Late that quiet night, Louis finally returned to the hideout in Ward 6 after shaking off the others. The café's lights had long since gone out, but a figure suddenly emerged and opened the door.
"Tsukiyama took Hinami out today, for about an hour," Jiro said as soon as he shut the door.
"We also discovered a property belonging to the Tsukiyama Family in Ward 6... they run a café too, on that food street you often visit."
"Tsukiyama..." Louis considered it for a moment. He did not think Tsukiyama would do anything to a child, but he could not understand why he had taken her out so discreetly.
"Got it." After a moment's thought, Louis decided to ask about it in the morning.
But when he turned off the lights and went upstairs, a child's silhouette appeared at the end of the dark hallway. There was only one person here it could be.
"Hinami?"
In the darkness, Louis could see that Hinami did not look as relaxed as usual.
The young teenager seemed to have something to say.
He had always believed that people should do things appropriate to their age. Though hardship could force someone to grow, he still hoped she could retain a mindset suited to her age, and so he had kept her from too much exposure to unpleasant things.
"If the day really comes when ghouls and humans can live together peacefully, what... would you want to do?"
The first thing Hinami said after they entered the living room made Louis pause.
What exactly had Tsukiyama taken her out to do?
"I don't really have anything specific in mind. Maybe try things I've never tried before..." Louis gave it some thought, only to discover that he had no particularly grand ambitions.
"Mm..." Hinami nodded, then