Chapter 31

What Happened in Cochlea?

Akira and Amon were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria together. The place was basked in sunlight because of the wide windows that decorated the grey walls. The place was empty because they had passed the lunch time by more than half an hour. With laptops and bunch of papers in their table, they were busy talking about their progress in searching for "the truth". Akira didn't really like that word. She found it to be inappropriate as if they were on a secret mission to bring down the CCG from the inside even though her job was the complete opposite. However Akira didn't want to stop. She had to know the motive behind all this.

"Even though the IT gave me access to the database from the years even before we joined, I still have my limits on how far I can access them but let's see what we have found." Said Akira as she began to read the notes she wrote.

Without Akira knowing, Amon was staring at her face. Her pristine skin was shining because of the sun light, giving her face a contrast of beauty. Amon found Akira's dedication to be admirable. He found pride in having her trust and also to become her partner. Back then the man couldn't imagine having anyone else.

"So what do we have?" Amon asked.

"Now that we have figured out Centipede's agenda is revenge, we have to find out what happened before Centipede attacked us the first time in the 11th ward, right?" Akira started, "To be exact, what in the world did the CCG do to anger Centipede? So what I was trying to search was any record of scandal the CCG had done in the past."

"Hm…" Amon hummed as his eyes drifted outside of the window, "The only scandal that I remember is that Toukage killed people from our side. But the story didn't get public, did it?"

"Yes. Toukage Zetsu's mistake is one of the major mistake of CCG. However, his killing of people couldn't possibly be the reason Centipede's attacking us. If anything it's an obvious advantage for them, no?"

"True… Then did you find anything relevant to his motives?"

"Honestly I'm not one hundred percent sure about this, but…" Akira hit enter on the keyboard then she spun her laptop to show Amon what's on it, "I found this. Classified record from 4 years ago. Toukage Zetsu's father, Toukage Goumasa died because of a ghoul attack in Cochlea."

Amon squinted his eyes as he brought the laptop's closer to his face. A certain name highlighted in red immediately caught his attention.

"Jason…" Amon whispered the name as if the name itself was priceless. "His father was killed by Jason who was captivated in Cochlea!? How come no one knows about this?"

"Because no one bothered to search." Akira shrugged. "Now here's the thing. I searched the record of what happened in Cochlea when Jason killed Toukage Goumasa. Guess what?"

"What?"

"I found nothing."

"No way."

"Try to type them yourself."

Amon proceeded to type the keywords and filter out the date. Any text and video records of that day were missing. They found nothing. Amon then tried to find any Cochlea incident from that year. The only things that appeared were the irrelevant ones like gas leaking that killed two ghouls in the captivity or a security guard got hurt because of a rebellious ghoul's sneaky attack. Yet none of them spoke of Goumasa.

"What does he do? I've never heard of him. Why did he get killed?"

"He was an interrogator serving at Cochlea. Had been working there for 6 years. He died after interrogating Jason. Of course the only suspect there was Jason. But as you can see right there…" Akira left her words hanging in the air.

"No record of the accident. You're right. This is... this is getting strange. Something's not right, Akira. Could it be that the CCG does hide something important…?" Amon said in a low voice. In that moment he was scared of anyone hearing him too loud. The place was empty at the moment. Not a lot of people were present because they were all busy working.

"For the record, Jason has always been present since the first raid."

Amon raised his eyebrow. Confused by what she meant. "Your point?"

"I think this loss of record has something to do with The Centipede himself. The sin that The CCG had done? Just how serious it is to make The Centipede dare to attack all of us with his army? I believe the records that are lost is the key to unveil this mystery."

Amon's eyes were widened in realization. Akira was right. They were getting somewhere. However their little investigation didn't stop there. They needed a lot more than this.

"There's one person that we need to ask to make sure." Amon said as his fist tightened in excitement.

The woman smirked. She loved it whenever their minds were in sync, "Of course."

--

The office hour finally ended at 4 PM. Amon and Akira parted ways as soon as they were outside of the front gate because the beige haired woman wanted to buy some cat foods for her persian cat named Maris Stella. Amon asked about why she named her cat with such a sophisticated long name. All she said was "I remember seeing that name on a random wikipedia I read every once in a day and it's beautiful so yeah."

