Days: Chapter 3

'''Little Mouse(子ネズミ) is the second chapter in the Tokyo Ghoul:Days.

Characters

 * Shuu Tsukiyama
 * Chie Hori
 * Matsumae

Summary
The story takes place at the time when Tsukiyama and Hori were still in high school

First Part
He had to tell the world himself. For he was the “gourmet” Tsukiyama Shuu. This story happened a few years before Kaneki met Rize, a time where he spent his days as a “human” and was under the illusion that the world was at peace. In this city, ghouls already existed. On a night where the moon shone prettily he was hunting a certain prey. The part of the prey he liked best were his calves.

His prey’s daily routine was to go running after work and it was said that he had once taken part in a major Japanese marathon.* But now that man didn’t have legs to run anymore. The sight of him noticing the suspicious person behind him and trying to shake him off with all his might had been a beautiful one, but to a ghoul like Tsukiyama it was the same as chasing after an infant.

"Your legs I saw leaping over the ground…without a trace of unwanted muscle. I am grateful for this life of yours. You were running all your life for exactly this moment, for the sake of getting digested by me!"

In the middle of a park where no soul could be seen, the man who had now lost both legs lay submerged in a sea of his own blood. He had lost consciousness due to a shock caused by blood loss. Getting no reaction off him anymore, Tsukiyama was kind of lonely. And yet, he held these legs in his hands and they stimulated his appetite to the brink.

"Don’t worry, of course you’re the main dish. You were so kind to do the preliminary arrangements. Then, I shall eat your flesh before it starts to spoil!” Tsukiyama said while an expression of ecstasy surfaced on his face, as he took the man’s lower leg into his hands and started to lick the blood off.

Tsukiyama’s body had clearly outgrown that of a boy’s, yet his demeanor remained too childlike to refer to him as an adult.While his pupils, which had turned crimson like a pomegranate, made him look monstrous, they brought about a fascinating charm.

Tsukiyama Shuu was 16 years old. When the sun was up, he was just a normal high school student and made an effort in his studies, but his true identity was that of a “ghoul.” He was a chosen existence, a being that had to be chosen. And what was essential to enhance him even more was the “gourmet” part.

“Become my nourishment to make me shine even more!”

It was exactly at that moment, when Tsukiyama opened his mouth so wide that his graceful face became distorted as he vigorously tried to bite into the lower leg of the man.

“…?!”

Suddenly, he saw a dazzling light. A flash like lightening was accompanied by the clicking sound of a shutter.

While chewing thoroughly on the flesh he had bitten off, Tsukiyama turned towards the source of the sound and light. However, even before he could grasp the situation he heard an unexpected sound.

“Alriiiiiiight, I got it!!”

A person held a digital reflex camera in their right hand and pointed with the left hand at the starry sky. Judging from the appearance it was a girl who could have been in elementary school. Dragging his consciousness from the meal he had been concentrating on, he turned toward the girl and let the meat he had bitten off pass through his throat without chewing it down properly.

At the moment when his throat made a gulping sound Tsukiyama finally came back to his senses and started to tremble with anger and said, “How dare you interrupt me…”

He had to swallow it down without having been able to fully taste it yet, his Dinner. Staying utterly ignorant of this fact, the girl hopped up and down as if personifying joy with her whole body. "…you disturbed my FIRST BITE!!"

Tsukiyama tossed the leg of the man and kicked the ground. The impact on the point he had tread on was so great that a hole had formed. Tsukiyama went in a straight line towards the girl and bared his teeth at her with the intention to extinguish her life. A few seconds later the body count would increase…or at least it was supposed to.

"Whoa!"

However, the girl made herself small by bending over and shrewdly hid behind the slide.

Tsukiyama’s fist destroyed the slide’s prop and in the middle of that the girl raised her voice and said “Woooow!” in an admiration that made it hard to think that she grasped the situation. Then she fled at full speed, making the backpack she was carrying sway back and forth. How could she even dodge his attack? Perhaps she was a ghoul, or maybe a ghoul investigator?

But she didn’t smell like a ghoul and there was no sign of the human counter-measure against ghouls, a quinque. It was a profoundly normal human scent that could be found just about anywhere.

She seemed to know the surrounding area very well, because she dashed off downtown without hesitation. He felt that she was much faster than the swift-footed man he had chosen for dinner. She ran on a narrow lane and calmly cut across another person’s home, went forth, back, to the right and to the left, showing rampant movement. Tsukiyama jumped on a bunch of nearby boxes, leaped towards a utility pole, took hold of a bolt and with one big swing, like a high bar athlete, catapulted himself to the top of the building.

"You…! You fidgety swift little mouse!!”

Late at night, when the whole city was asleep, unnaturally fast footsteps could be heard. Even if one could not see the figure running, one could grasp the feeling of it and above all, Tsukiyama was the owner of an exceptional sense of smell. After a while the girl entered a narrow alleyway and came to a halt. The game of tag would end here.

He lightly jumped from above the roof and landed a small distance away from her. The girl was showing her back to him and sat down, her body quivering repeatedly. He was wondering if she was trembling with fear.

Once again Tsukiyama observed the girl’s figure. She had a small stature with casually cut black hair. It was also because she was sitting down but she was roundly shaped and that made her look like a hamster.

Her body was so uninteresting that he was impressed that a human could be so unattractive. All the same, to disturb Tsukiyama Shuu’s meal was a grave crime and while wondering how he should vent his anger he started to walk towards the girl.

But now the girl turned around with a loud “Ta-dah!”

After all she doesn’t understand the situation, he thought as her beaming face emerged in his eyes. Unable to guess what in the world she was thinking, he froze for a moment. To him, in this state, she boasted from afar: “Look, isn’t this cool?!”

She held a laptop in her hands, revealing what was on the screen.

"Wait, tha- that’s me!?" It was a picture of Tsukiyama as he was about to bite into his prey. She released a sharp breath and got up with a jerk to look at his face.

