker proceeded to eat her entire face before moving on to the rest of the squad. The only one who escaped was Investigator Hayashimura.

"Need to get backup…"

xxxxxx

Both Mutsuki and Urie stopped due to Urie receiving a call on is earpiece.

"Investigator Urie, I want you to locate the Madames."

"What about Investigator Mutsuki?"

"Take him with you if you have to."

Urie was tempted to follow Investigator Washuu's orders instead of Haise's. However, Urie remained steadfast in following the orders given to him.

"I apologize, Investigator Washuu. I have my orders."

"I see…"

Investigator Washuu then gave Urie an offer the young Quinx always desire since being a part of the Bureau.

"I'll see to it that you're fast-tracked into the S3 squad."

Urie shook with excitement when he found himself so close to his goal.

"If they don't have an opening, I'll make one on your behalf. All I need you to do…is locate and kill the Madames. As well as any guest in your sights."

Succumbing to his temptations, Urie accepted the offer presented to him. He then says to Mutsuki,

"Sorry about the sudden stop. I got lost for a moment."

"…It's fine. But it looked like you were on your earpiece…"

"That was because I was listening in on the chatter. See if we're close to where the Bureau convoy is."

"Okay…you know…"

"Yeah…"

"I think it's amazing at how quick you responded to an overwhelming situation."

"No, it's not…"

"You're just fucking useless. All of you are…"

"When I saw all those guests, the way they all looked at me as if I were some sort of…zoo animal…I panicked a little and couldn't do anything…"

"Looks like Investigator Washuu was right about the guests being here…"

"All those people?"

"Yeah. Even though it was dark, I'd say there were a couple hundred of them."

Internally, Urie expressed excitement.

"Great. A couple hundred ghouls hiding somewhere…I kill them all, that'll get me a promotion for sure. It could even get me in S3. Although…there have been no sightings of the guests. If they're hiding somewhere…then there has to be some sort of underground facility."

Mutsuki sees Urie deep in thought and asked him a question.

"Urie…"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you train alone?"

"…Maybe so I can focus."

"Without your dipshits holding me back."

"Besides, I know you all will be fine without me."

"That's not true!"

Urie stopped once again due to the surprise rebuttal from Mutsuki.

"Shirazu doesn't show it, but I know he wants to know how to be a better squad leader from you. And Yashida-sensei…he needs you most of all. Just like I do right now…"

Mutsuki felt some pain within him, which concerned Urie.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm fine…it's just my injuries…anyhow, let's go after them."

"…You sure?"

"Yeah…I'm not done yet."

xxxxxx

Back in the command trailer, Investigator Washuu got approached by one of his comrades.

"Sir, did you mean that you'll get a place for that…Quinx on the S3 squad?"

"He's got ambition written all over him. It may go over everyone else, but I could see it."

"I see…do you really believe that he'll follow your orders instead of Investigator Yashida?"

"What I offered Investigator Urie is too much for him to resist. If he dies, the Quinxes will cease to be a viable program to continue. And if he succeeds, I'll tell him that some obscure regulation prevents me from making such a recommendation."

Many of the analysts overhearing the conversation sat stunned by how much of a calculating individual Investigator Washuu proved himself to be. As well as his bias against powered people by setting Investigator Urie up for a fall.

xxxxxx

Meanwhile, at the front of Zeum Hall, the Investigators still had a hard time against with not just the white suits, but also the appearance of the powered people Big Madame hired. Ghost's intangibility tech made him a difficult target to subdue, let alone kill. Fire Eater's pyrokinesis proved itself too much for any Investigator to overcome. The only powered human the Investigators managed to arrest was Jackal.

"Investigator Madou, this is Kishibe squad. Jackal is subdued. I repeat, Jackal is subdued."

Akira has her hands full with Naki, but she did respond to the update.

"Proceed to detain him."

"We're trying to, but right now…"

Another Investigator died at the kagune of the tri-blade.

"Tri-blade is blocking the path to the Q-armored trucks used for detainment."

As Miza took down Investigators one by one, she sees Naki struggling against one of the doves.

"That idiot…"

Miza instantly went to Naki's side and blocked Akira's attack. As Akira now fought against Miza, she remembered where she heard this particular ghoul.

"Triple-Blade…a ghoul that once fought in a turf war with the Bin brothers, now a member of Aogiri Tree."

Akira gave a command to the squad around her.

"I got Triple-Blades! Take out Naki and the rest!"

Although the Investigators outnumbered the remaining enemy combatants, their combined strength paled in comparison to the powers that the enemy had. Naki got into a frantic mental state as the loss of Gagi and Guge still occupied his mind. Grief fueled his actions as he killed any Investigators in his sights.

"OUT OF MY WAY, YOU SHITS! I'LL FUCKING KILL ALL OF YOU!"

Naki killed a few before resuming.

"ALL OF YOU!"

Naki went into a berserk state, much to the annoyance of Miza.

"Calm down, you idiot!"

Her warning came too late as Naki's left leg was pierced. After Naki fell down, he turned his head to see what was keeping him pinned down. One of the Investigators from the far rear held two identical quinque lances. He held the other one as he said,

"Got ya."

"Asachi, one more!"

"You…GOT IT!"

Ignoring the pain, Naki resumed his slaughter of the doves. The Investigators left standing readied their rifles and fired at Naki. Although the shots added to the physical pain, Naki held on to consciousness. Hinami sees this and gives an order to Ghost.

"Ghost, this is Yotsume. Recover Naki at once. Fire Eater, cover for Ghost as he recovers Naki."

Ghost received his orders at the moment he finished off the Doves hunting him. Ghost turned intangible, and flew to where Naki currently fought. One of the doves see him and exclaimed,

"Investigator Madou! Look above you!"

Akira sees Ghost above her and tried to hit him with her quinque.

"Damn it. All units, keep that away from Naki!"

The remaining Investigators around Akira surrounded Naki, making it difficult for Ghost to become tangible and ger Naki out of the area. As the Investigators huddled closer around Naki, the white-suited ghoul caught up with his breath as one of the things Akira said to him replayed in his mind.

You're too caught up in the past…

"It's…all I got…"

Naki whispered to himself. As the Doves closed in on him, Ayato arrived and acted swiftly in eliminating the Doves surrounding Naki. As soon as he finished, Ayato says to Naki,

"Stop taking your time, you goddamn idiot!"

Naki looked at Ayato with a sense of awe as Ayato says to Ghost,

"Get his ass out of here."

Ghost nodded and what Ayato ordered of him. As soon as Ghost left the area with Naki in tow, with Ghost touching Naki to make him just as intangible as he is, Ayato then turned his attention to the Doves in front of him. The Doves instantly charged toward him, but Ayato made quick work of the Doves. The Doves kept on their offensive, with neither side showing any signs of slowing down. Investigator Asachi arrived with his fellow squad mates, commenting on the possibility of defeating the Rabbit.

"If we take out Rabbit here, it'll be one hell of an accomplishment."

"Could be worth it…if we play it by the book."

"Right. Because an ukaku's weakness is…"

Unfortunately, Rabbit decapitated the both of them before either one realized what happened to them. Rabbit finished the sentence.

"Close combat, right?"

Meanwhile, Triple Blade attacked Akira once more. The fight took to another part of the area, with Akira going on the defensive against the ghoul. This frustrated Triple Blade to no end, which prompted her to run from the battlefield.

"Running for your life?"

One of the Investigators went to Akira's side to give a field update.

"This is looking bad, Investigator Madou. Rabbit's already taken out nearly all of Isai squad."

"…Let's head over then."

As Akira went to help what was left of Isai squad, Akira commented on the evolution of Rabbit's fighting abilities.

"Rabbit's become skilled at both long-range and short-range combat. He adjusts to the distance of the situation. Making worthy of, at least, a rank upgrade. Seems like we're not the only ones adjusting to the challenges the future sends."

In another area of Zeum Hall, Yotsume contacted Miza.

"Miza, fall back. You as well, Ayato. The Doves that were on Miza's trail are now heading towards you…"

Just then, the PA of Zeum Hall turned on.

"Now, we're were we?"

Then the voice of someone in pain came through. A voice Yotsume knew all too well.

"It can't be…"

S2 squad heard it from within the command trailer. One of the Investigators reported,

"Investigator Washuu, someone's hacked the audio system. It's coming from within the hall."

Akira contacted Matsuri in a fit of anger.

"Investigator Washuu, who is Yashida engaging?"

No answer, which fanned her anger further.

"ANSWER ME, DAMN IT!"

Akira abandoned her post to go to Haise.

xxxxxx

Mutsuki led Urie to where the auction happened.

"This the place?"

"Yeah. What are you looking for, exactly?"

Urie examined the stage floor. He noticed the huge dome house still remaining and noticed something that the domed house did not fully cover.

"There's a stage elevator here."

Mutsuki slightly gasped as he did not notice this earlier.

"This is how they brought the merchandise to the stage?"

"Most likely. Let's head down."

"Okay…do you think there are more Aogiri ghouls down there?"

"Won't know 'til we find out."

"And when I do, I'll finally get out of this bullshit squad."

The way down was too dark to see.

"Urie, where are you?"

"Follow my voice."

Soon the path lit up until both Quinxes found a large, spacious basement underneath the hall.

"Gotcha."

Mutsuki saw the smirk on Urie's face and got concerned about it.

xxxxxx

As the rest of the Quinx squad made their way to where Ohshiba squad was fighting Nutcracker, Haise notices Investigator Hayashimura.

"Investigator Hayashimura?"

"Investigator Yashida?"

The Quinxes went to him as Haise asked,

"What happen with Ohshiba squad?"

