"Damn it!"
Louis abandoned the opponent in front of him, threw aside his ice shield, and charged toward the dark figure.
This was clearly a premeditated attack, and its opening move had caught him completely off guard.
"Ice Blade!"
Several ice blades, formed with only their cutting edges, materialized around his crystallized right arm. They attacked the strangely fast shadow along with his punch, covering such a wide area that the figure had to abandon his target and turn back to retreat.
Shhk-!
A dazzling, familiar blaze of fiery red lit up the dim living room. Louis's fist missed, but the ice blades forced his opponent to spread his Ukaku to shield his body. Several soft thuds followed as shards of ice lodged in the fiery-red Ukaku.
The expected attack from behind never came, but Louis had no time to wonder why. He immediately grabbed Hinami and darted sideways, escaping the pincer attack.
"He didn't attack me?"
Crouching with Hinami protected beside him, Louis looked toward the front door. Their brief exchange had made it clear that his opponent was strong, his attacks decisive and vicious. He was plainly an experienced fighter, and he should never have passed up the chance to strike while Louis's back was turned.
The shadow at the front door was still frozen in place, maintaining a wary stance.
Louis's eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, revealing white hair and that familiar mask with its built-in eyepatch. The one exposed eye was filled with surprise. The other man had clearly recognized him too.
"Big brother?"
Kaneki: "..."
Louis: "..."
Ayato: "..."
As Hinami's voice rang out, silence fell over the room.
"Hey... Eyepatch, don't forget our mission." Ayato pulled the ice blades from his Ukaku. Realizing who Louis was, he curled his lip in disdain, but