In the back of her mind, Chie was sure that Kaneki was wondering why they’d need Tsukiyama as an intermediary when they were already in direct contact with each other. She folded her arms and said, “Because I’ll be able to get much better pictures that way.”
Kaneki tilted his head at first, but the smile soon returned to his face. “Very well,” he said with a nod, appearing satisfied that the agreement was to Chie’s benefit. “Tsukiyama,” he added as he turned away from Chie and the others. “I don’t know the details, but I believe Chie is on her way to take some pictures. I’d like you to see her and her friends there, safely.” And with that, Kaneki vanished into the night.
“What is the meaning of this, Hori?” Tsukiyama asked once Kaneki was out of sight, his eyebrows raised.
“I need your help to do what’s asked of me, Tsukiyama. Which means you’re that much more valuable now, right? I mean it’s not like I’ve asked for anything that’ll inconvenience you.”
Chie had gotten in touch with Kaneki first thing in the interest of helping Mitsuba escape. She’d figured that if she could curry favor with Kaneki by being useful, she could get Tsukiyama to give up his claim on Mistuba. And now, Tsukiyama could use Chie as a means of getting closer to Kaneki.
Tsukiyama, clever was he was, had probably weighed his options on the spot and realized which choice benefited him more. “Heh heh heh … Aha ha ha hah! Oh, you’re as clever as ever, you sneaky little rodent!” After he stopped laughing, his eyes narrowed to crescent slits. “Not bad.”
The issue had been resolved. “Man, I’m exhausted!” Chie said as she stretched her arms out. She then pointed her camera in the direction Kaneki had vanished and peered through the finder, muttering, “I totally get how you got so obsessed, Tsukiyama.”
“As my master has directed, I’ll see you there safely,” Tsukiyama said.
“The safest way would be if you weren’t with us,” Chie said in defiance of propriety.
“Ha ha ha. You really are a unique one,” Tsukiyama chuckled. “Then I shall go and ask Kaneki more details about what he’d like you to look into for him.” And with that, he departed, leaving the others with a sense of relief at long last.
When Chie, Ikuma, and Mitsuba finally arrived at the hospital, the detective was there, wreathed in the scent of cigarette smoke. When he spotted Mitsuba, he approached her and asked, “Are you Kotone Mitsuba, miss?”
“Yes.”
“And is it correct that your older sister, Kiyone Mitsuba, went missing nine years ago, and that your mother is Kazene Mitsuba?”
“Yes, that’s … that’s right.”
Hearing that, the detective took something out of his coat pocket and showed it to Mitsuba. “This was among your mother’s belongings. Do you have any idea why that might be?”
In the detective’s hand was a toy microphone. Mitsuba’s lips trembled. “My … my sister loved that thing since she was little. She always carried it around with her as a sort of good-luck charm.”
A sorrowful look crossed the detective’s face. “I see …” he murmured. He then spoke briefly with some of the hospital staff before heading toward the patient rooms. “This way.”
He led them to a private room deeper within the hospital. The curtains were drawn, and it was dark, but the detective switched on the light near the pillow.
“Mother!” Mitsuba gasped as the light shone on the woman’s face. The girl drew herself in close, but whether because her mother’s condition was too poor or because she was simply sleeping, she gave no response.
The detective launched into an explanation. “A Ghoul named Koharu Utsumi, who’d kidnapped high school girls on the orders of Yujiro Utsumi, left behind the belongings of her victims. And not just those belonging to your sister, Kiyone Mitsuba.”
Mitsuba was sobbing so heavily that she may not even have heard him. Nevertheless, he continued. “But thanks to you, we now know your mother had one of your late sister’s belongings in her possession. Apparently, your mother acted as Koharu Utsumi’s caretaker and was quite fond of her. Perhaps she developed some affection for her while working for the Utsumi household.”
The sound of Mitsuba crying filled the small room as the detective spoke. “Perhaps Koharu realized that one of the high school girls she’d abducted had been her caretaker’s daughter, and had confessed by giving back one of her belongings. Your mother had a large sum of money set aside in order to make a getaway. Maybe Koharu gave her the microphone and told her to run, but your mother …” The detective stopped short, and then bowed his head deeply toward Mitsuba. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stop your mother.”
Mitsuba, still clinging to her mother, slowly looked back up and then shook her head slightly. “Detective, you saved my mother after she tried to kill herself. I’d never have been able to see her again if not for that … I’m so happy to have even this.”
Mitsuba took her mother’s hand and pressed it against her cheek. Tears ran down her mother’s fingers, and Mitsuba’s breath washed over her skin.
“… right?” The voice was so quiet that it almost escaped notice. Surprised, everyone in the room looked around to see who had spoken, only to find that Mitsuba’s mother, who’d seemingly been asleep, had opened her eyes ever so slightly.
“Mother!”
“What are … you doing here?” It was now clearly her mother who spoke. Tears were welling up in her eyes.
“Mom? Do you … Do you know who I am?” Mitsuba asked, clutching her mother’s hand in hers.
“Of course I do,” her mother replied, nodding several times before saying, “You’re Kiyone …”
The detective started to correct her. “No, that’s—”
Mitsuba waved a hand to cut him off. “Yes, that’s right,” she told her mother with a smile. “I’m sorry for worrying you, mom. But I became an idol singer. I’m not famous or anything yet, but I made my dream come true! That’s why I came to see you, mom!” She clutched the toy microphone in her hand, a determined gleam set in her eyes. “Will you be one of my fans?”
Tears were streaming from her mother’s eyes. “Of course I will,” she replied.
Mitsuba embraced her mother tightly. “Thank you, mom,” she said.
Her mother showed a smile of utter relief at those words, and then slipped back into sleep. As she breathed gently, Mitsuba watched her with unwavering determination in her eyes.
She had clearly made some sort of decision.
Chie felt goosebumps all over her body. This was that sensation, that moment she’d been waiting for. Quietly, she readied her camera.
“From today onward,” Mitsuba said, “I will be ‘Kiyone.’ ”
Tears fell from her eyes as she spoke, and Chie clicked the shutter in order to capture that perfect moment.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Whew! Well, that sure was quite the ordeal,” Chie said, back at the condo, thinking back on things as she stared at one of her photos on her computer—the photo of Mitsuba’s teary-eyed face. She’d gone through quite a bit to get that picture.
Apparently, Mitsuba’s mother’s memories were muddled. In addition to thinking that Mitsuba was her deceased older sister, she’d apparently forgotten about Mitsuba herself. Perhaps the hardships she’d been through had altered her recollections.
As Chie puttered about on her computer, an exasperated sigh broke the silence of the room. She turned to see Tsukiyama standing there. This was his condo, after all. He stepped inside without bothering to ask permission.
“Don’t worry. I’ll leave as soon as my phone’s finished charging,” Chie said as she chewed on some candy she’d gotten from Ikuma.
“No can do, I’m afraid,” Tsukiyama said. “Kaneki has a request for you, Hori.”
Kaneki, a man so exquisitely unbalanced that people couldn’t help but be drawn to him. Chie got to her feet. “Is that so?” she muttered. “Well, guess I’d better get to it!”
Chie called up the mental image of Kaneki in her mind.
She was certain that, someday, she’d be able to take a great picture of him.