by Shin Towada
“I’m gonna turn you into pretty little marbles!”
She absolutely refused to be attacked by anyone. And Banjo saw that now.
At the end of the battle, it was Yuri who was turned into pretty little marble-like blobs of flesh, which now scattered themselves to the wind.
“Is this a ‘legitimate use of self-defense’?”
Rize turned and looked at him, smiling. All Banjo, Ichimi, Jiro and Sante could do was nod.
“I love to get messy but I just hate cleaning up. Probably fine if I just leave it, right?”
Without waiting for an answer, Rize started walking away. She only had one more thing to say.
“Man, I’m bored.”
Yuri collapsed, now rendered into a hunk of meat.
After Rize left, Banjo realized he’d been holding his breath and coughed, putting both hands to his chest. Ichimi and the others fiddled with their masks and wiped the sweat from their brows. They were trembling after that show of tremendous power. Only Banjo felt something other than total mortal terror.
“Must be amazing to be that strong …”
“I’d hate it if you were like that, Banjo,” said Ichimi, wryly.
“I wanna be strong …” Banjo said again.
Strength gives birth to violence, but there are some things that can only be won by strength. She can cut her own way with her own strength. Nothing is more beautiful than that.
His admiration did not change when news about Rize’s attack got out and criticism erupted, or even when the leader and other higher-ups decided to purge her.
He remembered the very last thing she’d said as she left.
Well, take care of yourself, Mr. Leader.
Everyone else just laughed and said it was another one of her whims. But Banjo had never thought it was possible for him to be a leader. She had just been deprived of everything, but she gave that word to him freely.
“Rize put her trust in me. So I’m gonna do what I can.”
Look out for the 11th Ward. Protect those who are important.
What waited for Banjo after he broke out of his shell and took a step forward was the fate of the weak, a new kind of robbery.
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.
II
Early the next morning, Akira had arrived at the Academy’s training grounds early to prepare for practical training when she noticed that some others had gotten there first.
She saw Yukinori Shinohara, an Academy instructor whom she knew extremely well. Shinohara had been her father’s partner for a while, and he always looked out for her.
Alongside Shinohara there were two older men. Both held attaché cases in their right hands. Investigators. Something must’ve happened to make them show up at the Academy this early in the morning.
“Oh, you’re
here early, Akira. Morning,” Shinohara said, noticing Akira and interrupting their conversation to greet her. The two men turned to face her.
“Is she a student?”
“Oh, this is Mado’s kid.”
It was a rather oblique comment, but the men seemed to understand instantly. One of them, a slim man who seemed to have a senior rank, narrowed his eyes as he looked at her, and she wondered what was going through his mind. But a moment later his eyes softened, searching her face.
“Wow … so you’re Mado’s daughter, the one they keep saying is top of the class this term. I’m Tada, associate rank. And this is Yanagi.”
They both bowed. They were both the same age as Shinohara. A veteran unit. But Akira noticed something curious about the way Tada looked at her. People who look at you that way are not usually your friends.
“She’s just like her mother. Thank God she’s not like her Quinque maniac father.”
Sure enough, now he has to go and praise my mother by saying something indelicate about my father.
“Watch it, Tada.”
“What? I thought the young lady would like to hear what an excellent mother she had,” he said and laughed.
Ignoring him, Akira asked Shinohara, “What happened?”
“Well, actually, last night a woman was attacked by a Ghoul in this ward. A child who lives nearby heard and yelled, so the Ghoul got away. He seems to have come in this direction.”
“It’s hard to imagine a Ghoul coming near the CCG Academy on purpose, but we had come to ask if anyone nearby had seen any suspicious persons, just to be certain. But it was a swing and a miss, as expected. Anyway, any Ghoul that runs at the sound of a child crying will turn up sooner or later.”
Tada’s prediction seemed aimed at Shinohara somehow, and Akira picked up on it.
“But if the Ghoul in question did come toward the Academy on purpose, then the Academy must hold some kind of merit to him. Can one really afford to throw away this line of investigation?”
Tada looked dazzled for a second before he began to laugh, holding his sides.
“Ha ha, what’s all this now? Not even an investigator yet and she’s already bossing us around! Boy, the elite sure are different after all.”
“I make my judgment based on what I’ve heard.”
“She certainly does talk a lot. Ah, youth. I was like that, too, once …”
After mocking her a little, Tada looked her right in the eyes.
“But if you’ve judged the situation incorrectly, it’s your life on the line.”
I probably shouldn’t snap back at him. After all, I’m just a student. But Akira responded instantly, her eyes never wavering for a second.
“There’s one thing I do know, though. Mr. Tada, you are too fat.”
Her words had nothing to do with the previous topic of conversation. Time stopped for a moment. Akira continued, unconcerned.
“Fat is our enemy, because as humans we are always behind Ghouls in terms of speed. A second’s the difference between life and death. Taking a look at you, I’d say you have about another twenty pounds to drop. And if you don’t, it’s your life on the line.”
Her criticism was scathing. Tada, having heard all he could take, turned bright red.
“What did you say to me?! Just because I disagreed with you, you got angry and went off like that? What, you think you can solve this case yourself?!”
In contrast to Tada’s fiery anger, Akira quietly folded her arms.
