"You want me to die?"
Eto blinked in confusion.
Hitokawa looked just as displeased, like he hated that he had to say something like this at all.
"To be precise, you won't actually die. The problem is that the danger level is high enough that dying wouldn't be strange at all."
"...Will that let us save Dad?"
"For now, this is the surest way to save Koma."
"Then I'll do it."
The moment she heard that Koma could be saved, Eto accepted the plan without another thought.
Hitokawa looked startled.
"You're deciding that fast? You won't regret it?"
"I'd be wasting time if I hesitated, and wasting time if I regretted it. What do I need to do?"
Eto's resolve looked firm.
She sometimes showed a maturity that didn't fit her age, but right now her composure was so complete it felt almost alien.
The mismatch was so sharp it was a little unsettling.
Hitokawa stared at Eto for a while, then finally opened his mouth under her impatient gaze.
"Do you know the phrase 'make a diversion in the east and strike in the west'?"
"It means making noise in the east and attacking in the west, right?"
"You know your stuff. You'll handle the 'diversion in the east' part, and I'll handle the 'strike in the west' part."
The gist was simple. Eto would cause a disturbance at the front entrance of the abandoned building to draw out the Ghouls inside, and in the meantime Hitokawa would slip in through the back and take Koma out.
As Eto listened carefully, she narrowed her eyes and looked at Hitokawa.
"But wouldn't it be better if Hitokawa-uncle did that part?"
"Of course I'd prefer that too. I feel awful making a kid like you take the most dangerous role. But I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm a Ghoul Investigator."
Eto looked at him as if to say, So what?, then soon seemed to understand and her eyes brightened.
Ghoul Investigator. As the natural enemy of Ghouls, Ghouls knew their habits well.
They usually moved in pairs.
So if a Ghoul Investigator showed up alone and attacked, they would naturally suspect another investigator was nearby and stay on guard.
In the worst case, they might decide investigators had come in force and flee.
If they abandoned Koma and disappeared, that would be fine. But if they took him with them, the situation would become disastrous.
In the end, to get Koma out for sure, Eto rather than Hitokawa had to act as the bait.
Once she understood, Eto let out a sigh.
"That's a pretty high difficulty setting."
"Once Koma's out, I'll call for CCG backup immediately. If you don't want to get dragged into Cochlea, get out of there right away."
"Huh? You're thinking about me? Even though I'm a Ghoul?"
"If you'd just go into Cochlea on your own, that would be great for me. One headache solved. The problem is that Koma won't sit still."
Hitokawa fell silent, his expression grim.
Yes, Koma was that kind of man. Just like when he had once saved the bullied Hitokawa, he would go straight down into hell to drag someone back out if that was what it took to save them.
If Eto were locked up in Cochlea, he would use every means available to rescue her. If that meant dirtying his own hands, he would absolutely do it.
He was not the kind of man you could talk down with words. Hitokawa had been overlooking that all this time.
Hitokawa looked at Eto. She looked back up at him, as if asking why.
"...Hey, Eto. Promise me one thing here."
"What is it?"
"In the fight that's about to happen, don't let anyone die."
"I'd like that too, but if we make a commotion, the ones who kidnapped Dad are going to come charging in to kill us."
"Like I said before, if someone's throat has to be cut, I'll do it. You don't cross that line any further. You have to go back, don't you? To your everyday life with Koma."
"...!"
Eto looked genuinely surprised.
She hadn't expected those words to come from Hitokawa, the same man who had denied the relationship between Ghouls and humans and tried to keep Eto and Koma apart.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. I still think your relationship is dangerous. Even if things are peaceful now, I haven't changed my mind that someday it'll all come crashing down."
"Then why...?"
"...After everything that happened today, I realized it would be stupid to try to force or persuade you. The affection between you and Koma is definitely real. If I try to sever that by force, you'll fight back hard. Just like now."
If this had been the Hitokawa from a few days ago, he wouldn't even have considered such a thing.
But after watching this father and daughter for years, and seeing Eto willing to take risks for Koma, he had started to think differently.
"But there's no fairy-tale ending in this world where 'the two of them lived happily ever after.' Someday, something will happen that breaks your relationship. So at the very least, I need to be there when it happens. As someone who knows the two of you, I'll do my duty there. That's the furthest I'm willing to compromise. I won't allow anything beyond that."
