A dashi tutorial goes terribly wrong


Food was Yoriko's love language, it always had been.

She wasn't the smartest or the most athletic or the most popular girl in school, but she could cook well and she could be a good friend. Her and Touka had been wallflowers together in school, at least.

And then her friend had dropped off the face of the earth. For a long time, Yoriko would do double takes on the street anytime someone who looked like Touka passed by, hoping it was her best friend.

She missed having Touka around, and she missed what friendship with Touka had brought out in her.

Touka never cared too much about what other people thought, and she was determined about what she wanted. That attitude had rubbed off on Yoriko, just a little bit—like when she told her parents she was going to culinary school instead of applying to university like they wanted her to.

There were other friends, coworkers, acquaintances along the way, but she never stopped missing the camaraderie with Touka—that came from years of eating lunch together in the corner and struggling through the same classes and cracking inside jokes, all those little irreplaceable bits of personal history.

And then Takeomi came back into her life. She was so nervous when he walked up to her, but a bit of the boldness she'd learned from Touka must have stuck around because she swallowed down her anxiety and agreed to take off her apron and put on a cute dress.

He wasn't a best friend, he was something different and wonderful in his own way. Someone new she could prep lunches for, and pressure into tasting new recipes. And it seemed, for a moment, like she'd start daydreaming about the future more than staying stuck in the past.

Of course, she did end up finding Touka again. It took a while for the whole "be careful what you wish for" thing to make sense, though.


Touka could prepare some basic sandwiches and sides from her years working in service, but anything more complicated was beyond her.

Yoriko was walking her through a few easy toddler-friendly recipes. Sharing food was her favorite thing to do, and to find out that it had never meant what she thought it meant…it broke her heart, a little. So, when Touka asked for help learning to cook better, it made her so happy.

It was a distraction, of course. Yoriko tried to stay in her lane and not get too worried about all the stuff she couldn't keep up with—all that complicated jockeying between ghouls and the CCG, and ghouls and ghouls, and the CCG and the CCG—but she knew something was brewing. Everyone had been extra tense for the past week, and familiar faces would disappear for days then reappear without explanation…

Kaneki was nowhere to be found that day, and there had been some sort of big stir a couple of hours ago when Touka's brother and his expedition team returned. Things were happening, and Touka was one of the people in charge of managing it all. So Yoriko knew that when Touka asked for a cooking lesson, it wasn't just a cooking lesson.

As she stirred the pot of simple dashi she was making, she pulled a leathery green-black sheet out. "—and then you take the kombu out."

"Do you eat it?"

Yoriko stared at her. "You can make a couple of snacks with it, but its role in this dish is done so you can also just throw it away. Or compost it, if you don't want to be wasteful…"

Touka frowned. "So you put it in the pot just to take it out?"

"Well, when you put it like that, it does sound kind of stupid," she laughed. "It's to add flavor, like a mirepoix. Or…a teabag or coffee beans. You…really didn't know that?"

"No. Everyone else seemed to already know, and I could never ask these questions without…" Touka trailed off at the sad look on Yoriko's face. "No, stop it."

"I'm sorry! I'm trying! It's just…weird to get used to." She wiped her hands on her apron and adjusted the headband that kept her hair back.

Ichika fussed a bit. She was laying her belly, on a nearby blanket, playing with a few stuffed animals. She'd knocked one a little out of reach and immediately let out a heartbroken wail. Touka kneeled to calmly gave the little girl her toy back and comforted her a bit. "I swear, you have so many feelings for how small you are," she laughed.

"Remember the time we went to that baseball game and every inning, you kept convincing me to sneak up a section, and by the end of the game we were right behind home plate?" Yoriko smiled. "No offense, but I never really pictured you as a wife and mother. It's so strange to see."

Touka sat back on her heels. "I didn't either, I never thought I'd live this long."

The cook's heart sank, and the smile slipped from her face. "Oh."

Blinking, Touka realized what she said and frowned. "I said stop it. The last thing I want is pity."

"It's not pity," Yoriko said sadly. "I never knew how…alone you really were. I'm sorry I never noticed."

Touka shrugged indifferently.

"I wish…you'd told me."

"We never talked about ghouls. I didn't know what you thought."

Yoriko bit her lip. If she lied, Touka would probably be able to tell, and she'd be mad. "I guess I was scared of the idea of ghouls, but they were just something else to watch out for when you're out in the city, like pickpockets or creeps on the train. I never spent too much time worrying about any of them, I just stuck to well-lit crowded areas and I didn't stop when strangers tried to talk to me."

