A WEEK HAS PASSED SINCE NAKI WAS RESCUED AND HIS WHINING FOR YAMORI HAD COME TO A SLOW END. Gage and Guge have been his emotion support those all the hours of the day, and that seemed as if it was enough for Naki to accept that his great leader and a man he looked up to is dead. He's better off dead anyway. Aya lacked the respect for the dead, especially for Yamori – she wanted him dead. And Ken just made that wish come true – as cruel as it sounds she used him as a puppet. But that was something she kept to herself.
After Ken and she had a little conversation, Ken has been spending quite a lot of time with her. It was a way to avoid loneliness when he was all alone, a way to be closer to her, even though they would just sit in silence while they drink coffee he made and she works out the plans for Cochlea. And sometimes, when he would fall asleep, she would disappear without an explanation of why she left and where she had been. There was something she was hiding, but she kept her zips shut; she would only cleverly dismiss the topic.
"It's important to get as deeper as you can in Cochlea, preferably to the SS floor."
Ken watched Aya she put on a long black jacket that came to her tights. It was a bit oversized and Ken noted that Aya liked oversized clothes – sometimes she even seemed like a tomboy. But it was strange for him to see her putting a long jacket instead of her usual Aogiri cloak. Even Ayato seemed confused by it – he watched her intently.
Aya zipped up her jacket. "Tatara got us the numbers that we need in order to penetrate the ghoul prison and after the attack, the numbers should be higher. There are many powerful ghouls, and since I am not going, one of you will have to free Shachi."
Ken immediately reacted. "You're not going?" She avoided eye contact as she pulled her hair from underneath the jacket.
"There's something else I need to take care of."
"And what's that?" Ayato sharply questioned.
Aya looked at him. It was quite obvious that not even Ayato was completely aware of Aya's plans, and it bothered him. Even though there were many times when Ayato and Aya call each other names and appeared to dislike the opinions of one another, they still cared for one another. They were like brother and sister at times; always arguing or getting along or calling each other names. And at times, Ken thought there was something more between them – until Aya, spontaneously, revealed that she saw Ayato as a younger brother who she should be disciplining and not letting him be all hot-headed at times.
Aya's lips opened, but her voice never left. "It's time." Tatara suddenly spoke, standing a few feet behind them – his eyes on Ayato, indicating for him to stop questioning Aya.
All the weight Aya carried on her shoulders, was because Tatara placed it on her. Ken had taken time to observe how everyone acted in Aogiri Tree, that's why he noticed Tatara always seeking Aya. Or if it is not Tatara, then it's Eto. The two of them always wanted Aya by their side. They were suffocating her – Aya did not confess that to him, but he noticed how stressful she was feeling after each of their meeting.
"Let's go." Tatara commanded as he turned on his feet to leave.
Ayato looked back at Aya – and she gave him a remorseful look, as if she was apologizing for the mystery she was keeping. With a sigh, Ayato walked pass him – having nothing to say without; or at least he didn't know how to say it. Aya was not feeling indifferent about the situation, there was something she wanted to say, but something was holding her back. Ken's guess: Tatara.
"It's something wrong?" Ken wondered, his voice quiet.
Aya inhaled. "No, no, everything fine." She forced a smile. "You should go."
Without having anything to say, or time for it, Ken nodded. He placed his mask that hid his human eyes and revealed only the eyes that turns red. With one last glance at Aya, he walked pass her. But he didn't get far as her hand suddenly took his – gripping it tightly. He looked at her with wonder.
"Be safe." She whispered. "And make sure Ayato doesn't do something stupid."
There was true concern within her eyes. Ken squeezed her hand in response and slowly, he went to let go, but her hand still held on. She wanted to go with them, that's why she was feeling unsure. Aya had a need be wherever Aogiri went – they were her family and she wanted to protect their cause. And Ken knew that. Ken gave her a reassuring smile, it could be seen in his one visible eye, and slowly, her fingers let go of his – forcing a smile to come to her lips.
Aya watched as all of Aogiri departed, only a few remained to guard the hideout. With them gone, Aya took her mask and pushed the hood of her oversized jacket over her head. The bangs of her hair had grown to her eyes and constantly, she would push them apart just so then don't tickle her. She had her hair tied in a high ponytail – as if mentally and physically preparing herself for what comes next. She left the hideout and came to her destination which was only five minutes away.