Hitokawa had spoken indirectly, but Eto understood what he meant.
Something that would break the father-daughter relationship. Most likely, the day Eto could no longer control her instincts as a Ghoul.
Whatever the cause, if Eto ever lost control of herself, someone would definitely be killed or hurt. Whether it was a stranger, an acquaintance, or Takaki Koma himself.
In that case, Hitokawa was declaring that he would personally cut Eto down.
Even after hearing that cold, blade-like voice, full of nothing but sincerity, Eto didn't tense up.
Instead, she looked at Hitokawa with the most trusting eyes she had shown so far.
"That's exactly what I want."
A means to stop her when she went beyond control. Eto wanted that too.
Especially now that she was aware of the "dangerous element" sleeping inside her.
"Then let's get moving."
Hitokawa slung the metal case over his shoulder, and Eto nodded. That was when—
"Um..."
It was the girl who had saved them, Shiho. She approached them cautiously.
Hitokawa waved her off.
"Go home. Don't hang around places like this again."
"B-but..."
Shiho seemed to have something to say, and she hesitated with both hands clasped near her chest.
Were they worried about the two of them going into the abandoned building? At first, that was what they thought.
But it didn't take long to realize that wasn't it.
A faint metallic glint showed between her clasped hands. What she was stubbornly holding onto was the pistol she had brought for revenge.
This child was still clinging to revenge.
The moment Hitokawa realized that, his expression hardened.
"Hey, you—!"
"Wait! Let me talk!"
Eto stepped in, deciding that if Hitokawa got worked up, things would only get more tangled.
Eto carefully approached Shiho, then met her eyes gently.
"You said your mother was killed by Ghouls, right?"
"Uu..."
Big tears welled in Shiho's eyes.
Of course they did. She had lost her mother and then seen something like that. It was more than enough to leave a lifelong trauma.
For a child to be lured in by someone she didn't even know and start dreaming of revenge at that age, it was probably because revenge was the only thing she had left to cling to.
"You want revenge?"
Shiho nodded heavily.
Eto continued in a solemn voice.
"I understand. I'll let you have your revenge."
"Hey, hey! What are you saying?"
Hitokawa raised his voice in disbelief.
This wasn't some RPG game. She couldn't seriously be suggesting they take this powerless little kid along and storm in, could she?
Hitokawa was about to argue, but Eto raised a hand to stop him. She wanted him to trust her and wait a little longer.
"Put your anger and hatred for the person who killed your mother into that gun."
"...?"
"And then give me that gun? I'll shoot the murderer with it. I'll make sure your anger and hatred reach that bastard."
Eto held out both hands toward Shiho.
Shiho looked back and forth between those palms and Eto's face.
Maybe it was the calm voice, like a lullaby, or maybe it was the gentle look in her eyes. Hesitantly, Shiho placed the pistol in Eto's hands.
Eto gripped the gun tightly.
"Thank you. Can I ask one more favor?"
"W-what is it?"
"Go home and pray that we come back safely. If you pray hard, we'll be able to draw on that much more strength!"
At Eto's words, Shiho nodded seriously, as if she had been given a grave mission. Then she quickly turned and ran off. She would be home soon enough.
Once she confirmed that Shiho had completely disappeared from view, Eto turned back to Hitokawa and held out the pistol.
"Here, the gun. Since I promised Shiho, please put a bullet in those guys' heads whenever you get the chance."
Hitokawa took the gun with a dazed expression, then couldn't help letting out a sound of admiration.
"You're going to be great at raising a kid if you ever have one."
"I learned it from Dad! I get it all the time too."
Eto puffed out her chest proudly, then tilted her head as if something had suddenly occurred to her.
"But how do kids happen?"
"All right! Let's hurry and go save Koma!! We've wasted too much time!!"
The one question a child could ask that was the hardest to answer, Hitokawa immediately changed the subject and dodged it.
Eto looked at him strangely, then called after his retreating back.
"Hitokawa-uncle! Wait a second!"
"Huh? What is it?"
Eto pointed toward the two corpses left abandoned in the corner.
"Let's cut off those Ghouls' heads and take them with us. It'll be effective for provoking them."
"Are you a kid or an adult? Pick one and stick with it."
Normally, even adults wouldn't think of something like that, but she was truly impossible to read.
And time passed.
"I'm going to die?"
