Tokyo Ghoul : Forbidden

[FungKu]

"I want a beer Yama-san" a man who is a regular of his bar ordered as Yama nodded acknowledging the order that he had made as he proceeded to take out a mug filling it up with beer to serve for the man. He had worked in his bar for so long now that he doesn't remember how he started out really. He's memory can be a little juggled up from time to time. He tends to forget things that he does not really care, but if he really wants to remember something, Yama will never forget. He then served the beer to the man as the man thanked him, "You are welcome" he answered as he proceeded to wipe some glasses with a clean white cloth. Always seeing his customer enjoy their drink made Yama thirsty himself and he decided to have a little drink for himself as he took out a cup filling it with freshly brewed coffee and adding something 'special' to keep himself from going berserk. Yama lifted the cup with his hand and took a quick sip, it was very delicious. Coffee and Human flesh was the only thing that could satisfy a ghoul's hunger. He wished he could try something else rather than those two and sighed as he took another sip.


@Cassie Ward

 

[pyrrhic victory]

Sighing, Mizuru ran a hand through her unusually pale hair and pushed her chair back from the desk. It had been a long day, with many reports she had to file and write. After all that work, she felt as if she deserved something special.


"Shiori, I'm going out. I'm done with the reports." she told one of her coworkers, standing up and pulling her jacket over her shoulders. The other woman nodded.


"Make sure you have your quinque with you. Can't tell you how many good investigators have died like that." she absently said, looking back at her paperwork.


When she got outside, the first class investigator noted that it was quite cold. Pulling her jacket tighter, she hurried to find a bar or some kind of cafe. Much to her amazement and joy, she spotted a bar not too far away. Mizuru pushed open the door and felt the nice, warm gust of heat hit her cheeks. The bar wasn't crowded at all, which was good. That meant it wouldn't take long for whatever she ordered to be served. The investigator smiled and sat down at one of the stools, placing her quinque case next to her feet.


"Excuse me, sir? Do you happen to serve coffee here?" she asked the bartender, hoping he would notice her.

 

[FungKu]

Yama raised an eyebrow at the new customer and gave her a smile. He had never seen her before and from the looks of it, or rather from the smell of it, she smells like one of those investigators hunting down ghouls. Well he was used to this kind of encounter since many had come to this bar before and not a single one of them suspected him. He nodded to her question to reassure her that he serves coffee. He then readies a cup and then started to brew one as he fills the cup with hot freshly brewed coffee sliding it over to her on the counter.


" So, what brings you here to my fine establishment miss ?" He asks her hoping to start a conversation and hoping that she isn't here to kill him or anything. He doesn't want to trouble the customers and pay for the damages after the battle. And his establishment is not far from their headquarters and if he starts a fight more of the investigators will come rushing in to help. This was a risk he took so that it would be less conspicuous.

 

[pyrrhic victory]

"Thanks. Just taking a break from work. It gets tiring, you know? I just needed a coffee. And 'poof', your shop appeared right before my eyes!" Mizuru replied, smiling back before taking a sip of the warm drink. The mug felt nice on her hands and the heat from the liquid saturated throughout her whole body. It was bitterly sweet, just the way she liked it. "This is really good!"


Looking up at the bartender, Mizuru noticed that he was quite pleasant-looking. He looked familiar somehow, although she had never met or seen anyone like him before. Maybe they were friends in a past life. Shaking her head, the investigator cleared the silly thought out of her mind.

 

[FungKu]

"Well, I'm glad that you found this place since it is open for everyone, especially hard workers like you" he replied as well as he proceeded to make another cocktail since one of the customers had ordered it. He then placed the cocktail glass on the customer's counter as he gave him a smile before going back to her as he heard her compliment his coffee. " Thank you for your compliment~" he answered as he took out a small plate with a slice of vanilla cake and a strawberry on top from the bridge. He then offered it to the lady who had thanked him to show his appreciation, and to get on her 'good' side.


"Here you go, it's on the house." he offered with a smile as he took out a clean cloth and started wiping the dirty counter with it. Customers would hate if the bar counter is dirty and none of them would sit and order a drink there.

 

[pyrrhic victory]

"Wow, really? Thanks!" Mizuru said with excitement, accepting the delicious-looking gift. How the man knew vanilla with strawberries was her favorite, she didn't know. Maybe he was psychic or something. "I'll definitely come here more often. It's really nice."


