Private/Closed Tokyo Ghoul: Renaissance

[Schrift]

Benimaru slumped up onto the head of his bed. It's been six years since the last time he stayed in Tokyo. He sloppily walked up to his bathroom, looking in the mirror. He stared into the mirror, with his red irises starting back. He stood around 5'9 with his hair being auburn brown, tangled and messy as usual. His eyes were large and brow, looking almost puppy like, after he deactivated his kakugan. His skin tone was pale and his face still had his usual smug grin. Beni spent the next fifteen minutes, readying himself up for his day. He walked out of his little bathroom, into his apartment, where he threw his towel onto the bed and began dressing. He threw on a pair of black trousers, followed by a white shirt and topped off with a black waist coat. Beni put on a tie and topped off his clothing with a pair of black polished shoes.

In the background the TV played the news, with the new reporter interviewing a somewhat upset looking ghoul. Beni stopped getting ready to watch the news as the ghoul's voice was starting to turn aggressive. "It's been 25 years since Kaneki has died, yet I see nothing he's worked for being held up. You dirty humans even brought back the CCG! Us ghouls have done nothing wrong, yet we're being discriminated all the time here and it just ain't fair!", the ghoul barked. The news reporter had a somewhat smug grin on his face, barely being fazed by the frenzied ghoul. "Yet you are aware that a group of ghouls did kill a family of humans to eat? If your kind wasn't so monstrous you wouldn't be in this mess", he retorted. This was enough to set the ghoul off, who attacked the reporter, using it's tail like kagune to stab through him. It was only a few seconds until the ghoul was soon exterminated with a quick decapitation. The camera panned over to a stern looking man in a white suit, holding his quinque. "To any ghouls and all houls watching, remember if you're caught using your kagune you will be killed on sight. If you attack humans you will be killed on sight. If you are suspected to be eating humans, you will be questioned before you face consequences. Finally, if you are caught to be using a mask to hide the fact that you are killing humans, well you will be killed on sight", he said before the broadcast went static.

The news report made Beni sick. Sure he didn't like humans and ghouls could be a bit on the crazy side but this sort of discrimination is just a mixture for a war at the minimum. He didn't understand why humans could be so cruel, like surely they're worse that the ghouls if they're discriminating against them right? He shrugged it off before getting ready to go to work. Over the last couple weeks he'd managed to get a hold of his childhood friends in Tokyo and today was the day they were gonna meet up. It felt like it was an eternity ago since he'd seen his childhood friends. He opened his bedside table, rummaging around for his phone. Once he got the small device in his hand, he sent a message to the group chat he made specifically so he could stay in touch with them. [Hey guys, we're still meeting up at Anteiku right? I finally got the job there, the owner said it was fine if I hang out with you guys at work lol. Guess she knows what's it like to miss your childhood friends ], he sent the message before shoving his phone into his pocket and made his way to Anteiku.

It only took a simple fifteen minutes walk to get to his job. He opened the door to the cafe instantly having the smell of coffee fill his nostrils. The owner stood behind the barista. She looked to be in her mid twenties, with light skin, blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Her hair was tied into a bun and her name badge read Hana Fumeko. Beni didn't take long to drop his bags in the break room and get to work brewing coffees. He waited anxiously for his friends, hoping they would come. "please god, let them come safe", he whispered as he finished his second batch of coffee.

@=Nightshade= @Gamingfan

 

[=Nightshade=]

Kaira shut off the television halfway through the news broadcast. That was the only thing that had been on lately. Humans questioning ghouls with things they knew the answers to already. Sickening. She turned away in disgust, throwing the remote against the wall as she went. Her coppery blonde hair got in her mouth, and she shook her head violently to get it out. Her phone buzzed on the couch, and a long, shimmering teal tentacle reached out to grab it before slurping back into her lower back like a piece of overcooked spaghetti.

The girl read through the message, and her expression softened from disgust to nostalgia. [Ha. I see you’re not dead yet, Beniboy. Be there in five], she responded, sarcasm practically dripping from her fingers. She shrugged on a purple windbreaker over her cropped “God has left the lobby” t-shirt before heading out, swinging her keys around her index finger.

