by Shin Towada
“The majority of ORC is online; we work through social media. Basically, we announce a theme, compile the research topics we get from that in a report, and then present it at a real-life meet-up. So the theme this time was obviously Ghouls.”
“So what the hell makes you think Kaneki’s a Ghoul? I’ve been friends with him since grade school, man!”
Without regard for Hide’s fed-up expression, Sankou opened her notebook and turned it toward him. It was jam-packed with a list of names, written in small script.
“What is this?”
“It’s a list of people under suspicion of being Ghouls.”
Hide leaned forward, staring at the notebook. With such a quantity, it was difficult to find Kaneki’s name on the list.
“Perhaps you already know this, Mr. Nagachika, but it’s said that Ghouls cannot eat human food.”
“Mmm, right, Ogura mentioned that in How to Spot a Ghoul, didn’t he?” Hide said.
Hisashi Ogura was a well-known authority on Ghoul research. If anything to do with Ghouls happened it was as good as certain that he’d be on television talking about it.
“Oh, you’re interested in Ghouls, too! That’ll make this conversation quicker. Have you seen Mr. Kaneki have a meal lately?”
“A meal?”
“Yeah. This month, we’ve been investigating whether there is a possibility that some people who have never been seen eating on campus are Ghouls.”
“What?! Just because of that?!”
Even recklessness had to have its limits. There must be tons of people who didn’t eat on campus.
“We’re going person by person collecting evidence at the moment. So, Mr. Nagachika. Have you seen Mr. Kaneki have a meal in the past month?”
“We’ve had a coffee together.”
He couldn’t understand what was going on, but Hide answered honestly.
“Can’t really say he’s in the clear, then.”
“Wait, hang on now! I mean, we’ve gotten food together hundreds of times before, just not in the past month!”
“Our investigation is focused solely on the past month. So in that case, we’ve got others to check out now. See you around.”
They did not listen to a word Hide had to say. Now that their task was done, they turned to leave. Their suspicions about Kaneki had not been lifted.
“Wait, wait, wait! Hey, I know!”
Hide slammed his hands against his knees and stood up.
“Let me help your investigation!”
Kiyama and Sankou turned to look at Hide, his fists raised in the air.
III
The members of the ORC were indeed active.
In the same manner as they’d approached Hide, they were conducting a survey of people around campus to confirm whether or not someone was eating.
Their activities were not limited to that. They also checked the patrol routes of the CCG’s 20th Ward branch’s investigators.
“Because an investigator was killed recently in the 20th Ward, they’ve stepped up patrols,” Kiyama explained as they crept along behind two solemnly patrolling investigators.
“I always thought people who were into the occult just sat in their rooms reading books,” Hide said earnestly, trailing behind Kiyama and Sankou.
“We do that kind of research too, of course. But there are some things like this that you’ve just got to see for yourself.”
Sankou, who did not speak much, nodded in agreement. Hide took a glimpse at her notebook. Nearly half the names crammed onto the page had been crossed out. If someone had witnessed the person eating, they were determined not to be a Ghoul and removed from the list.
“Hey, Sankou, come on, take Kaneki off too.”
“If Mr. Kaneki is seen eating I’ll remove him, but I’d like to maintain the status quo as there’s an ORC reporting meeting soon. If we have too few research subjects it’s no good.”
It doesn’t seem like these guys really think the kids on their list are all Ghouls. It sounds bad, but they’re concocting these “Ghouls” in order to write a report to submit at the meeting. Too bad for those who get caught up in it, Hide thought.
“Will you be coming to the meeting, Mr. Nagachika?”
“Would that be all right?” Hide asked, tilting his head.
“Everyone’s welcome! Come see the culmination of our Ghoul research!” Kiyama enthused.
“Okay, I’ll come see it with my own eyes!” Hide said, returning the excitement. But as soon as the other two turned their backs, he sighed.
Sankou’s notebook came into Hide’s line of sight again. In the end, he couldn’t get Kaneki’s name removed from the list until the day of the meeting.
Friday, 6:00 p.m. The ORC meet-up and reporting session was being held at a bar and restaurant downtown.
“It’s not just students, huh …”
The room they had reserved was crowded with men and women of all ages. But although there were many people there, only five groups had managed to put together a presentation on their investigations. And Kiyama’s group was the last of the five to present. When their turn came, they distributed handouts to the attendees and began to present the results of their investigation.
Although Kiyama’s group’s presentation did not get at the heart of what a Ghoul was, they reported that there was an unexpected number of people who did not eat in front of other people, meaning that Ghouls could easily mix with humans without being noticed. This, they concluded, raised the question of how one could uncover the evil lurking within everyday life, putting one’s real value as a person into question. Judging by applause, their report was well-received.
After the presentations, the meeting turned into a social event. Suddenly drinks began to flow. If anything, this revelry may have been the main point of the meeting.
“That’s it for now!”
