What child wouldn't be terrified of a smiling big sister who could cheerfully talk about killing them? Especially one as timid as Ako.
She still didn't dare respond.
"Don't be afraid. She's my partner—she won't hurt you now."
Byakuya addressed Meiya and Ako.
"O-okay..."
Only after hearing the kind big brother say this did Ako give a small nod.
Then she mustered her courage to speak to Hairu. "Hello, big sister..."
"Good girl."
Hairu responded with a friendly smile.
As long as someone wasn't marked for extermination, Hairu harbored no real malice or prejudice.
In the original story, nearly everyone within CCG knew that Sasaki Haise was a "one-eyed ghoul." If Hairu truly held murderous intent toward all ghouls, she would have attacked Sasaki—the amnesiac Kaneki—long ago.
...
Byakuya, Hairu, and the ghoul mother and daughter remained at the café until nightfall.
Byakuya and Hairu skipped dinner entirely, prioritizing the Grey Straw investigation.
"It should be about time. We can head out now."
Meiya spoke up.
She then led Ako through the streets, heading toward the Grey Straw ghoul's feeding ground.
Byakuya and Hairu followed at a distance, appearing like random passersby who happened to be walking the same direction.
Their Quinque briefcases stayed hidden in Byakuya's backpack, minimizing any chance of alerting Grey Straw.
Once Meiya and Ako reached the target ghoul's territory—conveniently in an area with few people around—the fish took the bait.
A tall figure emerged slowly from the shadows. He wore a mask, his eyes regarding Meiya and Ako with arrogance. "Well, well... you two again. You got lucky last time—and you dare come back to my turf?"
"..."
Meiya kept her expression calm and said nothing, though her tight grip on Ako's hand betrayed her tension.
She wanted to trust that the two investigators behind her wouldn't betray them, but she couldn't help worrying about what might go wrong.
Meanwhile, Byakuya and Hairu continued approaching like ordinary pedestrians.
They closed to within a few meters of the Grey Straw ghoul...
Seeing Meiya and Ako standing there motionless, their expressions showing more anticipation than fear, the ghoul began to sense something was off. It felt like they were waiting for something.
But by then it was too late. Byakuya and Hairu suddenly exploded with terrifying speed—no wind-up, no warning.
Two Quinque briefcases shot out of Byakuya's backpack, landing in their respective hands.
The two of them were already within arm's reach, each holding one of those weapons Doves loved to carry. Only then did the ghoul realize what was happening.
He frantically released his rinkaku kagune to fight back, but before it could fully extend from his kakuhou, 13's Jason was already descending.
The diagonal slash carved a massive wound across his face.
"AAARGH—!!"
The ghoul screamed in agony.
His reflexes were actually quite good. Recognizing his opponents' overwhelming strength—two Doves working together—he immediately abandoned resistance and fled.
Byakuya exchanged a glance with Hairu, who nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Before setting out, he'd already briefed her on the battle plan: don't kill the target right away. Let him flee to his companions for help—that way they could eliminate more Grey Straw members in one operation.
So now Byakuya and Hairu pretended they couldn't quite catch up, maintaining hot pursuit.
As for the ghoul mother and daughter, he'd already arranged for them to find somewhere safe to hide, away from any Grey Straw retaliation.
Seeing how things had unfolded, Meiya knew it was time to take Ako and disappear. She hurried her daughter away from the scene.
...
Byakuya and Hairu chased for quite a distance.
The fleeing ghoul was starting to question reality. He'd never encountered humans he couldn't shake off.
Sure, they were Doves, but they were still human, weren't they?!
When he hunted humans normally, he could easily slaughter ordinary people using just his physical abilities—no kagune needed.
But tonight felt like something out of a nightmare. He'd run into two absolutely ridiculous Doves.
Little did he know Byakuya was holding back.
Hairu, on the other hand, was pushing close to her limits at this speed.
Half-humans were stronger than normal humans, but that didn't mean they could casually outperform ghouls physically. Hairu was already considered a prodigy among half-humans. Someone on Kishou Arima's level was extraordinarily rare. Kaiko, the V Organization's leader, barely qualified as another example.
The anime made Kaiko's death look rather anticlimactic, but in the manga he performed impressively—wielding the SSS-rated Quinque "Owl" made from Yoshimura's arm, fighting multiple opponents alone. As both a half-human and Arima's childhood mentor, his strength might fall short of Arima's but not by much.
"Help me! Someone help me!!"
The terrified ghoul screamed for reinforcements as he ran.
Though his regeneration was already healing the wound on his face, the lingering pain only intensified his fear of death.
Those two Doves behind him were terrifyingly strong.
After screaming down an entire street, he actually managed to summon quite a few allies.
"What's going on? Those two chasing you are Doves?!"
"Look at what they're carrying—definitely Doves! We can't let them run wild on our turf!"
"Everyone together! We outnumber them—there's only two of them."
"..."
Byakuya quickly scanned the ghouls appearing before him. All of them could manifest kagune—B-rated at minimum by CCG standards. The question was whether they could draw out an S-rated leader or lieutenant.
CCG's intelligence on Grey Straw was still incomplete. They only knew the organization had at least one S-rated ghoul.
"That should be enough."
Byakuya slowed his pace and gave Hairu a heads-up.
"Mm... let the slaughter begin~"
That unsettling smile spread across Hairu's face again.
...
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