20th Ward, Anteiku.
Twilight had arrived, and it was once again time for Anteiku to close its doors.
Kirishima Touka was busy cleaning up. Today, Miss Irimi and Mr. Koma were off duty, so only she and the Manager were present.
Fueguchi Hinami also held a small broom, helping out diligently. With the two of them working together, they quickly finished tidying up.
"Thanks, Hinami-chan!"
"Oh right, did that idiot Kaneki say when he'll be back?" Touka asked casually.
Fueguchi Hinami gently shook her head.
"I don't know. Onii-chan didn't say."
Hearing that, Touka gave a faint "Oh," then turned to head toward the changing room in the back to take off her work clothes.
Yoshimura Kuzen stood behind the counter, watching Touka's expression. A faint, knowing smile appeared on his face before he lowered his head again, continuing to wipe the cup in his hands.
Just then, the front door was suddenly pushed open.
Kaneki Ken stumbled in, face flushed red and a bottle of liquor in hand.
"Touka-chan... I..."
He mumbled incoherently as he looked up, his bleary eyes fixed on Touka.
Touka froze for a moment. When she saw Kaneki in this drunken, disheveled state, her anger spiked.
She strode up to him and stomped hard on his foot.
"You idiot! What the hell is wrong with you, drinking yourself stupid like this?!"
She cursed under her breath, but despite her irritation, she still moved to support the swaying Kaneki with a face full of annoyance.
Kaneki winced in pain, his brows furrowing. He involuntarily let out a drunken hiccup.
Fueguchi Hinami watched all this from the side, her heart full of confusion and curiosity.
In her impression, Onii-chan had always been calm and composed, definitely not the kind of person who would drink like this.
"What happened to Onii-chan today? He's acting so unlike himself..."
While wondering to herself, she quickly ran over to help Touka support Kaneki's weight.
The setting sun filtered in through the gaps between the flowers on the balcony, casting dappled light and shadow that gently fell upon Kaneki's figure.
Yoshimura Kuzen saw this and a hint of melancholy flashed in his eyes.
His gaze followed the light until it finally settled on the sinking sun outside the window.
"So beautiful... Ukina..."
...
23rd Ward, Cochlea.
The prison had once again been breached, barely a month after the last attack by the One-Eyed Owl.
The upper levels had only just finished reconstruction, and now they were a nightmare once more. Blood covered the ground. Shattered corpses lay in ruin.
Uesugi Ryu looked around, frowning deeply before letting out a soft sigh.
A shadow of concern crossed Mado Akira's face. The mass escape of high-level ghouls was another devastating blow to the fragile peace they had barely begun to reestablish.
Most of the inmates held in Cochlea were S- or SS-rated ghouls.
The auctioneer ghoul Uesugi had brought in last time had only been A-rated.
Under normal circumstances, ghouls of that level weren't even allowed into Cochlea.
But due to Uesugi's request, and her limited intel value, she'd been transferred in.
The pungent smell of alcohol suddenly hit.
Mado Akira wrinkled her brow, her nostrils twitching slightly as she caught the scent.
Her gaze landed on Uesugi Ryu, a flicker of suspicion and curiosity in her eyes.
"You reek of alcohol. What were you doing earlier?"
She couldn't help but ask, her voice sharp and crisp. The smell lingered in the air, and she couldn't stop herself from sniffing a little more.
Surprisingly... it actually smelled kinda nice.
She muttered that in her head.
Uesugi Ryu scratched his head with a faint smile.
"Went out with a friend, had a drink."
But Mado Akira didn't let up so easily. She followed up with a sharper tone.
"Haven't seen you at HQ for days. What's going on?"
Her eyes narrowed, locking onto him as though trying to detect any lies.
Uesugi Ryu laughed helplessly, then raised both hands in mock surrender.
"Alright, alright, stop interrogating me like you're checking my household registry, okay, dear wife? I'm allowed to have a little personal space, aren't I?"
The moment he said that, Mado Akira's expression stiffened.
She quickly turned her head to check if anyone else had heard.
Sure enough, there was a wounded investigator slumped against a nearby wall.
