Deeper Connections

Chapter 1 - Part 1

"Patrolling, again... without sight of any ghouls. This is what I hate about patrolling this ward." Hikari muttered as she inspected one of the multiple streets in the 20th Ward.

Hikari Tsukiyomi was a Rank 2 investigator in the newly-formed Takenaka Squad, just promoted from bureau investigator to a Ghoul investigator assigned to the 20th Ward, one of the most pacific wards in Tokyo. She followed the same path as her brother, Takashi Tsukiyomi, who had been promoted to a First Class investigator some time back.

Both siblings looked very alike; brown hair, deep blue eyes, pale skin and both were very tall. Hikari had long hair, tied up in a low ponytail. She also wore semi-formal clothes most of the time, while her brother liked to wear casual clothes when he was not working as an investigator. Also, her brother had short spiky hair and he had a breach in his right eyebrow, for some reason she couldn't remember.

In fact, she couldn't remember anything now. It wasn't new; she had been with this strange amnesia for some weeks already, just when she was promoted to Rank 2. Although she felt weird because she wasn't remembering most of the things that happened before her promotion, she just ignored it. She was more focused on the fact that she was now a Rank 2 Investigator, which means that she was allowed to use a quinque now.

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Propelling herself forward through the air with her rinkaku, the ghoul swung and landed just feet away from an edge of a building. "Oh my, the investigators are out on patrol!" Shira smiled to herself. "I have to go as quickly as possible..."

Shira Izanami, publicly known as "Phoenix", was one of the few ghouls residing in the 20th Ward. She was not only popular; she was a dangerous SS-rated ghoul due to her ukaku/rinkaku chimera. In the past, she was an aggressive, reckless killer who would kill humans for both food and mere pleasure, up until she met a sweet, kind and caring boy who would change her life forever. Thanks to him, her aggressive demeanour was changed to a more calm and collected one. She promised him she would protect this boy as much as she could after he happily accepted her for who she really was.

But one day, everything changed. The SSS-rated One Eyed Owl had attacked them. The pair had tried to defend themselves, but unfortunately she ended up severely injured and he was killed by the ghoul. Overcome with severe shock, Shira ran away, never to be seen for a long time, until she figured out one of his relatives had joined the CCG. Her pent up anger and desperation began to fuel her strong desire for revenge against the Owl once more.

Pulling her hoodie down, she smirked and made her way toward the clueless investigator lost in thought.

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A noise from nearby disrupted Hikari's train of thoughts. She raised her head and she looked at a girl. She was a brunette with long hair, forest green eyes, and she wore a gray hoodie, dark blue jeans and white Converse.

"Hey Mrs. Investigator! Over here!" she called, running away from Hikari.

"Hey!" Hikari shouted as she followed the girl until she ended up in a dead-end alley. Shira was nowhere to be seen.

"Where are you?" Hikari shouted again.

"Surprise!" Shira replied, appearing in front of Hikari as she released a shiny orange-red kagune. An ukaku kagune.

Hikari's expression changed to a scared one while Shira started shooting flaming crystals at her. Hikari dodged it and looked around for her quinque, only to realise it was missing.

"Where is my quinque?" Hikari wondered aloud, frantically scanning the entire area for any sign of it. "Haha! Here it is! Catch!" Shira replied as she took a silver briefcase and threw it to Hikari, which landed on her head.