Chapter Text
File #1
Top of the Food Chain
What delegates what to become the top of the Food Chain?
Is it the organism's ability to eat the other organism or is it the organism’s ability to rule over or kill the other? Since ancient ages, the ones who stood on top of the food chain were great beasts of the old who had no natural predators. Then humans started to rise with their skilled hands and bright minds. They grew in numbers and in strength, using their minds to create tools to fight the beasts gifted with natural weapons.
But an insect cannot top the bird and this is the harsh reality of nature. They may be able to devour the dead bird or harm them slowly but it does not change the fact that birds are above them in the food chain.
This is true for humans as well.
No matter how we grow and how we progress.
We are insects in the eyes of those on the top of the Food Chain.
Ghouls.
“This is Yukimura Saya reporting from the Yokohama Bay. Several bodies have been found completely torn apart with parts eaten. We can conclude that this is the work of a ghoul. The CCG has not-”
The TV screen blanked out, turning dark as it was turned off.
A white haired boy, who had been avidly watching the TV, turned around slowly and awkwardly to meet the eyes of his superior… who was shorter than him. The man had a small frown on his face, “Oi, Atsushi. If you have time to watch TV, go work on trying to take out your Kagune.”
Atsushi lowered his head in submission and embarrassment.
The two were currently in the CCG building. CCG stood for Commission of Counter Ghoul, an organization created to protect humanity from the monster predators Ghouls. Ghouls were powerful man eating beings that existed in today’s society. They were human-like in every physical aspect and intellect but showed superior strength, speed, durability, and healing skills.
Furthermore, the Ghouls could not eat anything except human flesh.
Ghouls had special organ inside them called a kakuhou which was a sac that contained the Ghoul’s main weapon, their Kagune. A Kagune was a ghoul’s predatory organ and functioned as another more powerful and dangerous limb. They were hard and muscle like appendages that served multiple functions, mostly as a devastating weapon. It was composed of RC cells, which flowed just like blood but could become hard and solid. They were described as liquid muscles.
A distinguishing trait of ghouls, other than their Kagune and their inability to eat human food along with their appetite for human flesh was their eyes. Ghouls, when using their Kagune or hungering for flesh, had their eye change color. Their eyes, called a Kakugan, sported a black sclera and crimson iris. Often, red veins would protrude across the iris and sclera into the surrounding skin.
Atsushi, however, was a very special member of the CCG. He was part of a newly found group called the Quinx squad. The Quinx squad was a group of humans that had a restrained Kakuhou inside their body. Due to the Kakuhou inside their body, the Quinx squad were able to use Kagune as well as have traits similar to ghouls such as heightened sense and healing abilities. The Quinx squad, however, did not to eat any human meat and could eat normal human food. They were an invaluable tool for combatting the ghouls. The Quinx had a Kakugan as well but they only had it in a single eye, making people mistake them for the legendary one-eyed ghouls.
There were very few people in the group, three in fact, who successfully survived the surgery. Unfortunately, Atsushi, despite the successful surgery, could not use his Kagune at all. Despite that, he was still considered valuable due to his increased speed and heightened sense as well as his healing ability. Atsushi had one of the fastest healing ability among all the Quinxses.
“Chuuya-san, is it true..?” He nodded towards the TV.
Chuuya glanced at the TV, a small frown appearing on his face. Chuuya was a very uniquely dressed investigator of CCG. Rather than the customary white trench coat, he wore almost all black. On his shoulders sat a large coat that reached his knees. He wore it like a cape rather than actually using the sleeves and Atsushi secretly admired the way it sat on his shoulders without falling. And as always, a fancy black hat sat on his head, lightly covering his bright orange hair.
He was a black reaper in the sea of white.
“I haven’t been briefed.” Chuuya answered the other shortly, his eyes flickered once again to the pictures shown by the news, “But based on the pictures… probably.”
“Who do you think it is?” Atsushi wondered thoughtfully, his eyes zeroed onto screen.
Chuuya hesitated before he sighed, “It’s hard to tell unless I get a clearer picture.” His eyes flickered at the carnage, a frown on his face.
Atsushi opened his mouth to ask another question when another, slightly cocky voice answered, “It’s probably the SS+ ghoul Sekigan no Kitsune (One Eyed Fox).”
Chuuya frowned as Atsushi whirled to face the speaker, “Ranpo-san, please don’t indulge him.”