"They've all been wiped out."

Those news deeply worried Haise. He also examined Investigator Hayashimura's current state.

"You hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine. Just a few scratches. Had them due to falling from the floor level where Nutcracker is."

"You fell?"

"Some of the tree below me cushioned my fall."

"Saiko, call a medic for-"

All of a sudden, a familiar jumpsuit individual flew past the Investigators, and rammed into Haise. Back first. This shocked the Investigators, but what shocked them further was the appearance of Deathlok, laughing like a maniac as he loudly says,

"I thought you said you couldn't fly!"

Haise skidded across the cemented ground, trying to stay standing while holding Deadpool as he crashed into him. As soon as the momentum stopped, Haise pushed Deadpool off him. He recognized him as soon as Deadpool laid on the ground.

"You're…"

"Yeah. I'm Deadpool. Merc with a mouth, as it says on my card."

Deadpool pulled out a black card out of one of the pockets of his utility belt and gave it to Haise. Haise slapped the card of his hand.

"I know who you are…"

"Oh, so we can skip the intro and jump to THIS!"

"MR. YAS!"

Yelled Shirazu as Deadpool pushed Haise. Haise soon discovered why as a small missile flew past between the space of Deadpool and Haise. A small explosion happened as Haise looked at the direction that Deadpool paid attention to. He sees a pale cyborg with white hair and black fingernails. The cyborg looks at him with a predator-like stare. Something that caught Shirazu's notice.

"Watch it, Mr. Yas!"

The cyborg repeated the last thing Shirazu said, to which Haise asked Deadpool,

"Is he with you?"

"Actually, he's trying to kill me. I kinda, sort of stabbed him in the back."

"How?!"

"It involves Big Madame, I wasn't there for her, yadda yadda yadda."

"SO!"

Said the cyborg to Haise.

"You're…Haise Yashida…"

The cyborg laughed a little, which creeped Haise out to no end. Deadpool explained who it was.

"Anyhow, that's Deathlok. And he's taking orders from Akihiro Kanou."

That last name sting Haise a little as he felt another rush of information overwhelming his mind.

"Oh shit…"

Said Deadpool as Deathlok says,

"I want to see…WHAT YOU TASTE LIKE!"

Deathlok lunged himself towards Haise. He almost grabbed Haise's head…

SNIKT!

Until Haise's claws emerged and stopped Deathlok in his tracks by stabbing the pale cyborg in the gut.

"Hell yeah! You got him Mr. Yas!"

Cheered Shirazu. However, such an attack now became ineffective as Deathlok laughed like a madman once more.

"Sorry…THAT DIDN'T HURT AT ALL!"

A kagune manifested from Deathlok's back and aimed towards Haise as Deathlok's only organic eye revealed itself to be a kakugan. Haise instantly knew what else Deathlok was.

"A one-eyed ghoul?"

Deathlok's kagune not only pushed back Haise, but also struck him in his body and head. The strikes proved themselves powerful. Although Haise's healing factor quickly kicked with every attack, it didn't make pain any less impactful.

"Too powerful!"

As Haise switched to evasion tactics, he yells to Shirazu,

"Shirazu! Take Hayashimura and run!"

"But you need-!"

"I SAID GO!"

"I got his back!"

Said Deadpool, surprising everyone in range. Deathlok most of all.

"I won't let anything happen to him! Just go!"

As both the Quinxes and Hayashimura gained enough distance. Shirazu contacted Washuu.

"Investigator Washuu, this is Investigator Shirazu from the Quinx squad. We need backup. We met with one of the Madames' security personnel, goes by Deadpool. Then we met with a cyborg ghoul. Calls himself Deathlok."

"Are you sure, Investigator Shirazu?"

Asked Washuu.

"Totally. Investigator Hayashimura did too."

Although explained somewhat simple, Hayashimura confirmed Shirazu's on-site report.

"Y-Yes, Investigator Washuu. I can confirm the existence of the cybernetic ghoul known as Deathlok. He seemed to overpower Investigator Yashida."

This further surprised Investigator Washuu as he remembered receiving a report that one of the merchandise items for the auction was specifically named Deathlok.

"It must be…"

"What?"

Asked Shirazu. Washuu then asked Hayashimura,

"Investigator Hayashimura, in terms of rank, what's your personal assessment of Deathlok?"

"…easily over S."

Washuu felt a measure of fear within him over the existence of Deathlok. He then says to both Hayashimura and Haise,

"Investigators Hayashimura…and Yashida. We're going to go with SS…for now."

Washuu then gave an order. One that caused outrage.

"Investigator Yashida…you will confront both Deathlok and Deadpool alone. Investigator Hayashimura, accompany the remaining Quinx squad to the administration building."

This stunned Hayashimura while Shirazu got angry over the decision.

"What'd you say?! Ain't no way in hell I'm doing that!"

"Roger that…"

"What the hell, Hayashimura?!"

"QUIET!"

The outburst silenced Shirazu for a while.

"He's an Assistant Special Investigator…as well as a Washuu. We're in no position to defy him."

Back in the Command trailer, Matsuri smiled at how he commanded obedience just by his silent authority alone.

"We'll take out the Nutcracker."

Washuu issued an order to Haise.

"Investigator Yashida, keep both enemy combatants from reaching the Administration building."

"…Roger."

Before Shirazu protested further, Haise says to him via earpiece,

"Shirazu…watch over Saiko."

"…Roger."

As the two Quinxes went to Hayashimura to face Nutcracker, Haise faced both Deathlok and Deadpool by himself.

"How valiant…a superior sacrificing himself for his men…"

Deathlok laughed manically once more.

"It's enough to make anybody cry! You know…I used to serve a man not unlike you…how's about we talk about it?"

Deadpool now stood at Haise's side. Confused, he asked,

"Why?"

"Honestly…getting killed by him would suck. Call it hedging my bets."

Although Haise did not approve Deadpool on principle, he knew Deathlok be not just a threat, but dangerously psychotic. He knew that he needed any ally he could get.

xxxxxx

Despite the knives piercing his arm, Hirako continued his fight against the male clown. The clown, however, noticed that Hirako's fighting style took a slight change.

"You're taking bigger swings."

The clown continued dodging as he says,

"Getting tired? Who could blame you?"

Hirako stayed silent as he continued his attack.

"You don't have to hide how tired you are."

The clown sees an opportunity to finally hit back as he landed a punch on Hirako's injured arm. Although Hirako kept on fighting, Investigator Itou notices the lengths Hirako went to hide his pain from the enemy.

"The way he's fighting, it'll be tough for him to keep on that poker face."

Just as Kuramoto stood worried for Hirako, Roma sees the opportunity to take down the Dove. He directed her kagune to the floor. Moments later, a series of large spikes quickly emerged from the floor. Although Itou deflected one of the spikes with his quinque, one of his subordinates got killed by said kagune. Itou sees where the spikes emerged. He sees Roma fake-yawning and exclaiming,

"Boorrring!"

Itou exclaimed,

"All remaining Investigators, around me."

The Investigators left standing went to Itou's side, with one of the Investigators asking,

"Is she one of the Clowns?"

"Definitely. Aogiri are bad enough by themselves, but the clowns…they're anarchy personified. At best, they're just a group of pleasure seekers that prefer to act alone. But if given a good-enough incentive, they display unrivaled solidarity. Despite his fact, we barely know anything about them."

Roma gave a mocking smile to Itou.

"And because we barely know anything about them, the last Clown sweep operation was a complete wash…and Investigator Arima took part of that operation, so that hurt the most."

Itou then gave an order.

"Square formation with the Ukaku as the center!"

"Sir!"

Said the remaining Investigators. Itou internally remarked,

"Yeah, the Bureau has changed a lot since then…but the Clowns still remain something I'd never want to fight again."

Just then, Itou heard something metallic slice apart. He saw Takeomi's quinque cut in two while he still held it. The one responsible for such an act was the fat Clown Takeomi currently fought against.

"Takeomi!"

Roma continued her offensive against Itou and the rest of his team, but Itou still continued to get to Takeomi's side. Roma sees this and increased the frequency of her attacks to prevent Itou from getting to Takeomi.

"Oh, you fucking flesh-eating bitch!"

Takeomi stood ready to go another round with the fat clown with his bare hands. The fat clown gave a menacing grin as he charged towards Takeomi with unexpected speed and grabbed the Investigator by his left leg and lifted hm with ease. As he dangled the dove in front of him, the fat clown says,

"Firm, yet plentiful. The muscle is tense, yet the shape suggests a juicy flow. I can feel it…the NUGGETY TEXTURE!"

The fat clown wet his lips, excited for how the dove would taste in his mouth.

"DINNER -!"

Before the fat clown finished, Takeomi did a midair pullup and punched the fat clown on his right face cheek. This disoriented the fat clown enough to let go of Takeomi, with the Investigator landing on his feet. Takeomi then got the fat clown in a chokehold faster than the ghoul realized it. The fat clown soon did, and ran around to get the dove to let go. The large ghoul went so far as to slam into various walls for the purpose of getting the dove off his back, and yet Takeomi never let go. The fat clown yelled,

"I DON'T LIKE THIS! LET GO!"

Both Investigators and ghouls in the room stopped fighting to marvel at the sight of a human trying to choke a ghoul. The male clown commented,

"Ghouls produce more kinetic energy than humans. At least four to seven times…For a human to create more kinetic energy than a ghoul, they'd either have to be a mutant or a super-soldier."

"But he can…despite being human."

Said Hirako. After recovering just a portion of his health, he landed a hit on the male clown as Takeomi stabbed the ghoul on the right side of his chest area. However, the male clown remained unfazed by this. Just then a voice came through the PA of the building. What came first was someone saying,

"Now, where were we?"

