Since the day he met her, she had never gone easy on him.

"Stand up, Haise."

He could look at her all he wanted. A cold glare was all that he would get from her. Even when he was on his knees, clutching his stomach, tears in his eyes, nothing seemed to sway her.

She was brutal, but he had always believed that wasn't all she was.

Until she killed all of them.

"So…" Touka had her arms crossed. "Are you going to tell me?"

Tsukiyama, Nishio, and Banjo turned their faces away.

"It was my idea." Yusa stepped into the room, sheathing the sword on his back. "We can't let what happened six years ago to repeat itself."

Well, listen to that tone. After all those years of proving himself, that was how much faith they put on Kaneki.

"And who are you to decide?"

Yusa glanced at the man who was sleeping soundly on the futon. "You saw how he reacted."

"Do you expect him to swallow it as if it's nothing? He's a person in case you forgot."

"Touka." Tsukiyama finally spoke. "It wasn't confirmed. We just thought we should check out the source before we say anything. We didn't know you had…"

Invited her.

"Well, he did mention he had some important guests coming." Nishio, the orange head, held his chin and looked up. "I thought it was Nagachika."

Touka exhaled. That idiot. Why did he have to make it so secretive?

A rustle brought their eyes to Kaneki, who had sat up, still as a stone. The light in his eyes, gone.

"Kaneki?" Touka called. "How are you feeling?" For a few seconds, she thought she lost him.

Kaneki slowly turned his head to face her. "Can you take the kids to Yomo and stay with him?"

Touka blinked. "Yes… sure, but why?"

Kaneki took her hand. "I need to see her."

"It's done." The man, with bangs covering his eyes, handed a big silver case to Akira.

"Thanks. Appreciate it."

"You're welcome. When did you get the idea of increasing its length and flexibility?"

She turned her palm and looked at it.

The shattered Doujima. Even now, her palm still remembered how heavy its fragment was.

Had she paid more attention to its flexibility instead of reinforcing the tensile strength alone—

"It's just a spur of the moment." Details were never important.

"It does make sense to have that in the long-range. Although…" Chigyou held his chin. "You sure that's what you need? You lose agility at the same time."

"I'll figure it out." She smirked before heading to the door. As a matter of fact, there was nothing hard work couldn't solve.

What she needed were some targets.

Nakajima stood before the toilet, watching the lab tech drip some red liquid into a test tube.

Meow.

When he turned around, another lab tech took a plastic pet carrier out of the apartment.

He went further in, where the bedroom was, loosening his tie on the way. Another staff dusted the glass door with a flared brush. It seemed to be locked without so much as a scratch on the glass.

While he still had to wait for the lab to confirm, his experience told him tampering was unlikely.

He regretted turning to his back, as a burst of flashes had temporarily impaired his vision. The lab tech bowed repeatedly to him before resuming a few more shots on a low table, which the edges stained with blood, though a significant one was the puddle behind that had been marked with a big Arabic numeral 'two'.

He rubbed the stubble on his chin. There was blood in the toilet and bedroom, but no sign of forced entry. The only witness who might have seen everything was a cat.

Those two… He gave them a simple task and yet—

"Ma'am, you can't go through here!"

Nakajima rushed out to see what happened, especially at this hour.

"What happened to Mado-san?"

"Ma'am, please stay behind the line."

"Mom?" He blinked.

"Yasu."

Nakajima waved the blue uniform away, then turned to the lady with a silver bun. "Why are you here?"

"What do you mean?" She pulled the plaid scarf that had slipped off her shoulders. "Don't you know your mother lives in this block?"

"No, Mom. I mean… why are you coming here?"

"I know the lady living here. Is she alright?"

"You know I can't say anything."

"At least tell me how she is. That poor lady…" She shook her head. "She left her husband and children at Shizuoka and came here alone."

"Wait. She's married?"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe it until you saw her Prince Charming." With a hand cupping her cheek, his mother huffed. "A tall guy with a gentle heart."

Nakajima knitted his brows, wondering who his mother was talking about.