"You’re Tsukiyama Shuu, aren’t you?" Another shock, she had uttered his name. Who in the world was this hamster?

He immediately upped the security level on the girl before him and became wary. The girl pulled something out of her backpack.

"Here, look at this!"

She showed him without hesitation the student ID of the school Tsukiyama was attending, the Seinan Gakuin University’s Affiliated Senior High School. There, next to her ID picture was written the name Hori Chie.

Not sure if it was the correct pronunciation, Tsukiyama questioningly said: “Hori…Chie?”

She closed the student ID and answered with a carefree smile coming to her face: “Yes, you can call me Hori Chie. I’m tired from running around so much. Treat me to something sweet!”

Tsukiyama Shuu sat at a table in a café that was still open late at night. In front of him sat Hori Chie, who was stuffing herself with an extra large parfait at high speed. She greedily devoured the food in such an unparalleled indecent manner that it left him wondering if she hadn’t had a meal in days.

"Can’t you eat in a more ladylike manner, you dirty little rodent."

She seemed to be fed up with her coffee cup, but then lightly retorted “I’m not a lady anyway.”

Certainly, if you looked at her, from top to toe she was far from being a lady. Such a girl was attending the same high school as he, and on top of that she seemed to be in the same grade. Quickly Hori Chie finished eating her parfait, drank up her juice and finally began to talk.

“‘You know, somehow I knew you smelled of a scoop, Tsukiyama-kun.”

A scoop. In that case, she was either going to sell this information somewhere or perhaps she was going to try to threaten him. But the girl just caressed her camera gently and said: “That’s why I was lying in wait for a long time. And bingo! I’m completely satisfied.”

Hearing her talk about her accomplishments, Tsukiyama wondered if she was playing cat and mouse with him. He placed the cup on the saucer and asked: “What is your purpose?”

At that, Chie tilted her head: “What purpose? I’ve already achieved it.”

“Pardon me?”

"Look," she said while shaking her camera up and down, "I was just tailing you because I wanted to take an amazing picture. But this surpassed my expectations…that’s why I’ve already achieved my goal.”

"That can’t be it, there’s no way that someone would have a decisive scoop against someone as magnificent as me because it happened to be their hobby and wrap it up like this!"

"So, you want to be exposed? If that’s what you want I can do it anytime," Chie said and rummaged in her backpack to get out the laptop.

“Non, non! Now now, calm down little friend.” Tsukiyama replied with his usual habit of mixing in foreign words. Even though she complained with a “Huh, which one is it?” she meekly obeyed and put the backpack down beside her.

Still, what was up with her composure even though she had him in front of her? A ghoul who just a few hours ago was about to devour a man’s legs. Moreover, it was unheard of for a human to be able to capture the scene of such an inhumane atrocity as calmly as her. What on earth was the basis for such a mindset? Perhaps, just like the proverb of the abilities of a falcon, she was just an abnormally perceptive human being. She was able to capture a crucial moment, without him noticing her there, so it certainly could be possible.

Yes, it would be the most convincing answer.

Trying to shift gears, this time he asked her: “So the act of taking a picture must surely be something precious to you? So much that you would risk your own life for it.”

Most humans would open up in delight when talking about something they had a passion for. Well, ghouls were probably no different in that aspect.

Yet she seemed to get tired of the conversation because she was starting to swing her feet up and down, saying: “No, I’m not thinking about such complicated things and I don’t wanna die either.”

There was no sign that she would take the bait.

"I don’t get it, then why did you do it?"

"Hm?"

The girl had an absent look and sank into silence for some time. It was okay, he would wait for her to answer, and however trivial the words she would speak he would catch hold of her unconscious thoughts and bring her true nature to light. But her answer fell completely short of his expectations.

"Ah, I’m starting to get tired."

Hori Chie let out a bad-mannered yawn, rubbed her eyes, got up and said: “Ah, I’m not really interested in showing the picture to anyone. Life is dear to me and all. Thanks for the parfait, see ya.”

She put on her backpack and started to walk at a brisk pace.

“Wait, rodent!

Without listening to Tsukiyama’s plea, she left the cafe, leaving him to pay for her.

“Santo cielo!! [Good heavens] That I would be charged with such an ordeal like this!”

The forsaken Tsukiyama ordered another cup of coffee and got lost in thought. To kill the girl would be easy enough, but to erase her wholly while understanding so little about her would be too rash. There was also the possibility of this being some kind of trap and if he simply lunged at her it could have some kind of terrible backlash.

Deep in his thoughts, he heard a gentle voice in the back of his mind tell him: “Tsukiyama-kun, you should be a little more careful.”

It was the voice of the owner of the café Anteiku, Yoshimura. When he stopped by the other day he had given him this advice. At the time Tsukiyama had told him that everything was under control and that there was no need to worry, but now?

Mister Yoshimura, were you talking about that little mouse? Because of things like this, he was not a person to be disregarded.

Tsukiyama nudged at the coffee cup with his finger.

Second Part
The prestigious Seinan Gakuin University’s Affiliated Senior High School. The selling point of this school was its educational objective to enhance the value of the individual and let the students grow as people. For that, they especially respected the freedom and creativity of the students. Many children from influential and wealthy families were enrolled here, and so, it was also known as a “celeb” school.

“Good morning, Tsukiyama-san.”

“You look well today.”

“Ah, good morning charming girls. It’s as if I’m hearing angels sing.”

Using such lovely words, one would immediately feel his sophistication when hearing its elegant enunciation. The parents of these girls had been thorough in teaching them manners, and they had been refined all their life, so Tsukiyama returned his best smile.

“Charming…?”

“That he can actually bring himself to say cheesy stuff like that…”

Unlike the elementary and middle school division, more common students were allowed to enroll in the high school division. There were quite a few rude ones among them. Tsukiyama turned to look at the students in the corner of the classroom who were making remarks about him.

