It was a good thing for a lot of ghouls to see Ryoko alive in that world. Especially for her daughter, she didn't want go see those moments again.
Koutaro was quite nervous. And not just fir realizing that all the things he thought were true were actually wrong.
If the events go somewhat according to their own timeline, than that version of him would come face to face with Kumagawa. And unlike the Eyepatch at that time, he doubts the human boy would be so merciful.
Kaneki however had his thoughts in another direction. If at that time he'd have used his power, would he have used his power.
Kaneki:What if...No, it's too late now.
Kaneki Ken was once a normal bookworm. Kind, naive, had only one friend and was a bit of a coward.
However, he's no longer that boy. He stopped being so after ripping Yamori apart a leaving him in that room for dead.
Rize:Ara, you have quite a complicated face there, Kaneki-kun. Wondering if there would've been a better way, perhaps?
Kaneki:No.
Rize:Oh?
Kaneki:That's already in the past, there's no changing it. Because of that accident, I became a ghoul. But because of me, I became a monster. Misogi...Even though he had not been made into something different, he had long accepted he was a monster. To deny that now would not only be stupid, but also disrespectful to my cousin.
Rize:Well now, haven't you grown...
Najimi:Ah, I do know that feeling well...
Although she dealt with many children, when compared to her, at Hakoniwa five images flashed in her mind. Those fice normal girls she mde into her proxy, only for later to defect to Medaka's side and later join Kumagawa's Naked Apron Alliance.
Najimi:Those cute, rebelious brats...Anyway, shall we move on? We're only at the beggining of our little arc, after all.
No one voices any protest. They knew their opinions didn't matter to begin with.
After long search Koutaro was unable to find the child ghoul and returned where he thought the job was already done. Imagine his surprise when he saw the corpses of two of his collegues together eith the uncounscious body of Kureo among ruble.
Koutaro:Mado-san!
Koutaro ran to his mentor and shaked his body, making the old man recover his counsciouness. Whoever did that had no intention of killing him, purposefully or not is yet to be seen.
Kureo:Phew, they got me good!
Koutaro:Mado-san! Was that ghoul so strong!?
Kureo:No, it wasn't her. A third party had intervene. A very fast and sneaky one. An ukaku user, perhaps? Anyway, we're not dealing with a common scum. Whoever it was, they managed to dispatch half of our squad and knock ne out on record time.
Koutaro:I see...That's problematic. I've never heard of an ukaku kagune to make such projectiles.
Kureo:That's what makes it all the more interesting! We might even be dealing with a kakuja.
Kureo got up and headed to the corpses of their camarades to investigate. After watching the screws he let out a confused noise.
Koutaro:What is it? It's a kakuja after all?
Kureo:No, that's what's most baffling. Amou-kun...This is no kakugune. Those are actual screws.
Koutaro:What!?
Back at Anteiku there was a meeting between the occupants while Hinami was sleeping in her room. Touka was understatably upset.
Touka:Shit!
Yoshimura:At least both of you got out alive.
Touka:But for Hinami-chan to need to see that...Those bastards!
Ryouko:There's another problem...
Kumagawa:[I had to kill two of them. Granted, they must've been really low level.]
Yoshimura:That is not good...
Kumagawa:[Yeah, I suppose they'd send more after the culprit. Although I'm not a ghoul, so you guys should be ssfe by the time they figure out what actually happened. Hey, do you think they'll come after me or send the normal police after me because I'm a human?]
Touka:Talk about being casual...
Rize:To be fair, it's not like there's much they could do to begin with.
Rize still did ponder his question. They would most likely give a jojnt effort as a precausion, because there'd be no definitive proof if he was a ghoul from the informations available to the CCG from that world.
Her mind set back on All Fiction and what Najimi explained about it. Couldn't that mean that he...
Rize:Ah, I see...Clever boy.
Renji:You're strangely relaxed about this.
Yoshimura:Kumagawa-kun, while I appreciate your gelp in the matter understand that beyond hiding you if the situation arises I can't offer any other kind of support.
