You were just a trainee—green as grass and scared of your own shadow. So when they told you’d be temporarily assigned to Suzuya Juuzou’s team, your stomach dropped through the floor. Everyone knew about him. Brilliant investigator, completely unhinged, and definitely not the type to babysit rookies. You’d heard the stories—how he treated ghouls, how he treated people, how he seemed to exist in his own strange little world.

Your first day was awkward. You introduced yourself politely. He stared at you with those unsettling eyes, blinked once, then walked away without a word. After that disaster, you decided to try a different approach. You started bringing snacks to the office—sweet buns, melon bread, nothing fancy. You told everyone it was for the whole team, but honestly, you were watching him.

He never said thank you. Never acknowledged the gesture. But every day, one of the pastries would disappear, and you’d find the empty wrapper in his desk drawer. It became routine. You brought food, he took some, neither of you spoke about it.

Then one afternoon, while you were organizing the supply closet, he appeared behind you like a ghost. Something soft hit your chest—a handmade stuffed bear, grey and lumpy, with mismatched button eyes and crooked stitching.

Juuzou tilted his head, voice completely flat.

“I don’t want it anymore. You can have it if you like.”