They had been waiting in his room for ten minutes, and their young master had yet to address them or even meet them. Meanwhile, Shuu was busy moving as stealthily as he could with his weighted bracelets and anklets. He wanted to be sure no other servants were near his room outside or around in the event there was a CCG or V spy amongst them. After checking and making sure there weren’t any spies to his satisfaction, he entered his room.
“Good morning, Shuu-sama!” They all chorused as Shuu entered his room. He looked around and told them to sit on the furniture in the room, which they did.
“How are the bracelets?” Shuu asked while standing.
“It’s uncomfortable,” Aliza said.
“I thought as much too. I’d be uncomfortable too if I only had one weighted bracelet. It messes up the balance. Therefore, I am giving you all an extra one to balance it out finely.”
“Uh, thank you… But why are we wearing them? It hinders my work. The extra weight will balance things out but would make my job serving harder, Shuu-sama,” Aliza complained.
Shuu simply went to a box containing black weighted rings and gave one to each of them.
“Maybe not this year or the next, but this family is going to face a huge crisis. If we are not prepared before then, we will be wiped out. Not even our power or influence will save us from that,” Shuu said as he looked at all of them.
“Shuu-sama, what do you mean?” Kanae asked him. The others looked at her and then back at him as if to answer their questions. Kanae's family had been wiped out thanks to efforts made by the CCG, and she was the only survivor, hence a wanted ghoul. Mirumo Tsukiyama wasted no time in taking her in as one of his own. So mentioning something like that would leave her in a sad mood.
“With the exception of Aliza and Yuma, we are at least A-ranked ghouls, but we are not even at the peak of A-rank ghouls—just like there is a heaven above the heavens. If I were to measure our combat ability, Miss Matsumae is the strongest here. Her use of her kagune is exceptional but useless in the face of SS rank ghouls and associate special investigators,” Shuu explained as he examined their faces. They were serious this time and gave Shuu their full attention.
“Our secondary objective this year will be to reach the S rank, and the only failure that will be tolerated is to reach the peak of the A rank. I will be training by myself for the next eight months and would start group training afterward. Aliza, you especially need to be strong mentally,” Shuu said as he looked at Aliza, who nodded her head slowly.
“And our primary objective is to take over the 20th and the 21st ward in at least five years. I am not looking to grow our numbers any more than this and one other. I aim to create a powerful family strong enough to deter ‘that person.’ Secondly, once we get to our ideal level of strength, we will take out ‘V.’ V is an annoying group of ghouls, half-ghouls, and failed half-ghouls that think they are doing Japan a favor by creating a balance and all that nonsense. Things are actually very complicated and grayer than black and white,” Shuu elaborated.
“There are a lot of things to be done. I’ll have to inform and get approval from my father to continue. Disperse for now, we will gather like this again in four months’ time,” Shuu said as he approached his door and held it open.
“Shuu-sama, what are you talking about? What is going on?” Mairo asked as he approached the door. Shuu didn’t say anything but saw everyone out.
Shuu waited for his dad to come back from his board meeting and waited for him in the rose garden. He was doing finger push-ups all day in the garden with rest in-between sets.
“Congratulations, Shuu-kun, I see you are getting better every day,” Mirumo said as he walked into the garden and saw his son working out.
“Good afternoon, father! How did your meeting go?” Shuu stood up immediately and bowed slightly.
“Don’t push yourself too much, it’s alright. Just some hick-ups here and there,” Mirumo said as he wanted to stop his son from getting up but wore a troubled look on his face.
Kanae brought a chair for the patriarch with a small stool in front of him. She left and brought a cold bottle of water with two glasses and placed them on the table; it was a hot afternoon after all.
Mirumo sat down as Kanae poured a glass of water for the patriarch; Mirumo waved her away soon after.
“It’s about the auction,” Mirumo said. The Tsukiyama family also hosts an underground auction house where captured humans and ghouls are sold to the highest bidders.
“What happened?” Shuu asked.
“Some of the clowns (a ghoul squad) came across a rare specimen of ghoul to capture for the next auction, but we were intercepted by an organization called V,” Mirumo explained.
“They proclaimed that the person in question is their property. They always make a show about things like that, as if they own the place every time. The Tsukiyama family and the V organization haven’t really been on good terms, but we respect each other and don’t engage in bloody confrontations,” Mirumo said as he drank some cold water and reclined on his chair.