Ranpo grinned. He was dressed in his normal detective attire with the hat. However, he wore the customary white coat of the CCG. “I’m just answering his question.” He sat down on an empty chair near the TV, “The Yokohama Bay is often where Kitsune-kun hunts.”
“But it’s also where a large number of high ranked ghouls hunt. It’s the territory of Port Mafia after all.” Chuuya retorted, crossing his arms. Atsushi stared at them with huge eyes, interest sparkling in his gaze.
Port Mafia was a very powerful ghoul organization stationed in Yokohama. They were shrouded in mystery and an object of fear and careful scrutinization. It was made up of a number of infamous ghouls after all.
“Yes but Kitsune-kun’s hunting style is very unique. He never finishes his meal.” Ranpo smirked, “He killed several people in the same place and only ate parts of each.”
“He finished his meals before.” Chuuya stated drily, “Believe me, I would know.”
“Ah, but he only ate young single females…” Ranpo answered back only for Chuuya to snort, “So did a million other perverted ghouls out there.”
“And the piercing in their body indicate his unique Binkaku and Rinkaku chimera kagune as well as the fact that one of the members is tightly clutching a piece of bandages. Everyone knows that other than his mask, the biggest indicator of the Sekigan no Kitsune is the enormous amount of bandages he wears.” Ranpo answered with a smirk.
Chuuya looked away disgruntled, “You’ve been privy to the case file?”
Ranpo shrugged, “The TV anchor just mentioned it. You just weren’t looking at it.” He paused before looking at Chuuya straight in the eyes, “Also… if it’s the Sekigan no Kitsune… one of those bodies found is probably that of a ghoul.”
“A ghoul?!” Atsushi exclaimed in surprise, “But why would a ghoul…”
“A ghoul can become a thing called a Kakuja if it cannibalizes on other ghouls.” Chuuya answered Atsushi with a frown, “A Kakuja is bad news… most of the S+ and higher ghouls tend to be Kakuja. Any Kakuja is immediately classified as at least S rank. A Kakuja’s kagune changes to become something truly monstrous.”
“So it’s trying to become a Kakuja?” Atsushi pondered out loud.
“No, it already is an infamous complete Kakuja - which is rare. Kakujas tend to be rare because many of those who cannibalizes lose their mind completely. However, our friend here is a bit different. Insanity would be helpful in taking care of him. The Sekigan no Kitsune is also called the Kyuubi no Kitsune.” Chuuya answered with a sigh. “His Kakuja takes form of a enormous construct of Kagune shaped like a nine tailed fox. He only showed it once and it wasn’t against us but towards another ghoul that it was hunting down. We just happened across it. He has never taken it out against us.”
“What’s interesting about Kitsune-kun,” Ranpo informed Atsushi with a excited smile, “is the fact that he eats a large amount of ghouls too. Some speculate more ghouls than humans which makes him interesting. Usually, once a Kakuja finish forming, they don’t eat ghouls. Apparently they taste really bad, almost as bad as human food to them. However, this one continues to eat them… and continues to grow stronger.”
Atsushi paled, “T-t-then if he’s eating them to become stronger… what about us?”
Chuuya looked at him confusion, “What about us? We’ll just have to hunt him down.”
“No… I mean the fact that we’re humans with Kagune!” Atsushi exclaimed, “Wouldn’t we taste good and have the same effect as eating a ghoul? He’s gonna come after us! We’re like the perfect thing for the ghoul to come after!”
“....That’s actually pretty likely.” Ranpo commented after a moment of silence, “Hey, maybe you should be bait.”
Chuuya frowned, “I would like to refrain from being bait… especially towards something like the Kyuubi.”
“Well, hope that he doesn’t find out then.” Ranpo shrugged.
Chuuya couldn’t help but sigh as Atsushi fainted from fear and shock.
“Good, you’re all here.” Associate Special Class Investigator Kunikida Doppo eyed the people sitting in the table. Several renowned Ghoul investigators like the legendary Special Class Investigator Fukuzawa Yukichi and others like Associate Special Class Edogawa Ranpo were all present.
The newly formed Quinx squad that only had two members. It was more of a partnership than anything. Associate Special Class Nakahara Chuuya and Rank 1 Investigator Nakajima Atsushi were infamous in the CCG although Atsushi was still new to being an investigator. The two of them looked at him with rapt interest.
