Day three of the internship.
Since Byakuya had nothing to do that morning, he accompanied Rize back to her place to pack her things.
Since Rize was moving in with him now, everything she needed had to be brought over.
Byakuya and Rize showed up early to speak with the landlord.
"Eh? Kamishiro-san is moving out so suddenly?"
The landlord was an elderly woman.
Hearing that Kamishiro-san was leaving, she seemed quite reluctant to see her go.
After all, Kamishiro-san was always so gentle and polite. Both she and her granddaughter were very fond of her.
"Huh? Kamishiro-neesan is moving away?"
The landlord's granddaughter was a young girl with braided hair, probably around ten years old. The moment she heard Kamishiro-neesan was leaving, she came running out of her room.
"Yes, because I'm going to live with my boyfriend now."
Rize smiled apologetically.
At the word "boyfriend," the granddaughter's attention immediately shifted.
"Boyfriend? Kamishiro-neesan already has a boyfriend?"
The little girl's eyes lit up with curiosity. She immediately looked at Byakuya standing beside Rize. "Is it this big brother?"
"That's right."
Rize nodded with a smile.
"Ohhh!..."
The girl examined Byakuya with great interest.
At her age, she was naturally curious about anything involving romance.
Byakuya smiled somewhat awkwardly but didn't confirm or deny it. As long as Rize was happy.
After completing the checkout procedures with the landlord, Byakuya and Rize went to pack.
Once everything was ready, they each pulled a suitcase plus some other belongings and headed to Byakuya's place.
...
"So you're going to the internship this afternoon, right?"
After lunch, Byakuya and Rize sat on the couch watching TV together. Rize asked about the internship.
"Yeah, today's the last day. After this, I should officially be a full investigator."
Byakuya nodded.
"Mm, it's actually kind of interesting that you'll be a CCG investigator. You can gather all sorts of intel on the inside."
Rize said. "Too bad I'm too conspicuous. Otherwise, I'd like to check out the CCG myself."
With her Washuu bloodline, entering the CCG would be trivially easy—the RC detection gates couldn't pick her up.
The problem was that if she left any trace at the CCG, the Washuu Clan could easily track her down.
Although Rize had been designated S-rated by the CCG and given the codename "Binge Eater," they didn't know what she actually looked like.
If the Washuus knew that Rize was the Binge Eater, they'd have come for her long ago.
"Better not. The Washuus would find you immediately."
Byakuya agreed.
Shortly after, Byakuya finished his nap and prepared to head out.
As he was changing his shoes at the entrance, Rize walked over.
"What's the phrase for this situation again? Be careful out there, darling."
Rize said.
"...Mm!"
Byakuya felt a sudden wave of emotion.
From an ordinary person's perspective, he and Rize were like an old married couple.
Especially with that gentle, sweet smile on Rize's face—she looked every bit the devoted wife.
But the reality was...
Obviously, Rize was just doing this because she found it amusing—using him for entertainment.
...
On the subway, Byakuya unsurprisingly ran into Kurona and Nashiro again.
This time, both sisters were acting a bit odd. They sat with him but kept noticeably more distance than usual—probably still self-conscious about yesterday.
At first, neither Byakuya nor the sisters spoke. Then Kurona suddenly broke the silence: "Um... about yesterday—please just forget it happened."
"Sure, sure."
Byakuya replied casually.
He hadn't planned to bring it up anyway. Surprisingly, Kurona had mentioned it first.
But once Kurona broke the awkward atmosphere, their conversation returned to normal.
"Today's the last day of the internship. I can only congratulate you in advance."
Though somewhat reluctant, Kurona had to acknowledge reality.
Given Byakuya's performance over the past two days, his victory was already assured. Nothing that happened today would change the outcome.
"Mm, but seriously—don't stress too much about rankings. Just passing safely is what matters. Don't overdo it like the day before yesterday."
Byakuya advised both Kurona and Nashiro.
He'd said something similar yesterday, but they'd both been asleep and probably hadn't heard.
"I definitely won't make that mistake again."
Kurona nodded seriously.
...
Once everyone gathered at the Ward 24 entrance, they proceeded inside for the final day of training.