The investigator picked the red fruit off the cake and popped it into her mouth. It was sweet yet tangy- perfectly ripe. Checking her watch, she realized that there were ten more minutes until her break was over. Good, there was still time to enjoy the cake. Mizuru took a small bite of the sugary dessert and smiled. It reminded her of the sweets her grandmother used to make when she was a child.

 

[FungKu]

Yama smiled at her enthusiasm for the cake. After seeing her enjoy the cake he nodded and went back to his business in managing the bar. Customers ordered some drinks and he served it to them with a smile. Hopefully, not one of them would think that Yama was actually a ghoul. To be honest, he does not know what the cocktails taste like since he can't drink them, and if he does they will taste like crap. Seeing the lady enjoying the cake that he had serve her seemed like that cake was a good one that he bought from a nearby cake store. He decided to buy more cake in that store instead.


Evening was coming and he would then soon close down the bar, and he was starting to get hungry. If he lost control then that would be a very bad thing, Yama tries his best to control his hunger or else everything he had worked for would go to waste.

 

[pyrrhic victory]

After finishing up the cake, Mizuru weird her mouth and looked at her watch. Unfortunately, if she didn't leave in the next minute or so, her boss would flip out. She left enough money for the coffee and a tip on the counter in front of her and stood, remembering to pick up her quinque case.


"Thank you so much for the wonderful food! Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow!" The investigator called, rushing out the door. Hopefully the nice bartender didn't take offense at her quick departure. Too bad she didn't catch what his name was, he seemed like a nice guy.

 

[FungKu]

Yama waved at her as she left the bar and smiled. He then took the cup and plate from her area as he placed it on a sink on the backside of the counter where he usually washes the plate. Managing the bar by himself was a huge burden, from time to time he would think of hiring someone, human or ghoul, in the bar just to help with the jobs. But he doesn't know anyone he trusts to join him in the bar. He then heard a glass break in his store as he walked back in and saw a female customer accidentally knocking over a cup. She was sweat and apologizing as she picked up the shards of broken glass before she accidentally cut her finger tip.


The aroma of blood to Yama's nose was like heaven. He walked towards the counter to take out a band-aid before walking to the customer who had injured her finger tip. He held her hand, stopping her from picking up any shards. " Let me." Yama asked as he pulled the finger to his mouth and sucked the blood out. This was some kind of a culture of the humans, sucking out small cuts. But for Yama this was a very fortunate thing, he got to taste the blood of the lady and if he ever lose a slight bit of concentration, he would succumb to his ghoul instincts forcing his eyes to turn black with red irises. But Yama held his thirst and simply took out the finger from his mouth and applied the band-aid.


"You better be careful next time. Let me clean this up." Yama informed her as the woman blushed and nodded as she walked back to her seat. He had seen the woman here in the bar for sometime now, she must've been a regular ordering the same thing everytime. Black coffee with two cubes of sugar and sandwiches. Yama went back to his job as he picked up the shards carefully before throwing them away. Evening was coming and so was hunger.

 

[pyrrhic victory]

Fortunately, Mizuru made it back to her office before her boss noticed. As she sat down, she moved her hand to her neck to pull the white scarf she had been wearing tighter, since it was cold. Her fingers were met with... nothing.


"Gah! I left my scarf..." she muttered, annoyed. Maybe later she would be able to go back to that bar and it would still be there. For the remainder of the work shift, Mizuru worked on filing reports on various ghoul outbreaks, though most of them happened in some other, far-away city. Sighing, the investigator flipped through the rather large stack of papers until she landed on a particularly interesting one. It didn't have a title, and most of the information was missing. The worst part was that it was about a threat of a ghoul that lived... here. In this very town. Mizuru sat and stared at the essentially empty file until her co-worker threw a paperclip at her.


"Hey, Mizuru, you've been looking at that for five minutes straight. You okay?" she asked, twirling in the spinny chair. Shaking her head, said girl responded.


"It's just... have you seen this file before?" she tossed the papers to her friend with a worried expression. After a minute, she handed Mizuru back the papers and shook her head.


"Nope, sorry. We should ask the higher-ups about that, though. It looks important." she said, turning back to her own desk.


