These days, I've picked up a strange habit.
Whenever a shadow brushes past my feet, I look up.
I don't know when it started. It's just stuck to me now. I don't really feel like fixing it.
The owner of the shadow skimming past my feet was a flock of crows.
As the evening glow deepened, they must have been heading home too, moving in noisy clusters through the sky.
While I was watching them, the fishmonger auntie packing up tonight's mackerel side dish handed me a black bag.
"Here you go, young man. I packed you some especially fresh ones."
"Ah, thank you, ma'am."
"Wasn't that bright little girl with you today?"
"Her first semester classes started today."
"Oh dear! What a shame. Then I won't get to see her as often."
The auntie said it with no attempt to hide her disappointment.
Whenever she and Eto came shopping, she seemed to fall for the girl's cute face and friendly manner right away. Best not to mention that it was all part of an effort to get the price lowered.
Anyway, I'd bought all the ingredients I needed. Time to head home and get dinner ready before Eto got back.
Different food or not, meals should still be eaten together.
Just as I was thinking that and about to turn around—
"Kyaaah!!"
A shriek, sharp enough to tear the air. Mixed in with it was an irritating mechanical noise.
Was that... an engine?
Vrrrrrrr!
When I turned my head, I saw a motorcycle tearing down the market street at full speed. Behind it, a woman was sprawled on the ground as if she'd been knocked over by the impact.
And in the rider's hand, a woman's handbag that looked completely out of place.
I understood immediately. A snatch-and-grab.
Guess he didn't have anything better to do on a weekday.
The street wasn't that wide, but with the motorcycle charging straight at them, people were scrambling out of the way.
I had no choice but to hand my shopping basket to the fishmonger auntie and grab the metal chair she'd been using.
"Ma'am, let me borrow this for a second."
"W-what? What are you going to do with that?"
There was no time to answer. The motorcycle was already right on top of us.
If I let it pass, it would shoot straight out of the market and vanish onto the main road, so I hurled the metal chair in a hurry.
Like a villainous wrestler taunting his opponent—except unlike staged wrestling, I threw it with full intent.
"...!?!"
The thug jerked in surprise as the chair suddenly filled his vision, and he twisted the bike hard.
It was a dangerous swerve, but there wasn't enough room to avoid the chair completely.
In the end, the metal chair struck the thug's head.
The bike helmet kept him from taking a serious injury, but it couldn't stop the motorcycle from toppling over from the impact.
Crash!
Rider and bike both went tumbling across the ground, skidding past my side.
The motorcycle, now without a rider, rolled like a wild horse all the way to the display racks of the shop across the street before stopping with a dramatic strike.
After confirming no one had been hurt, I turned my attention to the thug lying on the ground.
He'd been scraped up badly in the fall, and as he got to his feet, torn clothes and flushed skin were exposed.
I couldn't see his expression because of the helmet, but I could tell from the atmosphere alone that he was glaring at me like he wanted to kill me.
This was the kind of situation where I should be running immediately, but maybe the shock of the fall had sent blood rushing to his head, because he was worked up enough to pull a knife from inside his coat.
A long fish knife, about thirty centimeters.
The thug pointed the blade at me without hiding his killing intent, and I shot him a look that said, What, and?
My calm, almost bored expression was apparently more than the thug could handle.
But come on. Try being in my shoes for once. I've already dealt with tentacles the size of giant pillars that could kill you if they so much as brushed you. Did he really think a measly thirty-centimeter fish knife would impress me?
Honestly, it looked so flimsy I almost felt sorry for him.
"You bastard!!"
Taking my deadpan stare as an insult, the thug cursed and charged.
I shifted into position, ready to respond.
No matter how much courage I'd built up, my body was still that of an ordinary human. If I got stabbed wrong, I'd die without question, so I kept every muscle tense.
I didn't have the movie-style skill to snatch his wrist and subdue him cleanly, so maybe I should kick the blade away. Good thing I'd worn shoes with thick soles today.
Just as the blade shot toward me and I lifted my right foot to cut off its path—
Whoosh!Smack!
A shoe flew in out of nowhere.
A fairly small shoe. It made me think of an immature owner. It slammed into the side of the thug's helmet.
It was only a shoe, but the effect it had was anything but ordinary.
The thug's head snapped sideways.
The helmet, already loosened a little when it hit the metal chair, was knocked completely off by the impact and flew away. The shock froze his body as if he'd been electrocuted.
"...!"
I was surprised by the sudden turn of events, but I didn't waste the opening.
My foot slipped past the thug's halted knife and drove deeper in.
More precisely, between the thug's legs.
Thud!!
"...!?!!"
With the helmet gone, the thug's exposed face twisted into a grotesque expression.
Sorry. I didn't want to do this either, man to man. But you brought a knife, didn't you? If I don't respond seriously, I'm the one who gets hurt.
I looked down along the thug's body as he collapsed, frothing at the mouth.
Then I noticed a shadow skimming across the ground and, by habit, looked up.
A small owl was flying between the buildings.
It looked young, as if it had only just started flapping its wings.
**
I barely managed to slip through the market residents who had suddenly started praising me like some kind of hero, and I headed home.