Hood up, Kaira slouched out of her apartment, nodding to the few ghouls she passed on her way. It was in a part of town known to be ghoul-heavy, and the few humans living there either died quickly or were kept alive for political purposes. Graffiti covered the walls outside, and pretty much all the plants were dead, apathetic ghouls starving to the point of attempted cannibalism more concerned with their own survival than a few flowers. Not a pretty place, but she called it home.

Straight six blocks, hang two lefts and a right, third building down that street. Kaira stopped and looked up at the facade of Anteiku, the ghoul-run cafe she hung out at often, usually to jam out to music without being attacked by kakujas, or pissed off by humans and their stupid sense of superiority. She opened the door, causing the bell at the corner to make a tinny chime. “Yo,” she said, flipping her hood off her head. “Been a while. So how’s tricks, amigo?”

 

[Gamingfan]

"St-Stay away from me! Back off!"
Inside a dim alley, a man carefully backed away from another male. A...winged male.
A ghoul.
Said male continued advancing, undeterred by the knife the fleeing man wielded. The man froze when he felt a wall block his retreat, glancing behind him in horror and back to the ghoul. He couldn't see their face due to the dim light and hood they were wearing. Their face was almost completely obscured.
"I don't want any trouble man..."
The ghoul pointed a thumb behind him, toward a young woman currently laying on the floor, knocked out, and with a bruise on her head.
"I'd call assault some kind of trouble dude."
At that, the man seemed to have lost it, leaping at the ghoul and aiming the knife towards his chest. Of course, as a ukaku-user, it was a simple matter to move to the side and shoot a lone, crystallized feather through the man's heart. There was almost no sound aside from the chunk of the feather stabbing into the wall and the thump of a corpse landing on the floor.
Devin Souk removed his hood, looking over the body to make sure it was a corpse. Looks good, he thought
Then, damn, normally my aim isn't that good. Great job me.
While deciding if he should book it or feed, his phone buzzing interrupted his thoughts. Devin quickly deciding on leaving, and managed to jump between the alley walls and onto the top with finesse that would make a certain plumber proud. Once sure he was alone, Devin checked his notifications.
Oh crap.
He forgot about the meetup! He was on his way before that stupid criminal had to drag a terrified lady in front of him. Now he needed to change shirts and... ughhh.
Once he got all that done, he jogged his way in front of the cafe Beni worked at. He made it, noticeably late, but still made it. He took a second to catch his breath, then another to put on his happy face, before merrily walking through the door, his arrival sounded by the small bell chime.
"Beni! Kaira! Great to see you again!"

 

[Schrift]

Beni barely batted an eye to Kaira's entrance. It was only after he went to put the next batch on the barista did he take notice of her. Is that Kaira? Oh god, how did I not realise sooner?! he thought as he practically jumped the barista to run up to her. "Hey Kaira!", he smiled as he lept on her and embraced her in a hug. "My god, it's been so long!", he smiled as he lowered his head to look her in the eyes. "And in those six odd yours, you looked like you've shrunk", he snorted. "Man it's exciting to be back, Kyoto just ain't like home". It wasn't long till the door opened again and Beni saw Devin walk in. "Holy shit is that you Devin?!", he asked as he pulled Devin into the little trio hug. "How's being a ghoul in Tokyo going?", he asked, looking at the pair. Beni partially knew the answer but that didn't make him want to know any less. "Take a seat, while I get us some coffees", he said. Beni left the two together for a bit, while he went to get the batch he'd made. He put his apron in the break room before taking the coffees to the table. "You guys heard the news about the CCG? Apparently every CCG investigator has to carry one around, and now if they deem a ghoul a threat to humans they're allowed to kill them", he said, with each word carrying more spite as he spoke. "Rumours have been flying around about the Aogiri coming back", he said in a whisper for only the three of them to hear. "Anyway, how have you guys been? What have you guys been up to while I was away?", he asked, back to his cheery self.

@=Nightshade= @Gamingfan

 

[=Nightshade=]

“Yeah,” Kaira said, awkwardly patting his back as she waited for Beni to let go of her. “Yeah, it has. Now get off me, you big lunk.” At his comment about her height, she almost activated her kagune before remembering the newscast. Instead of running him through, she settled for a fierce kick in the shin. “Suck it, buttwad.” She smirked as she sat at the table he offered, leaning back in her chair and causing a rather obnoxious squeaking sound as she rested her feet up on the table. Social customs never were her forte. She waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, you know. On the run from the CCG, trying not to get cannibalized, chugging about seven cups of coffee a day to stave off the hunger until the right time to strike, exercising my kagune in my four-by-four shower... the norm.”

