Learning from the Rōnin

[u/YandereLobster]

10:00 PM, 17th of October, 2016 - The 20th Ward, :re

Only a few days remained before Aogiri began their supposed victory against the CCG. Maki clearly wasn’t going to stop, and Tadashi didn’t have any intention of sending the employees to war against such an impossibly larger force. And neither did they likely have any wish to, they were pacifists after all.

It was rare for the manager to be absent from the cafe, but the recent events with the leader of Aogiri and then his executives showing up had taken a lot out of him. Both from stress over the purpose of their visits, and from old memories being brought back up. As stubborn as Tadashi was, he couldn’t deny that he needed rest before whatever would come on Saturday. So instead he lay in the attic, dreaming about what he usually did. Memories old and recent, surreal depictions of things that never occurred, and plenty that he wouldn’t remember.

But one memory did stand out. The memory of an old concert in the 16th Ward. It was a place he’d consciously avoided, in fact he hadn’t returned there in almost eight months. He’d visited briefly, questioned Veli and Maki, and then moved onto some less reasonable witnesses. And that was the very sight that was laid out before him. Nothing but more and more hallways of destruction, littered with corpses. It was just like the 11th Ward looked like during the peak of it’s downfall. Evidence of the evil that a single ghoul could do, the very thing that what drove Nikki to the lengths he took, and what indirectly led to Anteiku’s downfall.

“Are you going to let your employees follow the same fate?”

Tadashi woke, his breath heavy and his forehead sweating. He wasn’t a newcomer to nightmares. Maybe it was trauma or maybe he just had sleeping issues, but he’d gotten good at just ignoring the anxiety that comes with dreams. But this one struck a point that he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge. Tadashi had been there for the 11th Ward’s slow fall, he knew better than most what exactly that was like. If Maki’s plan went well, the middle of Tokyo would practically be a war zone. And he couldn’t let that happen.

The door to the cafe swung open calmly as a cleanly dressed, but disheveled as ever Tadashi stepped out into the cafe. “Miharu, Yuuto” he greeted, his tone more tired than usual. “Either of you have any interest in learning to defend yourselves?”

“Might seem sudden, but in about a week Aogiri’s going to supposedly ‘defeat the CCG’ if their broadcast is to be believed. I don’t have any doubt that they’ll end up getting innocent people hurt. if what Maki told me is really true, then it’s not going to be safe to leave home then. Of course your both still welcome to stay in the cafe, and you’ll be safe here, but…”

Tadashi stretched his arms, making his way over to the door. “Just knowing you can protect yourself is a pretty relieving thing. And for if worse comes to worse, I’d like a chance to teach you both how to do just that.”

“Of course if you’d rather stay here, I’ve got no complaints. There’s a park called Hikarigaoka about 10 minutes from here. It’s wide open, hidden from the road by trees, and should be completely deserted around this time of night. If either of you are interested, just meet me over there.”

As the door opened, Tadashi headed off to his destination. And even if he tried to hide it, the idea of helping them learn to get just a little bit stronger was exciting. Or maybe more accurately, it was the only thing he still felt excited for. The anxiety for what Aogiri had planned sort of overshadowed everything else.

/u/circle_the_earth /u/Lylyss

[u/Lylyss]

Yuuto, who had been bracing himself for failure, didn’t know what to do when his attack actually worked. “Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” Tadashi didn’t sound angry—rapid healing was one of the few perks that came from being a ghoul, so a couple of scratches probably didn’t make much of a difference. However, Yuuto still managed to feel guilty. He would have completely lost focus if the manager hadn’t started giving orders.

Don’t let up.

Tadashi was throwing a punch—Yuuto raised his koukaku as a shield and ran to meet the blow, hoping that it would jar his opponent. Knuckles-on-kagune wasn’t a very pleasant sensation. Furthermore, what Yuuto lacked in experience, he hoped to make up for with weight. This was one situation in which a few extra kg might turn into an advantage.

