The Clowns

"Take him away? You can't just do whatever you want!" Touka sprang up and kicked the arm Yamori had clamped around Kaneki's neck.

Yamori neither dodged nor blocked, letting the kick land. His thick arm did not even budge.

Yamori was practically at the top of S-Rank, and Touka's attack felt like nothing more than a massage.

Touka immediately realized this intruder was no ordinary opponent, and her expression grew grave.

"Whatever I want? That's a privilege of the strong!" He suddenly pulled back his hand, punched Touka away, then caught Kaneki by the throat again before he hit the floor.

[Identity confirmed! Yakumo Oomori, aliases: Yamori, Jason. S-Rank Ghoul. Kagune types: rinkaku, koukaku. Combat power: S-Plus Rank]

His arrogance knew no bounds...

"You call yourself strong? You only barged in because hardly anyone's here to defend the place." Louis flipped him the middle finger. "Come at any other time, and none of you would leave..."

"Huh?" Only then did Yamori notice the person in the Ice Mask who had been standing nearby all along. He had overlooked him because he could not smell him. "Ice Mask? What, you've barely made a name for yourself, and now you want to stand up for them?"

"Not them... us, you sick freak!" Louis formed an Ice Blade in his hand, intending to test himself against this S-Plus Rank opponent.

But suddenly, the flamboyantly dressed cross-dresser stepped in front of him.

"Can you leave this one to me, Yamori?" Nico stood between them, seemingly paying Louis no mind at all as he turned to speak to Yamori.

"You're interested in him?" Though somewhat displeased, Yamori had just acquired a new toy and reluctantly granted the request. Then he looked at Kaneki struggling in his grip and slammed him into the floor.

"Aaargh!" Blood splashed out with Kaneki's scream, but by the time Yamori lifted him again, his wounds had already healed.

"He doesn't break!"

Seeing Yamori start playing with his toy, Nico turned his attention back to Louis.

"Handsome, don't hold back now. Go ahead and attack my body..." Nico blew Louis a kiss, but the combination of that stubbled face and seductive tone was hardly appealing.

"You freak..."

[Identity confirmed! Nick/Nico, alias: Noro. SS-Rank Ghoul. Kagune type: tail kagune. Overall combat power: SS]

An SS-Rank Ghoul?!

Louis's pupils contracted. He pulled back the leg he had been about to step forward with, never expecting Yamori's little lackey to be an SS-Rank Ghoul.

And his overall combat power was a solid SS...

Louis tightened his grip on his blade but still did not dare attack. An SS-Rank Ghoul was clearly beyond his ability to defeat right now...

And... if he bled and they realized he was human, he might be the one dragged back for a math refresher instead of Kaneki.

"What, don't you like my body?" Seeing that Louis still refused to attack, Nico struck a series of seductive poses to entice him.

Louis really wanted to cleave him in two...

"You bastard! Let him go!" Seeing Kaneki hurt, Touka immediately released her kagune in a blaze of fury, her eyes turning blood-red.

"Idiot..."

Another blood-red ukaku appeared. Unlike Touka's, this kagune was symmetrical on both sides, and its scarlet color was even more vivid.

Ayato suddenly intercepted Touka and immediately attacked her, knocking her into the air in a single exchange.

"Just stay in the corner and watch!" Ayato's expression turned vicious. His kagune rapidly hardened, and red crystals burst from it, spraying toward Touka in midair like a Gatling gun.

Touka shielded her vital points with her ukaku, but Ayato's projectiles had tremendous penetrating power. They punched straight through her defenses and struck her body.

Like a withering flower, Touka's kagune lost its color and dissipated, and she fell weakly from the air.

Overwhelming strength...

After just a single exchange, Louis was the only Anteiku employee present who could still fight.

"Hmm... why did it get colder?" Nico, who had kept his gaze fixed on Louis, noticed the drop in the room's temperature and looked at him. "Was that you, handsome?"

It was indeed Louis's doing. He had finished all his preparations for battle, but his lack of strength kept him from making a move.

Fight? I'd definitely lose. Don't fight? With things already at this point, backing down would look ridiculous.

Nico seemed to have some pretty twisted tastes, too. If they really fought, Louis might die a gruesome death.

[Ding! A prolonged battle here will attract the CCG's attention, bringing the Anteiku raid forward! If the host chooses to fight, end it quickly, whether in victory or defeat!]

"What a pain..." Louis gritted his teeth.

Yamori's crazed laughter rose and fell with Kaneki's screams. Even Ayato Kirishima could barely stand watching, gritting his teeth and turning his head away.

"Nick? Aren't you with the Clowns? What are you doing hanging around with Aogiri Tree?" Suppressing his anger, Louis finally recalled Nick after searching his memory for a while and immediately spoke up.

If he remembered correctly, every organization despised infiltrators. Louis had said this to provoke infighting, then seize whatever opportunity arose.

Sure enough, the moment he spoke, everyone conscious in the room turned to look, including Yamori, who had been busy brutalizing Kaneki.

"Nick?" Yamori glared at Nico.

Every ghoul who joined Aogiri Tree had a different goal. Yamori, for example, wanted an easier way to satisfy his perverse desires, while Ayato seemed to be protecting his family. As long as they served the organization, the higher-ups would not investigate.

But Nick was Yamori's partner, which made things different for him. If Nico really belonged to the Clowns, then he had approached Yamori with ulterior motives, and that disgusted him.

Nico glanced at Louis, then laughed.

"Oh dear, I've been recognized... but Yamori, I really do love your methods. Please don't send me away..."

Squelch!

Yamori thrust his hand straight through Nico's chest. Nico spat out two mouthfuls of blood, yet remained as coquettish as ever.

"So... so good! If you want to punish me, Yamori, I'd be more than willing..."

"Nico..." Only at this sight did Yamori's anger ease a little. Though Nico had approached him with an agenda, Yamori had to admit that he made an excellent toy.

"Your punishment when we get back won't be anything ordinary..."

"I'm looking forward to it, Yamori." Nico blinked, looking thoroughly eager.

The attempt to sow discord had been effortlessly defused...

Louis gritted his teeth. The bond between freaks really could not be judged by ordinary standards.

"Hmm... I'm not in the mood anymore. Let's deal with it when we get back." Yamori sighed and headed outside with Kaneki in his grip.

"Yamori, can I take this Ice Mask boy back with us, too?"

"Whatever..."

Bang!

As the words fell, a thick kagune erupted from Nico's back and shot straight at Louis.

Louis hastily dodged, raising his Ice Blade at the same time to deflect the attack as much as possible.

With a crack, Louis barely evaded the strike, but Nico's kagune shredded his level-four-strength Ice Blade.

"Damn it..."