Akira's lunch is spectacularly delayed
On the morning of the big day, she'd woken up to an alert on that sketchy encrypted app. Hide. Did you see how fast they buried the Takatsuki story?! I don't think it's enough to just leak a bunch of classified files. We gotta go bigger somehow. Any ideas?
She yawned. What was that supposed to mean?
Whatever was going to happen with him and Marude wouldn't be anywhere near Cochlea, so most of their other plans could remain intact.
Akira suppressed another yawn as she hurried through the lobby of the main offices, looking to grab a quick lunch from the cafeteria.
Around her, the great wheels of the CCG were turning, pulling together an absolutely massive operation.
For better or for worse, everything was about to come to a head.
She could only hope they were ready.
A small band of ghouls, including Amon, was prepared to sneak onto Rushima from the beach opposite the CCG's planned landing site. Their job was to save who they could from Aogiri.
Akira was slated to attach to Hoji's squad and attack from the front lines. Or at least, she'd arrive with Hoji's squad and leave with Amon.
Although Hirako still wasn't spilling any secrets, she knew that his and Arima's plans were about to kick into gear. That part was murkier. The fact that she wasn't being told the whole truth made her very nervous.
Whatever they'd set up would be so bad, Hirako believed she would try to stop it. At the organizational meeting several days ago, he'd been the one to suggest they send her to Rushima to spread out Squad Zero's skills.
She'd sent him a glance. What are you planning?
He'd returned a steady gaze and a head shake that said, You don't want to know.
If Touka was right, and Arima was going to make some sort of power grab while the CCG's leadership was distracted by Aogiri Tree, he probably wouldn't be concerning himself with a break-in at Cochlea. Akira didn't fully buy into that hypothesis, though. Touka saw the world the way a ghoul did—the strong ate the weak. Arima was strong, so he would naturally want to crush the weak and amass more power.
There were layers and nuances to the way power worked in Akira's world, though, and such a simple outlook didn't quite fit. But here, again, Akira was frustrated. The kinds of personal politics and back room deals that were more than likely at play were the sort of nonsense that Akira avoided, so she hadn't yet thought of any better explanation.
Akira had been trying to read up on game theory and conflict theory to put everyone else's movements into a language she spoke better, but she'd also learned a term she wished she'd never come across. Mistake theory. The ripple effects of unknown unknowns, impossible to predict or control for. Only good for creating worries, and only useful in hindsight.
So, they would do the best they could with the information they had. Yomo and Touka were determined to rescue Hinami no matter how much she tried to talk them out of it, and this would be the best chance for Yomo to slip in and grab her.
Touka was at least being responsible enough not to put herself in the action, but she would be nearby to provide support and help out with their escape. The fact that they couldn't think of anything better to do with Ichika than keep her in the getaway car with Touka bothered Akira, but their hands were tied.
On her own, Akira had quietly been moving her most important personal belongings to a small storage unit, paid in cash. She'd accepted that the worst-case scenario was looking more and more likely. Akira Mado would soon be a known fugitive.
There was no good way to cover up her most recent mischief—getting ahold of a key card with Cochlea access. It needed to be active so they could activate the roof ventilation and disperse the RC suppressant gas, which meant it couldn't be reported missing or stolen. It had to be clean, with the name of an investigator attached to it.
She'd stared at the request form for an extra ID for three days before accepting that there was no way around it and signing her own admission of treason. The second that card was used to break into Cochlea, she would be burned.
It was the main reason she was going to Rushima at all—She had to defect at the last possible moment to keep that key card active.
After a great deal of thought, she stashed the Fueguchi, along with a suitcase of clothes for her new life as a fugitive, in the back room of Café :re. She didn't want to risk being separated from her favorite weapon, so she would bring the Fueguchi II with her to Rushima.
At the last possible moment, she'd arranged a successful dead drop to get a rudimentary map of Cochlea and the spare ID into Ayato's hands. The Black Rabbit knew the time and place. If he showed up to help, and brought his inside knowledge of Aogiri and his combat abilities over to their side, it could be a game-changer for them.
Of all the factors at play, Black Rabbit was the one she had the least knowledge of and control over, so she didn't want to get anyone's hopes up or pin their chances of success on him. She had to trust that since he had a common goal with Yomo, and both men were known to be excellent in battle—even if one used his powers for evil—everything would turn out alright.
