The day after Kyomu's capture, Ryusei could hardly believe that he had managed not only to control Origin, but also to confront and defeat a Kakuja. However, from what he could remember, a Kakuja's kagune was supposed to cover his whole body. He assumed that his was not complete, explaining why it only covered his arms and torso.
Currently, Ryusei was in his room scouring social networks for anything he might have missed again. The only thing that really caught his attention was the news about Kyomu Tower and how there was a clean-up crew to dispose of the ghoul bodies. He sighed in annoyance as he watched this. News like this could only make the public scared and paranoid.
The door to his room opened, and he turned to see Akira.
"Ryusei, I need you to come with me." She said.
"Another mission?" He asked.
"Not really. I'll explain on the way." She replied.
He stood up and walked towards her. They left the room and walked down the corridor.
"Kyomu isn't very cooperative. No matter what we do, he refuses to talk. But he just asked for you. He said he'd only talk to whoever beat him in battle." Akira explained.
"I've got a bad feeling about this. Is he being held back?" Ryusei said.
"We've done what we can to keep him under control, but we don't know if it's enough. From what we've observed, he's made no attempt to try and free himself. Perhaps he's conserving his strength for you so he can exact his revenge, but we're not sure." Akira replied.
"So what's the plan?" Asked the half-Amazon.
"Kotaro will be outside the interrogation room with his quinque. If anything goes wrong, he'll barge in and restrain Kyomu." Akira explained.
"And if he can't be held?" Said Ryusei.
"Then we have no choice but to kill him. It's as simple as that." Akira replied.
Ryusei nodded as they entered an elevator. Akira pressed a button, the doors closed and they began to descend into the depths of this base.
"How do you feel after going back on missions?" Akira asked.
"I'm fine. I had a bit of trouble with the Amazon Driver, but I'm okay. I almost couldn't sleep, though, because I was so excited about what happened." Ryusei explained.
"I can see that. You've got bags under your eyes." Akira smiled.
"Really?" Said Ryusei, surprised.
"Haven't you looked in the mirror lately?" Smiled Akira.
He shrugged. The elevator doors opened and they found themselves in another corridor. As they walked, Ryusei could see and hear the ghoul prisoners the GCC had managed to capture on previous missions. He didn't think they'd left any survivors from the tower. Well, none except Kyomu.
They reached the end of the corridor where Kotaro was standing. He was wearing his field mission uniform.
"Ready to go in, Ryusei?" he asked.
He nodded.
"I'll watch from the interrogation window." Akira said before entering a door on the right.
Kotaro unlocked the interrogation room and looked at his friend.
"Remember, if he tries to escape, I'll try to stop him. Don't try to attack him unarmed." he explained.
He nodded again.
"Good luck."
He opened the door and Ryusei stepped inside. The room was dark and essentially empty. The only things of note were a table, two chairs and Kyomu held in a straitjacket. His eyes gave her a dirty look.
"I was told you wanted to talk to me. I'm here, so talk. What was your role in the Aogiri Tree?" Ryusei asked, sitting down on one of the chairs.
"How did you do it? How could someone like you defeat a Kakuja?" Asked the ghoul, making Ryusei sigh.
"I don't think you noticed, but you don't really have a full Kakuja. Your kagune only covered your arms and torso. A full Kakuja kagune would cover his whole body." Ryusei explained.
"Even without being a full Kakuja, I should have won our fight! I'm far more powerful than you!" Kyomu shouted.
"Not really smarter in terms of fighting though." Ryusei retorted.
"Brat..." Kyomu grumbled to himself.
"Now that that's settled, tell me what I want to know." Said the young man.
"Why should I do this? You'll keep me here or you'll kill me once you've got what you want. I have nothing to gain by telling you anything!" Kyomu retorted.
"Then you should think about what you have to lose. I don't want to be here any more than you do. If you tell me what I want to know, I can talk to someone, see if we can make things more comfortable for you." Ryusei offered.
"Comfortable?" Kyomu laughed. "What do you think this is? A hotel for ghouls? There's no comfort to be found in this place for my kind. The GCC hunts us like wild animals."
"Because it's Ghouls like you who don't give us a choice. The ones who kill and take more than they need. Seeing as you're a Kakuja, that also tells me you've resorted to cannibalism. Ghouls like you are the reason the GCC exists in the first place." Ryusei retorted.
"And what about the other ghouls? The ones who aren't Kakuja. Why kill and capture them?" Kyomu asked sourly.
"I don't like it either, but they made their choice when they decided to work for you. Now, tell me what I want to know, or I'll just leave." Ryusei replied.
"Hum! Right, then. I worked as one of the "lower" leaders of the Aogiri Tree. They called me 'The Blade' because of my kagune." Kyomu explained.
"What did you do as an inferior leader?" Ryusei asked.
"I was in charge of making sure the ghouls were fit to fight. I trained them to fight, to hunt, to survive. I also had to finance the Aogiri tree." Kyomu replied.
"Why?" Asked the half-Amazon, more interested than he let on.
"Such a large group of Ghouls needs places to hide. Places where the GCC won't even think or dare to look." Replied the ghoul.
"So do you have any information about these lairs? Can you tell me where they are?" Ryusei asked.
"I'd rather talk to you in a civilized way. Locking me up like this isn't exactly civilized. I'll tell you everything if you'll release me from this contraption." Kyomu offered.
"How do I know you won't try to kill me or escape from this room?" Ryusei said warily.
"I may crave freedom, but I know a Ghoul like me won't last long in this place if I escape. I know what you're capable of, and I'd be a fool to try anything." Kyomu explained.
Ryusei looked down and thought. He had information they desperately needed, but if he did that, he could be killed in an instant. But he knew what he'd signed up for when he started this job. If he died to get this information, he would have done his part.
He stood up and walked over to him. He undid the camisole and dropped the jacket on the floor. Kyomu took a deep breath and sighed happily.
"Thank you." he said.
Ryusei sat back down and they looked at each other.
"Most of the other GCC agents wouldn't have even considered releasing me, but you... You're different." Said the ghoul.
"You're free of that straitjacket, now tell me the location of those hiding places." Says Ryusei.
"Very well." Kyomu nodded. "But I have to tell you that I've never been to the main hiding place, so I'm afraid I can't help you there. But as for the smaller hideouts, one is in the 19th arrondissement, another in the 22nd. The one in the 19th arrondissement is under the city. It's located in the sewers. One of the tunnels leading directly to the cache is located in a construction building. You should be able to find it easily. And the one in the 22nd district is a simple warehouse. The Aogiri tree uses it to train new recruits.
Ryusei nodded slowly.
"I see. Is there anything else you know?" he asked.
Ryusei asked, "No. The other leaders all keep their identities secret, no matter what." Kyomu replied.
"How many leaders are there, apart from you?" Ryusei asked.
"A few, but one stands above the rest. The One-eyed Owl." Kyomu replied.
The interrogation continued, with Kyomu having virtually no information on the other leaders. Once the interrogation was over, Ryusei returned to his room and looked at himself in the mirror. He thought back to his fight with the One-eyed Owl. How wild his first transformation had made him. How dangerous it would be for those close to him if he lost control again.
How dangerous he would be...
For Sen.