I've gotta say, I really love this story. It's been really fun writing it so far. By the way, I've been thinking about a 'sequel' for some time now. Not many details yet. But please leave a review on your thoughts about it. If it's positive, who knows? Maybe it'll happen. Well, to the story at hand!

Eto was frowning heavily. She wasn't sure whether she liked this Kaneki or not.

"Well, someone's being a cocky little-" she never got to finish. A centipede kagune wrapped around her, pinning her arms to their sides. Kaneki lifted her up, squeezing the life out of her.

"What… do you think… you're doing?!" she gasped out. Kaneki pulled her to him.

"Give me one good reason I should let you live…" he said, his face blank. She winced at the pain.

"I made you… you bastard!" she yelled, trying to break free. He just kept evolving! How was this possible?

"Fair enough," he muttered, letting her go. Now, Eto was just confused. What was wrong with him? Kaneki started to walk away.

"Go, Eto. I won't kill you. At least, not now. I'm supposed to save you, and I've done my best. Goodbye…" he muttered, never turning back. This pissed Eto off more than anything he could've said.

"Who do you think you are?! Come here before I kill you!" she roared, her kagune surrounding her once more. Kaneki sighed, annoyed. One of his ordinary kagune shot at her, slicing her in half at the waist. Eto fell, unable to unleash her kakuja.

He knew she'd live. But she'd be less annoying like this. He left, hearing Eto cursing his name the whole time. He ambled over to the building where Karena was. She sat there, her hands around her legs, eyes wide.

"Daddy? Is it over?" she asked, trembling. Kaneki smiled warmly, picking her up.

"Yes, Karena. I think it's over now. Do you wanna go and see mommy?" he asked, holding her close. She started crying, pulling herself close to her father.

"Yes, daddy! Please!" she sobbed. Kaneki hugged her, holding in his emotions. She must have gone through so much. He stepped out of the building, leaving the area. Eventually, he had to put Karena down, holding her hand. If any of the CCG or Aogiri met him on the road, he wanted to be able to fight.

That was when Kaneki met him.

It started with the sound of fighting close by. Kaneki ignored it. He simply continued walking, holding Karena behind him. He never even changed direction. He wasn't being arrogant, just… calm.

It wasn't long before he saw traces of the battle. There were dead ghouls scattered everywhere. Kaneki frowned. This must've been the CCG. Then, he looked up.

A man stood there, clothed in a long white coat. His hair was white as well. In his hand he held a long lance. His clothes were stained with blood, although he himself was untouched. He also wore glasses, but his eyes were sharp. Kaneki knew who it was before he even said a word.

This was the Death God of the CCG. The man had noticed Kaneki as well. When he spoke, his voice was almost emotionless. Almost. There was a tinge of sadness in it.

"That white hair. Those clothes. You would be the Eyepatch then. SS Rated," he muttered, almost to himself. Kaneki acknowledged the statement, nodding at the Investigator.

"You've been an interesting ghoul, to say the least. You're powerful, but not overwhelming. As a kakuja, you are named the Centipede. I am Investigator Arima. I do have some questions, before you attack me. First, why aren't you wearing a mask?" he inquired, pushing his glasses up. Despite himself, Kaneki had to admit, he automatically liked the Investigator.

"I still have it. There's really no reason to wear it right now though," he answered, his voice carrying. Arima nodded.

"Who is the little girl standing behind you?" he inquired, nodding at the small figure clutching at her father's legs. Kaneki looked down at her.

"My daughter. I came here to retrieve her. She had been taken from me by Aogiri, to force me to fight," he said, a hand on her shoulder. Again, Arima nodded.

"It seems that the pieces are falling together. You called the command center using one of our earpieces, correct?" Kaneki nodded, confirming the statement. Arima crossed his arms, his lance stuck in the ground.

"You said that you were dying, among other things. Was that a lie then?" Kaneki shook his head. This was taking longer than expected.

"I really did think that I was going to die. And I wanted to warn you about Amon. However, I did manage to regenerate in time," Kaneki said.

"If what you said is all true, that means that you are indeed Ken Kaneki. You were the young man who was crushed by the steel beams. You had the ghoul organs implanted in you?" Arima inquired, his face showing some sympathy. Again, Kaneki nodded. Arima pulled his quinque out of the ground.

"Thank you for answering all of my questions, Kaneki. Unfortunately, this is where I must stop you. If I must be honest, I would much rather just let you go. But it is my job to bar the way for all the ghouls who attempt to escape through here. The last real question is, how long will you last against me?" Kaneki smiled, stepping forward.

"That's funny. I was just thinking the same thing…"

Arima charged at him. He was certainly quick, for a human. His lance was raised, aiming for his left eye. Kaneki lunged to the right, a single red tentacle slithering out of his back, blocking the strike. Arima almost looked surprised.

There they fought, fencing with their respective weapons. Arima was completely on the offensive, striking faster than the human eye could see. Kaneki had surprise on his side, however. Arima had not expected him to be able to counter his attacks to easily. After one particularly hard hit, Kaneki leapt back, landing on the balls of his feet. Arima stood where he was, never even breathing hard.