Kunikida stood next to a large white screen where a projector was projecting the most recent killing that had been present in the news several hours ago. The members eyed the carnage displayed on the screen with interested eyes.
“As you all may be aware,” Kunikida began, “This morning, at around 6:00 am sharp, several bodies were found to be torn apart and eaten near a abandoned shack in the corner of Yokohama bay.” He pushed up his glasses, “Based on the evidence, we can conclude that this is the work of the Sekigan no Kitsune.”
This caused the members to shift uncomfortably. Kunikida nodded gravely, “The reappearance of this SS+rated ghoul is truly a problem for us. It has, admittedly, been quiet since the Mimic incident four years ago where the ghoul organization Port Mafia and the overseas ghoul organization Mimic fought for dominance in our bay area. We, the CCG, lost many of our numbers with the increased number of ghouls and the savage militarialistic way Mimic fought.”
“Mimic, if I recall,” Chuuya said contemplatively, “They were a soldier ghoul group that was abandoned by the European government.”
At the startled noises of some of the newer and younger members, Kunikida sighed. “Unlike Japan, some other countries try to use ghouls as weapons by offering them another prey source, so to speak. Many ghouls took to this in Europe, fighting their wars and of course, winning fantastically with little to no losses. But it got out in public that the government was using ghouls which caused lots of unrest in the public. So the government abandoned them, causing them to migrate to here in order to make a stronghold.”
“Hmph, of course Port Mafia wouldn’t allow that.” Fukuzawa opened his eyes to look at the picture on the screen, “The Child Surgeon will not allow anyone else to live in his turf.”
Everyone grimaced at the thought of the legendary Child Surgeon, an SSS rated ghoul that was veiled much in mystery and the leader of the ghoul organization Port Mafia. He was the highest ranking ghoul currently reported. No one had faced the ghoul and come out alive… the only one was the Special Class Fukuzawa.
“Heh, it was helpful in getting lots of specimens.” First Class Yosano, also the CCG’s doctor/scientist responded. She leaned back on her chair, “It cut down a lot of our work because they were killing each other off so nicely for us. It definitely increased our quinque program.”
Quinque was the special weapons that the investigators used. They were made from Kagune, harvested from the kakuhou for a dead ghoul and coated with special steel called quinque steel. The special properties of kagune made it possible to kill a ghoul despite a ghoul’s monstrous healing capabilities.
“It also gave rise to the Kakuja population in Port Mafia.” Kunikida responded with a sigh, “But we’re getting off track.” He pointed at the picture and with a click of his clicker, the picture zoomed in on one of the man’s hand. A long white strip of cloth was held in the victim’s hand.
“This is our primary reason to believing that the Sekigan no Kitsune has reappeared. The Sekigan no Kitsune is notorious for its one eyed mask and the amount of bandages it wears. Sources affirm that the Kitsune also has only one eye while the other is covered in bandages.”
Another click showed a rough bad quality picture of a figure with dark, slightly curled hair that framed a white mask that showed a smirking kitsune. It only covered his upper half of his face, leaving the ghoul’s mouth free. Somehow it made Chuuya annoyed, as if the wearer of the mask was laughing at them. The slight smile on the man’s lips didn’t help either.
Its left eye was completely covered and the mask’s only hole was for the left eye where a bright red Kakugan glowered eerily from the lone eye hole. Another picture showed the ghoul sporting a cracked mask, its right side broken off to reveal swaths of bandages that covered his right eye. The ghoul truly was covered in bandages.
“A more fitting name for it would’ve been bandages.” Chuuya mumbled, “Or a waste of bandages.”
Kunikida sighed, “Chuuya, I understand that you have a thing against this ghoul but please leave those side comments for later.” He motioned towards the incident again.
“The victim holding the bandage strip is actually a ghoul. The one ghoul out of all the other humans that are around the area. It seems as if this ghoul was feeding on these humans when the Sekigan no Kitsune came upon it. Uniquely, it left the dead humans alone and attacked this ghoul instead… and ate it.”
Atsushi let out an involuntary whimper.
“Furthermore, it didn’t eat the whole ghoul but only finished its kagune and kakuhou.”
“This completely renders us unable to use the ghoul’s kakuhou to make weapons.” Yosano sighed.
