Nashiro's personality had always been more introverted and shy than Kurona's. Yet now Nashiro could naturally call Byakuya by his first name.
This couldn't go unnoticed. Nashiro's unusual behavior must mean something had happened.
Though deeply curious, Kurona didn't say anything.
Now she also wanted to address Byakuya the same way, but...
"B-By... Byakuya-kun. See you later."
Kurona couldn't be as natural as Nashiro. After stammering, she added "-kun" to make it less embarrassing.
As the twin who was almost always together with Kurona, Nashiro had also noticed something.
In fact, she'd long known her sister liked Byakuya. But that didn't affect her changed attitude toward him—addressing him by name showed how her feelings had shifted.
"..."
Though Kiyoko Aura said nothing, she was also a woman with sharp perception. She seemed to understand something.
Before leaving, she spoke meaningfully to Byakuya: "Don't worry. I won't let other men have the slightest chance."
With her serious, cool expression delivering such words, Byakuya was momentarily confused.
It took him a moment to understand her meaning, and he could only smile awkwardly.
After Kiyoko Aura took Kurona and Nashiro away, Byakuya left the CCG.
...
Ward 20, Anteiku.
Only a few days had passed since the "Ghoul Restaurant" incident, yet Tsukiyama had already appeared at Anteiku again.
Touka and the others didn't know about the Ghoul Restaurant situation. They assumed nothing had happened yet between Tsukiyama and Byakuya.
Only Yomo, who frequently gathered intelligence outside, knew—but he wouldn't bother telling Touka such things.
Touka still found Tsukiyama's presence annoying as usual.
Tsukiyama's shamelessness remained unchanged. He simply sat there waiting stubbornly for Byakuya to arrive.
He'd already planned how to explain the Ghoul Restaurant incident—call it a prank, claim he hadn't expected things to escalate, that kind of excuse.
Whether Byakuya believed him or not, he had to try.
He would use any method necessary to taste the delicacy he sought.
Meanwhile, Tsukiyama's ordered coffee had arrived.
Touka brought it over.
Her expression was cold. Though she despised the guy, Tsukiyama was currently a customer, so she had to do her job.
"Thank you."
Tsukiyama was polite and gentlemanly.
Touka knew this was just his pretentious act. She left with one cold remark: "Just don't get in the way."
At the table next to Tsukiyama, Kaneki Ken sat reading. He'd also come looking for Byakuya.
Kaneki asked the passing Irimi: "Excuse me, do you know if the guy named Amaha Byakuya is coming today?"
"I'm not sure, but he usually comes every day?"
Irimi answered kindly.
"Okay, I'll wait a bit longer."
Kaneki nodded and continued reading.
Tsukiyama, right next to him, naturally overheard the exchange.
Stroking his chin, Tsukiyama seemed to hatch another scheme.
He stood and walked to Kaneki's table, sitting across from him with complete familiarity.
Kaneki looked up at the stranger but said nothing, just lowered his head to continue reading.
"Hello. I heard you mention Amaha-kun just now?"
Tsukiyama asked with a polite smile.
"Amaha-kun? You mean Amaha-san? You know him too?"
Kaneki was too naive and took the bait immediately.
At this point, he'd never encountered ghouls. His mental image of them was probably like little monsters from Ultraman, and he had no wariness toward strangers.
This Kaneki was even easier to deceive than the original timeline version, who'd at least experienced becoming a one-eyed ghoul.
"Yes, I'm Amaha-kun's friend. We hung out just a few days ago."
Tsukiyama nodded. "What's your name? If you need Amaha-kun for something, you can tell me first. I'll pass it along."
"I'm Kaneki Ken. Actually, the university is holding a book appreciation event soon. I wanted to invite Amaha-san to attend."
Kaneki answered everything honestly, hiding nothing.
"Perfect. If you have things to do, you can head back first. I'm also waiting for Amaha-kun anyway. I'll relay your message when he arrives."
Tsukiyama smiled.
"Thank you so much."
Kaneki was getting tired of waiting and began packing up to leave.
He thought to himself what a nice person he'd just met.
Seeing Kaneki stand to leave, Tsukiyama even waved goodbye.
Having Kaneki leave first was ideal—that way Byakuya wouldn't suddenly arrive and expose his lies.
At the same time, Kaneki had become a card up his sleeve—Kaneki was Byakuya's friend...
Tsukiyama returned to his seat and happily sipped his coffee.
Touka had watched everything unfold. She didn't know what Tsukiyama was planning but knew it couldn't be anything good.
This guy wouldn't randomly chat up a human for no reason.
...
About half an hour later.
Byakuya finally arrived—with Rize beside him.
Seeing Rize there, Tsukiyama inwardly clicked his tongue in frustration.
But he proceeded with his plan anyway, approaching Byakuya with a sincere apology and explanation.
He spun some tale about it being a prank, the Scrapper being an actor, things getting out of hand—all delivered with exaggerated, earnest expressions and tone.
"..."
Byakuya listened with a blank expression. He knew this guy was shameless, but this was still excessive.
Beside him, Rize maintained a constant smile, saying nothing. Yet her gaze made Tsukiyama's skin crawl.