He didn't know where he was going. He just followed along until a pulled curtain blocked him.

He slowly backed up, almost hit by a crash cart. When he had spun away, an incoming gurney drove him back to the wall.

"Sir?"

The beeping saturated his ears. That was the only noise he heard.

"Sir!"

And then an alarm blared.

"SIR!"

His eyes finally noticed a man in scrubs standing before him.

"Did you come with Akira Mado?"

"Yes."

"Are you her family?"

The question reverberated in his ears. The white light began to blind him.

They were staring at each other. None of them initiated a conversation.

Since it was his fault… "Sorry, Akira—" A wiggle in his arms interrupted him.

He looked down. A mouth, not bigger than the width of his thumb, opened widely and closed again. Amon wasn't the only one looking at the tiny being in his arms.

Angry or not, Akira hadn't said anything.

"I will handle this. Don't worry." Maybe getting a couple more part times. "...He's the last." That was what he said last time.

And twice before that.

"It's fine."

That shed the stone on his chest. He could finally breathe.

Though a little too soon.

"I'll leave tomorrow. You can use the space to place a crib."

He froze. His mind was stuck with her words as she walked past him.

"Where are you going?" He spun around.

"Tokyo." She stopped briefly. "One of us has to make a living."

When she turned her back to him, his reached out hand slowly withdrew. He didn't stop her.

He should have. If he did, perhaps he wouldn't be staring at the sliding glass door and springing to his feet every time it opened.

His racing heart like the night itself just never ended.

"Mister Amon."

He bounced up. He had anticipated all kinds of answers, but he could never get ready for the real deal.

"Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to startle you. It's just…" The nurse then glanced at Amon's shoulder. "Has anyone helped you with that?"

He blinked, then it reminded him to glance over his shoulder.

It was drenched in red. No wonder his back was clammy.

"If you would come with me, I'll take a look—"

"Uh—That's not necessary. I'll be fine." No one in his right mind would refuse help. But, a Q-bullet lodged in his shoulder was much easier to be dealt with than some terrified humans.

"You have nothing to worry about. The peacekeepers had briefed us about your…" Her eyes drifted up briefly. "Circumstances."

Amon widened his eyes.

Black seeped into the nurse's scleras, and her pupils glowed red. "You'll be in good hands."

Squad Leader Koutarou Amon has made contact with the enemy…

She wouldn't forget that day. How she lost him.

His opponent is…

In a leap, her boots made a splash out of a puddle of water. She pulled out a flashlight beneath her coat. The light shone into the giant mouth, which had been spewing rainwater collected from the afternoon shower.

She stooped a little before entering. Her grip tightened around the handle of her briefcase.

The Owl, Rabbit, and now…

She hadn't stopped searching. She wouldn't. If she found the ghoul responsible for his death, she could have a chance of getting closure.

And revenge.

"Where are we going?"

Akira glanced behind. She had so gotten used to working alone that she forgot her other objective. "To make an outstanding ghoul investigator, you need to grow. There's no better way to accelerate the process than getting into the field yourself."

"This means… my first mission?" Haise gaped. "Really?"

"Do you think you can handle it?"

"I won't let you down!" He saluted with a broad smile.

That idiotic optimism… She sincerely hoped it would last long. "We'll see about—"

A creak stilled them.

Akira didn't utter a word. Instead, she swept the area with light until it caught a child smiling at them.

"You've brought a friend!" The brown-skinned boy grinned.

Urie stood on the steel frame, overseeing the city beneath him. His gloved hand touched the rusty rebar as the morning breeze freshened him up.

The sun rose high, shining onto the ruins of concrete and steel that were lushly covered in greens and vines. That view stretched into the horizon, and he saw no end.

It was hard to believe that this place used to be the Twentieth Ward.

"Remind me why I'm here."

He looked down to his left, where the petite woman with a chubby face was sitting. Like him, she was perching on the scaffolding, just one level beneath him.

"Give me something." He pressed his earphone. "Preferably before Saiko kills me."

"Still nothing. Sorry." The communicator hissed.