She had quietly taken Yomo aside the previous night to hand off her own card and informed him that Sleeper Agent Ayato might join in. That earned her a look of begrudging admiration from the usually stoic ghoul.
Just knowing the major players who would be at Cochlea in the coming days—Haise, Arima, Hirako, Takatsuki, Fueguchi, Yomo, Ayato…everything about that place felt like a powder keg.
And in the midst of salvaging people from Aogiri Tree, some sort of power grab on the part of Arima, and the quick and dirty infiltration of Cochlea, Hide would be publicly uploading every bit of incriminating evidence he had about the Washu clan, hot on the heels of Takatsuki's inflammatory novel. One way or another, both Aogiri and the CCG were going to take serious hits in the coming days.
If either were left standing, they'd be an easier target than ever before.
Their loose affiliation of politically homeless ghouls and humans was primed to take what they could get while they could get it and then duck and cover while Aogiri and the CCG were duking it out.
After that…it was anyone's guess what the situation would be when the dust settled.
She was ready.
It had been very easy to get inside that morning without her keycard. She just had to hold a coffee in one hand, quinque in the other, and look around a little until someone held the door open for her.
The main offices were strangely quiet all morning. There was no paperwork left to be done and any unrelated investigations were on hold. Most investigators were preparing themselves, either by getting in one last workout, one last note in their will, one last meal with their loved ones…
She tried to take a longer, more scenic route to the cafeteria to stretch her legs, but there was a commotion happening near the front doors. People were shouting. The receptionist, a few office workers, and a couple of newer investigators were in a throng around the bank of public entryway doors.
She sighed, thinking that she'd need to go over there and break it up as the person with most seniority.
Before she could get there, though, she heard a sound that made her blood run cold.
An infant's cry.
There's no way. "No way in hell," she muttered.
But as she got close enough to see the source of the commotion, she realized that of course something like this would happen on today of all days. I guess this is the unknown unknown that's going to slap me in the face today, she thought darkly to herself.
"What is going on here," she said in a firm, loud voice.
The crowd parted and revealed an empty stroller and a distraught Ichika in the arms of…Yoriko?
Akira swallowed hard. "Does anyone want to explain what the hell is the problem?"
The receptionist answered in a shaky voice, "She set off the RC gates coming in."
Well shit.
"I told you I'm human! I was just in here last week to meet my boyfriend for lunch and they didn't go off!"
Maybe she could pull off a little sleight of hand? "Here. Go through again." She walked up to Yoriko and held her hands out to take hold of Ichika. The child calmed down at the familiar arms cradling her.
Indignant, Yoriko marched back beneath the gates to perfectly human readings. "See?"
Akira was about to bluster her way through suggesting a rare malfunction, in the hopes that no one noticed the baby had been the variable to Yoriko setting off the gates, when that damned receptionist spoke up again.
"I've seen you enter before without setting off any alarms, but you've never brought that baby in with you."
Everyone grew quiet and all eyes slowly turned to stare at Akira. It took Yoriko a couple of moments longer than the CCG employees to figure out the implication.
When it hit the young baker, she laughed. "Oh no, I'm just babysitting for an old friend. There's no way—"
Akira steeled herself. At this point, there's no quick exit from this situation. Might as well have it happen while the kid is still in my arms. She stepped through the RC gates, which promptly lit up and sounded off. The readings on the nearby monitor looked abnormal to her, which she could ponder another time, but everyone who worked in the building immediately recognized the unmistakable signature of a ghoul.
Yoriko's jaw dropped.
Ichika fussed quietly at the noise.
After someone muted the gate's alarm, the girl's lunch date waltzed up to the commotion with a look of confusion.
"Yoriko, are you ready to go? What's going on?" Takeomi looked around and read the room. A guarded expression came over his face.
Can I send him off and just get Yoriko alone? Judging by the way he was standing resolutely at her side, eyeing the agitated crowd, she doubted it.
"Kuroiwa, we have a bit of a situation unfolding. How's about you and Yoriko come with me up to my office? One of you grab the stroller."
