by Shin Towada
“So I looked into it. To see if there was a case eighteen years ago where a couple was killed and only their child survived.”
If they were murdered the police should still have the case files.
But Morimine said, “I didn’t look very thoroughly, so maybe something got past me but … there wasn’t anything.”
“Nothing?”
“We’ve never had that kind of case.”
Then she’s lying. Seeing the doubt on Amon’s face, Morimine said, “But I think she was telling the truth.”
“Then why is there no case?”
“Amon …” Morimine said, looking straight into his eyes. Another possibility began to arise in Amon’s mind.
“Does the CCG have any information?”
That would mean …
“Did an investigator sneak into their home on a moonless night to exterminate a family of Ghouls?”
Amon could see the scene in his mind. He imagined an investigator pressed to the wall, listening in at night, when the whole family would have been together.
“And now that I think about it, it was just after I took her statement that time that Mai’s barrette was left near the police station. And she seemed a little uncomfortable in places as she told that story today. She could’ve just said ‘father’ instead of ‘adoptive father,’ and if she overheard what happened it must stick in her mind, but then she just started confessing about her childhood …”
Then Amon’s phone rang again. He wanted to hear more, but when he looked to see who was calling he was shocked.
“It’s Yanagi.”
Yanagi wasn’t the kind of person to call this late without a very good reason.
Morimine also seemed to grasp that clearly. “You’d better pick up,” he said, and Amon answered the phone.
“Amon, sorry for calling so late. But there’s something I want to ask you about.”
Yanagi sighed deeply. “When Tojo and I left the office tonight we were on our way to a bar when we ran into the woman that you were talking about. She seemed to recognize us too, and spoke to us. Then Tojo got all cocky and exchanged numbers with her …”
“He did what?!”
From Amon’s words and behavior, Morimine guessed that something was up. His face turned gloomy.
“Yeah. Then, while we were drinking, he got a message from her asking if he wanted to go for dinner. I told him not to trust a woman who invites him to dinner just after meeting him, and he seemed to agree, but …”
“Tell me he didn’t.”
“When we got done drinking, he started joking about having another round like always, but then he left quickly. Later I got kind of concerned and sent him a message but he never replied. And when I try to call him, the call doesn’t go through.”
Bad feeling. Sixth sense. I haven’t determined that she’s a Ghoul. But something is urging me on.
“Morimine, do you know her address?”
“Yeah. I found it.”
All the experience Amon had gained as an investigator told him that danger was at hand. Morimine nodded firmly, and Amon did in return.
“Yanagi, I think Tojo is in danger!”
“Danger? What kind of danger?”
“We have to find him immediately!”
He hung up and started running, attaché case in hand.
“Amon, my car’s parked outside, let’s take that!”
It was the time of night when most people were already asleep. Morimine stomped on the accelerator and headed to Koharu’s house. As they drove Amon got in touch with Yanagi and explained the full circumstances.
“We’re here!”
Her house, near the river, was a mansion with details that seemed more appropriate somewhere far from the 8th Ward. When they got out of the car, Amon could smell the sea. I guess the tide has come up into the river.
Amon clenched his attaché case in his hand and walked to the gate. He rang the doorbell but there was no response. They peeked through a gap in the sturdy gate, which was much taller than they were, and saw that lights were on in the back of the house. Then they heard some music playing quietly.
“What should we do?” Morimine asked.
This is an urgent matter. If it’s all a misunderstanding then I’ll take the punishment gladly.
“Morimine, get down.”
Amon flung the hand holding his attaché case out and shook it hard to get through to the Quinque’s biometric authentication system.
“Whoa!”
The attaché case, which looked just like an everyday model, opened with great force, and what was stuffed inside made a sound as it took its form.
“Holy shi—”
Amon’s weapon of justice had appeared in the blink of an eye. It had shown its full power as Amon’s companion in the Aogiri incident, but this Quinque, Kura, had originally belonged to Mado, Amon’s respected superior. Its shape mimicked that of a giant sword, and even among other kokaku it was the heaviest of the heavyweight. Its weight served to maximize Amon’s power.
Amon gave Kura a big swing, then turned his attention from warming up to the gate.
“We’ll figure out a reason later!”
But you can’t take back a human life. Amon pulled Kura back, then took a big step forward and struck the gate like he was trying to break through it with a ram.
“Agh!”
The sound of the impact was a heavy thud. The sturdy gate bent like a piece of wire in the face of the Quinque’s attack and was blown away.
“Morimine, if it turns out she is a Ghoul, then we’re in danger too. Once we’re in there we’ll have no margin for error, so if push comes to shove you might have to save me!”
Amon headed straight to the house. Morimine followed after him. “You’re not human, you know,” he said, teasingly.
He looked back at Morimine and said plainly, “No, I’m an investigator!”
Once he’d broken through the locked door, a high-ceilinged reception hall appeared before them. As one would expect from a trader’s house, the room was decorated with lots of art pieces and luxurious chandeliers. Classical music was playing loudly from an antique record player.