"Can't blame her. Every one of us has different priorities now."

"Jini, you know it isn't the leader's fault for being short staffed."

"Keep sucking up—"

"Alright, cut the chatter and keep looking."

"Argh!" Yonebayashi sprang up. "See!" With fists clenched, she looked up to Urie and glowered at him. "I told you that you didn't need me here! Now I'm going to miss Maman's party!" She clenched her fists.

Urie rolled his eyes, trying to remember when it became a crime for doing his job.

"Leader. Saiko."

"About time." Urie smirked. "Any Orphans?" As long as he could get out of there, he would take anything.

"Come and see for yourself."

With her arm up to her nose, Yonebayashi stepped closer to the center of the empty hall. She looked around, faltered when something dropped before her eyes.

Yonebayashi looked down. Something dark and convoluted, like a rope, was on a pool of dry blood. She later recognized that it was a segment of entrails.

"What happened here?" Urie crouched beside a decapitated body, which was twice his own body-size. "Has the United Front been here before us?"

"I doubt that." Ching-Li glanced at the shattered glasses tainted with blood and soft tissues. "I heard they were tracking down a lead in the north."

Blood splatter. Soft tissues. Body parts. Like a giant blender went out of control.

"Could it be—"

"Meat Grinder?" Higemaru finally spoke.

"No, no. We took care of him!" Urie sprang up.

"Matsuoka took him. Who knows what happened after that."

"Or before. Check out the decomposition…" Ching-Li stared at the darkened remains. "It's likely been here more than a week."

Higemaru leered. "For someone who was stuck in a desk job, you know a lot."

"That desk job is what's saving your—"

"Enough!" Urie snapped. "Let's not make any guesses. I'm calling it in." He took the lead to get out of that slaughterhouse. The stench was getting unbearable.

"Saiko?" Ching-Li watched Yonebayashi stand up. "Are you coming?"

"Okay." Yonebayashi hid her hands behind her back, only brought them over when her team wasn't looking.

Descending the stairs, Yonebayashi uncovered in her hands a soft woolen sock. Half of the size of her palm, the tiny sock had a bunny sewn on it. It was hard to tell the original color as it was soaking—already hardened—in red color.

Yonebayashi turned the sock. Her finger lingered on the embroidery of two katakana characters. "Hi… ro…" She hoped the child wasn't there when it happened.

"Saiko!"

Her hands snapped together. Head up.

Glowing bright, her friends were looking her way, but not at her.

When she turned around, she thought the Sun had come down on them.

"I believe this belongs to you."

A tiny blue sock fit right in Kaneki's palm. His eyes were drawn to the bunny sewn on it.

The thing about socks was, they usually came in pairs.

"It fell out of her pocket. The other one seems to be missing."

His thumb rubbed against the embroidery. It was unmistakably his son's name.

Kaneki looked up, unable to say a word. His hand pressed flat onto the glass window. He could no longer contain the tears that had been rolling in his eyes.

Lying on the sickbed, Akira was buried under a mess of tubes while wires crawling along her shoulders and arms. Though the look was enough to make anyone wince, the serene face did not seem to be aware of it.

Whatever they gave, had put her into a deep sleep.

"I was going to propose." Amon shifted to the glass window. A weak smile escaped him. "I took a job. Got a ring. The children even made a bouquet…"

The mention of the children reminded Kaneki what he had heard from Touka.

Amon sighed. "I should have made her quit her job a long time ago."

Kaneki wondered if Amon could've done that.

Mom… You don't have to keep working… It's enough. Just stop. Please…

Kaneki pressed harder against the glass window, almost at the brink of cracking it. He should be in there, by her side instead of those hard cold machines keeping her company.

But he wasn't allowed to go beyond that wall. A measure to reduce the risk of infection.

So they said.

With the back of his hand, Kaneki wiped the tears that hinged on his chin. "You should stick to the proposal."

Amon finally faced Kaneki, who had been smiling.

"I have a hunch that she will say 'yes'."

Amon stared at Kaneki, then closed his eyes and let out a laugh. "Even you…"

A hunch… That was the magic word.

