Thank a lot for the 450 power stones! Here's the bonus chapter
At 650 Power Stones, I'll drop another bonus chapter.
×××
The sewer tunnel smells pretty bad. There's water dripping from somewhere and the floor is wet and slippery, but none of the three people walking through here seem to care much about that.
Kiriko walks in front, strolling calmly without worrying about anything. Behind her, Touka and Rize walk side by side, though neither wants to stay behind the other, so it's more like a silent competition of who walks faster.
The atmosphere is pretty tense, to put it lightly.
Touka can't help but glance sideways at the purple-haired girl. She's still thinking about what she said earlier about being Arata's "girlfriend."
What's this bitch talking about? When did that happen? And why did Arata never mention anything about this to her?
In the end she can't take it anymore and decides to ask.
"Hey."
Kiriko turns her head slightly but keeps walking.
"What?"
"This bi—I mean, girl..."
Touka points at Rize with her chin.
"Who is she? Why is she here with us?"
Rize smiles hearing the question. She seems very amused seeing Touka so annoyed.
"She's the girl Arata brought the other day. I don't know where he got her from, but she's going to train with you from now on."
"Hah?! Since when?! Nobody told me anything about this!"
"I didn't know we had to inform you of everything Arata does."
Touka grits her teeth hearing that. That's not what she means, obviously, but...
Wait...
Arata brought her. Is she the person he said he rescued from the 1st Ward? This bitch? Why?
"Fufu~ What's wrong, Touka-san? Are you jealous or something~?"
Rize's voice comes from the side, and the tone she uses makes Touka even more irritated.
"Jealous? Of what exactly?"
"I don't know~ Maybe that Arata chose me to bring here. Or that I spend a lot of time with him lately. Or that he comes to my house every morning to give me his blood. Ah, though I remember he didn't come today."
With each word that comes out of this girl's mouth, Touka feels her chest being stabbed with stakes, at the same time her expression becomes darker and darker.
"Every morning? What are you talking about? He comes to my house too..."
"Oh? You didn't know? Arata comes to see me every morning to feed me. It's very kind of him, don't you think~?"
"Bitch..."
Touka's kagune made a splashing sound as it materialized behind her in the form of a blood wing resembling flames, surrounded by crackling lightning.
On the other hand, the other girl doesn't stay far behind. Rize, whose purple eyes are shining dangerously while her rinkaku kagune starts materializing at her lower back.
"What? Want to fight, Touka-san? I can beat you up if that makes you feel better~"
Despite having a smiling face and using a sing-song tone when speaking, she for some reason feels very irritated. When the image of Touka and Arata side by side comes to her mind, she feels like she wants to kill the girl before her.
"I'm going to wipe that stupid smile off your face, damn...!"
"Both of you, enough!"
While both prepare to kill each other, two fists fall on their heads with considerable force.
"Ow!"
"Ouch!"
Kiriko is standing between the two, looking very irritated. She grabs each one by the shirt collar and separates them like they're two stray cats fighting over territory.
"Shut up already. I don't have patience for this nonsense."
"But this bitch started...!"
"This bitch provoked me first...!"
"I don't care who started it!"
Kiriko releases them and brings her hands to her temples, rubbing them with frustration.
"We came here to train, not to watch a show of brats fighting like idiots. If you have any dispute between you, use that feeling to resolve it during training."
Both Touka and Rize rub their heads where they were hit, but keep looking at each other with hostility. Both their eyes are dark.
If looks were blades, both would already be dead several times over.
Kiriko sighs deeply and looks around as if searching for something.
"Where the hell is that boy when you need him? He left me with these two troublemakers and disappeared..."
"By the way."
Rize fixes her hair while trying to calm her irritation toward the annoying girl beside her. Looking at Kiriko, she asks.
"Where's Arata? I thought he was coming with us."
"One of those eyes appeared next to me and told me he had something to do. He'll arrive later."
"Something to do? What could be more important than training with me?"
Touka makes a disgusted sound.
"The world doesn't revolve around you, you know?"
"Fufu~ Maybe not, but Arata's does."
"Bitch..."
"Shut up!"
Another blow falls on both heads.
×××
Mm. This situation is funny.
I'm lying on the ground in a dirty alley, and there are like eight or nine ghouls surrounding me with their kagunes out. They all wear weird masks and look at me from above. Do they see me as food?
I was walking toward the place where I had to meet Kiriko and the others when these guys appeared out of nowhere and ambushed me.
Since I didn't feel my life was in danger, I just watched them with curiosity while one of them gave me a blow. I pretended to pass out, which made another one grab me and throw me over his shoulders before running here.
"So this is 'Chimera.' A kid, seriously? And this is the name that makes the doves tremble? Doesn't look like much, honestly."