Amon was feeling like he wanted some treat for his hard work that day. Investigating the Centipede, the CCG, Cochlea incident, it made him excited yet tiring. Thinking aback, he was doing such an exciting secret mission with his partner. A beautiful and strong woman. Full of disciple. That's what Amon has always though about Akira. Yet now, Amon saw her tenacity as part of her charms. He was happy to work alongside her. Hoping to find the answer together, Amon wanted to work as hard as Akira.

As he was walking on the side ways with a bunch of food stalls and cafes along the way, Amon was thinking of getting a coffee. He saw Onikisu was just several steps away from him. The man decided to get inside to buy some treats.

The place was crowded with the workers from CCG and young students from the nearest campus. He saw one of the colleagues he knew. When their eyes met, the raven haired bowed his head slightly as a greeting out of courtesy. As he was waiting in queue, Amon remembered about his first encounter with Shintaro Tatsuya. The owner of Onikisu. When he was picturing him again in his mind, Amon saw a man of charisma and secrets. He was cool and collected. His eyepatch also added to his character. Not a man who was easily forgotten.

As his mind wandered off, it was his turn to order. Amon ordered a small cup of Americano and a smoked beef with teriyaki chicken sandwich. He wanted that bonus protein intake. After he paid, Amon moved side ways for the next customer to order. He was waiting by standing on the bar near the cashier. His black eyes scanned around the place, looking at how happy and joyful the people there. He wondered on just how long Amon could protect that peace. He wanted this moment to last forever.

As he was waiting idly, Amon looked towards the door inside the cashier area that says "Staff Only". The door was suddenly opened revealing a pink haired staff was talking to someone behind her as she walked out. Amon couldn't see who she was talking to but soon after he found out.

Kaneki's white eyepatch was the first thing Amon saw as soon as the young man's face showed up from behind the wooden door. Amon was surprised because he wasn't ready to meet that man again. His body was tensed, but he kept on standing there and stay quiet.

Kaneki didn't realize Amon was there standing by the side bar. He was busy following and listening to the manager's report about the equipment's status. Despite of his distinctive feature, no one actually paid that much attention towards him. That made Amon wonder. He suddenly felt alienated. Was it only him who put too much attention towards the owner? Didn't everyone found out that this white haired man present in the middle of this café was the owner of Tokyo's most popular coffee shop? Everyone didn't care that much?

"Sir, you okay?"

Amon took a sharp breath. A barista woke him up from his train of thoughts. The man didn't realize how concerning the face he made and honestly he didn't want to find out.

"Y-yes, I am."

"Here's your Americano and sandwich." The barista girl replied kindly. Amon took the warm cup in his right hand and brought the plate of sandwich on the one. He was trying to find a place in the corner, hoping that Shintaro Tatsuya wouldn't see him or even if he did he would just play pretend. After walking to a deeper section of the café, Amon found a single table for 2 people. He immediately took the place, placing both of his food and beverage on the table.

"Should've asked Akira to come with me..." Amon whispered to himself. "Oh wait she had an errand. What am I thinking?" The man blushed out of nowhere and decided to just eat his sandwich. After his first bite, Amon took out his phone to play around with it.

"Hello, Amon-kun."

As soon as Amon looked up toward the voice that was calling him, he widened his eyes and immediately went flustered. Knowing his mouth was still full, Amon hurriedly chewed and swallowed it so he could answer back.

"I take that back. I'm glad Akira isn't here." The black haired said to himself before he greeted, "H-Hello, Shintaro-san!"

Kaneki chuckled in response, "It's been a while, isn't it?" He said as he gave a polite smile.

"Yes, it certainly is…" Amon awkwardly smiled. He didn't find the situation to be comfortable that much. After all the fiasco Akira did to the owner, Amon found himself to be embarrassed sitting in front of him.

"May I sit here for a while, Amon-kun? Or are you in a hurry?"

"N-no I'm not! Please do!"

"Thank you."

