I can’t let him leave. He might suddenly put a name to my face, and then the search party will come crashing down on me. I’ll have to take him out. With a swift kick I broke the backdoor to a small warehouse open, putting my mask on and heading inside before the Dove entered the alley. Once I was through the door I jumped up, climbing an industrial shelving rack and perching above the entrance

A faint shadow appeared in the dim light entering the otherwise dark warehouse. First came the man’s head, turning this way and that to search the darkness. He pulled a flashlight from his pocket and turned it on, throwing a beam of light across the darkness as he swung it back and forth. Eventually he stepped further in, holding his Quinque tightly. Typical; nobody ever looks up.

I waited until he had entered the first row of industrial shelving before sheathing the blade, grabbing the edge of the unit and leaning down. Silently, I pushed the door shut as I hung behind the Dove. It closed with a click, and I yanked myself back up behind a crate as the beam of light swung wildly towards the door.

It was silent for a few moments as the beam swung back and forth across the door, searching for any presence, but there was none to be seen. He turned back around and kept going, and I smiled. Under the cover of darkness I slipped out from behind the box, climbing down from the shelf and following from a few aisles down. When his flashlight swung towards me I hit the floor, waiting for it to pass before getting back up and creeping closer.

I pressed against the end of the shelving unit as he approached, unsheathing my knife. The Dove hadn’t deployed his Quinque yet, and his flashlight was blocked by the crates behind me. I’ll have my knife in his throat before he even realises I’m here. The flashlight appeared first, then the edge of his white coat, his head turning in my direction.

As soon as I heard the click I let go of the blade and sprang backwards, the shelving units collapsing as a broadsword tore through the space I had been standing. Damn. His neck was bleeding where I had grazed him, but with surprising speed he lunged and I barely retreated in time to avoid a swing that would have spilled my guts. Let’s see you fight after this. I jumped and twisted mid air, reaching into my jacket and revealing my gun, and as the Dove jumped back out of the way I brought my heel down on top of his unattended flashlight.

Darkness enveloped the warehouse and he swung wildly in my direction, but I skipped backwards and remained silent. I get one shot before he decides to move. I flipped the dagger to hold it by the blade, taking a quiet breath and flicking my wrist.

It was a clean hit; I could tell as much from the strangled gurgle and the clang of his quinque against the floor. I didn’t have to wait very long before he stopped moving, and while I waited I set my water bottle over the flashlight on my phone so I could see what I was working with. Hm…wallet’s a bit thin, but better than nothing. No time for a proper disposal though, I’ll just have to hope I’m far enough that they won’t connect the dots.

It didn’t take long to clean my blades and ensure I hadn’t left any prints or other traces behind, fuelling up before double-checking that the door was jammed nice and tight. This will probably only buy me a couple minutes, maybe half an hour if I’m lucky, but I’ll take what I can get. Now that I’ve had some dinner I should be able to make it a bit further.

After retrieving my things I kept walking for another hour, trying to avoid cameras and keep to more secluded back streets. Halfway to the 19th Ward I stopped to swap out my fake IDs, putting away the ones reading Iitsu Kamo and replacing them with those owned by Teru Kouto before looking for a place to stay. One day in the motel cost me more than I would have liked, but without many other options I kept my mouth shut and paid up.

The room wasn’t quite clean, but it was tidy enough with a TV and a paper taped to the table with the wifi password. I put my bags down and locked the door, drawing the curtains and turning on the lights. I’ll wait here for a bit before I head back out. In the meantime I should catch up with the story they’ve released to the press.

I turned the TV on and found a news channel, taking Sumi out of her carrier as I waited. She purred and snuggled up on my lap, twisting and turning and rubbing her head against my hands. I smiled and played with her for a few minutes, but when a press conference between Goat and the CCG was announced I sobered up and sat up straighter. Sumi noticed immediately and stopped playing, settling down in my lap as a man called Marude addressed the crowd of reporters.

“As many of you already know, a raid was conducted on a suspected criminal lair in the 6th Ward’s abandoned zone. There was only one target: Ninetail. Goat and the CCG put together two squads for this operation, one to raid the house and one outside to catch the ghoul if he fled. Unfortunately, we underestimated our target. The number, scale and fatality of the traps he set around his lair were beyond anything we expected. Twenty-one operatives were killed and three were injured.”

