Kaneki fell to the ground, choking as blood squirted from his chest, twitching violently. The crimson dripped slowly from my hands, a void feeling in my chest. Touka's eyes widened in a fury and sorrow, Tsukiyaka falling to his knees. With a soft moan, he crawled forward.

I raised my sword to Tsukiyama, a glare on my face.

"He'll live. A step closer and he won't."

The well dressed oddball's face stretched in an expression of fear. Kaneki groaned, pushing himself over to his back.

"I'm so... Going to get you back for this..."

"K-K-Kaneki!" The Gourmet yelped.

"Give us Ruby back!" I shouted.

"I can do nothing of the sort!" Yelled the purple haired man.

Pain proceeded to explode in my back as knives stabbed into them, slowing time to a crawl. I spun around as crimson floated in the air, seeing the girl that started all of this. With red eyes and a blue wing of fire, Ruby stood frightened but hostile.

Despite falling to the ground in a heap, the thought that entered my mind was something irrelevant entirely. Not to Ruby attacking me, or the fear of death, but rather her angelic blue wing, which curved around in an almost scythe like shape.

It wasn't a black sword, like I was given. Who's koukaku is this?

"G-Get away from Tsukiyama!" Ruby shouted.

"Ruby, its us! He's not a bad guy!" Touka's yelled. "Though he is a piece of shit."

"He stabbed Kaneki!" She said, swallowing nervously.

"Yeah, don't remind me. I'll get Shitty Jaune back for that."

"Jaune?" She asked in surprise.

Kaneki let out a groan as he stood, popping a finger and walking over to Tsukiyama.

"A-Are you alright, my dear Kaneki?" He asked.

"I'll be fine." He said, glancing down at his bloodied suit. Tsukiyama waved away the notion, silently forgiving him. God, the Ghoul world can be so... Weird sometimes.

"That's good to hear." He said, flipping his hair extravagantly.

"Sorry for the trouble. We'll be leaving now." Kaneki said, turning to leave. Touka observed silently, her expression one that spoke of how baffled she was.

"So soon? Can I not eat you yet?!" Sighed the Gourmet.

"Maybe one day soon." Kaneki said, turning to Ruby.

"Yang has been worried sick. You should return soon."

Ruby sighed, tapping her boot on the ground. Meanwhile, I twitched my arm and removed her projectiles from my back.

"I want to... Jaune, is that really you?"

"Yep!" I groaned, rolling to my back.

"I didn't recognize you... You looked like a total stranger." She said, breaking eye contact and turning red of embarrassment.

"My mom always told me strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. I guess you learned something else." I said, pulling myself up to a sitting position.

"Are you like Kaneki, then? A half-thingy?" She asked, putting away her wing. Her eyes changed from the threatening black and red back to their silver color.

"Yep, no more human food for me anymore. Cookies, hamburgers, bacon, you name it."

"I've always wanted to try cookies..." She sighed.

"Uck... Let's go, lovebirds." Touka said, flipping her hair. Kaneki gave a small smile, straightening his tie.

...

"Sis!" Yang said, hugging her sister. I'll admit, this was the first time I saw her not act like some kind of bouncer. Next thing you know, she'll be making puns all the time.

"Zwei were you gone so long?"

Oh God dammit.

"Thank you for retrieving Ruby, you three." Ozpin said, straightening his collar and sipping from his mug.

"No problemo." I said, giving a smile.

"Oh... I meant to tell you guys, Jaune, you especially." Ruby said. "When I was at MM, I met a Dove named Cardin."

"You met Cardin?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah. He was looking into the Rose murder cases, which have been assumed to be me. He thinks there were two other people, at least."

"Any idea on who?" Touka asked.

"Well, he had some theories. He went to

the morgue, and apparently the corpses were really suspicious up close. Like, the kills were overly messy."

"So a crazy did it?" Yang asked, causing her sister to shake her head.

"No, he said it looked forced, like someone trying to make it look nasty. The lack of anything like fingerprints and nail marks lead him to believe it was someone special."

"And..." Yang said, begging him to get to the point.

"The kills only marking was a rose. The only ghoul in the system that follows that rule besides me is James Ironwood, CEO of Atlas Inc."

"What?!" Touka yelled in surprise.

I knew of Atlas Inc. It was a tech company that made new machines, commonly for the CCG.

"Jaune, you don't know this yet, but when I had the surgery, I saw Ironwood operating on me. We believe Atlas Inc. supplies the CCG and other sources with their Ghoul anatomy knowledge." Kaneki said.

"He's in with Kanou?!" I said in surprise.

"Possibly. This means Kanou might be indirectly linked with the CCG." Ruby said. "And he gave me a warning in case a blonde named Jaune ever stopped by."

"Really? What was it?" I asked.

"The CCG is pursuing all Ghouls linked to the Black Dragon, including ghouls such as Eyepatch, The White Night, The Rabbit, and The Dragon, all of which were seen there."

"Shit..." Touka curses.

"Wait, I'm confused. Is Ironwood a ghoul?"

"Yes." Ruby said. "He was arrested a few years back for being a Ghoul. If Cardin's theory is right, the CCG might have faked it since he's more useful to them active and operating as the CEO."

"Well... Let's not worry ourselves now." Ozpin said. "We should get back to work."

After getting several silent nods, all but Kaneki and I left. He turned to me, leaning in and clearing his throat.

"I'd like you to examine more Ghoul corpses, if that's okay with you. What you discovered last time was impressive."

"I guess that should be fine."

