Chapter 23

Sprinting through the streets, Touka Kirishima and Ken Kaneki search desperately for Hinami Fueguchi. Kaneki phones Yoshimura to report that she is missing. Touka blames herself, guessing the newspaper she handed the girl is what drove her to run, and she recalls the parting words of her younger brother Ayato Kirishima on the evening he departed to enlist in Aogiri Tree, that she must own the consequences of her own choices.

Following Hinami's scent near Kasahara Elementary, Touka finds her. The girl refuses to return, convinced that the investigators would hunt her down wherever she hides, and she confronts Touka about killing Ippei Kusaba. Touka sees that Hinami is clutching the severed hand of her mother's remains and questioning whether ghouls even deserve to exist. Touka reassures her that the CCG holds no solid leads apart from anyone who witnessed Ryouko Fueguchi's execution firsthand.

Vowing to keep Hinami safe, Touka calls Kaneki with her location. Mado suddenly interrupts them. Kaneki considers regrouping at Anteiku, but when he spots Koutarou Amon on the phone signaling ghoul activity nearby, he puts on his mask and resolves to delay the investigator.

Touka tracks the fugitive Hinami by scent and pledges to protect her, learning the girl clings to a piece of her mother's corpse. Ayato's earlier warning about responsibility resurfaces in Touka's mind. As Mado moves in on Touka and Hinami, Kaneki dons his mask and steps forward to stall Amon, setting up the coming confrontations.

Carrying the title Shissō, meaning Disappearance, this twenty-third chapter was published on March 15, 2012, within the third volume. It marks the first flashback reference to Touka's brother Ayato and his departure for Aogiri Tree.