Mitsuba cried out at the sight of the emaciated woman sleeping in the bed. “Mother!” She looked nothing like the woman in the happy family photo Chie had seen before, but Mitsuba’s voice confirmed it. Her mother. Tears began to stream down the girl’s face.
“So this is just supposition on my part, but I think what happened is that, while your mother was looking for your sister, she ran across this Utsumi family, and she may have become their housekeeper as part of her search.”
Mitsuba grabbed on to Chie’s shirt and leaned in close. “Miss Hori, is there some way I can see my mother? Please, I … I want to see her!” While the reality of the situation was grave, it didn’t change the fact that her mother was still alive. She clung to Chie, sobbing as she begged over and over again.
Seeing this, Ikuma spoke up. “The detective on this case really opened up to me after I told him about you, Mitsuba. He knew he wasn’t supposed to, but he let me have this picture, and he also promised me he’d make a special exception in allowing a meeting.”
“Meaning …”
Ikuma flashed Chie a look, and Chie smile brightly. “Meaning yes, you can see her,” she replied. “Do you think now would be all right, Ikuma?”
“Hmm. Maybe? I mean the detective did say he wanted to see Mitsuba ASAP, so it’s probably all right?” Ikuma got out his cell phone and started typing away to check on that.
With Ikuma focusing on that, Chie moved on to the next matter at hand. “Mitsuba, we should use this opportunity to bail on this place and get ready to move someplace else.”
Mitsuba wiped her tears away. “Yeah,” she said with a nod before standing up.
Chie checked her computer one last time, but she didn’t have any new emails. “I hope this won’t take much longer,” she said, sighing as she slipped the laptop into her backpack and hefted it up.
Ikuma made an “OK” sign with his hand. “You’re good to go, Chie!”
“Mitsuba, your mother’s hospital is in the 8th Ward.”
“From here it’s maybe thirty or forty minutes by taxi,” Ikuma said.
“All right. Thank you so much!” Mitsuba said, bowing to both Chie and Ikuma.
Ikuma turned to Chie and nodded. “Ready to get going?”
When they turned toward the door, however, it was already open, and a man was standing there. “Going on a little picnic, are we? I’d be delighted if I could join you.”
“Ah, geez,” Chie muttered.
Ikuma’s face fell. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me …”
Over by the back window, Mitsuba gasped, only just now noticing the intruder, doubtless recognizing him from the picture Chie had shown her previously.
The picture of Shu Tsukiyama feeding on someone.
“So you were right under my nose this whole time. To think you’d be sneaking about in my own townhouse, Hori!” Tsukiyama stepped inside without bothering to slip off his shoes, the door behind him locking with a sharp click as he reached back for it. “But you’ve made a clear mistake in choosing the 23rd Ward, under heavy guard.”
Tsukiyama made grandiose, operatic gestures as he spoke. “You see, knowing you, Hori, I realized you’d probably hide someplace I’d have a hard time getting to. And what place fits the bill better than the 23rd Ward? After that, it was a simple matter of having my attendants do some searching.”
“Took you long enough, all things considered.”
“My master has been busy searching for Kamishiro, and I’ve been aiding him in that. But I finally found the time to swing by,” Tsukiyama said as he hungrily eyed Mitsuba like his prey. “Heh heh … Oh, I’ve longed to meet you, my sad little songstress! Have you been crying? I can see those charming eyes of yours wavering with tears.” He slowly crept closer and closer to Mitsuba.
“Ikuma, can you take Tsukiyama in a fight?” Chie asked.
“Nuh-uh, no way! Can an amateur boxer take on the heavyweight champ? Because that’s basically what you’re asking here!”
Someone had to do something, though, or the girl was as good as dead.
“I’ll replace your pearls of tears with rich rubies of blood … Oh, the very thought of it is just thrilling!” Tsukiyama shouted, his eyes now a flush crimson. He radiated an air of menace that made it hard to even breathe. Mitsuba slumped back onto the floor.
“I should thank you, Hori. This little ordeal you’ve made me go through has ratcheted my appetite up a tiny notch!” Tsukiyama’s Kagune coiled around his right arm like a slithering snake, soon taking on a knifelike shape, which he brandished at Mitsuba. “This is going to be the most fun I’ve had with a meal in a long time!”
No ordinary person—no ordinary Ghoul, even—would be able to bring themselves to take action in the face of such a threat.
Chie turned to Ikuma and snapped, “Ikuma, jump!”
“Oh, goddammit!” Spurred into action, Ikuma’s own eyes went red. Hefting Chie up over one shoulder, he then dove in next to Mitsuba. He yanked her in close with his free hand and, clutching her tight, leapt away from Tsukiyama—and right toward the window as he cried out, “This is why I hate my own peeeeeopplleeee!”
There was the piercing sound of shattering glass as he jumped right through the window, and the three of them began to plummet as gravity took over.
“Eeeeeeeek!”
“Whoa, this is aaaawesome!” Chie’s playful shout intermingled with Mitsuba’s terrified shriek.
Ikuma held the other two tightly and shouted, “Hold on tight!” His Kagune erupted through his skin around his shoulder blades and wrapped around his body in a spiral, reaching all the way down to his feet, where it took on a shape like a spring.
He grunted as his Kagune softened the impact of landing. It still hurt, but considering they’d just leapt from the top floor of an apartment building, it wasn’t too bad at all.
“Wow, you’re really good at carrying stuff!” Chie said.
“That’s why I work part time for a shipping company! But hey, this isn’t the time to joke around like that!”
Mitsuba seemed to have finally realized what Ikuma was. “I-Ikuma, are … are you a … ?”
“Sorry for not saying anything! I wasn’t trying to deceive you. For now, let’s just hope we can get away!” Ikuma quashed his Kagune and began running through the nighttime city streets. It was doubtful that Tsukiyama was just going to stand by and let them run off.
“You’re not getting away that easily!” he cried as he leapt gracefully from the window.