Eto blinked in confusion.
Hitokawa also wore a face that said he hated having to say this at all.
"To be exact, you won't really die. The problem is that the danger level is 'so high it wouldn't be strange if you died.'"
"...If I do that, can I save Dad?"
"For now, this is the surest way to save Koma."
"Then I'll do it."
The moment she heard that Koma could be saved, Eto accepted the proposal without any more hesitation.
Hitokawa looked surprised.
"You're deciding that right away? You won't regret it?"
"I'd be wasting time if I hesitated, and wasting time if I regretted it. What do I need to do?"
Eto's determination looked unwavering.
She sometimes showed a maturity that didn't fit her age, but right now Eto's composure was so complete it felt distinctly unfamiliar.
It was enough to make him feel a slight aversion to the unspoken dissonance.
After staring at Eto for a while, Hitokawa finally answered under her urging gaze.
"Do you know the phrase 'make a noise in the east and strike in the west'?"
"That's a military tactic where you make noise in the east and attack in the west."
"You know it well. Here, you'll take the 'make a noise in the east' role, and I'll take the 'strike in the west' role."
The point was this: Eto would cause a commotion near the front entrance of the abandoned building to lure out the Ghouls inside, and in the meantime Hitokawa would enter through the back and pull Koma out.
As Eto listened carefully, she narrowed her eyes and looked at Hitokawa.
"But wouldn't it be okay for Hitokawa-uncle to do that?"
"Of course I'd like that too. I feel extremely uneasy making a kid like you take the most dangerous role. But I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm a Ghoul Investigator."
Eto looked at him as if to say, And what of it?, then soon her eyes brightened as if she understood something.
Ghoul Investigator. As the natural enemy of Ghouls, Ghouls knew their habits well.
They normally moved in pairs.
So if a Ghoul Investigator appeared alone and attacked, it would be obvious they would suspect another investigator was nearby and stay wary.
In the worst case, they might decide investigators had come in a group and run away.
If they left Koma behind and disappeared, that would be fine. But if they took him with them, the situation would spiral into the worst possible outcome.
In the end, to pull Koma out for sure, Eto rather than Hitokawa had to act as the bait.
After understanding the situation, Eto let out a sigh.
"That's a pretty high difficulty level."
"Once Koma's rescued, I'll request support from CCG immediately. If you don't want to get dragged into Cochlea, get out right away."
"Oh? You're thinking of me? Even though I'm a Ghoul?"
"If you'd just go into Cochlea on your own, that would be great for me. One troublesome problem solved. The issue is that Koma won't sit still."
Hitokawa fell silent, his expression heavy.
Yes, Koma was that kind of guy. Just like when he had saved the bullied Hitokawa, he would come down into hell himself to drag someone back up if that was what it took to save them.
If Eto were locked in Cochlea, he would use every means at his disposal to rescue her. If he had to dirty his own hands to do it, he surely would.
He wasn't someone you could persuade with words. Hitokawa had been overlooking that until now.
Hitokawa looked at Eto. She looked back up at him, as if asking why.
"...Hey, Eto. Promise me one thing here."
"What is it?"
"From now on, in the fight that's about to happen, don't let anyone die."
"I'd like that too, but if we make a commotion, the ones who kidnapped Dad are going to come charging in to kill us."
"Like I said, if someone's throat has to be cut, I'll do it. You don't go any farther than that. You have to go back, don't you? To your everyday life with Koma."
"...!"
Eto looked honestly surprised.
She hadn't expected those words to come from Hitokawa, who had denied the relationship between Ghouls and humans and tried to keep Eto and Koma apart.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. I still think your relationship is dangerous. Even if things are peaceful now, I haven't changed my mind that someday it'll definitely end in disaster."
"Then why...?"
"...After everything that happened today, I realized it would be foolish to try to persuade or force you. The affection between you and Koma is definitely real. If I try to sever it by force, you'll resist fiercely. Just like now."
If this had been the Hitokawa from a few days ago, he wouldn't even have thought of such a thing.
But the sight of this father and daughter over the years, and Eto's willingness to take risks for Koma, had made him think about many things.
"But there's no fairy-tale ending in this world where 'the two of them lived happily ever after.' Someday, something will happen that breaks your relationship. So at the very least, I need to be there when it happens. As someone who knows the two of you, I'll fulfill my responsibility there. That's the furthest line I can compromise on. I won't allow anything beyond that."