Then came the sound of someone yelling in pain. This surprised both the clown ghouls and the Investigators fighting them as the male clown said,

"I think we're about nearing the end…"

The male clown then brough out a large, black ball. Hirako anticipated an explosive of some kind and immediately back off. He turned out to be right as the bomb that the male clown forcefully threw to the floor turned out to be a smoke bomb. The smoke enveloped the entire room, leaving the Investigators confused in the thick of the smoke. Hirako yelled,

"SOUND OFF!"

Itou spoke first.

"Right here!"

"I'm all right. Just lost my target all of a sudden…"

Said Takeomi. The rest of the Investigators followed suit. When the smoke cleared, the clowns were gone, but the sound of someone in pain remained. Hirako knew what that sound was.

"Yashida…"

xxxxxx

As both Mutsuki and Urie see the basement of the Zeum Hall auditorium filled with metal boxes and affluent ghouls, Urie explained his motives.

"I haven't been honest with you, Mutsuki."

Mutsuki stayed silent.

"I led you here despite knowing about your injuries…but you can't deny what we're seeing here. As Investigators, we have an obligation to stop them."

"Yeah…I've healed enough that I can fight again."

"…All right then."

"That takes care of that. Mutsuki is honest to a fault. But now the problem is how to take care of this many ghouls…"

Just then, someone called out for Mutsuki.

"Tooru…"

At first, Mutsuki feared that Torso found him again. Soon enough, both Mutsuki and Urie discovered it to be Juuzo. He looked to be in a bad state, much to Mutsuki's concern.

"Suzuya, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I got away from the Rabbit."

"You encountered the Rabbit?"

Asked Urie in a surprised tone of voice.

"Yeah, but I didn't have my quinque with me. So, I managed to escape from him. When I did, I searched for the rich ghouls that took part in the auction. I soon found one, and followed it to the basement of the building."

All Investigators observed both the Aogiri ghouls patrolling the basement floor, and the affluent ghouls filled with dread. Juuzo says to the Quinxes,

"With this many ghouls, we have no choice but to wait for backup."

Although Mutsuki did not argue, Urie internally got angry at Juuzo.

"Girl-looking bastard…why now, of all places?"

"Investigator Urie, I've dropped my comms earlier. Can you contact command for me?"

"…No."

Both reacted with surprise.

"Must be because of this place. I can't get a signal."

"Yeah, I'm lying…but only because I won't let Suzuya get all the credit. I have to keep my end of the deal."

Just now, the Investigators heard steel doors opening. Mutsuki looked around, and saw the affluent ghouls exiting the basement.

"Investigator Suzuya!"

"I see them."

Urie saw this as well, and internally panicked.

"Shit! I can't let them get away!"

The affluent ghouls instantly rushed towards the exit in a panic, creating a bottleneck in the process. Juuzo responded to the situation in his own fashion.

"Guess we got no choice."

Juuzo instantly jumped down to the basement floor. Not wanting to fall behind to him, Urie joined in. The appearance of the Investigators temporarily distracting the affluent ghouls. One of them exclaimed,

"Doves!"

Another responded,

"Just two of them?"

Mutsuki stayed behind on the platform, just watching two of his comrades acting so brazen. What stood out for Mutsuki was the way Urie acted.

"Urie never acted like this before…"

Soon after, Aogiri ghouls arrived to defend the affluent ones. Juuzo noticed something.

"If Aogiri is here…then where's Rabbit?"

Juuzo eventually shrugged it off as he, alongside Urie, began killing the ghouls in front of them. During the slaughter, Urie noticed Juuzo's fighting capabilities.

"Investigator Suzuya is seriously fast…I have to take it to the next level…No matter where you are, Kuroiwa…I won't let you beat me!"

While Juuzo wiped out all ghouls in his sight, he noticed Urie killing his targets with a sort of unhinged focus. While the affluent ghouls noticed something about Urie.

"A one-eye!"

"How can a dove be a one-eye?"

"Just what the hell is going on?"

Meanwhile, Mutsuki watched from the platform, feeling as if he should take part in the mission.

"It's now or never…"

Just then, he caught a whiff of a ghoul as he dodged an attack from a kagune just in time.

"Aogiri…two of them…"

As Mutsuki readied his knives, one of the Aogiri ghouls says,

"Hey, that dove was one of the items for the auction."

Mutsuki immediately went on the offensive. Although the Aogiri ghouls were quicker than him at first, but Mutsuki later regained his composure as Mutsuki gained the upper hand. In his mind, Mutsuki remembered what Juuzo taught him.

"I am so scared…"

Soon, Mutsuki killed one of the Aogiri ghouls.

"And that's why I want to conquer my weakness…"

xxxxxx

Back at the administration building, the rest of the Quinxes, plus Hayashimura, made it to where Nutcracker hid herself. It was the building security room, where she looked to be in a frantic state as she fiddled with numerous buttons relating to the building surveillance system, muttering to herself,

"200 million…where's my 200 million?!"

The loud explosion of Shirazu busting the door open with his kagune alerted Nutcracker to their arrival.

"Damn, she noticed. Saiko, back me up."

Hayashimura tried to warn Shirazu,

"Stop!"

"Stop where?"

But the warning came too late as Shirazu jumped towards Nutcracker, only to feel something stab him in the back in mid-air. Hayashimura fears came to pass.

"Yonebayashi, I need you to back me up."

Yonebayashi became flustered under the stress. Nutcracker, on the other hand, relished at the turmoil that looked to overcome the Doves and says in a menacing tone,

"I'm feeling some…lively young balls!"

Shirazu got down to the floor, healing from the mid-air stab he experienced a while ago. Angry at the ghoul, he tried to attack Nutcrack head on, but Hayashimura stopped Shirazu from doing so. And just in time, as Nutcracker tried to kill Shirazi in his fit of anger but Hayashimura sliced off a piece of her kagune aimed at Shirazu.

"Listen to me. She has two types of kagunes! A kokaku and a bikaku!"

"Yeah and?"

Hayashimura sighed in exasperation as he explained.

"She can separate her bikaku and use it as a trap."

Shirazu soon pieced it together.

"She can separate her kagune from her body?"

"Yes she can!"

"But…does it mean she can grow another one as soon as it separates?"

"There's a strong indication of that the last time I saw her used her bikaku that way. Just watch out for the floor and ceilings. And possibly the walls as well."

"Got it!"

Said Shirazu. Yonebayashi did her best to keep herself together, but the stress of the mission weighed heavy on her psyche.

"I'm actually holding my quinque…"

She said to herself. Shirazu readied his kagune and aimed one of the kagune missiles at Nutcracker.

"EAT THIS!"

Hayashimura looked on in astonishment, seeing a kagune on a human.

"So this is a Quinx…"

However, Nutcracker summoned her kokaku in time and shield herself from the impact of the kagune missiles. And yet, this gave Hayashimura the opportunity to deal a blow to the dominatrix ghoul. Hayashimura tried to slice the ghoul with his quinque, but Nutcracker acted quickly to dodge the Investigator's attack.

"Shirazu!"

"On it!"

Shirazu launched another round of missiles towards Nutcracker, but she blocked them again.

"Can't get past her kokaku. Probably because I don't got enough fire power…"

Nutcracker went on the offensive, and aimed her kokaku at Shirazu. Shirazu dodged in time for Hayashimura to take advantage of another opening. Sadly, the ghoul dodged his attack again. However, she did more than dodge. Nutcracker used her kokaku to fling herself into the air, over Shirazu and tried to perform a drop kick on Shirazu's testes. Thankfully, Shirazu moved before Nutcracker could do such traumatic damage on the young Quinx.

"Holy shit…"

Saiko asked,

"Shirazu, you still got your…family jewels?"

"Yes, thank god…"

Shirazu thought to himself,

"This is bad…even if Saiko got herself some honest combat experience, it's still not enough to take her out…I'm starting to think that me and Hayashimura can't take her out…"

Just as Shirazu ran towards Hayashimura's side, he sees one of Nutcracker's bikaku traps active by itself, just in time to dodge it.

"SHIT! Too close!"

"Just how many does she have?"

Shirazu looks all around the room, imagining just how many kagune traps Nutcracker must have laid. Then another thought occurred to him.

"Does she have control over them?"

Shirazu then remembers something once learned during the Quinx orientation. Before his operation.

flashback

Just as the candidates finished greeting each other, Dr. Shiba arrived.

"Greetings to you all. I am Dr. Ryoujirou Shiba."

Each of the candidates bowed in response to the doctor's greeting.

"Hello, doctor."

"Even though there was no need, thank you all just the same. Please take your seats."

They then sat down on the desks provided for them. Dr. Shiba proceeded with the presentation. An overhead projector activated by itself a little after the lights slowly turned off. Dr. Shiba started off by saying,

"Now, I assume all of you already know why you're here."

Urie raised his hand.

"This is the orientation for the operation that will turn us into first generation super-soldiers for the Ghoul Countermeasures Bureau."

"In a sense, yes."

Dr. Shiba started the presentation, explaining the nature of the operation the candidates volunteered for, why the volunteers were chosen for the operation in question, and the purpose of the operation in question. Soon, Dr. Shiba explained what kind of powers each of the candidates would receive. This interested Shirazu.

"Now, although there is some overlap of the typical mutant abilities that ghouls also possess. Such as enhanced hearing and sense of smell, rest assured. These enhancing skills are derived from ghouls and ghouls alone."

end

Shirazu concentrated his enhanced hearing as he knocked on a wall, to locate any bikaku traps that Nutcrack may have laid. With gentle knocks, Shirazu located four near him. Then, with hard knocking, one of the traps activated by itself.