“Anyone who sees these girls would think that way. I just happened to voice my opinion. Having you deny my honest compliments kind of hurts…”

But I’m right aren’t I? he thought with his eyes half shut. Swallowed in the peculiar air Tsukiyama brought with his words, the two classmates fell silent. Even if he didn’t show his fangs, the weak were no match for the strong.

“Oh, before I forget…”

Tsukiyama left the classroom and headed for the one two rooms down. The person he was thinking about hadn’t arrived at school yet, so he leaned back against the hallway, folded his arms, and waited for about ten minutes.

“… There she is.”

The sound of noisy, hasty footsteps reached Tsukiyama’s ears. It was the girl who had caught the scene of him eating his prey on camera, Hori Chie. When he saw her, he noted the camera dangling from her neck and a backpack that looked like it was against the school regulations. Tsukiyama lifted himself from the wall and turned towards the girl. It seemed that she had finally noticed him.

“Good morning!”

But as soon as she said that, she quickly entered the classroom. Maybe it was just like the girl had said last night, she already got what she wanted so she didn’t intend to be involved with him anymore. No, it was too soon to be relieved, for she had learned about his secret. From that day on, Tsukiyama had begun observing her with caution.

“Hori-san? I’m not sure if I should say it, but she’s famous at school for being an oddball.”

When he asked others about her, they all gave the same answer. They all told him that she was a photography maniac with a bizarre carefree spirit. He hadn’t been aware of it before, but he now noticed her chasing bugs in the courtyard during break time and climbing trees after school, taking photos of the sky. She was always restless and active, doing strange things.

“Oh look, it’s Hori-san!”

“She sure is lively.”

While listening to the whispers of others, Tsukiyama heard Chie’s footsteps approach. Her footsteps resounded in a steady staccato. Just how energetic was she?

“… Hm, she’s finally here.”

Then his ears caught different footsteps from afar. During the break, the homeroom teacher Matsumae appeared in the classroom. She asked him, “Tsukiyama-kun, do you have a minute?”

“Yes,” Tsukiyama answered, following her into the hallway.

Matsumae asked in a hushed voice that could not be heard by anyone around them, “Shall I erase her, Shuu-sama?”

Tsukiyama shook his head as if to admonish her.

“Matsumae… I’m happy that you would go so far, but this is my problem. Besides, if I can overcome this issue, I feel like I can scale up again. I have to clean up after myself.”

She was a servant of the Tsukiyama family, Matsumae. Of course, she was also a ghoul.

“I… I apologize. It was not my place to pry into Shuu-sama’s matters. I am ashamed of myself.”

“No, it’s all right. Your feelings have been conveyed well enough. Leaving that aside, have you been so kind as to investigate that girl?”

Matsumae respectfully bowed her head in assent.

“Yes. Hori Chie. Her family is very ordinary. She did well in the entrance exam, so it seems that she was admitted to the school with a scholarship. But after she enrolled, her grades fell and became inconsistent, and it became difficult for her to continue receiving the scholarship.”

It appeared that she was not passionate about studying. If that were the case, then why did she choose this school? Just as Tsukiyama was wondering about this, Matsumae said, “It seems that her reason for applying at this school was ‘because it was the closest one to her home.’”

“After that, she improved her grades to a level where she could get the scholarship, but as you’re probably aware of, the only thing that makes her burn with passion is photography. She doesn’t seem to participate in club activities, but I spoke with the advisor of the photography club and when he looked at her pictures, he said that there were some pictures so unskillfully taken that it left him wondering if a child had taken them. But then, he also evaluated, that there were also some pictures so excellent that no amateur could have taken them.”

Maybe she was just as inconsistent with photography as she was with her studies; like a guinea pig moving around with no purpose.

“I am also teaching her class, but in my honest opinion, I don’t see anything special about her. She is not studious enough to call a hard worker, but it’s not like she is so laid back that you could call her lazy.”

“You’re saying that you can’t distinguish her from an idiot or a sage. That’s just like the tarot card number zero, ‘The Fool.’”

“I am sorry for not being able to help you.”

“No, it’s fine. Tell me if something else comes up.”

“As you wish.”

Apparently, things were going to be unusually difficult. Even so, it intrigued him how she could stay wrapped up in mystery even as he investigated her. Maybe it was time he improved his knowledge on humans.

When Tsukiyama returned to the classroom and reached his seat, the girl sitting next to him asked, “Did something happen?”

She had beautiful silken black hair, and an intellectual look. Unlike the impression she made, a glint of enthusiasm could be seen behind those eyes.

“You were listening, Miss Ikaru?”

“It’s because you were speaking in such loud voices. I was even wondering if you were letting me hear it on purpose. So what is it about Hori-san?”

Hearing their whispering voices in the hallway from the classroom, which was flooded with noise during break time, was a feat that no ordinary human was capable of. However, it was a different story for ghouls. They usually concealed themselves, and this girl was one of those impressive ghouls who tried to blend into human society. Their great effort and attitude was something to be amazed at.

“The truth is, she caught a picture of me during my ‘meal.’”

“… No way!”

“Idiot me… it’s true.”

Tsukiyama shrugged, sighed deeply, and shook his head. She frowned at him and asked, “Why didn’t you kill her?”

“Because I have yet to grasp her true nature.”

Taken aback, the girl mumbled, “How troublesome…”

Just then, Chie came running down the hallway. Their eyes followed her as Tsukiyama continued, “I wasn’t interested in her before so I hadn’t known, but that little mouse seems to be pretty famous for being an oddball here at school.”

“Speaking of being famous, you’re also pretty much a celebrity here since you’re the scion of the distinguished Tsukiyama family. Your family has deep connections and influence in the worlds of politics and business. If I remember correctly, your family amassed a fortune during your grandfather’s generation.”

As if to show reverence, Tsukiyama placed a hand on his chest as he boasted, “That’s because my grandfather was an adventurer. He exported ‘unusual things’ all over the world and built a fortune. He’s my pride.”

