You belong to me alone

Seeing Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa sitting across from him with icy expressions, Amahane Byakuya felt a little awkward himself.

He had not meant to mock Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa out of malice.

Still, while it had not been malicious, it had certainly been deliberate.

Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa said nothing, acting as though they had not even noticed Amahane Byakuya across from them, treating him like thin air.

"Sorry about that. I just wanted to get a few digs in at the time. I didn't mean any harm."

When an apology was called for, Amahane Byakuya would give one. He did not think it was anything to lose face over.

"..."

Hearing that, Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa were both a little surprised.

They had not expected this guy to apologize to them, much less so soon.

"At this point, there's no need for meaningless words. Nashiro and I have already accepted your challenge."

Kurona Yasuhisa responded coldly.

How could she and Nashiro simply act as though nothing had happened?

They were already at odds, and they would definitely compete with Amahane Byakuya to the very end.

Although the Yasuhisa sisters' attitude had not improved much, at least they were no longer treating him like thin air. Amahane Byakuya's apology had made some difference.

"All right..."

Amahane Byakuya said nothing more.

Then he lowered his head and ate.

"Kurona... My name is Kurona Yasuhisa."

Just then, Kurona Yasuhisa suddenly spoke.

"What?"

Amahane Byakuya instinctively voiced his confusion.

"I want you to remember that your opponent's name is Kurona Yasuhisa."

Kurona Yasuhisa's tone remained cold.

Compared with Kurona Yasuhisa, Nashiro Yasuhisa was not quite so composed or at ease. Instead, she said somewhat bashfully, "M-my name is Nashiro Yasuhisa."

"Okay. Although I introduced myself at the start of class, I'll formally introduce myself again. I'm Amahane Byakuya."

Amahane Byakuya added, "But if I call you both Yasuhisa, it'll be hard to tell which one I mean. That could be a problem..."

In Japan, classmates generally addressed one another by their surnames with an honorific. Only close friends would use forms such as "Byakuya-kun" or simply "Byakuya."

"Just use our full names."

Kurona Yasuhisa did not particularly care about the finer points of how they were addressed.

"That works."

Amahane Byakuya nodded slightly.

After that, he had no further conversation with Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa. Once they finished lunch, they each went off to do their own thing.

The afternoon brought more theory classes. Much like at Kamii University, classes ended fairly early.

For the remaining time, the trainees generally stayed there to train on their own for a while.

The school provided room and board, though anyone who wanted to live at home could do so.

Amahane Byakuya left early. He had no intention of staying for additional physical training, because ordinary physical training offered almost no benefit to him as he was now.

He first took the subway home and rested for a while. After some thought, he decided to visit the Antique Café today after all, even though it was already rather late.

By the time Amahane Byakuya arrived at the Antique Café, it was already four in the afternoon.

As soon as he entered, he saw familiar faces: Rize Kamishiro and Ken Kaneki.

"Um... Amahane."

Amahane Byakuya had been heading toward Rize Kamishiro first, but suddenly heard Ken Kaneki calling him.

He turned and walked over to Ken Kaneki instead. "What's up, Kaneki?"

"Have you heard about Teacher Takatsuki's fan meet-and-greet? It's coming up soon."

Ken Kaneki looked distinctly excited.

"..."

Amahane Byakuya paused. He really had not been keeping track of that.

"If you're free then, and you're interested, would you like to go together?"

Ken Kaneki extended the invitation to Amahane Byakuya.

Hide had no interest in reading, but apart from Hide and Amahane Byakuya, he had no other friends, so he could only ask Amahane Byakuya to join him at Teacher Takatsuki's fan meet-and-greet.

Going with a friend who shared his interests would certainly be much more fun than going alone.

"...That shouldn't be a problem."

Amahane Byakuya recalled his schedule. The classes arranged by the school happened not to clash with Sen Takatsuki's fan meet-and-greet.

Although he was not particularly excited about Sen Takatsuki, since he had long known who she was, there was no harm in going along with Ken Kaneki for a little fun.

"Great!"

Ken Kaneki immediately brightened. "Then I won't keep you any longer. I was just about to head home anyway."

He knew Amahane was going to join his girlfriend next, so he felt awkward taking up too much of his time.

"All right. See you."

Amahane Byakuya said his farewell.

Then, as soon as he turned his head, he saw Rize Kamishiro waving him over.

When he walked over and sat beside Rize Kamishiro, she immediately leaned in and sniffed him all over.

After sniffing for a while, Rize Kamishiro finally asked, "Why did you come so late today?"

"I had more classes today. You know I'm a student."

Amahane Byakuya did not intend to tell Rize Kamishiro about the Ghoul Investigator Training School, so he kept his explanation vague.

"Really~? But I can smell something unusual on you."

Rize Kamishiro spoke with a smile.

Yet that smile looked somewhat dangerous.

"What smell?"

Amahane Byakuya could not help asking.

He thought for a moment. Could Rize Kamishiro have even picked up the smell of firearms?

"A faint ghoul scent. It should be some ghoul's kagune, right? But it's strangely faint."

Rize Kamishiro analyzed the scent.

Amahane Byakuya more or less understood now. It seemed Rize Kamishiro had picked up the scent of the Q Bullets, those specially made rounds. Since the bullets were made from ghoul kagune, their having been processed into ammunition would also explain why the scent was so faint.

Rize Kamishiro had indeed smelled another ghoul's scent on Amahane Byakuya. Even though it was very faint, she was still somewhat displeased.

Because Amahane Byakuya was something that belonged to her alone, and no other ghoul was allowed to lay a finger on him.

Of course, "something" here meant food.

"I forgot to make this clear to you. You belong to me alone, and I don't want anyone else getting a taste of you. Do you understand?"

Rize Kamishiro leaned close to Amahane Byakuya's ear, her tone both willful and domineering, leaving him no room to refuse.

P.S. There will be a fourth update later tonight to make up for a previously missed update.