One-Eyed Reaper (Discontinued)

Chapter 7: Grief

Chapter 7: Grief
A/N: This is another short(-ish) one. A bit of bridge and a bit of filler.

Anteiku, 20th Ward.....
The overall mood of the cafe was happy due to the return of Hinami, but the mood didn't reach Kaneki. His demeanor had been quiet, with him only talking when serving as a waiter or interacting with Hinami. He had frequently went to the underground training area and came back tired, but more relaxed. When Touka checked the training area, she was shocked to find it riddled with deep scars from kagune use and many cracked areas from punches and kicks. At the moment, Kaneki was sitting on the roof of the cafe as he stared at the nighttime sky. It was something he had taken to doing when he was younger after he started living with Arima.
"Nee-san?" A small voice called out. Kaneki looked behind to see Hinami timidly standing there. Hinami saw a small tear run down Kaneki's right eye as he smiled at her.
"What's wrong Hinami?" He asked her kindly. She walked towards him and sat next to him.
"I don't like seeing you sad, Nee-san. It makes me sad." She said timidly. Kaneki smiled and hugged her.
"I'm sorry. It's just, I didn't wanna kill that investigator." He said sadly. Hinami looked at him curiously.
"Why?" She asked. Kaneki sighed.
"I didn't have a family back then," he began. "I've been orphan since I was 5 years old. I was raised by a man I consider my big brother and that investigator."
He said sadly as Hinami's widened.
"So you see, I've just killed the closest thing I've had to a father. I don't know how to get past that." He said as another lone tear escaped his eye. He felt Hinami hug as she smiled at him.
"Can I be your little sister?" She asked. Kaneki smiled at that. He hugged her tightly.
"Of course."

CCG HQ, 1st Ward, A few days later.....
The funeral of Investigator Kureo Mado was attended by almost every Senior Investigator in the CCG. It even prompted the rare appearance of the Syndicate Team, Reaper. Many Rookie Investigators were treated to the site of one of the most dangerous CCG officers in full uniform with his sinister mask donned. The eulogy was done by Investigator Shinohara with Kishou Arima giving his own words of praise to the old investigator. Amon was on the front row with an angry and sorrowful expression on his face. He was betting himself. The words of the masked ghoul echoing through his mind.
'I defended myself. You swung the quinque and caused that explosion, not me. Don't go blaming someone for your mistakes.'
He clenched his fists.
'I'll show you. I'll remove your stain from this world.' He thought as he let out a small growl. The masked ghoul, Kaneki, was placed under as an S-Rate status with the codename, "Eyepatch", due to his mask. Kaneki watched as the investigators all went to lay their hands on the coffin in a sign of respect. He sighed as Arima walked next to him.

"Guess I won't be working with Syndicate for a while." Kaneki commented which drew a slight chuckle from his older brother.
"Yeah," Arima said with a sigh. "November's gonna be yelling at you at when you come back."
Kaneki snickered. "He whines about everything. You should see how much he complains about smoking." Add in the fact that he's the one who smokes and you have an idiot for a second-in-command. Arima chuckled.
"How's Akira holding up?" Kaneki asked. Arima sighed.
"She really wants to see you. I know you enough that this is actually hitting you harder than her." He said sadly. Kaneki nodded.
"Tell her to meet me at the CCG cemetery after the burial. I'll explain everything there." He said as he walked out. Arima looked back at his brother.
'Keep your head up otuotu.'

CCG Memorial Cemetery, a few days later.....
Koutarou Amon stood in front of Kureo Mado's gravestone. His expression was one of anger and frustration.
'I will avenge you. I will erase the stain of ghouls from this world.' He thought, determined to "avenge" his mentor.
"Vengeance is a tedious endeavor. Those who aspire for revenge will end up with nothing once the deed is done."
A calm voice stated. Amon turned to the black-clad figure donning a white mask with a painted smile and purple bolt over the right eye. Amon was more than a little intimidated by the imposing presence of the Black Reaper.
'I didn't even hear him!' Amon thought with a little fear. 'He certainly lives up to his reputation.'
Kureo had said that the Reaper Brothers were some of the best fighters in the CCG.
'If there's one person that you don't want as an adversary, it's those two.' Kureo had said with a grin. Amon was brought back to reality by another voice speaking out.
"If it's not to much trouble Investigator Amon, but could you vacate the area?" Amon turned to see several masked figures donning black coats surrounding the area.
'The Syndicate. The CCG's Black Ops Division.' Amon thought as he looked the figures. He nodded to the masked blonde as he walked away. He passed by a woman dressed in a business attire with shoulder-length blonde hair and purple eyes. He saw her walk up and the two Syndicate members made way for her.
'Who is she?'