“On top of all that, you’re accomplished academically and athletically. And yet, you have this… unique way you act. You’re eye catching, whether you want to be or not. I’m surprised that none of your family has been found out yet though you’re all so conspicuous. It’s admirable.”

Once again, Chie ran down the hallway past them. The conversation came to a halt as they turned their gazes towards her for a second time.

“Isn’t it odd that you never noticed her even though she’s so noisy? I can feel how particular you are about your ‘selection.’”

Perhaps he didn’t notice her because she had a dull scent that could be found anywhere and could not stimulate his appetite at all. He also could not feel any attraction towards her childlike body. Maybe that was why she didn’t show up on his radar. He unconsciously excluded her because she was not a gourmet target.

“It’s strange that she has such a camera with an excellent lens like that though, when she doesn’t seem to have the financial means to acquire it. It’s a high-end model by Canon.”

He was not very familiar with how common people dealt with money, but it seemed far too expensive to think that her parents could have bought it for her as a present. She showed no signs of working part-time somewhere either, so he wondered how she could get her hands on that camera.

“It seems that she uploads her pictures as stock photos online.”

“Stock photos?”

“Yes, and she gets paid when they’re commercially used. In their own way, stock photos can fetch a pretty good price.”

So Chie was smart enough to do that. A curiosity towards her welled up where before he had felt indifferent. But this opponent was a girl who had come to know about his secret. Perhaps it was time to challenge her to a game. Watching Chie pass the hallway for the third time, a wide smile crossed Tsukiyama’s face.

After classes were over that day, he found the small girl crawling along the lawn at the corner of the school building and approached her. He tried following her line of sight, hoping to discover what in the world she was looking at, but there was nothing except the lawn. Despite that, he heard the continuous sound of the shutter clicking.

“What are you photographing, little mouse?”

“Oh, you were there?”

When she heard him call out to her, Chie turned to him and suddenly got up.

“This!”

She fumbled around with the camera and showed him the pictures she had taken.

“Forgive me if I’m wrong… but I can only see the lawn.”

“That’s right. That’s because I took pictures of it.”

“Why would you take pictures of something so boring?”

That she, who had taken shocking pictures of a ghoul’s feast, would choose dull grass as her subject… the difference was just too great. But Chie was satisfied. Maybe he had used the wrong words.

He could not risk his chance by offending her now, so he said, “No… now that I look at it more closely, it’s not bad at all. Each blade of grass forms a prism and together they give off the brilliance of emeralds… it’s very interesting. Even as he praised her to take back the words he said before, Chie simply answered, “Huh, really? I think it’s boring though.”

Sheesh, this girl won’t just act as expected, will she?

“Well then, excuse me,” Tsukiyama replied, cutting off the topic.

He regarded her expression and spoke politely, “Actually, there is somewhere I would like to go with you. Of course, I don’t intend to let you be harmed.”

She was a hard catch, but she had to bite at this. Tsukiyama continued, “I’m sure it could be of intere—”

“Okay.”

Before he could even lay out the bait, she had readily accepted the invitation. This left Tsukiyama bewildered for a second. Tinkering with her camera, Chie said, “It sounds kinda interesting.”

I see. She might also have a keen sense of smell.

Third Part
To get Chie to agree to come with him was surprisingly easy. Tsukiyama had brought her to a university hospital a little ways away from the high school.

When she saw where he was taking her, she asked him, “Are you not feeling well, Tsukiyama-kun?”

Not being able to stand still, Chie restlessly headed towards the hospital, taking photographs of the scenery and exterior of the hospital at the same time.

Tsukiyama spoke, “I’d like to tell you something first — I really love humans.”

“So much that you want to eat them.”

“No, I didn’t only mean in that aspect. Humans are prospering on this earth despite not having the claws or fangs to survive in the wild. I’m asking myself what their driving force is, what is their true essence?”

“But you’re still eating them.”

“Yeah, I’m eating them.”

The two entered the hospital, got into the elevator, and ascended until they reached the general ward. They were alone together in the elevator when Chie casually asked, “Is it all right for you to just stroll into the hospital like this?”

“Oh, it’s fine. Everything’s going according to plan.”

They arrived on the eighth floor. It was not only a ward here, but also an atrium. The big open space had a lawn spread across it with many lush, bright green trees that created an area for patients to relax. Patients and their families were peacefully chatting and laughing.

“Well then, here we are,” Tsukiyama said, gazing at the nurse station. Inside were several nurses on stand-by. One of them was a young woman who noticed Tsukiyama looking.

“Oh Tsukiyama-kun, you’re dropping by again? And who is she? …Oh, isn’t that the Seinan school uniform?”

The ‘angel in white’* smiled as she greeted them. She must have felt surprised to see the small girl in the Seinan uniform because, no matter how you looked at it, Chie didn’t look like a high school student.

“She’s my friend.”

“Is that so?” Chie said, looking at him suspiciously.

“People who share a secret are normally called friends, yes.”

Listening to their exchange, the nurse teasingly told them they were acting funny. At any rate, the two of them were too much of a mismatch.

Tsukiyama introduced her to Chie, “You see, my family has some deep connections to this university hospital. And since the atmosphere here is so nice, I come here to read sometimes, and she started a conversation with me once. She is very kind and polite, so she’s really popular with the patients. She always wears that beautiful smile, so it’s no wonder.”

"Stop it, that’s too much, Tsukiyama-kun."

The nurse was extremely embarrassed, but Tsukiyama babbled on, “It’s just that… She’s currently experiencing a heartrending love.”

“Wai— wait, Tsukiyama-kun?!”

As if to show how much he was lamenting for her unrequited love, he made an exaggerating motion of pressing his hand against his chest and shook his head, continuing to tell the love story.

