Kirishima was a disaster.
Seriously, the worst ghoul investigator the CCG ever had.
Reborn into this crazy world as a kid, he thought it'd be easy to survive as long as he went away from tokyo.
But reality? Totally different. He sucked at this job.
His dad forced him into the CCG anyway, saying, "You're doing it, kid. No excuses." Kirishima just sighed and went along with it.
He got a quinque—an axe that looked cool but weighed a ton.
He could barely swing it without tripping.
His kill count? Seven ghouls. Seven! Sounds okay, right? Nope.
Every single one was a fluke or a mess.
His first kill? He accidentally dropped his quinque on a ghoul's head while running away.
The second? He tripped, and the ghoul fell into a construction site and got crushed.
Another time, he used so many explosives the CCG had to pay for a whole street to get fixed.
Lucky kills and ridiculous resources—that was his style.
Everyone at the CCG had one thought for him... "That Kirishima guy? Total clown."
Now, here he was, stuck in a nasty alley.
His quinque? Broken again.
The axe head was cracked in half, bits of it sparkling on the wet ground.
And who was in front of him? Rize.
The Rize Kamishiro.
Purple hair, sharp smile, and those sexy red eyes locked on him.
Her kagune twitched behind her like a hungry snake."Well, well," Rize said, stepping closer. "What a sad little investigator. Out of toys already?"
Kirishima stared at her.
Weird thing was, he didn't feel scared. Not really.
His heart beat fast, sure, but it wasn't fear—it was regret.
So much regret.
He leaned against the cold wall, his spiky red hair sticking to his sweaty forehead.
"Man, I messed up," he muttered to himself.
He wasn't shaking or begging.
He just felt… tired.
Tired of being awful at this.
Tired of pretending he could handle it.
"Scared yet?" Rize teased, her voice all smooth and mocking.
She twirled a strand of hair, smirking. "You should be."
"Nah," Kirishima said, shrugging. "Just kinda bummed....I suck at this job. Should've quit ages ago."
In his past life, he'd been a nobody—played games, ate junk food, napped a lot.
Being reborn was supposed to be a fresh start, but he blew it.
Seven kills, all dumb luck or way too expensive.
He could've run off, lived quietly somewhere, but nooo, he stayed.
Dumb move.
Rize blinked, thrown off by his chill vibe. "What? No screaming? No fighting?"
Kirishima scratched his head. "Eh, what's the point? My quinque's toast, and I'm no good anyway. Go ahead, I guess."
He waved a hand like he was shooing a fly.
Deep down, he kicked himself. If he'd trained harder, or ditched the CCG like he wanted, maybe he wouldn't be here.
Maybe he'd be eating ramen instead of facing the future Dragon.
Rize laughed, loud and sharp. "You're weird."
" I almost don't want to eat you." Her kagune snapped out anyway, red spikes glinting. "Almost."
Kirishima sighed, sliding down the wall a bit.
The alley stank of trash and rain. His uniform was torn, his hands scraped.
He looked up at Rize, her purple hair shining in the dim light.
"You know," he said, scratching his cheek, "if I'm gonna die to a ghoul, might as well die to a beautiful one....Beats getting chomped by some ugly dude with bad breath."
Rize paused, her kagune hovering mid-air. She raised an eyebrow.
Kirishima shrugged at her reaction "Just saying....You're kinda pretty... Makes this less lame."
He thought about his last kill—lured a ghoul into a trap with a pile of meat and blew up a warehouse.
The CCG was still mad about that one.
That, was one mad ugly motherfucker.
"Yeah," he mumbled. "I really should've quit."
Rize tilted her head, her smirk turning sharp.
Her kagune shot out, quick as lightning.
A red spike stabbed through Kirishima's arm, pinning it to the wall.
He yelped, kicking his legs as she hoisted him up to her mouth like a grape on a vine.
She pulled him close, her eyes gleaming with hunger."Hey! Watch it!" Kirishima shouted, wiggling.
"That's my arm!"
Rize ignored him.
She leaned in and chomped down on his abs, taking a big bite.
Blood stained his ripped shirt, and he groaned. "Ow! Seriously? My abs?"She chewed for a moment, then stopped.
Her face twisted like she'd tasted sour milk. "Bleh!" She spat it out, the piece splatting on the ground.
"What is with you? You taste like shit!"
Kirishima's jaw dropped. "How dare you say that?!" he snapped, still dangling.
"I'm self-conscious about my taste, okay? That's rude!" He glared at her, his free hand pointing.
"I can't help it if I'm not gourmet!"
Rize stared, wiping her mouth. "You're yelling at me?"
Rize rolled her eyes, still wiping her mouth. "Ugh, you're not even worth eating."
With a flick of her kagune, she yanked him off the wall and hurled him across the alley.
He flew fast, crashing into a giant dumpster with a loud bang.
Something in his back cracked—loud and ugly. Kirishima screamed, a high-pitched "AHH!" echoing off the walls as he slumped into the trash.
Pain shot through him.
His back was broken.
He couldn't move his legs, just lay there in a pile of garbage bags, breathing hard.
Blood trickled from his arm, and his abs throbbed where she'd bitten him.
It hurt - A lot.
He chuckled.
Heh, guess I'm trash now, huh? he thought, trying to laugh through it.
Even with a busted back, he couldn't help it—humor was his thing.
At least the dumpster's soft, he told himself, grimacing as he shifted and felt another stab of pain.
Rize dusted her hands off, scowling. "Pathetic. Stay there."
Rize walked off, her footsteps fading into the dark.
Kirishima lay there in the dumpster, surrounded by soggy trash. "Man," he muttered to himself, "this trash is starting to smell really bad."
He tried to chuckle, forcing a weak laugh.
Heh, me and the garbage—perfect match, he thought.But the chuckle didn't last.
His face changed.
The grin slipped away, and his eyes got heavy.
The humor faded, leaving a big, empty hole inside him.
"Maybe I never deserved this chance," he whispered, his voice shaky and small.
He could feel himself bleeding out to death very Fast.
Drops hit his face, sliding into his eyes.
He didn't flinch.
Didn't have the energy. His red hair stuck to his forehead, soaked and messy.
He stared up at the gray sky, but it blurred.
Today was sunday.... ugh ...I missed meeting with Ir— He couldn't finish his thoughts.
The light faded, slow and quiet. His breaths got shallow.
His eyes fluttered, then closed.
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Power Stones and Reviews please