After dealing with Shuu Tsukiyama and Nishio Nishiki, Ren returned to his room on the second floor of Anteiku.
The room was dim.
Only a desk lamp illuminated the space with soft yellow light.
He opened a drawer.
Inside—
A carefully wrapped piece of chocolate.
He tore the wrapper open.
Immediately—
Dark crimson symbiote matter seeped from his wrist.
The substance gathered quickly.
Forming Carnage's familiar head.
Its pale eyes locked onto the chocolate.
Filled with obvious greed.
"…Give it to me…"
Carnage's voice sounded impatient.
"Be careful of cavities."
Ren sighed.
Then tossed the chocolate directly into Carnage's mouth.
The symbiote swallowed it instantly.
Just as he reached for another piece—
Knock knock.
A quiet knock echoed from the door.
Carnage grumbled.
[…Trouble…]
The symbiote instantly dissolved back into his body.
"Come in."
Ren placed the remaining chocolate back in the drawer.
The door opened.
Standing outside—
Was Touka Kirishima.
She had changed out of her bloodstained clothes.
Now she wore simple loungewear.
Her purple hair hung loosely around her shoulders.
But the exhaustion in her expression was obvious.
A bandage wrapped tightly around her waist.
Her pale face looked even more fragile under the lamp.
Ren leaned back in his chair.
Watching her quietly.
Touka closed the door behind her.
She didn't speak immediately.
Instead—
She stared at the floor.
As if gathering her thoughts.
"What is it?"
He asked calmly.
Touka looked up.
Her normally cold eyes now carried complicated emotions.
She took a slow breath.
"I'm sorry."
The words were firm.
Ren understood immediately.
She was apologizing for stopping him earlier.
For insisting on fighting Tsukiyama alone.
"There's no need."
He shook his head.
"The person you should apologize to…"
"…isn't me."
After all—
He hadn't been injured.
Touka was the one who had been stabbed.
Touka didn't seem surprised.
She stepped closer to the desk.
Her gaze shifted toward the window.
Moonlight flowed through the glass.
Softly outlining her profile.
"Do you remember…"
"What I said before?"
Her voice sounded distant.
"Why do people who behave themselves still lose their loved ones?"
Ren remained silent.
Listening.
"It's not just Hinami."
Touka continued quietly.
"Our family was the same."
Her voice softened slightly.
"My father…"
"My mother…"
"They were good people."
Her eyes filled with faint warmth.
"My father valued relationships with neighbors."
"Even if the food they brought was meaningless to us…"
"My mother still prepared it carefully."
"We would all sit together…"
"…pretending it tasted good."
Touka's voice slowly grew quieter.
"We lived peacefully."
"Just like a normal human family."
Then—
Her body stiffened slightly.
"Until that day."
Her voice became hoarse.
"**Commission of Counter Ghoul investigators appeared."
"They attacked without warning."
"To protect me and Ayato…"
"My mother lured them away."
"And never came back."
She paused.
"To give us time to escape…"
"My father stayed behind to fight."
"He was captured."
Touka lowered her head.
"…His fate is still unknown."
Then she spoke again.
"Ayato is my younger brother."
"He saw everything."
"He blamed our father for being weak."
"So…"
"He ran away from home."
Touka turned slowly toward Ren.
"You're the strongest person I've ever seen."
Her voice was quiet.
"I keep wondering…"
"If I had power like yours…"
Her gaze drifted back to the moonlight.
"Would my mother still be alive?"
"Would my father still be free?"
"Would Ayato still be with us?"
"Would we still be sitting around the table together…"
"…eating those meaningless snacks?"
The moonlight wrapped around her slender figure.
Ren remained silent.
She didn't need comfort.
She needed someone to listen.
He understood that feeling.
The desire for power.
The regret of weakness.
The room fell into quiet again.
Only their breathing filled the air.
Then—
He spoke.
"Kirishima Arata is alive."
Touka froze.
Her shoulders trembled violently.
She didn't turn around immediately.
Instead—
She took a deep breath.
Trying to suppress the emotions rising inside her.
After a few seconds—
She nodded slowly.
"…Thank you."
Her voice carried a faint sob.
But also relief.
Ren watched her quietly.
He wasn't lying.
For the CCG, a captured ghoul like Kirishima Arata was extremely valuable.
Instead of execution—
They would imprison him in Cochlea.
There—
His kagune would be harvested repeatedly.
Used to create powerful quinque weapons named after him.
"Arata."
A fate worse than death.
But it meant one thing.
He was still alive.
Touka didn't ask further questions.
She simply took another breath.
"Goodnight."
She opened the door.
Her figure disappeared into the dark corridor.
Moonlight briefly touched the doorway—
Then vanished as the door closed.
The room fell silent again.
Ren opened the drawer.
Looking at the remaining chocolate.
Outside—
Crickets chirped softly.
Inside his mind—
Carnage whispered impatiently.
[…Chocolate…]
[…Hurry…]
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