“It also raises the Sekigan no Kitsune’s RC levels to enormous levels.” Kunikida folded his arms, “It already is a monstrous ghoul but it will only get more powerful from its eating ways.”
“He’s taking care of the other ghouls for us.” Ranpo yawned, “We shouldn’t care about him then. Besides, he’s not that active in antagonizing us. His loyalty to the Port Mafia isn’t that firm either.”
“He’s the Child Surgeon’s protege.”
Everyone’s attention snapped to Fukuzawa who had his eyes closed and arms folded. A deep frown was set on his face, “I remember him from when we clashed several years ago.” His eyes flickered open, “Whether he is fully loyal to the ghoul organization or not, we can’t expect that to be a large factor. He will be considered a part of Port Mafia…”
“He is.” Chuuya confirmed sharply. He let out a sigh, if Fukuzawa’s legend came from surviving in a fight against the Child Surgeon, Chuuya’s came from his fight against the Sekigan no Kitsune. Afterall, Chuuya was the person who had broken a part of the ghoul’s mask and the last investigator to see the ghoul before he went into hiding several years ago. “They called him an executive. I’m guessing he is actually the higher echelon of the ghoul organization.”
“As interesting as this...We are digressing from the subject.” Kunikida interrupted sharply, “As I was saying. We believe this to be the work of the One-eyed Fox and his return is troubling. This indicates that the Port Mafia who has been quiet… well as quiet as such a large ghoul organization can be… is starting to move.”
“It is imperative we hunt these beasts down.”
Crack. Clack. Rip. Crack.
Loud sounds of ripping flesh and breaking bones sounded in the stone concrete buildings. Several members stood in attention, their faces a unique shade of green and white as they watched a single ghoul tear into the bodies of multiple other ghouls that had been creeping into Port Mafia’s turf.
“Ahhhh, so disgusting.” A voice sounded from the middle of the carnage. The ghoul who had been tearing into the body of another ghoul finally stood up. He was covered in blood, the white bandages that were wrapped around his neck and arms were soaked with the crimson life liquid of his prey. A large coat was settled on his shoulders like a cloak and beneath it, four protruding tentacles of the ghoul’s rinkaku kagune glowed and pulsed. He was clad in black, a color that hid the amount of blood soaked in his clothes. His white undershirt over was dyed crimson.
The ghoul turned, its blood splattered white mask glowing in the half light gloom as his single kakugan landed on them.
“Kitsune-san.” The subordinate ghoul said quietly, “Do you need anything else?”
The ghoul cracked its neck as he considered the body of five ghouls strewn around him. “I wouldn’t mind a nice young lady to eat.” He stated, stepping over a body. Rather than eating the flesh, the ghoul had eaten mostly their Kagune and and kakuhou. It was where their RC cells were mostly concentrated in after all.
It was also the most disgusting parts.
“Neh…” The kitsune masked ghoul suddenly spoke up, “I actually thought of a great idea.”
The ghouls flinched, shying slightly away from their blood covered executive.
“Did you know… that the CCG had a new project.” The bloody executive informed them, “I heard they’re like us... “ One of his kagune tentacles reached down to grab onto one of the dead bodies. He lifted it up to examine it with his single eye, “They have a kakuhou and a kagune.” He suddenly smiled, “But they’re humans.” He dropped the dead body. “I wonder… if they taste like humans or like ghouls.”
His single eye landed on them.
“What do you think?”
“Chuuya-san…” Atsushi looked around, “Are you sure it’s safe for us to be around here… I mean our target… well eats Ghouls and Humans. We happen to be both.”
“Don’t be such a scaredy cat.” Chuuya barked out, “And you call yourself an investigator. Sheesh.”
“Well that was before I knew we’re investigating someone like the Sekigan no Kitsune.” Atsushi explained, “I’ve never even seen a ghoul… much less fought one.”
Chuuya halted at that, “Hmm… you’re probably right but you can’t always expect to start from a weak ghoul. Besides all ghouls are dangerous and have the potential to become as monstrous as the fox.”
He smirked as he reached into his pockets to bring out a large swiss army like knife. “It looks like we have company.”
Atsushi immediately jumped, stumbling slightly to take out his own weapon, a gauntlet of sorts that covered his hands and gave him beast like claws.
There was slight silence before Atsushi’s sensitive ears picked up footsteps. He tensed as a lone figure appeared from the darkness.
