They were at a standstill in front of the station. Morimine shrugged. “Well, we can’t just stand around here and talk about it all day. Let’s go talk tactics somewhere,” he said.
“Good idea … We can borrow the meeting room at the CCG for now.”
“All right.”
Amon took the lead and turned down the side street that led to the CCG’s building. As soon as they started down the alley, which was sandwiched between two tall buildings, it was suddenly rather dark. But Amon was used to it now, since he often came this way.
After a short while, they could see a sliver light at the end of the alley. At the same time, they also saw a shadow coming toward them. Amon squinted into the sunlight trying to see who it was. It was Koharu.
“Oh, hello, Kotaro,” she said, bowing her head deeply. Then Morimine, who had been walking behind Amon, entered her line of sight. She gasped in surprise, staring intently at his face.
“And you’re … a detective.”
“That’s right.”
Morimine had said before that he remembered her from taking her statement once, but she also seemed to remember him.
“I’m sorry, are you on duty right now?”
“We are. Has something happened?” Amon said.
“Um, well …” she stuttered, looking at Morimine. Feeling like he was interrupting something, Morimine looked at Amon and Koharu, then walked a short distance away. Looked at from the outside this must seem like a scene from a romantic movie. Her response was certainly polite, and she appears, for all intents and purposes, to be a normal woman, faultless in every way. Yet Amon turned a skeptical eye toward her.
“So, what is this about?”
Koharu took a paper bag out of her handbag.
“What is it?”
“You said that you wished the cake I gave you before was sweeter so … here.” She handed the bag over. Amon looked inside and saw a cupcake. It smelled much sweeter than the one she had given him before—much more to Amon’s taste. But characteristically, a frown passed over Amon’s face.
“I keep telling you, it’s not a big deal. If you don’t quit doing this it’s going to put me in a difficult position.”
“Y-yes, of course, you’re right. But the one you ate was dirty, and I’m very sorry …” Koharu said, flustered. She blushed and looked down.
“What’s wrong with you, Amon, man? You gotta say thank you when someone gives you something,” said Morimine, lighting a cigarette. He was apparently still paying attention although he was facing the opposite direction.
“Interrupting me like this in the middle of the workday to discuss something private is not all right,” Amon said.
“You really do have a stick up your ass, you know,” Morimine said, exhaling a cloud of smoke. He turned to look Koharu, peeking from behind Amon.
“Forget that—lady, you look very pale. You look a little unwell—I thought that before when I saw you. Do you have some kind of illness or something?”
“Oh, no, I … my adoptive father collapsed and he’s in the hospital. I’ve been caring for him. I guess it must show,” Koharu said, putting her hands to her face.
“You’re adopted?”
“Yes. I lost my parents when I was young …”
“How?”
She did not answer.
“In an accident or what?”
It was just like he was grilling her. Koharu’s mouth twisted and she looked down slowly. Morimine stared at her, waiting for her to answer.
“Amon? Is that you?”
Just then another voice echoed down the alley. Three men, coming from the direction of the station, walked up to join them. It was Yanagi and Tojo, followed by …
“Hard at work, Amon?”
He had sharp eyes and slicked-back hair.
“Fura!”
It was Taishi Fura, the investigator in charge of the 7th Ward, where the Ghoul restaurant was located.
“What are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d come check on things in the 8th. I’ve been on patrol with Yanagi …” Fura trailed off, finally taking notice of Morimine and Koharu’s presence.
“Oh, this is Lieutenant Morimine, who is assisting me with an investigation right now, and this is … a resident of the area.”
Amon had no problem introducing Morimine, but he hesitated for a moment over how to describe Koharu. He hated having conversations unrelated to work while he was on duty, not only because it stalled his investigation, but also because things like this happened.
“I see. We’re heading back to the branch office now, but it looks like you might’ve been on your way back too. See you later.”
“Yes sir.”
Fura, Yanagi, and Tojo passed them and went off.
