"Let me introduce myself. I'm Arthur Pendragon, American, trained in special operations in Hawaii. What kind? That's classified." Altair, clad in a sharp black suit, stood before a group of ghouls, exuding confidence. "I've been hired by Aogiri Tree's leadership to train you. From now on, I'm your instructor. This is my assistant, Koutarou Amon, trained by me, your senior!"
He scanned the crowd. "Now, from left to right, introduce yourselves!"
A voice cut through. "Tch! A human teaching us?" A young ghoul, Ayato Kirishima, stepped forward, defiance in his eyes. "Who's this guy?"
"That's me!" Ayato smirked, tossing his purplish-blue hair. "A human thinks he can boss me around?"
Laughter erupted. "Go, Kirishima!" One ghoul cheered. "Show this human what ghouls can do!"
"Make the Kirishima family proud!" Another shouted. The crowd relished the spectacle, and Ayato, Touka's younger brother, thrived on the attention. Beneath his bravado, he cared deeply for his sister, a trait Altair recognized from Tokyo Ghoul's plot.
"You think I'm unfit to train you?" Altair asked, unfazed.
"Exactly! Can you even beat me, and you call yourself our instructor?" Ayato scoffed.
"So, if I beat you, you'll accept me as your instructor?"
"Damn right!" Ayato flicked his hair, chin high, oozing arrogance.
"First, introduce yourself properly. Your name?"
"Ayato Kirishima!" He declared.
Altair nodded, recalling Ayato's role, a proud, loudmouth tsundere. He reminded Altair of another brash figure from his past, though that one had earned respect with a bold move. Ayato? Not quite there.
"Let's see what you've got." Altair said, loosening his tie, bought for this very moment, and cracking his neck. He stepped closer. "How do we do this?"
"Touch me, and you win." Ayato said. As an A-rank ghoul, he was no powerhouse but far outclassed humans. "Fair warning: my kagune's ukaku."
Ghouls had four kagune types: ukaku, koukaku, rinkaku, and bikaku. Koukaku, dense and metallic, formed near the shoulder blades, often as swords or shields, offering high defense but low agility due to weight. Rinkaku, tentacle-like with scales, sprouted from the waist, excelling in regeneration but fragile due to loose cell bonds. Bikaku, tail-like from the coccyx, balanced attack, defense, and speed, versatile but lacking a decisive edge, often used for quinque crafting. Ukaku, wing-like from the shoulders, were lightweight, speed-focused, capable of gliding or short flight, and could fire RC cell shards for ranged attacks.
Ukaku made Ayato an aerial threat. Most high-rank ghouls, SS or above, favored koukaku or bikaku, with few rinkaku. Their raw, physical brawls skewed the ghoul world's combat style, relying solely on kagune, ignoring tools. Human investigators, conversely, leveraged weapons and tactics.
"Want me to let you go first?" Ayato taunted, arms crossed, kagune still retracted.
"You sure about that?" Altair raised an eyebrow. Ayato's cockiness was almost comical.
"Yeah, go ahead. Once I move, you're, " Ayato started, but froze. Altair was suddenly inches away, a pistol pressed to his forehead.
"Once I move, you're done." Altair finished, mimicking Ayato's words. He stepped back, lowering the gun. "Try again. I'll give you another shot."
Five meters away, Altair stood relaxed, gun in hand, gesturing for Ayato to act. Ayato frowned, recalling Altair's speed. He needed distance. His back erupted, red ukaku wings unfurling like stained glass. With a fierce flap, he launched a barrage of crimson shards at Altair and soared backward, aiming to kite him with ranged attacks.
But Altair vanished.
"You lose." Altair's voice came from behind, his gun pressed to Ayato's head.
Ayato's eyes widened. He hadn't even seen him move.
***
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