The two of them were investigating the warehouses that lined the Yokohama port. The area was also territory of Port Mafia and the most dangerous hunting ground for ghouls. Many of the CCG investigators were warned when they stepped into the area.
The ghoul stopped several feet away from them, allowing the light to catch onto his face. Chuuya smiled sharply, “S+ rank ghoul...Hellhound.”
The ghoul was dressed nicely. He wore a white button up shirt with frills around the collar that cascaded down in front of his throat. A large black coat billowed around him coupled with his black slacks. His mask was reddish black, forming a beast like face. The only thing visible were his kakugan and the white tips of his bangs.
Once again, a unique factor about the Port Mafia ghouls were the fact that they were all well dressed and acted like a single unit. It was rare for ghouls to band together, even more so to be such an effective organization.
“Hello.” The ghoul said politely, “I’m one of Port Mafia’s lowly dogs. You doves know me as ‘hellhound.’”
Doves. That was the ghoul term for investigators, named after their white coats.
Atsushi eyed the ghoul warily but the ghoul made no move to attack them. He stood there, his hands in the pants of his pockets as he eyed them.
Chuuya also surveyed the ghoul before calmly saying, “Associate Special Class Investigator-
“Nakahara Chuuya.” The ghoul interrupted caused Chuuya to pause. “I know of you. Kitsune-san mentioned you.”
Atsushi flinched. Was it just him or did the ghoul’s tone change when mentioning this ‘Kitsune-san.’
“All good things I hope?” Chuuya questioned.
The ghoul took a step forward, the harmless aura around him disappearing and replaced with bloodlust, “If I take you to him… he will surely praise me.” Hellhound murmured, “You are the only human to have ever harmed him after all… yes I’ll do that. Without any accomplishments he will not acknowledge me. If I bring you to him…” Behind him four tentacle like appendages sprouted.
The tentacles twisted in the air for a moment before it began to form heads. Chuuya frowned as the tips turned into a beast like head that looked similar to his mask.
“I heard that he had the ability to do that.” Chuuya admitted, “He must have very good control of his kagune. This makes things difficult… Atsushi, run and get help. I’ll handle him for now.”
Atsushi hesitated causing Chuuya to bark out, “It’s an order!”
Before Atsushi could run, Hellhound’s kagune struck out. Chuuya blocked with his knife, pushing Atsushi away from the blow. Atsushi let out a yelp before he jumped over another strike from the Kagune.
Another quickly slammed into the inexperienced boy who was not trained enough to keep an eye on the multiple limbs. The boy landed on the wall with a sickening crack sound. He slipped onto the floor, fainted from the blow.
It was obvious the ghoul had no intention of letting either of them pass by. With a snarl, Chuuya lunged forward, jumping neatly over several of the crimson tendrils and running alongside another one. He ducked as a kagune snapped its jaws over him, barely saving his hat before he jumped.
Hellhound looked up, his eyes widening before he twisted, dodging the slice of Chuuya’s quinque from slicing his throat.
Chuuya fell on the floor in all fours, rolling to avoid the swipe of another tendril of the Hellhound’s famed rinkaku.
He doubled back, pausing to dig his knife into a kagune and slice. A snarl erupted from the Hellhound’s throat as the head of his kagune was chopped off. The tendril recoiled while the other three rushed over to Chuuya.
With a savage grin, Chuuya ducked under the first two that slammed into the warehouse wall. He jumped over the third one, somersaulting on the ground to land on threes, his other hand holding his quinque.
Although the other investigators usually sought more flashy quinques, Chuuya was fine with his knife. He was deadly with it after all.
A slight frown made its way to his face when he realized that Hellhound’s focus had changed to Atsushi’s prone body. Atsushi was still new, Chuuya cursed himself, he had barely studied in the CCG academy. The only reason why he was an investigator was due to the successful quinx surgery.
Despite Chuuya’s lighthearted claims about Atsushi having to start somewhere, fighting someone like rank S+ Hellhound would be suicide. He had come here expecting to find some low level grunts to get information out of… not someone like Hellhound.
It seemed the Hellhound’s impeccable nose realized the easier prey that Atsushi was. The ghoul’s focus had shifted to the fainted boy. With a wordless snarl, Chuuya lunged forward, stabbing his quinque into one of the ghoul’s protruding rinkaku and running towards him, the blade slicing through the unique muscle.
