Yoshimura had always believed that only someone in a similar situation to Eto could save her.
A half-ghoul—both human and ghoul—could understand both sides.
But half-ghouls were outsiders to both sides, being neither fully human nor fully ghoul.
They possessed kagune, kakuhou, and powerful abilities that normal humans lacked, yet could also eat freely in ways ghouls could not.
Therefore, only half-ghouls could understand half-ghouls. That was what Yoshimura believed.
He knew Eto had probably always been lonely. Neither the ghoul side nor the human side had a true place for her.
But he was helpless, especially since he could sense that V Organization had recently started monitoring him again.
He could feel his time was probably running short...
...
After going downstairs, Shachi first sought out Byakuya.
"This old man will return to Ward 6 today. If anything comes up, feel free to contact me anytime."
Shachi said.
"Very well. Take care, Kamishiro-san."
Byakuya said.
After all, Shachi was essentially one of them now. There was no need to restrict his freedom.
Meanwhile, Roma Hoito took particular note of Shachi's appearance. If she remembered correctly, after Shachi escaped from Cochlea along with her, he should have gone to Aogiri Tree.
Yet now he had come to Anteiku with Byakuya. Had something happened?
Afterward, Shachi left Anteiku.
"So that was Rize-san's father? He's a bit different from what I imagined."
Touka said with some surprise.
Shachi's face looked so dignified and commanding—how had he raised a daughter with such a terrible personality?
Little did she know that Shachi had zero fatherly authority in front of Rize.
Finally, Shachi gathered his things and bid farewell to Byakuya and Rize at home.
"Rize, although you never listen to me, I still want to say this: from now on, try to listen to Byakuya more."
Even now, Shachi still couldn't help worrying about Rize.
"I know, I know. I'm so tired of hearing that..."
Rize sighed with slight impatience.
Shachi was long accustomed to this and said nothing more.
Just as he was about to set off, Rize suddenly spoke again: "After you were captured... did those Doves torture you?"
Shachi hadn't expected Rize to suddenly ask about this. He turned back with a surprised expression.
Though Rize's face showed no particular emotion, just from her tone he could tell she was genuinely concerned about him.
"No, they didn't interrogate this old man."
Shachi answered. "Apart from being unable to practice martial arts, it wasn't too bad there."
"That's good then."
Rize said casually.
Though Rize's reaction was cold, Shachi already found it remarkably rare.
Apart from calling him "Father" when she was little, Rize hadn't shown concern for him in who knew how long. She had always scoffed at his various lessons and advice.
It seemed that during his imprisonment, Rize had truly changed somewhat.
If this were the old Rize, she would probably have only looked down on him for being weak—willingly letting himself be captured by the CCG to protect those weak ghouls of Ward 6. Given Rize's personality, she would definitely have found such behavior repugnant.
The one who had brought about this change in Rize must have been that young man...
Now Shachi could return to Ward 6 with much greater peace of mind. With Byakuya at Rize's side, this old father could finally stop worrying himself sick over Rize every day.
...
While Byakuya was taking it easy, Eto was having a secret meeting with Arima.
Naturally, she was discussing Byakuya with Arima.
The result: according to Arima, there was no such person as Byakuya in either the main or branch Washuu families, nor was there any natural-born half-ghoul like Eto.
While the possibility that Byakuya was a secret member of the Washuu Clan couldn't be completely ruled out, it was extremely low.
Eto and Arima's meeting was brief—just a few exchanged words before they parted ways again, minimizing the risk of the Washuu noticing.
Afterward...
Just a few days after the Aogiri Tree visit, Eto contacted Byakuya again.
"Hi there, young man~ Are you free today or tomorrow? How about coming out for a drink with big sis~?"
Eto immediately invited him.
"Sure, of course."
Byakuya agreed without hesitation.
"Then let's meet at that same café as last time. I thought their couple's set was quite nice."
Eto set the meeting place.
...
Byakuya and Eto arrived at the café at almost the same time.
"So what do you say? The same couple's set as last time?"
Eto didn't seem to be in any hurry, first chatting with Byakuya about food and drinks.
"Either way is fine. If you liked the one from last time, Takatsuki-sensei, just order it again."
Byakuya said casually.
The two sat in the same window seats on the second floor.
Due to Eto's petite frame, when sitting in the chair her feet barely touched the ground.
Since she could barely reach anyway and sitting was uncomfortable, she simply stretched her legs out and half-reclined in the chair.
"My, my~ Last time really gave me a fright. Your acting was so good, Amaha-kun. I actually thought you were really that domineering."
Eto swung her legs playfully while sighing.
"While you call it acting, what I wanted to express was more or less exactly that."
Byakuya said directly.
What he meant by this was that he didn't approve of Aogiri Tree's actions.
Take the "Anteiku Raid"—though the CCG had initiated it, Eto and Arima had jointly exploited that operation to capture Yoshimura alive and turn him into an experimental subject worse than death.
He naturally could not approve of such actions.
Or to put it more specifically, Aogiri Tree's entire plan was to create a "one-eyed ghoul" and push them onto the throne of the "One-Eyed King." From the very foundation—creating a one-eyed ghoul—he would never approve.
Whether it was Kaneki or Kurona and Nashiro, why was it necessary to create one-eyed ghouls?
At the very least, what Byakuya had said back then—"Only I can change this world"—was no act. He had already declared his philosophy to Eto and all of Aogiri Tree...
...
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