Her friend laughed. "That's a smart move, but it wouldn't matter to some ghouls I know. What about…after you started dating your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I suppose that made me think about ghouls more, but more like an occupational hazard. Like, if he was a firefighter, I'd be worried about him getting stuck in a burning building. Did you have a problem with me going out with him, when you couldn't say anything?" While the stock was simmering, she walked over to her very small kitchen area. As she spoke, she grabbed some ginger and a microplane to work on some mise-en-place for later.

Touka was thoughtful before she replied. "No, actually. He was good to you. Plus, I was kind of with an investigator, too…not exactly in a position to criticize you. I asked Kaneki about him, and he said your boyfriend had a lot of integrity…not one of the sadistic ones. Pretty good."

"I think he's pretty good, too. I hope he's doing okay." Yoriko slipped and grazed a knuckle against the grater. "Oh, darn." It would sting for the next couple of days, but it was less serious than the average papercut.

Behind her, she heard Touka suck in breath through her teeth. Looking back, Yoriko's heart jolted to see Touka's eyes lit up an iridescent red and black—the infamous kakugan she'd heard so much about. It was a harsh reminder that her friend was one of the wild animals she was stuck down here with.

"Um…are you okay?" She hurried over to the sink to wash her hands and the grater.

Touka closed her eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine, I promise. I've been hungry before, I can handle it. It's just…like a reflex."

Yoriko whispered, "Does it hurt when that happens?" After answering all the silly cooking questions, she felt like she'd earned the goodwill to finally satisfy her curiosity on this front.

"No. I guess I can kind of feel it, but it's normal to me. It doesn't hurt."

"I mean…if you're really hungry, doesn't that hurt worse for you?"

Touka's face crumpled, but she kept her eyes closed. "I don't know, you'd have to ask one of the artificial ghouls which is worse. But, it's hunger, right? I assume it doesn't feel very pleasant for anyone."

"I guess."

The ghoul took a deep breath, smiled, and opened her human-looking eyes. "You're doing okay, though? No one's bothering you or anything?"

Yoriko hesitated, but decided to voice her concerns. "It is creepy how some of them keep calling me the 'human girl.'" She never felt truly threatened, but sometimes she felt like she'd fallen into a lion exhibit at the zoo—she was face-to-face with predators, nothing standing between them.

That disturbed her—all the other humans were investigators who could defend themselves, but Yoriko would be easy prey. It was only respect and fear of Kaneki that kept the more unruly ghouls from trying anything. "Just stay near me. They'll leave you alone."

She shivered. "Will they? I keep hearing them talk about how hungry they're getting."

"There's more ghouls being driven down here all the time, and our normal sources are slowly being cut off," she explained with a frown. "Don't worry. We'll keep you safe. You won't go hungry, and neither will Ichika—if we ever finish making this soup."

"But…you will."

She shrugged. "I'm used to it. It sucks, but it's life."

"It shouldn't suck…" muttered the cook.

Touka smiled. "It's fine. I prefer being hungry to the alternative, you know? But…if things get any worse, I think you should go back up. Contact your boyfriend. You'll have an easier time blending in and maybe even getting out of Tokyo than the rest of us."

She was trying to allay Yoriko's concerns, but the cook couldn't hold back another one of those infuriating looks. "We'll talk about it if things get that bad."

The ghoul rolled her eyes. "The soup. What's the next step?"


While the soup was still simmering on its electric stovetop, they'd moved on to making some snacks.

Someone shouted Touka's name in the tunnels, echoing through the compound.

Her and Yoriko both looked up from the onigiri they were working on—Yoriko's perfect specimens, and Touka's sadly misshapen attempts covered the prep area.

One of the scary-looking Cochlea escapees ran into the room. "We caught a dove! But he was saying lots of names, demanding we take him to you. I figure you should at least get to talk to him before we spatchcock him."

"We do not spatchcock prisoners here." Touka grimaced. "Where did they learn that word," she hissed at the cook.

"They saw me break down a whole chicken last week, and they were impressed with how…violent it was."

The thugs frogmarched their captive in and threw him on the floor.

To everyone's surprise, it was the cook who spoke.

"…Takeomi?"

He jumped up and stared for a moment at Yoriko, blank faced. Then he sprinted across the room to pick her up and spin her around. "You're alive, you're really alive," he kept repeating.

"What are you doing here?!" Yoriko struggled to be set back on her feet. She missed him, she should have been overjoyed to see him, but she was having trouble understanding what was going on.

