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Kael sat on a high stool in the coffee shop, gazing at the city's neon-drenched night through the window. He stretched lazily, trying to shake off the mental fatigue of the daily grind.
It was his first week as an Investigator in Ward 20, and he was already pulling late-night overtime on patrol. Ward 20, usually a "low-threat" zone, had recently spiked in activity. Rumors of a 'Rabbit' hunting CCG personnel had the local branch on edge. Ever since Rize Kamishiro moved through this district, the seeds of chaos had found fertile soil.
"Sir, your cappuccino."
Ken Kaneki set the coffee down, his hands visibly trembling. Having only recently been forcibly integrated into the Ghoul world, facing a CCG investigator across a counter was like a civilian standing in front of an activated combat droid. He kept his head down, the medical patch over his left eye a clumsy shield for his uncooperative Kakugan.
Kael took a slow sip. The flavor was robust—a "Tier-1" brew. "Hey kid," he asked casually, "what's with the eye?"
"Injured a while ago. It's... it's fine," Kaneki stammered.
"Is that so?"
Kael reached out, hooking an arm around Kaneki's neck and pulling him into a mock-friendly huddle. The atmosphere in the shop—populated almost entirely by Ghouls—hit a freezing point. Irimi Kaya at the counter and Koma Enji behind the machine went still, their predatory instincts ready to redline.
"That shy girl behind the pillar keeps staring," Kael whispered into Kaneki's ear. "Think she fell for me at first sight?"
He glanced at Touka Kirishima, who immediately ducked behind a beam like a startled rabbit.
"Shy?" Kaneki's voice was stiff. He looked at Touka, then back at Kael. He couldn't exactly tell the Investigator that she was likely measuring the distance between her claws and his carotid artery. "I... I don't think so."
"You're not a girl, Kaneki. You don't get the vibe. Someone of my aesthetic is a magnet for the 'high-school' demographic. It's a burden," Kael said, flicking his hair with a cynical grin.
Koma Enji gave Kael a subtle thumbs-up from the counter. It wasn't an endorsement of his narcissism; it was an acknowledgment of his sheer "balls" to flirt in a den of monsters.
"Coffee's great. I'll be back," Kael said, dropping several Eddies on the counter and waving as he walked out into the cool Tokyo night.
The night was deep, the neon lights giving way to shadows in the narrow alleys of Ward 20. Kael stopped in his tracks. A figure wearing a Rabbit mask blocked his path.
"I say, little sister," Kael tapped his watch. "I'm already off the clock. Can this wait for the next business day?"
Touka Kirishima froze. The casual, dismissive tone stung her more than a taunt. "You actually treat hunting us as just... a job?!"
Her single-sided Ukaku Kagune bloomed behind her shoulder, firing a barrage of crystalline shards. Kael strolled through the hail of projectiles, his suit remaining pristine as if he were walking through a light drizzle.
Realizing long-range was a failure, Touka closed the distance. The Ukaku provided explosive velocity, but it was a "high-consumption" engine. She lunged with a spinning whip-kick aimed at Kael's head.
Kael's hand shot out, catching her slender calf with a grip like a vice.
"If you're not wearing safety shorts, don't make such high-velocity movements," Kael noted, his gaze clinical. "It's distracting."
"You—!!" Touka's face turned scarlet behind the mask. She tried to ignite her Kagune for a point-blank blast, but Kael's other hand clamped onto her throat, pinning her against the brick wall with a sickening thud.
"You look familiar, Rabbit," Kael whispered, tapping her mask.
A blood-colored Rinkaku tentacle whipped out of the darkness, intended to force Kael back. Kael didn't even turn his head. He reached back, caught the tentacle mid-air, and gave it a violent yank.
Ken Kaneki, wearing his own one-eyed mask, was pulled into the light and slammed face-first into the asphalt at Kael's feet.
"Buy one get one free?" Kael tilted his head. "A delivery right to my doorstep. I love high-efficiency nights."
Kael didn't kill them. He shouldered both unconscious Ghouls and slipped into the shadows, heading back to his newly acquired underground laboratory. When the Yasuhisa twins saw him enter with the "Binge Eater's" two associates, they were confused.
"I was short on experimental tissue," Kael explained.
Ken Kaneki was the first to wake. His "Half-Ghoul" constitution was already healing his bruised ego. As his vision cleared, he saw Kael standing over him with a massive syringe.
"Bear with it, Kaneki. The gauge on this needle is... substantial."
"Wait! What are you doing?!" Kaneki tried to struggle, but his limbs felt like lead. His Kagune was silent.
"A shot of Rc-Inhibitor. My own blend. Suppresses cell activity by ninety percent," Kael said, drawing 800 milliliters of blood. Kaneki turned a sickly shade of grey. "By the way, I searched your wallets. Kamii University IDs? Bold choice for a Ghoul to attend classes openly."
"Where's Touka? What did you do to her?"
"Self-defense, kid. She attacked me. This is a lawful detention," Kael shrugged, handing the blood bag to Kurona. "Besides, you're special, Kaneki. The only successful 'transplant' from Kanou's failed batch. You're a miracle of biological rejection."
"Kanou... where is he?"
"Counting the days, it's about forty-eight hours since his funeral. If you want to talk to him, you'll have to use a medium. I zeroed him."
Kaneki went cold. The architect of his nightmare was dead, and the man who killed him was currently using him as a juice box.
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