Hairu swung the sword backhanded, slicing open the container door.
"There we go~ Made a little opening."
She smiled. "Let's see what's inside?"
Light flooded into what had been pitch darkness.
Inside lay a section of human remains—bones, long since rotted. Clearly the source of the stench.
Huddled in the corner were a mother and daughter.
Both wore tattered clothes. The mother looked gaunt and sallow; the daughter was in slightly better condition but still covered in grime, clearly malnourished.
The little girl trembled uncontrollably.
Between the human bones and their visible fear, Hairu already strongly suspected they were ghouls.
"Human? Or ghoul?"
Hairu questioned them softly, her smile still in place.
But that smile only terrified the pair further—especially with the longsword in her hand. Neither dared speak.
The mother clutched her daughter protectively.
"...Why won't you answer? Is it because you're ghouls and you're afraid to admit it?"
Hairu stepped inside, sword in hand.
Her intent was obvious—force them to reveal their kakugan and kagune, then eliminate them with justification.
Just as she was about to proceed, Byakuya stepped in front of her. "First, tell me how these human remains got here."
"W-We didn't do it! We were just so hungry we went looking for bodies of people who'd killed themselves... We haven't hurt any humans! I swear!"
The mother rushed to explain, desperate for any chance at survival.
"Do you have proof?"
Hairu asked.
"I... no..."
It wasn't a matter of proof—there was simply no way to provide any.
"But I can give you details! I found these bone fragments near the train tracks—from someone who'd killed themselves by jumping in front of a train. We really didn't kill them!"
"I'm sorry, but that isn't valid evidence. Also... you just admitted to being ghouls. So please die now~"
Hairu raised her sword without hesitation, ready to strike.
"Mama!"
The little girl, who couldn't have been more than a few years old, screamed in terror.
But the mother didn't resist. She simply held her daughter tight, still pleading. "Even if I did kill them, please spare my child. She's innocent! She's too young to hunt humans!"
Yet Hairu showed no sign of hesitation. When it came to ghouls, she was utterly ruthless.
"Wait."
Byakuya stopped her.
"What is it, Amaha-senpai?"
Hairu paused obediently, turning to him with that vacant, curious expression. She actually listened to what Byakuya said—he was her superior now, even if only temporarily.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're injured."
Byakuya addressed the mother directly. "Did you fight other investigators before this? Or did something else happen?"
"This wound... I got it protecting my daughter. From other ghouls..."
Her tone had gone flat, resigned. She didn't expect mercy.
"Other ghouls? Can you tell me specifically who?"
Byakuya pressed.
He recalled from CCG intelligence that Grey Straw was notorious for cannibalism, preying ruthlessly on ghouls outside their organization.
CCG knew this because they'd repeatedly found ghoul corpses in Ward 21 with their kakuhou devoured—clear signs of ghoul-on-ghoul predation.
"I'm not sure exactly who... I just know they were from Grey Straw..."
The mother answered, head bowed.
"Good. Then I can offer you a way out—provided these remains really aren't someone you killed, and you help me lure out the Grey Straw ghoul."
Byakuya made his decision, offering the mother and daughter a path to survival.
Rather than killing these possibly innocent ghouls, better to use them to find Grey Straw leads.
"..."
The mother froze, as if unable to believe she and her daughter might actually survive this.
The little girl was too traumatized by Hairu to register Byakuya's words.
"Amaha-senpai..."
Hairu seemed surprised that Byakuya would let them go.
"If this human really wasn't killed by them, and they provide us with reliable intelligence, I don't see the need to eliminate them."
Byakuya explained.
"Alright, whatever you say, Amaha-senpai."
Hairu didn't necessarily agree, but she was willing to follow her superior's orders.
"So, will you cooperate?"
Byakuya turned back to the mother and daughter.
"Yes! Yes! We'll cooperate!"
The mother nodded frantically, afraid he might not hear, repeating herself twice for emphasis.
"Good. But before anything else, clean up these remains."
Byakuya reminded them.
"Right! We'll take care of it immediately!"
The mother dropped to the ground and began consuming the remaining bones—for her, this was the most practical solution.
She'd been rationing them to stave off hunger, but survival took priority now. She had to obey.
She gave most to her daughter, taking only a small portion herself.
As they ate, both mother and daughter's kakugan involuntarily manifested.
Seeing those red-and-black eyes, Hairu nearly struck instinctively—but she held back.
Watching this, Byakuya felt a complex mix of emotions.
If he hadn't been here, this ghoul mother and daughter would already have been killed by Hairu, who'd followed the scent of decay.
The half-human children raised by the Washuu in the Sunlit Garden had been molded into cold-blooded killing machines against ghouls. Hairu's airheaded demeanor made her especially unsettling among them—there was something distinctly "sweet girl, dark heart" about her.
And yet the Washuu themselves were a ghoul clan, deliberately creating these killing machines to persecute ordinary ghouls. It was hard to know what to make of it...
This was ultimately about hierarchy—the cruel irony of an oppressor class creating disposable weapons out of their own kind to persecute others, caring nothing for either group.
...
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