The man in black eventually sat down in front of his enemy. He put his own cup of coffee on the table as his leg crossed over the other. Oblivious to what his true identity was, Amon casually sipped his caffeine and savored the bitter taste of it.

Looking at the man drinking his coffee, Kaneki stared at him as he smiled amusedly. "How's my coffee, Amon-kun?" He asked to break the ice.

The moment the cup left his lips, Amon nodded his head saying that the coffee was good as always. Suddenly he wondered. Even if he knew the man before him was a ghoul, would Amon still come back there? Apart from its background, Onikisu served good coffees and meals. Amon loved them.

"Are you a regular customer here? There are lots of your colleagues coming here every day." Kaneki asked again.

"I supposed I am. Sometimes if I need a little more kick of caffeine and feeling hungry, I would go here after work. I like the coffee and the price is not too expensive." The raven haired paused to scratch his itchy nose, "I like the atmosphere here. It's very comfortable to hang out."

"Glad to hear that." The owner nodded satisfyingly. He was happy to receive a good input. He was still a business man after all. However, that wasn't what he originally intended to talk about. "Amon-kun—"

"Shintaro-san—"

"…uh…"

"You first." Kaneki lowly chuckled as he gestured his hand out to pardon his talking partner. It was awkward that Kaneki almost felt strange from the situation. He wasn't used to it.

"I… I would like to apologize on what happened in our last meeting." Amon looked down to his plate of half eaten sandwich. Knowing better not to look insincere, he looked up again straight to Kaneki's face. "Investigator Akira was rude to do that to you. I apologize on her behalf. I hope it didn't make any major discomfort in your daily activities."

Kaneki was almost taken aback by the man's sudden apology. He never saw it coming. Kaneki thought that time when Akira revealed his identity out loud in the middle of the café was part of Amon's plan too. Yet it seemed like the couple wasn't completely in the same boat. Did it make any major discomfort in his daily activities? Not at all. It ended up to be rumors. Also even though Onikisu was popular, everyone didn't care who the owner was. Not like he would suddenly become a celebrity. After all, what he had was just a café. Nothing like a luxurious brand of fashion or maybe a bank.

"Hey, it's alright. It's been fine. I understand why Investigator Akira did it."

"Thank you for your understanding…" Amon sheepishly smiled. Now that was one load off his chest. "By the way, what did you want to say?"

"Ah, that." Kaneki cleared his throat as he adjusted his seat again. His steel eye looked down to the wooden table, thinking of the sequence of sentence he wanted to speak. "I would like to express my condolence regarding the CCG's loss in 15th ward. Another defeat for us humans."

Amon was as surprised as Kaneki like before. He didn't expect the white hair to come to him just to express his condolence towards the CCG. Not many people did that. If anything, some people bashed on the CCG for not doing their job correctly. They were getting scared and no one was able to protect them except the CCG.

"I am the one who should be apologizing, Shintaro-san. We lost and I took part of it. I wasn't…" Amon's mind quickly drifted to the memory of going against the Centipede. The memory of that night, the end of their meeting made by a curtain of fire. The shining red kagune tentacles that still hurt his leg until today. If it weren't because of CCG's skill in taking care of their investigators, Amon would still be laying in bed by then. Remembering his lack of strength, Amon tightened his fist, visible for Kaneki to see. "I wasn't strong enough." He shamefully admitted.

Kaneki was silent. His steel eye studied his enemy's expression. His sharply knitted eyebrows, wavering pupils, tightened jaw. Kaneki almost felt pity towards Amon. He had always known Amon was an honest man. A man with a strong sense of justice that disgusted him. Yet now that Kaneki was sitting alone with him, he couldn't bring himself to look down on the investigator.

"…A man once said to me, 'You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.'"

Amon tilted up his head to find the man before him was looking straight at him with his one eye.

"I believe you have to hone your skill more. Train harder. Work together with your partner. Each loss can bring you closer to the victory you wish to achieve. I think it is very admirable of you to not just give up." Kaneki said as his face looked towards the faces of his customers, "After all, you are part of the symbol of justice. No?"