If I got held up by the police, I'd be late for dinner, so I asked the nearby people to handle the explanation and the thug's handover.
On the way home, once I'd confirmed there was no one around, I spoke up.
"Come down already."
A single line thrown into empty air.
And then, in the next instant, a shadow dropped from above my head like a lie.
Hair and skirt fluttering like wings.
A reddish-brown school uniform, still stiff with the freshness of new clothes.
A girl who looked just old enough to have entered middle school descended from the sky, spun around toward me, and smiled.
"You became the neighborhood hero in no time, Dad? Maybe I can get some special treatment the next time we go shopping."
Eto, who had entered middle school this year, walked up to me with puppy-like steps, as if waiting for me to do something for her.
I looked down. One of Eto's shoes was missing.
Of course, the missing shoe was already in my hand, recovered from the place where it had landed.
The very culprit who'd made a major contribution to catching the mugger was standing right in front of me.
Eto's bright, expectant eyes were clearly demanding payment.
-I did well, right? Praise me!
That was the message on her face.
Smirking at that cute demand, I reached out with both hands.
Then I grabbed both of her cheeks and stretched them hard to the left and right.
"Auuuuugh!?!"
Eto screamed at the unexpected pain.
Yeah, yeah. Payment is payment, but first comes discipline, my daughter.
Eto thrashed in surprise, but my pincers didn't let her go.
"Did I tell you not to run around on the rooftops, or did I not? Huh? People saw you and got scared!"
"I-I stayed hidden as much as I could!"
"People still see things when they see them! Try being me, having to explain that my middle-school daughter's hobby is parkour!"
"B-but I was definitely wearing safety shorts!"
"That's not the issue here, you brat! Still, good job making sure you were properly covered!"
After stretching and kneading Eto's cheeks like mochi for a while, I finally let her go.
Eto rubbed her reddened cheeks with slightly watery eyes.
"Uuugh... If I practice a little more, I think I'll be able to erase my presence completely..."
"You're still not reflecting on this, are you?"
I reached out again toward Eto, who was already showing signs of a repeat offense.
Expecting another punishment, she squeezed her eyes shut, and I placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair hard.
"Still, thanks for helping back there. You saved my life."
"!"
Eto, who had braced for discipline, opened her eyes wide and looked at me before breaking into a grin. Apparently, the payment was satisfactory.
"But be careful next time. It's better not to attract useless attention from people around us."
"Yes~!"
"You really did understand, right?"
Maybe it was because she was at that age, but lately Eto seemed to be asserting herself more than she listened to me. I sighed and looked at her.
It's not good for a child to obey her parents blindly, but not listening at all is worrying in its own way. A complicated feeling.
Whether she understood my thoughts or not, Eto skipped ahead in high spirits. I followed behind her with a wry smile.
So what if she was in puberty? That was just part of growing up.
Still, if the time ever came when she'd be disgusted even by washing her clothes together with her father's underwear... well, that would be pretty sad, wouldn't it? Just imagining it made me want to sit down and give up.
While I was imagining some future I couldn't predict, we'd already come close to home. With only a few more steps left, Eto suddenly stopped.
Not only that—she held out an arm in front of me and stopped my steps too.
"Eto?"
"..."
Eto didn't answer. Her whole atmosphere had changed.
The back of Eto, which had just been warm like sunlight, was now wrapped in a chill that felt like frost was about to gather there.
A slightly lowered stance. The tension moving under her skin. It didn't take long to realize she was on guard.
I followed Eto's gaze.
In front of our front gate.
Someone was there.
A person wearing a white jumper coat that covered them from head to just above the knees. Judging from the jawline visible beneath the hood, it was a man.
Who was he?
He wasn't my friend Hitokawa. There was no one else who'd be waiting for us in front of our house.
But from Eto's reaction, one thing was certain.
Eto would never react like this to an ordinary human. The same went for a Ghoul Investigator. In that case, she'd hide her hostility even more and emphasize that she was human.
There was only one kind of target Eto would openly show this level of caution toward.
Ghoul.
The man in the white jumper coat seemed to notice us and turned his head. Then he started walking toward Eto and me.
"Stop."
Before his foot could even touch the ground, Eto's emotionless voice cut him off.
"If you come any closer, I won't let you off."
"...Heh."
The man let out a dry laugh. It sounded like he couldn't believe she'd dare say that to him.
For a moment, irritation slipped out from under the hood, but he seemed to decide it was just a child's bravado and let the feeling go with a sigh.
Then, as if respecting the boundary Eto had set, he kept his distance and directed his gaze only at me.
"Are you Takaki Koma?"
I hadn't expected him to identify me by name so precisely.
I considered pretending otherwise, but judging by his appearance, he seemed to have come here with some idea of who I was.
For now, I decided to tell the truth and see how he reacted.
"...That's right. Who are you?"
After confirming that I was Takaki Koma, the man pulled back his hood.
He had a thick nose and a round face.
He looked fairly mild at first glance, but his sharply honed eyes and the crease between his brows made him seem like a vicious beast.
With a face that looked distinctly unwilling, he opened his mouth and gave his name.
"My name is Koma Enji. I was sent by Mr. Kuzen."
"Mr. Kuzen?"
My eyes widened at the unexpected name.