"I'll… try."
Touka Kirishima picked up a piece of sushi and gently took a bite.
The instant it touched her tongue, an overwhelming sensation assaulted her senses
Like a dead catfish rotting in a sewage ditch.
A nauseating stench surged straight into her brain.
She suppressed the urge to vomit, forcing herself to swallow the sushi down.
Then, she squeezed out an extremely stiff smile.
"Thank you, Yoriko… it's delicious."
"Really?!"
Yoriko Kosaka's eyes curved into crescent moons with joy.
"So Touka likes my cooking too?"
"Then I'll make extra from now on! Touka, what kinds of food do you like?"
At the side, Fushimi Kyo, who was drinking soda, nearly sprayed it out of his mouth.
He shot Touka a look full of schadenfreude.
You're doomed, he thought.
Sure enough, sensing imminent disaster, Touka hurriedly waved her hands.
"Y-Yoriko, thank you for your kindness! But I usually bring my own food; there's really no need to trouble yourself!"
She was genuinely terrified.
If this girl watched her eat homemade food every single day, she'd suffer to death.
"It's no trouble at all!" Yoriko replied cheerfully.
"I already make a portion for Kyo anyway. Making one more doesn't matter!"
At this point, Kyo felt it was cruel to keep enjoying the show. He spoke up to help Touka out.
"Yoriko, Touka just transferred here. You're being a little too enthusiastic, it might scare her. Let's talk about lunch boxes later, okay?"
"Mm, mm… sorry, Touka. I didn't think about that."
Touka quickly shook her head and cast Kyo a grateful glance.
"Excuse me… I need to use the restroom."
After saying that, Touka stood up and left her seat.
Watching her retreating figure, Kyo fell into thought.
"As expected… ghouls still can't adapt to human food."
"I wonder what that artificial ghoul food the CCG developed later in the anime was actually made from."
Seeing Kyo staring fixedly in Touka's direction, Yoriko leaned in with a gossip-hungry expression.
"Kyo… did your heart skip a beat?"
"What?" Kyo snapped back to reality, looking at her in confusion.
"I mean seeing such a cute girl, are you losing control a little?" Yoriko teased with a mischievous grin.
Kyo flicked her forehead lightly with his finger.
"Yoriko, what kind of nonsense is going on in that head of yours?"
Inside the restroom.
Touka shoved two fingers deep into her throat.
The urge to vomit surged instantly.
Everything she had just eaten came back up.
Staring at her miserable reflection in the mirror, Touka slammed her fist hard into the wall.
"It was someone else's kindness… and I ruined it like this."
"Damn it… damn it…"
After school in the afternoon, Yoriko grabbed Touka's arm and looked at Kyo.
"Kyo! Touka and I are going to hang out at the bookstore. Want to come with us?"
"Nope. I've got something to take care of. I'll head out first."
With that, Kyo slung his backpack over his shoulder, smiled at the two girls, and left the classroom.
"You and Kyo seem really close," Touka said casually.
"Yeah!" Yoriko nodded enthusiastically.
"We've been classmates for years. Kyo's really gentle and kind and honestly, he's super handsome."
"There are lots of girls in class secretly paying attention to him."
"I don't know if it's just my imagination, but he feels taller today… and way more manly!"
As she spoke, Yoriko's face was full of dreamy admiration.
Touka rubbed her forehead helplessly.
"It's over… another lovestruck girl."
"…But that guy is pretty handsome."
Eight o'clock in the evening.
Kyo walked casually down the street, holding a skewer of dumplings.
At this hour, he used to stay home, terrified of running into a ghoul.
But now, with the system and mastery over Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu his courage had grown.
He even felt a little eager.
"Looks like I'm pretty lucky tonight."
"I've already walked through five blocks and haven't noticed anything unusual."
Biting into another dumpling, Kyo leisurely admired the nighttime scenery of D-City.
Suddenly
A familiar scent drifted out from an alley not far ahead.
"That's… a ghoul's scent!"
Without realizing it, Kyo's heart began pounding wildly.
At the same time, that bone-deep hunger returned.
"Damn it, what's with this hunger?"
"I already ate a Kakuhou yesterday, and I ate plenty today!"
Cursing under his breath, Kyo stepped toward the alley.
Inside the dim passage, a woman lay collapsed in a pool of blood.
Her eyes were filled with terror as she stared at the figure before her.
"Please… don't kill me… I'm begging you…"
"Spare you?"
A yellow-haired, punk-looking man squatted down, sneering.
"You weak, insignificant human. Livestock like you should understand your role."
"If I let you go, what am I supposed to eat?"
He dipped his finger into the woman's blood, brought it to his mouth, and closed his eyes in bliss.
"Delicious…"
"Once you've tasted human flesh, there's no stopping."
"I really don't get why those idiots at Anteiku suppress their instincts."
"Being so picky about food how ridiculous."
Clearly, this ghoul knew who controlled the 20th Ward and was very familiar with Anteiku.
"You monster… you'll die."
"You will be killed someday."
Knowing she couldn't escape, the woman spat out a vicious curse before her head tilted and life left her eyes.
"You think I'm an idiot?"
The ghoul let out a scornful laugh.
"Humans are such weak creatures. How could they ever kill me?"
He wiped his mouth, crimson eyes gleaming as he stared at his "food."
"Heh… time to eat."
"That woman was right."
At that moment, a cold, emotionless voice echoed from the entrance of the alley.
"You really will die at the hands of a human."