Tokyo

(A/N: Got caught up playing rust with friends, so my apologies for not releasing this yesterday...pls forgive.)

The plane trip was very boring to say the least. We had taken off from an airport somewhere in Albany and landed in London, and then from there we travelled to Ukraine and then to Kazakhstan, then finally to the 20th ward in Tokyo, Japan. I got off of the plane and stretched my very stiff and tired limbs while letting out a long sigh. I tied my long hair up and began to follow Yami toward a car that was waiting outside of the airport. Well, I say car but it was actually a super expensive looking limousine...just how rich is this guy...?

Yami had told me that he is the 2nd prince of the Matsumoto clan, which is a large family of Ghouls that reside in the 13th ward of Tokyo. Apparently there were a multitude of Ghoul families that lived within Tokyo and they were somewhat like Nobles from a fantasy manga. While the Ghouls and Humans in the other parts of the world hated and fought against each other, that was a different story here in Tokyo. Now, the humans and Ghouls still disliked each other, but they were trying to find a way to make an alliance and live in relative peace.

The driver was already out and holding the door open for us as he bowed low and said "Greeting, Sir Yami and guests..." I bowed back and climbed in the back of the limo with Yami, Emily following shortly after a moment of hesitation. I had gotten a pretty good vibe from Yami so far, but I haven't decided to trust him completely just yet and I could tell that Emily was thinking the same. The ride was silent as we drove down the winding roads and saw many buildings that could rival even the tallest building back in New York. "So, Ryu, do you know about the Ghouls in the 20th ward...?" Yami had asked while lazily twirling his hair and looking out the window.

"No, I don't. I'm guessing they're regular Ghouls, or that in the 20th ward they are the more problematic kind...?" I said with a thoughtful expression. Yami shook his head with a smile on his face as he began his little lecture. The Ghouls in the 20th ward were being monitored and regulated by an organization instead of 'Nobles' and that organization just so happened to be the ordinary coffee shop named Anteiku. The manager of the coffee shop is an old Ghoul by the name of Yoshimura who is a kind man who helps Ghouls feed so they can live a guilt free life.

While Yami and I were talking on the right side of the limo, Emily had taken the left for herself and continued to stare out of the window with an expressionless face. It would probably take a good bit of time to get her to start opening up, but maybe someone else at Anteiku can get through to her. From Yami's information I learned that there's a part time worker named Touka Kirishima who is quite the diligent worker, so maybe some magic will happen.

After about a two hour drive we stopped in front of a two story building with a staircase leading up to the second floor on the left side of the building, and a chained and barred door on the outside of the ground floor that had a 'Closed' sign over it. Yami thanked his driver and walked up the steps, Emily and I followed closely. Yami swung the door open to reveal a nice shop with clean hardwood floor, tables, and a glass wall that had a decent view of the surrounding area. There was a bar with an old man with white, swept back hair cleaning a glass cup behind it. He smiled and set down the glass and greeted Yami. "Ah, and just when I thought this day couldn't be any better! How are you doing Yami? I heard you went to the U.S. for a while..." I could tell that the old man was sincerely worried about Yami, but the latter waved off his concerns and introduced Emily and I. "Well, Yoshimura, these are two unique children that I had found in America, the one on the left being a one eyed while the dumb looking guy on the right is a former CCG experiment..."

Yoshimura adopted a thoughtful expression as he looked at me. The old man mumbled something to himself as he walked off to a door next to the bar that said 'Staff Only' before appearing with another person, this time a girl with dark blue hair that went down to her shoulders and covered her right eye while her left eye sparkled like a sapphire as she curiously eyes Emily. She was wearing a yellow tank top with blue shorts that were fairly short. Yoshimura extended his hand toward the girl and said "This is Touka Kirishima, a part-time worker who also lives in the dorms." Ah, so this is Touka. She is quite the beauty in her own way, but she radiated an icy aura much like Emily, so I felt like I had already lost before I had even begun to try...

"What's your name, blondie?" Touka said while eyeing Emily, or more specifically her well developed chest. Emily frowned and said "My name is Emily Krueger, now if you have nothing else then you can refrain from speaking to me." Touka's brow furrowed and a vein popped out of her forehead as she yelled "Eh, the fuck did you say to me!? I'll kill your ass right here!" Yoshimura had to hold the hot headed girl back as Emily just stood there with a bored expression on her face. I can tell that this'll get ugly some time in the future...