The investigator stared at the strange sight of Mado the ice queen holding an infant in her arms, next to his shell-shocked girlfriend.
One of the overeager young investigators chimed in. "Your office? Shouldn't…the ghoul…be transported to Cochlea? Or even…"
Takeomi startled, beginning to understand.
Akira whipped her head around and stared him down. "Last I checked, the arresting officer gets custody. Besides," she jostled the baby into a more comfortable position. "This ghoul can't walk and doesn't have teeth. Even you might stand a chance against her."
An uncomfortable laugh rippled through the crowd, and people began to disperse slowly. It would be the talk of the CCG within an hour.
Takeomi and Yoriko numbly followed Akira farther into the lobby.
Once on the elevator, Akira rolled her shoulders and took several deep breaths. She had Ichika, and she'd bought time.
"Takeomi, how do you feel about Yoriko here?"
The young man was startled by her question. "I…I care about her."
"I care about my perfectly seasoned cast iron skillet. Is that really how you feel?"
More resolute, he said, "I love her."
Yoriko clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Good," said Akira. If his emotions are involved, I think I can use that. "Hold on to that, because things are about to get rough for you guys. In case it needs spelling out, she was just caught red-handed violating Countermeasure law in the lobby of the CCG. Yoriko, you're technically in my custody now."
The rest of the trek to her office was in silence.
Once they'd shut the door behind them, Akira set the baby back in her stroller. She got a gummy smile in return.
She gestured for the young couple to sit in front of her desk while she sat in her chair and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think.
"Alright, Yoriko, tell me why you're here with Ichika."
Takeomi shot her a wary look at the way she called the child by her name. He was a top-notch investigator, after all. He picked up on things quickly. She was counting on that, to try and ease him into the realizations that were coming.
The girl took a shuddering breath and put on a brave face. "I have this friend from high school, she just had a baby a few months ago and I watch her sometimes. It's a nice thing to do for her, and besides, Ichika's pretty cute. We caught up a couple of days ago, and she was stressing about having to leave town for some family emergency, so I said I could watch the munchkin for a couple of days while she went and dealt with it. And today, Takeomi called and asked if I wanted to grab lunch with him, and it sounded really important to him, so I thought I'd just take Ichika with me."
Akira shook her head. "And then all hell broke loose when you entered the building."
"Yeah…"
The blonde folded her hands. "Here's how things go next. You've been caught harboring a ghoul, in the lobby of the CCG. There are dozens of eyewitnesses and camera footage, so there's no weaseling out of it. I have to take you into custody."
Takeomi stood. "Now wait a minute—"
"I'm not done. Because Ichika is a ghoul, we'll have to send her to Cochlea, but you're human so we can hold you here."
"What? No!" Yoriko was dangerously close to hyperventilating. "She can't be a ghoul, I've known her all of her life, I've known her mother since high school! I fed her applesauce this morning! This is ridiculous."
The angry, frazzled young woman pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number.
Akira jumped up to stop her, but found her way blocked by Takeomi. "Don't lay a hand on her," he said.
"I won't—just, Yoriko, please, don't call Touka yet."
Takeomi shot Akira another gimlet-eyed look.
It was too late, though, since Yoriko's phone call had already gone through. "Touka? Hi! No, I'm okay, Ichika's okay, but I went to get lunch with Takeomi at the main office, and this blonde bitch—" she glared at Akira "—says she's arresting us!? I don't know if you want to get down here and bail us out or what…No, we're just in an office. Takeomi's still with me. There has to be a law against this, right? …What? If you say so…"
She lowered her cell and switched to speakerphone.
From the other end, in a thin voice, Touka spoke. "At least tell me you're the blonde bitch, Akira."
"Yes, I'm the blonde bitch." There was silence from the phone, so Akira continued. "Yoriko decided to come here and meet Takeomi for lunch, and she brought Ichika along. She set off the RC scan gates in front of the whole building."
More silence.
Yoriko chimed in again. "It's absolutely ridiculous! They're basically kidnapping us. There's no way Ichika can be a ghoul—her parents are human." A lightbulb suddenly went off in her head at that thought. "I've never snooped because you're such a private person, but Touka…your husband…is there any chance he's secretly a ghoul?"
