Aftermath

(A/N: Took a break yesterday because I couldn't get any good ideas flowing and I literally rewrote this chapter like 5 times xD)

I woke to an immense pain that was enough to make me cough up a reasonable amount of blood before taking a shaky breath to calm myself down. The last thing I remembered was facing off against three CCG investigators, but the rest is still fuzzy. I heard a shuffling from the side and I turned my head to see Kanou jotting down a few things on a blueprint. I tried to speak but my voice came out as a dry wheeze.

Kanou looked back with his brow raised and said "Ah, you're awake, Ryu." Kanou must've saw my worried expression because he waved his hand and continued "Don't worry, everyone is safe and sound thanks to me..." I let out a sigh of relief, or tried to, before forcing my body to regenerate faster than usual, but that was a horrible decision. My body felt like it was in the middle of a raging inferno as I tried to use my regenerative powers.

Kanou shook his head and said "Don't push yourself too much. You were heavily injured and it's a miracle that you're even alive..."

I narrowed my eyes in annoyance but ultimately complied as I lowered myself back down on the strangely comfortable stone-like bed. I laid there in silence as Kanou continued to work on whatever it was he was working on. Kanou eventually broke the silence and muttered "It's finally done..." before turning to a side door and storing an object within.

Kanou turned to me and cleared his throat and began to tell me about the various things that happened while I was out cold. Apparently, we were currently in the 13th ward and inside of the Matsumoto family house. Yami had done quite the job at convincing his family to let us stay here, so I now had another debt to pay off with the mysterious Ghoul.

Kanou gave me a bottle of what seemed to be medicine before wishing me a good day and walking out of the room to go and inform everyone else that I had woke. Soon after I was practically assaulted by a teary eyed Kaneki, Emily, and Touka. I was trying to calm Kaneki down while I answered the tests questions to the best of my ability.

Apparently, I had gone berserk and went on a rampage after being mortally wounded by Amon. After my little rampage I fell unconscious and we were able to escape due to the massive casualties on the CCG's side. I explained my encounters with Naomi and how I had 'accepted' her, causing me to have a massive influx of power that I couldn't control properly.

The room was silent for a while after I was done speaking before Yoshimura spoke up and said "Ryu...do you mean Naomi Veranth?" I nodded my head and Yoshimura took a deep breath that came out as a sigh before continuing "I trust that you know she is the first ever Noble and is still the head of the 2nd most powerful Noble household in Tokyo. However, she is also sealed within you..."

Yoshimura's words trailed off as he adopted a thoughtful expression. Instead of wondering how all of this happened on the first place, I just asked Naomi directly. 'Hey...how are you able to appear within my mind and give me power?' I knew she could hear my thoughts because she had responded to many questions that I had pondered on in the past. A peal of laughter sounded out and I heard Naomi's voice say 'My, curious are we? Well, I just decided that I liked you, that's really all there is to it...!" as she appeared behind me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

I should've expected this kind of response. I resisted the urge to rub my temples before I pried here off of me and ignored the stares from everyone else. I sighed and said "Naomi has the ability to appear before me at will, but I guess I'm the only one who can see and hear her..."

Yoshimura opened his eyes for once and stared at me as if he was looking for any falsehoods within my words, but he shook his head and told me to rest up before we have to go and see the head of the Matsumoto house in a few days time. I wished everyone a good afternoon and laid my weary body back down in the comfortable bed I previously woke up in.

The light in the room was fading rapidly through the curtains and it was getting a little difficult to see until I saw Naomi walk over to a nearby lamp and turn it on. I honestly wasn't even surprised that she could interact with physical objects. The only question I had was if she was able to interact with people.

Naomi sat down on the side of the bed and looked out the curtains and at the tall buildings and bright lights. I saw a profound melancholy flash in her eyes before she turned to me and smiled radiantly as she slowly crawled up the bed. She laid her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes like she was trying to sleep.

A wry smile crept across my face as I flicked her forehead, causing her to recoil back and rub her head with a pout. I crawled to the other side of the bed and laid on my side facing away from her. I heard a slight rustle and I turned my head to see her laying on the other side of the bed with her eyes closed, so I turned my head back around.