“I didn’t think you’d come this quickly.”
Further down the hallway a door leading to another room swung open and a woman quietly emerged. That pale skin, those tragic eyes … That’s Koharu, all right.
“Is that … ?”
In her right hand, Koharu held a showy attaché case with a disproportionate amount of silver on it. Amon was familiar with the item—it was Tojo’s Quinque.
“What have you done with Tojo, you bitch?”
Koharu said nothing. Instead she moved aside a screen that had been placed in a corner of the room. Behind it was a large table draped in a luxurious embroidered cloth, hiding something. She pulled the cloth away slowly.
“Tojo!”
“Mmf, mmf!”
His hands and feet were bound and he was gagged. She moved away from him quickly, and Amon and Morimine rushed over to Tojo, staying wary of Koharu.
“What have you gotten yourself into, Tojo!”
“Ah! S-sorry. You found me!”
Morimine removed the gag and started undoing the ropes that bound his arms together. Amon turned around to face Koharu, shielding the other two. She held Tojo’s attaché case to her chest.
“What on earth did you do this for?”
This woman had made Amon cupcakes to say thank you and praised his work as an investigator. That was all just a front, he thought, and suddenly felt sick. Koharu had no answer to Amon’s question. She looked down, shutting her eyes tightly.
Something dense and foglike began to rise from Koharu’s shoulders. Amon, the first to realize what it was, closed the distance between them at once, swinging his Quinque down
. Koharu leapt back as far as she could, and as she pulled off a magnificent landing, her eyes opened.
“Her eyes are … red …”
Her kakugan.
“She’s a Ghoul!”
The incessant overflow of Rc cells had created a set of thin wings on Koharu’s back, just like dragonfly wings. She leapt backward again to create some more distance. Amon followed her.
The body of an Ukaku Ghoul was top class, but their attacks were lighter and no match for the kokaku, which provides serious defense. Wielding a kokaku Quinque, Amon had the advantage. He kicked over a sculpture that was about six feet tall, blocking the direction that Koharu was headed, and then he swung Kura with all the force in his body.
She stuck out the attaché case she was holding and blocked Kura’s swing with it. A crack formed in Tojo’s case, but because it was made especially to contain Quinque, it was not totally destroyed. Koharu had nothing to counter the vibration that came at her through the attaché case. It flew backward, cushioning her impact.
“N-no! Not my Quinque!”
Amon could hear Tojo’s pitiful screams, but for now his top priority was to destroy Koharu. Not letting up, he swung Kura again.
“Damn!”
But Koharu was skilled with the use of Tojo’s attaché case, and she dodged Amon’s attacks. Did she steal Tojo’s attaché case just for this?
Naturally, when a Ghoul was faced with an investigator, they would attack in order to protect themselves. This increased the possibility for injury, but after they attacked there would inevitably be an opening. An investigator would use this to repel and destroy them—or that’s how it always had been, but Koharu showed no sign of attacking. She did not try to cover the distance between them, instead devoting herself instead to defense. If she played it like that, her ukaku boasted a quickness that would make her difficult to catch. Is she trying to wear me out, and then come at me?
Amon rejected that thought. Ukaku required a dramatically higher consumption of Rc cells compared to other types of Kagune, and so was ill-suited to a long battle. If she knows anything about her own Kagune then there’s no way she’d have this kind of circuitous fighting style. But I can’t figure out what her intention is.
Don’t think, he castigated himself.
The only thing I need to do as an investigator is destroy this Ghoul. If I keep attacking without pause and make her keep using her Kagune, eventually she’ll run out of steam. This is what I trained for.
“Hahhhh!”
Amon put all of his force on the middle of Kura’s long blade. The blade split into two. Kura was a transformable weapon. By dividing Kura down the middle to create a new blade, he now had two weapons. While Koharu’s eyes were still wide in surprise at the Quinque’s transformation, Amon threw one of the blades at her like a boomerang.
She yelped in shock.
Koharu tried to defend herself from the unexpected attack with the attaché case, but she could not protect herself against a flying, violently rotating Quinque.
“Ah!”
The attaché case flew away from her and, unable to withstand the momentum, she fell to the floor. Amon grasped Kura to himself, wanting to land the finishing blow. But Koharu was releasing large quantities of Rc cells, and even as she forced herself to stand up she avoided Amon’s attack. Then she picked up the Quinque that Amon had thrown and jumped atop the chandelier.
Dammit!
The chandelier swung left and right under her weight. Koharu leaned against the chain connecting the chandelier to the ceiling, pushing and pulling violently with her shoulders. Her winglike Kagune gathered around her shoulders like a dense fog. She seemed to have lost her momentum when she released all of those Rc cells at once after avoiding Amon’s attack.
Now was Amon’s chance, but she’d escaped to a place he couldn’t reach. He was wondering whether he should throw the Kura he still held in his right hand.
“Wait, Amon!”