Kaira blew a strand of hair off her face, putting her feet back on the floor once the coffee arrived. “I’m on the outskirts of the ward, the place people are calling Purgatory because so many ghouls live there, it’s basically a death trap for humans. Well, and for weak ghouls, they get picked out and cannibalized almost immediately. A gang of kakujas live near my apartment, scares the ever-living shit out of me every time one comes within ten feet of me. But enough about my sob story, how did life decide to suck the soul out of you two?”

 

[Gamingfan]

Devin forced a grin in response to Beni's bear hug, although it was a bit easier this time.
"Great to see you too dude. I do like breathing, however." he semi-joked in an attempt to appear as jovial as he used to be.
Once Beni released him, he gratefully took a seat, resting his head on the table and took breath. He listened to his friends speak, his eyebrows sinking a bit in concern as they listed their living conditions.
When it was his turn, Devin chose his answer carefully " I guess I'm not faring much better than Karia, minus the kajuka gang. Honestly, my life is pretty boring, once you ignore the constant death looming. Not much to talk about." he added the last part hurriedly.
Once his skit was done, Davin glanced at the coffee before him, before deciding against it. He wanted to relax at the moment.

 

[Schrift]

Beni felt a peng of guilt weigh down into his stomach. All this time he was living a safe life away from danger, while his friends had to endure through this hell. "Damn, I'm sorry to hear", he said as he bit onto his lips. "My life wasn't that bad while I was away, made a few friends in Kyoto and the CCG there weren't as extreme as they were here. The ghouls there sorta own the place and I guess the CCG don't want to start a full blow war by trying to control that place. I came back to Tokyo since I got into the university here, I picked up this job to help pay for my apartment. Mrs Fumeko knows my parents so it was easy to get a job", he said, adding an awkward chuckle in his voice. It was clear that his voice had some hint of guilt in it, with his eyes now only facing to his coffee. "I didn't realise it was so hard for you guys", he murmured. It took a minute for Beni to snap out of his own guilt trip as he felt a sharp pain in his shin where Kaira had kicked him. He pulled up his trousers leg to see his shin with a clear break in his bone and blood trickling through where his bone had exited. "Jesus christ Kaira, you broke my fucking shin", he said as he looked down to his leg. "I'm gonna have to start calling you, TINY TEMPER now", he laughed. The bell to the door chimed, as two men wearing white suits entered the building. "CCG", Beni growled as his pupils shrunk at their sight. The CCG simply sat at the table opposite them, eyeing the three as they ordered coffees.

 

[=Nightshade=]

“Oops, sorry,” Kaira muttered, not sorry at all. She made a dismissive gesture. “You’re a ghoul, you’ll be good as new tomorrow. And you better not, otherwise I’ll call you Wimpy Shins.” At Beni’s exclamation, the girl glanced at the window, and sure enough, the reflections of the two white-suited CCG agents were unmistakable. She hissed out a breath through her teeth, immediately doubling her awareness to movement. If either of the men attacked, she’d fight back. But for now, she’d have to act natural.

Kaira relaxed against her chair again, picking up the mug of coffee. Painstakingly, she raised the drink to her lips, took a sip, then set it down slowly, the effort to appear like any teenager in any cafe practically aching. She knew she was a registered ghoul, and any good investigator would know her face and try to put her in a position where she would be forced to break the law, but it was better to remain as inconspicuous as possible anyways. She pondered asking Beni about university, or Devin about some other random normal topic, like the weather or something, but decided against it. Instead, she pulled out her phone and pretended to be engrossed in reading a blog, while sending into the group chat, [Well, fuck. You know, the phrase “act natural” is a total contradiction. I’m realizing that now.]

