You woke up in Eto's apartment, on the makeshift bed she had made on the couch. Last night had been quite a hassle, as you had been freed from a prison run by CCG by several Aogiri tree members.
And considering the fact that the CCG was the one who killed your parents and left you in a prison cell to starve, you were surprised that you had been able to think straight, knowing that many would have succumbed to madness or at least experienced trauma at that point.
As you walked to the kitchen, you thought of what was going to happen. Although not a lot of productive thoughts came through your still groggy mind, you remembered that you still owed Eto one for getting you out of prison, and that you hadn't thanked her yet. You sat down on a seat, with Eto sitting opposite to you.
"Good morning." she said to you.
"Good morning." you replied in a half-tired tone, "And thanks. You know, for freeing me and all that."
"You're welcome." she replied to you happily. For a moment, you wondered why she sounded cheerful. This caught your attention only due to the contrast it provided for her more serious behaviour last night. In any case, you didn't mind.
"So, what about that training?" you asked her.
"Oh, yes." she replied, "I'll train you in combat myself."
"I know that I'm getting some special privileges here," you replied, "but I'm just wondering, why? Why waste your time training me yourself?"
"Wasn't it obvious? I DID get you out of prison, even if indirectly." she replied to you, "If I get you out of there, it makes sense to also train you, right?". You nodded understandingly, seeing the point in her logic. Having your answer, you proceeded to ask;
"So, when are we gonna start my training?"
"We'll start once you get back into shape. But just so you know, it won't be easy." Eto replied to you.
"Obviously." you mumbled. Around midday, you were sitting around at the couch, waiting for Eto to return from the grocery shop. She had told you not to leave the house, as there was bound to be ghoul investigators patrolling the streets. She soon returned, and she gave you a small-ish package.
"What's this?" you asked her.
"It's your lunch, of course." she replied, giving a smile. You unwrapped the packaging, finding a sizable hunk of meat. By its smell, you identified it as human flesh. In response, you bit down on the hunk of flesh, gladly eating it.
"Finally a proper bloody meal." you grunted as you ate.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Eto replied, "But so you know, next tuesday we'll go on a mission. You'll join the squad, and I'll supervise and see that nothing goes awry.". You nodded understandingly, continuing your still-unfinished meal.
Later on, the next tuesday, you had made a full recovery from your weakened condition and were ready to take part in the mission. You left with a team consisting of one squad captain and several other new recruits. Your task was to assist in the disposal of a rogue member of the Aogiri tree. He had started to recruit local ghouls for his intention of overthrowing the organization, but the Aogiri Tree didn't take lightly to betrayal. Now, you and the squad were in the area, looking for the rogue. Once you entered the building, you found yourself confronted by one robe-clad man, presumably the rogue and multiple young men, a lot of them seeming nervous.
"It seems that the Aogiri tree has sent grunts to dispose of me." the rogue spoke out.
"That's right." your squad's leader replied to the rogue, "As you've betrayed our organization and have openly stated that you are planning on overthrowing us, we can't allow you to live."
The rogue chuckled at the remark the squad leader made, "But as you can see, you're outnumbered. And I won't hesitate! Men, attack!" he shouted, motioning for his grunts to attack. As they began to close in on you and the squad, you extended your koukaku-type kagune from slightly below your shoulderblade, shaping it into a large, broad blade-like form. As you and your associates clashed against your opponents, with you ending up fighting a bikaku-type. Although his strikes had considerable force and he had a slight edge in mobility, you could block his attacks thanks to your koukaku-type kagune's greater toughness and strike back. After a lengthy period of fighting, you and your fellow Aogiri members had beaten the rogue's grunts. Some were injured, but you and the squad leader had survived with minimal injuries, thanks to his agility and your endurance respectively. Now the only one left was the rogue himself.
"Heh, nice work disposing of my grunts." he chuckled, "But now it's time I get rid of you with my own hands.". He then extended his kagune, forming four long tentacles. "And don't think I'm as easy as my grunts!". He proceeded to attack, with you and the squad leader taking a fighting stance. On the rooftop of a nearby building, Eto and Tatara were watching the progress of the mission.
"That (First name) does show promise. I can see why you'd spend time on him." Tatara told Eto, implying to how you had fared well against the enemy.
"I can agree," Eto replied, "But I think I might have to interfere. None of them look like they're going to survive if this keeps up."
"Yes, I can agree. And I can't stop you, as I now see your point on keeping (First name) alive.". Meanwhile, in the factory building, all other new recruits had now been killed or fatally injured, with both you and the squad leader injured. Thankfully, so was the rogue; he had difficulties fighting off the two of you and had taken a hefty amount of damage due to being outnumbered. You had gotten multiple bruises, maybe one or two broken ribs and multiple slash wounds. You were also starting to feel exhausted and unsure if you could beat him.