Amon wanted to read that handsome face who was looking away from him. Yet that eye patch hid the answer he was looking for. Back then he wondered so many things. He wondered why Shintaro Tatsuya bothered to talk to him, what did he do to make a man say that to him, why did he even wondering that much over a stranger.

"CCG as the symbol of justice, huh…" Amon muttered.

"At least for humanity itself. You are like a hero." Kaneki proceeded to sip his coffee. The warm thick liquid washed over his dry throat, calming him down. "So, how far is the investigation going? Have you found any clue on where this Centipede group's whereabouts? To be frank, it is quite concerning."

Amon didn't know what to say. He couldn't find the right words. He was considering whether he told him about his own private investigation with Akira or not, but Amon believed it wouldn't be wise. Moreover he didn't want to have a guilt trip walking home. But knowing there was an innocent civilian asking him, Amon wanted to make an assuring impression.

"We are currently starting to have a lead and also honing up our strategies. Since our main bases are getting less, on the bright side it's easier to fortify our defenses. We have new strong recruits too so our winning odds is higher."

"Good." Kaneki smiled and nodded. Again he sipped his coffee. A gesture meant to be a curtain of his true intention. Even though the information he got wasn't specific, it still had values. Thinking that it was about time for him to end his short yet fun conversation with Amon, Kaneki looked at his watch. It was almost 5 PM. "Alright, it's time for me to go home. It is nice talking to you, Investigator Amon. We might meet again." Kaneki said as he brought his hand for a hand shake.

Confidently Amon answered that handshake with his own, giving a strong honest grip. Kaneki was taken aback by his strength on his hand. The pressure truly showed the character and how much Kaneki felt like he had to respect him well. He was amused by how interesting the coincidence of this meeting.

"The pleasure is mine, Shintaro-san." Amon said with a wide smile.

After that Kaneki walked away leaving the investigator behind in his break time. He drank his half finished coffee as he walked, unknowingly inviting some attention to himself. Why wouldn't they? His staffs behind the counter bowed and said 'thank you' to him the moment they saw their leader was walking out. Kaneki waved his hand in respond, telling them to go back to work.

Arriving at his wooden doorstep, Amon picked up the room key in his pocket. After inserting the key and unlocking it, he could already feel relaxed and free. The man felt like it had been a long day. Taking off his shoes and socks, undoing his tie, putting his bag on the sofa, and turning on the AC, Amon walked to his bath room and washed his face that was full of invincible germs and sweat. Going inside his head uninvited, Amon suddenly remembered the words Shintaro Tatsuya spoke to him.

"You may have to win a battle more than once to win it, huh…" the investigator replayed the sentence like a chant. For some reason it motivated him even though he already knew that. To defeat a formidable foe, first attempt is not enough. And Amon didn't intend to give up. Not until he found the truth of what the Centipede meant. The man promised himself that he would use the time he had before the next Centipede raid on both his investigation and his training. "I can't defeat him in strength alone. I need to work on my agility too. He was too fast for my eyes…" He muttered to himself as he was remembering how embarrassing the last battle he did.

--

"Mmh… ah.."

The echoes of Rize's sweet moan filled the spacious white living room along with the sound of wet slick sound coming from the motion of her partner's fingers sliding in and out of her throbbing pussy. She was sitting on her partner's lap, facing outside towards the vast windows. Her bare breasts were free for Kaneki to grope and suck with. He pinched her nipple as his hot tongue licked on the other, sending a wave of uncontrollable pleasure to his partner. His two long fingers kept pushing in and out of her, occasionally rubbing on her swollen clit slowly to build up her tension. The wet sound turned him so much just like her sweet loud moan. He loved teasing her so much.

"Please don't stop." Rize urged breathlessly. Her cheek painted in rosy hue, her eyes clouded in lust, and her hips moved in motion to pleasure herself more. Her hand gripped on Kaneki's hair as her whimper grew louder. Kaneki pulled on Rize's nipple harder as he relentlessly stimulating her pussy faster. He rubbed her clit and thrust his fingers back in again with increased vigor. He could feel the hot walls were clenching on him.