"I was right. These act by themselves. There's at least three more in front of me. Maybe five or more in the room in total…"

The more Hayashimura fought Nutcracker, the more dust filed the room. Said dust gave the Investigator an opportunity to hide from Nutcracker and recover with the two Quinxes. He did so, with the ghoul chasing him afterwards. Nutcracker soon lost sight of Hayashimura, but did not react with anger. Instead, she chose to wait patiently for the next attack from the doves. Soon, Hayashimura found both Shirazu and Yonebayashi in a corner of the room. As soon as he joined them, Shirazu asks him,

"Too much to handle, am I right?"

"This isn't the time for jokes, Investigator Shirazu."

"I totally agree. We can't take on a dual kagune by ourselves. And even if we have backup, they'll fall for the traps."

"So what should we do?"

Asked Hayashimura. Saiko looked at Shirazu with worry as she wondered how she and her comrades can survive a situation like this. Shirazu whispered,

"I found out something about the traps…"

A while later, the dust settled. Nutcracker looked around for the doves, seeing one of them with his weapon in hand. She smiled, feeling that the fight ahead would be an easy one. Hayashimura, on the other hand, internally struggled with the role he now played.

"It's pretty clear that my options are limited…I hate this feeling. This feeling of helplessness in the face of darkness…"

Nutcracker wrapped her kokaku around her arms as makeshift blades. As she charged towards Hayashimura, the Investigator resigned to his role as bait.

"I have no choice…"

Hayashimura blocked the first attack Nutcracker gave him with his quinque.

"But to trust Investigator Shirazu."

Hayashimura went on the defensive for a while before Nutcracker's makeshift blades unraveled by themselves for a moment. Hayashimura acted on the moment and tried to slice Nutcracker. Although the dominatrix jumped to dodge his attack, little did she know that Hayashimura wanted her to dodge his attack.

"Shirazu, now!"

Nutcracker looked around to see Shirazu launch his kagune missiles at her. She dodged in the direction both Investigators wanted her to. Hayashimura remembered what he discussed alongside Yonebayashi.

flashback

"What about the traps?"

Asked Hayashimura. Shirazu explained.

"She don't control them."

"She…doesn't?"

"They act by themselves. Anytime there's a sound nearby, they sprout by themselves. I should know."

Shirazu pointed to one of the traps he safely activated by himself while Nutcracker fought Hayashimura.

"I did a hard knock near one. Acted by themselves. I bet that's what Nutcracker was counting on. That we wouldn't know how her bikaku traps works."

Hayashimura responded,

"So they activate by sound vibrations in the air…"

"Bingo. So I was thinking: how can we get one of her traps to work against her?"

Hayashimura sat impressed by Shirazu's deductive skills and his ability to think under pressure.

"So there is a way to kill her…and he figured it out by himself. Not bad."

end

Nutcracker got confused over the reaction of the doves trying to kill her.

"Where's the fear?"

Her thought process got violently interrupted as she felt something pierce her back and through her stomach.

"Shit! They got me?!"

Shirazu yelled,

"SAIKO!"

Yonebayashi ran toward where Nutcracker dangled. After taking a deep breath, her kakugan flared as she summoned her kagune. Hers was a twin bikaku, both resembling the tails of a typical reptile. For Hayashimura, this was anything but typical. Yonebayashi aimed her kagunes at Nutcracker and dealt a series of blows at her entire person at a rapid pace. All while yelling,

"ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI! ARI!"

Yonebayashi soon finished with Nutcracker.

"ARI!"

Soon, her kagunes dissipated as she kneeled to the floor, panting in exhaustion. Shirazu says to her,

"Nice job, Saiko."

Yonebayashi weakly responded with a thumbs up while giving a faint open smile. Hayashimura thought to himself,

"Honestly, I don't know whether that was cool or scary…"

Shirazu made his way to Nutcracker. So far, there was no movement from her. Shirazu got to her side with quinque in hand, ready to kill her. He whispered to himself,

"The eradication of S-rated ghouls comes with a massive reward…"

"We're that much closer…Haru…"

Shirazu lifted his quinque in front of him and stabbed Nutcracker in the heart. Nutcracker slowly felt her life fading away. As she slowly passed away, she remembered her life. A life where she knew nothing but hardship. Poverty dominated her life as she used to walk the streets of Tokyo, wearing nothing but rags as the people passed her by. None of them paid attention to the dirty little girl at their side. The only bright spots Nutcracker remembered where the windows of shops displaying the latest fashions. She looked at them with incredible longing, with one word replaying in her mind as she looked,

"Pretty…"

Her last words were only heard by Shirazu.

"I just wanted to be…pretty."

Shirazu heard her last gasp as Nutcracker's body became limp and lifeless. Shirazu felt uneasy, witnessing the last moments of a ghoul he just killed. He says to the body,

"Stop trying to be human…we both know the truth…"

The Investigators that defeated Nutcracker took a moment of rest. Silence filled the room until the PA in their part of the building transmitted the sounds of someone

"Now, where were we?"

Then the sounds of someone in pain could be heard. Shirazu knew whose voice he heard.

"Mr. Yas…?"

Hayashimura knew as well, and says to Shirazu,

"Go, Investigator Shirazu…I'll handle the rest."

"Thanks."

Shirazu then says to Yonebayashi,

"Saiko, we gotta go."

No response from Yonebayashi, which worried him.

"SAIKO!"

Yonebayashi sat paralyzed in fear as she heard Haise in pain. His anguished cries filled her with panic and dread. Shirazu went to her, and shook Yonebayashi to get her out of her head.

"Saiko! Get a grip!"

Soon, Yonebayashi snapped back to reality and focus on Shirazu.

"Saiko. We have to get to Mr. Yas. Right now!"

"R-R-RIGHT!"

xxxxxx

With both kagune and quinque in hand, Urie slew through the Aogiri ghouls in his path. During his slaughter of the enemy, Urie felt nothing but ecstasy.

"This is…the best day of my life!"

Soon, Urie went for the rich ghouls.

"I'll master this power and become the greatest Investigator of all time! So great…I'll lead the S3 squad!"

Urie killed every auction buyer within his sights, while feeling of joy from before did not seem to fade away.

"I am…CHOSEN FOR GREATNESS!"

Mutsuki sees a large ghoul in women's clothing, and alerted Urie.

"Urie! I see Big Madame running over there!"

Mutsuki pointed to where he saw Big Madame escaping.

"GOT IT! NICE ONE, MUTSUKI!"

As Urie ran towards Big Madame, he relished in the idea of using his expanded Quinx abilities against Big Madame.

"I've wasted my new powers on these small fries long enough. The rest are yours, Suzuya."

Urie went down the hall where Mutsuki pointed where Big Madame went away. The hallway was too dark for Urie to see. He used his enhanced sense of smell to track Big Madame. Once he picked up her scent, he followed where it led.

"I can smell it…I'm getting closer to her…The Big Ma-"

Just as Urie reached the end of the dark hallway, he immediately got impaled by a pair of kagune and flung to the nearest wall. Urie threw up some blood before falling to the floor. Urie tried to move his head to see where the kagunes came from. Although the pain proved itself unbearable, Urie sees where Big Madame hanging onto the walls.

"Your eyes look so cute."

Big Madame wet her lips before resuming.

"I want to eat them!"

Urie struggled to get himself back up. With blind rage, he thrusted himself toward Big Madame. Not wanting to push her luck, Big Madame got out of the way. Not completely losing control of himself, Urie shifted direction as soon as Big Madame moved. Urie, in his crazed state, gave chase after the large ghoul. Annoyed, Big Madame remarked,

"You're driven!"

Big Madame summoned her kagunes again to hit Urie.

"I'LL GIVE YOU THAT!"

Big Madame successfully landed a strike on Urie, forcefully propelling him to the floor. Although this added to his pain, Urie still wanted to kill Big Madame by himself. Though he struggled to speak, Urie says to the large ghoul,

"You're…going down…BY MY-"

Before Urie can finish, a series of knives hit his all his limbs, making him unable to move anymore. Urie laid on the floor, totally unconscious. The one responsible for the knives thrown at him were a pair of identical female ghouls. One had black long hair and a white mask, while the other had white short hair and a black mask. The black haired one asked,

"Big Madame, are you alright?"

Big Madame laughed a hearty laugh as she says,

"It's been a hell of a long-ass time since I used my kagune! Not bad, little boy…"

Big Madame crept down the wall and walked toward the unconscious Quinx.

"Now…what to do with you?"

A little later, Mutsuki ran to where Urie went after Big Madame. As went down the dark hallway where he last saw his comrade, Mutsuki yelled,

"URIE!"

When Mutsuki got to the end of the hallway, he called out for him one more time.

"Uri-?"

Mutsuki stood stupefied by what he saw.

"Eh?"

Mutsuki sees Urie being swallowed by Big Madame whole. Mutsuki soon regained his senses and attempted to go against Big Madame, but stopped when two knives were thrown by two ghouls. The black clothed one gave Mutsuki a knee kick to the gut. Mutsuki drew out one of his knives to strike the ghoul, but instead received another kick to the face. The white ghoul instantly got behind Mutsuki and stabbed Mutsuki in the area between the chest and the stomach. Mutsuki limped to the ground, still weak from before. He laid helpless as Mutsuki did nothing else but watch Big Madame eating his comrade whole.

