Ward 20, inside a small house in a remote location.
A young and handsome man was cleaning the house, and there were also two small children, one boy and one girl.
This appeared to be an ordinary and warm family, but in reality it was not that simple...
The little girl looked about four or five years old and asked the young man, "Dad, what is Mom doing again?"
A kind smile appeared on the man's face. "Mom is doing something very important. Once she finishes, she will come back."
"Okay..."
Every time she asked like this, her father always gave the same answer.
But being so young, she could not think too deeply about it and believed that her mother was truly busy with very important matters.
After a while, the man finished cleaning.
"Touka, Ayato, I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back soon."
In order not to frighten young Touka and Ayato, the man informed the siblings before going out.
This man was Touka and Ayato's father, Kirishima Arata...
And Touka was only four or five years old at this time, while her younger brother Ayato was only two or three.
Even so, young Kirishima Touka was already somewhat sensible. When her father and mother were not home, she could take care of her even younger brother Ayato.
"Okay. Dad, be careful."
Little Touka said with concern.
After that, Kirishima Arata went out.
He was actually going to find Kirishima Hikari, his wife and the mother of Touka and Ayato.
Her original name was Yomo Hikari, and she was Yomo Renji's older sister. It was only after marrying Kirishima Arata that she changed her surname.
In order to find Kirishima Hikari, Kirishima Arata even left Ward 20 and went to another ward.
In the end, he found Kirishima Hikari covered in blood.
The air was filled with a thick smell of blood, and corpses were scattered everywhere on the ground.
To be precise, they were all ghoul corpses.
And without exception, the kakuhou of those ghoul corpses had all been dug out...
In fact, they had been eaten by Kirishima Hikari, so her mouth was covered in blood.
"Hikari, we should go back. Touka and Ayato both miss you."
Faced with such a bloody and terrifying scene, Kirishima Arata was still able to smile, because the person before him was his wife.
"Okay. Let me clean up a bit, then we'll go back together."
Kirishima Hikari smiled gently.
The ghoul corpses on the ground were left unattended.
Kirishima Hikari first washed the blood and scent off her body, and only then did she return home together with Kirishima Arata.
"Hikari... is it really alright for us to continue like this?"
Walking on the road, Kirishima Arata hesitated for a while before speaking.
"Even if it isn't, in order to protect you all, I can only do this."
Kirishima Hikari said with a smile.
"..."
Kirishima Arata fell silent.
Indeed, in order to protect Touka and Ayato, they had to make themselves stronger.
But Kirishima Arata felt deeply uneasy, because Kirishima Hikari did not only grow stronger through cannibalism, she would also go out hunting to bring food back for Touka and Ayato.
On this matter, Kirishima Arata and Kirishima Hikari had some differences in opinion.
However, due to Kirishima Arata's overly gentle and somewhat indecisive personality, once Kirishima Hikari had made up her mind, even if he felt it was inappropriate, he would only voice his opinion and never take a firm stance.
Now that Kirishima Hikari had already been targeted by the CCG, Kirishima Arata was even more worried.
Later, what Kirishima Arata feared did indeed happen. Kirishima Hikari was subjected to a CCG subjugation operation, even personally led by Arima Kishou...
Even though Kirishima Hikari's danger rating was SS, she was no match for Arima Kishou.
And the core reason for the subjugation was that Kirishima Hikari's existence made the Washuu Clan behind the CCG feel threatened.
Because Kirishima Hikari had grown stronger too quickly, the Washuu Clan feared that if she were allowed to continue developing like this, she would become another Yoshimura Kuzen.
One Yoshimura Kuzen might not pose too great a threat, but if there were several more, that would be different. So Arima Kishou, as a "Cleaner" of the V Organization, was sent in advance to eliminate Kirishima Hikari, this potential threat.
Later, the SS-rated quinque Narukami in Arima Kishou's hand was made from Kirishima Hikari's kakuhou...
...
Inside the Kirishima home.
Little Touka was playing with toys together with her younger brother Ayato.
Bang bang bang.
At that moment, a sudden knocking sound came from the door.
"Did Dad and Mom come back?"
Little Touka's face immediately lit up with joy.
She ran to open the door, but just as she stretched out her hand and was about to open it, her hand stopped midair.
Because she remembered that every time her parents came back, they would say "We're home." This time not only had there been no such words, but the knocking was also rather urgent.
Little Touka still remembered that her parents had told her never to open the door for strangers.
She always kept this in mind, so she did not open the door immediately.
"Y... who are you?"
Kirishima Touka asked.
The person outside did not respond and only kept knocking.
This made little Touka begin to feel afraid.
As the noise outside grew more impatient, the knocking soon turned into pounding.
Boom.
The door was smashed through directly.
Little Touka had already run over to hold Ayato tightly.
The sudden intruder wore gray clothing and a mask, panting heavily.
Seeing the young Touka and Ayato, he muttered to himself, "Only two little brats? As expected, it's the scent of our kind..."