GUNSHOTS. SCREAMS. BLOOD. DEATH. PART OF 20TH WARD SURROUNDING ANTEIKU HAS BEEN COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED BY CHAOS. In the shadows and silence, Aogiri came to the scene of the CCG's operation. They stood on the roof of the buildings and observed the fight that has been unfolding. The once retired ghoul groups Apes and Black Dobers were fighting the large forces of CCG. Aya almost found it amusing how once rivalry groups Apes and Black Dobers were fighting alongside each other to defeat the CCG who launched an attack on Anteiku. And they did it all because of Yoshimura – the One Eyed Owl – the fake one. But CCG didn't know that; they didn't know they were targeting the willing copycat. There was a reason why Yoshimura posed as the One Eyed Owl and Aya found that reason a silly one.
The CCG surrounded the Anteiku. Each street was covered with bodies. Smoke rose high in the air as the battle seemed without end. The blue eyes of Aya searched through the battlefield for that one person she constantly kept thinking of. Ken Kaneki. And she found him. Many blocks away he was facing a division of CCG lead by Koutarou Amon. Stop worrying! Aya yelled at her own self for becoming so protective of Ken. He can protect himself. She tried to convince herself.
Cheers filled the air and Aya's eyes wondered towards all CCG members raising their hands in the air in celebration. Her eyes examined the situation, trying to find the reason for their celebration. And she found it on the roof of one building. One Eyed Owl – Yoshimura – lied on the ground without any sign of life. Aya wanted to laugh out loud. She found it funny when she knew that Yoshimura only pretended to be an Owl in order to protect his child; the true One Eyed Owl: Eto.
"Where's the Eyepatch?" Ayato wondered out of the sudden as he came to stand next to her. "Why is he not with us?" He asked.
"He left Aogiri." Aya answered.
Ayato chuckled in disbelief. "In a body bag?" He asked and Aya laughed.
"Nope."
Ayato stared at her – he wanted to know so much about her. He wanted to know what was the reason of Ken leaving and why did she seem like she didn't want to talk about. Why is she not telling me something?! He wanted to know what happened between her, Tatara, Eto and Noro. He wanted answers that will explain her relationship with the four of them. He wanted to know why was she always the special one among them. She was treated as same as everyone, yet differently. Ayato was never this curious, but the mystery had begun to bother him.
"What happened between you and Tatara?" Ayato questioned without hesitation.
"We had a little talk."
"What kind of a talk?"
"You're being curious?" She looked at him with raised eyebrows – it was strange of Ayato to keep asking questions like a child. "You never ask so many questions."
Ayato faced her completely, stepping closer to her enough to make him seem intimidating. "How can I not when there is something you are all hiding?"
She understood where his frustration was coming from. Ever since Yamori died, Ayato begun to feel out of place. There were many occasions when Tatara would call for Aya to speak with her, and only with her. Eto as well seemed more interested in the well-being of Aya than anyone else. It felt as if Ayato didn't belong with them as Executive, he felt as if he was more of a subordinate than an Executive.
"Don't concern yourself with it, Ayato." She told him with softness in her voice – she was trying to be comforting. "The less you knew the better for you." She looked at him with reassurance. "Trust me."
The why she said those words gave Ayato a hint that at the moment she didn't feel like having that conversation. There was still much more Ayato wanted to ask, but because of respect he had for Aya, he decided to keep his tongue behind his teeth and wait for the end of the battle. And that will have to wait for a very long time because the battle only just started...
In the night sky above 20th Ward, meteor-like object cut through the air and crushed on the roof where the fallen Yoshimura lied and other Ghoul Investigators stood: Yukinori Shinohara, Iwao Kuroiwa, Juuzou Suzuya and Koori Ui. The doves' celebration was short-lived as the real One Eyed Owl made its appearance before the four investigators that thought they had defeated the Owl.
"It's time."