The file didn't contain much, although it did say a few notable things: That there was a ghoul nearby, and that it was dangerous. She would have to be careful when walking home.

 

[FungKu]

People had already left the establishment and Yama started the after work routine. He would mop the floor, cleaning the tables and the counter, taking out the trash on the back alley of his bar. And then washing the plates and glasses on the sink. He would do all this work all by himself. On his routine he had found something on where the investigator from earlier had sat, a white scarf. He chuckles at the lady's clumsiness and decided to put it away in the counter in case she would come back some time. He would then take the sign with the name of his Bar "Eden" inside the bar to keep it away from vandals. And then proceeded to pull down the shutters of the door to keep thieves away.


In front of his shop was where he lives. A door with a stairway leading upwards to his humble home. Walking upstairs and unlocking the door with his key, Yama immediately walked towards his room as he threw the keys to a desk nearby desk and then opening the locker which contained his usual attire.. for hunting. His mask and his hooded jacket, followed by a knife in it's scabbard. Yama would not hunt humans, instead he would hunt ghouls which had killed a human and take the corpse for himself to make his rations. He had never killed a human before, but he has killed a LOT of Ghouls. He had stolen the knife from an investigator's Quinque as his own so that it would work against a ghoul since normal knives and bullets would only bounce off of them. And he does not feel comfortable showing his Kagune around. Equipping his attire, he then proceeded on his hunt.


Unfortunately for him, the Ghouls and investigators who was hunting him down had a name for him. Kabuki.

Spoiler

 

[pyrrhic victory]

It was well after 11:00 when Mizuru left the CCG office, but she didn't really feel tired. Maybe it was due to the coffee she had gotten at that shop earlier.


Right. Speaking of the shop, she still had to get her scarf back. Although the chance of it being open was less than five percent, she still wanted to check to make sure. Unfortunately, when she arrived there, the metal shutters were already covering the windows and the sign had been taken in. The investigator sighed, causing a puff of breath to escape her mouth. She's just have to get it tomorrow, along with another coffee.


The street was lined with flickering lamp posts, making the scene even more eerie than it already was. Mizuru began to think about the mysterious ghoul file from earlier that day. Kabuki, was it? It seemed like a rather ornate name. She was curious to see what the mask of this ghoul looked like. Then again, it would probably be the last thing she would see.

 

[FungKu]

" W-wha! Stop..WHA!! " The screams of a ghoul being cut open filled the alley. Yama has found his target, a common ghoul with a just hunting more than it should every night. He had finally found the damn creature, feasting upon a poor couple in an alley near the park. The man was still alive as he was watching the ghoul consume his lover. The creature must have had a sadistic nature and this was very disturbing for Yama. He could feel his blade deep inside the things stomach as it was trying to escape his grasp, but nothing escapes Kabuki. "You son of a.." The ghoul tried to speak but Yama immediately pulled the blade from his stomach and stabbed it on the ghoul's throat, just right on his vocal chords.


"Shush now... time for you to rest from this unending hunger." Yama whispered as he twisted the knife sideways. Knowing the ghoul had finally passed on and he turned over to the male and saw him motionless with fear on his eyes. He stared at him with his cold red eyes before knocking him out with a swift karate chop on his neck. "I'm sorry for your loss human, but i'll be taking this." he whispered towards the sleeping man as he carried the girl's corpse with him before walking away from the scene of the crime. Now he has to give the corpse to his friend who makes them into rations. Yama does not have a single clue on how to make such a thing, a food that would keep himself from succumbing to hunger and going into a feral rage. But all is well, he had never lost his mind ever again ever since that day.

 

[pyrrhic victory]

A scream cut through the night like a quinque through a ghoul. Mizuru glanced up at the dark street in front of her and kept moving. Should she see what made that noise? Her quinque was at hand, and easy to whip out if any threat- ghoul or no- were to appear. The investigator cautiously looked at the entrances to the alleyways to see if anything suspicious was there. Oc course, not much was in the street lamp's plain of glow, but it was better than rushing in and being killed.


Somehow, feeling like the threat had somehow passed, Mizuru entered one of the dark pathways. She opened her silver case and a familiar spear-shaped quinque popped out. She had gotten it as a present for her 20th birthday from Special Class Investigator Mado. They didn't really have any special connection, it's just that he didn't like the rinkaku-koukaku retractable spear combo.