“As of now, we don’t know exactly where he is, but rest assured; we have our best teams searching the area and scouring the lair. I take full responsibility for this blunder and apologise for this failure.”

The press room erupted in noise as reporters vied to be picked. “Is Ninetail leading a faction that plans to attack the people of Tokyo?”

“No. As far as we can tell he has always worked alone, and I its not likely that would change now.”

“Ninetail emerged only after peace between humans and ghouls was forged, does he have a political agenda? Is he trying to plunge Tokyo back into chaos?”

“As dangerous as he is, he has never left any messages behind or rallied any sorts of followers.”

“You said that the CCG and Goat couldn’t pick up his trail with their combined efforts. How do you plan to catch him now that he’s abandoned his base of operations?”

“We’re working on it.”

A few more worthless questions were tossed around, but it was clear that the conference was practically over. I moved to turn off the TV, but then a hush fell across the reporters. I looked back up and froze, staring at the person walking across the platform towards the podium. He looked like he was in his mid twenties, with white hair and a red mark near his left eye. Eyepatch. 

He approached Marude calmly, with a neutral expression on his face. “May I?”

After a short pause Marude nodded wordlessly and moved back, and the leader of Goat stepped up to the podium. “I am Kaneki Ken, the leader of Goat. This Ninetail is indeed dangerous and quick to escape, but when ghouls and humans work together great things can be accomplished. One year ago all we ever saw of Ninetail were the bodies of the victims he left behind, always one step ahead. But after Goat and the CCG properly joined forces, we caught him in a near fatal mistake.”

My hand involuntarily twitched towards my chest, but I forced myself to stay still and kept my eyes on the screen as the leader of Goat continued his speech. “He did escape, but though he became emboldened as a result we also learned something: he is not immune to error. We caught him in another mistake last night, the discovery of his lair. We are still unprepared though, and we paid heavily for this with the loss of two dozen men. In order to hasten his capture and prevent more needless loss of life, I will personally enter the field to help track down Ninetail.”

For a few moments, I just stared at the screen. Nobody moved a muscle in the press room. Then the rows of reporters exploded, all shouting questions and trying to catch his attention. The One-Eyed King simply stated “That’s all I have to say tonight” and walked away.

I kept staring at the screen, even as the news anchors discussed the sudden announcement. Sumi meowed loudly and stood on her hind legs, sniffing my face. I lifted my hand and stroked her head, petting her until she calmed down and turning off the TV. Eyepatch….is going to hunt me. Estimated rating SSS. Leader of Goat. Kakuja. Rinkaku. And he’s suddenly decided to hunt me. I took a deep breath. I’m dead.

Sumi lay calmly in my lap, but she still watched me with her big blue eyes as I stared blankly in front of me. My mind began to flick through scenarios, modelling and discarding plans almost as quickly as they were formed. Getting out of Tokyo is tricky. Leaving legally is impossible and leaving illegally is close to it, not to mention that after the announcement they might throw out a perimeter in anticipation for my escape. Getting abroad to Taiwan or China would be just as dangerous.

I sighed and slumped back, turning off the TV and closing my eyes. Right. I’ve established that it’s impossible to leave, so my only choice is to stay in Tokyo. Easier said than done; a head-on confrontation would be suicide, and assassinations or attempts to whittle down their numbers with Guerrilla tactics would be innefective against small groups of elite fighters. I usually work alone, but even if I tried to join a group for protection with that big of a target on my back they would rat me out. I reached into my bag and pulled out a can of tuna for Sumi, opening and setting it on the bedside table for her. So, what can I do?

Sumi padded over and started eating her food, and I closed my eyes. I can disappear. Drop off the grid, create a new alias, play mostly-harmless rebel. Let Eyepatch have his fun searching for me, and let the excitement die down. All I have to do is wait for some radical or anarchist to show up, and then everyone will forget about me. I’ll just be another urban legend, and I can live a simple life minding my own business without having to keep looking over my shoulder.

I grabbed my bags and laid them out in front of the bedside table, then pulled the covers up to my chin and rolled onto my side. Soon after paws padded over my back and Sumi burrowed under the blanket to curl up at my chest. I smiled and draped an arm over her. I can come up with a more concrete plan in the morning. For now, can only sleep and hope nobody finds that Dove till I'm long gone.