The next research theme had been announced, and with that the talk of Ghouls was over. With that load off his shoulders, Hide felt relieved and reached for some bar snacks. His mind turned to more common lines of inquiry, like whether Kiyama and Sankou were dating.
“Hey, guys—thanks. Your research was pretty interesting.”
A man in his early twenties, with a beer in his hand, appeared and sat down beside them.
“Hm?”
“Call me Cain. It’s what I go by online,” the man said in reply to Hide’s nonverbal question mark.
“Oh, you’re that Cain!” Kiyama stood in surprise.
“What? Is he famous?”
“This man is a rising star among occult researchers! There was that investigation of the mysterious crying sounds coming from the bomb shelter used during the war, and the on-the-ground report from Aokigahara … When it comes to Ghouls, he’ll go to the big hospitals and visit the victims’ rooms. Any haunted spot, any ruin with a story behind it, he’ll go in without any fear to verify the rumors. He’s amazing!” Kiyama said passionately. Sankou, sitting next to him, nodded vigorously.
“But let’s not talk about me, when you guys are the stars of the evening. Your presentation was very interesting.”
Cain turned the group’s handout toward himself with a smile.
“I was particularly intrigued by the young man who has eaten with friends before but hasn’t been seen eating at all in the past month.”
“Eh?”
Hide’s eyes widened. The case Cain had taken note of was Kaneki.
“No, no, that guy’s totally normal,” Hide laughed, waving his hands to dispel the idea.
“How can you say so?” Cain replied.
“Well, man, he’s my friend. We’ve been hanging out since elementary school.”
“Oh, so this friend cited as a witness must be you, then. What’s your friend called?”
“Ken Kaneki …”
“Hmm.
Pretty normal-sounding name,” Cain said. “But, you know …” He paused. “It really hasn’t crossed your mind? That he could actually be an acquired-type Ghoul?”
The phrase made Hide’s heart pound.
“Acquired-type Ghoul? That’s a new one on me!” Kiyama said gleefully, jumping into the conversation.
“No, never,” said Hide, still pulling himself together. At this, Cain sighed wistfully.
“You’ve got no sense of romance. Building on the powers of the imagination to make all kinds of hypotheses is one of the best parts of the occult. I mean, I understand—I wouldn’t be very happy if a friend of mine were suspected of being a Ghoul. But then wouldn’t you do a thorough investigation in order to dispel the suspicion that your friend’s a Ghoul? If you were part of the ORC?” Cain’s defiant stare was fixed on Hide.
“A thorough investigation?”
“Yes. With everyone thoroughly observing him.”
The conversation had turned in an unexpected direction. But perhaps because Kiyama and the others were so thrilled to be working with Cain, Hide unthinkingly said, “Of course!”
What good is it to be a bystander at times like this?
“All right, then! Let’s shed some light on those suspicions about Kaneki being a Ghoul!”
The next morning at seven, Hide, Kiyama, Sankou, and Cain met up near Kaneki’s house.
“Cain, I’m really sleepy, man …”
It was Saturday, what should have been a day off, but they’d all had to get up early anyway. Hide yawned as he grumbled.
“If you don’t investigate seriously, you miss out on things. You’re doing this for your friend. You’ve got to push yourself,” Cain said.
“Why are you so passionate about this?”
Hearing Hide’s question, Cain folded his arms.
“That’s a fair question. Partly because it’s interesting, but also, I just love the feeling of getting a few results through trying to solve a mystery. It’s not just about the occult, either. I love the sense of achievement I get when I complete a jigsaw puzzle too,” he said.
“How interesting!”
Kiyama said he was the same and launched happily into a conversation about the occult with Cain. Perhaps it was lucky to have found an interest they could fall in love with.
“Oh … Just a second,” Cain said, his voice hushed. Hide wondered what was the matter, and then it became clear that Kaneki had left his house. Sankou quickly opened her notebook.
“I suspect he is heading for his part-time job at Anteiku,” said Sankou.
“Wow, Sankou, you’ve even got details on where he works?!”
“Obviously.”
“Mr. Nagachika, do not insult our abilities!” Kiyama said proudly, lifting his glasses.
In that case I wonder if the suspicious characters that have been appearing around Anteiku are actually these guys? It’s possible, Hide thought.
“Okay, guys, let’s follow him to this café. There’s something kind of suspicious about him …”
Paying no attention to the conversation, Cain began walking in the lead.
Following Kaneki like this sure feels weird.
If Kaneki spotted Hide he would know immediately that he was being followed, so Hide trailed behind Cain and the others like a shadow, desperately scratching his head.
After that, Cain began his thorough investigation of Kaneki. He worked weekends, of course, and snuck into classes during the week. It made Hide’s face twitch to see Cain, seemingly innocent, sitting in the same classes as Kaneki. Kiyama and Sankou, on the other hand, seemed impressed by his passion.
“He really does show no sign of eating. What if we’ve hit a home run?” Cain reported proudly. He was sitting at the outdoor café on campus, showing no hint that he was actually an outsider.
