The catastrophe that nearly sent Hitokawa to the grave was averted only through my desperate apologies.
Come to think of it, this whole mess started when I introduced the two of them as a newlywed couple. Hitokawa's clueless trolling was a problem too, of course.
Anyway, that was how six people ended up gathered around the table in our house.
It wasn't a particularly large table, so it felt pretty cramped.
To make a little more room, Eto sat on my lap. She seemed to enjoy rubbing her cheek against my chest far more than simply sitting still.
I let my gaze sweep over everyone there.
Eto, Hitokawa, Hoshino, Enji, Kaya, and me.
On the surface, it looked like an ordinary enough gathering.
But in reality, it was three Ghouls, two Ghoul Investigators, and one civilian.
...Why am I even mixed up in this?
I felt like a rabbit trapped between lions. The fact that one of those lion cubs was very attached to me was a small comfort.
Slurp.
After taking a sip of the coffee I'd brewed, Hitokawa finally spoke.
"The reason I came here, actually, is that things in Ward 7 have been getting pretty strange lately. Ghouls who usually do everything they can to avoid investigators have started crawling out into the open."
"Ghouls? Why?"
Ghouls generally don't want to expose any trace of their existence. Once investigators get a scent, they keep hounding them relentlessly.
So if there were suddenly more Ghouls out in the open, it meant something had happened to make hiding difficult.
"That's why I squeezed some information out of a small-fry Ghoul we caught recently. About a week ago, it seems two dangerous Ghouls drifted into Ward 7. Not one, but two. They're apparently quite strong. A few Ghouls were already found half-dead by investigators. They didn't even use their Kagune—they just wrecked them with their bare hands—so it's hard to pin down who they are."
As Hitokawa took another drink of coffee and Hoshino emptied her teacup, I glanced over at Enji and Kaya.
Was he talking about you two?
The timing fit them almost too perfectly. And as if answering the question, the two likely culprits quietly averted their eyes.
Later, I found out that on the day they first entered Ward 7, they'd beaten up some Ghouls who had picked a fight without knowing who they were dealing with.
That incident must have exposed their presence.
"But what does that have to do with them becoming more active and coming to our house?"
"Probably because they felt threatened, the local Ghouls started moving in groups. Looks like they've decided to drive out or wipe out any Ghouls who've set foot in Ward 7."
Again, at a moment when Hitokawa's companions wouldn't notice, I looked at Enji and Kaya.
Enji frowned as if he couldn't read the room, while Kaya curled one corner of her mouth in contempt. Of course, both of them quickly corrected their expressions before the investigators caught on.
Then, as if nothing had happened, they sipped their coffee while Hitokawa continued.
"As if those guys weren't enough of a headache, three days ago we found traces of a Ghoul group called [En] from Ward 20."
Puhah!
"Damn it, disgusting!"
"What's wrong!?"
When Enji spat out his coffee, Hitokawa and Hoshino, who were sitting across from him, jerked back in alarm.
Covering his mouth and coughing, Enji raised a hand in apology.
"S-sorry. I just choked...."
Even with that excuse, the panic in Enji's eyes was obvious. He seemed unable to understand why his group's name had suddenly come up here.
Eto got up to fetch a dishcloth from the kitchen, and while she was away, Hitokawa resumed.
"Anyway, that caused confusion on our side too. We were wondering why [En] would show up in Ward 7 when they have no connection to the area."
"And is [En] the only problem? Just yesterday, we found traces of the Black Doberman too."
Puhah!
It was Kaya who spat out her coffee at Hoshino's next words.
Eto, returning with the cloth, saw the mess that had spread across the table and twitched her cheek.
She looked as if she were thinking these people only felt satisfied if they got to spray coffee everywhere.
"A-are you okay?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine. I just choked for a second...."
Hoshino, innocent as ever, asked in a worried tone, and Kaya waved her hands to show she was fine.
She, too, was clearly as flustered as Enji.
Why are those guys here?!
Their expressions were practically screaming it.
Meanwhile, Hitokawa's expression turned slightly odd.
First Enji, now Kaya—he'd noticed that they were reacting to specific names.
[En] and the Black Doberman. Why were a newlywed couple who seemed to have no connection to them reacting this way?
Suspicion crept into his eyes, and just as his Ghoul Investigator aura was about to surface, Eto stepped in, sensing the danger.
By then, tears had already welled up in Eto's eyes, and she spoke in a pained voice.
"Actually... the two of them lost precious friends and family to those Ghoul groups in the past. I think hearing the names brought those memories back."
"Good heavens, how awful!"
Hoshino clasped both hands over her mouth, genuinely distressed. Even as a Ghoul Investigator, meeting victims of Ghouls was always heartbreaking.
Hitokawa still looked a little unconvinced, but there wasn't enough evidence to press the supposed victims, so he stayed quiet.
Ahem.
After clearing his throat to reset the mood, Hitokawa spoke again.
