Good friends

Qingsi High School.

A short-haired schoolgirl looked around the hallway, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. She radiated a light, cheerful air.

Her best friend Fuyuko had returned to school.

"Fuyuko, you haven't been at school for ages. We've covered a lot in class... want me to help you catch up?"

The girl named Fuyuko had long brown hair and pronounced dark circles around her eyes. "No... I might be dropping out."

"Dropping out?! Why? Is someone bullying you? Or is it something else?"

"N-no... I need to go home and keep vigil." Tears streamed uncontrollably down Fuyuko's face, her voice thick with sobs.

"What happened to your family? Do you have to give up school...?"

"My family... they're... they're all dead... I'm sorry, I can't go to school with you anymore."

"I see... I'll take some time off to help you," Niko Kuroba answered in a subdued voice, holding her things in her arms as she comforted her.

"Thank you so much! You're my best friend."

"What is it?"

"Nothing, really. I just came to check on you. You haven't seemed very well lately," Misaki Aika said softly, twirling her hair.

"I'm really not. I'm exhausted, body and mind." Huiqi shrugged, dejection coloring his voice.

"I'll make you some coffee. Hopefully it'll help."

Watching Misaki Aika bustle around, Huiqi couldn't help smiling. Having a good friend look after him felt pretty nice.

Ring, ring, ring...

The office phone suddenly rang.

"Hello? What is it?"

"Mr. Huiqi, there's a girl at reception reporting a ghoul."

"Have Kōtarō Amon handle it."

"Uh... Ghoul Investigator Amon isn't here."

"Have another Ghoul Investigator handle it."

"Would it be all right if I found you another Ghoul Investigator?" the receptionist asked the girl in front of her.

"No, no! I want the best Ghoul Investigator in Ward 20!"

Huiqi fell silent on the other end of the line. He had heard every word the girl said.

"Mr. Huiqi?"

The receptionist called tentatively into the phone.

"I'll be right down."

Huiqi answered resignedly. Since this involved a ghoul, he had to take responsibility. He could also see just what gave her such confidence.

Downstairs.

The young girl's face was filled with anxiety, her hands constantly fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

"Don't worry. Special Class Investigator Huiqi will be down soon. Once he gets involved, he'll definitely solve your problem."

Seeing how anxious the girl was, the receptionist couldn't help comforting her.

"Really? Honestly, I don't want to be like this either. I know I'm being unreasonable... b-but I saw one of my classmates kill another classmate!"

"Oh? Did it happen at school?"

Huiqi looked at the girl. She wore a high school uniform and appeared to be a high school student.

"N-no. I secretly followed her there, because I'd suspected Fuyuko was a ghoul for a while."

"Followed her? Where? Fuyuko? Let's talk on the way." Huiqi took the girl to his car.

"Yes... I happened to hear about it that day. Fuyuko had been on leave from school for a long time. According to my investigation, her leave coincided exactly with the CCG's earlier announcements."

"What announcements?"

"When the CCG urged everyone to go home early and deployed extra personnel."

The girl eyed Huiqi doubtfully.

"Huh? During the Ward 10 extermination operation?" Huiqi sounded a little exasperated. He was only responsible for frontline combat. How was he supposed to know about logistics? Besides, his schedule had been so packed that he had barely watched any television.

"What's the Ward 10 extermination operation?"

The girl looked at Huiqi in confusion. She had never heard of what he had just mentioned.

"That was the period you mentioned, when people were told to go home early. We Ghoul Investigators were fighting ghouls in Ward 10. The CCG was worried some might slip through and hurt people, so they told you not to go out at night."

"Oh, I see! You really are the best Ghoul Investigator in Ward 20," the girl said in realization. She looked excitedly at Huiqi, making no attempt to hide the curiosity in her eyes.

"So you pestered the receptionist all that time just to get me to handle this? Any Rank 3 Investigator would've been enough."

"No, no! It has to be you! I wouldn't feel safe with anyone else!"

Watching the girl shake her head insistently, Huiqi bared his teeth.

"Is that the place you mentioned up ahead?"

At that, the girl looked at the house ahead, covered in white lettering. "Yes! Are we going to sneak in?"

"Sneak in? Why do something unnecessary?" Huiqi looked at her in confusion.

"That's what the male leads on TV do."

"..."

At that point, Huiqi firmly decided to stop talking. This kid had watched too many TV dramas. There was no reasoning with her.

Surveying the black-and-white house before him, Huiqi found the front door and pushed it open without hesitation.

"Aren't you the best Ghoul Investigator? Why are you just barging in? Aren't you going to investigate first?"

The girl's questions rang in his ears, but Huiqi couldn't be bothered to answer. Based on the information she had provided, this ghoul was A-rate at most. If it were S-rate or SS-rate, he might have considered investigating beforehand.

Click.

He pushed open the door inside, and the first thing he saw was blood all over the room. White fabric was barely visible amid the blood.

"Aaaaaah!!!!!"

The next instant, the girl screamed. One hand clutched Huiqi's sleeve as she hid behind him in fear, peering in horror through the gaps between her fingers.

Two rows of white decorations filled the room, but because someone had died, the red and white ornaments were speckled with blood. An elaborate table stood in the center of the main hall, laden with funeral supplies.

Huiqi's expression darkened. Human limbs lay among the funeral items, with a severed head placed right in the middle. White and red flowers were arranged symmetrically on either side.

There were only two memorial tablets above them, engraved with the names Mizuki Yasui and Anzai Yasui.

"If I remember correctly, that ghoul's name was Fuyuko, right? So her full name is Fuyuko Yasui." Huiqi's voice grew colder. These damned ghouls were using living people's limbs as funeral offerings.

"Y-yes... the one who was killed was called Niko Kuroba..."

As Huiqi picked up the white fabric, he could vaguely make out a school uniform, similar in style to the one worn by the girl behind him. He also found a name tag on the upper part of the uniform.

Name: Niko Kuroba

Grade: Second year, regular class 2

School: Qingsi High School

"Victim's remaining clothing confirmed."

"Victim's blood collected."

After finishing with the items at hand, Huiqi looked toward the other rooms, preparing to search them one by one.

"Did Fuyuko bring back more food? We need to leave in a couple of days, or the Ghoul Investigators might track us down."