Melee

"Wonderful, wonderful! She's inherited the best of both parents!" Hinami's sudden burst of kagune caught Kureo Mado somewhat off guard, but he quickly recovered. Once he got a clear look at it, he couldn't contain his excitement.

"I want it so badly!"

He was a Quinque fanatic. Seeing kagune of such superb quality, he had already decided to claim it for himself.

He could let the other three have the meaningless credit and secure ownership of this ghoul for himself.

With that thought, Kureo Mado deftly evaded the attacks and swung his Quinque with his left hand, slipping past the four kagune tendrils to strike straight at Hinami's head.

Whoosh!

With no combat experience whatsoever, Hinami watched the bone blade grow larger before her eyes without even thinking to dodge. Instead, she stared blankly at the familiar Quinque. "Dad..."

Just as the bone blade was about to hit Hinami, a massive ice spike rose behind her and slammed into its flank with tremendous force, deflecting its trajectory. The blade plunged into the soil of the planted strip with a dull thud.

"Hinami, your dad isn't coming back. If you don't want us to end up like him... focus on fighting!"

On the other side of the battlefield, Louis had to keep watching Hinami's fight even as he fended off his two opponents. Hinami had tremendous firepower, but her lack of experience left her full of openings.

As he spoke, Yu Fura's katana came cleaving down from overhead. The blow was so powerful that Louis, who had only formed two small level-three Ice Blades, didn't dare block it head-on. He sidestepped, but before he could do anything else, a Silver Dagger came at him.

"You still have time to worry about them?!" Veins bulged at the corners of Shizuri's eyes as she accelerated her assault, unleashing punches and kicks on Louis with masterful technique.

Had the timing not been so terrible, Louis really would have liked to test himself against her. But right now, both he and Hinami were at a disadvantage. Given enough time, they would inevitably lose.

The two opponents before him worked together seamlessly, and Louis couldn't find an opening. Even trading injuries probably wouldn't accomplish much.

But then Louis spotted someone...

We're saved...

Yu Fura and Shizuri saw the opening their opponent suddenly left and were about to strike when a rush of air sounded behind them. A barrage of red crystals rained down, spraying across the battlefield like Gatling fire.

Yu Fura and Shizuri turned to defend themselves and were forced aside. Louis, already prepared, immediately moved behind Hinami and formed an ice shield to block Touka's scattering barrage.

"More reinforcements..." A bead of sweat rolled down Yu Fura's forehead as he and Shizuri retreated to Amon and Mado's side.

Before them, three more masked ghouls had appeared alongside Ice Mask and Hinami.

A white rabbit mask (Touka Kirishima), a black right-eyepatch-and-face-mask combination (Ken Kaneki), and a Red Snake Mask (Nishiki Nishio).

Of the newcomers, only Rabbit had a file on record: an S-rank stronger than Ice Mask. The others' strength was unknown, forcing every Ghoul Investigator present to proceed cautiously.

"Lou, how badly are you hurt?" Kaneki ran into the planted strip to check Louis's injuries.

"I can still move." Louis looked back. The four investigators stood in a line, their encirclement broken.

"If we run now..."

But before Louis could finish, Touka stepped forward and revealed her ukaku, blazing brilliantly like fire.

"What..." Louis froze. He didn't dare call Touka by name right now.

"Lou..." Kaneki lowered his voice. "Mr. Yomo told me the Ghoul Investigators are all gathering in Ward 11. They can't send any more backup here for now."

"So... we thought we could at least give Mr. Asaki a burial."

"A burial?" Louis glanced at the handbag Hinami had been clutching all this time, then noticed the bags hanging behind Mado, Shizuri, and Yu Fura.

There was clearly no way to seize them outright while under attack by the investigators.

"Then we'll have to beat every last one of them..." Louis hesitated, then couldn't help smiling. He stood up, rubbed his fists, and fixed the investigators ahead with a blazing stare.

"Fine by me... I've held back for days. It's about time I let off some steam!"

Nishiki Nishio also stepped forward, looking at the investigators ahead. "I gave up making out with my girlfriend to come here. Don't disappoint me."

His eyes quickly turned a vicious red. "I've wanted to teach these bastards a lesson for ages."

Unlike the atmosphere on Louis's side, Yu Fura and the other investigators were carefully considering their options.

"Mr. Mado, we don't know how strong they are. Should we retreat for now?"

There were two confirmed S-ranks and two more ghouls of unknown strength. Even the little girl was clearly quite powerful.

"What are you saying, Associate Special-Class Fura? The ghouls are right in front of us. Even if they cut off our arms and legs, we keep fighting." Smiling, Mado used the kagune in his hand to divide the view before him, with Ice Mask and Hinami on one side and the newcomers on the other.

"This little girl is quite capable too. Leave her and Ice Mask to me. Divide the others among yourselves."

But at that same moment, Louis's side had also finished assigning opponents at his request.

"Who said you get to choose your opponents?" Louis snorted and stamped his foot. Countless thin ice spikes rose beneath him, rapidly spreading into three sharp Ice Walls that swept toward the investigators, dividing the battlefield and forcibly separating all four.

"Go!"

At his command, four figures sprang forward at once.

Touka versus Kureo Mado (Associate Special-Class), Kaneki versus Koutarou Amon (First-Class), Nishiki Nishio versus Yu Fura (Associate Special-Class), and Louis versus Shizuri (First-Class).

The investigator partners were practiced at fighting together, so separating them gave the ghouls an advantage.

Gripping two more maneuverable crystal daggers, Louis charged at Shizuri. "I've been wanting to see your close-combat skills for a long time!"

Facing an S-Rank Ghoul, Shizuri didn't dare be careless. She immediately shed her white coat, revealing the Tight Combat Suit that let her execute her moves freely.

Is he planning to beat me first, then help the others? Or is every one of them S-rank...?

But she had barely formed the thought when Nishiki Nishio's scream rang out from the other side of the Ice Wall...