Morimine’s voice echoed in his ears. When he looked over, he saw that the lieutenant had a gun pointed at Koharu.
“Morimine! If you’re not using Q Bullets, the ones specially developed for use against Ghouls, there’s no point!”
“I’m going for it!”
He narrowed one eye, then took aim and fired.
“Gah!”
The bullet hit the chain Koharu was leaning against. She instinctively removed her hand from the shaking chain, which broke her balance, and she started to fall along with the chandelier.
“Nice one!”
Amon got his Quinque ready again.
“Whoa!”
“Wha—!”
But before Amon could attack, a hail of bullets much more powerful than those from Morimine’s gun hit her. Her body was pierced through countless times.
Amon and Morimine’s eyes grew wide in surprise, but Tojo was even more surprised.
“I was just operating it, I didn’t mean to—”
Apparently while he’d been checking the condition of his Quinque, the Quinque had attacked without Tojo intending it to do so, and it had shot Koharu with ukaku Quinque bullets. Maybe his Quinque, used in place of a shield and now cracked, just malfunctioned.
But the result was that they were able to capture Koharu. Her bloody body was thrown to the ground, and Koharu’s breathing was heavy.
“Ko … taro …” Even in such circumstances, her eyes wet with blood, Koharu called out his name. “I’m … sorry …”
He’d just realized she was saying something when she apologized. Her eyes turned to Morimine, who walked over to look.
“You … too … Kyo … hei …”
“Huh? How’s she know my name?” Morimine said in confusion. Kyohei was his name, but almost nobody ever called him that.
Koharu did not answer. She looked up at Amon and Morimine, choking out a few words.
“I … took them all. And then … I ate them …”
“What?!”
“They’re … all … in that room,” she said, pointing weakly at the other room further down the hall.
Her eyes started filling up with something that wasn’t blood.
“I lived … from crime … to crime … But …”
Her eyes focused on Amon.
“Watching … you, Kotaro … gave me … courage …” She blinked, and tears spilled from her eyes. “I hope the future … that you want … comes to pass.”
With her Kagune out of sight and her eyes closed, she looked just like a human. “That somehow … this world that we were born into can be …”
She was a Ghoul, but her last wish was that a Ghoul investigator’s hope for the future would come true. It sounded like a prayer from the bottom of her heart.
And then she breathed her last.
“What does that mean?” Amon stood stunned over her, unable to understand her last words.
“Just what it sounds like,” Morimine murmured. He stood next to Amon, looking down at Koharu with pity.
“Anything born doesn’t want to die—no matter what they are. She was born a Ghoul and she had to live as a Ghoul. And that means eating people …”
So it was her wish that Ghouls themselves would disappear from this world?
“You gonna take a look in that room? We might find some answers in there, you know.”
The room where she’d said they all were. Amon and Morimine walked in slowly.
“This is …”
In a complete reversal from the luxurious hall, this room seemed to have been used as a storage room. The walls had two tiers of shelves along them, on which sat neat boxes about ten inches to a side.
“Hey, look at …”
When Morimine took the box closest to them down from the shelf, he could see that the box was labeled Mai Hirano. Immediately he shouted, “That’s the miss
ing girl’s name!”
Mai Hirano, the owner of the barrette that was dropped off near the police station.
Morimine set the box down on the floor and, looking apprehensive, he opened the lid. Inside, the box was filled with personal belongings: a school uniform, a bag, and other things.
“These are the clothes Mai was supposed to be wearing when she went missing …”
But that wasn’t all.
“There’s … bones. And hair …”
Is that her? The bones and hair were in a plastic bag. Morimine started checking each of the other boxes on the shelves.
“And this one … And this one, too. They’re all names of girls who went missing.”
Then, suddenly, as if he’d realized something, he started running to the farthest shelves. He pulled the boxes down roughly, looked at the names on them and stopped moving.
“Morimine?”
The way he was behaving was completely different than anything Amon had seen from him before. His hands were shaking as he opened the box and looked inside. Seeing the bones, hair, school uniform, and notebook inside, his face twisted up.
He screamed, “Haruka!”
Haruka. That name also sounded familiar to Amon. No, it was familiar. The letters of her name, the girl who had disappeared eighteen years ago, appeared in his mind: Haruka Seta.
“Morimine …”
He was clutching her personal belongings to his chest, his head hanging.
That handmade flier for Haruka Seta. All this time, Morimine has had a burning obsession with this case, even as he condemned the police. And when I showed him the flier, he said: ‘That takes me back.’”
All of this led Amon to one answer.
Morimine opened a cute, girlish notebook he’d found in the box, and a photograph fell out. It was an old photo but there was no doubt: the photograph was of Haruka Seta and Morimine, standing close together.
“Amon! Morimine!”
Investigators and police officers burst into the Utsumi house, which was suddenly chaotic.
When Yanagi finally rushed in and found Tojo, he ran over and gave him a slap on the head without breaking his stride.
“What is wrong with you?!”
“S-sorry …”