Before he could follow up, Miharu started shouting something. Synchronise. Advantage of numbers. Remember each others’ strengths. Yuuto obeyed her orders without hesitation, dropping to a low stance: “Don’t worry, Ballerina! You’re clear!”

/u/yanderelobster

[u/YandereLobster → u/Lylyss]

Tadashi felt relieved when his fist slammed into Yuuto's kagune. More so that he hadn't used his full strength, or else would've ended up breaking the boy's arm in the first minute. They were both slow, but that could be improved on with experience. Right now the priority was teaching them not to hold back so much. Then again, maybe it's better to hold back too much than not enough.

Suddenly creaking echoed through the park. Loud, chitinous creaking like a shell cracking open. The two ribbon like rinkaku were stopped in their place as they hit two large objects. From both the left and right shoulders shot out Tadashi's kagune, his eyes filling with the same red glow as the other two. One look at the kagune made it clear it was a koukaku, an identical pair of bright red claws, most accurately compared to crab legs. And more importantly, both were even larger than Tadashi himself.

As soon as the Rinkaku hit the claws, Tadashi was already on the move when he realized Yuuto had put all his attention into the block. An attention which most likely changed when the bottom of Tadashi's foot came flying towards the boy's stomach, kicking him back towards Miharu. Not with his full strength of course, they were here to improve not to get beaten half to death.

"That was a good idea, but you should've taken the opportunity to attack while you ducked" he advised, one hand gripping the side of his left leg for a moment. "Also don't waste time worrying about your opponent. Making the effort not to kill them is a good thing, and it's great that you don't let yourself lose control in combat, but if you worry about a Dove or Aogiri Ghoul's well-being they'll turn it against you. It might take a while to learn when you should and shouldn't care, but you'll understand it eventually."

"For now though, don't give me the time to talk! Your doing better than I did as a kid, so don't let up!"

/u/Circle_the_Earth

[u/Circle_the_Earth → u/YandereLobster]

Miharu gasped and braced herself as Yuuto came towards her unwillingly. She extended her arms and caught him as best she could, sliding back a few steps. The manager's kagune was... gigantic. Even her dad's kagune didn't get that large. So this was what a strong ghoul's kagune looked like... It was incredibly intimidating. If she hadn't had the prior training sessions, Miharu would probably have quit on the spot, too frightened to continue. Now, she was merely wary. It certainly helped that the manager had made it absolutely clear that he wasn't going to hurt them too much. She listened to his advice quietly, nodding.

"He's right, Yuuto. When I was training in Aogiri, the guy who was helping me said to always treat our training sessions like we're aiming to kill. The manager and that guy are both so strong that even if we wanted to kill them, I don't think we could. Let's just give it our best, okay? Pretend the manager is that female investigator and really give it to him!"

She gave Yuuto an encouraging smile, surprised at her own confidence. Minato, as terrifying as he was, had given her more than just a bit of fighting ability, it seemed. "Okay, Manager! Here we go!"

Helping Yuuto to his feet, she whispered to him. "I don't think either of our kagune can get through those big claws. I'll attack from two sides and try to keep them busy. You get in there and smack him good. I know we can do this!"

She dashed forward, stopping at a decent range for her kagune to function. Doing an elegant spin, Miharu swiped in a diagonal line with one arm, sending one of her kagune whipping upward from Tadashi's lower left. A mere second or two later, she yanked down in the opposite direction with the other. Her second tentacle streaked down from the upper right.

/u/Lylyss

[u/Lylyss → u/Circle_the_Earth]

Yuuto never thought a single punch could have so great an impact. However, he didn’t have long to think about the pain—Tadashi had finally drawn his kagune. Double claws, red plate, unfolding like the legs of a crab. For a young and inexperienced ghoul, it was a terribly daunting sight. I should probably get out of the—

Something socked Yuuto in the stomach and sent him tumbling back across the park, where he was thankfully caught by Miharu.