"This is certainly interesting. You are SS Rated. Yet you are able to match me blow for blow with only one kagune present. You are a Rinkaku, if I am not mistaken. You should be able to use more than one kagune at a time. That must mean that you are holding back," he said. Kaneki was almost impressed. This Investigator was certainly in a league of his own.

"I don't want to kill anyone. Please, may I pass?" Kaneki pressed. But Arima simply raised his hand to his earpiece, pressing the button.

"This is Special Investigator Arima. Please send Squad Arima to my coordinates immediately. Thank you," he said, releasing the button. Kaneki let him do so. He wanted to see how this would unfold.

"You could have stopped me while I called for assistance. What drives you, Ken Kaneki…" he muttered. Kaneki shrugged in answer.

It didn't take long for the Investigators to show up. There were six of them, but everything else was concealed from Kaneki. They wore the same coats as Arima, but they had hoods on. They all had identical, sword-like quinques.

They surrounded Kaneki, weapons ready. One of them, a man, called to Arima.

"You called for us, Special Investigator Arima? What did you need?" he asked. Arima joined them.

"This ghoul, the Eyepatch, was giving me a hard time. So I wanted to see what kind of power he was withholding." This earned shocked silence from the Investigators. Something had given Arima a hard time?! But the Eyepatch was only SS Rated… Kaneki looked around at them.

"So these are the best Investigators the CCG has to offer. Alright then. Let's see how this goes," Kaneki said, his left eye blackening as his kakugan revealed itself. The Investigators charged, all at once.

Kaneki's single kagune wrapped around him, defending him from the onslaught for a time. Then, he unraveled it, letting it swing into all of the attackers. All but one were to dodge his attack. Two came from behind him. A second kagune emerged, barring their way. He leapt into the air, grabbing onto one of the buildings.

A third kagune joined the pair, lashing out at the Investigators. They dodged his attacks with what seemed like ease. Perhaps, he should actually take the humans seriously. He jumped off the building, unleashing yet another kagune. The four tentacles slammed down upon the Investigators, knocking three into the wall, unconscious.

That was half of them gone. He landed, putting his kagune into a defensive position. The conscious Investigators were baffled at Kaneki's speed and power. Arima however, was the only one noticeably calm. There was silence for what seemed like an eternity.

"You may pass, Eyepatch," Arima said, stepping out of the way. Kaneki stood there for a few moments, unsure whether this was a ruse. No one moved. Then, Kaneki sighed. His kagune retracted back into his kakuhou.

He grabbed his daughter, before attempting to walk past Arima. The tall white-haired Investigator stopped him, however. He walked up to Kaneki, putting an arm on his shoulder in a non-threatening way. He pressed something into his hand. Kaneki looked in his hand to see a CCG earpiece. Arima whispered in his ear:

"Kaneki. I have noticed that although you seem to have no problem killing ghouls, you prefer not to kill humans. I am extremely grateful for this. It seems that the CCG judges all ghouls without knowing them. Please, call me. I have a proposition for you. Goodbye," he whispered, walking away. Kaneki was shocked.

He recovered quickly, letting the stunned Investigators leave with their squad leader. He then picked Karena up again, leaving the Ward…

"Where could they be?!" Touka muttered impatiently, flipping through the channels on the television, hoping for some news on the battle in the 20'th Ward.

They were staying at one of Yoshimura's many places of residence around Tokyo. They were all around, watching the Tv as well. They heard a knock on the door. Touka leapt up, running to open it.

In the doorway stood Koma and Irimi, alone. They looked upset. Touka's heart sank.

"Where's Kaneki?!" she yelled, pressing them for answers. They only shook their heads.

"Both of our gangs were completely slaugh-" Touka cut Irimi off.

"No one cares about them! Where's my husband?! Where's my daughter?!" she roared, almost in tears.

That was when she appeared in the doorway.

"Moooommmyyyyyy!" Karena cried, running to her mother. Touka almost broke down right there. She scooped her daughter up, hugging her tightly. Before she could ask any questions, she heard a familiar cracking sound outside. She ran out, and there he was.

His clothes were almost completely torn, held together only by a few threads. She looked at him for a few moments, trying to discern if anything was different about him. The only thing that she could see was his posture. He carried himself in a different way. He looked taller, prouder, and altogether more powerful. She didn't care.

"Didn't I tell you so, Touka? We're back," he whispered, holding her and Karena both. They stood there for many minutes.

Eventually they went inside, where Kaneki would tell his tale to all. They never slept that night, as they always pressed Kaneki for details. However, a few things were kept from them. Things he wanted to tell Touka in private.

He kept to himself about his newfound strength, and of Arima's strange message. He still held the earpiece in his hand, and looked at it occasionally.

Maybe he would call the Investigator. Maybe…

Meanwhile, he sat there, content to be with the people he loved, and confident that he had the power to keep all the evils away from them.

He was the One-Eyed God. No, he was the Eyepatch before anything else.

He was the Eyepatch, and he had no limits.

And thus, the story ends. But fear not, dear readers. Please, tell me if you enjoyed the story. If I get enough positive feedback, I shall write a SEQUEL. But that is a story for another time. Now it is time for this tired writer to rest… Until next time. I love you all, and thank you for all your support.