Mizuru walked until she came across a bunch of splattered blood and two bodies. One was mangled and ripped open while the other slumped against the wall. At closer examination, the investigator discovered that the dead one was a ghoul and the human was alive. Whipping out her phone, she made a call.


"Hello, this is First Class Investigator Aikawa. I'm calling to report a ghoul attack. Please come as soon as possible."

 

[FungKu]

" Hmm, so you got another one? " The man who Yama took the dead body to asked him with a curious look on his face. He was sure that the man wanted to know from who did he take it from this time. Yama simply laughed and nodded before taking off his mask and placing it on a counter. They were hidden in some underground black market where Ghouls can freely purchase or sell anything they want depending on their value. And meat was a common thing yet depending on who it's from, it could cost more or less. The one Yama had cashed in was from a young girl, 18-20 years of age, and she was a virgin as well. Virgin meat did taste good, especially their blood.


" Don't tell me you won't take this in Kashi?" Yama asked him chuckling a bit as Kashi shook his head. " Nah, I'll take it as always. You always bring in the good stuff." Kashi replied as Yama nodded in satisfaction.


" Don't forget my share man, the ghoul I took that I took it from was not an easy opponent, luckily I just struck him from behind giving me an advantage." he informed Kashi as he gave him a suspicious look. Yama understood about the look, killing fellow ghouls was one thing but stabbing them in the back was another thing. But Yama did not give a single care towards them, he just wanted to suppress his hunger or things would not go well for the city.


Meanwhile, the man from the alley on which the dead ghoul was assisted by the investigator who came on the scene. But due to his fright, he was not able to hold back his bladder from leaking and his body was cold, really cold. The man who just lost his fiance was shivering in fear and confusion. Due to his confusion he started to mutter words regarding the attack, " H-h-h-he..." the man spoke as he stutters everytime it was almost difficult to understand him due to the stuttering sound he is making and a clacking of his teeth. " H-h-he.. was w-w-wearing a k-kabuki mask... A KABUKI MASK!" The man screamed before cowering in fear again shivering harder than the last. And then he began to cry.

 

[pyrrhic victory]

Surprised by the sort-of-victim's outburst, Mizuru kneeled down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.


"You saw the ghoul? It was Kabuki? It's okay now. I'm an investigator, okay? I'll protect you." she tried to comfort him. Shaking her head, she put one of the man's arms around her shoulder and helped him up. Yes, he was probably in shock and extremely terrified, but the smell of fresh meat and blood would attract more ghouls. She had to get away from the scene until backup arrived. She walked out of the alley to the main street and waited until they arrived. A sleek black car cruised up to the curb and three investigators stepped out- two of them the same rank as Mizuru and one a rank higher.


"Whoa, he looks like he got wrecked!" the man with unorthodox green hair, Toshio, shouted gleefully. A woman with blonde hair, Yoshiki, smacked his head and scolded him.


"You idiot! He just saw one of the deadliest ghouls in our district! Of course he looks like that!"


"Both of you, be quiet. Mizuru, report." The squad leader Shigeyuki ordered. Mizuru nodded.


"There was a scream, and I ran into the nearest alley to find out what it was. When I arrived at the scene, a ghoul was lying dead on the ground and this man was in the corner, unscathed. It's in that alley, there." she said, pointing to the passageway that led to the dead ghoul. Then, after handing the man to Toshio, she packed up her quinque and went back to the scene.


Mizuru wondered what had happened. Had that Kabuki ghoul come to kill and take the dead ghoul's prey? If so, where was he/she? And why did he/she kill that other ghoul if they were one of the same kind?

 

[FungKu]

Yama sighed as he sat down on some bench in the waiting area. He was waiting for his share to arrive but Kashi was taking his sweet time. By now he was used to Kashi's attitude but it was still annoying of course. He started fiddling around with the knife on he had accidentally cutting his own finger tip only to have it regenerate quickly. The was one of the best thing a ghoul has, quick regeneration. But sometimes if the body is too injured, the regeneration will be slower than usual and it'll take hours before the ghoul is completely healed. After waiting a couple of minutes more, Kashi finally went out of his 'experimentation' room and walked towards Yama with an envelope on his hand and handed over to him with a smile.