Touka was half expecting Kumagawa to flip out once he realized his situation. However, he simply waved his hand with the sane smile alwais wore.
Kumagawa:[Don't worry, I wasn't gonna impose to you to begin with. I'm used to it.]
Yoshimura nodded in understandment. Despise his childish behavior, the ghoul can tell there's an abnormal maturity to the young man and that he's more than capable of taking care of himself.
Touka:...Tch!
Touka made a displeased sound and stormed off. With a sigh Kumagawa headed on the second floor to talk a bit with Hinami.
Kumagawa:[Did you have a good rest?]
Hinami:Yes! Thank you for saving mom, Onii-chan! Where's Onee-chan?
Kumagawa:[If she was like any other girl, I'd say shopping with her friends. But because this is Touka-chan, probably to take revenge for you.]
Hinami:What!? Why!?
Kumagawa:[As I repetadly said, she's a stubborn girl.]
Hinami:...Do you think she can win?
Kumagawa:[If against that big guy, maybe. But not if she encounters the old man.]
Hinami:He's that strong?
Kumagawa:[Hinami-chan, you shouldn't understimate people by their appearence. It's a mistake many make.]
Especially towards him and it never ended good for them. He knows many strong old men now that he thinks about it.
Shishime Iihiko was an hero. Shiranui Hakana was an membber of an ninja village that acts as doubles. Mado Kureo was a ghoul invastigator.
Kumagawa:[Never understimate an old man in a proffesion where people die young.]
Rize:I do have to say, that is good advice.
There's a reason she never got too wild as a resident of the 20th Ward. Ripping her way through the ghouls that couldn't stand her ways was fine in the other Wards, but doing so against Yoshimura was suicide.
Koutaro:A hero...Who could this Shishime Iihiko be?
Najimi:No one you should be worried about.
Koutaro's spine trembled at her icy tone. He decided to wisely leave it at that.
Walking around the streets in a rabbit mask to haunt ghoul invastigators seemed like a good idea to Touka. And it was...Until it wasn't.
She attatcked Koutaro when he was alone and she had the advantage until Kureo showed up. For an old man he sure was agile to evade her attacks. And her RC type was specialized in speed for crying kut loud!
His quinque didn't make matters easy either. In the end she had to fly away with a nasty cut on her abdomen.
While that was happening, Kumagawa stands on a pole while watching all this play out. It went as well as well as he expected it to.
Of course, he was gonna intervene if something happened. That and he wanted to tease Touka a bit. As he expected, she was behind Anteiku drinking a can of cofee.
Kumagawa:[What was that you said? Something about killing ever last one of them? How's that working out for you?]
Touka:Tch, smug bastard.
Touka took a pause to think and than looked at Rize. She then looked back at the screen, then back at Rize.
She repeated this process a few times, making Rize frown. The older woman finally had enough of Touka's antics and decided to voice her irritation out loud.
Rize:Is there something on my face, Kirishima-san?
Touka:No...I just kind of get it now.
Touka:Shut it!
Kumagawa:[I think you knew that'd happen, didn't you?]
Touka:...There's no problem if a killer like me dies. But Hinami...She doesn't deserve to get through that.
They heard a loud sound from upstairs. When they went to check Hinami was gone.
Kumagawa:[You looking out for her made her run away. Wow, you're gonna be the mother of the year!]
Touka:...At this point I really can't tell if you have no filtrer or if you genuinly enjoy pissing me off.
Kumagawa:[Eh, let's go.]
Touka:You don't...
Kumagawa:[You forgot what I did? You really think that was the first time I killed a human being? So, let's waste our life as killers together.]
After relaying thise words Kumagawa continued walking forward. Letting out a grin Touka followed him.
Kumagawa:[Ah, but don't put me on the same class with serial killers. I'm a mass murderer!]
Touka:Like that's any better!
