Come Home with Me

"You saved me?"

Rize Kamishiro clearly wasn't going to believe Amahane Byakuya so easily.

Still, his reminder had worked. Rize had calmed down somewhat and hadn't attacked him outright.

"Yes. I heard a huge crash coming from your direction, so I went back and found you pinned under the steel beams. I pulled you out."

Byakuya explained calmly, "Also, those steel beams had nothing to do with me. Someone else did that."

"You expect me to believe you?"

Rize remained highly wary of Byakuya.

The four rinkaku kagune extending from her waist were pointed at him, ready to attack at any moment.

"Think about it. If I really wanted to hurt you, why would I go to the trouble of bringing you home? Besides, I haven't done anything to you."

Byakuya sounded a little exasperated. "Honestly, if you want to leave now, I won't stop you. Just go. I'm not interested in fighting you, either. But you'd better be careful once you walk out that door."

"..."

Rize fell briefly silent. What he said did make sense.

After considering it, she decided to ask him about the situation first.

Her kakugan returned to normal, and her four rinkaku kagune withdrew into the kakuhou inside her body. Clearly, she was willing to talk peacefully with Byakuya.

The incident with the steel beams couldn't possibly have been an accident.

He had just said someone had done it deliberately... Wait!

Rize immediately asked, "You said someone else did it. Does that mean you know who it was?"

Byakuya shook his head slightly. "I don't know exactly who it was, but I saw him. He was standing at the top of the construction site, wearing what looked like a clown mask. He was probably the one who pushed those steel beams down onto you."

He didn't tell Rize outright that it was Furuta Nimura. Some things couldn't be said carelessly.

Unless he was someone who had crossed over from another world, there was no reason he could have known Furuta was responsible. Even the Washuu Clan, which held almost absolute power in Japan, didn't know Furuta was a member of the Clowns.

"A clown mask..."

Rize had heard of the organization called the Clowns, but she had never had any dealings with them. Why would they ambush her?

She couldn't make sense of it. Logically, someone from the Washuu Clan would have been more likely to attack her.

Still, she couldn't rule out the possibility that Byakuya had seen it wrong.

In any case, Rize intended to stay on her guard. Whoever had ambushed her today could strike again at any moment.

Her thoughts settled, Rize looked at Byakuya, a trace of conflicted emotion flickering in her beautiful purple eyes. "Why were you willing to save me? I was going to torture you to death and eat you..."

She still found it hard to believe that he would save her after what had happened.

"Well... whatever else happened, you're my first love. And you didn't actually manage to eat me. Anyway, I'm already over it."

Byakuya offered that explanation.

He couldn't exactly tell her he had crossed over from another world, so this casual explanation would have to do.

"Your first love? Don't tell me you still think our relationship was real."

Rize mocked him without restraint. "Hehe... how ridiculous."

"Of course I know it was fake. But everything that happened over the past two days was real. Honestly, I'd never even been on a date with a girl before I met you, Miss Rize. At least you gave me an experience I'd never had before."

Byakuya said it with a smile.

"...Disgusting."

Rize gave him a look of undisguised contempt.

"Still, you're a strange man. By the way, you're not human, are you?"

Rize suddenly remembered something, especially when she saw his fully healed shoulder. "I remember biting a huge chunk of flesh right out of your shoulder. A normal human couldn't possibly recover that quickly."

"Maybe my body is a little different from most people's, but I'm definitely human. You've tasted my flesh yourself. A ghoul certainly wouldn't taste like that."

Byakuya gave a casual explanation.

Aside from being unable to mention the existence of the Hashirama Cells, he hadn't spoken a single lie.

"True... ghouls taste awful. Never mind ghouls-you taste far better than other humans, too."

Rize nodded, unable to deny it.

"Speaking of which, if your body can regenerate like a ghoul's, you wouldn't mind letting me eat a little more of your flesh, would you?"

Rize licked her lips greedily. She still couldn't forget how delicious Byakuya tasted.

In fact, after tasting him, she had nearly lost all interest in other humans.

"No."

Byakuya refused without hesitation.

"Why?"

Rize asked reflexively.

"Because it hurts. I don't want you treating me like an all-you-can-eat buffet."

Byakuya was blunt.

He had only done it for those 100 fusion points. Otherwise, he never would have given Rize a chance to eat him.

"...Fine."

Rize didn't press the matter. She knew she couldn't force him. He wasn't some helpless weakling she could slaughter at will.

But she had no intention of abandoning the idea. If an opportunity arose, she certainly wouldn't pass up such a delicacy.

For now, Rize intended to go home. Her injuries hadn't fully healed, and she needed some proper rest.

But just as she walked past Byakuya to leave, he suddenly said, "Wait."

Rize immediately stopped, one eyebrow lifting slightly. "Didn't you say you wouldn't stop me?"

The atmosphere grew a little tense.

Then Byakuya said calmly, "At least wash my sheets before you leave."

A large bloodstain covered the sheets, left by the extensive wounds on Rize's body.

"..."

Rize was silent for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words. "Can't you just throw them out and buy new ones?"

As she spoke, she took out her wallet and handed Byakuya some banknotes, enough to buy several new sets of sheets.

Byakuya didn't try to stop her from leaving again.

Just as Rize reached the front door and was about to step outside, she suddenly turned back to look at him. "Aren't you going to walk me home this time? Or perhaps I should be more direct. I'd like you to come home with me, Byakuya."