 

[Schrift]

Beni felt his phone vibrated and looked at the message Kaira sent. [lmfao ikr if only we could kill without getting into trouble], he sent back, smirking at kaira. He could hear bits of the conversation, but the part that stuck out most was when he heard one of the men call for Mrs Fumeko asking if she had been harbouring any "fugitive ghouls". Mrs Femeko replied with a simple no, asking why these men would ask such an absurd question. "just cause I'm a ghoul doesn't mean you've gotta pin your problems on me. And shouldn't the CCG be able to deal with a couple stubborn ghouls?", she said. Apparently the last part had really set off the taller of the investigators, who stood up and stared Mrs Fumeko in the eyes. "Ms, we'd like you to come to the CCG Main Headquarters", he said as he put his hand around Mrs Fumeko's arm in an attempt to grab her. Beni stood up and walked over to the investigator, pushing him off Mrs Fumeko. This was a death sentence, as the investigator quickly turned to Beni and pulled out his quinque. It resembled that of a double sided spear, with both heads resembling a ukuaku wing. The investigator rammed the spear head into Beni's shoulder, forcing it between his joints and pushing it out of the other end. "Trying to assault an Investigator isn't the smartest idea kid", he said as he pushed the spear in deeper though his shoulder. Beni let out an unholy scream at the spear in his shoulder. It wasn't the fact the the spear had came out the other side that hurt a lot, it was the fact the the investigator was twisting the blade in Beni's shoulder. Beni could feel the man's breathe by his ear as the man whispered for him to defend himself before it was too late.

Beni only glared at the man, hoping he would give up or just end him there and then but he could only stare at the man with his eyes now crimson and black. After what felt like hours, Mrs Fumeko stepped in and put her hand on the man's quinque. Her kakugan was activated and she was taking none of his bullshit. "Let my employee go, or else the CCG better pray that I don't come over", she hissed, her tone cold and unforgiving. Crunching noises could be heard from the quinque's handle as she applied more force to it. Reluctantly the investigator pulled away, walking back to his table as if nothing had happened. Beni lay on the floor, bleeding an in pain. Some waiters helped lift him up and drop him into a chair where they looked at his wounds. A large gaping hole in the side of his shoulder and a lot of blood lost. "My god Beni, you can't keep going head first into every situation", Mrs Fumeko scolded. "Though I do commend you for your bravery, well stupidity", she finished, before leaving Beni in the hands of his friends. "Okay so I may not have grown up much but before I get lectured on how stupid I am, I thought they were gonna turn Mrs Fumeko into a quinque", he said in his defence, with a smirk.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Kaira’s gaze flicked to Beni when the investigators started talking to Mrs. Fumeko. Don’t do anything rash, don’t do anything rash, don’t do anything rash, don’t do— ah, fuck it, too late. She was going to leave him to his fight, but couldn’t help jerking to her feet when the quinques came out. Her eyes went black and red when she saw her friend get stabbed through the shoulder, and the taste of copper bloomed in her mouth. She had bit into the side of her mouth so hard it bled in an effort to keep her kagune under control.

The girl licked her lips, throat dry, as she sent a deadly glare towards the investigators before heading to Beni’s side, making a visible effort not to slap him. I already kicked through his shin once today, I’ll make a mental note to slap him tomorrow. Instead Kaira bent over—not very far, even sitting down Beni was tall—to be eye-to-eye with him. She enunciated her words carefully and quietly as her eyes slowly returned to their normal teal. If the investigators hadn’t been there, she would have been yelling.

“Excuse me. What. The fuck. Did you do. With your brain.” She straightened up, arching her back in a stretch as she blew a piece of hair off her face, returning his smirk with a gesture at his suit. “Actually wait, don’t answer that. Probably forgot it along with your hair gel.” She frowned, poking the shoulder without a hole in it. “Seriously, though. We get back together after half a dozen years and then you go and try to get yourself killed? Smart, real smart. Try to keep your urges to play hero in check, bigshot.”

 

[Gamingfan]

Externally, Devin stood up worriedly, looking over Beni with his eyebrows furrowed.
Internally, he facepalmed. Typical, Beni was always eager to die for justic or some such.
Once Beni made his crack, followed by Karia's classic insult barrage, Devin calmed down. Beni was fine...relatively speaking.
"Glad to see you all haven't changed." he responded, smiling. "Beni is still trying to commit heroic suicide, and Karia is still pretending she doesn't care."
Well, now that the excitement had calmed down, Devin returned to slouching on his chair. He glanced back to where the CCG members left, shoving the brief anger away to make way for the ol'Devin positivity.
"Oh well. At least no one died right?" He continued with a sunny smile, hoping to counterbalance Karia's outburst " Finese aside, you did good man."