"U…Ur…Urie…"

Big Madame continued to swallow, but something seemed wrong. For some reason, Big Madame stopped swallowing. It became apparent that Urie was fighting back as he, by brute strength, forced Big Madame's mouth wide open for him to escape. Both Mutsuki and the twin ghouls were utterly floored by this sight. Urie then positioned his right leg, aimed it at Big Madame's neck and delivered a powerful kick. The kick made Big Madame fly at the opposite direction. Mutsuki slowly got up to reach his comrade, but noticed something was happening to Urie.

"Something's wrong…"

Urie muttered to himself for a while.

"I want it. I want it. I want the credit. Give me all of it…"

Urie giggled like a madman. Mutsuki also noticed that his left arm looked broken.

"I want more…I want more…"

Urie's arm repaired itself as he summoned his kagune. But Mutsuki got further worried when he saw Urie's kagune summoned in a grotesque shape. Urie then yelled,

"I WANT MORE!"

Mutsuki became scared, but not of Mutsuki. Rather for him. The white twin ghoul later received a call on her earpiece. After a moment, she said,

"Roger that."

She later spoke to her twin.

"Kurona, new orders. She's on her own."

"Roger that."

The twin ghouls then left Big Madame to fend for herself, much to her anger.

"YOU LITTLE BITCHES! GET BACK HERE!"

Urie yelled as he charged toward Big Madame. What he yelled sounded like complete gibberish. In his mind, he was still in a state of euphoria.

"So…this is frame four…I FUCKING LOVE IT!"

Although the frame removal gave Urie a massive boost in power, it paled in comparison to Big Madame's strength. Urie received an exhaustive beating from the large ghoul.

"You little punk ass!"

Yelled Big Madame as Urie flew backwards, near Mutsuki. Mutsuki then crawled to his partner. As he placed Urie unto his lap, Mutsuki then heard a voice above him. As did Big Madame.

"Now where were we?"

Anguished cries of pain came through the building's PA system. Mutsuki instantly recognized whose voice he heard.

"Sensei…"

xxxxxx

Although Haise was ordered by Investigator Washuu to eliminate both Deadpool and Deathlok, he accepted Deadpool's help in defeating Deathlok. Deadpool had on him a pair of semi-automatic pistols and a pair of katanas. He used the pistols to shoot Deathlok in the organic parts of his self. Although he healed after every shot, the pain unfocused him from taking on Kuzuri. He muttered to himself,

"Weaken the enemy first…"

Soon, Deadpool ran out of ammo.

"Shit! I'm tapped out!"

"Did you bring more?"

"Yeah. I had a shit-ton of guns in a bag."

"Well, what happened to them?"

A pause happened before Deadpool answered Haise's question.

"I left them in the cab I took to get here."

Haise stood dumbfounded before replying,

"YOU WHAT?!"

Deathlok took advantage and went for Deadpool first. He grabbed the mercenary by his face and slammed it to the ground. Although painful, Deadpool held on as he says,

"Gonna have to better than that, Peter Weller."

Deadpool grabbed his katanas and swung them around in the hopes for a hit. What he achieved were a couple of scratches on Deathlok's face. Deathlok laughed at this.

"I thought you were a-"

Deadpool then sliced off Deathlok's only organic eye. The ghoul cyborg screamed in pain, his organic eye bleeding as Deadpool says,

"Wanted to throw you off."

Even though his healing kicked in, Deathlok became angry at the mercenary.

"I'm gonna kill you into PIECES!"

"Better men than you have tried. And prettier. Way more than you."

Deadpool leapt up into the air. As he descended towards Deathlok, Deadpool brandished his katanas forward. All Haise did was stand witness to the fight before him.

"Despite my problems towards him, Deadpool seems like someone who is willing to cooperate…for the right price. Just need to figure out how to justify this to Arima."

When Deadpool landed, katanas pierced Deathlok in his stomach. He says to the cyborg ghoul,

"Gotcha, bitch!"

Deathlok's anger grew. Especially for Deadpool.

"You're really…"

Deathlok grabbed both of Deadpool's arms and forcefully placed his left foot on Deadpool's while both still stood.

"STARTING TO PISS ME OFF!"

With all his might, Deathlok ripped Deadpool's arm from his body. Haise stood horrorstruck witnessing such a sight. Deathlok then took out the katanas from his stomach, but held on to one while dropping the other.

"Get the fuck…"

Deathlok grabbed Deadpool by his face…

"OUT OF MY WAY!"

And sliced Deadpool's legs off with one of the mercenary's katanas he held on to. Deathlok then dropped Deadpool and focused on Haise.

"Now…"

Deathlok cracked his neck.

"Where were we?"

Deathlok charged toward Haise. Haise replied by giving a left swipe of his claws. Deathlok dodged in time and grabbed Haise by the neck with his cybernetic arm. Although he struggled to breath, Haise was quick to act by trying to getting Deathlok into a submission hold. Deathlok, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by this.

"Not gonna work."

Deathlok flinged Haise off his arm, the mutant slamming into the nearest wall and dropping to the ground.

"Listen here…there's a wide space between the absolute best…and second best. Second place is a pitiable way of saying 'good job, you did your best.' The fact is if someone is better than you, then that's proof of your destiny…as a loser."

Deathlok walked closer to Haise, who struggled to get back up.

"Kanou once said…no matter how much work he put into me…I'd never be like you."

Deathlok grabbed Haise by his shirt collar…

"I wanna prove him wrong."

Deathlok threw Haise into the air. In his mind, Haise struggled with something he did not want to deal with. Especially right now.

"I think I'm going to die…or…disappear…if I use him…"

And why shouldn't you? He's going to try to kill you, and if it goes on long enough…

"If I use his help…"

He may succeed if go for something that none of our enemies haven't figured out yet.

"I may disappear…"

Haise, call for me!

"I can hear him coming to me…"

SAY MY NAME!

Deathlok caught Haise in time with his metal arm. Deathlok looked around to see where he is. The AI in his mind brought out a map of Zeum to reveal that Deathlok stood near the auditorium where the auction previously held. He had an idea.

"How's about a different venue?"

With a mental command, Deathlok drew a medium amount of power from his internal power source and directed it towards his legs. Deathlok ran towards one of the walls of auditorium. When he got close, instead of crashing into it, he quickly placed one of his feet unto the wall and scaled it using nothing but the momentum of the speed of his legs. As Deathlok ran up the wall, he dragged Haise unto the wall. Haise's face slowly peeled away as Deathlok dragged him. When both reached the top, over the roof of the auditorium, and threw Haise through the roof. He joined Haise soon after he fell to the stage floor. Deathlok witnessed the Investigator's face regenerating by itself. However, Deathlok also noticed that his enemy seemed to tired to fight back.

"How's about we do a play? Maybe something out of Shakespeare? Or perhaps something by Arthur Miller?"

Deathlok took another look at Haise who still looked too tired to fight back.

"Or maybe Yukio Mishima? No…a little controversial, considering his history."

Now Haise seemed to be dead at first glance to Deathlok.

"Oh don't give me that. I know you can't die! At least not by normal means…"

Deathlok walked toward Haise and held him by the neck as he lifted him.

"It's not just my body that was augmented. My mind has been cybernetically enhanced as well. My brain has a series of computer chips integrated into it. Now…I bet the question you want to ask is: what kind of chips?"

Deathlok tightened his grip of Haise's neck a little, which affected the Investigator's breathing.

"Well, I'll tell you. it's…BASED ON YOURS!"

Deathlok threw Haise through the prop dome house and quickly caught up to bounce Haise around the stage with his feet. No matter how fast Haise flew, Deathlok always seemed to catch up to physically torture him. Only when Deathlok bounced Haise toward the audience balcony that the Investigator finally caught a minor break.

"I know about you…Kaneki."

Haise lightly gasped as Deathlok called him something that he only kept to himself and Arima.

"The chip that was designed to artificially maintain the neurochemical levels associated with depression in you…they used a modified design for my mind. My mind is connected to the very internet itself!"

Deathlok laughed a little as Haise struggled to get up.

"Mind you, it's not capable of doing major like accessing nuclear codes or destabilizing the world economy…I'd need special permission for that. But I can hack into any electronic device that my mind can pick up. And boy, I can pick up a lot."

Deathlok opened his mouth, but stayed silent for a moment. Haise was curious as to why, but they of Deathlok's actions soon answered itself when countless voices not Deathlok's came through his mouth. Deathlok became a literal stereo speaker broadcasting the radio calls between the Investigators on the site. Then the voices stopped when Deathlok closed his mouth and menacingly smiled at Haise and laughing afterwards.

"I'M A REGULAR JUGGERNAUT OF POSSIBILITIES, BITCH!"

SNIKT!

Although Haise charged at Deathlok with his claws out, the cyborg ghoul stood unamused by his opponents almost frail claw swipes.

"For god's sakes! Is this what I'm always compared to?"

Haise continued to fight against Deathlok, but his weakened state made it impossible to land a blow on the cyborg ghoul. Deathlok grabbed one of his arms and threw Haise over the balcony and into the audience seats. In his mind, Haise slowly faced a truth he did not want to face.

"He's too strong right now…or rather, his moves are too erratic to read. His state of mind makes him hard to anticipate…I can't defeat him…"

As you are right now…

Haise heard the voice he tried so hard to bury.

Let me out…

"No…"

Deathlok dropped near Haise, and just before he continued his physical torment of the Investigator, a thought crossed his mind.

"Hey…I just had an idea…"

Deathlok picked Haise up by his neck once again.

"How about I broadcast everything we're doing?"

With his mind, Deathlok accessed the PA system of Zeum Hall. In a matter of seconds, he can now broadcast, by audio, his one-sided fight against Haise. He also hacked into the computer systems of the Bureau command trailers parked near the Hall without the Investigators within them noticing.