Aya rose her arm high in the air and with her cue, many weak structures on the building begun to break and fall down onto the road where CCG circulated. Chaos once again begun and CCG ran from the unseen enemy that organized for the heavy object to fall onto them. Satisfied with the damage, Aya lowered her arm forward and on her second cue, subordinates of Aogiri Tree rushed off the roof and fell towards the CCG like rain drops.
"Let me guess: you're are not going to fight." Ayato commented, causing Aya to click with her tongue annoyingly but she didn't say anything back.
Ayato shook his head in disappointment and frustration before he jumped off the roof with the rest of Aogiri Tree. Aya watched as all of Aogiri members cut through CCG almost with ease while some represented a bit of a challenge. She wanted to join them, she wanted to fight alongside everyone else, but because of the orders to keep silent and make less noise, Aya had to learn how to restrain herself to please others.
Observing the rest of the battlefield, Aya saw Tatara fighting through CCG as if they were made of paper. Noro followed in suit. Eto was having her fun, just as Aya suspected she will. Her only task was to grab Yoshimura and leave, but sacrificing fun was like sin to Eto. Eto loved playing with Ghoul Investigators, she loved to wrap people around her little fingers and play with their minds.
Averting her eyes from one battle, to another, Aya looked back into the direction where Ken was fighting Koutarou Amon. Most of the division had either scattered or been crushed by the fragile structures that fell off the roofs. One such structure begun to fall and with his long Rinkaku kagune, Ken destroyed the structure into pieces for one reason only: to protect the CCG members carrying an injured partner right underneath it. Aya smiled, admiring his kindness. If it was her, she would just let the structure crush them. That's why she liked Ken – because his power didn't mean only destruction.
"Kitsune!"
No... She could recognize that angry voice immediately. It was Ryuu Tsukino. Her eyes immediately changed in color and turned red with red veins popping around her eyes. He's alone... Aya watched him approach with his quinque katana in his tight grip. The rest of the CCG had all fallen around them by Aogiri's subordinates and Aogiri had already moved forwards, deeper into the battle. Which left Aya all alone with her old enemy: Ryuu Tsukino.
"What's wrong, Kitsune?!" Ryuu yelled. "Too proud to fight?!" He provoked her. "Everyone else fights and dies and you only watch?! Is that where you've been during Cochlea? Hiding!?"
He was provoking her and Aya hated it. "You talk too much..." She whispered to herself.
Aya took a small step forwards, ready to jump off the roof and attack Ryuu directly. But something didn't seem right for her. She saw readiness in Ryuu's eyes, she saw smirk on his lips and Aya hesitated to make that jump. You're are not alone... Aya's eyes wondered to left and to the right side of Ryuu and she saw someone hiding on each side. They are trying to fool me... They couldn't easily fool her – her eyes were made to warn her.
Smirk came to Aya's lips underneath the black medical mask. And she decided to do everything opposite from what Ryuu expected of her to do. She stepped forward and let herself fall down onto the ground, landing perfectly on her feet 10 meters away from Ryuu Tsukino. She could see unease in Ryuu's body as she responded differently. He expected of her to jump directly towards him, but she was excessively smart for that.
Kitsune walked forwards, very slowly. "You just can stop thinking about me, can you?" Kitsune teased. "If I didn't know you better, I would say you are obsessed with me."
Ryuu glared at her. "You deserve to die for all you've done."
"Me and thousands of others."
Ryuu gripped the hilt of his quinque, ready for anything as he watched her take a step after step fearlessly – she was unpredictable. And Ryuu wanted her as closer as possible. The sounds of battle were behind them and all Ryuu was focused on was her. He has been searching for her since the moment Aogiri dropped on CCG. He had searched for her during Cochlea's attack, but there was no trace of her. For weeks after 11th Ward, Ryuu has been preparing himself to face her again. And this time he wanted her dead.
"You will die today, Kitsune."
Kitsune laughed as if she heard the funniest joke. "No, I won't." She responded and came to a stop. "Are we going to chit-chat, or are we going to fight?"
