Grab It By the Throat (Abused Half-Ghoul x DxD)

S2.5 Chapter 4: Explanation

20th Ward

Y/N: "How nice it is to be back home... Well, close enough."

As you're walking through the 20th ward, you start reminiscing about when you first arrived. From Itori getting lost and barely finding your apartment to meeting Rias and Sona on the way to school to meeting Touka and Juuzou in the classroom. It feels like it's been a long time since then even though it's only been a few months.

Y/N: "Even if it's only been a couple weeks since I left, it feels like I haven't been here in ages."

You arrive in the location that Ryuko provided you with. A small park in the northern part of the 20th ward. From behind you, you both hear and smell a person whose scent is very familiar, a presence that puts you at ease.

???: "The mood's felt somewhat lonely without you, Y/N. Everyone's waiting for you to come back."

Turning around to face him, you don a heartfelt smile on your face and see that he has one on his. His general attitude and appearance have always made you think of him as a sort of grandfather or father figure to everyone he meets.

Y/N: "Mr. Yoshimura, it's good to see you. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

Yoshimura: "Of course. It is my duty to help my fellow Ghouls. I hear you've been quite busy in the other wards."

Y/N: "Yes, I have. I've been going around to try to mitigate some of the damage caused by Aogiri and learn what they're doing."

Yoshimura: "By destroying the Ghoul Restaurant?" That made you slightly on edge. "Oh yes, one of my old friends in the 7th ward just informed me that the CCG is currently over there and there's curiously no one else there. I don't see any reason why Aogiri would target such a group of Ghouls and there's only one group of Ghouls that I can think of that would have the motive, opportunity, and means of doing so. I take it Tsukiyama snuck you in?"

Y/N: "Heh, I really can't hide anything from you, can I?. That's right. A team of Ghouls that I put together and I slaughtered the Ghoul Restaurant. What they were doing was cruel and..."

His smile turns into a frown, a sign of displeasure, one that, from him, is somewhat... scary.

Yoshimura: "We're always trying to justify our actions with ideals. But ideals cannot give grounds for killing another person. The act of taking a life will always be considered... evil."

Y/N: "Well, you're not wrong... Ideals cannot give ground for killing another, but while two wrongs don't make a right, a second wrong can prevent more from occurring. They can save others. If that makes me an evil person, then so be it."

He crosses his arms, regaining his smile.

Yoshimura: "You've grown as a person. I can see that. I doubt you called me all the way out here to discuss philosophy, so why?"

He sits on a nearby bench under a single streetlamp whose light is flickering, probably due to faulty wiring. Taking his lead, you sit beside him and look down at your hands. While the blood's gone, you can still feel your sins.

Y/N: "There's something I wanted to ask you about. Well, someone. I encountered a female Ghoul, but she was different than any I've met before. She didn't give her name. I couldn't see her face. But her smell... She smelled like you, Manager. She also had one eye, like me." You pause for a moment to catch your breath. "Mr. Yoshimura, what's the connection between you two?"

Yoshimura: "I see... You've encountered her. To be honest, I somewhat expected this to happen. Well... I've been meaning to talk to you about this anyway for other reasons, but now's as good a time as any. In order to tell you who she is, I must first tell you..."