"I acquired the corspe of a certain Ghoul. Their alias... Was the Binge Eater. She was slain by Arima." He said, shifting uncomfortably.

"I see. Why this one specifically?"

"She has a similar kagune to mine. It would be nice if you could find out something like you did last time. That... And her condition."

"Her condition?"

"Rize, the Binge Eater, is only technically dead. Her healing ability is unrivaled, to the point where even a beheading wouldn't kill her."

"Jeez, how'd she die, then?" I asked, leaning against the operating table.

"I am unaware, I wasn't there at the time. All I know is that despite being brain dead, her body is still very much alive, regenerating itself based on all the energy binge eating created. It likely won't last long, but I want you to take a look."

"Sure, lets go." I said. We walked down the stairs to the odd chamber, where the body rested beneath a plastic sheet. I stepped to the side, placing on an apron, gloves, and a surgical mask. I took out the mysterious toolbox, taking out a scalpel.

"Her skin won't let that knife in. Here, apply this." He said, handing me a syringe. I nodded, having studied Ghoul anatomy. I peeled back the wrapper to see the beautiful face of Rize, gracefully asleep. Even after studying her face,it was impossible to tell she had passed.

I lifted up her eyelid, applying the syringe to the area and pressing it in. With a sigh of success, I removed the cover to expose her bare body.

Kaneki sighed, glancing away momentarily.

I turned the light on and rolled her onto her back, placing my hand on her hip. With my breath held, I made a slight incision where the kagune would be.

It was there, in full mint condition. I stood as the tissue healed itself before my eyes, leaving only the smallest scar.

I moved and made another incision below the right shoulder place. I peeled back the skin, working my way down to examine the tissue. It mirrored that of a human, and there wasn't anything noteworthy. Taking away my hands, I watched as the wound slowly closed itself.

That's when I saw. The tissue created was different than before. I reopened the wound, having to apply more pressure to the blade than the first time. Taking a piece out, I sliced a small layer off and placed it under the microscope.

Little black dots, RC cells, were interwoven with the normal tissue, creating a different structure. It not only was tougher, but because of how it was woven it was harder to tear.

I returned to the corspe, intrigued. I flipped her over, taking my time as I opened her chest up. With no need for the patient, I removed the ribs for a full view.

What I saw astounded me. It looked like a spider laid a web of tissue throughout the body. Her heart, especially around the various chambers, were covered in muscle. Her lungs were stretched, and her diaphragm was larger than normal. Her arteries were wider than normal, and her stomach was stretched to a comical size. All in all, everything was bigger.

"Kaneki, did Rize ever experience any physical trama?" I asked.

"She had a building collapse on her. I know she broke several bones." He said, his eyes slightly unfocused. It was almost as if he was recalling the event himself. I chose not to open the topic up for discussion.

"Such as?"

"Uh... I believe it was her right arm." He said, holding his chin between his thumb and index in thought.

I moved to her arm, cutting it open. I cut through the tendons, glancing at the restored radius. The bone was rigid, indicating it had been broken, but had healed. Tissue surrounded the thick bone, confirming my thoughts.

I finally moved to her regenerating ribs, all of which were more condensed than normal.

"What is it?" He asked, his expression blank.

"If Rize's body is to be believed and I don't know if this applies to other ghouls, then this is big. Exercise, injury, and other physical trama seem to cause an improved regeneration. That is to say... Pain makes ghouls stronger."

He nodded, as if the answer made sense to him.

"Do you have a taser or something?" I asked. He shook his head.

"All these tools and you don't have a taser." I said, accepting I'd have to do something more makeshift. I grabbed the sharp metal poles used to hold open flesh and flipped Rize on her back, inserting them where her Kagune would be. I went over and grabbed jumper cables, as well as a car battery and gauge.

I made sure my gloves were rubber.

After that, I attached the cables to the battery and the poles, turning it on with the gauge. I slowly turned up the electricity as her body twitched slightly. Finally, her Kagune reacted to the correct voltage, popping out and falling on her back.

"Oh..." Kaneki said, slightly surprised by the sudden tendrils of red. I took out my own Kagune, taking off my sheild with the intention of comparing it to the section of her's. The remlflesh leaped to my black, wrapping around it and morphing it into a crude pointless shape.

"Amazing..." I said. "Her tissue damages the RC cell protein of the Kagune."

"It disables the other Kagune?"

"It might even control it, these tissue patterns are similar to when a wound regenerate. I think we found your Trump."

He gave a smile as I moved around the table near her head.

"By the way, how old was she?"

"I never asked, but she couldn't be any older than 20. Why?"

"There are these strands of white in her hair. I wondered if she was just a good looking, but quickly aging 30 year old. I assume then that the hair has to come from the stress of the physical trama." I said.

"I... See." He said, taking off his gloves. He had gotten ready to operate, and looked slightly disappointed that he didn't get a chance. Had I noticed sooner, I'd maybe have let him examine the once shattered radius.

Witha groan as i popped my back, I turned to see Touka walking down the stairs, leaning against the railing.

"What's up?"

"Ozpin wanted me to get you." She said, glancing at me with sick and annoyed eyes, not unlike a fish.

"Oh? To what do I owe the pleasure, princess?" I said stretching my arm over my head.

"Pyrrha's awake"

...

A/N

Sorry for not updating! Between travelling (which I still am and will be for 20 more days) and finishing my fic Children of the Hunt, I've had no time. Good news is once CotH is over, this will be my main fic, which means a chapter or two a week