Akira slumped back in her chair. Well, no stopping the train wreck now. More like a train being pushed out of an airplane at this point.
There was a long silence from the other line.
"It's not from him." The ghoul's voice broke. "It's from me, Yoriko."
"But…that's…"
"Her father's human. I'm the ghoul."
Yoriko and Takeomi both froze.
In a low voice, Touka said, "What are you going to do with her? With both of them?"
Akira understood that Touka was addressing her. "Don't do anything stupid. Bad things happen when people react rashly. She's safe with me for now, so we can take time to figure out a plan."
"Don't play games with me, Akira. Not about this. Will it be Cochlea?"
"Touka, I mean it. We need to keep level heads. You trust me, don't you?"
There was a heavy sigh on the other end. The ghoul spoke in a calm voice. "Yes. Just tell me what you're going to do with my baby."
"I'll make sure she's safe and cared for, but for now my hands are tied. She has to go to Cochlea."
More silence from the other end. Yoriko and Takeomi were both staring at her, confused about the preexisting relationship that the ghoul and the investigator seemed to have.
"Touka? I need to know you're not going to do anything reckless."
Silence.
"Answer me Touka, please."
Silence.
The phone, laying face-up on her desk, showed the call suddenly ending. Touka had hung up on them.
Akira pulled out her own cell phone and tried to call the ghoul. No answer. She tried again. Nothing.
"Shit. She's going to do something stupid." She massaged her temples. This day has gone to shit real fast.
"Why would you tell her that the child is going to Cochlea," asked Takeomi slowly.
Oh, yeah, I have about five minutes to convince him to betray the CCG. Almost forgot about that.
"She needs to know that Ichika is safe enough or she'll try to kill us all."
The baby in question was looking around fearfully, picking up on the foul mood of all the grown-ups in the room. She began making distressed sniffling noises.
On autopilot, Yoriko reached over and plucked the baby out of her stroller. Ichika calmed down after a moment of being held, and was back to her usual bubbly self. Yoriko sat the baby on her knee and stared at her.
She spoke in a sad, confused voice. "You're such a cutie pie. How could you possibly be dangerous?"
The baby smiled back, happily kicking her legs and jerking her arms around.
The beleaguered blonde caught Takeomi's eyes. He was so young, so good…so much like Amon when they'd first met. What could she have possibly said to Amon back then to change his mind?
Akira jumped right in. "You're like me, Koroiwa. You grew up in a CCG family and you've probably never stopped to think too hard about why we do things the way we do. We've all seen the orphans and the broken families, we've all buried a lot of comrades…"
He stared at her, a stern look on his face. She'd never convince him to do what he believed was wrong. But she was convinced she was doing the right thing. At least, the most right thing she could do in an imperfect world. Could she get him to see from her perspective? Adjust his view of what the right thing was?
"But, ghoul or human, that's an innocent child." She walked around to Yoriko and gently picked up the baby in question. Yoriko was hesitant to let go of Ichika, but Akira was being so nonthreatening that she allowed it.
Akira bounced the baby in her arms a couple of times, got a giggle out of the little girl, and then quickly held her out to Kuroiwa.
In his confusion, he grabbed her almost on reflex as if she was a sack of flour that had been tossed his way. Akira backed away before he could pass the baby back.
He was stuck gingerly holding the infant, a bewildered look on his face. "Investigator Mado…"
"Now look her in the face and tell me if you think you should make her an orphan."
Ichika blew a raspberry at Kuroiwa, her usual greeting. He was silent for a long moment, looking down at the baby in his arms. "What are you trying to say, Investigator Mado?"
"I think the CCG is broken." She just came out with it. "They would have Yoriko here arrested for babysitting a friend's child. Her kindness is a crime that could be punishable by execution. The war hawks here would be out for her blood, and the fact that Yoriko had no idea won't matter—and it can't be proven, anyways. They would send that innocent child to Cochlea for execution, at best. The intention of the law is correct, but the application is severely lacking. It's not justice."
That got his thoughts spinning. He looked over at Yoriko.
Akira had to hand it to the girl—she'd gone from spitting mad to quietly listening. She was wise enough to tell that Akira was on her side, and stepped back to let the renegade investigator work.