Hellhound let out a shriek of pain, the three other kagune lashing out at him. Chuuya cussed, ducking under one and barely escaping another. A shout of warning was all he had before a Kagune slammed onto his back, sending him flying to the wall. His quinque went flying to the opposite wall.
Chuuya grunted, blood dribbling past his lips as he fell onto the floor. He coughed, the crimson liquid splattering from his mouth onto the floor. Wincing, he slowly pushed himself up to all fours.
Hellhound had lost interest in Atsushi, turning to face him with a savage look in his eye. “To think someone like you could hurt Kitsune-san is unforgivable.”
Wincing, Chuuya slowly stood up. “Your notice me senpai attitude is pissing me off.” He growled. Hellhound’s eyes glowed dangerously and his Kagune recoiled to stab him when Chuuya closed his eyes.
It was time he tried out his new weapon.
The feeling of something erupting from his shoulder made him queasy no matter how many times he felt it. Ghouls were unique, he reflected as he looked up to met the surprised eyes of the Hellhound. It must feel strange to have control of so many limbs, Chuuya noted, seeing the extra four limbs of the Hellhound’s Kagune.
“Disgusting.” Hellhound spat, “First you take our body parts and make it into weapons. Now you make yourselves into us. And you call us monsters?”
“I never said we weren’t monsters.” Chuuya grinned. He flexed his kagune, a single ukaku wing. It was large, larger than his whole body. Strange black wisps surrounded him and the kagune while the wing itself sported strange black and red markings. HIs right eye turned the crimson of the ghoul’s kakugan and red veins appeared around the eye.
Immediately, the area around him grew heavy as the marking on the wings glowed ominously.
“Impossible.” Hellhound breathed, “You-”
He was abruptly cut off as Chuuya appeared in front of him, his leg lashing out. Hellhound raised his arms rapidly, barely managing to block the strike on his face but was unable to stop the impact. He was sent flying through a warehouse. Chuuya landed, cracking his neck as he flexed his single wing.
There was a moment of stillness before the warehouse exploded as six tentacles erupted out. They looked like enormous teeth that aimed to rip at Chuuya. Chuuya easily dodged them, jumping and spinning out of the way. The addition of his kagune made him faster. Coupled with his already considerable speed and flexibility, he was a blur of speed. His wing pulsed and suddenly the six tentacles were forced to the ground by some unseen force.
“Che.” Hellhound coughed as he came out from the debris, the dust clearing away. Chuuya’s eyes widened as he took in the ghoul whose mask had been completely shattered by Chuuya’s kick.
The boy was frighteningly pale with black hair that framed his face and white tips in his bangs. He was young, around Atsushi’s age, and his eyes glowed an angry crimson.
“You broke my mask.” He growled in annoyance, “I’ll really have to kill you now.” His eyes flickered to his kagune that was pinned around Chuuya with slight interest, “Your Kagune…” He mumbled, “Kitsune-san will want to know about this.”
“I would rather he don’t!” Chuuya rushed forward. The ghoul’s eyes widened when he realized his whole body was becoming heavy and he could not lift his kagune from their position. He let out a hiss of shock as he closed his eyes, ready to take the blow when he felt something slam into him from the side, knocking him away from Chuuya’s path.
Chuuya watched in shock, skittering to a halt as a Bikaku tail slammed into the young ghoul, literally smacking him away from Chuuya’s influence and path. He winced as the boy went through three walls.
He turned towards the newcomer, backing away to Atsushi who had yet to wake up.
“Neh Akutagawa-kun.” A somewhat familiar voice spoke out, its voice deceptively soft, “First you almost die by a dove. Second you lose your mask. Your identity is out… what are you going to do now?”
The ghoul didn’t respond, obviously trying to recover himself from the devastating blow.
Meanwhile Chuuya braced himself, eyeing the newcomer warily.
The infamous Sekigan no Kitsune stepped out from the shadows. In his back, a single Bikaku tail flicked, looking a lot like a fox’s tail, before it disappeared behind his large coat.
The fox mask gleamed in the half light gloom as the ghoul revealed itself completely. It’s single Kakugan glowed as it examined Chuuya with interest.
“Oh, if it isn’t that chibi-dove.”
Chuuya felt his vein pop, “Who are you calling chibi?!”