"Now, where were we?"

Haise instantly yelled in pain, which was heard all over the building. Deathlok laughed over the Investigator's anguished cries of pain.

"Music to my ears! LET THE WHOLE WORLD KNOW!"

Haise yelled in pain further.

"I wanna poke you full of holes. Oh, I know they'll grow back…"

Haise yelled again.

"I JUST LOVE THE ACT ITSELF!"

Deathlok continued his torture on Haise. The sounds of Haise in pain grew too much for even the most stoic Investigators to stomach. Investigator Washuu gave an order.

"Someone trace the source of the audio!"

"Oh, what's the matter Washuu? Getting creeped out?"

Investigator Washuu instantly stood up from his seat, shocked by being called by his name.

"Who the hell are you?"

"In another life, I was one of the many cannon fodder sent to die for a cause that would never end."

xxxxxx

Akira stopped as she heard the voice within the PA speakers. She recognized whose voice it belonged to.

"No way…it can't be him…"

xxxxxx

"Now, I am death to any that stand in the way of my mission. However, since the opportunity for payback was too…delicious to ignore, instead I am the voice that exposes the hypocrisy of the powers that be. And you, Associate Special Investigator Washuu, have been acting like a conceited asshole to the Investigators under your charge this whole operation."

His anger rising, Washuu gave an order to his subordinates inside the command trailer.

"Cut off his access NOW!"

"We're trying sir, but it's like playing whack-a-mole with this guy."

"Especially the powered ones."

Deathlok replayed a conversation Washuu had with one of his subordinates earlier.

Sir, did you mean that you'll get a place for that…Quinx on the S3 squad?"

He's got ambition written all over him. It may go over everyone else, but I could see it.

I see…do you really believe that he'll follow your orders instead of Investigator Yashida?

What I offered Investigator Urie is too much for him to resist. If he dies, the Quinxes will cease to be a viable program to continue. And if he succeeds, I'll tell him that some obscure regulation prevents me from making such a recommendation.

This caused the trust of every Investigator on the field in Matsuri Washuu to considerably crack. Although the fact remained that a large number of casualties usually followed in every operation Matsuri Washuu ever led, the evidence that he led said missions with any amount of hatred towards the Investigators in the missions was zero. Now the fact that Washuu led Investigator Urie into a losing situation made many of Investigators doubt the leadership of Investigator Washuu. Especially those who lost dear comrades on the battlefield. Deathlok giggled menacingly before talking.

"My oh my. Not much faith in your people, is there?"

Deathlok laughed, driving in the point that Washuu did not care for the Investigators under his watch. Most of all, he revealed Matsuri's contempt for the Quinxes. Of the Quinxes that affected, it affected Urie the most.

xxxxxx

Urie laid in Mutsuki's arm, briefly regaining enough of his senses and sanity to listen to the broadcast, and reeling in after hearing that Investigator Washuu took advantage of Urie's desires to further his own. He felt like an absolute tool, allowing himself to be used like this.

"Why…even when I got stronger, nobody took me seriously…hell, it's not even about promotions…or revenge…"

Urie force himself out of Mutsuki's hands, much to Mutsuki's protest.

"Urie!"

"JUST STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"

Mutsuki sat shocked at Urie talking to him like that. In between the groaning, Urie says to him,

"SHOWING MORE CARE THAN, QUITE FRANKLY, I EVER DID?"

Mutsuki remember when he said that. Although Mutsuki knew that he said it as a criticism of Urie's leadership, they way he said it made Mutsuki realize that it hurt Urie a lot more than he realized.

"I TRY SO HARD…And yet I get shit for it…"

Urie tried so hard to hold back the tears.

"I don't want my hard work to mean shit…but if I stick around you dipshit failures for so long, that's all my life is gonna be…"

Mutsuki felt a little hurt when Urie called him a failure.

"I hate Yashida. I hate Shirazu! I hate everyone in that house! I HATE ALL OF YOU! I HOPE YOU ALL DIE!"

Urie kneeled down in exhaustion to his emotional breakthrough. Mutsuki went to Urie's side to console him in his time of vulnerability. In that moment, Urie stabbed Mutsuki in the gut. Whether on purpose or acting by instinct, Urie saw what he did and most of him regretted this action. Mutsuki, on the other hand, was forgiving of Urie's actions. He understood how Urie feels as sometimes he felt the same thing about himself time to time.

"Urie, you may hate us…but we'll never hate you. I get that you just want your hard work to mean something. And…I'm sorry if I made you think you sucked as a leader."

At that moment, Mutsuki's kagune finally manifested. It took the form of four claw-like tentacles.

"Mutsuki…"

Urie felt a strange warmth. As if the sting of rejection faded away because of how merciful Mutsuki acted towards him. Then another thought happened.

"Will Haise forgive me…will it matter…?"

Urie then picked up a scent. He was smelling Mutsuki's blood, and discovered something about his comrade.

"Mutsuki…you're really a-?"

Before Urie finished his question, Big Madame dropped in with her kagune out.

"Can't say I know what you're feeling. But what I am feeling is an increasing amount of frustration! I bought you…!"

Big Madame pointed at Mutsuki. Then at Urie.

"And I intend to finish eating you!"

Unfortunately for Big Madame, such actions were ultimately denied by the arrival of Suzuya squad. With quinque in hand, Juuzo brandished it at Big Madame, which made her recoil in fear. Juuzo then contacted the command trailer.

"This is Investigator Suzuya. We've secured the underground hall."

Big Madame looked at Juuzo with fear as the Investigator says to her,

"Hi Mom."

Big Madame soon ran away from Suzuya squad. Investigator Abara asked,

"Shall we?"

"Keep her here."

"Roger that."

The rest of Suzuya squad nodded and ran towards Big Madame. As they chased after the large ghoul, she asked Juuzo,

"Rei! Why are you doing this to me?! I raised you! Is this because you hate me?! IS THAT IT?!"

Investigator Abara caught up with Big Madame and sliced her right leg. Another of Juuzo's squad then sliced her left shoulder. Each of the squad members got a hit, weakening the large ghoul as she ran. Eventually Juuzo caught up with Big Madame. Big Madame feared for her life as she screamed,

"JUUZO!"

Juuzo leapt in for the killing blow. However, Juuzo's target surprised both Big Madame and the squad itself as Juuzo only sliced off her kagune. Juuzo landed on the floor with Big Madame following after. She laid on the floor, fearful of the Investigator in front of her.

(play Dearly Beloved – Kingdom Hearts II OST)

"Juuzo…I'm sorry…I'll do anything you ask…just please don't kill me…"

As Juuzo stood in front of the Madame, he remembered one of the very few good memories he had with her.

flashback

Young Juuzo was in the arms of his mother. Both were looking at a book of animals. The next animal was a personal favorite of the Madame.

"Look, Juuzo. This is a giraffe."

"Giraffe?"

"Yes. Just look at all those spots. Aren't they pretty?"

"Hm-mm! Giraffes are very pretty."

"Someday…I'd like to have one of my own…"

end

Juuzo then says to the Madame,

"Scars…"

"What?"

Big Madame asked softly.

"Scars are all you ever gave me. They're all I remember of our time together…and yet…no matter what anybody says about you…I'll never hold a grudge against you…"

Although the squad members remained stoic, they stood amazed by the lengths of Juuzo's love seemed to extend. At least his instinctual refusal to hate seemed nothing short of astonishing to them. Big Madame, however, felt the opposite. This made her angrier than before.

"…You…little…SHIT! YOU THINK THAT WEAK-ASS CONFESSION MAKES ALL OF THIS OKAY?! WELL, GUESS WHAT? I NEVER LOVED YOU! I ONLY KEPT YOU BECAUSE YOU LOOKED LIKED A DOLL!"

Investigator Abara covered Juuzo's ears before asking,

"Shall we?"

Juuzo simply nodded yes. Thus prompting the rest of the squad to deliver a collective finishing blow, finally killing Big Madame once and for all. Seeing the Madame's corpse bleeding itself away, Juuzo whispered to himself,

"Goodbye…"

(end)

xxxxxx

Aogiri seemed to have the battle in their favor. Until Ayato received an update from Miza.

"Ayato, I just got an update from Ghost."

"What's up?"

"More Doves will be here soon. More than what we can handle."

"Crap…so even with Ghost, Fire Eater, and Blockbuster…"

"We'd still be wiped out. We got no other choice."

Naki ran past Ayato, yelling to him,

"Ayato, we gotta move!"

"Fine."

Ayato switched to the radio channel on his comm to contact Hinami.

"Hina, do you read me?"

"…Yes."

"The Doves are getting reinforcements. We gotta leave."

Silence occupied the moment before Hina responded,

"I'm sorry…I have to know…"

"The hell you talking about?"

"Goodbye, Ayato…"

"Hina!"

Hinami's signal went dead, much to Ayato's anger.

"God damn it! Miza, I'm going after her!"

"Are you crazy?"

"I can't leave her here!"

"If she's staying here, she's already dead. We have to go!"

Before long, Ayato sees at least five military trucks, all carrying additional Investigators to join the ones already here. Ayato knew what he had to do.

"For once…I honestly regret disappointing Touka…"

xxxxxx

Finally locked out of the computer network of the Bureau Command trailers, all Deathlok did was broadcast the radio chatter through his mouth as he sat on the audience railing near where he placed the Investigator. To let Haise know about the details of the operation, in order to drive him further into hopelessness. Deathlok soon ceased broadcasting the radio chatter from his mouth to speak.

"From the gist of it, they're not coming for you…all that yelling…hell, I even exposed how much of an arrogant dick the leading Dove turned out to be. Especially towards…"

Deathlok looked at Haise.