Kitsune spread her arms, waiting for Ryuu to take the first step. She knew Ryuu expected of her to attack first, but it seemed he was reconsidering. Taking in a deep breath and raising his blade, Ryuu pushed his feet of the ground and rushed towards Kitsune. He took a large swing with his quinque and cut through air towards her. Kitsune evaded his attack without too much effort and she continuously kept on evading his next attacks. He was faster than the last time – Kitsune noted that immediately. But he was still no match for her.
From the corners of her eyes, she saw two figures revealing themselves from their covers once they realized their plan won't work as they planned. Jurou Hamuro and Akio Ishizu. The only living members of Tsukino's Squad. Aya was surprised to see Jurou – especially since she broke his ribs weeks ago. She didn't expect him to recover so quickly. Maybe I should break his spine next. There was something new in Jurou's eyes and in the eyes of Akio. They both wanted her dead for putting an end to their friends. But Kitsune didn't fear – she was capable of fighting the most challenging foe.
The blade of Ryuu's quinque begun to burn red and Kitsune had to jump away from Ryuu as the heat of the blade was burning her skin in close range. As she jumped away from Ryuu, Akio rushed towards her and begun to swing at her with his heavy quinque. Ryuu attacked her as well, giving her no chance to try and escape his blade, and Kitsune utilized her kagune to be able to defend herself. Jurou had bow in his arms – bow that once belonged to his fallen friend: Yui Chida. Kitsune expected him to use the same trick as Yui.
And she was right. The moment Jurou saw Kitsune was distracted by Ryuu and Akio's unstoppable attacks, Jurou released the trigger. In one swift moment, the kagune of Kitsune swung wildly at Ryuu and Akio to push them away and her hand, with abnormal speed, caught the arrow before it could come in contact with her head. Kitsune looked pass the arrow she held and towards Jurou whose eyes opened wide with surprise.
"You want to die like your friend, don't you?" Kitsune mocked.
Suddenly, electric shock rushed from the arrow through Aya's body. All her nerves suddenly went numb and her body completely twitched. With a cry, Aya fell to the ground as electricity traveled through her entire body. Her heart quickened. Her breath quickened. And all that was going through her head was to try and run away, at least until she restores control over her body. Aya rolled on the ground with every bit of control she still had, but that control was short lived.
"Again, Jurou!"
And Jurou released another arrow which shoot directly into Kitsune's side. Cry left her lips as the electricity was released and this time, the pain travelled through her blood. It was more intense and unbearable as electricity travelled within her. Aya couldn't remember the last time she was in so much physical pain. She could no longer feel her body. The nerves inside her went completely cold and her body begun to twitch to the electricity inside her. However, she was still awake. Her eyes, they were wide open and watching...
Ryuu came to stand above her. He pushed her onto her back with his foot and made sure that she was watching him. Ryuu wore a grin on his lips. He crouched down above her, looking victorious as ever. And Aya was completely hopeless. Her eyes were blue once again. The hood was off her head, revealing the long bangs of her long dark brown hair. Ryuu reached forwards and ripped the medical mask off her face. And Kitsune's appearance was revealed to them.
"So, this is the face of the infamous Kitsune?" Ryuu commented as he saw her face for the first time. "For years, I had nightmares about you. For years, I waited for you. For years, the only thing that kept me going was imagining my blade cutting your head off. For years, I only wanted you dead." Ryuu spoke with poison in his words. "You destroyed me, Kitsune. You took my life."
Aya never really cared for Ryuu. He was just a nuisance in her way and occasional plaything. But his eyes told her how much pain she had caused him. He was a broken man that will kill her and only then, he will lose his purpose because his only reason to fight, was to kill her. Ryuu had his very soul broken many times by the same ghoul. His eyes were angry. He wanted to scream at her, but tried to keep himself as collected as possible. That rage caused tears to emerge from the corners of his eyes. With so much rage, he didn't only want to cut off her head, but all of her limbs. He wanted her body in pieces.
"And now, finally I will get to kill you."
And her eyes remained awake as she watched Ryuu raise onto his feet. He prepared his hot blade to cut through flesh.
Kishou...