"Here ya go, i added something in it to prolong your hunger. It's my new experiment." Kashi informed him with a smile, happy for what he had done as Yama just raised an eyebrow and stared at the envelope and snickered. "Whatever you say Kashi" he thanked him as he hid away the stash inside his jacket. "I'll be going now, I'll be back soon when this runs out." he said as he started to walk away waving Kashi goodbye as so did he. He walked out of the establishment and climbed up the stairs leading him back to the surface. He then made his way back to his place, he loves walking so he doesn't mind getting there slowly. He was then reminded to buy another cake just in case the investigator would come back.

 

[pyrrhic victory]

After about 20 minutes, Mizuru's team finished up with the ghoul attack scene and she could finally go home.


"I'll drive you do you don't get killed by a ghoul, okay?" Yoshiki said, pulling the investigator into her car. Waving, Mizuru watched her squad's two male members pole into the other car and drive of in the other direction.


"That was weird, huh?" Yoshiki commented after moments of silence had passed.


"Yeah. I wonder why Kabuki would kill one of his own kind. Was it for the prey?" Mizuru wondered. Both women shrugged.


"Whatever it was, we can figure it out tomorrow. See ya." Yoshiki finished, rolling to a studio in front of Mizuru's apartment building.


"Yeah. Bye." She said, grabbing her quinque case and exiting the car. The investigator walked up the stairs, unlocked her door, and went inside. It had been an odd day, with the first half being utterly uneventful while the other a complete disturbance. Mizuru hoped it wasn't bad that she craved exiting things like Kabuki's attack. Suddenly feeding the exhaustion, she made herself some cup ramen and went to bed. The last thing that crossed her mind was that her white scarf still had to be retrieved at that nice bar near work.

 

[FungKu]

Locking the door behind him as he entered his home, Yama placed the box of cake inside his small fridge. He doesn't really need such a big fridge since he doesn't use it most of the time. What would he store there anyway other than ingredients for the bar, he can't eat any normal human food other than flesh, blood and coffee. The only three things that would satisfy any ghoul. He sat on his round couch as he reached for the remote on the table turning on the television. Nothing on was interesting then he remembered he was still in his little costume as he stood back up walked towards his room and opened his locker to hide his stuff. As he was storing away his suit and mask he went back to his couch and sat back down and switched to a different channel. The only eventful day that happened today was an investigator coming over to his bar, and she seemed really interesting. Yama licked his lips in anticipation to what would come next, and probably to what she would taste like. Closing his yes slowly, he then dozed off in his sleep.

 

[pyrrhic victory]

When Mizuru's alarm clock weren't off, the sun hadn't even risen yet. Yes, it was winter, which meant it wasn't supposed to be bright out at 5:00 in the morning, but that didn't help the investigator wake up at all. She reluctantly rolled out of her warm bed, turned the alarm clock of, and got dressed. After grabbing the last chocolate-chip muffin in her pantry, she reached for her car keys and scarf on the hook next to the door.


Right. The scarf was at that bar.


Mizuru decided to stop in at the bar on her way to work if it was open for two different reasons: her scarf and a good morning coffee. She put on her coat and headed for the bar.

 

[FungKu]

"Yama..!!" A female's voice screamed in his head as it echoes in the darkness forcing Yama to jerk up from his sleep forcing him to wake up. He was sweating all over the place even though it was pretty cold since it was already winter. His head was starting to ache as Yama placed a hand over his forehead trying to help and ease the pain but was just such a stupid motion that he did. Trying his best to ignore the pain, Yama stood up from his comfortable couch and walked over to the bathroom to do his usual morning routine. He brushed his teeth, took a shower, dried himself and got changed to his working uniform. It was time to open the bar and yet Yama doesn't feel his morning cheery personality. He just shook his head as he walked out of his apartment and down the stairs towards the closed Bar. He then unlocked the lock on it opening the door and taking out the sign from outside, but he made sure that the Bar was still close because he still had to do some prep works. Pushing up the metal shutters that blinds the windows, he then walked back inside to clean up, yesterday was going to be another interesting day and he sometimes hated those kind of days. Yama took a broom and started to sweep outside of the bar.