It was abandoned motel; humans had left it after the Aogiri's attack. It was no longer safe for humans to live in some western parts and therefore, many left to live closer to CCG's main headquarters in 1st Ward. And that gave much space for ghouls to operate – especially Aogiri. The CCG saw them as problem – a problem that should be eradicated as soon as possible. There were many groups of ghouls that are known to CCG, but Aogiri was not like the other groups. They are coordinated, dangerous and numerous.
Coming to the second floor of the motel, Aya unlocked the door to the room. There was only silence as she entered – but the place was not empty. In the middle of the room, sat a woman strapped to the chair with her arms and legs. Her lips were shut with a duct tape and her eyes were red from all the crying – her skin stained and worn out from it. The moment the teary brown eyes of the woman recognized her, a cry left her sealed lips. She tried to scream, speak, yell, but only mumbling reached Aya's ears.
Aya spoke nothing. She shut the door, leaving only one ray of sunshine to squeeze through the closed windows. They could still see each other and it terrified the young woman which had no chance of escaping. Aya walked to her and she took a chair to set in in front of the woman and sat down. The woman breathed heavily as she watched her – keeping quiet as her blue eyes, cloaked by the shadows of her hood, examined her puffy eyes and the trembling of her body.
"This doesn't have to end badly, Taguchi." Aya spoke calmly. "I will remove the tape and you will tell me everything you know about Kanou. About his ghoulification experiments and his whereabouts." Aya reached forwards, but pulled back for a small second. "And if you try to scream, I'll make sure you stay awake while I rip you limb by limb. Got it?" Aya added a reminder with a little smile and quite convincing tone in her voice.
Woman's eyes wide, it took her a moment to process what she said before she hastily nodded in fear. And with that, Aya's took the edge of the duct tape and surprisingly, she gently piled it off with minimum pain. The human stared at her as she tossed the duct tape off somewhere and leaned into the chair, her legs spread and her hands resting on her tights.
"Now..." The ghoul spoke. "Tell me everything."
Woman's lips trembled as she tried to speak, her voice lost somewhere in her throat. The ghoul before her could easily fool her into believing that she is nice, but the human did not allow herself to fall for that. And for whatever reason, the ghoul wanted Kanou.
"I-I only know about a boy Dr. K-Kanou operated. K-Ken Kaneki was his name and that's all I know! I swear!" She cried out, desperate with hope that the ghoul will let her go.
"And what about two girls?" Aya questioned. "Twins? They are the same as Ken Kaneki. What do you know about them?"
And Aya watched her closely. She blinked, tears falling down her cheeks. Aya saw her thoughts – she saw her thinking but not in a way to search for information, but in a way to escape the truth. The nurse that worked for Dr. Kanou, Taguchi, was trying to find an alternative; she was trying to keep something to herself. And that overthinking gave her away.
"I-I-I don't know anything about two girls." She lied.
Aya sighed. "I had high hopes for you, Taguchi." Aya's eyes changed – those blue ones the nurse saw turned red with veins cracking on her skin. "So, I'll ask you again, what do you know about those girls?" She questioned with sharp tone in all of her words.
The woman trembled in the chair to she was strapped to. "P-Please..." She whined.
And suddenly, Aya's kagune burst out. Taguchi saw her end and she closed her eyes – too afraid to face her death. But she felt no pain. Instead she felt something poking her knee gently, and she felt more and more poking at other parts of her body, but no pain. Taguchi slowly opened her eyes and she was shocked. Ghoul's face was revealed to her – the mask was under her chin. Her skin pale, her eyes glowing red. And all around her, were many tails of her bikaku kagune, poking at each of her limb.
"Which piece of yourself are you ready to lose first?"
◾
NASHIRO YASUHISA AND KURONA YASUHISA. Twin girls born in a happy and wealthy family until a ghoul broke into their home and brutally murdered their parents in front of them. They were then taken into the CCG's custody where they became wards attending their Academy Junior School. And at some point, they became subjects of the same experiment Ken Kaneki went through. Their once lavishing home was now all abandoned – with a few secrets within.
"I'll regret eating you if I don't find Kanou." Aya murmured to herself as she stared at the almost haunting appearance of the mansion.
The grass had grown tall and vines had begun to wrap themselves against the walls. Aya approached, examining the dirty windows as if she was making sure no one was watching her from inside. She pushed the door open, to her surprise they were unlocked which made her immediately warier of her surroundings. Dust had settle in, with cobwebs in only every wall of the hall. The door let out a creepy and long sound as they slowly closed – the silence that followed only intensified the uneasiness in her heart.