 

[Schrift]

Beni chuckled a bit, before wincing as he felt Kaira poke into his shoulder. "Jesus Kaira, you've already broken my shin, I don't feel like having more pain right now", he said with his cocky grin. "You know I'm the idiot here, what more do I have to say? I just don't like investigators and those guys really get on my nerves. They come here every day and ask the same questions, each time they expect a different answer. I guess this time they grew a pair and decided they should try and take Mrs Fumeko, and for some reason I guess i just had enough", he said. "Anyway, I think Mrs Fumeko is starting to reconsider having me here as an employee, so I better get back to work. You guys wanna meet up later? You remember the creek we used to go to when we were kids? 11pm, don't be late and remember your masks", he said, whispering the last part to the pair, before he left them and got behind the barista.

When the sun had finally set and stars were finally in the sky, Beni walked out of Ainteiku. He didn't bother to change out of his bloodied attire, choosing to only put a coat over it. [On my way to the Creek], he messaged before placing his mask over his face. His mask was a simple plague doctor mask. The inside still smelt of blood and the outside was covered in blood splats. Half way through his walk, he decided to speed up a bit. Eventually he started running, and it wasn't long till he released his kagune and used it to help him vault onto the rooftops. His kagune resembled that of a tail, plated and black like the night. The highlights glowed red as the moonlight bounced off them. Soon, Beni made it to the creek, panting and full of adrenaline. He sat by the side of the creek, waiting for Kaira and Devin.

@Gamingfan @=Nightshade=

 

[Gamingfan]

Devin's phone beeped as he was doing target practice in an abandoned building. Empty beer bottles shattered...noticeably scarcely when compared to the thump of feathers hitting walls.
Devin sighed in disappointment before checking his phone. Right, the creek meeting. Bottle-shattering would have to wait.
Luckily, he was already dressed, mask and all. The night was pretty quiet today, so a short visit wouldn't hurt right?
Adjusting his masquerade mask once more, Devin jumped out an open window, landing without a sound. He spent a brief second making a mental map, before dashing off quickly through the ill-lit streets.
His arrival was sounded by a buzzing sound coming from his electrically charged ukaku. He streaked across the area before coming to a full stop in front of Beni, smiling as brightly as his wings before exhaustion caught up to him, prompting the stamina-short ghoul to put his hands on his knees and breathe deeply.
"Should've...maybe....walked...most of they way here." he gasped. "What's...." he took another breath "...up?"

 

[=Nightshade=]

Kaira looked down at her mask. She hadn’t used it for about two years now, preferring instead to scavenge at cemeteries and common suicide locations. While she had been an avid hunter before, once the ban had been placed on mask wearing to conceal one’s identity she had hunted less and less often before ceasing altogether. But it seemed that things were changing. She sighed and secured the featureless white mask over her face and flipped her black hood up to conceal her copper-colored curls.

The girl perched on her windowsill facing the back of the building for a second, checking for anything that could see and report the use of her kagune. When she saw nothing, Kaira sent a quick OMW into the group chat before launching herself from her seventh-floor window. Her rinkaku was a shimmering teal shot through with veins of glowing violet, yellow, and cyan. Glowing eyes right before the end of each hook, pulsating with a bluish light, completed the effect of a demonic underwater creature.

Each of Kaira’s eight tentacles, four on each side, twined together to form winglike entities attaching to her lower back. They caught they air, slowing her fall, and allowing her to gain some altitude. She couldn’t fly for long using this technique—her weight would drag her down in about five minutes or so—but it would be long enough to get close to the creek. She ran out of steam about three-quarters of the way there, and as she shot downwards, the tentacles untwined, leaving four thicker ones instead of her maximum of eight. These acted as grappling hooks, taking turns launching her the rest of the way to the creek.

She was the last one there, and made it just as the clock struck eleven, landing on her feet with a catlike grace. “Yo,” Kaira said simply, her kagune sliding back into her flesh. The mask she wore hid the fact that she was breathing hard, one of the things she liked best about it; no emotion could be read through it other than through her voice.