Can you know what's inside a box before you open it?
Perhaps you can make a guess. If the person holding the box says there's a toy inside, you'll imagine a toy.
But what if there's something else?
What if they say it's a toy, but inside is a venomous snake that can kill a person in one bite?
Human nature is like an unopened box.
Until you actually face what's inside, all you can do is shake it, listen to it, and make guesses.
And yet there are people who can identify what's in the box without ever opening it.
Whether that person is a psychic or a magician using tricks doesn't matter.
That person has a way to verify what's inside.
"Mr. Hitokawa is definitely not a bad person... but for some reason, he smells unpleasant."
I recalled what Eto had said.
Eto had been wary of Hitokawa because she had caught the faint scent of a fellow Ghoul's blood on him.
Ghouls have far sharper senses than humans, and among them, smell plays the most important role.
Ghouls possess a distinctive body scent that only other Ghouls can detect. Aside from [Kakugan], smell is the crucial sense used to identify one's own kind.
To distinguish a fellow Ghoul from "food" that looked exactly the same, a Ghoul's sensitive nose was essential.
Now, let's go back to the story.
You're walking down the street and run into a stranger.
That stranger tells you the contents of the box are human, just like you.
But I have no way to confirm that. I can't know whether there's really a human in the box, or a monster that eats humans. Neither side can be fully trusted, and neither side can be fully dismissed.
You'd be uneasy.
You'd try to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
And yet there was someone who did not show that obvious reaction.
The police would never be ignorant of information about Ghouls.
Most of the murders happening in the city lately were Ghoul-related.
The police were the profession, aside from Ghoul Investigators, most likely to encounter Ghouls, and because of that they received basic training on Ghoul countermeasures and precautions.
As long as there was a possibility that I was a Ghoul, they would never simply finish restraining me with one pair of handcuffs. They would know that a Ghoul could snap something like that in an instant.
And if they couldn't verify the contents of the box called "me," there was no way they'd put me alone in the back seat. A Ghoul could silently take the heads off both officers from behind before anyone noticed.
But the response I was given showed no consideration for the possibility that I was a Ghoul at all.
"Maybe he's a Ghoul pretending to be human."
That would be the normal reaction.
"If he were, he would've broken the handcuffs and run already. No need to worry about it."
Those were words and actions that showed no concern whatsoever for the danger if I really were a Ghoul.
That was where my sense of wrongness came from.
The police must have treated this as a Ghoul-related case and handed the investigation over to the CCG.
In that situation, what basis did they have for saying the suspect they'd encountered was absolutely not a Ghoul?
To confirm that sense of wrongness, I pretended to be insane and acted like a Ghoul.
The two officers' reflections in the rearview mirror.
The young officer tensed with anxiety, thinking, "What if he's really a Ghoul?"
The middle-aged officer curled the corner of his mouth as if to say, "What kind of ridiculous act is this?" and mocked my nonsense.
I was certain.
This middle-aged man knows I'm not a Ghoul.
If he couldn't verify the contents of the box, he should have had at least a shred of doubt.
And yet, without any investigation, right there at the place where he'd caught me, this man had figured it out!
"Turn left up ahead for a moment."
"Huh? But we're supposed to go back the other way. That's completely opposite..."
"I've got somewhere to stop by."
Drip...
Cold sweat ran down my back. The conversation between the two officers, one of them saying they weren't heading to the police station, only made the tension worse.
Maybe all of this was just my imagination.
Maybe this middle-aged cop had a sharp instinct and had simply realized I wasn't a Ghoul.
Maybe he told them not to go to the station because he hadn't eaten lunch and wanted to grab a bite.
"Ha ha..."
Even I thought that was far too optimistic, and a hollow laugh escaped me.
I'm human. There's no way to verify what's inside the box.
But even if you don't open the box, you can still predict what's inside by shaking it or listening to it.
And I heard it.
The cry of the monster writhing inside the box.
Through the middle-aged officer's chilling gaze reflected in the rearview mirror!
Think.
That man's look. You've seen it before. Very recently.
The bandage on your right arm, still throbbing now.
The marks left by "that child" chewing through it.
Remember the look in "that child's" eyes when she tore into your arm.
That's the look of someone seeing you as "food"!
"What? Why are you laughing?"
The young officer, looking pale, asked when he saw me letting out a laugh and thought it was strange.
I brushed it off and looked out the window.
The number of people on the street was gradually decreasing. I could feel the car heading toward a more deserted area.
It was ominous. So ominous that only the worst possibilities came to mind, and I felt like I might have a panic attack.
[...!]
"!"
Then a reply from Hitokawa appeared on the phone screen in my hand. The faint glow of the phone felt like the halo of a Buddha encountered in hell.
I glanced down and checked it.
"Where are you!?"
I moved my fingers silently and typed.
"In a police car. Destination unknown."
"Are you sure? That the police are Ghouls?"
"Nine times out of ten."
"Why would the police be Ghouls! And why are you being held by Ghouls like that in the first place!"
"How should I know! I ran into that cop from yesterday on the street, that's how! They arrested me as a suspect in that case!"
After I sent that text, Hitokawa replied after a minute or two.
"Could he have gotten so into playing the righteous cop that he grabbed you for the role?"
"Still, not heading straight to the station is suspicious."
This time, about a three-minute gap.
"That means their purpose is unclear. Since we don't know what they're after, don't do anything rash. If they realize you've seen through them, they might do something desperate."
That sounded a little too suspicious to be something Hitokawa would normally come up with. Was someone else beside him?
"Anyway, if you see any distinctive buildings around you, just tell me anything."
I looked back out the window. There were no distinctive buildings in sight.
Instead, I listed the signs of restaurants and small shops flashing by from right to left and sent them to Hitokawa one by one.
Another minute or two later, a reply came back.
"I'll search based on this for now. If you find out anything else, contact me right away. And absolutely do not provoke him! Remember that!"
That was the end. No more texts came from Hitokawa.
Even if he told me not to provoke him...
"What's with you? Is your friend some kind of Ghoul Investigator?"
The phone was no longer in my hand.
Right after I finished reading Hitokawa's last text, the middle-aged officer's hand shot out like lightning and snatched the phone away. The barrier that had been blocking me was suddenly wide open.
Damn it. He found out I'd been secretly contacting someone.
The young officer, still driving, asked the middle-aged cop as he examined the phone he'd taken from me.
"Huh? What is it?"
"He was contacting an acquaintance. Saying the police are Ghouls."
"Whaaat? Hah. That's hilarious. Maybe that guy's brain is messed up? I've known you and senior for how long now? There's no way I wouldn't notice if you were a Ghoul."
"Yeah. We've known each other for quite a while. That's why I'm truly sorry it came to this."
"Huh?"
The young officer blinked, not understanding what he meant.
Bang!!
With the sound of something exploding, the barrier behind the young officer shattered to pieces.
Along with the fragments of the officer's head, which had been alive and talking just moments before.
........
For an instant, it felt like time had stopped.
Not being able to see the young officer's neck in the front seat, or the middle-aged officer shaking his head with a sigh as if it were truly unfortunate... all of it slowly seared itself into my mind in the slowed-down flow of time.
"What a waste, catching someone this annoyingly perceptive. I picked the wrong target."
The officer's lament didn't even reach my ears.
Seeing his eyes in the rearview mirror turn into dark red [Kakugan], there was only one thing I could think.
"...I'm screwed."
Sshhhaaaah!!
A fountain of blood burst spectacularly from the young officer's neck, where his head had vanished.
The young officer's arms fell away from the steering wheel, and the police car, now out of control, lurched violently and raced toward chaos.