Kanou?
Kanou is the doctor who in the original manga transformed Kaneki Ken into a half-ghoul using Rize's kakuhou. He's the mad scientist obsessed with creating hybrids and experimenting with ghoul biology. But from what I remember of the story, he didn't work at Sunlit Garden. He was supposed to operate independently, or at least semi-independently, conducting his experiments in secret.
Is this another butterfly effect?
While my mind processes this information, Kanou shifts his attention to the monster. There's appreciation in his eyes.
"This monster is my creation, you know? It's a shame it got out of control."
Rize narrows her eyes.
"Your creation...? How ridiculous. Why would you make something like this?"
"And why not? Isn't it marvelous?!"
Kanou extends his arms and opens them.
"Making a ghoul evolve... This is just a small step toward my goal."
"Your goal?"
"Human evolution."
"..."
Rize looks at him like he's insane.
So do I.
"I didn't expect you to make it out. But it's for the best. I've been interested in you for a while. You, Rize Washuu, are one of the ingredients I plan to use to fulfill my desire."
Rize gets into a defensive position.
This guy is more terrifying than the monster.
"Is that why the monster's keeping its distance? Because you created it?"
Kanou shakes his head with a smile.
"It's not because it's afraid of me. It's because of what I have in my hand."
She looks at the device.
"If I press this button, the monster will be detonated. There's an explosive implanted in its body, right next to the heart."
—Rooooar!
The monster roars toward Kanou but doesn't attack. Instead, its eyes are fixd on the device.
"What do you say?"
Doctor Kanou asks Rize that question.
"Will you come with me? The monster won't hurt you while you're at my side. And I can give you what you desire. Freedom."
"You expect me to believe you? You said I'm part of your plan. Heh, are you an idiot?"
Rize's smile is dangerous.
"That's a shame..."
Kanou turns around and starts walking.
"Then you'll be my creation's breakfast. Goodbye, Rize Washuu."
"Wait."
Kanou stops and turns with that gentle smile I'm already starting to hate.
"Changed your mind?"
Rize lets out a snort that makes clear what she thinks of that possibility. Her purple eyes fix on the monster as she speaks, though her words are directed at the doctor.
"You said before that this monster doesn't attack you because of that control in your hand, right?"
What Kanou can't see is the small eye floating right next to Rize's ear. And through that eye, I'm whispering exactly what to say and how to say it.
"That's right."
Kanou responds while frowning. He seems not to understand where the conversation is going.
Rize smiles sarcastically while repeating my words.
"Is that really true?"
"What do you mean?"
Kanou stops smiling.
"You've had that device from the beginning. You're injured and tired. There are dozens of your dead colleagues on the path here, torn apart by your own creation. If that button really works like you say... why didn't you use it to stop the massacre before it went this far?"
She pauses while tilting her head and showing a soft smile.
"You're not crazy enough to risk your own life just for an experiment, are you?"
—Grrr!
The monster growls and takes a step toward Kanou at the same time the doctor's face darkens.
"Don't talk nonsense."
He raises the device with a finger over the button.
Seeing this dangerous action, the monster stops.
But Rize's eyes shine with amusement.
The monster reacted to her words, which means it understands the implication.
Even if Kanou is crazy enough to let everyone die without using the detonator, it doesn't matter anymore. My goal is to make the monster attack Kanou, or if the device works, for Kanou to activate it.
Either way, he has to act. One of the two must die.
"So why don't you do it?"
Rize presses with an increasingly wide smile. Crazy bitch.
I like it.
"Why don't you press the button and end all this once and for all? Could it be... you already tried before but it didn't work?"
Rize laughs seeing Kanou's face distort.
"Pfft, hahaha!"
The doctor's expression twists.
And the monster, which has been observing this, seems to understand the situation.
The detonator doesn't work.
Kanou has no control over it.
—Roooooaaaar!
The monster lunges at Kanou.
"Shit!"
Kanou frantically presses the button. The monster freezes for an instant, maybe because it still has some residue of the original conditioning they implanted in it.
However, it doesn't explode.
By the time the monster moves again, Kanou is already running toward the cliff's edge. But he's a normal human. He can't be faster than a ghoul, much less faster than an evolved aberration.
A tentacle reaches him in less than a second.
—Slash!
Kanou's right arm goes flying, blood spurts and the doctor screams in pain. The force of the impact launches him through the air in an arc that ends beyond the cliff's edge.
His body disappears into the sea with a splash.
'Useless fucking monster.'
Why didn't it decapitate him? Why didn't it completely shred him?
It only cut off one arm, and though the fall is high and the water is cold, there's a high chance that bastard will survive. Humans are surprisingly resilient when it comes to clinging to life, especially madmen with delusions of grandeur.
But the monster doesn't seem to have any interest in finishing the job. It doesn't even look toward the sea to confirm its creator's death, and instead, all its eyes turn toward Rize.
Rize materializes four crimson tentacles behind her, though I can see it's costing her to maintain them.
"And now what, Yuki-chan?"
She doesn't take her eyes off the approaching monster while asking that.
"Got any other ideas?"
"..."
"Yuki-chan? You there?"
Rize realizes the eye is no longer beside her.
Panic crosses her face. And then, little by little, that panic transforms into something painful to see.
Disappointment.
'It abandoned me.'
I can read that thought through her emotional frequencies. After two years of companionship, Yuki-chan has abandoned her at the worst possible moment.
She grits her teeth and lowers her stance, preparing for a fight she knows she can't win.
And then, a sound is heard.
It's like air being torn. Both Rize and the monster stop, turning toward the source of the noise.
A whirlwind of red mist descends from the sky at high speed. The blood, because that's what it is, swirls in the air, condenses and solidifies until it forms a figure.
The figure of a boy.
I land right in front of Rize, placing myself between her and the monster.
"You can leave it to me."
"...Huh?"
Rize's eyes widen.
Because that's the voice she heard through Yuki-chan.
×××
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