20th Ward CCG Branch Office, 4:54 PM.
Inside the branch office, staff bustled about, busy with the backlog of work:
Verifying the identities of eliminated ghouls, entering related data, sorting intelligence reports, and handling a mountain of tedious but necessary administrative duties.
In contrast to the frenzied activity around him, Uesugi Ryu casually strolled into the building, leisurely sipping a half-finished fruit juice.
Lately, there hadn't been much going on in the branch, or at least, nothing that involved him. The 20th Ward had already been combed over multiple times by Uesugi Ryu and Mado Kureo, and the local ghouls had learned their lesson.
Rather than risk being cut down, they preferred scavenging corpses or moving to other wards to hunt.
But feeding in the 20th Ward again? Not a chance. No one wanted to fall into another baited trap.
Mado Kureo was seated at his desk, eyes glued to the computer screen as he combed through data. In fact, one might say he never really "got off work" he was either here or out in the field conducting investigations.
As Uesugi Ryu entered the office area, many investigators greeted him. He responded with a casual wave as he approached the still-working old man.
"Mado-san, good morning!"
Without looking away from his screen, Mado Kureo muttered a brief response.
Uesugi Ryu glanced over and noticed that he was reviewing data related to the more remote areas of the 20th Ward. Just as he was about to ask more, he saw Mado Akira approaching with graceful steps.
In her slender fingers, she held two documents. As she drew close, she tilted her head slightly and gave Uesugi Ryu a faint glance.
"First-Class Investigator Uesugi, you're late," she said coolly.
Faced with her admonishment, Uesugi Ryu replied in an upright, serious tone:
"Investigators don't exactly have fixed office hours. My job is simple, find ghouls and eliminate them."
It wasn't that he was trying to argue with Akira, but he had a feeling that if he gave in here, she'd be walking all over him for the rest of their partnership.
Mado Akira lowered her head slightly and looked down at the elegant, feminine watch on her wrist. She spoke in a slow and steady voice:
"Then may I ask what, exactly, you've been doing for the past 2 hours, 54 minutes, and 38 seconds of being late?"
"Akira," Mado Kureo interjected, raising a hand to gesture for her to hand over the documents. He rubbed his temple with a tired look and gave Uesugi Ryu a forced smile.
Seeing this, Uesugi Ryu didn't press the issue further, truth be told, he might not win this round anyway.
Mado Akira was something of a devilish rhetorician, a master of "time-saving logic" who could argue a lie into truth without blinking.
With a shrug, Uesugi Ryu returned to his desk and took a long sip of his juice. After about 0.01 seconds of deliberation, he decided he ought to treat a certain little blondie to some fine fruit too.
Elsewhere in the office, Takizawa Seidou, who had been sneakily watching the earlier interaction, couldn't hide his glee after seeing Akira get lightly scolded by her father.
He even muttered under his breath:
"Heh heh, Mado Akira, didn't expect to see you get chewed out too!"
But just as he was reveling in schadenfreude, a large, warm hand suddenly rested heavily on his shoulder. Takizawa froze, and a chill ran down his spine.
Then came a calm, mild voice from behind:
"Takizawa-kun, if you keep watching like that... your day might be over too."
Takizawa flinched like he'd been electrocuted.
"H-H-Hoji-san! W-When did you get here?!"
The latter smiled subtly.
"I've been here the whole time."
Deflated, Takizawa let out a sigh and dragged himself back to work, his expression utterly defeated.
Back at Mado Kureo's desk, Akira handed him the documents and explained:
"According to police case reports, the missing individuals were last seen heading toward the remote Naragawa area and Mount Harada."
Her father nodded thoughtfully. A glimmer of excitement flashed across his usually calm face.
"From what we've gathered, it doesn't look like a typical ghoul attack."
"But if it was a group suicide... then where are the bodies?"
At that, Akira's lips curled into a slight smile.
"Ghouls."
Kureo folded his hands in front of him, deep in thought. He gave a slight nod and responded with amusement:
"Feeding on the dead, huh? Looks like these vermin have really run out of options."
Uesugi Ryu glanced between the father and daughter. Truly, they were cut from the same cloth, their working posture, the way they analyzed, even the slight quirks in how they talked.
"They've been found out... but the question is, are they from Anteiku?" Uesugi Ryu wondered silently.
This sort of scavenging behavior was often the work of the Anteiku ghoul faction. Still, it wasn't impossible that some starving rogue ghouls had gone out to "forage" on their own.
Suddenly, the sharp trill of a phone ringing pierced the office's calm.
Mado Kureo's eyes sharpened and he snatched up the receiver.
On the other end, Amon Koutarou's voice rang out with urgency:
"Mado-san! The tracker we planted has been moved! I'm heading back now!"
"Be careful, Amon. Reinforcements are en route!"
Mado Kureo hung up immediately, grabbed his Quinque case, and strode out without a moment's hesitation.
Uesugi Ryu followed close behind without needing any further cue, they'd been working together long enough to move in sync.
At the same moment, Mado Akira sprinted to fetch her own Quinque, a subtle smile of anticipation forming on her face.
Seeing her so fired up, Uesugi Ryu sighed helplessly.
"Akira, stay here at the branch. My car doesn't fit three people."
It was a two-door sports car, with barely any room in the back, not even enough for a dog, let alone a full-grown woman.
Akira frowned, puzzled.
"Why would we need your car? The branch has plenty of vehicles available."
"Ryu's car is faster. Akira, stay and be on standby," Kureo said, not bothering to explain further. Time was critical.
Uesugi Ryu climbed into the driver's seat, a smirk creeping across his lips. He hadn't expected such a juicy opportunity to come so soon.
He glanced over his shoulder.
"Unless, of course, Akira-san doesn't mind riding in the trunk?"
Akira's teeth ground together in frustration, but she was no coward. Without a word, she walked straight toward the trunk.