After Hitokawa left, we moved down to the living room. I wanted to clear my head, but my room was such a disaster after our brawl that I couldn't bear to stay there. Minami, who had been there just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen. Had she gone home?
Before I could ask, I saw Eto returning with the first-aid kit. As I sat down, she opened the box and tore a piece of gauze in silence.
The gauze, soaked in antiseptic, pressed against the gash on my cheek. The moment the alcohol hit the bacteria near the wound, they were annihilated—but not before taking a final, spiteful stab at my nerves. It stung like hell, but I kept my face neutral.
"...."
"...."
Neither of us spoke. An uncomfortable silence lingered in the air. Eto, focused on tending my wounds, tried to hide her emotions, but it was painfully obvious that she was more drained than usual.
She must be terrified. Simply because her nature as a ghoul had been exposed, the daily life she had known—her entire world—was on the verge of collapse. Perhaps she was suppressing her own anxiety because she knew I was already grappling with an equal measure of my own.
"...Mm. No, this won't do."
I couldn't stand it. No matter the circumstances, I hated seeing Eto look this despondent.
"Let's eat! We'll eat first, then worry about the rest!"
"...Eh?"
Eto looked at me, her eyes wide with confusion. As her emotional guard slipped, the anxiety she had been hiding flickered across her face. Get out of here, you bastard. How dare you cloud my cute Eto's face?
"You have school to get to! Didn't you say you have a recorder test today? As a show of support, I'll even drizzle some of my own blood on your breakfast as a 'special sauce.' I managed to draw a good amount during my transfusion the day before yesterday!"
I forced a bright, energetic tone, throwing a metaphorical uppercut at the heavy emotion called 'anxiety' looming over Eto. That bastard, Anxiety, tried to hang on, muttering, 'Weak. So weak.' Oh, really?
Eto lowered her head, clearly seeing through my forced cheerfulness.
"But Dad..."
"It's okay."
I knew exactly what she was going to say, so I cut her off and playfully ruffled her hair. Then, I spoke with a voice full of conviction.
"You probably don't remember, but we've been through crises much worse than this. Back then, there was no talking—people were just trying to kill us right out of the gate. It was a real nightmare."
I glanced toward the Buddhist altar where my father's memorial tablet was enshrined, as if seeking confirmation. Whether by chance or a trick of the light, the photograph of my father next to the tablet seemed to be looking away from me.
"Hitokawa said he'd be back tomorrow. That means he's willing to talk. As long as there's a dialogue, there's a chance."
"But..."
"'Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.' A famous psychologist said that. If we claim to be civilized beings, we have to know how to fight with words. ...Well, I did just let my temper get the best of me and threw a punch, but let's call that an exception. I'll clear my head now, and tomorrow, I'll tackle him with words. I might be lousy at brawling, but I'm confident in a war of nerves."
I leaned down to meet Eto's eyes, then gently pinched her soft cheeks and pulled them upward into a grin.
"So, smile. Your dad is heading into a major battle; you have to give me the best cheer you've got. Right?"
When I let go, Eto rubbed her slightly tingling cheeks. Then, she let out a small, genuine laugh and a soft smile graced her face.
"Yes. Dad's silver tongue is invincible!"
"I'm not sure 'silver tongue' is the right term for a pep talk, but... anyway! We're going to win! 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩!"
"𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩!"
I thrust my fist into the air, and Eto mirrored the gesture.
I wore a boisterous smile to blow away Eto's fears... but deep down, I wasn't smiling at all. If everything in this world could be solved through dialogue, war would never exist. But what is the reality?
Conflicts arise because people find it easier to abandon dialogue in favor of differences in interest, ideology, or religion. And in this case, the difference was one of species—a difference tied to the very instinct of survival.
'In the worst-case scenario... I have to be prepared to cut ties with Hitokawa completely.'
Could I actually do it? I asked myself, but instead of an answer, that same anxiety that had been haunting Eto's face began to creep back into my own mind.
Minami Sinuoto hadn't walked far from Koma's house before she looked up at the sky. White, fluffy clouds drifted lazily by. The bright sunlight caressed her skin—neither too hot nor too cool—and a refreshing breeze brushed through her hair. It was a beautiful day. If one were to go on a picnic, today would be the perfect choice.