‘So, apart from housing the last survivor of the Von Rosewald family. The Washuu family/clan that heads the CCG and has affiliations with ‘V’ don’t necessarily like the Tsukiyama family and ordered our execution according to the storyline. Did our family outgrow its usefulness? Were we a possible threat? The last powerful group of ghouls in the twenty-first ward? The unpredictable young heir? This is interesting indeed.’ Shuu looked at a flower shed a petal as he placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully.
Shuu moved forward and squatted in a kneeling position on his toes with his knees in front of his father with his hands hanging lazily on his thighs.
“Father, I have a proposition,” Shuu looked up at the family patriarch with fire in his eyes.
“You may continue, Shuu-kun,” Mirumo said as he poured himself another cold glass of water for himself and his son.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Father, leave the military matters of the Tsukiyama family in my hands. I understand I am too young to even understand the world and more or less the responsibilities that come with managing a family as influential and powerful as ours, but I ask you to trust in me and I will elevate the status of the Tsukiyama family to the very heavens. The V group doesn’t see us as something worth discussing and treats us with so much disrespect as to stop us from preparing a present for the auction house and gave such a void claim of ownership of said present,” Shuu said with a tinge of determination.
“Shuu, I understand your thoughts. But we are not that kind of family. And we actually have more influence
and power than you think; only the CCG is stupid enough to confront us and even at that, they can’t. We always clean our tracks and any incidents leading back to us. So…” Mirumo said as he touched Shuu’s shoulder gently.
“Father it seems I will have to earn your confidence before you put such trust in me. We will continue this discussion in four months’ time then. Have a lovely evening father,” Shuu said as he rose from his squat and walked out of the garden then proceeded to attempt his 190-mile jog around the Tsukiyama estate.
‘Shuu-kun, it’s like you woke up a different person. You don’t have to push yourself so hard.’ Mirumo thought as he saw the undrunk cup of cold water he poured out for his son.
It was late at night when Shuu was done with his 190-mile jog. He decided not to sprint this time since it left him in a critical state last time. If he didn’t have the regenerative abilities of an A-ranked ghoul he might have fainted. Shuu wanted to push and punish his RC levels to the extreme and beyond.
Rc stands for red children cells. They exist in both humans and ghouls. Rc vessels can be increased through repeated injuries and regeneration. They are responsible for the flesh-based diet in ghouls and the evolution in strength, speed, regeneration, kagune, and other attributes in a ghoul. A human’s Rc level is usually 100-500 while a ghoul's level is usually around 900-9000. An exception such as Arima Kishou has an Rc level of 10,000 plus; if any ghoul knew this, they wouldn’t even dream of opposing him once. Arima is simply a nightmare for ghouls; his sole weakness was that he couldn’t be everywhere at once but his infamy amongst ghouls made up for it. He is someone who stands at the pinnacle of strength in this world.
Anyway, Shuu hadn’t eaten any flesh yesterday and today as well. He requested a lot of cold bottled water be brought to his lodgings immediately as he entered the mansion after his jog. Shuu reached his room and saw ten bottles of water on his table and started on them. He finished them and proceeded to do his exercise before showering. He did a thousand push-ups, sit-ups, and squats (With rest time in between sets) groggy-eyed then walked like a newborn deer to the bathroom.
After his shower, he went to the balcony and looked at the sky with longing.
‘Will I ever return home? Can I even hope to defeat the being that brought me here? That seems highly unlikely. Am I the only source of ‘entertainment’ in this world? Are there others? Is the real owner of this body in mine? Whether I like it or not, I’ll have to become the strongest or this family will meet its end. Ha, strongest, I laugh in Arima Kishou. I better sleep to aid the regeneration of my worked muscles.’ Shuu thought as he moved toward the right side of his balcony and saw Yumma and Aliza jugging with their weighted bracelets. Shuu simply smiled and went to bed.
The sun broke through the horizon to signify the start of a new day. Aliza and Yumma woke up feeling sore but got up to resume their daily duties. Matsumae knocked at his door at seven o’clock in the morning to remind Shuu to have his breakfast but stopped at the door as she heard Shuu’s breathing pattern with her enhanced senses and let the young master sleep in for now.
It was noon by the time Shuu woke up feeling refreshed and light. Light? Shuu was surprised as he got off from his bed and crouched below the bed to look for something. He kept searching his room frantically until he came near his mirror and slapped his forehead.
“I thought the weighted bracelets fell off. I don’t even feel them anymore. Let’s check my stats.” Shuu said with a smile on his face.