"(First name), I'm not sure if we can beat this guy at this rate." the squad leader grunted to you, "I suggest we strike him down with all we have."
"All or nothing, right?." you replied to him, giving him an assuring grin.
"Yeah." he replied with an equally hopeful grin, "Let's hope it isn't for nothing."
"GO!" he shouted, both of you dashing towards the rogue.
As the two of you closed in with your kagune extended, you noticed how the rogue smirked. As you leaped and prepared to strike him with all your might along with the squad leader, time seemed to slow down for a moment. But before you could even react, both of you had been impaled through the stomach by the rogue's rinkaku tentacles. You coughed up blood, unable to scream due to how immense the pain was. He then let the two of you fall down to the ground, with him standing over you.
"Looks like the Aogiri tree has failed." he chuckled, "But now it's time I put and end to this charade.". He placed his boot over the squad leader's head. Even if you would've tried to move, you couldn't due to the pain your injuries caused. The rogue then crushed the squad leader's head under his foot, some blood spurting to the surroundings.
"Such a shame. You two could've made powerful allies." he said, "But it's too late for that." he added as he picked you up from the ground, but was interrupted by several crimson bullets flying past the rogue's temple. He turned around to find someone standing there. You looked closer, identifying the figure as Eto. She had kept her promise and had come to save you from your perdicament.
"Who's this?" the rogue said, dropping you to the ground again, "Oh, could it be the infamous Eto?"
"No need for silly introductions. I'm here to finish what these members of our organization started." she replied , a clear undertone of malice in her voice.
"Now I finally get an opponent I-" the rogue reacted cockily before being smashed to the ground by Eto. And before he could even retaliate, he was decapitated by her kagune. Retracting her kagune, Eto walked over to you, kneeling down to inspect your injuries.
"Did I do well?" you grunted.
"Don't speak, conserve the energy. And you did very well, as well as I expected." she replied. You grinned in response, glad to have done well. You then proceeded to close your eyes, taking a deep breath, falling asleep soon after.
"(First name)?" Eto called you out. Receiving no answer, she gave a small grin under her mask, "Well, you deserve the rest.". You later woke up, finding yourself on the familiar couch in Eto's apartment. You looked around, noticing Eto looking at you.
"Awake, are we?" she asked.
"Yup." you replied, crawling up, "And in one piece, thankfully.
"Well, if I hadn't interfered you would've died." she replied, "I had the feeling I would have to interfere, he was stronger than you after all."
"Yeah, you're right.", you replied to her, "But why save me? Why not the others?"
"I'm interested in you, not those other ones." she replied to your question, "After all, they weren't very interesting. Just a bunch of aimless vandals looking for a cause."
"May I ask; why am I interesting anyways?" you ask her, trying to at least understand a little about the reason she's interested in you above others.
"You piqued my interest when you were arrested. Not every ghoul has your kind of tenacity." Eto replied to you, "Most ghouls are either killed, and some are incapacitated before they can even fight back, and they're most what I just said; drifters. But you're different; most peaceful ghouls remain hidden from the eyes of the CCG."
"Oh." you replied, "Well, at least I'm a little special."
"Oh, don't worry about such a thing." she replied, amused by your remark, "You're definitely not here to be a decoration. When I become interested in someone, it's either for the good of Aogiri tree or personal interest."
"And which category do I go in?" you ask.
"A bit of both." she replied, "You have potential to be a great asset to our organization, but you're also fascinating to me."
"Right.", you said. Later on, she left to give autographs, leaving you to your own company. Having quite literally nothing to do, you just took a nap. You woke up sometime later, with the first thing you noticed being Eto sitting on a chair opposite to the couch, looking at you.
"What?" you reacted to her staring.
"Oh, nothing." she replied, "Just looking at you while you're asleep."
"And that's not creepy at all, is it?" you replied to her, "Why stare at me anyways?"
"Why not? It's not like I'd suddenly pounce on you or anything." she replied, giving you a grin.
"Isn't that assuring." you replied, sarcasm audible in your voice.
"Oh, calm down." she told you, "Why so tense?"
"Well, last night did leave me a little on the edge." you replied to her.
"Don't worry, you'll get over it." she told you, "And remember, even if I'm not going to spoil you all the time, I'll still
be there for you."
"Yeah, thanks." you replied to her, relieved. Later on, you were again asleep on your makeshift bed. On the room next to the living room, Eto was writing one of her novels. She stopped for a moment, looking over to the living room, seeing you.
"Sleeping like a baby." she told herself, smiling lightly. As she continued writing, she thought of what to do next. Your performance on the field had been impressive, and you possessed the right kind of ferocity, but lacked power. Thankfully, she had just the solution. As Eto continued writing her novel, the lights of the city shone against the night sky.