"The mission to eliminate the A-rated ghoul 'Hyena' is complete. There won't be any new assignments for a while, so take some time to rest."
Ui addressed Byakuya. "Fighting both the A-rated Hyena and the S-rated Jason back-to-back—even a veteran First Class Investigator might struggle to handle that."
"Understood."
Byakuya nodded.
As for his own plans, he saw no need to share them with Ui.
...
With no immediate assignments, Byakuya parted ways with Ui and returned alone to Ward 20.
But even here, he had matters to attend to.
During this period, Yamori's mission was to capture Rize alive. That meant he'd likely be operating in Ward 20 for the foreseeable future. It was hardly a secret that the Binge Eater was based here—anyone who bothered to ask around could find out.
Yamori posed no real threat to Rize. But for Ryouko and Hinami Fueguchi, he was extremely dangerous.
There was no telling whether Yamori might target them to get back at Asaki.
Byakuya headed home first. Finding Rize absent, he assumed she was at Anteiku.
Or she might have encountered Yamori—but that guy couldn't do anything to her. No need to worry.
Unless something unexpected had happened...
...
At Anteiku, Rize was indeed there.
"I knew you'd be here."
Byakuya sat down beside her.
"Weren't you investigating something in Ward 19? Back already?"
Rize seemed mildly surprised.
"Yeah, things went smoothly. Would've been even faster if someone hadn't gotten in the way."
Byakuya paused. "By the way—do you know anyone called 'Jason' or 'Yamori'?"
The man had developed a split personality after being tortured by Tokage. "Jason" was a second persona that emerged as a survival mechanism. Still, Byakuya preferred calling him Yamori.
Rize thought for a moment. "Sounds vaguely familiar. Just some boring guy. He tried to catch me once."
"I ran into him in Ward 19. He'll probably be active around Ward 20 from now on. Be careful."
"I will, though he's not worth my attention."
Rize smiled as she spoke.
Before long, she was following Byakuya out of the café.
But just as they reached the door, a mother and daughter entered from the other direction.
Both had brown hair and brown eyes. Their features were similar and quite pretty. Byakuya recognized them immediately: Ryouko and Hinami Fueguchi.
As Byakuya and Rize passed by, Hinami instinctively shrank behind her mother to avoid the strangers.
Then she froze.
She'd caught a very familiar scent from that young man.
This is... Father's scent!
Hinami was certain she hadn't made a mistake. This was definitely the smell of her father.
This human... is human, right? Has he been in contact with Father?
Hinami had been desperately worried about her father. Suddenly detecting his scent on a stranger naturally made her intensely curious.
Even so, she didn't dare show it openly. She only allowed herself to watch the human covertly.
Once Byakuya and Rize had left, Hinami tugged gently at Ryouko's sleeve and whispered, "Mama, that person just now..."
"I know. He carries your father's scent. But what worries me is..."
Ryouko had noticed as well, though her reaction hadn't been as obvious as Hinami's. "If he's a ghoul investigator, we could be in danger."
Their attention had been entirely fixed on Byakuya. Neither had noticed that Rize walking beside him was also a ghoul. Otherwise, Ryouko probably wouldn't have suspected him of being an investigator.
Though he actually was one.
"I see... I wonder how Father is doing..."
Hinami's expression fell with worry.
Since taking refuge in Ward 20, they'd lost all contact with Asaki.
He'd cut ties deliberately, to keep any trouble he'd attracted from reaching Ryouko and Hinami.
"..."
Ryouko's heart grew heavy as well.
"Ryouko-san, Hinami-chan—the manager is waiting for you upstairs."
Touka approached with a friendly smile.
"O-okay! Thank you, Onee-chan."
Hinami was more familiar with Touka and slightly less shy around her.
Ryouko also nodded and bowed in thanks.
The mother and daughter headed up to the second floor to receive their "goods" from Manager Yoshimura.
What they called "picking up goods" was actually Ryouko and Hinami's regular collection of human carrion from Yoshimura at Anteiku.
Neither of them could hunt on their own. It wasn't a matter of strength—Ryouko could manifest a kagune, which by CCG standards made her at least B-rated. C-rated ghouls who couldn't release kagune were the ones who truly struggled to feed.
The real issue was that both Ryouko and Hinami were too kind-hearted. They couldn't bring themselves to harm humans.
Living in Ward 20 now, they depended entirely on Yoshimura and Touka's care.
...
Meanwhile, Byakuya and Rize had just stepped outside Anteiku.
"That little girl seemed very interested in you," Rize remarked. "She's a ghoul, by the way."
"I told you I ran into Yamori in Ward 19. He was at a clinic."
Byakuya spoke evenly. "That mother and daughter are probably related to the clinic's doctor. The daughter's features look a bit like his."
"True. Some of the scents on you overlap with theirs. So that doctor must be a ghoul too—and most likely their family member."
Rize nodded slightly.
Though neither she nor Byakuya had looked directly at the pair, Rize had already catalogued their scents in detail.
"Yes. I'm planning to eliminate Yamori. He's bound to target them eventually."
Byakuya's expression remained neutral.
Eliminating an S-rated ghoul would earn him a considerable amount of Fusion Points, plus an S-rated Quinque as a bonus. In his eyes, Yamori was already marked for death.