Hitokawa had spoken indirectly, but Eto understood the meaning behind it.
Something that would break the father-daughter relationship. Most likely, the day Eto could no longer control her instincts as a Ghoul.
Whatever the cause, if Eto could no longer control herself, someone would definitely be killed or hurt. Whether it was a complete stranger, an acquaintance, or Takaki Koma himself.
In that case, Hitokawa was declaring that he would personally cut Eto down.
Even after hearing that cold, blade-edged voice, full of nothing but sincerity, Eto didn't tense up.
Instead, she looked at Hitokawa with the most trusting eyes she had shown so far.
"That's exactly what I want."
A means of stopping her if she ever went out of control. Eto wanted that too.
Especially now that she was aware of the "dangerous element" sleeping inside her.
"Then let's get moving."
Hitokawa slung the metal case over his shoulder, and Eto nodded. That was when—
"Um..."
It was Shiho, the girl who had saved them. She cautiously approached their side.
Hitokawa waved her off.
"Go home. Don't hang around places like this ever again."
"B-but..."
Shiho seemed to have something to say, and she hesitated with both hands gathered near her chest.
Were they worried about the two of them going into the abandoned building? At first, that was what they thought.
But it didn't take long to realize that wasn't it.
A faint metallic glint showed between her clasped hands. What she was stubbornly holding onto was the pistol she had brought for revenge.
This child was still clinging to revenge.
The moment Hitokawa realized that, his expression hardened.
"Hey, you—!"
"Wait! Let me say it!"
Deciding that if Hitokawa got worked up the situation would only get more tangled, Eto cut in.
Eto carefully approached Shiho, then met her eyes gently.
"You said your mother was killed by Ghouls, right?"
"Uu..."
Big tears spilled from Shiho's eyes.
Of course. She had lost her mother and then seen something like that. It was more than enough to leave a lifelong trauma.
For a child to be lured in by someone she didn't even know and dream of revenge at that age, it was probably because revenge was the only thing she had left to rely on.
"You want revenge?"
Shiho nodded heavily.
Eto continued in a serious voice.
"I understand. I'll let you have your revenge."
"Hey, hey! What are you talking about?"
Hitokawa raised his voice in disbelief.
This wasn't some RPG game. She couldn't seriously be suggesting they storm in with this powerless little kid, could she?
Hitokawa was about to object, but Eto raised a hand to stop him. She wanted him to trust her and wait a little longer.
"Put the anger and hatred you feel toward the person who killed your mother into that gun."
"...?"
"And then give me that gun? I'll shoot the murderer with it. I'll make sure your anger and hatred reach that bastard."
Eto held out both hands toward Shiho.
Shiho looked back and forth between those palms and Eto's face.
Maybe it was the calm voice, like a lullaby, or maybe it was the gentle gaze. Hesitantly, she placed the pistol in Eto's hands.
Eto gripped the gun tightly.
"Thank you. Can I ask one more favor?"
"W-what is it?"
"Go home and pray that we come back safely. If you pray hard, we'll be able to draw on that strength too!"
At Eto's words, Shiho nodded seriously, as if she had been given a solemn mission. Then she quickly turned and ran off. She would go straight home like that.
After confirming that Shiho had completely disappeared from sight, Eto turned back to Hitokawa and held out the pistol.
"Here, the gun. Since I promised Shiho, please put a bullet in those guys' heads whenever you get the chance."
Hitokawa took the gun with a blank expression, then couldn't help but let out an exclamation.
"You'd be good at raising a kid if you ever had one."
"I learned it from Dad! I get it all the time too."
Eto puffed out her chest proudly, then tilted her head as if something had just occurred to her.
"But how do kids happen?"
"All right! Let's hurry and go save Koma!! We've wasted too much time!!"
Hitokawa, who had just received the number one hardest question to answer from a child, immediately changed the subject and dodged it.
Eto looked at him strangely, then called out to his retreating back.
"Hitokawa-uncle! Wait a second!"
"Huh? What is it?"
Eto pointed toward the two corpses left lying in the corner.
"Let's cut off those Ghouls' heads and take them with us. It'll be effective for provoking them."
"Are you a child or an adult? Pick one and stick with it."
Normally, even adults wouldn't think of something like that, but she was truly impossible to read.
And time passed.