Calm down, Aya. She told herself. The scariest thing in this house is you. She comforted herself. Gathering up her courage with a deep breath, Aya navigated through the first floor – searching for any kind of a path that could lead her under the ground to a place where Kanou's secret laboratory was located. She knew it could only be underneath the ground. Aya wondered through the hallways, avoiding cobwebs and hanging spiders. She was breathing in dust – which was absolutely irritating.
But it was worth going through all the small invisible and sticky obstacles. She came to stairs which lead down into the dark hallway. And Aya approached that darkness – finding a light switch on the wall. The basement was as covered in cobwebs as the floor above her – even more. She could hear the sound of mice running around – to which Aya took a deep breath as she advanced forward. There were wine shelves, filled with untouched wine and dust on top of it.
Aya wondered through the eerie basement, searching every corner for any door or pathway that could lead her somewhere else. But Aya hit the dead end. She placed her hands on her hips, sighing and scanning the area for anything that she might have missed. Until something came to her...
"Could it be..."
She looked at the wall in front of her with an idea on her mind. Kagune slipped from underneath her jacket and the tails formed into a fierce fist. With readiness in her kagune, Aya hit the wall. And the wall broke --- creating a hole through the moving organ and revealed a path. Impressed, Aya approached.
"Hm, obviously."
Rc Wall, a very common state of kagune in 24th Ward which Aya had faced a few times in the past. It could look like any other wall if there is something to cover it. Aya was not surprised Kanou was using it – after all he did have a lot of knowledge regarding ghouls and their anatomy. Aya stepped through the hole she had made, entering a quiet hallway that had stairs which led further into the ground.
Smirking to herself, Aya walked forward – deeper and deeper into the unknown. A small camera watched her as she walked forward and being that camera, Dr. Akihiro Kanou watched the ghoul enter with interest. And she saw that camera watching her – recording her.
And playfully, she saluted. "Hey there, Dr. Kanou."
Her path down the hallway towards the laboratory went smooth – she just traveled down one hole and another and another. Except for one inconvenience – one of Kanou's failed experiments attacked her when she was crossing the bridge over water that was running underneath it. Bloated experiment surprised her and Aya defended herself. And to her absolute disgust, the kagune of the experiment begun to eat the host. She questioned Kanou's experiments in that moment – feeling a bit uneasy with what she'll see once she finds the laboratory.
Pair of doors lead her to her destination. She was met with quietness. In the high white room covered with many pods surrounding her, Aya felt as if she was alone. Aya could see countless faces on the round window of every pod – she couldn't recognize any of those faces. Some windows were cover in blood – sparking Aya's curiosity. However, the most interesting view within the high and round laboratory was what stood in the center underneath the platform.
"Rize..."
Aya whispered – her eyes wide open as she approached the tank with a purple haired woman. She was naked within that tank – her arms and legs strapped, her body bent down while a device above her kept extracting the kakuhou in her back. Aya's footsteps barely broke the silence as she approached slowly. She touched the glass as she leaned forwards – looking at her and wondering whatever she was alive or not. Struggling, the woman rose her head up – teary purple orbs stared at her; completely unaware of her surroundings.
Aya chuckled. "Look at you..." Rize's eyes watched her – but in the starving state in which she was, she was barely aware of the time or space. "Freedom has its price, doesn't it?"
"Miss Kitsune."
Aya looked up and she saw the face of the doctor looking down at her. There was a faint smile on his pale face. Aya took a step back – one after another until her neck was no longer in uncomfortable position. She pushed the hood of her jacket a bit up until it was half up half down on her head.
"I'm surprised you are here." Dr. Kanou commented. "Such a valuable asset to Aogiri Tree has come here all alone while the rest are penetrating Cochlea." He said. "There must be a good reason behind it."
"There is." Aya answered. "I just came here to talk." She said, little grin coming to her lips. "And maybe persuade you into joining Aogiri Tree." She said nonchalantly with a shrug of her shoulders.
Akihiro Kanou let out a short laugh. "Now, I've been waiting for this for a very long time." He confessed and Aya raised her eyebrows in wonder. "Honestly, I believe I can benefit from joining your little organization, but I can also benefit only from you."