And it worked all the time.

"A year ago, the CCG conducted the Owl Suppression Operation in this ward. It was one of the largest scales…"

Haise listened as they followed the boy along the sewer.

"Though the operation was a success, we have suffered a great loss. The CCG, her best men. The residents, their homes."

Haise glanced up at the stray lights that pierced through the storm drain at every few feet. "I can't imagine…" His eyes returned to the braided bun leading before him. "This ward seems so lively."

His mentor finally stopped and turned around to face him. "What you see now is the spirit of the Japanese people who poured their hearts and minds together." Akira turned around and resumed her path.

A breeze met his face. As the stifling air dissipated, they too came out of the drain.

"Without their hard work, the restoration would be impossible."

Haise watched the creek that stretched all the way into the woods.

The boy skipped his way across the creek, making use of the surfacing stones and heaps of pebbles as launching pads.

The investigators followed along.

"However, some were left out of the picture."

"What do you mean?" Haise quickened his pace to keep abreast with Akira.

Before Haise realized, the boy had grabbed in his hand a lantern as he led them deeper into the wood.

"His name is Sunny." Akira jutted her chin out at the boy. "Parents came here on student visas. Turns out the school was a fraud."

Haise widened his eyes. "You mean… He's undocumented?"

Akira didn't answer, as the boy had stopped and prompted them to do the same.

Sunny picked up a branch from the ground, knelt and then tapped rhythmically on some dry leaves.

Strangely, he heard sounds of hitting an empty tin can. And then, a screech.

Something hatched open and a lid came off.

Several heads bobbed from the ground. Watchful eyes peeked at them.

The door sprang open, and Marude marched into the command center. "Talk to me." Marude arched over the panel, eyes at the clusters of monitors.

"S-Two had lost contact an hour ago in the Twentieth Ward. We are still trying to reconnect."

"Dragon Orphans?"

"Not on our radar."

"Then…" Marude spread his blazer back and grabbed his waist. "What do we have on the radar?"

"Some heat signature. Two actually. It looks like…"

"They are…" the other analyst turned his chair to face Marude. "…helicopters."

"SDF? What are they doing in the no-fly zone?"

"I'm afraid it's not them…"

The analyst pressed a key.

A man with high cheekbones, sitting behind a desk, appeared on every screen. "Greetings, Director. This is Takeshi Yamada—"

Marude glared. "I know who you are. What the hell did you do to my peacekeepers?"

"We detected ghoul activity this morning in the Twentieth Ward. So, the Avalon System reacted to it and purged the whole ward. Unfortunately, your men's high RC-signals had set off—"

"So what you're saying is that your stupid computer made a mistake?"

Yamada raised a brow. "Matsuoka is not accountable for TSC's tardiness in reporting its operation."

"Last time I checked, TSC still has the jurisdiction of that ward and we don't report to you."

Yamada smirked. "I'm afraid that has changed, Director Marude. The government has employed Matsuoka to act as the first responder to all ghoul threats in Twentieth Ward."

"Are you kidding me?"

"We have disabled the system for the rest of the day for search and rescue. Rest assured that we will share our resources and intel to TSC if the need arises. We'll be in touch."

The word 'Disconnected' blinked on the screens.

Marude gritted his teeth. His face twitched. "Like hell I'm going to trust you with my men's lives." He snapped his head to the left. "Get me the Minister of Defense! Tell him I'll release all the ghouls in Cochlea if he rejects my call again."

"Wah!" Haise, jostling the toddler who was straddling his shoulders, cried out in joy. There were more children, all not taller than four feet, trailing behind him.

Each had their hands clutching onto the person before them, they ran about in the room as Haise led ahead.

"Ready for another round?" He glanced behind, slowing down.

The children wobbled and couldn't stop laughing as they were pulled along.

Even in a room that could barely fit two double beds, the fun they had was no lesser than a visit to a theme park—a place not meant for children without status.

"Here we go!" Haise bent his knees to pretend a dive as he charged ahead, passing by Akira, who was kneeling at the corner. "You should join us, Akira!"