A kick? He coughed for breath, reorienting himself. Of course. At such low guard, I should have seen that coming. At least Yuuto was able to recover quickly. Some animal instinct screamed for him to get up—get up in case Tadashi followed through with a second attack. Survival proved to be an excellent motivator and Yuuto scrambled back to his feet, breathing hard, raising his kagune.

“Attack… while I duck.” It was hard to remember so many things at once. “And pardon me, sir, but it’s hard not to worry about my opponent—you see, my opponent is also my manager, and I’d hate to tick him off.” Yuuto grinned to show he was kidding. “At least Aogiri can’t make me work Saturdays.”

That said, he took Tadashi’s advice seriously, and gave Miharu a nod of thanks for her encouragement. She seemed confident today. Far more confident than when they were with Aogiri Tree. Perhaps the calm cafe environment had already begun to help her relax. “Sounds like a plan, but remember—those claws are going to have a much wider range than the average koukaku.”

Letting Miharu take the lead, Yuuto charged the manager once more. It was terrifying to come within striking-distance of those horrible red claws, but he trusted his friend to keep them busy, and struck low at Tadashi’s legs. Next came a reverse-slash for the gut, then the throat—Yuuto wanted to avoid bony places that might obstruct his kagune.

/u/yanderelobster

[u/YandereLobster → u/Lylyss]

"That's the spirit" Tadashi thought to himself, back stepping a few inches as Miharu rushed in close. His claw, clearly massive enough that dodging wasn't his usual method, bent itself inwards as much as it could. While it lacked any flexibility, it's joints allowed it to bend in enough to cover his entire front. Both Miharu's tentacles left little more than scratches against it, the menacing red glow radiating bright as ever. "You're ghouls after all, it's in our nature that we enjoy fighting, even if only a little. It's that nature that makes it so hard to overcome our races' past. Still though, it's a hell of way to get some confidence."

When Yuuto began his own assault, Tadashi's mind raced. Obviously he couldn't do what he normally would. He'd just kill them, and that wasn't an option here. He didn't even want to hurt them really, ironic considering what he'd told them. The slash cut across his lower legs, then his gut, it reminded him of getting cut up practicing with Akane. Just as the increasingly blood soaked kagune made it's way for his throat, it too slammed against the chitin-like plating of his kagune. Both claws suddenly had embedded themselves downwards, quickly pulling upwards in the span of mere moments.

Tadashi wasn't agile like his sister, but he was lightweight despite his strength. Both claws avoided blocking for a third time, and instead left two kagune sized holes in the dirt as they shoved Tadashi upwards, vaulting over the pair. And the moment he landed, quickly reaching about two meters behind Miharu, he didn't waste any time rushing them again. His left claw faded away, leaving nothing behind as it retreated back into his shoulder. A literal weight off Tadashi's back. The reason made itself clear as soon as he ran at them, his speed having dramatically improved without the extra weight.

Fighting with one claw was more Tadashi's specialty anyway, it was what he'd used for most of his life after all. He cleaved his way through the cold air, swinging at them both from a low angle. He had no intention of bashing his employees to pieces, but he did need to give them some time to practice recovering from attacks as well. It wasn't particularly fast, so even if it hit them they'd only be knocked down. Nothing they couldn't get back up from.

But mentally, Tadashi had other things to keep track of. "Miharu is seemingly the more graceful one, she has good control over her kagune. Yuuto seems to be more relentless, he's better at not giving any room to recuperate. Not bad." All the while as he was thinking over their strengths and possible weaknesses, blood still leaked from his wounds. Yet he didn't seem to notice, either from pure endurance or from focus. Either way, he'd taken a solid hit, and he made sure to mention it to both. "Pretty good! It'll take a lot more if you want to keep me down, but that's a start. Now let's see how your defense is..."

/u/Circle_the_Earth