Tokyo's 20th Ward.
The early morning mist still hadn't cleared, casting a soft gray veil over the outskirts of the city.
The streets were nearly empty.
All you could hear was the occasional train passing by and the quiet scraping of a street cleaner's broom against the pavement.
The heavy wooden door of Anteiku creaked open from the inside.
Touka Kirishima came down the stairs, her short, messy dark-blue hair slightly sticking out in all directions.
She was wearing a high school sailor uniform from a nearby school.
Dark circles hung like ink stains under her eyes, standing out sharply against her pale skin.
"Ha~"
She let out a long, lazy yawn—completely unbothered by how unflattering it looked. Tears welled up in her eyes from pure exhaustion.
God, she was tired.
Dead tired.
She hadn't slept at all after getting back to the attic last night.
That bizarre chat group that had suddenly appeared in her consciousness—it felt like a black hole of mystery, temptation, and danger. She'd been sucked in, unable to look away.
The members were straight out of a fantasy novel.
A dragon named Tohru. An elf named Frieren. A God-King called Bibi Dong.
And then there was the group admin: Rei Ao.
Who even was that guy?
A literal god?
Or some higher-dimensional being no one could understand?
Why did he create this group in the first place?
Those questions had circled in her head all night, draining every last bit of mental energy she had.
Sure, ghouls were way stronger than humans physically—
But mentally? Stress and overthinking could still knock you flat.
"Morning, Touka."
A calm, low voice pulled her out of her daze.
Renji Yomo stood behind the counter, quietly polishing a glass cup with a white cloth.
He wore a dark café apron, his silver-gray hair neatly styled, looking every bit calm and dependable.
He looked up and saw the half-dead expression on Touka's face—like she could drop to the floor and pass out any second. His brow twitched slightly.
"Didn't sleep again?"
Touka rubbed her dry, stinging eyes and nodded with a groggy "Mm."
The rich, slightly bitter scent of roasted coffee beans filled the air, blending with the cool morning air. It helped clear her head just a bit.
Manager Yoshimura was probably busy in the back roasting room.
Irimi hadn't come downstairs yet, and the other staff weren't in yet either. The shop was silent.
Yomo placed the cleaned glass back onto the rack with practiced precision.
Then he turned to face Touka directly. The usual calm on his face gave way to something heavier, more serious.
"Touka, there's something I need you to be extra careful about."
He lowered his voice, just enough so only she could hear.
"It's about that unfamiliar ghoul you sensed sneaking into the 20th Ward."
Touka immediately straightened up. Whatever sleepiness she had left vanished, replaced by sharp focus.
A flicker of crimson ghoul-light flashed in her eyes and disappeared.
She nodded firmly.
"You found out who it is?"
Yomo nodded back, his eyes narrowing.
"Last night, I went out to investigate while it was still dark."
"Based on scattered intel and leftover traces... I'm pretty confident."
He paused for a beat, then said the name clearly:
"Rize Kamishiro—the Binge Eater."
"Rize Kamishiro?"
Touka recognized the name instantly. In the ghoul underworld, it meant only two things: danger and madness.
"The glutton?"
"Yeah. That's her."
Yomo's tone turned grim, tinged with disgust.
"She's completely lost control of her appetite. Hunts nonstop, no restraint, and she's absolutely brutal."
"There've been a bunch of reports about people going missing in and around the 20th Ward lately... odds are, it's all her."
Touka's stomach dropped.
An SS-rated ghoul, completely driven by hunger, loose in the 20th?
It was like dropping a bomb in the middle of a peaceful neighborhood.
"She's already caught the CCG's attention," Yomo added, his voice getting even more serious.
"Reliable sources say Special Class Investigators—the White Doves—have been deployed here in secret."
"Right now, the 20th Ward is like a volcano on the edge of an eruption. Looks calm on the surface, but everything underneath is boiling."
Anger—cold and sharp—started rising in Touka's chest.
After all these years, Yoshimura had managed to keep the 20th Ward in a fragile but peaceful balance.
It had become a safe place for ghouls who were done with fighting and just wanted to live in peace.
And now? Rize Kamishiro shows up and threatens to ruin it all.
Like one rotten apple spoiling the whole bunch.
One wrong move, and the CCG could go full purge mode—dragging everyone down with her.
"Someone like that..."
Touka's voice turned ice-cold. That signature ghoul intensity flickered behind her eyes.
"Shouldn't be allowed to stay."
"If we let her run wild, she's going to get us all killed!"
She clenched her fists tight. Her knuckles went pale.
Anteiku was all about coexistence, not carnage.
But when someone like Rize breaks all the rules, maybe expelling—or even eliminating—her is the only option.
Yomo saw the fury building behind Touka's eyes and sighed, slowly shaking his head.
The gesture was like a splash of cold water on her fire.
"Touka, I get it. I really do. But we're talking about an SS-rated binge eater here—at full strength and fully driven by hunger."
His voice was heavy with reality.
"She's not someone we can take lightly."
"Even if a few of us teamed up, it's a long shot at best."
Truth was, they were all running on empty—malnourished compared to her.
"And more importantly…"
His eyes drifted across the quiet, spotless café, thick with unease.
"If we fight her, the fallout's gonna be massive."
"All it takes is one slip-up—one trace left behind. If the Doves catch wind of it or find even a single clue that points back here…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Touka understood exactly what that meant.
~~~
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