Hairu packed up her old clothes, planning to take them home to wash.
Before leaving, she eyed some sweets arranged in the living room.
"Could I... take some of these?"
She asked Byakuya first.
"Of course."
Byakuya nodded.
These sweets had been prepared specifically for Hairu anyway.
None of them normally ate such things—everyone except him was a ghoul. Even if they wanted to eat them, they couldn't.
"Great, thank you, Amaha-senpai~"
Hairu expressed her gratitude.
She took a portion of the sweets, then left with Byakuya accompanying her.
A few minutes earlier, Byakuya had been discussing related matters with Rize.
"Byakuya and Ihei-san haven't had dinner yet, right? Unfortunately, we're out of groceries today, and it's too late to go shopping. You'll have to eat out."
Rize had said to Byakuya and Hairu.
This wasn't just an excuse—the refrigerator really was empty. More importantly, she found the prospect of having to "fake-eat" too troublesome.
Having to buy groceries late at night and then pretend to eat? Far easier to just send Byakuya and Hairu out to dinner.
Hairu had nodded. "Okay."
"And while you're at it, Byakuya should escort Ihei-san all the way home. It would be dangerous for her to encounter trouble on the way—this is prime ghoul activity time."
Rize had continued.
She was being thorough. Though Hairu's half-human status obviously meant she was strong, there was always the possibility of something unexpected.
Like Nimura Furuta scheming against her. That had to be considered.
If Hairu were ambushed by Furuta right after visiting Byakuya's house, he'd become the prime suspect. CCG would investigate, and the resulting complications would snowball...
Byakuya understood Rize's reasoning, so he simply nodded without comment.
...
"Any ideas for dinner? Not many restaurants will still be open this late."
Walking along, Byakuya asked Hairu.
"I could make a recommendation, though it's in Ward 1."
Hairu said.
"That's fine. I'm walking you home anyway."
Byakuya said.
"Then I appreciate it, Amaha-senpai."
Hairu smiled.
Even at this late hour, Tokyo's 23 wards still had late subway trains running, so they were heading toward the station.
Midway there, Byakuya suddenly asked Hairu, "By the way... under my uniform, you're wearing... something warm, right?..."
He felt awkward asking directly, so he phrased it delicately.
The combat uniform was just outerwear and pants—it didn't include undershirts or underwear.
When he'd noticed bare skin at her collar, he'd had an uneasy feeling. That's what prompted the question.
"Nope, nothing underneath."
Hairu said matter-of-factly. "Everything I was wearing got dirty, so I couldn't put it back on."
Just as Byakuya had suspected. He couldn't help saying, "...You can't just wear nothing underneath. What if you catch cold?"
Though given a half-human's constitution, that worry was probably unnecessary.
"You don't need to fuss over this, Amaha-senpai. I'm wearing your clothes, so no one's going to see anything."
Hairu smiled.
Clearly, she didn't consider this anything to be embarrassed about.
Since Hairu had said as much, pressing further would just be meddling.
It still felt awkward, though—the girl beside him wearing his clothes in that state.
"Could it be... Amaha-senpai was imagining things just now~?"
Hairu suddenly asked, catching him off guard.
"No."
Byakuya denied it calmly.
"Hehe, I was just teasing."
Hairu laughed. "But seriously, your clothes are really big, Amaha-senpai. I keep feeling like the pants legs are about to drag on the ground. It's distracting."
"That's easy to fix."
Byakuya crouched down and rolled up her pants legs. "There. They won't slip down now, as long as you don't kick too hard."
"Thanks, senpai..."
Hairu was a bit surprised that Amaha-senpai would personally do something like this for her.
Such a simple thing—she could have done it herself. But watching him do it for her felt... different somehow.
...
They took the subway to Ward 1.
Following Hairu's recommendation, Byakuya accompanied her to a restaurant.
Hairu seemed to be a regular. The owner, a friendly-looking middle-aged man, greeted her as soon as she walked in. "Ihei-san, working late again today?"
"Yeah, I was busy catching ghouls until just now."
Hairu replied.
"Is this Ihei-san's colleague? Don't think I've seen him before."
The owner glanced at the unfamiliar face beside her.
"Mm, he's my colleague and my superior."
Hairu nodded.
"Oh, oh. The usual today then?"
The owner asked.
"Yes, the usual tonkotsu ramen."
Then Hairu turned to Byakuya. "What kind of ramen would you like, Amaha-senpai? I recommend the tonkotsu or the curry ramen."
"I'll have the tonkotsu too."
Byakuya said casually.
He hadn't eaten much ramen before and didn't know how this place tasted. Ordering the same as Hairu seemed safest.
"Got it—two tonkotsu ramen!"
The owner called back to the kitchen.
Shortly after, the owner's wife brought out two large, steaming bowls of freshly made ramen, setting them on Byakuya and Hairu's table.
Hairu ate while chatting with the owner and his wife, apparently a well-established routine.
"Being a ghoul investigator must be tough work. So dangerous, and always working late."
The owner's wife sighed.
"It's not so bad. I actually enjoy the job."
Hairu smiled.
"Well, as long as you're happy. By the way, Ihei-san, do you have a boyfriend yet?"
"Someone like Ihei-san must have high standards. Probably hasn't found the right match?"
The owner and his wife suddenly turned to gossip. Such conversations almost inevitably drifted in this direction—especially when chatting with older relatives or acquaintances.
"Boyfriend?"
Hairu's expression turned innocently puzzled, as if she had no concept of such a thing.
...
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