"Well you."

Although Haise healing from the numerous beatings he took from Deathlok, his healing factor drained a lot of his stamina, which never happened before. As well as his sanity.

"In the end, that's what they are. These people are parasites that will suck anything useful out of you until there's nothing left to suck. And right now…you're looking like a sausage with no meat in the casing."

Deathlok got down from the railing and picked up Haise by his neck once more.

"You mean nothing to these people! YOU MEAN NOTHING TO ANYBODY!"

Little did both Haise and Deathlok knew, Saiko arrived at the auditorium but stayed under the cover of shadow. She wanted to rescue Haise, but one look at Deathlok scared her to death. His demented appearance instantly faded any courage she had in her. Deathlok asked Haise as he slowly choked him,

"So…what are you in the end? Trash…or treasure?"

In between breaths, Deathlok heard Haise muttering to himself,

"Don't want…to…disappear…"

"Well…it's not like…"

Deathlok slowly tightened his grip on Haise's neck.

"You have…"

Deathlok then placed both hands on Haise's neck, intending to finishing the job.

"A CHOICE!"

Just before Deathlok almost killed Haise by choking the life out of him, a rinkaku appeared, prompting Deathlok to let go of Haise to dodge its attack. This surprised Saiko as well. When the dust of the attack cleared, the one behind the attack revealed herself.

"Hina…why are you cockblocking me?"

Hinami held Haise in her arms as she faced Deathlok.

"Seriously though, I thought we were on the same side."

"His mutation can be of some use to us. We have to move now before more Doves get here."

Deathlok did not believe Hinami and brought out a minigun from his cybernetic arm.

"I'll decide that."

Deathlok fired at the tired Investigator, only for Hinami to deflect every bullet with her kagune. As he continued firing, Deathlok asked,

"Why the hell are you protecting him?!"

Hinami remembered one of the first good memories of Kaneki. Although he was a little imposing, his love for books gravitated her to him. Such a shared passion soon became the foundation of their relationship. She looked at the unconscious Haise, seeing the undeniable physical resemblance of the older-brother figure she lost some time ago. She remembered how he introduced to her the idea that a word can have so many meanings.

"The idea that a word can be so many things was so new to me…"

Hinami then remembered what Ayato told him when she discovered that he was alive.

flashback

(nighttime)

Hinami dropped the coffee cup when Ayato told her and the rest of the staff of Touka's café. Silence filled the room until Touka broke it by asking,

"No…"

"Yeah…Kuzuri is alive. I got word from one of my guys. He likes to gamble in the cage fights down at the 8th ward. He told me about the fighter named Gin no Tsume fighting against Kisho Arima."

That last detail shock Yomo the most.

"By the time the fight got serious, Kuzuri, or Gin, brought out his claws against Arima. That was when things went south. Everyone who recorded the fight with their phones instantly shut down. And that was before the smoke bombs."

"Smoke bombs?"

Asked Touka.

"Yeah. They exploded out of nowhere, causing a lot of panic. Everyone got out, but so far, it hasn't been recorded. After all, cage fighting is illegal, so none of the humans will ever talk to the cops about it. But the fact that the Doves were looking for him can mean something."

Hinami instantly ran outside, with Touka going after her.

"Hinami, wait!"

"What for?! Kaneki is alive!"

"I know, but we don't know how or why."

"What's to know?! He's back…I thought you wanted this…"

Touka held back as she responded,

"I do…but we can't know for sure. Let's at least talk with Laura and…"

"Sorry Touka…"

Hinami ran into the night, running towards the city.

"HINAMI!"

Hinami remembered running almost nonstop, desperately searching for the man she called her older brother. She soon stopped, feeling tired for running most of the night. As she spotted a nearby park bench to rest upon, she began to feel the need to sleep.

"Can't sleep yet…he's still out there…"

Just as she began to lay on the bench, Ayato stopped her by grabbing her head with his left hand. He then gently put her upright before letting go. Hinami looked to see who it was and felt surprised when she saw Ayato.

"My place is nearby. You can catch up on your Zs."

Soon after, Hinami followed Ayato to where he lived and took a long nap. After said nap, he and her talked about working together. Although Hinami knew it meant working for Aogiri, the organization that made Kaneki leave Japan, since she wanted to believe in Ayato, she took his offer. After a month, Hinami earned a mask and went under the name of Yotsume. She earned her place in the organization by using her enhanced senses training she got from Irimi. Her acute ears allowed her to pick up radio chatter from the Doves, which put her in an advantageous position to listen to any and all mentions of a certain mutant. After months of listening to Dove chatter, she finally found something that led her to Kaneki. She heard a mention of a mutant leading a new squad in the future. This elated her, having some indication of Kaneki's resurrection. She brought this to Ayato's attention. He attempted to ease her, stopping her from acting too rashly.

"You sure you want to follow this?"

"Ayato, this is the whole reason why I joined in the first place!"

Ayato sighed, knowing the day would arrive. He tried to talk down Hinami from her impulse to go to Kaneki's side.

"Ok…I'll let go to him…but…let talk to a guy. He knows to break into the cybersecurity that the Doves use for their computers without them knowing. Give me at least a week to find out more about this mutant that Doves have with them."

Hinami sighed, relenting to Ayato's demand.

"Fine…"

Ayato looked at Hinami with a small measure of pity, knowing she really missed Kaneki. Although he had no such feelings for the mutant, Ayato can relate on what it felt like to miss family taken from you. A week passed, and no later than that Ayato gave what he promised.

"We found the mutant."

"And?"

"Well…here's the thing…he does have the mutation that Kuzuri had."

Hinami's eyes lit up with hope.

"But he's not calling himself Ken Kaneki."

Now she sat confused. Ayato explained further.

"Apparently, he's calling himself Haise Yashida."

"Haise?"

"I honestly don't know why. Apparently, Kisho Arima was seeking him out for something related to a top-secret project that my computer guy couldn't find out about."

"But what about-?"

"I'm getting to that. Ken Kaneki, now Haise Yashida, is the great-grandson of Ichiro Yashida, founder of Yashida Industries."

"Yashida Industries?"

"It's one of the corporations that helped Japan rebuild after World War II. Because of that, it's one of the richest companies in the country today."

"Wow."

"He has one son, and a granddaughter. But he lost his granddaughter during the Moses Magnum incident, an incident that the X-Men were involved in."

Hinami lightly gasped at that detail. She wondered if they knew what happened to Kaneki's father.

"We don't know how his great-grandson suddenly came into the picture, but for now, he's being kept hidden from the world at large. But the Doves may have learned who he really was, and must've blackmailed old-man Yashida into getting Kuzuri into their organization."

Hinami feared that the Doves may have done something to him. Similar to what Weapon X did to him.

"Maybe that's it…"

"What's it?"

"Weapon X. The Doves have files on what kind of experiments Weapon X did in the past. Maybe they used that information to get Kaneki into working for him."

"Hold on…"

"That's it! Kaneki's been brainwashed into working for the enemy!"

"Hold on!"

Hinami listened to Ayato.

"Humans don't need to be brainwashed to hate us. The same goes for mutants."

Ayato knew that Hinami will go to extreme lengths to get Kaneki back. He offered a compromise.

"Listen, my computer guy also got where he'll be hunting tonight."

"Hunting…?"

"…you'll see."

When night arrived, Hinami followed Ayato to where Kaneki would be. As they arrived, they waited for about an hour before they saw Kaneki from a distance. At first, when Hinami saw him, her first instinct was to cry. Someone she sorely missed, back but so far away. Soon, she saw something that made her believe her earlier theory. She sees Kaneki fight against a ghoul. She saw how he fought, like a skillful berserker. Still, it saddened her see Kaneki killing ghouls. Like a Dove. Ayato commented,

"Still think he's brainwashed?"

Soon, Kaneki finished the fight by digging his claws into the ghoul's skull. Her heart felt as if it sunk into some abyss within her. The days after that, she later learned of how many Aogiri ghouls were killed at the hands of Haise Yashida. Now whatever hope she had seemed to slowly fade away.

end

Hinami continued to defend Haise from Deathlok, even with the fear that Kaneki may have been gone longer than she realized.

"Is he really gone…if so…if Kaneki's body really belongs to Haise now…then I will protect him regardless. I won't let him fight alone anymore!"

Hinami got into a ferocious state and rapidly attacked Deathlok with her kagune. Such an attack almost made the cyborg ghoul down for the count. Unfortunately, Deathlok healed himself in front of Hinami.

"Healing factor…not a mutation like his, but rather a combination of my ghoul abilities and my cybernetic implants. So, unlike him…"

Deathlok pointed at Haise.

"I'm unstoppable!"

Then, a kagune mask began to grow from the back of his head. It took the shape of a bird's beak and covered his organic half of his face.

Healing a little at a time, Haise sees the female ghoul standing in front of him.

"Is she…protecting me?"

Haise whispered to himself,

"Why?"

Saiko continued to watch, not interrupting due to fear still dominating her will. Deathlok then implanted part of his kagune into his cybernetic arm to create a minigun arm that shot plasma-based bullets. The other part of his kagune became an arm blade. He then charged toward Hinami, with his minigun arm forward, shooting. Hinami deflected every bullet at her, but the fact that said bullets were coated with heated plasma chipped away at her kagune. Soon, she summoned another kagune. A pair of kokaku in the shape of flower petals. Although the kokaku was strong enough to shield her from the bullets, it got ripped apart when Deathlok switched to his arm blade. Shocked by this, Hinami tried to change kagunes, but reacted too late as Deathlok grabbed her by her neck, and dragged her across the stage walls. Haise wanted to stopped him, but his exhaustion prevented him from acting, leaving him no choice but to watch. Soon enough, Hinami stopped fighting back due to how much damage Deathlok did to her. She breathed heavily as she thought to herself,

"So this is Deathlok…it's just as the report said: a hybrid of cyborg technology and ghoul abilities, creating a true next-generation soldier…"

Hinami felt some regret over her decision to join Aogiri.