“The doctor she fell in love with just doesn’t seem to look her way. If only there was the right moment, I’m sure that it would go well since there is no man who wouldn’t fall for your smile.”

With her deepest feelings exposed, the nurse had become very flustered, but Tsukiyama’s words brought a bitter smile on her face as she muttered, “It would be nice if that were true…”

But just then, the shadow of a person appeared behind her back.

A loud voiced suddenly called out, “Chatting indiscreetly to young men~!”

It came from the inside of a hospital room and seemed to belong to a patient who seemed to be over ninety years old. His face was engraved with countless wrinkles and he was completely bald. The patient approached the nurse and hugged her from behind, earning himself a displeased cry.

“Gyaaah!” turning around to the patient clinging to her, the nurse warned, “You have to stop doing that.”

“Huh…?”

Strangely, Chie had clicked the shutter at that moment.

― I see.

The old man who had withdrawn his hands broke a smile and turned to go back to his room. The nurse made a troubled smile and also left after saying, “I’ll accompany him to his room. See you later.”

As the two walked away, Tsukiyama explained to Chie, “That old man is hospitalized because he has a heart disease, but sometimes you see him roaming about like that, sexually harassing the young nurses. He seems to immediately forget what he does, so he doesn’t feel any guilt.”

On top of that, he would also forget what others do to him. Memory lapses were always following him around, but Tsukiyama kept that thought to himself.

“But it seems that he is very wealthy and related to a doctor working in this hospital, so nobody can tell him off very strongly.”

Chie didn’t seem to be listening to his story at all, looking down as she checked the display of her digital camera. She was living completely at her own pace, but he didn’t mind that attitude.

Tsukiyama bowed down close to her ears and whispered, “I want to invite you to tomorrow’s dinner show.”

She twitched with surprised and looked up at him.

“However, I want you to obtain your ticket for it with your own hands. Tomorrow, on Saturday at midnight, I want you to sneak into the old man’s room and open the window. I’m sure you will be able to take wonderful pictures.”

This was the bait. He wanted to let her imagination run wild, and let her little heart race. Tsukiyama was waiting for an answer. Then, finally letting go of her camera, Chie nodded and said, “All right.”

― This will be a fun dinner.

Tsukiyama’s lips curved into a smile.

Third Part
It had already gotten dark at half past seven when Hori Chie arrived alone at the university hospital. Today was the day she had promised to meet with Tsukiyama.

There was a reason why she had come much earlier than the appointed time. If you thought about it, it would be difficult to sneak into a hospital at midnight. All the doors would probably be locked and there had to be security guards. That was the reason she first pretended to be a visitor to get into the hospital.

Chie walked straight to the ladies restroom. When she entered a stall, she put down her backpack, took out her pajamas and changed into them. She tossed the clothes she had been wearing into the bag and hung her camera around her neck before zipping it shut. Now she had to search for a hiding place to stash her things.

Chie headed back out onto the hospital grounds. There, azalea bushes were growing along the path. She stayed away from the lights and placed her backpack behind some bushes where no light could reach it. She paced back a bit to check if it could be seen, but thanks to the darkness, it was completely hidden.

“Ah.”

Ding-dong-dang-dong. “A notice to our visitors. Visiting hours will be ending soon.”

Visiting hours were open until 10 p.m. at the university hospital. After hearing the broadcast, visitors began leaving the hospital one after another. Many patients stood by the entrance to see them off.

She lingered there for a while, absentmindedly watching the sight. Even if she stood around, she looked like an elementary or middle schooler so people would probably have just thought that she was simply a child feeling lonely after her parents had gone home.

“Visiting hours have ended.”

Not long after the last announcement was made, the entrance became locked. Chie slipped in with the patients returning to their rooms. This university hospital had over one thousand patients that were always coming and going in a stream. Even if you worked at the hospital, there was no way you could remember all the patients. She walked past doctors and nurses, but as her expression gave nothing away, nobody questioned her. She got into an elevator with the other patients.

“Let’s see…”

The place she had arrived at was the general ward on the eighth floor. Now the situation was very different.

Unlike the doctors and nurses for outpatient care, the nurses in this ward could recognize almost all inpatients they were charged with. On top of that, this ward was filled with elderly people. If a girl who looked like an elementary or middle school student were to walk around here, she was sure to stand out.

Once again, Chie stepped into a restroom to avoid being seen by a nurse on night shift. She shut the lid of the toilet seat, sat down, and waited for a while. It was still noisy in the ward and she could hear many footsteps. A patient would enter the restroom from time to time, but because there were several stalls, nobody was concerned even when there was one being occupied for a long time.

She played around with her camera and passed the time by looking at the pictures she had taken. They were the ones of the hospital she took yesterday, but also the one of Tsukiyama devouring a human.

“… Oh.”

When nearly an hour had passed, classical music began playing inside the ward. Chie looked up.

The time was 9 p.m., when all the lights were to be turned off. One by the one, the lights in the ward were being shut off as the song ended. The lights in the hallway outside the restroom were also turned off. There was no sign of anybody.

Chie remained there for a while longer, and only after thirty minutes had passed did she finally come out. With soft steps, she peeked into the hallway, but no one could be seen. But since there were small bits of light streaming out of patient rooms, she guessed that some were still awake. Careful not to make any noise, she took off her shoes and carried them in her hands. She proceeded down the hallway.

The nurse station was at the center of the floor. When she peeked inside, she saw two people that looked like nurses. She crouched down so that she would not be seen, and slowly passed the station. The nurses on night shift seemed to have their hands full with work and didn’t notice her.

“Here we are.”

The place she had finally reached was not a big club room, but a private room in a corner of the floor. It was the room the old man she had met yesterday was staying in. She pressed her ear to the door and heard loud snoring from the other side. Chie gently slid the door open.

“…?”

When she did, a soft, sweet smell drifted towards her. No, it was a stronger fragrance. As she wondered if it was perfume she smelled, she realized that the lights were off. It was hard to see, so she stepped into the room with more caution.