“So you really do work for the CCG,” Koharu said, once they’d faded into the distance.
“Yes. I am a Ghoul investigator.”
“Oh … I hear that’s a very dangerous job. I’ve been hearing a lot about some disturbing Ghoul incidents lately too. Doesn’t it scare you?”
Amon often got these kinds of questions from civilians. His answer was always the same: “Of course, I’m terrified by Ghouls, and I’ve lost a lot of colleagues to them over the years. But still, somebody has to do it.”
She looked at him.
“I cannot stand by and watch innocent people be attacked and killed by Ghouls. And what’s more, I don’t want to see more people in the world who have lost someone important to them. That’s why I’m out here eradicating Ghouls and trying to return some order to the world. That is the mission that has been given to us at the CCG.”
As Koharu listened, her eyes grew very serious. “That’s incredible,” she exclaimed with a sigh. Then, she started to speak as if she’d made her mind up. “Kotaro, the truth is … my parents were caught up in an incident and killed.”
“What did you say?” This unexpected confession made Amon look at her in surprise.
“It was a dark night, and the moon was hidden behind the clouds … We were all just about to go to bed when a group of men I didn’t know came. My father and mother were … both killed.”
So that’s why she clammed up when Morimine asked her.
“The man who took care of me after I lost my parents is my adoptive father. But now he’s confined to bed and he hasn’t got much time left. So I do understand how it feels to lose people who are important to you.”
As he listened to her story, Amon was also remembering things. The things that happened in the orphanage, where he’d lived with other children who had lost their parents. But the memories were blurry in his mind, as if seen through a heat haze.
“When I heard what you had to say, I realized that I have to find my own way in the world. Sorry for keeping you from your work again and again. Thank you,” Koharu said, and smiled.
After Koharu left, Morimine, who had been watching the entire time, turned to Amon and said, “So you’re a man of the flesh, too.”
“A man of the flesh?” Amon echoed.
“Yeah, that’s why you’ve got such a stick up your ass. Did a woman hurt you or something?”
“What are you talking about?” Amon asked Morimine, who looked amazed.
“If I explained you probably wouldn’t get it,” he said lightly. Unsatisfied with this answer, Amon wanted to question him in detail, but Morimine gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Right, I gotta get back to the CCG. I got stuff to do. I’ll leave you here.”
But I thought we were going to plan out a strategy, Amon thought, confused, as Morimine dashed off.
“What was that about?”
“Hey, Amon, that girl you were with is beautiful!” Tojo said tactlessly when Amon got back to the CCG office. I suppose he’s talking about Koharu. She does seem to have something appealing to most men.
“It was the first time we’d met, but she was looking right at me with those big, round eyes. I found it unnerving.”
“You’re too self-conscious, man, if you get scared because a girl stares at you,” Yanagi said, jumping into the conversation. His face looked sour. But Tojo didn’t seem to hear him.
Then, Fura, who had come to the 8th Ward to take a look at some documents, cut in. “You don’t know anything about her,” he said.
What do you mean?”
“There’s always another side to people, even people that look that good on the outside. So don’t put your own expectations on someone you don’t know that well.”
“Ha, look, Tojo—what you said is so stupid it disgusted Fura too!”
Yanagi hit Tojo on the head like a parent scolding a child.
“No, I just said that because of some experiences I had when I was a younger man,” Fura added, followed by a wry smile.
Amon agreed with Fura, too. Even Ghouls can put on a good face in front of people and then eat someone without batting an eyelid.
“Ghouls,” Amon muttered quietly, then opened the paper bag he was carrying and took out the cupcake. He brought it up to his nose and took a sniff, but there was nothing particularly strange about the smell. He took a bite just to check.
Is there really nothing strange about it?
The flavor was much sweeter and better than the one he’d eaten before. But something about the way Koharu acted and spoke made him feel uneasy.
Amon hid his thoughts from his face as he returned the cupcake, with one bite taken out of it, to the paper bag.