"Mmm~ The sky is clear♡. The sun is sparkling☆. And the commute to work is... 𝘞𝘏𝘈𝘛 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘈𝘊𝘛𝘜𝘈𝘓 𝘍𝘜𝘊𝘒...!!!!"
Minami, who had been walking elegantly while basking in the season like a girl in a romance manga, suddenly remembered she had to go to the office and let out a shriek. If anyone from the music industry had heard her, they would have immediately scouted her for a death metal band.
"Ugh~ I don't want to go to work~. I finally found some interesting people~. I wanted to play with Koma-kun a bit more~."
She recalled that intense look in Takaki Koma's eyes from the previous night. At the memory, Minami cupped her blushing cheeks like a girl in love.
As she hopped along like a rabbit, two shadows watched her from a distance.
"...Senior. That woman seems a bit... off in the head, doesn't she?"
"𝘜𝘨𝘩, 𝘮𝘮𝘮... It's our job, so we have no choice."
They were two Ghoul Investigators. Some of the personnel monitoring Koma's house had been tasked with trailing Minami. The reason, of course, was the ghoul in the insect mask. Since the motive behind last night's attack was unclear, they intended to surveil everyone associated with the target.
Minami had noticed the investigators almost as soon as she left the house.
'Geez~ How annoying.'
It didn't take long for Minami to reach the same conclusion Koma had. No one likes being used as bait to hook a ghoul. So, she decided to have a little fun with them.
Minami muttered loudly to herself about forgetting something, then spun around and headed back the way she came. The two trailing investigators turned away, pretending to be strangers busy with their own business. As Minami passed them, her eyes gleamed with a wicked light.
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥!
"𝘒𝘺𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢~! 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵!! 𝘏𝘌𝘓𝘗!!"
""!?!?!!""
Minami threw herself onto the empty pavement and screamed at the top of her lungs. The startled investigators spun around to look at her, only to be even more shocked to find her finger pointing directly at them. Their horror deepened as they realized the surrounding pedestrians were already closing in with murderous glares.
"What? A pervert in broad daylight?"
"And targeting such a beauty!"
"You absolute scumbags!"
Whether out of a sense of justice or a hidden desire to impress the fallen woman, people swarmed from all directions. Given that most were men, it was likely the latter.
"N-no! This is a misunderstanding!"
The investigators tried desperately to explain, but they were swallowed by a wall of people in an instant. In the chaos, Minami stuck her tongue out and slipped away into an alley.
"Hehe~ Serves them right."
Listening to the distant shouts of the investigators, Minami stretched as if she had finally shaken off a burden and ventured deeper into the alleyway.
And then...
𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘔!!
A heavy vibration shook the very earth. A massive human shadow dropped from the building above... though "human" was a stretch, given the grotesque face of the figure.
It wore a mask modeled after an insect. Saliva dripped from its gaping maw, pooling on the ground. Minami had seen this monster before. It was the very ghoul that had attacked last night.
"𝘒𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘩𝘦...!!"
Letting out a sickening, mocking laugh, the ghoul turned toward Minami.
"...Eh?"
Recognizing the creature, Minami's face froze into a mask of stone.
"𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵!! What do we do, Senior?! We lost the target because we were mistaken for perverts!"
"Just move! She couldn't have gone far!"
The two investigators, finally liberated from the mob, dashed into the alleyway after Minami. It wasn't so much that they had shaken the crowd off, but rather that the men had lost interest and dispersed once the "victim" disappeared.
They hadn't lost sight of her for long. The junior investigator had caught a glimpse of Minami entering the alley before the chaos, so they were able to track her. Fortunately, the alley was a single path with many turns. If they ran full tilt, they could catch up. With that thought, the two rounded the corner where they believed Minami had gone.
And there, they came face-to-face with a scene ripped from a nightmare.
𝘊𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩!! 𝘚𝘯𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘱!!
It was the ghoul in the insect mask. Through the compound eyes of the mask, a glimpse of the ghoul's Kakugan could be seen.
And from that ghoul's mouth, a fresh, severed female arm protruded, as if it had been ripped away moments ago.
𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘱! 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘱!
The sound of teeth grinding through bone and flesh simultaneously filled the air. As if that wasn't enough, the creature tilted its head back, gripped the long arm by its fingers, and shoved. Like sinking into a swamp, the woman's arm slowly vanished into the ghoul's gullet. The ghoul snapped its jaws shut.
"𝘒𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘩𝘦!!"
The monster let out a derisive, mocking laugh.