Twin Sisters

Since all the desks were single-seaters, there was no such thing as sharing a desk.

Amahane Byakuya, Kurona Yasuhisa, and Nashiro Yasuhisa simply sat next to one another.

"Nice to meet you."

He offered a token greeting to Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa beside him.

At his words, Kurona Yasuhisa merely gave a slight nod before looking away with an indifferent expression.

Kurona Yasuhisa was the more approachable of the two; Nashiro Yasuhisa would not even meet Amahane Byakuya's eyes.

She was not deliberately ignoring him, though. When Nashiro Yasuhisa first heard his voice, she glanced at him before quickly averting her gaze. She was clearly rather introverted and shy around strangers.

Kurona Yasuhisa's and Nashiro Yasuhisa's hair colors matched their names. Kurona's hair and dress were black, while Nashiro was dressed entirely in snow-white.

They were also twins, with almost identical faces and delicate, adorable features. Their different hair and dress colors made them easier to tell apart.

Even their figures and heights were almost identical. With slender builds and a height of 160 centimeters, they were close to ideal in a country like Japan, where people were generally on the shorter side.

Kurona and Nashiro

Amahane Byakuya did not mind Kurona Yasuhisa's and Nashiro Yasuhisa's attitudes. In his recollection, these twin sisters had always been rather aloof.

"Today's topic is the Quinque. Since you'll soon begin trying out Quinques, we'll go over the relevant knowledge beforehand. First, turn to page 128 of your textbooks..."

The instructor had already begun the lesson.

"Quinques were first developed only a few decades ago. They were jointly invented by Yoshitoki Washuu, the former chairman of Japan's CCG, and Adam Gehenna, then director of Germany's CCG. Their introduction drastically narrowed the gap in strength between humans and ghouls."

"Kagune are the primary material used to make Quinques. Naturally, they are taken from ghouls, and harvesting them requires certain strict conditions to be met. The kagune must be removed together with its kakuhou while the ghoul has fully released it. Only then will it meet the standards for Quinque production."

"Because a Quinque is dead tissue rather than living tissue like a kagune, it lacks a kagune's capacity for growth, extension, and flexibility. However, it offers excellent control and stability during use. As technology advances, Quinque modifications will become increasingly refined."

The theory lesson lasted forty-five minutes. Well... a very sensible length of time.

Amahane Byakuya already knew almost all the theory the instructor covered, but he still listened patiently and humbly to the end.

Just as the instructor had said, after a short break, they would begin their practical lesson.

Their practical lessons were handled by a combat instructor, a regular investigator assigned by the CCG, usually a first-class investigator.

Amahane Byakuya paid a little attention and discovered that their instructor was not Hidemasa Togakage, but an investigator he did not recognize.

Hidemasa Togakage was the interrogator who had tortured Yakumo Oomori, known as "Yamori." His exceptionally cruel methods had driven Yamori insane, and Yamori had adopted Hidemasa Togakage's brutal disposition and vicious torture techniques.

Even his habit of cracking his fingers and the famous line, "All the unfairness in this world stems from the inadequacy of those involved," had been passed down to Yamori by Hidemasa Togakage. Later, Yamori passed them on to Ken Kaneki...

Hidemasa Togakage could practically be called the root of all evil.

"None of you have used a Quinque before, so for your first trial, we'll let you get a feel for specially designed firearms of a similar type."

The combat instructor had already prepared all the firearms needed for the practical lesson, with enough for everyone to have one.

There were all kinds of firearms: handguns, rifles, submachine guns, and more.

"Just choose whichever firearm interests you. These are actually still ordinary guns. It's only the bullets that are specially made from kagune. Ordinary bullets have little effect on ghouls."

The combat instructor introduced them while handling the gun in his hands.

"These are mass-produced bullets designed specifically for use against ghouls, called 'Q Bullets,' or 'Q-Type Bullets.' There are four types, corresponding to the four types of kagune found in ghouls."

As he spoke, the combat instructor took several bullets out of the gun's magazine so the trainees could familiarize themselves with their appearance.

Although truly powerful ghoul investigators used more advanced Quinques, access to them was strictly restricted. For example, assistant investigators and rank 3 investigators were not authorized to own or use Quinques.

They could only use firearms loaded with these special bullets.

Amahane Byakuya casually picked out a handgun that looked remarkably similar to the famous Desert Eagle. If the system gave him unlimited ammunition to go with it, it would be perfect-the classic cheat ability in post-apocalyptic novels, the almost ubiquitous "Desert Eagle plus unlimited ammo."

"Get a feel for them first, then we'll begin target practice."

The combat instructor said, "I don't expect you to shoot with perfect accuracy right away in this lesson. At the very least, you need to get a basic grasp of the proper shooting stance."

Next, the combat instructor guided each trainee through the proper way to hold a gun.

Then the trainees tried shooting at the distant targets.

Of course, they were stationary targets rather than moving ones. They certainly would not start with anything that difficult.

This was also Amahane Byakuya's first time using a firearm. Only with the combat instructor's help did he manage to adopt a reasonably proper grip and stance.

Aiming and shooting, however, were his strong suit. Even without activating his Sharingan, his eyesight and powers of observation were far beyond those of ordinary people.

He aimed at the distant stationary target and roughly estimated the effects of wind and gravity, although those factors had very little impact on a handgun.

Then Amahane Byakuya decisively fired his first shot.

With a bang, he looked closely and found that he had hit somewhere in the nine-ring, close to the ten-ring.

It was not perfect, but it was already an excellent result for his first attempt at target shooting.

The combat instructor had just finished correcting Amahane Byakuya's shooting stance. When he saw Amahane Byakuya fire, he glanced toward the target.

Seeing that Amahane Byakuya had hit the nine-ring, the combat instructor's pupils contracted, and surprise appeared on his face.

"You've got quite a talent. To manage a shot like that on your first try!"

The combat instructor immediately praised Amahane Byakuya.

Just moments earlier, this trainee had not even been holding the gun properly, which suggested he had little experience with firearms. Achieving a result like this already showed exceptional natural talent.