Amano Hiro did not dodge or flinch. From his back, several spear-tipped tentacles shot out at incredible speed, meeting Rize head-on.
"Puchi! Puchi!"
Rize's kagune, strong enough to tear through steel, was pierced and shredded by these crimson appendages as if they were paper.
The intense pain made Rize scream. Her prideful defense and attacks proved utterly worthless against him.
"Impossible! Who are you?!" Rize retreated in terror, realizing she had encountered a monster far beyond her ability to fight.
Amano Hiro gave no answer. One of his main tentacles shot out like a massive hammer, smashing toward Rize. She threw herself sideways with all her might to evade.
"KRRRRAAAASH!!"
The tentacle struck the ground where she had just stood, cracking the concrete.
Above her, suspended from the construction site, several massive steel beams suddenly emitted a screeching metallic sound from their joints.
"CRACK-!"
The huge beams, whistling through the air, fell toward the ground! They slammed down exactly where she had been standing, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
Rize lay on the ground, shaken, staring at the steel embedded in the earth. If she hadn't dodged just in time, she would have been crushed beneath it.
Even if she survived, she would have been seriously injured. She then looked at Amano Hiro, who had retracted his tentacles and now gazed at her coldly.
She understood. Just now, he not only attacked her but also saved her life. But why?
Amano Hiro ignored her question. The dark crimson substance covering his body receded like a tide, returning him to the handsome youth she had seen before.
He approached the unconscious Kaneki Ken, checked him over, and noted only fright and superficial injuries.
Lifting Kaneki in his arms, he glanced at Rize, who was struggling to rise, and said lightly, "If you want to know why, come with me."
Rize's expression shifted, and she stared at him deeply, hesitating briefly before following slowly.
Before leaving, Amano Hiro cast a glance toward the top of the construction site. Seeing no one, he muttered, "Old Tadokoro? Hmph, what trash."
Carrying Kaneki, Amano Hiro walked steadily through the night.
Rize trailed several steps behind, her inner turmoil far from settled.
The pain of her shredded kagune still throbbed. The terror of narrowly escaping death, coupled with the confusion brought by this mysterious boy, forced her to momentarily retract all her claws.
She stared at the seemingly fragile figure in front of her, completely unable to reconcile him with the abyssal demon-like presence from moments ago.
Who was he really? What was his purpose? Why did he attack her, yet save her in that critical moment? Endless questions swirled in her mind.
Finally, she could no longer remain silent. Her voice was hoarse from pain and tension. "You... what do you know? Why did you save me?"
She fixed her violet eyes on his back. "With your strength, you could have just now, "
Amano Hiro did not turn. He continued walking at the same unhurried pace until they reached a police station lit up ahead.
He gestured for Rize to stop in the shadows while he, silent as a phantom, carefully placed Kaneki in a visible but inconspicuous corner at the station's entrance.
Afterward, he turned back and walked toward his "home" as if he had just casually dropped off some garbage.
Watching these actions, Rize's confusion only deepened. She didn't understand why he would save this human, but she continued following.
The night grew deeper as they moved along the quiet streets, the atmosphere oppressively tense.
Rize's wounds throbbed, but what troubled her more was the persistent uncertainty in her heart.
Finally, by a nearly deserted riverside embankment, Amano Hiro stopped and turned to face Rize, who followed with eyes full of caution.
"You don't understand why I saved that boy," Amano Hiro spoke first, breaking the silence, "just as you didn't understand why you nearly got crushed by those steel beams."
Rize's heart skipped. Her violet eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? That was... an accident, wasn't it?"
"Accident?" Amano Hiro let out a light chuckle, tinged with sarcasm. "An SS-class ghoul, Binge Eater Kamishiro Rize, nearly dying because of deteriorating construction equipment? Do you really believe that?"
Without waiting for her answer, he continued: "That was the 'stage' prepared for you. From the moment you lured Kaneki Ken, to the route you chose, to the steel beams that loosened just enough... everything was calculated."
His tone remained calm. "Old Tadokoro, that lunatic from the Washu branch, and the mad scientist Kano Akihiro..."
"They share a single project: studying how to create a world-altering monster. What they need is a powerful, pure-blood ghoul to serve as a 'mother,' providing the best kakuhou and genetic material for breeding and experiments."
"Old... Tadokoro?" Her voice was dry.
Rize's face paled. Leaving the Washu family had indeed required his 'help.' Could it be...
"Mother...?" Rize repeated, trembling.
She had escaped the Washu family to avoid being used as a breeding tool for a pure-blood ghoul. She longed for freedom, to hunt and live as she pleased.
Yet now Amano Hiro told her that what she thought was escape was merely another, even crueler, trap.
Tadokoro's help had been just to turn her into convenient experimental material.
"Why... why would he do this?!" Rize's voice trembled with disbelief and a hint of betrayed anger.
Though she never trusted Tadokoro, she had never imagined this purpose.
"Madmen's logic, who can tell?" Amano Hiro observed the emotions surging in her eyes. "Perhaps revenge against the Washu family, perhaps to fulfill some twisted ideal of his own."
"Not just them. The Aogiri Tree is also very interested in you, a wandering pure-blood Washu. You're like a walking treasure. Everyone wants you. The difference is whether they want to lock you up as a breeding machine, or dismantle you as experimental material."
The wind along the riverside was chilly, making Rize shiver.
She had thought herself strong enough to control her own destiny. Now, she clearly felt an invisible net had already encompassed her.
Washu family, Old Tadokoro, Kano Akihiro, Aogiri Tree... unknowingly, she had become the target of multiple factions.
"Tell me all this..." Rize lifted her head, forcing calm as she faced Amano Hiro. "What do you want? Do you also want to make me a 'pawn' or a 'collection'?"
Amano Hiro raised an eyebrow, his tone teasing. "Why couldn't it be that I... like you?"
Rize did not believe him, simply watching him silently.
He met her gaze without denial.
"You may interpret it that way. But my approach is different from theirs. I don't need to lock you up, nor do I need you as a mother."
He paused, his voice carrying a strange, alluring quality. "I can provide you shelter, to keep those annoying flies away. You can still maintain your freedom as a Binge Eater.
And you... only need to offer a few insignificant favors when I require them."