"You're gonna cum? Hm?" Kaneki whispered very close to Rize's ear in his hoarse voice, stimulating her with his deep voice which he knew he loved so much.

"Y-yes I am—Ahh!"

"Cum for me, baby."

As pressure began to build within her core, Rize couldn't take it anymore. She dipped her head backward to the sofa as her hips arced forward. Her back touching flat on her boyfriend's bare chest. She let out a blissful cry, legs weak because of the explosion of wet juices between her thighs. Her sweaty chest breathed up and down. Kaneki pulled out his soaked fingers out of her throbbing hole. He brought them to his mouth, sucking the juices clean. Then after that he leaned in to kiss his girl who was weak within his arms.

"Mmh." Rize moaned between the kiss. She gladly opened her mouth to let Kaneki shove his tongue in that was covered with her own love juice. "I can't take it anymore…" She whimpered.

Kaneki smirked. Just what he had been waiting for.

"Stand up." He ordered.

Rize did as she was told. Even though her knees were weak, she stood up to let Kaneki do his thing. Kaneki opened the zipper of his black cotton pants, releasing the big bulge under his white boxer. He proceeded to remove them all down to the floor, just enough for Rize to ride on it.

"Come here."

Rize gladly obeyed. Before taking her boyfriend's dick inside of her, Rize leaned down to lick its precum off. Her tongue slicking around the rod, making it wet enough beforehand. After she was done, Rize turned around with her plump pearly ass facing her partner and feet on the floor. Her left hand grabbing on Kaneki's dick, guiding it to her dripping entrance. She was more than ready for round two.

"Ng... Nggh!" Kaneki hissed as he felt his member slowly going inside the familiar hot walls. When finally he felt himself in the deepest part of her, he felt the pleasure he had been wanting since he left his suite to check on his cafes. "Goddamn you're so wet, Rize." He chuckled. "You naughty girl." Kaneki's hand caressed his girl's ass softly before he spanked her. It succeeded making Rize yelped in pleasure. He could feel the walls tightening around his shaft. "Go on, Rize. Show me how dirty you are."

"Yes, sir…" Rize's face was pure ecstasy. Her wide smile was plastered on her face because of the wave of pleasure sent from the spanking. Her nipples hardened, her clit throbbing. She couldn't wait anymore. Enough adjusting. She began to move her hips up and down, giving her partner a good show of her engulfing his cock along with her bouncy glistened peaches. Her slender fingers rubbed on her clit as she let out desperate moans. The sound of skin slapping aroused them more and more. Kaneki's hands both groping on his woman's ass. He spanked them hard, each time bringing out Rize's scream higher for an octave. The pleasure was overwhelming his senses, finally waking the deep growl within his throat. He decided to take over the leading. He needed to pound her harder than this.

"Rize, stop." He ordered between his breaths.

"Aah—"

Before she could move herself, Kaneki pushed her off his dick gently yet with a hint of hurry. He stood up with her, kissing her roughly before he pushed her to get on top of the sofa. The velvet haired got on four, impatiently waiting for her dripping cave to be filled up right away. Her wish was granted. As if not letting her go dry, Kaneki shoved his glistened cock inside of her again. This time more intense as he spanked her again and again.

"Kaneki! Aah! Ah! More!" Rize shamelessly begged. Suddenly she felt her hair was pulled back, making her back arced along. Her both hands clenched on Kaneki's arms, holding for dear life.

Kaneki leaned in to Rize's shoulder. He opened his mouth then bit her quite hard, sucking on her skin to mark her his. His thrusts were getting faster and harder, full of vigor. His hand that was pulling her hair moved to fondle her firm bouncing breast to give her more pleasure. Hearing Rize's cry drove him mad in uncontrollable lust. Accompanied by the sound of how slick his dick ramming her hole mercilessly, he couldn't think of anything besides making a mess out of themselves.

"Fuck… Rize you're so hot." The man grunted as he began to slow down. Almost reluctantly Kaneki pulled out, leaving Rize feeling lonely for mere seconds down there. Kaneki shifted her body to face him, then he pushed her down onto the sofa. Kaneki then got his knees on the carpet. He positioned his face right in front of her wet throbbing entrance and immediately licked her folds.

