"Alright, hmm, it looks like my haircutting skills are pretty good!"
Mado Akira gently let out a long breath. Her eyebrows lifted slightly and the corners of her mouth curved upward, revealing a confident smile.
She gracefully extended her hand, picked up a small delicate mirror that had been placed beside her, and handed it to Suzuya Juuzou.
Suzuya Juuzou quickly stretched out his right hand and took the mirror.
When he focused his eyes on the mirror, it clearly reflected his current appearance.
His originally somewhat messy hair had become much neater after Mado Akira's careful trimming.
The current length only reached beside his ears, perfectly showing off his delicate face.
And upon closer inspection, the hairstyle was actually somewhat similar to Mado Akira's!
"Wow! That's amazing, Mado-chan!"
Suzuya Juuzou could not help letting out a cry of amazement. His eyes widened and his face was full of surprise.
Then, as if he had discovered a new continent, he shouted excitedly, "But the back actually looks exactly the same as Mado-chan's!"
After saying that, he gently shook his head, letting his newly cut hair sway along with the motion.
Uesugi Ryu withdrew his gaze and could not help smiling slightly when he saw this scene. It had to be said that Mado Akira at this moment gave off the feeling of a mother.
After visiting Suzuya Juuzou, Uesugi Ryu and Mado Akira walked out of the hospital together.
The vehicle drove along the road as Uesugi Ryu carried Mado Akira toward the direction of the 20th Ward.
Sunlight passed through the car windows and fell upon Uesugi Ryu and Mado Akira, forming patches of mottled light and shadow.
Along the way the two of them did not speak much. Only the soft music inside the car lingered in their ears.
After some unknown amount of time passed, Mado Akira, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly turned her head and looked at Uesugi Ryu who was concentrating on driving.
"Come to my house for dinner tomorrow. Father said he seems to have definite information about the Owl."
Hearing this sentence, Uesugi Ryu raised his eyebrows and could not help feeling somewhat surprised. He did not expect Mado Kureo to discover Anteiku so quickly.
He slightly calmed his mood, then nodded and responded.
"Is that so. I understand."
However, this was still his first formal visit to his future father-in-law, so Uesugi Ryu asked somewhat puzzled.
"But when I go, should I buy something. Does Mado-san like drinking alcohol?"
After hearing his words, Mado Akira first shook her head.
Then she revealed a thoughtful expression, as if trying to recall her father's usual preferences.
After a while she answered.
"I haven't seen Father drink alcohol for a long time. And there's no need to specially buy anything. It's just a meal."
The car soon arrived at the 20th Ward Branch.
After parking the vehicle, Uesugi Ryu said calmly.
"The day before yesterday in the 6th Ward I encountered the One-Eyed Owl. The One-Eyed Owl only has one Kakugan, a special individual."
"At the same time I also encountered two ghouls like that. They were classmates from the academy, Yasuhisa Kurona and Yasuhisa Nashiro."
"Amon once asked me about information regarding those two sisters. When I took leave earlier I went there to take a look, and I happened to run into Aogiri Tree."
After a moment of silence, Mado Akira's originally slightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly as she began thinking about the information.
But after thinking for a moment her brows furrowed again. "You mean that humans became ghouls?"
Uesugi Ryu nodded and continued speaking.
"You should have heard of Kanou Akihiro. He is secretly conducting artificial ghoul experiments."
"The location is inside the underground laboratory of the Yasuhisa Nanao villa."
"Kanou Akihiro is also the nominal adoptive father of the Yasuhisa sisters and the current owner of that villa. He used to be an autopsy doctor for the CCG."
The amount of information was too large and Mado Akira's brain almost felt like it was burning. She turned her head toward the endlessly talking Uesugi Ryu and said calmly.
"Stop beating around the bush. Just say it. You should know everything, right?"
Uesugi Ryu's words suddenly stopped. If she had said that earlier he would not have been rambling here. After talking for so long his mouth had become dry.
He lightly coughed and continued speaking.
"The upper ranks of the CCG are ghouls, or rather there are ghouls mixed among them. Simply put, there are traitors inside the bureau."
Ghouls and humans were basically no different, so it was normal for ghouls to hold high positions. The organizers of ghoul auctions and similar activities were mostly people of this type.
However, for the CCG which specifically expels ghouls, the fact that ghouls had infiltrated the upper ranks was truly shocking.
The highest level of the CCG was basically the Washuu clan, so it was obvious who the "upper ranks" referred to here.
Mado Akira's expression became extremely serious. She stared at Uesugi Ryu and asked again.