“Ah, he’s asleep.”

Next to the window sat a large bed. The curtains were closed, but she could make out the old man from yesterday that had harassed the nurse. She tried waving a hand in front of his eyes, but to no reaction.

“Hellooo…” she tried quietly. Still, the old man did not wake up. Next, she lightly poked his cheeks.

“… He won’t wake up.”

He seemed to be in a very deep sleep. Maybe he had been prescribed sleeping pills. If that were the case, he would not wake up that easily. She eased up and once again examined the room.

“Wooow!”

Could this really be called a sickroom? The interior was very spacious and the room was not only equipped with its own toilet, but with a shower as well. Plus, there was a sofa, a table, and a refrigerator — everything seemed to be more high class than many business hotels.

Chie seated herself on the sofa and admired the old man. If he could afford staying in such an extravagant private room, he was surely considerably rich, just like Tsukiyama said. As if to show off the authority he held, there were various kinds of presents lined up on a shelf, including a gorgeous flower bouquet, pastries, and even fruits. Chie rose and looked at a particular fruit on the top of the shelf. She picked up the one she thought was the most expensive; a mango. That seemed to be the source of the sweet smell filling the room, but it smelled much stronger. Thinking it odd, she turned the mango around to find that the back was discolored and had spoiled.

“Hm…”

There probably wasn’t anyone organizing the gifts he received, even though there were plenty from all the visitors he had. There were also no traces of usage on the fruit knife that lay aside. Nobody seemed to care about giving him the fruit to eat. Chie sat back down on the couch and looked at the pictures of the old man she had taken yesterday.

“It’s about time…”

She checked the time and saw that it was 11:55 p.m. It was almost the time she had agreed on with Tsukiyama. The girl stretched and lay down on the sofa. Moonlight shone into the room between a gap in the curtains.

“…?” She could hear footsteps coming from the hallway, rose immediately to her feet and listened carefully. The sound advanced through the quiet hallway and entered a patient room, went into the hallway again and entered another patient room. It seemed that a nurse was patrolling, and at this rate, she would definitely come into the room where Chie was.

“Uh oh…”

She looked around the room to find a place to hide. The bathroom or shower would be good choices, but the nurse’s footsteps were already approaching.

“Guess it can’t be helped.”

Chie made use of her small frame and disappeared under the bed. Only a few seconds after she had hidden herself, the door flung open and a flashlight illuminated the room. The patrolling nurse would check the patient and leave after that. That’s what she thought, but the nurse unexpectedly closed the door and did not go over to the sleeping old man. Instead, she moved in the direction of the shelves and stopped there. What in the world was she doing? As Chie wondered, the nurse could be heard rustling wrappers. And then something that sounded like chewing.

— It was the sweets.

It appeared that the nurse was eating the old man’s gifts without permission. While eating, she walked over to the old man. The nurse’s feet could be seen by Chie hiding underneath the bed. She was wearing cute nurse shoes, so it had to be a woman. Then, the sharp sound of something slapping resounded in the room. Maybe she was dusting herself off the sweets that were left on her hands.

“Hey, you alive?”

Another slap could be heard. It was different from the sound before and it had weight behind it.

“Come on, answer me. If I can’t get confirmation that you’re alive then I can’t go to the next room.”

It was a cold, condescending voice. Again, slap, slap, it sounded. Chie realized — the nurse was hitting the old patient. “Uuuugh…” the old main groaned, but that didn’t stop the nurse from continuing to hit him.

“What, you’re alive after all? How disgusting. It’s pointless for you to still be alive. You should just die. It’s what everybody thinks, you should just die. Why are you even alive, you’re so gross, just die already! Do us all a favor and die!” she yelled, as she violently abused the old man.

What caught Chie was less the atrocity of it, but more the voice of the perpetrator. She had heard that voice before. The sounds of the man being hit over and over filled the room.

Suddenly, there was a crashing sound of destruction and then the voice of a man could be heard, “Isn’t that a lovely ‘angel in white?’”

The man’s voice clearly belonged to Tsukiyama.

“W– wha– what?”

The nurse was so surprised to see the unexpected intruder that she twisted her foot and fell. Chie, still under the bed, could see her face. It was the nurse from yesterday.

“Huh, why… Tsukiyama-kun? W– wait a second, we’re on the eighth floor!”

“Forgive me for breaking the window. I did say to leave it open, but the little mouse seems to be a bit whimsical.”

Tsukiyama lightly swooped down into the room, while Chie also crawled out from under the bed.”

“Y– you’re the one who was with Tsukiyama-kun yesterday… what is going on?! Why are you here?!”

“Excuse me, but please allow me to speak first. What do you think about her ‘work’, little mouse? She abuses the patients like this, night after night!”

While declaring this to Chie, Tsukiyama pointed at the nurse. The nurse could not fully grasp her predicament, but realized it was starting to become the worst kind of situation she could find herself in. She began to tremble in fear. While looking hard at the nurse, Tsukiyama tore the blanket from the bed. The figure of the old man who had lain there was now exposed.

“There are signs of internal bleeding.”

The nurse winced.

“But just like he forgets what he does to others, he forgets the things others do to him. He does not know why you hurt him and he does not remember it. That’s why others think that he got the injuries on his own. End of story. Isn’t that a wonderful plot? It’s magnificent, bravo!”

Tsukiyama turned towards the nurse and applauded her. With a last clap, he stopped and slowly moved his hand towards the area of the old man’s internal bleeding and, with his fingers, he pinched it.

The finest smile spread across Tsukiyama’s face.

“Well then, it’s dinner time.”

R-r-i-i-p-p!A tearing sound resounded in the room.

In his fingertips, Tsukiyama held skin he had torn off the old man.

“Ahh!!!” the nurse frantically shrieked.

“You see, it is said that the skin of an aged man is a delicacy. It has a unique aroma and the texture is addictive, so it’s quite popular among some.”

