Iba Fujishige, Mado Kureo, Shinohara Yukinori, Marude Itsuki, Kuroiwa Iwao, and a then-young Arima Kishou, these six once jointly carried out the extermination of an SS-rated ghoul named Demon Yamada.
The resultant SS-class bikaku-type Quinque, Demon Yamada No. 1, remains in Shinohara Yukinori's possession to this day. It takes the form of an enormous broadsword.
Among the six, aside from Iba Fujishige, who was already a Special-Class Investigator at the time, four of the remaining five would go on to become Special-Class Investigators themselves.
Considering the CCG only has seven Special-Class Investigators in total, this was no small feat.
Mado Kureo, however, did not pursue further promotion due to personal reasons.
Otherwise, they might well have achieved the extraordinary accomplishment of all members reaching Special-Class.
Jason's corpse had been utterly ravaged, so much so that the moment Mado Akira saw it, she instantly knew it had to be the work of that absurdly.. unique Quinque.
Uesugi Ryu was briefly stunned, having not expected her to bring that up so abruptly.
He gave a helpless smile, pointed to his left arm, and said, "It's definitely powerful. But what Akira-san said before wasn't wrong either, this is the price I paid."
Mado Kureo looked at the two, stroking his chin meaningfully.
Akira's expression shifted subtly into a trace of amusement.
She had assumed Uesugi Ryu was injured during the battle against Jason.
It never occurred to her that the damage came from his own weapon's recoil.
In truth, Uesugi Ryu could normally withstand the Destroyer's recoil without issue.
The dislocation had happened only because his arms were already sore from blocking Jason's Kagune with his sword, and his shooting stance was off, causing the injury.
After a few moments of small talk, an odd silence settled over the room.
Seeing this, Uesugi Ryu realized the conversation was shifting into a private discussion between father and daughter.
He tugged on the sleeve of the still-ashamed Amon Koutarou beside him.
"Amon, why don't we go sit in my room for a bit?"
Amon snapped out of it and nodded belatedly.
"Ah, right. Good idea."
They gently shut the door and stepped out of the hospital room.
Just as they exited, two tall, broad-shouldered men were striding down the hallway toward them.
Between them walked a sharp-eyed older man with white hair, and one empty sleeve swaying loosely at his side.
As the trio came closer, Amon finally got a good look at their faces, and was taken aback.
These three were Shinohara Yukinori, Kuroiwa Iwao, and the now-retired former Special-Class Investigator, Iba Fujishige.
A look of surprise crossed Amon's face as his eyes scanned over the three, eventually settling on Iba Fujishige.
He hesitated for a moment before asking,
"Shinohara-san, Special-Class Kuroiwa... this is...?"
Hearing his question, Iba Fujishige gave a faint smile.
A trace of wistfulness flashed in his eyes as he spoke softly:
"I really am getting old. It's your generation's world now, no one remembers an old relic like me."
He shook his head gently, sighing with quiet resignation at the passage of time.
Standing nearby, Uesugi Ryu offered a slight nod and gave a brief greeting to the three men.
He didn't display much warmth or formal courtesy, after all, by rights, he only really knew Shinohara Yukinori.
At that moment, Shinohara and Kuroiwa exchanged a glance.
They couldn't help but feel a little helpless in response to Iba Fujishige's self-deprecating remark, but they didn't say anything further.
Shinohara cleared his throat and broke the brief silence with a smile, explaining, "Don't worry about it. This is my mentor, Iba Fujishige. He was also Mado Kureo's former superior."
Uesugi Ryu nodded lightly in acknowledgment.
Then he turned slowly, his gaze falling on the door to the hospital room.
With a measured tone, he said, "Mado-san's daughter is inside that room right now. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you all to wait here a little while."
Iba Fujishige gave a soft sigh and muttered under his breath, "Sigh... that guy Mado, really never lets people rest easy. After all these years, he's still the same old piece of work."
Meanwhile, Shinohara noticed Amon's downcast expression and gently patted him on the shoulder.
"Amon, don't beat yourself up. SS-class opponents aren't easy to handle. Even I would struggle against one."
Amon nodded quietly.
"Yes, I understand, Shinohara-san."
At that moment, Shinohara rubbed his chin and turned to ask Uesugi Ryu, "By the way, Uesugi, how's your injury? Nothing serious, I hope?"
"Ah, no big deal. I should be fine after a few weeks of rest," Uesugi Ryu replied.
Then, his tone shifting slightly, he added:
"By the way, I heard Juuzou is working with you now. I hope he hasn't given you too much trouble."
Shinohara gave a helpless smile, as if recalling some past headaches.
"It's not so bad. Though I don't even know where that kid's run off to these last couple of days. You and he came in the same year, didn't you? Both genius rookies."
He crossed his arms and let out a sigh.
"But Mado's really lucky, huh, he's got you and Amon as partners. Juuzou... well, let's just say he can be a handful."
Given Suzuya Juuzou's personality, it wasn't surprising he hadn't shown up to visit.
Not that Mado Kureo would mind, probably.
As the group chatted, a sudden commotion echoed from within the room, muted but unmistakable arguing.
Everyone's attention immediately snapped to the door.
With a loud thud, the door burst open.
Mado Akira stormed out, expressionless, but clearly brimming with suppressed emotion.
She offered a cursory nod to the people outside before briskly walking away without looking back.
Uesugi Ryu watched her receding figure thoughtfully.
Most likely, the argument had been about the One-Eyed Owl.
Avenging his wife had always been Mado Kureo's obsession.
But as a father, he didn't want his daughter to fall into the same vortex of vengeance.
And besides, what were his actual chances of success?
The One-Eyed Owl was, without exaggeration, the strongest ghoul of recent decades.
Trying to defeat it would be suicide, nothing more than throwing one's life away.
As a husband, he felt compelled to take revenge.
But as a father, protecting his daughter took priority.
Uesugi Ryu didn't chase after her.
He and Mado Akira were hardly close enough for that.
Unraveling the knot in her heart wasn't something that could be done with a few words.
The rain continued to fall softly, while moonlight, no longer blocked by clouds, cast a gentle glow over the scene.
Uesugi Ryu slowly raised his hand and, gripping his phone, scrolled idly through his contacts.
Then, he pressed the dial button and placed a call...