A sudden pinching sensation in my neck caused me to tense up as I felt my blood getting drained slowly. Instead of a painful sensation, however, the pinching slowly faded into a somewhat pleasant feeling. Before I could say anything, Naomi said "I get my energy from your blood, and if I don't have enough then my form reverts to a weaker version. Don't worry, I won't suck too much..."

I felt a shiver run down my spine, but I had no strength in my body to push her off of me, so I closed my eyes and focused on my memories of the raid against Anteiku. After around 30 minutes, Naomi let go of me and licked her lips before disappearing back into my body.

I sighed out of relief and relaxed my tense body and quickly drifted into unconsciousness. I woke to a dark room with a sliver of light peeking over the horizon. My once fatigued and beaten body was in a surprisingly perfect condition, and I even felt stronger than before. I got up out of bed and noticed that I was wearing a pair of gym shorts and had bandages covering almost my whole body.

I unwrapped the bandages and saw a massive, jagged scar across my chest that went from my right shoulder down to my left hip. I furrowed my brows before shaking my head and walking over to a wardrobe next to the bed I was previously sleeping on, and I found my black sweatpants, shorts, jacket, and tank top within.

I wore my sweatpants with the tank top and jacket before slipping on a pair of shoes that were left next to the door. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that the red in my hair was mixed with the white and they were perfectly balanced with each other. After inspecting my body some more, I opened the door to the balcony and felt the crisp cold air against my skin.

I felt no presence close to me, but my instincts were sending subtle warnings to me, so I was being cautious even though I appeared to be relaxed. The wind caused my hair to whip around gently as I looked down at the various people walking or driving to get to work. I walked back inside a few minutes later and a soft knock caught my attention.

"Come in." I said as I sat on my bed. I was surprised to see Yami walk through the open door, because usually he would just 'appear' randomly. Yami walked over to the side of the bed and asked "May I take a seat?" I nodded my head slightly and he took a seat at the edge of the bed.

The room was silent for a while until Yami said "Look, Ryu, I know you're a smart guy, but watch out for my family...they're a bunch of thieves and bastards who care for nothing more than a quick coin..." I nodded my head and said "Don't worry Yami, I'll make sure that I keep my wits about me and protect everyone else, just do what you have to do, we'll be fine..."

I saw a hint of hesitation in Yami's eyes until he sighed and shook his head with a wry smile as he said "To think that I'd be depending on a kid this much...hahhh, it hurts my pride somewhat, ahaha" I conversed with Yami for a while longer until he finally disappeared with a gentle wind.

I continued to sit on the bed for a while longer, mulling over the information I had gained. I let out a sigh and fell back onto the bed and stared at the high ceiling while my brain was in the middle of frying itself from an information dump. I reluctantly got up and walked over to the door before exiting into the hallway and looked at the various doors that lined the walls.

I shrugged and went back into my room and started to stretch before taking my jacket off and doing a basic workout to get my blood flowing. I was originally going to try and find Yomo or maybe Enji so I could gather a little more info about the raid on Anteiku, but I felt like I would be stuck trying to find their rooms for days.

I finished my workout and I stood up before flexing my arms and looking at rather well built muscles. It was still hard for me to believe that less than two months ago I was nothing more than skin and bones strapped to a table. Another knock on my door knocked me out of my thoughts

I opened the door and dodged a thrust from a dagger. I cleared some distance and saw a man who appeared to be in his late teens with short, spiky black hair and dark eyes wearing a typical rogue or assassin outfit holding a small, gleaming dagger. The man clicked his tongue and said "Looks like Yami brought back a fine catch...maybe you can cure my boredo-" I covered the distance and buried my fist into the man's stomach in the time it took to blink.

I let the unconscious man fall to the ground outside of my door before closing it and walking out into the hall and toward a winding staircase. The stairs led upward and also down to the ground floor, but I got curious and took the stairs going up. I walked for what felt like hours and passed many other people, all of which had black hair and eyes.

I finally reached a door at the top of the stairs, and when I opened it I was greeted by the rising sun. I walked out onto the roof of the massive building and enjoyed the crisp morning air once again while watching the sun and listening to the sounds of another morning in Tokyo. It wasn't until a voice came from behind me that I noticed I had relaxed a little too much.

"Ah, I see you've managed to find one of my relaxation spots...well, no matter. Feel free to stay here for as long as you like...you are a guest after all!"