Had Touka seen him somewhere before?
Or was this related to Rize Kamishiro?
Minato was filled with doubt.
What he didn't know was that his troublesome little author, Takatsuki Sen, had already shown his photo to Anteiku's staff.
Touka Kirishima knocked on the car window.
"Is something wrong?"
Minato braced himself and rolled it down.
"Um... you've been sitting here for quite a while. Would you like to come inside for a cup of coffee?"
Touka tried her best to sound natural.
Minato immediately felt something was wrong.
Hold on.
A complete stranger suddenly invites me into a café after staring at my car?
That's not suspicious at all.
Definitely not suspicious.
His instincts immediately sounded the alarm.
Was she trying to lure him inside and eat him?
Wasn't Anteiku supposed to be the peaceful Ghoul café?
Why was this invitation so direct?
Sure enough, anime couldn't be trusted.
Because Touka's invitation was so suspicious, Minato instantly assumed she was planning to turn him into dinner.
Unfortunately for her, he wasn't the kind of person who knowingly walked into a tiger's den.
Besides...
Rize Kamishiro was already gone.
During the time he and Touka had been staring at each other, Rize had quietly disappeared.
Only Kaneki remained inside the café, sitting there like an innocent little lamb.
It seemed today wasn't the day the story officially began.
"Tsk."
Minato clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"No thanks. I'm not that kind of man. Please have some self-respect."
After saying that, he rolled up the window, started the engine, and drove away.
"...Huh?"
Touka stood there full of question marks.
What did he mean by not that kind of man?
And why was she supposed to have self-respect?
Was there something wrong with how she looked?
Something wrong with her clothes?
Or the way she spoke?
The more she thought about it, the stranger Minato seemed.
---
Anteiku – Second Floor
"You!"
Touka stared in surprise at the woman lounging on her bed.
"What are you doing here?!"
Rize Kamishiro looked up from the book she was reading.
"You still dress like a tomboy all day long."
She clicked her tongue.
"How pitiful."
A vein immediately popped on Touka's forehead.
This woman was impossible.
"Do you want to fight?"
Rize stretched lazily, showing off her figure without the slightest concern.
"You really are crude and violent."
"Tsk."
Touka was even more annoyed.
Crude and violent?
The person who caused a string of brutal incidents throughout the 20th Ward was saying that?
That was rich.
Since arriving in the district, Rize had been causing trouble everywhere she went.
And she didn't even bother hiding it.
If anyone deserved the title of crude and violent, it was definitely her.
Touka couldn't be bothered arguing.
She opened her wardrobe and grabbed a change of clothes.
Meanwhile, Rize casually watched her.
The mocking look in her eyes was impossible to miss.
Just a child.
"Your stare is incredibly rude."
Touka changed clothes as quickly as possible.
Rize merely shrugged.
After a while, Touka sighed helplessly.
She really didn't know how to deal with this woman.
"So why did you come to my room?"
Normally, at this hour, Rize would've gone hunting already.
"Hiding from someone."
Rize laughed self-deprecatingly.
When Minato rolled down his car window earlier, she had immediately recognized him.
Her first impulse had been to go downstairs and kill him.
The humiliation from their previous encounter was still fresh in her mind.
Unfortunately...
Yoshimura Kuzen had stopped her.
Using both persuasion and threats.
"Hiding?"
Touka looked surprised.
There was actually someone capable of making Rize hide?
"Mm."
Rize nodded.
Then she picked up her book again.
Clearly, she had no intention of discussing the topic further.
Touka clicked her tongue.
"What a terrible personality."
She gave up asking questions.
---
Meanwhile, on a road near the outskirts of the city...
Minato looked rather miserable.
"Tsk. Those profiteers definitely replaced my car parts with cheap knockoffs."
Moments earlier, his vehicle had suddenly gone out of control and slammed directly into a roadside tree.
Fortunately, his physical condition was far beyond that of a normal person.
Otherwise, he would've ended up in a hospital.
Even so, he still suffered a few scrapes.
Of course, blaming the investors was completely unfair.
The truth was that his car was an ancient second-hand vehicle he had bought years ago for next to nothing.
Most of the components were already reaching the end of their lifespan.
Takatsuki Sen had told him countless times to replace it.
Unfortunately, Editor Minato firmly believed in the spirit of hard work and frugality.
As long as the car could move, he refused to buy a new one.
After climbing out of the wreckage, Minato prepared to call a tow truck.
Then he froze.
"How exactly am I supposed to react to this?"
A small clinic stood across the road.
And walking toward it was a familiar figure.
A rugged man wearing a white suit.
Short blond hair.
Massive build.
Yamori.
Also known as Jason.
The same man Minato had previously encountered at the bus station.
Leaning against his damaged car, Minato muttered:
"If that's Yamori... then this clinic belongs to the Fueguchi family, doesn't it?"
Yamori.
A clinic.
Before the main plot began.
The pieces fit together immediately.
After all, the Fueguchi family played an important role in the early story.
"Am I lucky today or unlucky?"
Minato sighed.
He had been discovered by Touka at Anteiku.
Yet now he had stumbled into another important plot location.
Unfortunately, the Fueguchi family themselves weren't particularly useful to him.
They were simply an ordinary Ghoul family.
Yamori, however...
That was another matter.
Especially the organization behind him.
Perhaps tonight would be a little busier than expected.
Just as Minato prepared to call Takatsuki Sen and inform her he might return late—
He suddenly paused.
"Wait."
"Why do I feel like something's wrong?"
His finger hovered over the phone.
Why was he reporting his whereabouts?
Since when had that become normal?
After a moment, Minato smiled bitterly.
Regardless of how strange it felt, if he didn't tell her, that troublesome girl would probably tear his head off later.
Those little tiger teeth weren't for decoration.
Just as he was about to dial—
"Um... excuse me?"
A weak voice spoke behind him.
Minato nearly jumped.
At that moment, his heart shattered.
Standing a short distance away was a beautiful woman holding a little girl's hand.
Fueguchi Ryoko.
Fueguchi Hinami.
Minato stared silently.
Then glanced at his wrecked car.
Then back at them.
What is wrong with me today?
Am I cursed?
He had been discovered twice in a single day.
Maybe he simply wasn't suited for surveillance work.
Damn it.
Internally, he was already smashing the car into pieces with imaginary punches.
Meanwhile, Ryoko subtly moved Hinami behind her.
The protective Ghoul mother instinctively felt this man looked dangerous.
Especially because his expression had just turned incredibly fierce.
"...The smell is strange."
Minato sighed in defeat.
His stealth skills were apparently nonexistent.
"My car broke down."
He pointed toward the vehicle embedded in the tree.
"I'm waiting for someone to tow it away."
Ryoko followed his gesture.
Looking at the wrecked car stuck against the tree, she slowly nodded.
"I see."
At least that explanation made sense.