Tsukiyama slowly placed the skin on his tongue. To clearly taste his dish, he closed his eyes, carefully rolling it over his tongue. He leisurely bit it and let it slide down his throat. Then, his eyes shot wide open.

“The perfect dryness of the outside skin contrasting the other side, so smooth and moist with blood, the texture intertwining, the sharp taste stimulating the tongue into a supreme HARMONYYYY!!!”

He spread his arms widely and bent backwards as if to look up at the sky — his eyes dyed a deep crimson.

“N– n–no way…”

Brightly shining, his kakugan could be seen.

“… Wha– what is— ow, owww it huuuuurts!”

So the pain must have reached the old man’s brain and finally woken him up.

Tsukiyama licked his lips happily and addressed him, “Compared to women, the life expectancy of men is shorter, and the number of men reaching their nineties is even less! Someone as old as you is extremely rare and valuable!”

Once more, Tsukiyama pinched the old man’s skin… and tore.

“Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!”

“His skin is casted with a dry film, it’s like powder! What a delicacy!”

“Ple– please stop, please stooopppp….”

“Indeed, how pleasant it is that an aged man’s skin comes off so easily! The process it takes until it can be eaten is making this dinner even more exciting!”

Tsukiyama was vigorously peeling the man’s skin. Seeing this monstrosity left the nurse unable to stand. Somehow, she managed to squeeze out a hoarse and trembling voice, “Tsukiyama-kun… you, you’re a ghoul…?”

Tsukiyama chewed, gulped down the skin, and answered.

“Hah, I am the Gourmet! The one seeking the ultimate meal!”

The old man, who had fallen into panic, now rolled off the bed and got onto his hands and knees, reaching a hand out at the nurse.

“He– help me, heeeeeelp!”

The skin on the hand he extended had been stripped off by Tsukiyama, making the stringy flesh underneath visible.

“Help me, I’ll do anything, I’ll give you anything! Money! I also have property! I beg you, I beg yoouuu…”

The man had arms as thin as dry wood, and his eyes were flooding with tears. He begged her for help. His fingertips stretched out before the nurse’s eyes. With a gulp, the nurse snapped back to her senses, gritted her teeth, and yelled, “Get away, damn geezer!!”

Even with the old man in such a state, the nurse kicked at his body with all her strength. In that moment, a light flashed through the darkness of the room. What had illuminated the room was the flash of a camera, and a completely out of place clicking sound of a shutter. Chie had caught the moment the nurse kicked the old man on photograph.

“Eccentric! You have been fascinating until the very end!”

Tsukiyama offered his words of praise while quickly reaching out to grab the collar of the girl’s pajamas, easily lifting her up to meet his gaze.

“No matter how much others might suffer, you indifferently pursue your interests. I like it! I believe that in the end, the thing that has made humans prosper this much is their attachment to life. They retain the mask of a good person and lie to others for the sake of oneself, while easily betraying them. I believe it is this cruelness that has made humans come so far! However…”

Tsukiyama grinned at the girl.

“The fun ends here!!”

Saying that, Tsukiyama stuck Chie out of the window. If he let go of her, she would go crashing down head first into the ground beneath, meaning certain death. The wind was blowing along the building, the curtains in the room were fluttering. The sickroom that had been in chaos before came to a temporary silence.

“Answer me. What do you see right now?”

He concealed his joyful smile, and as to unveil everything and get to the bottom of it, he removed one finger while addressing the girl.

“Your fear is welling up, despair is filling you. The world loses all color and your heart freezes…”

Choking, Chie’s body shook and her legs flailed. Right now, her choices were very limited. She could try to flee and desperately struggle, or she could pathetically beg for her life; those were her choices. At any rate, an inkling of emotion from the depths of her heart had to start surfacing somewhere as she fluttered in the wind.

Tsukiyama removed another finger.

― Now, what kind of person are you?

Not long until he would let go and she would be knocking on death’s door. Tsukiyama waited for her answer.

“…?!”

But the words he was expecting never came. After quietly looking up at the sky, she met his gaze and positioned the camera in her hands. Looking at Tsukiyama through the viewfinder, she released the shutter.

“Yes… that’s good.”

Even up to this ultimate moment when death was approaching her, she still managed to take pictures no different from usual. This fact made Tsukiyama’s skin crawl.

She was not such a failure as a person to think that it did not matter if she had to sacrifice everything. No, for her, every living being existed on the same plane. It was a value system that surpassed ethics, that made her view them equally. Without borders between humans and ghouls, dogs and cats, or even birds and fish; everything was the same. That was why she could accept the things as they were, and went wherever her curiosity took her and continued taking pictures that spurred herself on. It was boundlessly pure, and there was no way to live more on one’s instincts than this.

Perhaps her spirit resembled his; persistently continuing his challenge to seek gourmet meals.

“Isn’t this interesting!”

Tsukiyama took a firm grip on her clothes and lifted her back into the sickroom with a swing.

“Oof!”

Chie’s sense of balance must have been distorted while she was dangling in midair because when he lowered her back onto the floor, she staggered and almost fell. But she recovered at once and when she stood steadily on her two legs, she said, “Ah… I’m alive. Lucky me!”

Despite just having narrowly escaped death, she rejoiced her survival in a casual tone. Suddenly, it occurred to Tsukiyama, “I see, now I get it! You’re a pet!”

Tsukiyama was happy at finding his answer, but Chie only looked at him, puzzled. “Huh?”

“I was wondering why I could not find you appetizing in the least, but it makes sense if it’s just like a human keeping a pet! Little mouse, from today on I will make you my pet!”

“Um, no.”

Chie promptly refused and started checking the pictures she took.

Not minding her rejection, Tsukiyama patted her head without reservation and said, “Is this the charm some humans feel about cats that don’t want to be near them? How truly fascinating!”

Looking at it that way, he also thought her size was quite convenient and it seemed easy to keep her.