"You have never mentioned this matter to anyone else, right?"
Uesugi Ryu gently shook his head.
"No. I only told you."
After saying that he leaned back against the headrest and stared intensely at Mado Akira's face, a trace of seriousness revealed in his gaze.
"So do you believe it or not?"
He asked softly, his voice echoing inside the already narrow car.
At this moment Mado Akira suddenly leaned forward without any warning. Her delicate face instantly moved close in front of Uesugi Ryu.
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, forming a faint smile.
"With 'you' beside me, nothing strange would surprise me."
Hearing this, Uesugi Ryu subconsciously pressed his somewhat dry lips together and let out a dry laugh.
That was true. He himself was already abnormal enough. He could hide it from outsiders but not from people like Mado Akira and Mado Kureo who spent time with him every day.
Everyone simply understood it tacitly and chose not to bring it up.
At this moment the distance between the two of them had become extremely close, only about the distance of a fist.
The warm breaths they exhaled intertwined and could be clearly felt by each other.
Mado Akira gently unfastened the seatbelt on her body.
Then her long eyelashes trembled slightly as her delicate face slowly moved toward Uesugi Ryu.
Every inch of movement seemed extremely long and heart stirring.
Watching Mado Akira get closer and closer, the corners of Uesugi Ryu's mouth involuntarily lifted into a smile he could not suppress.
It seemed that all the effort he had spent talking earlier had not been wasted after all. He did not expect there would even be an unexpected reward.
Thinking about the beautiful scene that was about to happen, he felt restless with excitement and could not help humming softly. (meme reference)
Uesugi Ryu happily closed his eyes and quietly waited for the long anticipated soft sensation.
At that moment the rustling sound of clothes being removed could be heard.
Hearing the sound, Uesugi Ryu raised his eyebrows unconsciously. His imagination began running wild as he thought to himself.
"Why is she taking off her clothes. Here. That's not very appropriate, right."
"It seems I need to buy a bigger car. The front row space in the Supra is too cramped to move around."
"Wait. Something feels wrong about this atmosphere."
Seeing Uesugi Ryu's completely defenseless infatuated expression, Mado Akira sneered.
She rolled up her sleeves and threw a rising punch directly into Uesugi Ryu's abdomen without mercy.
Just when Uesugi Ryu was still eagerly waiting for the imagined soft lips.
Suddenly he felt an enormous force slam into him.
"Pfft! Damn!"
With a cry of pain, Uesugi Ryu bent forward as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer.
His face, which had been flushed from excitement, now twisted horribly from pain and scrunched together tightly.
After finally catching his breath again.
Uesugi Ryu covered his abdomen with one hand and looked at Mado Akira with a shocked expression as he asked with a trembling voice.
"Why did you hit me?"
Facing Uesugi Ryu's questioning, Mado Akira only snorted coldly and said stiffly.
"At least tell me before you go risking your life. Don't just die mysteriously one day without even leaving a message."
"I don't want to be the last person to hear about your death from someone else."
After saying that she glared fiercely at Uesugi Ryu.
Hearing Mado Akira's words, Uesugi Ryu froze for a moment, then complained speechlessly.
"Cursing your husband like that isn't very good."
"Ha!"
Mado Akira's left eye widened slightly and her expression became unfriendly.
Uesugi Ryu: "I understand."
Seeing that Uesugi Ryu had finally yielded, Mado Akira pushed open the car door beside her and stepped out.
At this moment Uesugi Ryu was still sitting in the driver's seat, maintaining the painful expression as if he had suffered a critical hit.
Mado Akira glanced back at Uesugi Ryu and said coldly.
"Stop pretending. There's a pile of work at the bureau. Get out and start working."
After saying that she crossed her arms and quietly waited for Uesugi Ryu's reaction.
After hearing Mado Akira's words, Uesugi Ryu gently sighed.
With his physique Mado Akira could not even break his defense. He had just been teasing her earlier.
Now that he had been exposed, Uesugi Ryu naturally stopped pretending.
He quickly opened the car door and stepped out.
"Yes yes yes!"
Uesugi Ryu responded to Mado Akira while walking toward her with a smiling face.
Seeing Uesugi Ryu return to acting as if nothing had happened so quickly, Mado Akira revealed a somewhat helpless smile.
She gently rubbed her slightly numb right hand and thought to herself.
"This guy's skin is too thick. It seems I need to buy a pair of thin high heels."
Thinking of this, a cunning expression appeared on Mado Akira's face as she turned and walked toward the branch office.