The cold yet sweet, mellow liquor bloomed across his taste buds as it slid down his throat. There was also the faint, gentle sensation left behind by the slender fingers that had brushed his chin, all of it strangely intoxicating. Under the dim lights of the bar, Hayashi narrowed his eyes in enjoyment, feeling utterly at ease.
"How does it taste?" After pouring the drink, Itori set the wine glass aside and asked with a soft laugh.
"Very good. It is genuinely great wine." After finishing it, Hayashi wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
"You trust me that much? Aren't you afraid I poisoned it?" As she spoke, Itori placed the glass aside, a teasing glint flashing in her beautiful eyes.
"For me, whether you poisoned it or not doesn't really matter," Hayashi replied calmly, his tone natural and unbothered. He was telling the truth.
The Horse Talisman could purge all external influences. No matter how potent the poison was, it was still an external force and could not harm him in the slightest. And even if that failed, he still had the Dog Talisman as a trump card; he simply could not die. If you could not be injured and could not die, why bother worrying about such things at all?
"Looks like I've met an interesting little guy." Itori rested her pale hand under her chin, a flicker of surprise and curiosity flashing through her eyes.
In fact, the wine really was poisoned. Not the kind that killed instantly, but a toxin that caused intense pain throughout the body shortly after ingestion, usually within thirty seconds. That said, it was not something she had deliberately added just for him; it was simply a coincidence. This particular red wine was something she prepared for customers with special tastes. Some ghouls genuinely enjoyed that bone-piercing pain and took pleasure in it.
Yet Hayashi sat there completely unfazed, as if nothing at all had happened. That alone made Itori even more interested in him, the intrigue in her eyes growing stronger. She had not invited Hayashi here by chance, nor had she dragged him in on a whim. She had noticed him long ago and deliberately set this up.
After Mr. Bae was nearly beaten to death, Itori had learned of Hayashi's existence. A new god of slaughter had appeared within the CCG—a demon said to have crawled out of hell. Someone capable of casually beating an SS-class peak half-kakuja like Mr. Bae to the brink of death. Within the entire CCG, only the White Reaper was thought capable of such a feat.
And yet now, another person who could do the same was sitting right in front of her. As she looked at the white-haired boy before her, handsome and refined like polished jade, Itori felt her heartbeat quicken. It had been a long time since she had felt this kind of excitement.
"A bar is a great place to relax. The people who come and go here are usually carrying way too much pressure from daily life and want an outlet. So you get to hear all kinds of drunk complaints. Every type imaginable. Are you interested?" Itori reached for a bottle of vodka from the shelf and took out two glass cups. Her meaning could not have been clearer. It was almost as if she had written "you can ask me anything" right on her face.
"Is that so?" Hearing this, Hayashi merely nodded calmly. He understood the implication, but there was no need to ask anything. After all, he had watched the anime and read the manga. He already knew the script.
"So after hearing too much of it, it can get a little irritating." Itori lifted the bottle and poured the liquor into both glasses. "But it's also a kind of fun, isn't it?" After speaking, she slid one of the glasses toward him.
"That's true." Hayashi nodded and took a sip, the sharp burn spreading through his mouth.
"So if you ever want to vent, or just say something, you can come here. After a few drinks, you can say anything, do anything." Itori took a light sip herself, a faint smile resting on her delicate, alluring face. She looked like a kind, gentle big sister next door, warm and approachable.
"I understand." Hayashi drained his glass in one go and stood up.
If it were someone simple like Kaneki, he might have genuinely believed her words. But Hayashi, who knew the story inside and out, understood Itori's true nature very well. On the surface, she seemed gentle and considerate, but in reality, she was extremely cunning. Most of what she did was simply for her own amusement. That said, Hayashi himself was also looking for entertainment. When he got bored in the future, this place could be a decent spot to visit.
"Do you know why I like drinking AD calcium milk?" After settling the bill, Hayashi glanced at her with indifferent eyes.
AD calcium milk? Caught off guard, Itori froze for a moment, not reacting immediately. If she remembered correctly, that was just a drink, wasn't it?
"Because my B and C are already enough," Hayashi said lightly, then turned and walked out without looking back.
Bang.
Hearing the door close and watching the white-haired boy's retreating figure, Itori stood there for a few seconds before finally reacting.
"B and C… already enough?"
"What an interesting little guy," she murmured softly, then could not help but laugh. She had never heard anything like that before. It was so unexpected that she burst out laughing, an inexplicable sense of delight rising in her chest.
Even though it was only their first meeting, Hayashi had already brought her this much amusement. She had a feeling they would meet again. After all, opportunities for the two of them to cross paths in the future were bound to be plentiful. And next time, perhaps he would show her something even more interesting. Thinking of that, Itori took another sip of wine, a faint blush spreading across her refined face.