"Warning you. You're all going to die down here, if you don't get out now."

It was like the oxygen was sucked out of the room. "Explain, now," ordered Touka.

He turned to face her, but kept one comforting hand on Yoriko's back. "I don't know the plan, or any of the logistics. Ito and I talked, and we decided we had to do something. When the order came down to mobilize for total extermination of the 24th ward, I got away the first chance I saw. Hopefully Ito's covered for my disappearance long enough that no one figures out where I've gone. Akira…she was right."

"And that's happening right now?"

"You have to evacuate. Now. They're mobilizing as we speak. I don't know which routes in they'll take, but they'll be trying to cover as many escapes as possible."

Yoriko was frozen in place, head spinning from how quickly everything was changing.

Touka wasn't frozen, though. She grabbed Ichika off the ground, startling the girl. "Go round everyone up," she ordered the ghouls. "I want us on our way out in less than ten minutes."


In short order, a restless crowd formed while Touka conferred with the other lieutenants who were still underground.

Hinami asked, "What if they're just trying to herd us into an ambush?"

Takeomi frowned. "There will be a lot of manpower. The most we've seen since the battle of the 20th ward. Expect any route you take to be an ambush."

"We've got to get out somehow," Nishiki said. "Any ideas?"

Touka thought. She looked around, at the crowd of faces waiting on her word.

Tsukiyama spoke up. "Everyone leaving in a single group would be the most obvious answer. One force with all of our combined strengths."

"But that would also restrict us to the biggest, most obvious routes, and it would make the biggest target," Nishio countered.

Touka didn't exactly wear her heart on her sleeve, but Yoriko recognized her expression. The ghoul was borderline panicking. "Kaneki isn't here, and neither is Akira," Yoriko reminded her. Then, more gently, "You've got this."

The ghoul nodded decisively at her. "Okay. What if…we send most of the party through one of the secondary exits? If they follow any trail, it'll be that bigger group. The children come with Hinami and me, and we'll try sneaking up through one of the ventilation tunnels. We'll be splitting our strength, but doubling the chances of getting out."

Ayato nodded. "The main group should be strong enough to push through any investigators we run into. Plus, it's not like they can hit us out in the open with a huge battalion. Going underground means they have to split up, too. We can win in a bottleneck, easy."

Touka nodded, then turned to Shinohara. He was leaning on his crutches, watching her. "Sorry, but you'll have to go with them. I think our team will be covering some difficult terrain. You'll be with the group most likely to see fighting, but the route will be more accessible."

Yoriko knew the real reason he was being sent with the other group. From previous conversations with Touka, she still wasn't sure about how much she could trust him…there was a chance he would try to alert the doves to their location.

He nodded, a serious look on his face. She got the feeling he'd picked up on the real reason she was sending him with Ayato, and he wasn't too torn up about it.

Looking at her brother, Touka ordered, "You help the lead the big group. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Psh, what kinda wimp do you take me for? I'm ready. Let's go."

"Ayato. This isn't a brawl. We're trying to get everyone out alive." She caught his eye and glanced pointedly at the investigator, hoping he caught the message—don't let our best bargaining chip get hurt.

Takeomi jumped in. "Your larger group will almost definitely run into trouble."

"Maybe…shit." Touka looked up at the ceiling, eyebrows pinched together in thought.

"What," said Ayato. "Hurry it up, we can't keep standing around here."

"I don't want to do this without everyone else giving the okay, but…this is why we have him, right? Don't try to fight. Give him up to get out."

There was a bit of silence at Touka ordering such a big move, but no immediate disagreement. Now was the time for big moves.

"I like it," Shinohara said.

"Course you would," Ayato said.

"That main tunnel with all the forks. Hide in one offshoot, toss him down another to distract them, and sneak out behind their backs." Touka nodded, more confident in the decisions she was making. "That's our plan. We gamble on the big group using Shinohara to get out, and fighting only if necessary, while the kids and I try to sneak out quietly."

The room was filled with nods of agreement.

She looked at Shinohara. "Please don't fuck over my family on this. This doesn't have to end badly."


When everyone went to split up, Yoriko followed Touka to the exit route she was taking.

"You think there's going to be fighting again, right?"

Touka nodded, Ichika bundled up under her chin. "Yeah. Maybe."

"I can hold her…so you can have you hands free. Like last time?"

Touka gave her a wobbly smile. "Yeah. That would be…thanks."

As soon as Yoriko got Ichika settled in her arms, Takeomi ran up. It seemed like no one was interested in keeping him restrained anymore. "What are you doing? You need to go with the others so you have a chance of getting out safely."