It would be a huge coup for the ORC if they uncovered a Ghoul. And what’s more, plenty of reward money would follow, too.
“No way, man.”
Hide was the only one with objections.
“Because you’ve known him since you were in elementary school? And because you guys have always gone to Big Girl for hamburger steaks since you started college?
“But not remarkably recently, right?”
Cain’s face looked composed.
“He was in the hospital not too long ago, and Kaneki still isn’t back to his old self,” Hide pleaded strongly.
“Okay, okay, calm down, now. I can’t be on the lookout twenty-four hours a day either, so there may be something I’ve overlooked. The late shift of this investigation is especially lacking, and that’s when Ghouls are said to be most active.”
Just as Cain had said, the majority of Ghoul incidents happened at night.
“Apparently Mr. Kaneki is going to be working late tomorrow, so I think I’ll lie in wait for him. Perhaps I’ll be able to observe something decisive.”
At this, Sankou, who was usually silent, tentatively raised her hand. “I’d like to join you,” she said.
“Me too! Of course!” And naturally, Kiyama followed.
“But guys, this could be dangerous. Maybe we should just give it a rest,” Cain said, lowering his eyebrows as if he were worried about the two of them.
“We’ll be fine,” they said, nodding resolutely.
“And what about you, Mr. Nagachika?” Cain asked, sounding troubled, as if he did not want to force him. Hide clinched his
fists.
“I’ll come along. Because there’s no way Kaneki’s a Ghoul. Nothing dangerous about it at all,” he said.
Hide’s words had hit Cain somewhere, because he nodded and said, “Yeah.”
“Well, in that case, shall we all meet tomorrow around eight in front of Anteiku?”
Oh no.
Hide’s insides felt all torn up.
As the saying goes, he had a bad feeling about it.
And Hide had enough confidence in this intuition to feel sad.
IV
It was the next day, the day they planned to tail Kaneki at night. After his classes were finished, Hide went home for a bit. He kept lying down to rest and then getting right back up again. The chaos in his mind got louder as the time to meet the others approached, and being alone was getting painful.
“Gotta get out of here,” he said to himself.
He left the house a little early. The cold wind, somehow smelling of night, slipped next to his skin before rushing back toward the sky.
Looking blankly at the sky, which still showed traces of burnt red toward the west, Hide thought about the old days.
He thought about the school play that had been a success in its own way, that summer night when they’d set off bottle rockets and that old lady from the neighborhood had yelled at them to keep it down, and about the Big Girl hamburger steaks they’d stuffed themselves with to their hearts’ content to celebrate getting into college.
Kaneki was part of all of those memories. And it would be the same vice versa.
The wind began to blow again. With his arms wrapped around his trembling body, Hide spotted a vending machine.
He stood in front of the machine, staring at the selection of hot drinks. The machine had the type of canned coffee Kaneki preferred. Black, no sugar. Hide knew it was far too bitter for his taste.
He bought it anyway. He clutched it in his hands to warm his cold skin before stuffing it in his coat pocket.
“Huh?”
He’d decided to head where there were lots of people and had just happened to pass by the station. All of a sudden, the sound of someone singing happily stopped Hide in his tracks.
He looked around and saw a street musician singing in the plaza. The song was good but nobody was listening.
Hide checked his watch. Still two hours until they were supposed to meet. He sat down directly in
front of the busker. He’s not much older than me, he thought. The guy noticed him and, giving Hide a carefree smile, he started to sing louder.
“God is there, yeah, don’t lose sight …” he sang, during the most exciting part of the hook.
“God?” Hide muttered to himself.
“Is something troubling you?”
“What?”
Lost in his own world, Hide was surprised to hear a voice suddenly directed toward him. The musician had stopped playing. How did he hear me talking to myself? Hide raised his head in reaction to the musician’s question.
“Oh, sorry, man. No … I was just thinking what a great song that was.”
Hide applauded hurriedly, but he knew that it was pointless to try to keep up appearances with someone who could tell something was going on from one casual remark. All at once, the worries that he’d been keeping locked up inside began to spill out.
“It’s just … my friend’s in trouble and I want to help him but I can’t in any big way. Like, it’s not going well at all. If there is a God, I need their help.”
What’s the point in even trying, he thought. This whole thing with the ORC has become so drawn out because I couldn’t stand up to them properly.
“I see,” said the musician, nodding. He was silent for a moment before he spoke again. “But you know, it’s okay, isn’t it? You don’t have to do anything big to help.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that your friendship isn’t based on helping each other, but on being together. To put it simply, you’re friends because you enjoy being together.”
The musician had a slight accent when he spoke. Hide wondered where he’d moved to Tokyo from.
“Sometimes it helps just to be someone’s friend. I think there’s nothing better than that,” he said.
He hadn’t expected to get encouragement from a total stranger. But his words had, oddly, filtered into Hide’s mind. Hide nodded as if to say, “You’re right.”
“Looks like you’re feeling a little better already! Or maybe I’ve gotten a little naive!” the musician said.
Hide got to his feet.
