Yoriko Kosaka gathered information

Ward 20, the Antique Café.

It was the weekend, and Yoriko Kosaka had made a special trip to the place where Touka Kirishima worked.

"Touka, could I have a regular coffee? Remember to put in extra sugar for me."

Yoriko Kosaka found a seat near the middle of the café.

"Yoriko? What brings you here all of a sudden?"

Touka Kirishima looked surprised.

"I just felt like coming to see you."

Yoriko Kosaka smiled as she spoke.

In reality, she had deliberately chosen the weekend to come here so she could catch the boy Touka liked.

Of course, she was the one who assumed Touka liked him.

When she had seen him before, he had looked like a student, so she figured she had a pretty good chance of catching him here over the weekend.

"Okay."

Touka Kirishima smiled warmly. "Then this coffee is on me."

She clearly believed Yoriko Kosaka really had come to see her, little knowing...

Sure enough, Yoriko Kosaka managed to catch Amahane Byakuya that day.

Amahane Byakuya, however, was there because he happened to have arranged to read with Ken Kaneki that day.

Meanwhile, Rize Kamishiro was at home reading fashion magazines to stave off boredom.

After spotting Ken Kaneki, Amahane Byakuya sat down at his table.

"Amahane, have you read Teacher Takatsuki's short story collection?"

Ken Kaneki seemed ready to recommend another work to Amahane Byakuya.

"Not yet."

Amahane Byakuya replied.

"Then you should give this collection a try. It's closely connected to the novel The Black Goat's Egg."

Ken Kaneki handed Amahane Byakuya the short story collection he was holding.

"Sure. Teacher Takatsuki's works are always worth reading."

Amahane Byakuya nodded.

Yoriko Kosaka had wanted to go over and talk to the boy right away, but she noticed that he seemed to have something of his own to do.

Not wanting to interrupt him, she could only wait.

That wait ended up lasting three or four hours.

Sitting there doing nothing but drinking coffee was far too boring, so Yoriko Kosaka chatted with Touka Kirishima whenever she wasn't busy.

"See you, Amahane."

"Yeah, see you."

At last, Ken Kaneki gathered his things, stood up, and left.

Amahane Byakuya was the only one left at the table, and he was actually getting ready to head home too.

Just then, however, he saw someone walking toward him. It was Yoriko Kosaka. As he remembered it, this girl was a very close friend of Touka Kirishima's.

Even after learning later that Touka Kirishima was actually a ghoul, she hadn't distanced herself from Touka or become afraid of her. They had remained close.

But Amahane Byakuya had never interacted with Yoriko Kosaka at all. What did she want with him?

"Hello."

Yoriko Kosaka casually sat down across from Amahane Byakuya, showing no shyness whatsoever about striking up a conversation with a boy.

"Hello. And you are...?"

Amahane Byakuya asked in confusion.

"I'm Touka's classmate. You know Touka, right?"

Yoriko Kosaka asked with a smile.

"Touka? Sorry, I don't know who you mean."

Amahane Byakuya shook his head slightly.

Touka Kirishima still hadn't told him her name. Simply put, they weren't close at this point, so he naturally couldn't let on that he knew her.

"Huh..."

Yoriko Kosaka looked surprised.

He doesn't even know Touka's name yet?

"I mean that really cute waitress over there. I thought you two knew each other."

Yoriko Kosaka spoke to Amahane Byakuya in a very quiet voice.

She made a point of putting extra emphasis on "really cute" when describing Touka Kirishima.

But Touka Kirishima had already noticed Yoriko Kosaka sitting down at Amahane Byakuya's table. Under the circumstances, it was hard not to pay attention.

Touka Kirishima kept glancing toward Yoriko Kosaka, wondering what she was saying to that guy.

She was worried Yoriko might say something strange to him.

Then Touka Kirishima noticed Yoriko Kosaka glance back at her, while Amahane Byakuya also briefly looked her way.

That only made her more anxious. Yoriko was obviously discussing her with that human boy!

Only then did Touka Kirishima realize that this was why Yoriko had suddenly come to their café.

"I've spoken to her a few times, but we don't know each other well. So, did you need something?"

Amahane Byakuya asked.

"I wanted to get to know you. My name is Yoriko Kosaka. Nice to meet you."

Yoriko Kosaka said with a smile.

"My name is Amahane Byakuya. Nice to meet you too."

Amahane Byakuya replied.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, do you have a girlfriend?"

That was the question Yoriko Kosaka most wanted to ask.

"No..."

Amahane Byakuya answered honestly.

At that moment, Touka Kirishima finally couldn't take it anymore.

She immediately came over to stop Yoriko Kosaka.

With a strained smile on her face, she said, "Yoriko, come with me for a moment."

Yoriko Kosaka sensed that Touka seemed a little angry, so she had no choice but to stop.

As Touka Kirishima led Yoriko Kosaka away, Amahane Byakuya was still a little confused. He didn't understand why Yoriko Kosaka had asked him something like that.

Yoriko Kosaka hadn't looked remotely interested in him. It seemed more like she was asking about him on someone else's behalf.

And she had specifically asked whether he had a girlfriend.

Then who was she asking for?

It seemed like it might be Touka Kirishima, but that couldn't be right. They had barely interacted.

Forget it...

Amahane Byakuya stopped dwelling on it. Since there was nothing else to do, it was about time he headed home.

He finished the last sip of his coffee, then got up and left.

"Touka, listen to me. That boy doesn't have a girlfriend."

Then Yoriko Kosaka added, "Also, his name is Amahane Byakuya. Don't tell me you didn't know his name either?"

"What does him having a girlfriend have to do with me? I already told you, you've really got the wrong idea."

Touka Kirishima felt a headache coming on. It seemed that no matter how she explained it, nothing got through.

"All right, all right. Let's say I got the wrong idea."

Yoriko Kosaka conceded.

But she clearly still hadn't taken Touka Kirishima's words seriously.

She had learned that Amahane Byakuya and the pretty girl from the other day weren't a couple, and she had passed that information on to Touka. As far as she was concerned, that was enough.

"I've just finished my coffee anyway, so I'll head home now. Bye, Touka~"

With that, Yoriko Kosaka left the Antique Café in high spirits.

"Bye..."

Touka Kirishima watched Yoriko Kosaka leave with a helpless look in her eyes and let out a soft sigh. She hoped that guy hadn't read too much into it.

Oh, right. His name was Amahane Byakuya.