Akira made a brief glance but didn't reply. In her hand was a candy wrapped with glossy paper. She had given it to a girl holding a dirty doll.

Haise looked back. It seemed like the rest of the children were having something in their mouths. He could see some of their tongues were dyed in black. "What did you give them?"

"Coffee candies." Akira stood up.

Nice. Coffee was his favorite too. Maybe he could—

"By the way…" His mentor went to a table to pick up her briefcase. "Play time's over." When she turned around, her lips curled.

"Akira?" Haise put down the toddler, eyes staring at her.

A snake-like spine burst out of the case, coursing through the room and spiraling around the children.

Stunned by the foreign invader, the shaken children stepped back, but they could go nowhere except gathering in a brood.

"Haise…" With an eye relaxed, the other widened, Akira let her lips parted. "Have I mentioned that they are ghouls?"

It wasn't the sort of reckoning she had expected.

Seconds after she opened her eyes, she pinched them shut. Her hand pressed onto her skull as hard as possible, but the throbs beneath were impossible to reach. Gritting her teeth, she rolled to her side and forced her eyes open.

Bad move.

She gagged, barely stopped the acid at her throat. She held her breath and remained still for another minute. It never did help.

Meow.

She opened her eyes again. A hazy image moved towards her until it refocused into something she could recognize.

The will to call out its name made her breathe again, though short and shallow.

She hurled herself up, somehow got onto her feet. As she shuffled towards the door, the floor beneath her swung. Had she not recognized the decor along the hallway, she could've thought that she was at the sea, though she didn't remember changing the lighting.

Her eyes hurt as she stared down the white light, but she drudged on.

She slammed against a closed door. Once the knob turned, she fell before a toilet bowl, which she later clung onto it as if her life depended on it.

She spilled her guts until nothing came out of her. Whatever her last meal was, the color suggested that she must have taken it rare.

Just one small problem—she didn't remember having any.

She didn't dwell on that matter for long, as her world was still spinning, just a little lesser, along with dull throbs. Sitting on the floor and her back against the wall, she learned that not making any drastic move—or not moving at all—was the exact remedy to fix her ordeal.

As she was getting comfortable, her ears began to ring.

And it wasn't all in her head.

Meow.

The cat joined her, rubbing her head and body against Akira's arm.

She appreciated Maris Stella's support. Unless her cat was able to pick up the phone…

"Hey Akira. It's me…"

That cheerful voice was just the boost she needed. She groped for anything that she could reach, be it the ceramic rim of the toilet bowl, to get herself up.

"I tried to reach you through your cell so just in case…Uh, what I mean is…"

Biting down as hard as she could and with all the will she could muster, she had kept her shuddering limbs straight, and remained like that long enough to put herself back on her feet.

"I forgot to tell you the time for tomorrow's celebration…"

Many times she had criticized his prolix status report. But this time…

Keep going.

"Luckily, Touka had your home number."

She scuffled back to the bedroom, her shoulder grazing against the wall. Though slow, she had made some steady progress.

"Anyway, about tomorrow…"

Tomorrow? Had it been a day?

She stopped at the door, trying to catch her breath. Looking up, she saw the phone sitting right on the cupboard, less than ten steps away.

She had to walk across the room if she wanted to catch the call fast.

Without any support.

Haise.

She pushed away from the wall and made her first stride.

"Just come at noon."

Her arm fully extended, hand so close from touching the phone. She wanted to tell him that she had bought a gift. That she was looking forward to seeing him and meeting his children.

Along with Amon.

"Remember to bring an empty stomach. See you tomorrow!"

Thud.

Everything stopped.

She was on her side, staring at the cupboard through a rotated view, both hands crumpling the black fabric over her chest.

She had never been able to catch anything in her life, no matter how hard she tried.

"Amon…" Her shout was too soft, not even close to a whisper.

But she needed him. Now more than ever.

She closed her eyes, her grip lax.

She dreamed about telling him that she had quit her job.

The smile he had… she wouldn't trade it for anything else.