The place I stepped into, the reality I knew, the path I should’ve taken—my father’s back.
“Now then, I’m going to announce the results of the exam the other day.”
A bolt of tension ran through the Academy students as they looked at the instructor, holding the results in his hands. One student had both hands together in prayer; everyone had a sense of passion about it. The instructor looked around the auditorium slowly, then coughed.
“Top marks this time go to Mado. Of course.”
It was a matter of course, and everyone in the auditorium knew it. Akira Mado, the woman of the hour, bowed to the instructor but allowed no visible change to her expression.
There is a group of monsters in this world called Ghouls that remorselessly attack and eat people. And there is the CCG, which exists to eradicate them.
And in the 5th Ward, where many educational facilities such as Teihou University are based, there is an Academy with the purpose of training future Ghoul investigators who will be the future of the CCG. They all had their different reasons for wanting to be investigators, but shared one goal, and Akira was at the top of the class in every way.
“Number one again, huh? That’s just like you, Thoroughbred. Don’t let it get to your head.”
Seido Takizawa, one of her classmates, came sliding up next to her after the assembly to give her this warning. He was the one who always started praying when the instructor announced the results. He was the eternal runner-up, just after Akira. And his irritation showed.
Takizawa stepped into her way to block her path. Akira sighed and looked exasperated.
“That’s rather arrogant of you. Let me through.”
“Don’t push it, Mado. It’s nothing like the Academy out there on the streets.”
“By the way, I saw that on this practical exam you also received an observation for …”
To keep him from saying anything more hurtful, Akira started talking about the minute details of Takizawa’s exam results. It was clear from his expression that she was going into quite a bit more detail than the instructor had.
“What especially stood out to me is the time delay between the release of your Quinque and its initial movement. There’s a lot of time lost before you begin to attack. Your ability is still not good enough to compete with the speed of any Ghoul. You need more training,” she told him in conclusion and crossed her arms. “The reason we’re here, as future investigators, is to gain knowledge and experience to help us carry out our duties. Class rankings and all that is just a result of that.”
“Exactly. I’m going to do great stuff when I’m an investigator, you know.”
“Great. Then put the time you’re using to block my way to good use and practice using your Quinque instead. Bye.”
Akira unfolded her arms and walked around Takizawa. She heard him call her a bitch as she walked past, in a high-pitched, childlike whine. I guess I got the better of him.
But as Akira tried to make her way in a hurry, she got irritated too.
“You’re amazing, Mado. Number one again.”
Everybody was whispering about her as she walked down the hallway.
“Did you know her mom got associate rank when she was twenty-eight?”
“Amazing to make associate at that age as a woman. She must take after her mom.”
Akira’s mother—Kasuka Mado. The rumors were all true—promoted to associate rank at age twenty-eight, then became a professor. If things had stayed as they were, she might’ve made it all the way to the top.
But her mother’s life was cut short by a one-eyed Ghoul. This had all happened years ago now. Since then her father had raised her singlehandedly.
Her father, like her mother, was also an investigator: Kureo Mado.
“And her dad’s a high-ranking investigator, too.”
“Nowhere near as good as his wife or daughter, though.”
They kept on whispering with no sense of shame or guilt.
Akira made it back to the dorm. She went up to her room and opened up her study materials. She was unable to get actual battle experience at the moment, but she got a feel for things when she read over case materials.
Today’s was from the 20th Ward. It had few Ghoul incidents compared to other wards, and yet none of the investigators on staff there carried a Quinque. That didn’t mean there weren’t any Ghouls there. There were many unresolved incidents linked to a Ghoul with strange tastes they called “the Gourmet” and some unidentified Ghouls with ukaku Kagune that appeared to hunt in groups. These creatures can only live by killing people. And the CCG is there to punish them. My father is one of them.
Akira opened another file on her desk. This was a case that her father had been involved with. Her father’s accomplishments, like the Owl Suppression Operation, did not compare unfavorably to other investigators’. So the reason he didn’t get promoted was probably me. Being in a high-rank role takes up your time, making it hard to look after children. My father must’ve passed up on promotions in order to raise me, a motherless girl.
I want to figure out what happened and let everyone know my father’s true strength. The thought swirled around in Akira’s mind. But she didn’t know where to begin.