The man was covered in blood and looked severely weakened. Medical staff were frantically treating his injuries.
When he noticed Mado Akira looking in his direction, he tilted his head to the side and instantly shut his eyes, pretending to be unconscious.
"I didn't hear anything! I didn't see anything!!"
Mado Akira saw the whole thing.
Her face immediately returned to its usual sternness.
"Focus. You're on duty."
Uesugi Ryu shrugged.
Then he leaned in toward her, asking with playful curiosity.
"Then... what about when I'm off duty?"
Mado Akira rolled her eyes and ignored him, turning away to answer her ringing phone.
"We'll talk after hours."
Uesugi Ryu grinned brightly at her back but didn't keep pushing the joke.
...
Not far away, Kijima Shiki stood drenched in blood, wielding a large chainsaw.
The blade's chain was still embedded with chunks of flesh. Seeing Uesugi Ryu approach, he forced out a sinister grin.
"Special Class Uesugi, your timing is impeccable!"
"Too bad, though. They all got away."
Furuta Nimura also noticed Uesugi's arrival. He bowed respectfully.
"Special Class Uesugi, a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to working together."
Uesugi Ryu nodded briefly and didn't bother responding to Furuta. Instead, he turned to Kijima Shiki.
"Special Class Kijima, what's the casualty report?"
Kijima's expression turned sour. He was in a foul mood, mainly because Jail had escaped, again.
"Warden Misaka was killed. Every inmate on SS-level escaped, except the newcomer."
Uesugi Ryu sighed.
The Cochlea Warden role really was cursed. Last time, Misaka had been spared thanks to Uesugi's intervention during Tatara's attack, but he still couldn't avoid death in the end.
He wondered if the next warden, Haizaki Fukame, would suffer the same fate.
The Priest was now the current Clown King, and Hoito Roma was the original founder of the Clown organization.
"So they all escaped... All the Clown members are out. Looks like my presence has definitely shaken the plot," Uesugi Ryu muttered, his gaze heavy.
This group of chaos lovers was hard to predict.
At least with Aogiri Tree, you could guess their motives. But with the Clowns? Who knew?
Uesugi casually looked around but didn't see Tokage Goumasa.
Don't tell me he got overthrown by one of his "toys" again?
He didn't really care if Goumasa lived or died, but he didn't want a ghoul who held a grudge against him getting loose.
"Is Instructor Tokage Goumasa okay?"
Kijima was slightly surprised Uesugi asked. Inwardly, he thought, 'Didn't expect Tokage to have such good relationships...'
"He's fine."
Just then, Mado Akira hung up her phone and approached Uesugi.
"Special Class Uesugi. We've tracked the whereabouts of the escaped S-rated ghoul, Naki."
She addressed him formally in public. After all, calling your superior by first name in front of everyone was clearly inappropriate.
Uesugi Ryu nodded. They were thinking along the same lines.
He had already sent Mephisto and his crow squad to search for Naki.
If you're going to weed something out, you need to pull it up by the roots.
The others who escaped could wait, but Naki had to die.
He was a fanatical devotee of Jason. And since his beloved big bro had already bitten the dust, Uesugi figured it was only fitting to help reunite the two.
"Let's move."
...
Furuta Nimura watched Uesugi Ryu's back with a thoughtful expression.
He sheathed his katana quinque, that ever-present smile seemingly etched into his face.
"Kijima-san, what now?"
...
SS-Level Wing, Cochlea.
Amon Koutarou walked toward an empty cell.
As he stared at the now-vacant room, his face darkened.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he clenched his massive fist and slammed it into the wall.
The silver cross on his chest glinted coldly under the harsh lights.
"Amon," said Mado Kureo, stepping in with a resigned tone. "Punching walls won't help. If you're really unwilling to accept this, then go find him, and take him down."
He hoisted his quinque case and turned to leave.
Amon Koutarou stood frozen, expression unreadable.
After a moment of silence, his eyes narrowed, burning with a sharp, deadly light.
A low, resolute voice echoed in the empty cell.
"I won't let you run wild again. This time... I'll end it myself."