Aya felt endangered. But she stayed calm. However, she was ready for whatever will follow next. Aya was on alert – she didn't know what Dr. Kanou was capable of. He might be a human, but she knew he had his own tricks up his sleeves.
"This is how this will play out." He said. "My experiments will come out and play. You win, I'll join Aogiri. You lose, and you'll make a fine host for my future experiments." And without waiting for Aya's reply, he pressed onto a button on the control panel in front of him.
Whatever Aya wanted to say stayed behind her closed lips. One pod after another begun to open, and out came naked people – formerly human, now artificial one-eyed ghouls. They came in various shapes and sizes, mumbling something underneath their heavy breaths. Aya could hear "mother" and she could hear "I'm hungry" among all the murmurs.
"You see; I didn't expect Kaneki to be this successful. He was just a prototype, I expected him to die."
The experimental subjects approached Aya and attacked her as if they were only puppets led by a string – their primary goal was to feed. And Aya seemed just a perfect meal. They surrounded her. They reached out to her. Knew it, this couldn't be smooth... Aya prepared herself, yet she could push the feeling of creepiness as the subjects reached out to her mindlessly.
"These are only failures, but I'm sure a ghoul like you will have no problem cleaning up the mess."
And he was right. Aya's bikaku kagune erupted from her back with many tails – each tail for every failure. Her body moved quickly through the masses, the red kagune separate in many tails with white sharp end. Blood splashed the white tiles, bodies in pieces collapsed down among it. Aya was merciless against the mindless experimental subjects and Akihiro Kanou watched with so much interest.
"I have been watching you, Kitsune." Akihiro commented. "Your kagune, is impressive. And I wonder, what are its secrets? I want you to lose. I want you to be part of my experiments."
"You can only dream!"
With a little bit more effort, Aya managed to kill every last one of them. She was barely out of breath – in fact, she could handle a few more waves. She looked at Kanou and she saw a pleased expression adoring his pale face. Grin came to Aya's pale lips and she approached. She jumped, landing onto the platform next to Kanou. He took only one step away from her – he was a bit afraid, but he was confident. He knew she won't kill him.
"And now, you work for Aogiri." She told him – her ghoul eyes examining his reactions.
"I haven't even doubted you." Kanou commented. "That's why I am very glad that you, of all people, have come here. I needed someone to clean this mess." He gestured towards all the fallen corpses of his late subjects – lying in their own flesh and blood on the stained floor. "And you found me. Which means I need to relocate to a different place."
"And let me guess: I'll help." Her blue eyes closed with a sigh for a moment.
Kanou chuckled. "You are no fool, Kitsune." He said.
The door opened, and their attention focused onto it. A girl holding the other girl walked inside. Aya recognized them. Kuro and Shiro. Kuro, the twin with black hair, carried her sister in her hands. They were both stained in blood – but the one that was critical was Shiro. She was held in her sister's arms – seemingly dead. She gave no attention to all the flesh and blood around her – her teary dark eyes were onto on Dr. Kanou; not even Aya interested her.
"Papa?" Her voice was broken as she spoke.
"Kuro?" Kanou examined them with his eyes – no concern to share. "What a mess..." He commented as he saw Shiro in her arms; yet there was no compassion to give to Kuro or Shiro. "Hurry up and start eating so I can inject you with RC-activator." Aya hid away the disbelief – you are a monster; Aya found herself thinking.
Kuro held back the cry which was building in her throat. "Pa-papa... please take a look at Shiro..."
And he did. He looked at the body of Shiro in Kuro's arms – she was unmoving, her eyes wide open but there was barely light in those eyes. Her body was severely damaged with no sign of healing. Yet, Kuro still held onto hope that Kanou could do something about it. Aya looked Kanou – he stood on the platform, watching from the tall ground. There was no mourning in his eyes, or compassion – he simply didn't care.
"I see. The damage on her kakuhou is more than 70%. It's irrecoverable. Leave her." He responded without any emotion which left Kuro distraught. "It's alright. You'll be able to make friends... a lot too." And with just a bit of grin on his lips, he looked at Aya. "Shall we?"
Aya nodded, but she couldn't help but to look back at Kuro – tears stained her cheeks, but to cry left her lips; as if it was lost somewhere within her chest. Not even Aya could help her; not as if she wanted to. But she hated that compassion within her – she hated it because she noticed how her emotions were not made of steel anymore. I am becoming soft. And only one person crossed her mind who made her soft – person who she in so many shapes: Ken.