"What was the point of leaving if it was going to come to this?"

Haise heard this and felt the urge to get up. In his mind, Haise acknowledged something that should have been done some time ago.

"I have to make this choice now…or else this girl will pay the price for my cowardice…"

Hinami heard someone getting up. She looked back, only to see her greatest fear. Losing Kaneki again, and being helpless about it.

"No…not again…"

Hinami says to Haise,

"Ken…please go…"

Tears fell from her face as she said it. Although Haise did not want to hurt this girl, what he said came from his heart.

"I'm not the person you knew…All I know is that I'm Haise Yashida…But I can imagine just how wonderful he must've been to you…for you to care that much about him…"

Haise slowly limped towards Deathlok. The cyborg ghoul looked forward to beating Haise again. Except this time, he knew exactly how to kill him. Hinami slowly raised her hand at Haise, trying to talk him out of this despite being too tired to do anything. Before she could speak, Hinami was interrupted by Saiko yelling at Haise.

"MAMAN!"

Saiko put herself in view of not only Haise but also Deathlok. Haise noticed that Saiko was crying as well.

"D…Don't go…"

You need to make a choice…

Haise felt regret at not only having to make not just Hinami cry for him, but Saiko as well. Haise whispered to himself,

"…Fine…give me the power…"

At that moment, the persona of Haise faded into the shadows of his psyche. Taking place on the surface was a persona that Hinami knew very well. As soon as his claws appeared…

SNIKT!

Haise roared. His roar was all too familiar to Hinami.

(play Unravel – TK from Ling Tosite Sigure)

"He's back…Kuzuri is back…"

Tears flowed from Hinami's eyes. This time, tears of joy. Deathlok started shooting at Kuzuri, but the metal-clawed mutant moved faster then the cyborg ghoul realized.

"The fuck?!"

By the time Deathlok saw Kuzuri close to him, it was too late. Kuzuri delivered a series of claw swipes on Deathlok's person. The pain came later for Deathlok, which made him scream in agony. Deathlok then made a big leap back to shoot at Kuzuri once more, but the act proved itself worthless again as Kuzuri moved faster than the bullets. Deathlok kept running from him, but Kuzuri caught up with him with little problem. Deathlok tried to use his environment to get a leg-up on Kuzuri in anyway, but Kuzuri stayed clam. Inside of him, however, Kuzuri felt a good measure of conflict inside himself. Something Kuzuri noticed.

Haise…are you afraid of me?

"…Yes."

Why? Despite how I act…I am on your side.

"Because…you seem so stronger than me…but it's not just that. I feel like I have a void in me…"

Kuzuri finally caught up with Death and gave a series of rapid-fire claw swipe while yelling,

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

One of the claw swipes broke apart Deathlok's kagune mask, which made him scream in panic.

"And it's swallowing me…"

Deathlok then switched to the missile launcher in his arm and fire whatever missiles he had left in his arm at Kuzuri.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! JUST DIE!"

Deathlok soon ran out of ammo. Smoke filled the area where fired, only for an opening within the smoke to appear, with Kuzuri exiting from it. Deathlok feared for his life when Kuzuri charged toward him, and gave the same type of attack while yelling,

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

"A giant hole of pure nothing…and I don't have the strength of self to fight it…"

When Kuzuri finished, Deathlok instantly retaliated by grabbing Kuzuri by his shirt with his metal arm and started stabbing Kuzuri with his kagune blade.

"I don't know if I can win…I'm nothing like you…right now…I can't tell which of us is fighting this fight…"

Then Deathlok slammed Kuzuri to the floor. Then he repeatedly slammed Kuzuri's head to the floor.

"I feel like I'm fading…"

I can get what you're feeling…but there's something you need to know Haise…

"What?"

Then, for Haise, time seemed to slow down. Then he felt as if he was being transported to another place.

xxxxxx

Haise sees Kuzuri, in his mask and costume, in front of him.

"You're not real…"

"I'm…not…?"

"Look into your family…Ichiro cannot be…"

"Can't be what?"

Kuzuri seemed to fade away. As did Haise.

xxxxxx

Haise snapped back to reality and headbutted Deathlok. This disoriented the cyborg ghoul, which gave Haise the opportunity to stab Deathlok in the chest. He yelled whiled doing so before stabbing Deathlok multiple times before kicking him back. Haise then fell to the stage floor. Deathlok struggled to breathe before healing himself again. Deathlok wanted to fight Haise again, but this time he received a message.

(end)

RETREAT. THE MISSION IS CONSIDERED A FAILURE.

"I…I can still…"

THIS IS AN ORDER.

Deathlok wanted to disobey.

DON'T MAKE BRING YOU BACK.

Deathlok knew what it meant. Before he left, he says to Haise,

"This isn't over…not by a long shot."

Deathlok left before a small group of Investigators arrived to recover both Saiko and Haise, but not long after Arima arrived with them. Hinami especially knew who he was.

"The Dove Reaper…"

Hinami attempted to run away, but her fight with Deathlok left her both tired and injured.

"I'm…going to die here…"

Hinami felt as if her mother's fears soon came to pass as Arima walked towards her. However, Haise has enough energy left in him to make a daring declaration.

"Arima…"

He stopped to listen to Haise.

"She's my responsibility…"

This surprised not just Arima, but also every Investigator in earshot.

"Are you sure?"

"…Yes…"

Arima withdrew his quinque and issued an order.

"Put cuffs on the ghoul."

Two Investigators did what Arima order. As Hinami was guided from the scene, Saiko went to Haise's side, hugging him in the process.

"My report: On November 11th, at 0500 hours, the Ghoul Countermeasures Bureau carried out two simultaneous missions. One was the secure transport of quinque steel, led by Special Investigator Marude. The other was Operation Auction Sweep."

Soon more Investigators arrived to wipe out the rest of the ghouls within the area of the building.

"After the S3 squad successfully guarded the quinque steel transfer, they then mobilized to Zeum Hall to assist the Investigators during Auction Sweep."

Miza received the news about the transfer assault.

"Damn…we've failed on both fronts…"

Miza then issued an order on her comm.

"Everyone retreat! Get the hell out of here."

In another area, Croque Monsieur got away safely. He spoke to his two bodyguards.

"Kanae, I know you tried your best…"

Within Kanae was a storm of emotions, all rooted in shame.

"Matsumae…we'll try other solutions."

"Yes…Master Mirumo…"

"Under the command of Matsuri Washuu, numerous ghouls belonging to Aogiri were wiped out. Including the successful extermination of formally male ghoul Big Madame. The Quinx squad contribution to the mission, such as gathering the intel of the time and location of the Auction itself, the extermination of Nutcracker, and assisting Suzuya squad in assisting in killing Big Madame, were vital to the success of the mission."

Another group of Investigators arrived to assist Suzuya squad in the disposal of Big Madame. A few of them saw both Mutsuki and Urie recovering from their wounds from fighting Big Madame. One of the Investigators recognized Urie.

"Hey. You recognize this guy?"

"I think so…isn't he related to Mikito Urie?"

"Yeah…that's his kid."

"It shows…"

Mutsuki wanted to ask Urie what the Investigators were talking about, but he did not seem to be in a talking mood.

"However, the operation came at a cost. The casualty count on our side was in the dozens. On the other hand, Aogiri suffered casualties probably in the hundreds due to not only the Bureau, but an independent agent outside either organization. Reports say that the fallen Aogiri members suffered severe blunt force trauma. Most likely by a metallic appendage, as hypothesized in the autopsy reports."

Akira ran toward to where the Quinxes were, only to find Deathlok running from the scene. Both stared at each other. It took Akira a while, but she recognized who it was.

"Taki…?"

Deathlok did nothing else but run. Akira stood in shock over seeing a lost comrade revived as the enemy.

"Two of the powered mercenaries Big Madame hired, Jackal and Deadpool, were placed in a prison within Tokyo made for powered criminals. The other three; Blockbuster, Ghost, and Fire-Eater, managed to escape alongside the remaining Aogiri survivors. As such, their status of ghoul-sympathizers was added to their criminal charges. While Deathlok was a considered S-Ranked ghoul due to his actions against Bureau Investigators during the Auction Sweep."

Soon, the Quinxes quietly reunited. Amidst the crowd of Investigators wrapping up the Operation, the Quinxes, tired after the operation, simply hugged each other in gratitude for being alive and seeing each other after such a violent event. Even Urie joined in, after his intentions of leaving them were made apparent. Haise silently enjoyed the moment, but in the back of his mind, he knew he had to make a choice. One that could cost him the family he made for himself.

That's the end of the chapter. It took some time to finish, but I did and feel a little proud of myself for it. Even though this is not the last chapter, the next one won't be until somewhere in the next year. However, I am happy for all of you who stayed with me since the first Kuzuri fan-fic. Your readership is more than enough for me to go on. Next chapter will be a lot more relaxed, some light development in terms of what I have planned for Deadpool, and the first half of a filler chapter. Until then, stay safe out there, and have a very Merry Christmas, an outrageously Happy Hanukah, a seriously joyful Ramadan (even though that's already past), an utterly rapturous Festivus, a totally cheery Kwanzaa, and a completely jubilant Winter Solstice to all. And a happy New Year. See you next time.