"Anyway, CCG headquarters is treating this as a territorial conflict between [En] and the Black Doberman—who apparently intruded into the area for reasons unknown—and the existing Ghoul groups in Ward 7. There's no way [En] and the Doberman, who are bitter enemies, suddenly formed an alliance overnight, so this has to be a three-way conflict. Headquarters sees this as a chance to wipe out all three groups at once. A large-scale extermination is coming soon."
Flinch.
At the words "large-scale extermination," Enji and Kaya reacted ever so slightly.
If their groups really were in Ward 7, then didn't that mean they were the targets now?
"The Ghouls are moving through the sewers right now. We need to seal off every sewer entrance and evacuate the residents near the designated sewer routes in case any Ghouls manage to escape."
Today, Hitokawa and the others had come here to issue evacuation warnings to nearby residents.
Even if the sewer entrances were sealed, anything could still happen.
I read the tension on Enji and Kaya's faces.
Speaking for them, I asked Hitokawa when the extermination would begin. We'd have to get their companions out before it started.
"When's the extermination?"
"Tomorrow."
Are you kidding me? You tax-wasting bastards.
That was way too soon.
"We have to move fast before they catch on and run. So everyone needs to pack up and head to the evacuation shelter by midnight today."
After saying that, Hitokawa leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Obviously, the shelter has Ghoul detectors, so Ghouls can't get in. Don't go to the shelter. Just take a trip somewhere or something."
It was advice from Hitokawa, who knew Eto's situation.
I nodded to show I understood.
As a Ghoul Investigator, he couldn't openly help us, but the fact that he was quietly lending a hand like this made it clear he was on our side. That was reassuring.
Enji and Kaya, with their sharp hearing, showed a flicker of surprise.
They'd overheard that last exchange and realized Hitokawa was turning a blind eye even though he knew Eto was a Ghoul.
That made two things that defied their common sense: a human raising a Ghoul, and now this.
Enji shot me a look, asking whether it would be a problem if their identities were exposed. Seeing Hitokawa's behavior must have given him some hope.
I shook my head.
Right now, he only recognized Eto. He was still a Ghoul Investigator.
**
"Well then, my business here is done. Thanks for the coffee."
"See you again, Eto~!"
Hitokawa stood up, slinging his metal case over his shoulder, and Hoshino, reluctant to part with Eto, had to hug her several times before finally letting go.
After seeing Hitokawa's group out at the front door, I returned to the living room.
At last rid of the headache, Enji and Kaya had regained their usual composure and were calling someone on their phones.
Ghouls wouldn't be using officially registered cell phones, so they were probably using burners.
"Where are you?"
"Where are you?"
Low voices came from Enji and Kaya as they connected to the other end.
They were trying to sound calm, but the murderous edge in their voices carried all the way over here.
"They look like office bosses who just found out their underlings caused a huge disaster."
"They probably are bosses. With how strong those two are, they'd definitely be in leadership positions."
Eto, sitting beside me, sipped her coffee and offered her own take.
And as if to match the office-boss comparison, the voices of their thoroughly cowed underlings came through the phones.
"B-brother! The thing is...."
"I'll explain everything, big sister!"
The connection was noisy, probably because they were calling from underground. Still, it wasn't so bad that we couldn't make it out.
Putting together what we heard, the situation was roughly this:
The underlings knew their two leaders had come to Ward 7 to fulfill Kuzen's request. But for some reason, the leaders hadn't returned even after all this time, and then word came that the opposing faction's leader had appeared in Ward 7.
The underlings assumed, as always, that their hated rivals had shown up to interfere with their work.
It was concern for their leaders' safety, mixed with excessive loyalty. They'd secretly infiltrated Ward 7 so they could rush over the moment their leaders called.
Just the presence of Enji and Kaya had already stirred up the Ghouls in Ward 7, and now that the [En] and Black Doberman groups had shown up too, the movement had escalated, prompting the CCG to quickly prepare a large-scale extermination.
After hearing the whole story, the two of them let out deep sighs.
Then they spat out words that sounded like blazing fire and freezing frost.
"So you idiots were dying to get beaten senseless again after all this time."
"You moved on your own without even waiting for my orders? Did you really think so little of me?"
[Brother! We've committed a crime worthy of death!!]
[Big sister! The underlings did nothing wrong! Please, punish me alone and forgive the rest!!]
The voices over the phone were practically on the verge of tears, pitiful enough that even a complete stranger would have felt sorry for them.
Enji and Kaya were still furious, but they knew this wasn't the time.
They postponed the punishment for later and ordered everyone to get out of Ward 7 immediately.
[Uh, boss. There's a slight problem....]
[Big sister, I'm terribly sorry, but....]
Their hesitant voices were enough to fill Enji, Kaya, and even Eto and me with a bad feeling.
[At every route that could be used to escape through the sewers....]
[...Ghoul Investigators are everywhere, so we can't get out.]
CRACK!!!
Unable to contain their rage, the cell phones in their hands crumbled like cookies.
Eto and I drained the rest of our coffee and each muttered a comment.
"...CCG is efficient."
"...As a civilian, it's reassuring. As a Ghoul dad, it's terrifying."
Once a Ghoul gets properly marked, there's no easy way out. That was the CCG for you.