The next day, early morning.
After eating breakfast, Ihei Byakuya got ready to go to school.
Yoshimura Eto was lying on the sofa reading. With so many books, she had enough to keep her occupied for several days.
"I'm heading to school."
Before leaving, Byakuya called out.
"Okay, goodbye."
Yoshimura Eto responded.
Then Ihei Byakuya slung on his backpack and planned to ride his bicycle to school.
Of course, he brought his Quinque with him.
He simply stuffed it into his backpack. This was exactly the advantage of a Quinque's default form being a suitcase.
Since he was infiltrating the school to investigate a ghoul, he absolutely couldn't reveal the Quinque casually.
Even in suitcase form, any slightly knowledgeable ghoul would recognize it immediately, let alone the infamous Pumpkinhead in the 13th Ward.
So Ihei Byakuya had to keep it inside the backpack at all times, with books and stationery placed in other compartments.
...
Seishin High-school, a high school located in the 13th Ward.
Ihei Byakuya wore the same clothing as the students around him. The classic Japanese high school uniform: a shirt and slacks, with a tie around the chest.
Because Ihei Byakuya's age and appearance fit almost perfectly, walking among a crowd of high school students showed no sense of disharmony at all.
Then, Ihei Byakuya first went to the office to receive his textbooks.
"So you're Student Ihei. These are your materials. And the first class this morning happens to be taught by Teacher Yamada, so he'll take you to the classroom."
The homeroom teacher said to Ihei Byakuya.
Strictly speaking, he should be called the *tannin-sensei*, since Japan didn't have the concept of a "homeroom teacher."
"Teacher Yamada, I'll be in your care."
"Sure thing."
Teacher Yamada looked like a Mediterranean-type middle-aged man, and judging from his smile, he seemed like a very easygoing teacher.
Ihei Byakuya gave a slight bow to show his thanks.
...
Ihei Byakuya's class was a second-year class.
He followed behind Teacher Yamada and entered the classroom.
"Alright, everyone quiet down for a moment. Today our class has a transfer student. Please come up and introduce yourself."
Teacher Yamada announced to the students.
The originally noisy classroom quieted considerably, but soon low voices murmured again. Obviously, everyone was curious about the new transfer student.
"Another transfer student? I remember Minami-san also transferred to our class this semester, right?"
"Our class sure gets a lot of transfer students. And they're all handsome guys and pretty girls too."
"..."
At this moment, Ihei Byakuya swept his eyes across the classroom and immediately saw Fura Taishi and Uruka Minami.
Fura Taishi had the complete delinquent look. Not only were his hands propped behind his head on the chair, his legs were also kicked up on the desk.
And his hair, dyed into an orange **shamate** style, needed no further explanation...
Looking at this version of Fura Taishi, absolutely no one would imagine that this delinquent would later become a dependable Ghoul Investigator in the CCG.
Twelve years later, he would not only become a First-Class Investigator, but also the head of the CCG branch in the 7th Ward.
As for Uruka Minami...
She was the ghoul known by the codename Pumpkinhead.
Her outward appearance was that of a quiet and cute high school girl.
Likewise, no one would imagine that the kind, adorable, and outstanding Uruka Minami was actually a ghoul who fed on humans, and not just any ghoul, but the most dangerous one in the 13th Ward: Pumpkinhead.
Uruka Minami.
Ihei Byakuya did not let his gaze linger on any particular person, sweeping past each face quickly, so as not to alert Uruka Minami.
Uruka Minami had briefly met his eyes just now, and even gave him a small smile.
"My name is Ihei Byakuya, I'm from the 1st Ward..."
Byakuya followed exactly the self-introduction script the CCG had prepared for him.
Everything matched the identity the CCG fabricated for him.
Because the CCG worried that besides Pumpkinhead, there might be other ghouls hiding in this school, especially teachers, they intentionally forged a complete background for him.
"Very good. Then there's an empty seat to the right of Fura-kun. Ihei-kun, you can sit over there."
Teacher Yamada said.
Ihei Byakuya nodded and walked toward the empty seat.
Fura Taishi still maintained that delinquent posture, as if he did not care about the teacher at all.
Byakuya didn't mind. As long as this guy didn't interfere with him, it was fine.
Of course, the guy wasn't actually a bad person, otherwise he wouldn't later become a reliable First-Class Investigator. There were reasons he had fallen into delinquency...
"Ding ling ling ling-"
With the bell ringing, class began as normal.
For Ihei Byakuya, who was originally a high school student in the celestial empire, he adapted to the class pace almost immediately.
Although his mission was to investigate ghouls, he still needed to study normally. Otherwise, make-up classes, make-up exams, or parent meetings could disrupt the mission.
"Tch..."
At this moment, Fura Taishi, lying sprawled on his desk, seemed to have some opinion about Ihei Byakuya.
In truth, he simply found it boring. Another transfer student who was yet another model student paying serious attention in class.
But compared to looking at Ihei Byakuya, Fura Taishi's attention was still mostly focused on Uruka Minami...
...
The morning classes ended, and it was already noon.
Lunch break was less than one hour, barely enough time to eat.
But then again, school ended around 3 p.m., so Ihei Byakuya had no complaints about this schedule.
Most students ate bento brought from home. Byakuya, who didn't have the habit of preparing bento, had no choice but to go to the cafeteria.
But when he saw the crowd inside the cafeteria and then looked at the time, he turned around and walked toward the convenience store instead...
"No wonder every male protagonist in anime eats bread..."
Ihei Byakuya complained in his head.
In anime, they either eat bento or rush to buy bread, and almost no one actually eats in the cafeteria.
Now he understood why.
Not only was lunch break short, the cafeteria was small, and waiting in line took forever.
Without a bento, bread was the best solution.
When he arrived at the convenience store inside the cafeteria, Byakuya noticed only three pieces of bread left in the basket.
He immediately planned to grab two, but ran into Fura Taishi and his gang.
This time, Fura Taishi had a boy and girl delinquent with him.
Just as Ihei Byakuya reached out for the bread, Fura Taishi grabbed at it too.
"Hm?"
Fura Taishi frowned. "The new transfer kid? These three pieces of bread are ours."