"Oh—God, Kaneki—" Rize screamed as she dipped her head backward. Her hand clenched over Kaneki's white hair, encouraging him to please her more.

Kaneki's tongue licked her nonstop. He savored the taste of her, the taste that was produced because of his doing. He sucked on her clit gently, then he licked her off before he shoved his hot tongue inside the hole. It drove Rize insane. He was so good. Way too good for her. Never once Kaneki failed to please her and she loved every single dirty session they had.

Feeling his own throbbing painfully down there, Kaneki decided it was enough. He moved her legs from on top of his shoulders to stand up. His hard dick visible for Rize to see, making her shudder in excitement. She wanted his rod inside her again. Fast. Kaneki climbed on to the white sofa, pushing Rize to lay on her back. He could see her anticipation written all over her face. The man leaned down to kiss her jaw line, down to her neck, sucking on her succulent skin to make her his. Without warning, he shoved his cock inside her tunnel again. All the way inside in one go. Rize moaned aloud as she felt his dick penetrating her, finally reunited with the thing that drove her to cloud nine.

"Fuck—yes! Yes give to me, darling, take me!"

"Heh… you naughty bitch. You're getting it." He whispered right beside of her ear lobe.

Kaneki's rough hands were roughly gripping on Rize's hips, locking her body as he rammed her senseless. The view from top was priceless. Kaneki could see Rize's flushed face that was begging him for not stopping. Her bouncing tits that always successfully turned him on so bad. Her body glistened by her sweat. Her flexing core muscles. Her messy purple hair. They were all his and his alone. Priceless.

As Kaneki rammed her, he leaned down and aggressively sucking on her nipples, licking on them vigorously, making her crying louder in pleasure. He knew Rize loved it whenever he took special attention on her tits. Getting fucked while getting her nipple sucked and licked was the best kind of pleasure she wanted. And oh how Kaneki did it best. How did he knew that? Every time he did this, he could feel the walls around his rod tightening.

"K-kaneki, I'm gonna cum-Aahhn!"

"Fuck—me too—"

Kaneki could feel the muscles in his core was tightening. He was getting there. Only a couple of more fast thrusts.

"I—I'm cumming!"

After his forewarn, Kaneki pulled out with a hiss and released his white liquid on top of Rize's flat stomach. He loudly groaned in satisfaction, pumping out every last bit on his cum on her skin, marking her with his scent.

After he was done, Kaneki pressed his back against the sofa, trying to steady his breathing. Rize looked towards the thick cum on her belly, then using her finger to take a lick of it.

"Delicious." She said, releasing her finger with a pop. "That was amazing. Let's take a shower together."

The white haired smiled. His tired face looked up towards his angel. She was so pretty and cute at the same time. Kaneki couldn't help himself to stop his hand going up to pat her head. The loving gesture made Rize closed her eyes in comfort. She loved the sensation of her head getting patted.

"Let's go." The man said.

When they both got inside the bath room. Rize first looked onto the mirror. It was a habit she had to check on her face every time she went inside there. Kaneki nakedly followed and stood behind her. He hugged her slender waist, resting his face on top of the nape of her neck. He smelled the scent that was permeating through her skin. The man nuzzled his face onto her shoulder, sucking on her skin gently. Just enough to give her hickey.

Rize shifted her head slightly to give him that space he needed to mark her. Her hand pat her man's messy hair, showing her affection. She looked on to the mirror to see how Kaneki gives her his markings. How he looked like. How passionate she could see him. How gradually one by one, the skin around her neck and shoulder was decorated with fresh dark spots. Most of them were at the back. He deliberately put them there so it wouldn't be too showy.

Rize turned around to face him. Her hands caged his neck, their bodies glued over another.

"I'm yours." She cooed lovingly.

"I know." Kaneki's husky voice answered.

They both leaned in for a deep kiss, a kiss that involved yet another spark of lust.

--

The next day, Amon and Akira decided to take the subway to go to the first ward together. They were planning to interrogate the man they predict to have the answer they needed. None other than the criminally insane himself, Toukage Zetsu. He was the only who had the connection with the victim of Cochlea. By that point both of them knew what's up with Zetsu's abnormal affinity with Jason. He had a grudge.