“I’m just an Academy student.”
“Oh, now you use that as a shield!”
“No. I’m just worried that if I solve the case, that means you’re worse than an Academy student. And that, of course, would make you worse than my father, too.”
“Akira, cut it out,” said Shinohara, intervening. Tada stared at her.
“If you think you can do it, do it! Stupid little girl,” he spat out, then left the training ground.
“Dammit, do you always have to take such a controversial stance?” Shinohara said, scratching his beard.
“What do we know about the Ghoul that ran away?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. We have a sample of the Ghoul’s saliva, found on the victim. The kid who witnessed it said the Ghoul was wearing a black mask with red spots, like a ladybug.”
“A ladybug?” Comparing a Ghoul’s mask to a familiar insect seemed childish to her.
“So what are you going to do, Akira?” Shinohara asked, looking tired.
“I’ll need some extracurricular training,” she said, not beating around the bush.
Her intuition also worked opposite from what Tada thought.
The exchange between Tada and Akira was overheard by other Academy students who came to the training ground after Akira. The story spread in an instant.
“You moron! You got into a fight with an investigator, and an associate-ranked one at that! You’re supposed to listen to your elders, you know!” Takizawa said, fussing at her before their afternoon lecture.
He thinks he’s got the high ground for once.
“I simply offered an opinion that he could not agree with. And submitting blindly to what your superiors say is nothing but abdication of one’s duty to think freely.”
Takizawa muttered, “That’s what people always say in situations like this …” His eyes latched on to some copies lying on her desk. “What’s that? Copies from newspapers?”
“I made a copy of the article about yesterday’s Ghoul attack. And all the records of Ghoul attacks in this ward in the last five years.” She had spent the entire lunch break in the library.
“ ‘Attacked and injured, but no serious wounds.’ Don’t you think the Ghoul who attacked this woman is long gone by now?”
“No, I don’t,” she said immediately.
“So what do you think?”
“I think the culprit is still near the Academy somewhere.”
“But why here, with the CCG all over? It’s like a mouse taking a nap next to a cat.”
“That’s a remarkably easy-to-understand comparison coming from you. But it’s wrong.”
“Remarkably, huh? All right, do you have any proof or evidence?” he said, banging his fist down on the desk. Akira raised one finger.
“Intuition.”
“What?!”
Takizawa didn’t know what to say, but for Akira, this was one of the most logical things to base an investigation on.
“I have faith in my intuition.”
This is a battle not just against Tada, but against everyone who’s put my father down.
“What do you mean?” asked Takizawa, his head spinning.
That night, Akira took all the information she had found back to her room and spread out a map. First, she put a red X where the previous night’s incident took place. Then, using a color-coding system to denote cases which were thought to be linked, she put all the unresolved incidents on the map. There were lots of cases that didn’t appear to have any links.
Finally, Akira marked the locations of CCG branch offices and the Academy. Then she began to see a small trend of incidents clustered around these locations.
First, the 5th Ward branch office. There was not extensive predatory behavior in the area. Ghouls have their own common sense, and apart from a few Ghouls who liked to hunt investigators, most seemed to have decided that attacking anyone in that area was too dangerous.
On the other hand, many more incidents had taken place around the Academy in the past than near any of the 5th Ward branch offices.
It didn’t take a lot of deep thinking to see what that meant: it meant that the Academy was much less of a deterrent to Ghouls than any of the investigators in the 5th Ward. With fine instructors and experts at Ghoul extermination all over the 5th Ward, the Academy must look like a playground by comparison. It was natural. With that in mind, it was not too surprising that Ghouls would consider the Academy less risky to come near.
III
It was a few days after Aki
ra and Tada’s fight. Akira’s classes were over for the day, so she decided to visit the staff room, where Shinohara was.
“The saliva sample found on the victim was analyzed by inspectors, but apparently it’s the first time that profile has been found,” he told her when she asked how the investigation was going.
“Does that mean this Ghoul has preyed before without leaving a trace?”
If there was a precedent, the CCG would have the documentation. That often offered some hints, but this time they were starting from scratch.
“This Ghoul has been very careful.”
Tada had talked loudly about how any Ghoul who was scared off by a child would be found sooner or later, but the investigation seemed to have hit an unexpected wall.
“Tada’s going to start investigating around the Academy today.”
Now that the information available was limited, he was taking even negative comments.
“His prospects aren’t bad as an associate.”
“Hm. Well, Tada hasn’t been very well lately.”
Shinohara furrowed his brows, looking worried.
“Although your technique improves with experience, as you get older your body slows down and your mind doesn’t work as fast as it did when you were younger. It’s a constant battle at our age.”
Shinohara also muttered something about this case being the particular battle that Tada had chosen to fight.
“He ought to lose some weight first.”
“Ha ha, well, I think so too. But Tada’s the kind of guy who’s always looked like that and has racked up successes in the organization anyway. He’s not like you; in fact, he may be your polar opposite. But he’s always respected your mother.”
That’s nice, but it doesn’t make me any less unhappy about the way he talked about my father. That’s why I want to solve the case first and find this Ghoul. The ladybug. Where can it be?
Suddenly something worried her.
“How old was the child who saw the Ladybug?”
“Oh, about five or six.”