Special Chapter
The Aftermath

"Everyone's gotten over the tragedy. It may be painful, but we must live on. And so we desperately tried to salvage what we could of our previous lives."
~ Kaneki Ken ~
~ Tokyo Ghoul ~

Key
'Here's' - Thoughts
"The" - Speech
"Side" - Nexus/Voices
Effects... - Breaks & A/N's

~ BTYB Yuma and Ashura ~

Gathered in front of a large church, Yuma Nakamura kept her gaze toward the ground as she played with the fabric of a black dress. Today, Ashura's funeral was going to be held, a whole month after his unfortunate passing. Despite that, Yuma could barely force herself to hold back tears as the doors opened to the church and dozens of people walked into the room. There were family and friends gathered at the church, all of which sulked around with glum expressions when they had heard of Ashura's death.

Feeling someone's hand on her shoulder, Yuma looked up to see a blonde woman she had never met before. Even so, she could tell the woman was one of Ashura's friends and seemed to be as downtrodden as her.

"Yuma?" The woman asked, removing her hand from Yuma's shoulder and clasping her hands in front of her. "Let's go inside. Everyone is waiting for us."

Although Yuma didn't know Ashura's connection to the blonde lady, she still followed the woman into the large church. Once the two were inside, they could see everyone else was already seated and just waiting on the others who were in the bathroom or were still outside. Ignoring that, the two sat in the front row due to their close relation to the deceased Ashura.

After a short while, everyone had been seated for the service and a priest stood next to the casket, just behind the podium. "Today we are here to commemorate the death of Ashura Nakamura..."

Spacing out, Yuma ignored the monotone voice of the priest and focused on a few thoughts that had been on her mind. What will she do now? Why did Ashura have to pass away so soon? Why did he just throw away his life?

Unfortunately, these questions would never be answered, at least not now. Bringing her back to reality, the blonde woman who sat beside her stood up at took the priest's place at the podium.

"Hello, everyone," she said in a melodic voice, yet her tone showed she was quite sad. "My name is Cecilia Fury and I was Ashura's fiance. Sadly, he passed away, but he still left us with many things to remember him by."

'She must be talking about his books,' Yuma thought immediately, listening carefully to what Cecilia said.

"Throughout his life, Ashura wrote many books and many of them were planned to be published," Cecilia continued, looking at familiar faces within the crowd. "His first book was written with me in mind and was about a devil and an angel falling in love and despite all their differences, the two lived long and happy lives with each other. But from what I can tell, his next book was supposed to be for his sister, Yuma."

Looking at Yuma, Cecilia gave her the most loving smile she could muster before she continued the speech she was giving. Seeing this, Yuma smiled back before her expression became its downtrodden self once again.

"He was a wonderful friend, a loving boyfriend, and the husband I wished for in my dreams. Unfortunately, he's left this world," she paused, glancing at the casket at her side. "But it's always comforting to see how many people care for him, especially today."

Without warning, Cecelia walked away from the podium and sat back down next to Yuma. Asking who would like to speak about their time spent with Ashura, Yuma's younger cousin and gave a small speech about Ashura being like an older brother to him.

After a few of Ashura's friends spoke, those present were given one last opportunity to look at Ashura, well, his body at least. Once everyone had that chance they slowly left the building before the casket was closed.

Another two days later, the burial service was held and it left the people there with some regrets, adding another weight on their chest. Yet all of those people hid their pain and moved on with his or her life. But when Yuma had returned home that day, she knew it would be her last time in that apartment for possibly months. So she decided to pack all of her belongings before she would move in with her aunt until she was legally an adult.

Finished packing her personal belongings, Yuma moved onto packing Ashura's belongings, at least what she wanted to keep anyway. The first place she looked through was Ashura's desk where he kept all of his drafts and notes, along with his computer where he typed the final draft of each chapter. Without hesitation, she gathered all of the drafts and notes neatly and packed them into a box.

Next, she gathered his other personal belongings, such as a guitar he had received from a friend and even a laptop he had yet to use. But as she looked around the room more, she found herself looking under the bed, only to find scrapbooks, each with a different topic for who was included. There was a scrapbook for just Yuma and Ashura, another with Cecilia, and others for just friends and family.

Tearing up slightly, Yuma wiped away the tears flowing out of her eyes and packed the scrapbooks away inside another box. Looking over the room once again, it was nearly barren except for the few pieces of furniture that Yuma had decided to leave for when she would eventually return. Walking back out of the room, a sudden, monotone scared the daylights out of Yuma.

Yuma Nakamura

Looking back at the room, Yuma saw the previously empty screen of the computer glow a faint gold with her name written in a silver color. Walking over to the computer, she watched the message fade away as another one replaced it.

Would you like to be reunited with Ashura Nakamura once again?

Although Yuma's instincts would tell her this was dangerous, something felt comforting and reassured her. "More than anything," she answered, not caring about whatever was the source of the messages.

Are you willing to give up everything?

"Yes," she answered with some hesitation.

In one year's time, you will be given the chance to see your brother again, but he will not be the same. Knowing this, are you still sure you want to accept this deal?

"Of course!" She yelled, growing anxious at the series of messages, but now she was also growing angry.

Be prepared in one year's time. Your life will not be the same, but your wish will be granted.

All of the sudden, the screen went blank for a few seconds as Yuma just stared at it, wondering what she had just accepted. Then, she got tapped the screen, wondering if there was more to those messages. Slowly, a faint mirage etched itself on the screen and Yuma slowly made out the details of a woman's face, but all of the details were strange, nearly inconceivable to her. With a sigh, she turned off the monitor and unplugged the entire computer, just to be safe.

Making her way out of the room, Yuma finished up packing with only one thought on her mind: Who sent those messages? Every answer she had come to was odd and she could hardly make sense of it, so she dropped the subject.

Yet all over the world, this event seemed to translate into many other's lives, one by one. The deal of a lifetime was put in front of several people and it wasn't long before five people have accepted the deal and all of the messages stopped with the mirage of a woman etched across each screen.

~ BTYB Foreshadowing thingy ~

A/N: Yes, this special chapter is short. No, I don't care about those of you who wanted longer chapters. This is supposed to bridge my arcs together while setting up a larger story.

If you aren't questioning me, then get ready for some 'happy' reunions in the Reunion Arc that starts the next chapter.

But, any speculations? (I won't spoil, but it's nice to see what you guys think is gonna happen).