Seeing that Kurona possessed kagune nearly identical to her own—and was a one-eyed ghoul—Rize no longer doubted.
"Who became the experimental donor?"
Rize couldn't help asking.
"Probably another ghoul from your clan. Definitely someone with the same bloodline."
Byakuya said.
As for exactly who, he couldn't possibly guess.
"By the way," Byakuya asked Kurona, "have you seen the person who provided the experimental donor for Dr. Kanou?"
He asked this to let Rize naturally learn who was behind everything.
"I saw him once. A guy wearing a clown mask. I don't know what he looks like—I only know he's called 'Mr. PG' at the Ghoul Restaurant."
Kurona answered.
"A clown mask..."
Now Rize understood.
She was virtually certain the person Kurona described was Furuta.
Recalling what had happened to her, Rize finally understood why Furuta had ambushed her.
If Byakuya hadn't saved her then, she would probably be that experimental donor now...
The thought was chilling, but more than that, she felt fury. That bastard Furuta had tried to do that to her!
Still, she quickly composed herself and spoke to Kurona as if nothing had happened: "Let me show you my kagune too."
Her kakugan and kagune manifested.
Seeing kagune identical to her own, Kurona was astonished. "This is..."
But she'd learned at the Academy that related ghouls shared similar kakuhou and kagune.
Could it be...
"Is the experimental donor a relative of yours?"
Kurona voiced her suspicion.
"You could say that, though I might not actually know them."
Rize spoke lightly.
"Where is this Dr. Kanou? I want to investigate."
Rize grew increasingly concerned—this matter now involved her directly. She'd nearly become that experimental donor.
"Even if we knew his location, alerting him now would be unwise."
Byakuya said. "Especially if that clan found out about our actions—that would be extremely dangerous for us."
"That clan" naturally meant the Washuus. With Kurona present, he didn't want to reveal things she shouldn't know, so he spoke in code with Rize.
"True..."
Rize understood the reasoning.
"Cough cough..."
Just then, Nashiro suddenly coughed from the bed, apparently waking at last.
Kurona immediately went to her sister's side. "Nashiro! Are you awake? How do you feel?"
Hearing Kurona's voice, Nashiro slowly opened her eyes, though she didn't immediately notice the unfamiliar surroundings.
"Better, I think..."
Her voice was still weak, clearly drained.
Then she noticed the strange environment, and Byakuya and an unknown woman sitting nearby.
Especially seeing Byakuya—she instinctively grew wary. After all, he'd been the one who injured her.
"Why is he here? Where is this?"
Nashiro asked Kurona, eyes fixed cautiously on Byakuya.
"He's actually the one who helped us. He fed you his blood—that's why your condition improved."
Kurona explained immediately, making sure Nashiro understood the truth.
"Blood...?"
Nashiro looked at Byakuya questioningly. She had no idea what had happened while unconscious.
"I didn't actually want to hurt you before. Anyway, I gave you some of my blood. My body seems to have some miraculous effect on ghouls, and it stabilized your condition."
Byakuya explained simply. "But you're not completely out of danger yet. Your kakuhou hasn't recovered. Try consuming my flesh next to see if you can fully heal."
His meaning was clear—he wanted Nashiro to eat his flesh.
"..."
Hearing this, Rize looked like she wanted to say something.
She instinctively didn't want other ghouls tasting Byakuya. She already considered him her exclusive "food."
But ultimately she only said one thing: "One bite maximum."
Even she had only been allowed one bite, so she didn't want Byakuya treating Nashiro better than her.
Kurona and Nashiro didn't quite understand why Rize suddenly said that.
"Fine, fine. One bite should be enough anyway."
Byakuya smiled.
Then he extended his arm to Nashiro. "Go ahead."
Nashiro hesitated only briefly before tucking her hair behind her ear and leaning toward Byakuya's offered arm.
She and Kurona had already eaten human flesh under Kanou's manipulation to avoid going hungry. So she didn't show obvious resistance to Byakuya's arm—especially since his scent was inexplicably alluring. With such a delicacy before her, her instincts grew eager.
The usually quiet, introverted Nashiro bit down harder than even the notoriously voracious Rize had when tasting Byakuya. She greedily chewed and swallowed.
It was so delicious that she instinctively went for a second bite—only for Rize to press a hand against her forehead, snapping her back to awareness.
"Little girl, I said one bite maximum~"
Rize's smile held something eerily dangerous, her tone carrying clear warning. Between her narrowed eyelids, crimson kakugan gleamed.