[Location: Tokyo, 11th Ward - Underground Ghoul Restaurant]
Manjiro walked over to the velvet chair he had been sitting in earlier, dragged it to the very center of the bloodstained arena, and sat down. He crossed his legs, facing the upper ring.
He pointed a finger toward the VIP balcony. "Tsukiyama Shuu."
Up in the shadows, Tsukiyama was still there. This impressed Manjiro slightly. Most people with functioning survival instincts would have used one of the emergency exits the moment Taro the Scrapper was thrown into the wall.
Manjiro shifted his finger slightly to the right. "And you. Madame A."
"Come down," Manjiro said.
Madame A descended first, taking the velvet-lined stairs, her chin held high to make it look like it was entirely her choice. Tsukiyama emerged from the east corridor a moment later.
Neither Ghoul sat down. They stood before Manjiro's chair like students called to the principal's office.
Through the Transparent World, Manjiro noted that Tsukiyama's RC factor was still spiking. He was actively deciding whether or not to deploy his Kagune. The fact that he was still deciding meant the fresh memory of the arena floor was doing its work.
"Relax," Manjiro said casually. "I'm not CCG. Not working for anyone. Honestly, I have zero interest in destroying this little supper club you've built."
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"What I have," Manjiro said, "are questions.
And I have a feeling… you might have the answers."
Tsukiyama's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "And if I choose not to answer?"
"Then we find out what the second show looks like," Manjiro sighed, sounding genuinely exhausted. "I'd rather not. The first one was already more than I planned for tonight."
Tsukiyama glanced at Kenji and Yui, the two terrified humans who were still sitting in the cage, completely unharmed while a hundred elite Ghouls watched helplessly from above.
"Magnifique," Tsukiyama whispered, almost to himself.
"I thought so too," Manjiro agreed. "Now. Let's talk."
SNAP.
The bandage shot from Manjiro's sleeve, wrapping tightly around the Ghoul's wrist.
Tsukiyama flinched, expecting the burning agony he had seen earlier. Instead, a warm, pulsing golden energy flowed into him.
[Sendo Ripple: Overdrive -Lasso of Truth]
Like Wonder Woman's lasso, Manjiro's Hamon forces the truth.
"What," Tsukiyama said carefully, feeling his tongue grow heavy and overly cooperative, "do you want to know?"
"How long has the restaurant been running?" Manjiro asked.
The question had clearly not been what the Ghoul expected. "...Several years. We opened formally in the fourth ward before relocating. Why does..."
"Current ward?"
"The eleventh. We rotate locations every few months."
"CCG. Are they active right now? Anything unusual in their movements?"
A longer pause this time. Tsukiyama's jaw tightened as he tried to fabricate a lie, but the Hamon pulsed, forcing the truth out. "...No. The standard deployments. The First-Class investigators have not been mobilized beyond their usual rotation. Arima's unit has not appeared in this ward in three months, if that's what you're..."
"It isn't," Manjiro said, "What does the menu usually look like?"
"The—?"
"Who do you normally source from? Standard humans? Anything unusual recently, someone whose scent was different, something you hadn't encountered before?"
"No," Tsukiyama said. "Nothing unusual. The menu has been..." He frowned, seemingly choosing the word. "...Predictable. For some time now."
There it is, Manjiro thought.
'In the Anime/Manga he remembered, Tsukiyama Shuu had one defining feature beyond his palate: once he found Kaneki Ken's scent, he could not stop chasing it. It consumed his every waking thought. A Ghoul of his sensitivity and experience, presented with something genuinely unprecedented, would never describe it as predictable in the same breath.'
"What season is it?" Manjiro asked.
"...You don't know what season..."
"What month."
"Pourquoi..." Tsukiyama took a sharp breath as the golden pressure returned to his wrist. "March. It is March."
Manjiro released the arm entirely. The bandages snapped back to his wrists. He stood up, stepped back two paces, and casually put his hands in his pockets.
Tsukiyama turned over slowly, sitting up against the arena wall, rubbing his wrist. His expression had gone through several phases in the last thirty seconds and was currently resting somewhere between fury and reluctant, burning curiosity.
"Those questions," Tsukiyama breathed. "What were you..."
"Thank you for the answers."
"You're welcome," Tsukiyama replied. He realized he had just politely thanked the man who assaulted him, and looked briefly disgusted with himself.
'We're in the month of March so that means... five to six months until the Canon Start. Five to six months until the infamous Steel Beam incident in late summer.
Manjiro then turned his dead, emotionless gaze to Madame A. She stiffened under the weight of his stare.
"Now, As for you," Manjiro announced, "I believe you are the money behind the scene"
"You know why I called you down," he said.
"I... I had a reasonable idea why you called me down," she said, trying to maintain her aristocratic composure.
"Good. Then you know this isn't a mugging. It's a business transaction. What are you willing to offer."
Madame A opened her mouth to protest, but the memory of the golden lightning silenced her. With trembling hands, she reached into her designer purse and tossed a sleek, matte-black, limitless credit card to Manjiro.
Manjiro caught it neatly between two fingers. He looked at Tsukiyama.
Tsukiyama Shuu stared up at the blonde boy. He realized two things simultaneously. First, if he disobeyed, this human would kill him. Second, and far more important: Tsukiyama was unequivocally in love with this level of dominance.
A flush spread across Tsukiyama's face beneath his mask. He stood up, brushing off his maroon suit, and placed a hand over his heart in a bow.
"It would be my honor to assist you, Monsieur," Tsukiyama purred.
"Great," Manjiro said, unbothered by the Ghoul's creepy masochism. He gestured to the cage behind him. "Carry Kenji and Yui up to the surface. And also get me a penthouse in the 20th Ward."
The upper-class Ghouls in the balcony watched in disbelief as Tsukiyama Shuu the Gourmet, cheerfully nodded, walked over to the cage, and held out his arms to the two humans.
Manjiro turned and walked toward the exit, tossing the Black Card in the air and catching it.
"Wait..." Tsukiyama called out from behind him, hoisting the terrified Kenji over his shoulder.
Manjiro stopped.
"Your name, Monsieur. You never gave me your full name."
Manjiro glanced over his shoulder, his dark eyes catching the dim arena light.
"Asakura."
"Manjiro Asakura"