Not Another Romeo & Juliet Story! (Juuzou Suzuya x OC)

The Manager

Days have gone by, and I haven't seen much of Juuzou. He must be busy preparing for the 11th Ward. As much as I wanted to walk and spend time with him, I knew I'd be asking for trouble if I followed him anywhere near the CCG building. So I kept my distance.

"Kamishiro-san."

I heard my surname called by the voice of an old man. I turned around to find myself face to face with this man who sported a dark coat and a black hat. For some reason, a shiver snaked up my spine. There was something frightening and oddly familiar about his attire. But I couldn't place my finger on it as to why. Another man in a hooded trench coat with a solemn gaze appeared behind him.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you related to Rize-chan?"

The older of the two men had asked me.

"Yeah..."

I replied with caution. I didn't know if they worked with Jason but since they hadn't attacked me head on, I took the gamble.

"Just as I thought... I suppose you've been informed of what happened to her, right?"

I nodded, looking down at the ground in regret. Do I feel any remorse that she died? I'm not sure. Our father risked his life for us, and how did she repay him? Maybe she didn't deserve the die the way she did. Maybe she did. But when I think about her, rage still overwhelms me. Rize had always been so infuriatingly confident. She was so horrible to me. I won't ever forgive her. Thankfully, the old man interrupted my thoughts from running wild.

"In case you didn't know already, I am the manager of Anteiku. In Anteiku, we have a policy of helping out our fellow ghouls. If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to come to us."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks."

The three of us stood in silence for a couple of beats. I didn't see any other point to this conversation and began to walk away.

"Kamishiro-san..."

The old man persisted in calling me that. I whipped around, anger rising within.

"Don't call me that. Please. My name is Rhiannon."

The manager of Anteiku looked at the other man, his overgrown eyebrows furrowing ever so slightly.

"Okay, Rhiannon-chan. I might as well be straightforward. We need your help."

"My help?"

"We saw you go up against Jason the other day."

The other man finally spoke up. So this guy was the dark figure that night.

"Help with what?"

"One of our fellow ghouls. Kaneki Ken. I'm sure you've already met him. Koma-san told us you visited Anteiku the other day."

Of course. Kaneki, the human who was turned into a ghoul. The guy who has my sister's organs inside of him.

"Well, he's been captured by Aogiri Tree. We plan to go into the 11th Ward and bring him back. I was hoping you'd be able to lend us a hand with your power..."

"I'll do it."

Without hesitation, I gave them my answer. Surprise then disbelief appeared on both of their facial expressions. They were probably wondering why I had accepted this request so easily. But I had my own motives. I only accepted because I knew Juuzou was going to be there in the 11th Ward and I wanted to make sure he'd come back safe and sound.

"So you'll help us out, Rhiannon-chan?"

"Yes."