Narukami

When the bolt of electricity came from behind him, Amahane Byakuya instinctively turned to look, his reflexes sharp.

He saw Kishou Arima holding Narukami in its cannon form. Narukami was a high-grade Quinque with an overall rating of S+.

Unlike the simple B-rated Quinque in Amahane Byakuya's hands, Narukami could freely switch between three attack forms.

They were:

Cannon form, which fired electricity over long distances;

Pincer form, which released numerous spheres of electricity;

Sword form, which concentrated electricity at the tip of the blade for greater power.

It was a versatile, highly lethal, high-grade Quinque, which was why Kishou Arima had always used it as his primary weapon. So far, no ghoul had survived an attack from Narukami.

But... this Quinque had been made from the kagune of Touka Kirishima's mother, Kirishima Kou...

Kirishima Kou's original name had been Shiyou Kou, and she was Renji Yomo's older sister. Both siblings' rc cells possessed a special lightning attribute, a unique gift that set them apart from ordinary ghouls.

The exact mechanism was unknown. Tatara of Aogiri Tree possessed a special fire attribute as well, so perhaps it was a genetic mutation.

Neither Touka Kirishima nor Ayato Kirishima had inherited their mother Kirishima Kou's lightning attribute.

Still marveling at Narukami's terrifying power, Amahane Byakuya had momentarily forgotten to put Kurona Yasuhisa down.

Kurona Yasuhisa did not seem particularly resistant, either. Her body was merely a little stiff, her cheeks faintly flushed, with traces of shock and embarrassment showing on her face.

She knew Amahane Byakuya had been trying to save her. She was not unreasonable, much less the sort to slap someone on impulse in a fit of emotion.

But even so, wasn't he holding her a little too long...?

Kurona Yasuhisa had no idea where to put her hands. Her mind was so scrambled that she could barely even feel them.

Finally, she could not help speaking up. "H-how much longer are you going to hold me...?"

"Oh, sorry."

Amahane Byakuya immediately put Kurona Yasuhisa down.

"You don't really need to apologize..."

Kurona Yasuhisa spoke very quietly.

"Kurona!"

Just then, Nashiro Yasuhisa ran over with worry written all over her face.

"I'm fine, but I made us fail..."

Kurona Yasuhisa's voice was full of self-reproach.

She had nearly fallen victim to the ghoul and had forced Amahane Byakuya to rescue her. That meant both she and Nashiro had failed.

And she was the one who had dragged Nashiro down...

"That doesn't matter. As long as you're okay, Kurona."

Nashiro Yasuhisa cared far more about Kurona's safety than whether they had succeeded.

Amahane Byakuya returned to Kishou Arima's side, with the Yasuhisa sisters following behind him.

Both Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa kept their heads slightly lowered after their poor performance.

Kishou Arima had yet to return Narukami to its Quinque case, as the other pair of rookies was not doing particularly well, either.

"Looks like I did something unnecessary back there."

Amahane Byakuya smiled a little awkwardly.

Kishou Arima's attack with Narukami had been perfectly timed. Even if he had not carried Kurona Yasuhisa away, the ghoul would never have had a chance to hurt her.

Kurona Yasuhisa did not see it that way, though. He had genuinely intended to save her, and that alone meant his actions were not unnecessary in her eyes.

"No, you did well."

Kishou Arima spoke calmly.

Hearing Kishou Arima praise Amahane Byakuya immediately caught Iba Irimi's attention.

After all, praise from Mr. Arima was what she wanted most, and she had worked hard to earn it.

She said nothing, however, and simply stared silently at Amahane Byakuya.

Amahane Byakuya could clearly feel Iba Irimi's gaze. He knew perfectly well why she was staring at him; he just had to pretend he did not.

"You certainly did well. This proves that you're not only capable of eliminating ghouls, but also of rescuing your teammates from them. Honestly, your individual abilities have exceeded my expectations."

Ui Koori also had plenty of praise for Amahane Byakuya. "Of course, Juuzou Suzuya performed well, too."

That single fight had shown him that both rookies had great potential, especially Amahane Byakuya, who had displayed strength beyond that of an ordinary Rank 2 Ghoul Investigator right from the start.

"As for you, Kurona Yasuhisa, you need to reflect on what happened. Losing focus while fighting a ghoul is a fatal mistake. Make sure you never repeat it."

While praising Amahane Byakuya and Juuzou Suzuya, Ui Koori did not forget to lecture Kurona Yasuhisa.

Nashiro Yasuhisa had performed reasonably well, so there was nothing he needed to lecture her about.

If Kurona Yasuhisa had not lost focus, the sisters' coordination would have allowed them to take complete control of the fight and defeat the ghoul before long.

In the end, although the remaining two boys had performed worse in combat than the Yasuhisa sisters, they had fought steadily without making any mistakes and managed to succeed, however narrowly.

In other words, of the three teams, only Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa had failed.

Kurona Yasuhisa could not help feeling dejected. Even if Nashiro did not mind, she still blamed herself.

Noticing Kurona's low spirits, Nashiro Yasuhisa grew worried. "Kurona..."

"You don't need to dwell on one mistake. Just don't make the same one next time."

Amahane Byakuya offered Kurona Yasuhisa some reassurance.

"Easy for you to say..."

But Kurona Yasuhisa quickly changed her tune. "Still, you're right. The internship isn't over yet."

Amahane Byakuya's words had helped after all. Kurona Yasuhisa rallied, determined to make up for her mistake next time.

"It looks like you're all ready now. Let's keep moving."

Seeing this, Ui Koori spoke up.

"You're amazing, Mr. Amahane. Both Senior Ui and Mr. Arima praised you."

As they headed deeper into the underground labyrinth, Hajime Iba came over to chat with Amahane Byakuya again.

"Don't think I don't know that Zero Squad is the best of the best. You must be stronger than me, Hajime."

Amahane Byakuya kept the conversation casual.

"No, not at all."

Hajime Iba chuckled, the happiness he felt at being praised showing plainly on his face.

Behind Amahane Byakuya, Kurona Yasuhisa had been deliberately edging closer to him for a while. She wanted to ask him a few things.

But Hajime Iba was getting in her way.

Besides, she did not know Hajime Iba's actual gender and had mistaken him for a girl based on his appearance.

Watching Hajime Iba stay glued to Amahane Byakuya's side, chatting and laughing, made Kurona Yasuhisa-who already thought he was in the way-feel even more inexplicably irritated.

P.S. All four updates are done, and I've made up the updates I owed, too. Please keep the gifts coming!