After hearing loud noises of fighting from tge canals they were investigating Koutaro hurried to help his mentor. However, he stopped when something hit tge ground with devasting force. When the dust cleared Kumagawa was revealed to Koutaro.
Kotaro:Who are you?
Kumagawa:[Ah, where are my manners? Hello, Amou Koutaro-chan! My name is Kumagawa Misogi!]
Koutaro:How do you know my name? Doesn't matter, I have no time for you!
Kumagawa:[Ah, how cold! Guys like you are popular nowadays, right? I'm so jelous! Ah, but I forgot to mention. I'm also the one that killed your friends.]
Touki:Okay, he just enjoys pissing people off.
Kureo:It can be quite an usefull skill.
Kureo knows from experience, his comments often riling up ghouls. Such a mistake was also how many investigators lost their lives.
He has no fear for mad, erratic ghouls. Those who can keep a calm composture are the most dangerous.
Rize:I agree.
As those words left his mouth Koutaro lunged at him and punched his stomach with rage in his eyes. However, he was unaffected by the blow. In fact, Kumagawa's smile only seemed to grow.
Kumagawa:[Oh? Struck a nerve, didn't I?]
Koutaro tried to catch him, but Kumagawa caught his wrist in time. The minus dragged tge investigator in tge air and smashed him into the ground.
Kumagawa:[It wasn't a bad strategy, but I faced judo practitioners much better than you.]
Koutaro:They were good people. Why do you ghouls exist? They had families which morned them. Tell me...Why did they have to die!?
Koutaro jumped on his feet and pressed a button on his briefcase and it quickly morphed into a club held by a white steel bar with red lines. He swiped his quinque at Kumagawa, but the minus easily sidestepped him.
Kumagawa:[Interesting. Let's change the subject a bit, yes? Why do you have to kill ghouls? Ghouls can live relatively peaceful, people find all reason for suicide nowadays and ghouls can live off that. Sure, not all ghouls are good people, but are humans? I'm sure you have your own co-workers who just think of advancing in rank.]
Koutaro continued to swing his quinque, not wanting to admit his point. However, Kumagawa continued unbothered.
Kumagawa:[You said about family? You know, ghouls marry and reproduce just like humans. You were ready to kill a mother and their child. Tell me...How many families do you think you destroyed?]
With a roar the club hit Kumagawa's face. However, Koutaro was shocked when it didn't even push him back. Just how tough was this guy.
Kumagawa grabbed the club. As his hold put mire pressure tge quinque broke leaving only a sharp steel bar. It was over. No...
Koutaro:Even if my legs and arms are broken...It's not over until I die!
With his shot Koutaro stabbed Kumagawa through the neck. While blodd spew from the wound Kumagawa took a hold of the bar. He forced it bakwards, the blunt end smashing Koutaro into a wall.
Koutaro struggled through the pain and watched Kumagawa. However, he was shocked when he pulled the bar out of his neck.
Koutaro:You...Why aren't you healing...Why aren't your eyes turning?
Kumagawa:[Huh? It's obvious. Because I'm a human.]
Koutaro was left with no words. The one he haunted diwn was...
Kumagawa:[About your friends...Well, if you had to kill strangers or let thise close to you die anyone would choose the former.]
Kumagawa came closer to Koutaro throwing the bar aside. Blood leaked down staining his clothes, yet his smile was unshakeable.
Kumagawa:[So than... What's the difference?]
Koutaro:There are...No differences...
With a shaky voice this sentence left Koutaro's mouth, windering if he ever truly knew something through his entire life. Next thing he knows his head meet the ground and the last thing he saw was red.
Kumagawa:[Correct!]
Koutaro made no sound, accepting reality for what it is. Although the way Kumagawa delivered it was quite obnoxious.
Touka:So that's the way to reach understatement? Wow, I might just try it.
Kaneki:Touka-chan, there's better ways to deal with your frustration.
Touka:Hey, Kaneki...We didn't spar in a while, did we?
Kaneki:Touka-chan...I already beat Ayato-san.
Touka:Tch!