Twenty minutes later, the train finally stopped at the first ward station. The station was hectic and noisy, full of people going to work and school. Walking through the sea of people, Akira and Amon went up to the surface. The best thing about this station was it was located right in front of CCG's first base. It was deliberately designed that way for the investigators convenience.

Soon after they were finally inside the building. The fresh cool air hit their face as soon as they stepped inside.

"Alright. Let's search for him." Akira said.

"Mm."

Together they took a lift to the seventh floor where the highest ranked investigator placed. After Amon hit the button, he waited until the door closed by itself.

"Did you bring the files?" Amon asked.

"Yeah, it's in here." Akira answered as she patted her laptop bag.

When the doors almost closed, suddenly someone put his hand between the doors to stop them from closing shut. Both Akira and Amon got taken aback by the abrupt interruption. They wondered who it was.

"Whoa, sorry sorry my bad. But uh… I really need to hurry—" The man stopped talking when he saw the faces of passengers, "Oh good morning, Akira-chan and Amon!" He said with a wide smile.

"T-Toukage?"

--

"I see. So you wanna know what's up with my old man." Toukage nodded amusedly as he blew out the smoke of his cigar. His long black bangs waving across his face because of the wind. "Definitely not what I expected when I see you both here. This is out of nowhere hahahah."

"Sorry to surprise you and I'm sorry if it's a sensitive topic for you. But I'm afraid this is an important matter. We need to know what truly happened to your father, Toukage." Amon said, trying to convince the son.

"Well it's exactly like what you read in the records. Jason killed him. That's that." Zetsu shrugged as he inhaled his smoke again.

"Yet the video record of what happened to him was gone. Don't you think that is strange!?"

"I know and I don't know why they did that. And I don't care. Maybe the assholes wanna cover up the accident and not letting everyone know how weak the Cochlea's security was getting. Who knows?"

Akira knitted her eyebrows. She sensed something was wrong.

"Tell us the truth, Goumasa. You're lying." She said pushing him.

"I said I don't know, woman." The long haired said with a hint of annoyance.

"No. You do know something. I can see that you're not being honest. You are his son and back then you've already worked with the CCG. There is no way you're not fully informed—"

"What does it matter to you both anyway?" Zetsu cut her off with his raspy voice because of his years of smoking. He was getting angry. His father was an interrogator, but Zetsu himself disliked being interrogated. "What's up with both of you suddenly coming here to ask me about my old man? You're the one who's not making sense. What are you guys up to, huh?"

Akira clammed up. She didn't know how to answer that immediately. Should she tell him? She wasn't sure at all. She couldn't trust him. But it was fair for Zetsu to know. After all, they were asking about his deceased father. Yet still Akira couldn't bring herself to tell about their secret investigation. The matter about CCG having a "sin" which drove The Centipede destroying them needed to be a secret. If the matter were spreading, somebody from the inside would possibly hid the facts.

However, Akira hated to admit it but she was so sure Zetsu had something she needed. She decided to tell him.

"Amon spoke to The Centipede himself from the last raid."

"Akira-?" Amon immediately looked at her, questioning her decision.

"Huh. And then?" Zetsu nonchalantly asked again. He was interested in knowing what the pair was hiding.

"We found out that apparently CCG had done something in the past that anger The Centipede. He said we have to remember our sin. He's been attacking us because of grudge." Akira explained, "The Cochlea incident is an anomaly that we found. One of the casualties had a connection with you. He was killed by Jason. A ghoul that apparently has been present since the first raid. Toukage, you're our only lead right now."

Zetsu was quite. It took him some time to process the new information that he just heard. The information that he knew wasn't reported in the meeting. Inhaling his cigar, he was thinking on what he should say.

"Jason followin' Centipede since the first raid isn't a sign of him being related prior the first raid. Jason's been living up his name for awhile before then. Centipede could've noticed that fame and recruit him."

"True. But it's a coincidence that's worth to be considered. The point is, this loss of record and how the story didn't get public? I don't think this is the only thing they're hiding."