[Ding! Host defeated a "B-rated ghoul." Reward: 5 Fusion Points!]
[Ding! Host defeated a "B-rated ghoul." Reward: 5 Fusion Points!]
[...]
The day's internship proceeded without incident.
Byakuya performed excellently as always.
In Koori Ui's eyes, he'd passed with a nearly flawless showing.
After the internship came the evaluation.
Naturally, the Squad Zero members scored each intern, having observed their entire performance throughout.
The final score was the average of all Squad Zero members' ratings, on a scale of 1 to 10. Koori Ui and Shio Ihei had obviously given Byakuya perfect 10s.
His final averaged score: 9.6.
Byakuya didn't particularly care about the number—as long as he could officially join the CCG.
Suzuya scored 9.2—actually quite high. Breaking 9 wasn't easy.
Kurona had points deducted for her lapse on day one, landing at somewhere in the 8s. Nashiro scored exactly 9.0.
If Kurona hadn't made that first-day mistake, she'd probably have matched Nashiro.
The other two male trainees scored around 6 and 7.
But since 6 was the passing threshold, their scores weren't bad.
At minimum, they could handle driving off ghouls. Other ordinary trainees might easily fail against B-rated ghouls.
As long as you could handle ghoul suppression, you qualified as an investigator.
"Congratulations on passing your internship evaluations. Would you prefer to head home first, or come with us to Main Office in Ward 1?"
Koori Ui addressed the group.
"I'll go directly to Ward 1."
Byakuya didn't hesitate.
But he was the only one.
Kurona and Nashiro apparently had something to take care of at home first.
Suzuya knew that even with his 9.2 score, he'd only start as a Rank 3 investigator—not qualified to work at Main Office in Ward 1. That was simply how the Institute's regulations worked.
The other two male trainees wanted to return to the Academy first. Going to Main Office alongside Byakuya felt like too much pressure.
"Alright, looks like it's just you. Let's go then."
Koori Ui said.
Byakuya departed with Squad Zero for CCG Main Office in Ward 1.
On the subway, he chatted idly with Shio Ihei.
After exiting at the Ward 1 station, they soon arrived at Main Office.
Since Byakuya had come ahead of the others, the CCG processed his paperwork first. He received his Rank 2 Investigator title along with official ownership and usage rights for the Hiruko 1/76.
In other words, the Quinque dagger only truly belonged to him now.
Of course, it was just a stopgap. Byakuya had eliminated quite a few ghouls in Ward 24—all B-rated, but enough to earn him a brand-new Quinque that he could name himself.
Paperwork complete and commendation received, Byakuya was now officially a Rank 2 Investigator.
He collected his credentials and other materials, then headed home.
Since the internship had just ended, the CCG was considerate enough to give him a few days off. During this time, they'd also assign him a partner—someone ranked between First Class and Special Class.
...
The Sen Takatsuki fan meet-and-greet happened to fall during this break.
Byakuya hadn't forgotten his arrangement with Kaneki. However, Rize insisted on coming along, which complicated things slightly.
He decided not to worry about it for now and headed to Anteiku to meet Kaneki.
Rize accompanied him, of course.
Seeing Amaha-san arrive with this young woman, Kaneki didn't react too strongly—he'd anticipated this might happen.
"Um... this might be rude to ask, but is this Amaha-san's girlfriend?"
Kaneki asked, looking somewhat awkward.
This put Byakuya in a difficult spot. Should he confirm or deny?
His relationship with Rize had always been ambiguous. Technically, they weren't a couple—but everyone except the two of them probably assumed they were.
Before Byakuya could answer, Rize spoke up for him: "That's right. I like Byakuya the most."
"I thought so. I understand now."
Kaneki actually seemed relieved.
As a result, when they headed to the fan meet together, there was no awkwardness at all.
At the venue, just as Byakuya was about to enter the hall, he noticed a petite young woman walking briskly past him.
She suddenly stopped and turned to look at him.
"Hello~"
The cute girl smiling and waving at Byakuya was none other than Eto Yoshimura—or rather, "Sen Takatsuki-sensei."