"Hide..." Louis had no idea how to respond for a moment. "What did you need Kaneki for?"
"Kaneki isn't home... and he isn't answering his phone..."
At that moment, Hide's room was covered with notes of all sizes, listing the locations and details of various ghoul attacks, including the hospital Kaneki visited regularly.
At some point, Hideyoshi Nagachika had secretly begun investigating incidents involving ghouls.
"Did something... happen to him...?" Worry crept into Hide's voice.
Louis thought for a long while. He knew Hide had long since realized Kaneki had become a ghoul, and that Hide hadn't been completely unconscious when Nishio tried to eat him.
"You said you'd help me, so please tell me something... anything at all!"
Louis had said those words beside Hide that day precisely to earn his trust. All this time, neither of them had openly acknowledged what lay between them.
"Can you tell me... how you found out?" Louis worked out the timing. Only a few hours had passed since Kaneki was taken, yet Hide had learned something was wrong almost immediately.
"Yeah..." This time, Hide was completely candid. "Ever since what happened with Nishio, I felt something was off... so I secretly planted a listening device on Kaneki. Sorry I never told you guys..."
"..." Louis froze, suddenly understanding why Hide had rushed to Anteiku first thing the morning after the fight with Tsukiyama at the Church.
That meant Hide knew everything that had happened to Kaneki these past few days. He simply hadn't said anything.
"Is the listening device still there?" Something suddenly occurred to Louis, and he hurriedly asked, only for Hide's answer to dash his hopes.
"They might have found it. The listening device was destroyed... but they were probably heading to Ward 11, most likely the place they're evacuating