"Akira." Takeomi was speaking softly and using her first name, now. "What you're saying…"
"Is considered treason. Yeah, I know." She took a deep breath and decided to go with the wild idea that had popped into her mind. Dangerous situations, dangerous gambles. "If you can't trust me, can you trust Arima?"
He was confused anew. "Of course. What does he have to do with this?"
"I'm not the only one who's seen the rot in the CCG. If you think you can bet your life on Arima's judgement, he might be your best chance to save Yoriko."
It could go very, very wrong considering she didn't actually know what Arima was planning, but Takeomi would keep his mouth shut and stay out of her way at least until Ichika was safe again. That was all she needed for now.
He swallowed nervously, looked again at Yoriko, and nodded at Akira. "I can bet my life on Arima. And her life, too. Only if what you're saying is true."
Yoriko's face suddenly drained of color. The talk of her possible execution was what finally made her circumstances hit home.
"Maybe this will help," Akira said. She grabbed her office phone, dialed Hirako's extension, and put the phone on speaker. Please let me be right, please let Arima be the man I hope he is.
He picked up after a few rings. "What's up, Mado?"
"I have Takeomi Kuroiwa here in my office. We're having a very interesting discussion. I think I ought to send him your way for a chat about some of Arima's current projects."
There was a short pause. Hirako said thoughtfully, "Interesting, you say?"
"Yes. This is important, Take. I'd consider it a personal favor."
He stayed quiet for a tense beat, then spoke in a heavy voice. "If that means what I think that means, send him my way."
"I'll do that. See you around, Hirako."
"Right back at you, Mado," he said with an air of sadness, then hung up.
She looked at Takeomi. "There you go. I can't make any promises, but you should be in the best position to free Yoriko in the very near future. Until that time comes, though, I'd recommend keeping everything we've discussed here very quiet."
After a pause that felt decades long, he nodded.
Akira could barely contain her relief. She took the baby back from him. "I'll have to bring her to Cochlea soon. There's only a few hours until I have to report, and I need to make sure she's in good hands."
Takeomi frowned. "The staff at Cochlea aren't the types to take good care of an infant."
Akira thought for a moment. "Could I put her in a cell with a female ghoul who should be trustworthy?" Maybe I can take another wild gamble on Fueguchi…
Her colleague shot her down again. "They're strict about one ghoul per cell for safety reasons. Who knows how long it'll take you to argue for extenuating circumstances."
Yoriko stood. "What about me? You said I could stay in custody here, but can I also stay with Ichika and take care of her? There would only be one ghoul in a room if her caretaker was human."
Pursing her lips, Akira thought. It puts another innocent person in a greater position of danger. But I can't afford to be too idealistic, and if she's stuck in Cochlea, that's even more leverage for Takeomi to stay quiet and stay out of my way…if she's volunteering, I'm in no position to turn her down. It could work.
She looked at Yoriko, then at Takeomi. "Arima will be stationed at Cochlea starting tonight. That might be the safest place for her in the coming days." I'm not even sure how much of a lie that is.
Takeomi tried to shake his head, but Yoriko jumped in. "This is all happening because of me. I have to keep Ichika safe or Touka will never forgive me."
The poor young man looked a bit queasy at the thought of his girlfriend going to a ghoul internment facility, but he couldn't fault Akira's logic. "That reminds me, Investigator Mado. How do you know Yoriko's friend? The ghoul?"
"That's an extremely long story." She paused, considering whether it was wise to continue. But Koroiwa was a good guy above all else. It could only ease his worries to tell him. Besides, he would need to understand if he somehow caught Haise trying to get to Yoriko and Ichika. "You've always respected Haise, haven't you? Treated him like he was a colleague instead of a science experiment gone wrong."
The young man nodded.
"Don't tell anyone outside of this room, because this information is very dangerous, but that's his daughter. I think we owe it to him to try and keep her safe, at the very least."
Kuroiwa blinked owlishly. "How…he…with a ghoul…"
"It's my fault, really. I saw him ogling some barista and told him to either get over it or ask her on a date. Little did I know…" She sighed at the thought of how she had inadvertently affected so many lives with that off-the-cuff order. "All you need to remember is that this little girl is very important to a lot of people, and if anything happens to her the consequences will be dire."
Next week: Akira reports for duty