A black-bordered window with gold outlines appeared before his torso.
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Title: Heir of Tsukiyama family, Captain of Iruka High Football team.
Race: Ghoul, (Human).
RC level: 3345.
Kagune type: Koukaku.
Kagune skill: Stab (25%), temporary shield (28%), temporary sword (26%),
Mana: nil.
Divine Energy: nil.
Chaos Energy: nil.
Creation Energy: Currently limited to system creation.
Traits: Creation (15%), Assimilation (1%), Adaptability (55-65 %^), Endurance (35-39 %^), Stamina (39-42 %^). Durability (9-15 %^), Strength (11-18.9 %^), Agility [Including reaction speed, reflexes, running speed, and movement.](15-19.4^), Regeneration (7-13 %^) Basic charm (85%)*.
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“Alright, not bad for a start. I am now at the peak of A-ranked ghouls, just barely reaching for S rank.” Shuu said happily and went to the box that had the weighted black rings.
He picked up the last four and shared them evenly amongst his limbs. He now had two weighted bracelets on each arm and two anklets on each leg, all weighing 800kg. After putting them on, he couldn’t move much at all. Then his hunger caught up with him, and he was looking for flesh to eat.
But he was basically chained to one spot and couldn’t move. He came back to his senses after two minutes of futile struggle.
‘This hunger. I will not lose the battle for total control of my body. This hunger changed me. It's like I became a starved predator in the wild looking for prey or even my own kind to commit the act of cannibalism just to satiate my hunger. I doubt it will even stop there even if I went on a killing spree and ate people. If I hadn’t put on the extra weights now, it could have been bad.’ Shuu thought as he shook his head at the thought of ghouls losing themselves in their hunger.
Shuu decided to use this chance to try his squats. It was a slow and painful process. When he was on his 100th squat going down, he felt like falling. He knew if he did that, he won’t get up for a long time. Anyway, he only managed to do 300 squats with good form and stood to rest for fear of having a muscle pull if he sat to rest. After some time he just slept on the floor he stood on.
Matsumae came back in her maid outfit late in the evening to check on him and had a panicked expression on her face when she heard his breathing pattern and it still sounded like that of someone who is sleeping.
‘Did he fall into another coma again? This is because of my negligence earlier in the morning; I should have at least knocked!’ Matsumae thought as her eyes grew wide with concern.
Matsumae opened the door without knocking and apologized for the unannounced entry. What she saw before her eyes was unbelievable.
She saw her young master sprawled on the floor with only a boxer on. She crouched down to inspect him. His body’s muscles His body’s muscles were more defined than ever even though he looked a bit thin. She blushed a little and touched his chest which felt firm yet supple and twitched repeatedly.
“I see that you really can’t get enough of this body Miss Matsumae.” Shuu said as he opened an eye to look at her. Matsumae quickly stood up as if unaffected and spoke professionally to him.
“Shuu-sama you haven’t eaten in two days, I am afraid you might start to feel very uncomfortable. I have told Aliza to prepare your dish in the dining hall.” She replied with her eyes on her young master.
Shuu got up and felt he could at least walk around now but jogging or running was out of the question. As soon as he put his gaze on Matsumae, Matsumae felt that Shuu had gotten stronger already. She gauged that he was on her level or slightly higher. She is an A-ranked ghoul currently, so she was really surprised that he had improved in just two days!
Shuu saw that Matsumae was observing and possibly estimating his strength but coughed to bring her back to reality.
“Matsumae, you are not to tell anyone this. I won’t eat anything for now till I ask for it.” Shuu said with a stern look on his face.
“But Shuu-sama, you could… harm your classmates and expose the Tsukiyama family, or worse you could fall into a coma again.” Matsumae argued.
“You promised to take care of me when we were younger, no?” Shuu asked as he locked eyes with her.
“Yes, Shuu-sama I remember very clearly-” Matsumae replied but was interrupted by Shuu taking her right hand and kissing it with a slight bow. This was exactly what Matsumae did to Shuu when they were much younger. Although she is just a little older than Shuu, now she feels like the younger one here.
“Do take care of me. But soon, I will be strong enough to take care of you.” Shuu said as he looked at Matsumae with a serious expression who couldn’t help but look away.
“If I see any sign of aggression to your schoolmates, staff, or anyone, with the help of the others, I’ll knock some sense and food back into you. Don’t stay too long without eating, and no hunting by yourself till you have eaten okay?” Matsumae said as she removed her hand gently from his embrace.