Eto and Hitokawa.
The two of them had always been at odds. It was usually Eto who showed the distaste, while Hitokawa played the part of the one constantly trying to bridge the gap. I had watched them for years. That was how I knew: Eto didn't actually hate him.
Eto is a mature child. She is the type to hide her own hunger out of worry for me. Because she puts me before herself, she rarely says 'it hurts' when in pain, and she rarely lets her 'dislikes' show on her face. Yet, Hitokawa was the only person in whose presence she would openly express her irritation. She was wary of him, yes, but she also knew he was someone with whom she could be her true self.
Only when dealing with Hitokawa did the adult-like Eto return to being the child her age suggested. It was a heartwarming sight, yet I often felt a pang of jealousy that Hitokawa was the one to draw that side out of her.
So, I left them to it. One was a Ghoul, the other a Ghoul Investigator. Even knowing they could never truly mix, watching them made me believe that perhaps the 'idle fantasy' my father once spoke of might actually manifest as reality.
I wanted to protect their relationship for just a little longer. I wanted to wait until Eto could truly open her heart and Hitokawa could face her 'essence' before the secret came out. We were moving forward—slowly, but surely. All we needed was a little more time, a small catalyst…
But before that moment could arrive, fate mocked my desires. A trivial accident shattered the tranquility of our daily lives.
I was disoriented, facing a catastrophe for which I was entirely unprepared. Still, I forced my sluggish brain to whir, searching for a path to survival. This wasn't the first time an Investigator had discovered Eto's identity; I suppose I had developed a certain immunity. Hadn't the same thing happened with my father?
The difference this time was that there was no escape. The blades of the Investigators lurking near the house to catch the 'Insect-Masked Ghoul' could all be turned toward us in an instant. The only mercy… was that unlike with my father, I could at least 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 to talk.
"...Eto, go outside for a moment."
"Daddy...?"
I spoke to Eto, who was peeking into the room. Before she could say a word, a cold voice cut her off.
"Stop. Don't move a single step."
𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩.
Eto's shoulders trembled as she stared at Hitokawa with wide, startled eyes. He must have felt like a stranger to her. The Hitokawa she knew was a man who never lost his warmth, no matter how coldly she treated him.
But things were different now. The Hitokawa standing before her was far colder than she had ever been to him. It was only natural. Eto's coldness was the wariness of a 'potential enemy,' but Hitokawa's was the vigilance of one facing a 'manifested enemy.'
He didn't have his Quinque; it had likely been an encumbrance while hiding. If he were currently armed, the atmosphere would have been far more lethal. I looked at Hitokawa, who was blocking Eto's path, and spoke.
"Let her go. There's nowhere for her to run anyway."
"...."
"Eto. Go to the living room and wait with Miina. Understood?"
Reading a silent affirmation from Hitokawa, I sent Eto down. She seemed to hesitate, but at my repeated insistence, she finally moved with heavy steps.
𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬.
The door closed, leaving only Hitokawa and me in the room. The silence was suffocating. We hadn't been this quiet around each other since we first met in elementary school. I scratched my head, wondering how to begin.
"You're right."
Answering his initial question was the only way to facilitate a real conversation.
"...Eto is a Ghoul."
I admitted it plainly. In a situation where he had clearly seen her Kakugan, a transparent lie would only complicate matters. I laid it all bare. It was the only way.
Next was Hitokawa's reaction. Our fates rested on it.
"...."
𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩. 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩.
Hitokawa bowed his head and clawed at his hair. He shook his head violently as if trying to clear a fog, then…
𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘨!!!
He slammed his fist into the wall. The wallpaper tore, leaving a deep indentation. Hey, man, don't break my house. He looked up, his face twisted in a mask of agony. It wasn't the pain of his bruised knuckles that caused it.
"Why!! What is the reason!! Why is Eto a Ghoul…!! And why are you…!!! For seven years!! All this time!!"
His words were frantic, barely coherent. He was struggling to maintain his composure; he was clearly in shock and drowning in confusion. The Eto he had been close to all these years was a Ghoul—a creature he was sworn to exterminate. A being that hid within society, lurking in the shadows to devour humans. A social evil that had to be erased.
That was Eto. The girl who always laughed brightly, who was strangely mature yet still a child, who was uniquely prickly only toward him, and who loved her father more than anything… 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 was the Ghoul he was supposed to hunt.
This was different from the time with my father. Me, Eto, Hitokawa—the 'trust' we had built over seven years was no small thing.
But even greater than that… was a 'distrust' of Ghouls that had been rooted inside Hitokawa for over twenty years.
He was trapped in the chasm between that trust and that distrust.
"Just why!! Why!!"
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥!! 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘨!!! 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩!!!
His fists hammered the wall incessantly. Unable to watch any longer, I grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Enough. You're tearing your skin off."
Thanks to him, a bloody abstract was being painted on my wall. I didn't want to fall asleep looking at a mess like that every night.
"Shut up!! Don't touch me!!"
He seemed to regain a shred of reason, at least enough to stop his self-destructive behavior. Instead, he glared at me with feral eyes.
"Why did you hide it?"
"I'm sorry. I had no choice."
"Eto's identity is one thing, but the fact that you're raising a Ghoul is what I can't wrap my head around!! Shouldn't 𝘺𝘰𝘶 be the one who refuses to forgive Ghouls the most!? Both of your parents were killed by them...!!"
𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘱…!!!
"...!!"
Hitokawa fell silent. Before he could finish his sentence, my hand, which had been holding his arm, tightened with crushing force. Something writhed deep within my chest. It was an emotion I could never show in front of Eto. Whenever a topic like this arose, it would crawl out of the shadows.
"Don't bring that up."
It was an emotion called hatred.
I am also human. I cannot be entirely free from my feelings. A significant amount of time had passed, but I still couldn't cast it aside—my feelings toward the Ghouls who took my parents' lives.
But Hitokawa was making one mistake.
"Eto is different. The Ghouls who killed my parents and the Ghoul I believe in are separate entities."
The Ghouls I hate are individuals, not a collective.
There were Ghouls like Mr. Kuzen, and then there were Ghouls who played dress-up as policemen. I do not commit the fallacy of generalizing that all Ghouls are evil simply because they are Ghouls.
I released Hitokawa's arm. The marks of my fingers were vivid on his skin. He stood there, his mouth slightly agape, and backed away. The fact that I had not forgotten my parents' killers had been communicated clearly in that brief moment of tension.
That was why he was so confused. Hitokawa couldn't understand my desire to protect Eto, especially after what Ghouls had taken from me. He leaned his back against the bloodied wall and slid down to the floor.
"Huff… huff… ......Explain."
A moment later, Hitokawa found his voice, uttering a single word. He wanted an explanation. I felt a wave of relief that he was at least willing to listen. The worst-case scenario I'd envisioned was him attacking us without a word, just like my father had.
Having cleared the first hurdle, I sat down across from him. I racked my brain, wondering how to convey the truth in a way he could accept.
"There was a Ghoul named Kuzen..."