Akira Mado walked past the members of Reaper Squad as she Kaneki standing in front of the grave stone. She stood next to him and saw that he was still donning his mask. She frowned and walked in front of him. He looked down as his shoulders slumped. Her frowned deepened before he fell to his knees and she rushed to him, worried.
"Kaneki?" She said as she gripped his hand and her look of worry increased when she felt it shake.
"I.....I'm sorry...." he said, but his voice wasn't his usually calm and collected one. This voice was weak and tired. Akira reached up to his mask as he stiffened.
"It's alright Kaneki." She said as he relaxed a little and she released the clasp for his mask. She removed and was treated to the sight of Kaneki in tears. His cheeks were moist from tears as more streamed down. She wrapped her arms around him as he silently cried into her shoulder. She hated seeing Kaneki like this. It reminded her too much of his broken self as a child or herself after her mother's death. Kaneki was her source of strength during her time of grief and she hated to see him in a similar position as her. She ran her hands through his hair.
"It's alright." She said reassuringly. "It's alright."
About 10 minutes had passed before Kaneki sat up from her shoulder and wiped away his tears. His expression of grief and sorrow remained, but there was some degree of calm to it now. He spent the next 30 minutes explaining the events of the battle and the events leading to it before stopping and waiting for her reaction. Akira was saddened by a how far her father had fallen. It was sad. She was glad that he recovered in the end despite his death. She found Amon's actions to be foolish and rash.
"I should have just let Kureo kill me." Kaneki said sadly. Akira's eyes widened in horror. Kaneki looked her with his broken gray eyes.
"I was going to die then. He would've lived." He said in a pained voice. "Am I still human?"
SLAP

Kaneki's head was turned to the side with a slightly red mark where he was slapped. He looked at Akira and mentally beat himself up again. She was crying angrily as she glared at him.
"Don't you dare say that!!!" She yelled as he slapped him again.
"He made that decision!!!" She slapped him again.
"He wanted you to live!!!" She punched him and grabbed him by the collar.
"What about the girl!!?" She punched him in the gut.
"What Takeomi!?" She punched him again.
"What about me!?" She asked sadly as she grabbed his coat and cried into his chest.
"How do you think I would feel if you.....died?" She cried into his chest. Kaneki circled his arms around her and held her tightly.
'I'm such a fucking idiot.' He thought angrily. He held her close as she cried into her chest. He tilted her head up and leaned down to kiss her deeply. She returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. They broke the kiss after a little bit and she leaned into his chest.
"I don't wanna lose you." She said quietly. Kaneki nodded.
"I'm sorry." He said to which she nodded and looked up before pulling him down for a brief kiss.
"I love you." He said with a smile. She returned the smile.
"I love you too."
The pair stood up and Kaneki placed his mask back on before looking in the distance at the CCG HQ.
"We won't be able to see each other for some time. I'm an S-Rate Ghoul now."
Akira nodded and hugged him before walking off. As she left, the Ravens, as the ghouls called them, moved with Kaneki as he got into a van. The van drove off after the other Ravens got in. As the van drove towards the 20th Ward, Kaneki had changed into his civilian clothes once more with a black hoodie, jeans, leather shoes and a white dress shirt. He looked at the other masked Ravens before zeroing in on the blonde.
"I'm handing over leadership to you for the time being. I'll try and find any connections to Aogiri, but I trust you'll keep the Syndicate in line?" He asked with a dangerous edge to his voice. The blonde nodded. Kaneki smiled.
"I'll try my best to keep in contact. Update if you can." He said as the van stopped. He got out and slid the hood up.
'Here's to the ghoul life, I guess.' He thought.