She shook her head. "No, I've got to go with Touka and the kids. They need my help," she said, lifting Ichika. The baby made a distressed noise at being tossed around so much in the last few minutes. "Sorry, Ichika," Yoriko whispered. She reiterated, "They need me, and Touka is my friend."

"You're being too brave for your own good."

"I don't feel very brave," she whispered back, fighting the urge to start weeping out of fear. "But I know I have to do this."

Takeomi closed his eyes, frustrated. He seemed to fight an internal war before he reopened them. "Fine, then I'm going with you."


Yoriko hadn't done much exploring in the 24th ward—there was no need to. The constrained area she'd stuck to over the previous weeks of underground living, near her kitchen and the other humans, felt very lived-in and familiar.

These tunnels were cold and empty and ominous. She clutched a fussy Ichika to her chest, holding on to her a little tighter than necessary for her own comfort more than anything. Touka was leading them, and Hinami brought up the rear. Takeomi walked at her side. They were in the middle of the small crowd of ghoul children.

Whenever she was near a crowd of adult ghouls, it sometimes felt like swimming in the middle of a school of sharks—this was more like being surrounded by piranhas, she observed with a little smile to herself.

The piranhas were very well-behaved for how young they were. They were all following directions. No one was talking. The sense of them being pursued weighed heavily on them all. Yoriko wasn't sure what they'd even talk about if they weren't trying to be as quiet as possible.

They came to a wide underground waterway, one with just a large pipe spanning it.

Touka took Ichika back again and crossed with ease, fleet-footed as usual, and then held her hand out to help child after child across. Yoriko held things up for a moment, having to go on hands and knees to keep from falling over. Then came Takeomi at a slow but steady pace.

Yoriko took a moment to regain her equilibrium on the other side.

Which left Hinami, on the other side, helping the children get onto the pipe. As she waited for the last child to get across, a shout echoed through the dimly-lit tunnel. She turned to look over her shoulder at the investigators rounding the last corner and charging after them.

There was a whoosh, and Yoriko watched in horror as one of Hinami's legs was sliced off by a quinque.

"No!" Touka almost jumped back across, only remembering the baby in her arms at the last second. She spun around to find Yoriko and hand off Ichika again, but the moment of hesitation cost her.

Yoriko, meanwhile, was staring in horror at the action unfolding.

The young ghoul pitched to the side for a moment before regaining her balance and releasing her fearsome kagune, tossing back several of the attacking investigators. With a glance behind her at Touka, she used her kagune to smash through the cross pipe and strike at the ceiling, separating the two groups for good.

It all happened so fast. After the deafening noise of the cave-in, shocked silence rang out.

"Hinami!" Touka's kagune unfurled from her shoulders and exploded at the rubble where Hinami had just been with a volley of RC crystals. It accomplished nothing. She was about to leap back across when a large hand grabbed her arm.

It was Takeomi, a stern expression on his face. "When a teammate sacrifices themselves like that, you don't let it be in vain and you don't waste ammunition."

For a moment, Touka froze and stared at him with burning eyes…an expression of intense rage that Yoriko had never really seen from her before. "I'm not like you," she finally growled out.

"Maybe you should be, right now. We're all relying on you to get us out."

Touka looked past him at the weepy-eyed children, at Yoriko, at Ichika…Their lives were all in her hands.

She stiffened, angry, and marched back to the head of the column. "Then let's hurry it up," she growled through gritted teeth.

Swallowing down the tears—if she let herself start crying, she might never stop—Yoriko told herself that if Touka could keep it together, so could she. She didn't want to fall apart in front of Touka, or Takeomi either, for that matter. Not when the stakes were so high.

The whole time she'd been involved, from the shock of being taken to Cochlea to that very moment, Yoriko had felt an irrational trust that everything would work out in the end. How could it not turn out okay? Of course it would. Normal girls like her never had anything too terrible happen to them. Deep down she knew that was a silly thought—bad things happened to regular people all the time—but she also knew that now of all times was when to finally give in to despair.

That didn't stop the scene of Hinami's leg just being lopped off from replaying in her head over and over and over. Maybe Yoriko had led a sheltered life, but she didn't like horror movies or true crime or even sensationalist news reports, and the most violence she'd seen in real life was usually her sharp chef's knife versus a nice cut of meat.

But if there was ever a time in her life to figure out how to get tough, it was now.


That newfound toughness didn't stop her from crying out when the earth started shaking.


Next week: Akira goes over the ABCs of first aid