"Well, I guess I'll introduce myself then. My name is Ryu Takao and like Yami said I'm a former lab rat and my guess is that I was turned into a Ghoul. I used to have a family and I remember nothing of having to eat people to survive nor having difficulties with eating normal food." I said as I slouched a little bit and slid my hands in my pockets. Yoshimura adopted another thoughtful expression before opening the door that he came out of and motioned for us to step inside. We ended up walking into a decently sized room with a few chairs and couches and found our seats as Yoshimura said "Do me a favor and let me see your eyes..." He inspected my eyes when they were normal and I saw a hint of confusion flash across his eyes before he instructed me to activate my kakugan, basically when my eyes turn into that of a Ghouls. While the sclera of my eyes still turned black my eyes remained their original color, the right being a deep purple and the left being a shiny gold.

I turned back to normal and listened to Yoshimura's explanation. He said "Well, the only known operations had failed when the doctors tried to make artificial half-ghouls, but you seem to be a special case. If what you said is true about not being a Ghoul, then that means that the CCG have way to artificially create full Ghouls that they can control..." The room went silent until Yami stood up and said "Well, Yoshimura I leave these two in your care. I'll come by to check up on them every know and then but, until they gain enough experience, don't let them attract attention..." then he disappeared with a gentle breeze. That bastard just ditched us...

I shook my head and sighed while Yoshimura laughed lightly and said "Do not worry Ryu, Yami is a good man despite his Noble blood. The most I can do for you is allow you to live in the dorms while offering you a part-time job here at Anteiku. I will also provide food for you and a special kind of coffee that will somewhat help your hunger if you choose not to eat human flesh..." The offer seemed too good to be true and I felt like accepting, but there was one thing I wanted to confirm.

"What about training? I want to get stronger to protect, not only myself, but also those who have no way of protecting themselves..." I heard what sounded like a singular footstep that landed behind me. I stood up, spun around, and blocked a powerful punch from a man dressed in a long, black trench coat with silver hair that hung down slightly past his ears, and with a two piercing silver eyes. I jumped back and adopted a defensive stance before the man turned to Yoshimura and said "I'll train him, sir. He seems to have decent battle instincts..." I saw Yoshimura nod from the corner of my eye and then the man turned back to me and said "My name is Renji Yomo, but you can just call me Yomo. Follow me, we'll begin our training." before jumping out of the opened window and onto a nearby building.

I looked back at Yoshimura and he just nodded his head, so I followed Yomo. He lead me to an underground sewer system that was actually quite spacious. He took off his trench coat and immediately charged at me. I guided his leading fist to the side before raising my left leg to block a roundhouse. We continued to trade blows for hours, with me being the only one to actually get hurt. That guy's a monster, I couldn't land a single hit on him. I was sprawled out on the floor breathing heavily with sweat pooling off of my body. Yomo helped me up and we walked back to the shop. It was actually late at night and, considering we had got here early in the afternoon, I felt quite proud of my stamina.

After we arrived at Anteiku Yomo had disappeared before I could even get inside. I walked in and saw Yoshimura cleaning up and I decided to help him out while detailing my grueling training when he asked. "Oh, by the way Ryu, I only have one spare room so you and Emily will have to use it. It has a bathroom as well with an extra futon..." The sly old man gave me a wink before disappearing into one of the rooms in the back. I sighed and headed into the direction of my room. I swung open the door and walked past a changing Emily to grab some clothes and take a shower. I ignored her shouting and walked into the bathroom before shutting and locking the door behind me. I took a long shower that felt like it washed all of my worries away.

I dried off and donned a pair of soft pants and left my top exposed as I walked out of the bathroom and plopped down on the spare futon Yoshimura had provided me. I tried my best to ignore Emily as I struggled to get comfortable and fall asleep. I had enough of Emily's yelling and questions so I turned to face her and said "Oh, sorry can you repeat that I didn't hear you..." Her face turned red from either embarrassment or anger, I couldn't tell. "I asked why the hell you're in my room!" she yelled.

"Because Yoshimura said that this was the only room left available so we had to share, now can you stop yelling and go to bed?" I said with a blank stare. Emily had visible confusion on her face as she released a small 'eh?' before burying her face in her hands. "That old bastard intentionally did this didn't he!" She yelled furiously. a loud bang echoed from the hall as footsteps rapidly approached the door. Touka swung the door open and was radiating a murderous aura as she yelled "Go the hell to sleep you dumbasses!" causing me and Emily to freeze and immediately lay down.

I'll have to admit, this is at least more interesting than stealing from people and reading all day...