"Clang!!!!"
The deafening sound of metal clashing rang right in their ears.
Kusaba and the other Investigator turned pale with fright and looked up in disbelief.
A Ghoul had appeared before them at some unknown moment.
A Kagune was less than a centimeter away from Kusaba's neck.
However, a blue-green longblade quinque was steadily blocking the Kagune that was aimed at Kusaba's throat.
"Hey, you two, stop dazing off and get lost."
The low voice pulled the two back to reality.
They turned to look and saw a man with a strange tattoo on his face looking down at them disdainfully.
"Ah!"
Kusaba finally cried out and fell backward, and the Investigator behind him quickly caught him.
"Th... thank you, Senior! Senior, we also want to..."
"Get lost."
Kusaba and the other man had complicated expressions as they bowed slightly.
"Then please be careful, Senior."
With that, the two quickly ran away.
Akuto then turned to look at Touka, who was wearing a Rabbit mask.
"Do you know what would happen if you killed them?"
"Mind your own business! You bastard!"
Touka's voice was full of anger.
"I'll tell you," Akuto said, completely unaffected. "You would provoke the CCG."
"Next, the CCG will send more Investigators. First Class, or even Special Class Investigators."
"They will search for the leaders of the Black Dobers and the Devil Ape, and they will also search for the Gourmet, Tsukiyama Shuu."
"And the place where they have all appeared is a gathering place for Ghouls."
"Then they will gather thousands of people to besiege Anteiku, and more people will die because of your recklessness."
"What do you know!!"
A furious Touka grabbed Akuto's collar, her kakugan filled with tyranny. "Did Ryouko deserve to die then!"
"Who deserves to die?"
Akuto's calm counter-question startled Touka, and she gradually calmed down.
"That brat," Akuto said with a sneer. "Didn't she tell you? The real reason Ryouko was caught."
"It was because of her."
"Not listening to her mother, running into a trap on her own, and getting her mother killed."
"Then she found Kaneki Ken. If that kid hadn't been such a coward, he probably would have been killed there because of her too."
"Then you go and ambush an Investigator, causing the CCG to be enraged and indirectly killing everyone in Anteiku."
Touka stared blankly at Akuto, released her grip, and stumbled back two steps.
"How... how is that possible... how could it be her..."
Akuto turned and walked into the darkness. "This is the first and last time I will help you."
"Because your stupidity will affect my plans. Go back and think it through."
–
Touka returned to the cafe in a daze and collapsed onto the floor the moment she walked through the door.
"Touka! Are you okay?"
Irimi Yuki hurried to help Touka up. The Manager, Yomo Renji, Koma Enji, and Kaneki Ken were all in the shop.
Hinami sat in the corner with vacant eyes.
The moment she saw Hinami, an inexplicable fire rose in Touka's heart:
"Was it you! Was it you who ran into the Investigators' trap and got Ryouko killed!"
"Why didn't you say anything!"
Touka grabbed Hinami's collar. It was only then that the others reacted and hurriedly pulled Touka away.
"Why didn't you listen to Ryouko!"
"Touka!"
The Manager roared, pulling Touka back from her anger.
She looked at her hands in disbelief, unable to believe that she had actually been berating a child for causing her mother's death.
Wasn't this secondary trauma.
"Ugh..."
Touka suddenly burst into tears and ran upstairs crying.
At that moment, Hinami trembled all over.
"It was me... I killed Mom..."
The others now understood the whole story. Among them, Irimi Yuki, Koma Enji, and Kaneki Ken had all heard what Akuto had said at the time.
Those words had actually come true.
They looked at each other with complicated expressions.
"Hinami, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault."
"Even if you hadn't gone there, the Investigators would have found you and Mrs. Ryouko."
The Manager offered a few words of comfort and said with a gentle face. "Stay here for now. Once the Investigators' inspections loosen up, we'll find a way to get you out."
A few days later.
Perhaps out of guilt, Touka was extra kind to Hinami.
However, Hinami clearly wasn't having it. She closed herself off, especially not wanting to see Touka.
"Hinami, are you there?"
"Go away!! I don't want to see you!"
Hinami's roar came from inside the room.
Touka turned and left with a complicated expression.
Inside the room, Hinami's tears burst forth.
Over the past two days, Hinami had also realized that the Investigators were looking for her everywhere, and Anteiku had no chance of getting her out.
"Sniff, sniff."
Suddenly, Hinami seemed to smell something.
"Mom..."
"Click!"
Outside the door, Touka, who had just walked away, heard the sound and immediately opened Hinami's door.
As it turned out, Hinami was nowhere to be seen in the room; only the window was still open.
"Hinami!"
Touka hurriedly chased after her, following the scent to find Hinami.
"Touka, what's wrong?"
Downstairs, Kaneki Ken, who was just about to return to the shop, saw Touka hurriedly jumping down from the second floor and quickly asked.
"Hinami is gone!"
"How could that be..."
The two immediately began searching anxiously.
"The scent is over here!"
The two split up to search for a while, but they didn't see Hinami at all.
"Kaneki, how is it on your side?"
"Nothing!"
"The scent... it's over there!"
A gust of wind blew, and Touka confirmed the direction again, quickly giving chase.
At that moment, under a bridge not far away.
Hinami followed Ryouko's scent to the bridge and saw a leather bag.
She opened it with trembling hands, and the moment she saw her mother's head inside, she let out a piercing scream.
"Ah!!!"
Kaneki heard the sound and hurriedly tracked it down. As he went down the stairs, he saw Touka also running in that direction.
And not far behind Touka, a person carrying a case was also quickly approaching.
"That's... The White Dove! Oh no!"
Not far away, Amon was running at full speed. He had already heard about the attack from Kusaba.
According to the description, that Ghoul was very fast and wore a Rabbit mask.
"That speed... it must be Rabbit!"
Suddenly, a figure landed in front of Amon.
"Who are you?"
The masked Kaneki slowly spread his arms. "I won't let you pass."
"An accomplice of Rabbit? It seems you are also a target that needs to be exterminated."
Koutarou Amon took a stance and took out his quinque.
Not far away, Touka ran all the way and saw Hinami curled up under the bridge, seemingly holding something in her hands.
"Hinami..."
Touka still felt guilty; she had been blinded by anger before and said some very bastardly things.
"Mo... m..."
But what Hinami said made Touka's heart go cold!
She looked closely. That leather bag... the scent it emitted was Ryouko's.
"Oh no, it's a trap!"
"Hinami! Come with me, quickly!"
"I don't want to!"
Hinami broke free from Touka's hand and lowered her head, murmuring. "Are Ghouls... not allowed to exist..."
"Let me go! To the place where Mama is..."
Touka was anxious and just wanted to pull Hinami away by force when she heard footsteps behind her.
"As expected of a fool, falling for the same trick twice."
"I really have to thank you."
Mado Kureo walked over slowly and saw Touka without her mask.
What truly made Touka's heart go cold was that she was still wearing her work uniform from the shop.
Her face and her work uniform were all exposed!
"We finally meet, Rabbit. I heard you attacked our investigators."
Touka knew she couldn't leave.
Things had developed to the worst possible outcome.
At this point, either she died, or this Investigator died.
If she died, everyone in Anteiku would be in danger.
But if the Investigator died... Akuto's words from a few days ago flashed through Touka's mind, making her heart even heavier.
I can't lose!
Touka swallowed hard.