Zetsu sighed. The cigar in his mouth was nearing its end. He put it off in the ashtray, readying himself to go.

"I applaud you both for being serious in your little detective play. Who knows? Perhaps if you do find something they'll immediately promote you guys." Zetsu chuckled. "But as I said before. I don't know. I don't have a clue. And honestly I don't care if he's attacking us because of revenge or if this place had done something nasty. I just wanna kill some ghouls. That's that, pretty girl."

Akira kept her face hard as a steel. She had to learn how to not take a cheap bait coming from Zetsu. Realizing that this was getting nowhere, Akira decided to end their meeting and moving on.

"Fine. Most importantly, Toukage," Akira paused. Her green eyes glared sharply at the nonchalant man, "I beg you not to speak of this to everyone else. It is very futile for you to keep it a secret. Do we have a deal?"

Zetsu scoffed. He liked her guts. Those steel eyes sometimes made him feel excited to tease her more. The kind of woman that he hated now begging for him to keep a secret. How amusing.

"Heh. I don't know. Do we?" He grinned annoyingly.

"Toukage, please." Amon said to persuade him.

"Well I don't know? What's in it for me?"

"Nothing. But you will help us discovering the truth."

"Hm… But I'm not interested with the truth?"

"…Please, Toukage." Akira pleaded. Her face was showing sign of wavering even if she didn't know that.

The long haired man finally laughed. He got what he wanted. He wanted her pleading to him, begging him, looking at that anxious expression. That was enough for now be thought. Zetsu was sure he could use that.

"Hahahaha! What makes you think I would speak 'bout this to everyone when I just don't care to whatever you're trying to find here? I simply don't care. Now if you'll excuse me. Gotta go to Arima before he gets angry at me. Bye bye." Zetsu said his farewell as he stood up from the bench, leaving the pair behind without waiting for their reply.

Akira and Amon didn't bother to reply him. They knew that perhaps, they made the wrong decision. Akira couldn't trust him. She believed Zetsu would tell. If he didn't care, he also wouldn't care what consequences there would be if everyone knows about it. The beige hair woman could only sigh. She came for nothing and she hated it.

Looking at Akira who was obviously disappointed made Amon feel sad. He wanted to go back to 21st ward, taking a break in the subway would be nice for them both. The man asked for Akira to go back home. With a heavy heart, the woman nodded and carried her bag on her shoulder.

--

Toukage Zetsu didn't keep his smile after he left the 21st ward duo behind. He was serious. He was walking towards the lift, immediately closing it before anyone else getting inside with him. He didn't want company. He pressed the button to the highest floor where Tsuneyoshi Washuu's office was located.

"Sorry, guys. Apparenly I ain't no good secret keeper." Zetsu said with a sigh. Deeply laughing over the sudden meeting he had with the two.

When the lift stopped, Zetsu stepped out and walking across the long carpeted hallway towards the office guarded with two guardians who followed Washuu to the meeting. Zetsu didn't like them. They looked like dogs in his eyes. If the master told them to fall off a cliff, they'd probably loyal enough to do it.

"State your business." Said the female guardian who stopped him right before the doors.

"I'm here to meet your master. What else?" Zetsu answered, feeling annoyed. He really disliked the bitch.

"Wait here." She simply said. The guardian knocked first before she walked inside. Waiting for her to finish, the man looked at outside of the window where he could see the view of Tokyo. Always incredible. Yet boring at the same time. Soon after the guardian got out to tell Zetsu he could get in.

"You may come in."

"Yeah, yeah."

The man proceeded to walk inside the big room of an office with only one single office desk in the middle made of oak wood. The CEO of CCG was sitting there, waiting for him.

"Good morning, Zetsu. Is there something that you need to say to me?" Washuu casually greeted him.

"Yeah. There is." Zetsu said as he walked closer towards the old man. The more he got closer, the more obvious how his face looked like. He looked smug. "Madou Akira and Koutaro Amon know about your little mistake." He stated with a smirk.

--

TOKYO GHOUL:re ANIME IS OUT NOW! GO WATCH IT!