The ghoul appraised Chuuya’s kagune, “So it is true that the doves successfully made a pseudo-ghoul. How interesting.” He hummed, “So do you eat human food or…” His eyes glowed menacingly, “Do you eat humans?”
Chuuya bared his teeth, “The only thing we share with you is this extra limb. We are very much human.”
“Really?” Kitsune examined him, “You’re lying… you’ve never eaten a human before. I’m sure it’ll suit your tastes much more.” He grinned wickedly, “Do you need someone to hunt one for you? I’ll be willing to. Anything for a pretty little one like you.”
Chuuya glared heatedly at him causing the ghoul to laugh, “So why did you undergo the surgery, Chibi? I’m sure you were good enough without it.” The other ghoul questioned.
“So I could kill you.” Chuuya informed the other bluntly. The ghoul’s eye seemed to sparkle, “Wow! All that for me? I’m flattered! Neh~ I was thinking… do you taste like a ghoul or like a human? Do you heal like a ghoul?”
Chuuya tensed, his wing extended slightly in preparation for battle when the Kitsune’s attention wavered to where the ghoul, Akutagawa if he recalled correctly, appeared.
“That took awhile.” Kitsune said reprimanding, “This chibi investigator could have killed you.”
“Kitsune-san, it’s because-” Akutagawa began when a chill went down his spine.
“I didn’t ask for an excuse.” Kitsune’s eyes glowed darkly before he turned his attention back to Chuuya. “Chibi hat-rack, although your attire is a great improvement from the rest of those doves, your hat is very lacking. Where do you get those atrocious hats?”
His hand grasped the hat on his head immediately. “Atrocious?” Chuuya shrieked, “What did you say?” He was proud of his hats, dammit!
“You should seriously burn them.” Kitsune continued amiably, “And you should probably watch your fellow dove. He could have seriously been hurt.”
That was a warning if Chuuya had ever heard one. He backed closer to Atsushi. Kitsune grinned, wide and predatory, “As much as I love to enjoy your beautiful presence, we should be leaving soon. Don’t worry your pretty little head about getting hurt when you leave. I’ll make sure you leave without a scratch on your cute face.”
Chuuya opened his mouth to refute when the two ghouls quickly disappeared into the halflight gloom.
After a moment, he let his kagune disappear as something shocking dawned to him.
Did… that ghoul just flirt with him?
“Dazai-san-” Akutagawa began only to be punched in the face. He slammed onto the wall, coughing when a shadow fell on him.
Kitsune reached up to take off his mask showing a young youthful face with bandages covering his right eye. His single left eye dulled, his kakugan disappearing to show a brown, almost black eye.
“Akutagawa, I thought I told you to be more careful. Now the doves know of your identity.” Dazai said monotonous, “And be even more careful about using my name in public.”
“I apologize.” Akutagawa coughed.
Dazai sniffed, “Get out of my sight.” He spat, “You’re ruining my mood.” He turned around and began to walk away.
“...Why… did you just let them go?”
Dazai stopped. He turned around, his coat swishing as he turned to face Akutagawa. “Hmm? You mean the doves? Well, I guess I can tell you that much. First, if they die here, the doves will be swarming the place trying to avenge them.”
“Letting them go will-”
“The hat-rack isn’t like that.” Dazai interrupted, “He won’t say anything because he knows it’ll be suicide. Now, don’t interrupt me. Second, it’s a waste of time. I have no doubts that I could’ve killed the two of them. However, that would take a lot of time, Chibi is the first investigator to have ever hurt me after all. Third, his kagune was unique… he’s one of those special ones with the rare abilities. It’s interesting, how does a fake have an ability that only few pure blooded ghouls have? What is the extent of their research? How powerful is it? Are the other fakes like that as well? Could these fakes become ghouls? These questions will be answered in time if we let them live.”
Dazai smiled hungrily, “Lastly, he’s mine. Do you understand, Akutagawa-kun? Or do I need to make you understand?”
Akutagawa looked away causing Dazai to smile cruelly. He spun around, pausing to raise his voice.
“You heard me. If any of you even touch a single hair on Nakahara Chuuya’s pretty little head… I’ll make you regret it.”
The other ghouls shuddered, their eyes glowing as they backed away from the monstrous Kakuja in their midst. They had no intention of seeking the cannibal’s ire.
Dazai grinned, his single eye glowing crimson.
“The only one allowed to touch him is me.”