One of them, the one in front, says those words. I don't recognize his voice, and his face is covered with a mask, so I don't know who they are.
"Shut up and finish this quick. The boss wants him alive, but didn't say anything about him having to be in good condition."
They could have taken me if they wanted to, without having to drag me through this alley.
But I can sense their hunger through their frequencies.
These ghouls want to taste my flesh, huh.
I get up from the ground slowly while brushing off my clothes. Several of the ghouls automatically step back when I do, which makes me smile.
"Hey, before we start with all this... can I ask who you are? It's just that I like to know who's attacking me, in case I need to look for them later."
The one in front laughs as if I'd said something very funny.
"Look for us? You're pretty confident for being surrounded like this. We're from Aogiri Tree, and we've been looking for you for a long time. Though we didn't know our target was Chimera."
Aogiri Tree?
Ah. I get it.
Aogiri Tree is a ghoul organization that's been growing quite a bit. They're dangerous and have many members. Their leader calls itself the One-Eyed King.
And if they've been looking for me for a long time, then it has to do with her.
Eto Yoshimura.
The real leader of Aogiri, who a long time ago consumed my blood stuck to the ground, and since then, has been hooked on the taste.
At that time I thought she was just a weird ghoul with strange tastes and didn't give it much importance because it seemed she'd even forgotten about me. But apparently she didn't forget me.
"So Aogiri Tree... and your boss is Eto Yoshimura?"
The ghouls look at each other when I say that name.
"Huh? What's this kid talking about?"
Ah, right. Most of them probably don't know Eto is the founder. She's probably acting behind the scenes and leaves Aogiri Tree in the hands of others. If I remember correctly, that's how it was in the manga.
"Whatever, tell your boss I'm not interested in being her food or her pet or whatever she wants from me."
"I don't think you understand the situation. We're not giving you options."
The man in front takes a step forward while his tail-shaped kagune moves behind him, wanting to give a threatening sensation.
"You're coming with us, whether you want to or not."
I sigh while preparing myself.
"Well. Let's do it the hard way then."
My kagune materializes behind me, six black tentacles with blades and electricity running through them. My right back opens and from there emerges a large claymore-type sword, and my left fingers elongate until they become claws.
The ghouls step back seeing all that. They probably didn't expect me to be so different from a normal ghoul.
"What the hell...?"
"Looking at me now, do you think the name Chimera suits me?"
Rize's earlier mockery about the nickname they gave me hurt a bit. But being honest, Bloody Ghoul was better. Unfortunately that name is now just an urban legend.
Without waiting for an answer, I launch myself at them.
The fight doesn't last long. These guys are strong for normal ghouls, but compared to me they're pretty weak. In less than two minutes almost all are on the ground, unconscious or too injured to move.
Only the one in front remains, crawling backward while looking at me with wide eyes.
"W-Wait... don't kill me..."
"I wasn't going to. I have questions first."
I crouch in front of him and grab him by the shirt collar to lift him.
Let's see... I need to confirm the reason they're looking for me, or if they want something else I'm not aware of.
"How long have you all been looking for me?"
"A-about two years... The boss gave the order... said to find an unusual ghoul no matter what... It was believed to be Bloody Ghoul, but he died... and the order stopped, until half a year ago... when Chimera appeared."
"And why? What does she want from me?"
"I-I don't know... I just know they're very interested in you... something about the smell of your blood..."
So that's it.
Seems Eto really didn't forget me.
That said, this could be a problem. Aogiri Tree is big, and if they're actively looking for me, eventually they're going to find me again. And next time they might send someone stronger than these guys.
"One more thing. Where's your boss now?"
"I-I don't know... the boss never tells us where they are... just sends orders through others..."
Mm. That doesn't help me much, but I guess it makes sense. A leader of an organization like that wouldn't go around telling her location to just anyone.
"Fine."
In the ghoul's eyes I see myself reflected. In that reflection, my eyes turn crimson.
"Everything you said is true?"
The shine abandons his eyes.
"Yes..."
"Good. Thanks for the information."
I release him and he falls to the ground. At the same time, I manipulate the minds of the others, making them forget my appearance, and only leave this ghoul conscious.
"Wh-What are you going to do with me?"
"Nothing. I'm going to let you go so you can take a message to your boss."
I turn around and start walking toward the alley's exit.
"Tell her if she wants to see me, she should come herself. I don't have time to be dealing with her subordinates."
I add.
"Forget my appearance, too."
And with that I leave while sighing.
Through the All-Seeing Eyes accompanying Rize and Touka I've seen they've met. I wanted to be present at both their meeting, because I know their personalities.
They'll want to kill each other.
But because of these masked guys, I've been delayed a bit.
Now I have to hurry or I'm going to be late to watch the yandere drama, uh-huh, I mean, to training.