Chie let go of the camera and looked up at Tsukiyama, abruptly changing the topic, “Ah, more importantly, Tsukiyama-kun, have you heard about scheduled posts on blogs?”

“Of course I know about that. That’s the feature where you write the article beforehand and schedule the time when it will be posted right?”

“That’s right. The truth is, I scheduled that picture of you having your meal, that I took sometime ago, to be uploaded at exactly one o’clock.”

It was that brutal picture where one could see at a glance that he was a ghoul. So she had planned to upload it online. But she did not appear to have the intention of threatening him or blackmailing him.

“I set it up just in case my body couldn’t be found because I’d really not like that. So I wrote, ‘The culprit is Tsukiyama Shuu-kun! The student of Seinan Gakuin University’s Affiliated Senior High School, please take care of it!’ but it seems that I’ve survived, so I should delete it.”

It looked inefficient at first but was a very logical action. It seemed foolish was truly clever and sharp minded.

Chie looked outside the window she had been dangling out of until just a few moments ago, and pointed at a certain azalea bush a bit far from where they were. It seemed that she had hidden her things there.

“Ah, but how should I get out of here? It’s not like I can just walk through the hospital and leave, right? I didn’t think that far,” she said troubledly, massaging her temple with her index fingers in a circular motion. Seeing this, Tsukiyama burst into laughter. The attitude of the girl, who had not planned out anything further than this, could no longer fall under any category. She was a unique being called ‘Hori Chie.’

“Well then, shall we take our leave?”

Today’s results were satisfying enough, and his business here was done.

“Hm?!”

Tsukiyama grabbed Chie and, carrying her under his arm, set a foot on the window sill. Across from the old man that had been crying his eyes out, the nurse cowered and held her breath as he looked back at her. His gaze made her shake in fear, but Tsukiyama simply smiled and said, “I think the three of us can become good friends.”

“Wha…”

Not knowing what that meant, she raised her voice in surprise. Without replying, Tsukiyama lightly jumped out of the window.

“What was that supposed to mean?…”

The threat to her life had left. However, the nurse still hadn’t stopped shaking and remained seated on the floor. She was too overwhelmed and shook up for her body to be able to move.

Of all the things, the first one to get back onto their feet was not her, but the old man who had been groveling on the floor. But he soon collapsed again and began to cry, “Ow, owww!”

Seeing the man’s unsightly condition somehow made the nurse regain some of her composure. She placed both hands on the wall and slowly stood up. For now, she had to return to the nurse station and report a ghoul. She reached towards the sickroom’s door.

Then, the old man’s grovelling voice echoed through the room, “I won’t forget this– !”

The nurse turned to him in surprise.

“I won’t forget all the things you did to me, I won’t!!”

The skinned old man, bleeding everywhere, glared up at the nurse with a sharp glint of awareness in his eyes.

“I will expose everything! And that you beat me! You can’t even properly care for patients, you damn woman!!!”

With a snap, something broke inside her. Something that had been worn down until it was at the utmost limit. The nurse lowered the hand that she had extended towards the door and wordlessly retraced her steps in the direction of the old man.

She walked right past him, and from the pocket of her white uniform, produced the gloves she always had ready. Her feet stopped in front of the shelf. Next to the fruit that was emitting a sweet aroma lay the fruit knife. She quietly took it.

“W– what…”

The nurse turned towards the old man. The little moonlight that shone into the room fell on the knife’s tip.

Fifth part
A few weeks had passed since the incident at the university hospital. It was a weekday after school. At a cafe nearby, Tsukiyama was drinking coffee. Across from him sat Hori Chie, gobbling down a crêpe.

“By the way, have you seen what happened after the incident?”

When she had filled her stomach, Chie opened her laptop and tapped away on the keyboard. She turned it around and showed him what was on the screen.

He saw the shocking headline of an article: “Patient Slaughtered, Tragedy at the University Hospital.”

The victim was a 94-year-old male patient. His skin had been peeled off, but if he had been treated quickly enough he should have been able to survive. And yet, he read the words “slaughter” and “death.”

“It’s as if you’re blaming me for this crime. That makes me sad.”

The article stated: “The nurse that was patrolling on night shift tried to protect the patient from a ghoul, but lost consciousness after also getting attacked and injured.”

Taking back her laptop, Chie replied, “It was your fault in the first place, Tsukiyama-kun.”

“She always had a hidden cruelty. I could sense it.”

Hearing his words, Chie looked at the digital camera’s data and selected a certain photograph. Once more, she was looking at the picture of the old man clinging to the nurse and then said: “Oh, about that. I’ve actually gone and met with this nurse.”

“So you have good instincts too.”

To the nurse, she was someone who took a picture of her at a critical moment. Depending on the situation, she might have harmed the girl but as usual, Chie had calmly crossed a dangerous bridge.

“At any rate, since she’s now the ‘Heroic Nurse of a Tragedy’, she seems to be getting sympathy for her actions at the hospital.”

“Oh?”

“Thanks to that, she was finally able to start dating the doctor she had been in love with. She is grateful to you, Tsukiyama-kun. She said you were like a god.”

The world is cruel. A good deed does not necessarily help a person, and a misdeed does not always rule out happiness. That’s exactly why it’s so interesting.

“There is nothing more powerful than the queen of tragedy…” said Tsukiyama, licking at the remaining bits of coffee on his lips. “I’m looking forward to the time when she will be flambéed by her happiness.”

But this was not enough. This was unsatisfactory. His taste buds longed for it. An extravagant gourmet meal, that would bring him happiness and ecstasy.

Trivia

 * Hakone-Ekiden, a university students’ run from Tokyo to Hakone and back, is very famous in Japan and takes place during the Japanese New Year.
 * Angel in white 白衣の天使 (white-clad angels) is a Japanese way to refer to nurses.
 * Fruits are fairly expensive in Japan, and a common but pricey present for hospital patients.