A Heart-to-Heart with Kurona Yasuhisa

[Ding! The host defeated a "B-Rank Ghoul" and received a reward: 5 fusion points!]

[Ding! The host defeated a "B-Rank Ghoul" and received a reward: 5 fusion points!]

[...]

Just like yesterday, their field training assignment was to eliminate ghouls.

However, Amahane Byakuya did not kill every ghoul he encountered. He captured some to take back to the CCG.

Different circumstances naturally called for different treatment. Ghoul investigators generally did not kill ghouls unless necessary.

Article 13, Paragraph 2 of the "Ghoul Countermeasures Act" prohibited inflicting unnecessary harm on ghouls. Simply put, they were not to be killed or abused unless necessary.

Although that was what the "Ghoul Countermeasures Act" stipulated, quite a few CCG investigators did not fully comply.

Kureo Mado, for instance, killed any ghoul he saw, regardless of whether they were good or evil.

The same went for Hidemasa Togakage, who had tortured Yamori (Jason) to the point of mental instability.

However, neither Kureo Mado nor Hidemasa Togakage would be punished, no matter how they treated ghouls.

That was because the "Ghoul Countermeasures Act" also contained a clause stating, "Targets identified as ghouls shall not receive protection under any law."

Since ghouls had no legal protection, naturally, no matter how excessive someone's actions toward them were, they would face no legal punishment.

As for Amahane Byakuya's attitude toward ghouls, he certainly did not insist on killing them all. He killed those who deserved it, spared those who did not, and applied double standards whenever he saw fit. It was that simple.

Take his treatment of Rize Kamishiro, for example. He certainly did not deny that it was a blatant double standard. After all, everyone had double standards to some extent.

One simple example was that Touka Kirishima had killed two innocent ghoul investigators in the original story, yet almost no one hated Touka for it, let alone wanted her dead.

In the world of "Tokyo Ghoul," how many people did not have a few innocent lives on their hands? Even Ken Kaneki was no exception. In fact, Kaneki had probably killed the most innocent humans. When he finally "became Dragon," he had eaten roughly half of Tokyo's population...

If he had to hold them all accountable and kill them, Amahane Byakuya found even the thought of it a hassle.

The day's field training came to an end.

Amahane Byakuya and Juuzou Suzuya were still the top performers, followed by Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa.

"That should be about it for today's training assignment. Come back tomorrow afternoon. The entire training period only lasts three days, so you'll be able to head back after tomorrow."

Ui Koori told them this as they left the 24th Ward and returned to the entrance.

"Understood."

Amahane Byakuya nodded slightly.

Of course, they had known before coming that the training period lasted only three days.

Naturally, that applied only to training in the 24th Ward. If they trained in another ward, the duration would be completely different.

Because the 24th Ward was the most dangerous and chaotic ward, they could encounter ghouls at any moment. Three days of intensive field training were enough to assess a student's aptitude.

In other wards, the vast majority of ghouls kept their identities well hidden. Even actively searching for them was difficult unless you happened upon a scene where a ghoul was feeding on a human. The intensity of the training was entirely different.

"Um... Associate Special Class Ui!"

Just then, one of the boys training alongside Amahane Byakuya suddenly asked Ui Koori, "What requirements would I have to meet to join Zero Squad?"

Like an eager, hot-blooded youth, the boy not only idolized Kishou Arima but also desperately wanted to join Zero Squad.

However, he specifically directed his question to Ui Koori.

Perhaps that was because Ui Koori spoke to them more frequently and was friendlier. By contrast, the other members of Zero Squad were rather aloof. Only Amahane Byakuya had a somewhat closer relationship with Hajime Iba.

"If you want to join Zero Squad, you'd probably need to be a Senior Ghoul Investigator at the very least. Preferably Associate Special Class or higher."

Although Ui Koori did not want to discourage the student, he still answered honestly.

Even so, his answer understated things somewhat. Joining Zero Squad was not actually a matter of rank. He himself had only been able to join because Kishou Arima thought highly of him.

Moreover, even Ui Koori, a member of Zero Squad, did not know that everyone in the squad except him was a half-human. The Washuu Clan certainly could not let any "outsiders" learn their secrets.

Even though the CCG was an organization founded by the Washuu Clan, all the humans within it still counted as "outsiders."

Thus, joining Zero Squad was even harder than Ui Koori imagined. In all the years since its formation, Zero Squad had only ever had two human members: Ui Koori and, later, the "forgettable-faced" Take Hirako.

The two had something in common: both were close to Kishou Arima, and their abilities had earned his recognition.

So, to put it more cruelly, this boy could practically forget about it. He would never get his turn.

Even Ui Koori's understated explanation was enough to leave the boy feeling hopeless.

"Okay... I understand. I'll work hard."

He sounded somewhat dejected.

Forget Associate Special Class; he felt it was hard to say whether he could even become a Senior Ghoul Investigator someday.

On the way back, Amahane Byakuya once again took the same subway train as Kurona Yasuhisa and Nashiro Yasuhisa.

The sisters seemed unusually exhausted today.

Perhaps they had been dissatisfied with yesterday's performance and had pushed themselves especially hard during today's training assignments. Now they were utterly drained, almost slumping in their seats.

"Maybe you really were right..."

Just then, Kurona Yasuhisa spoke out of the blue.

"Right about what?"

For a moment, Amahane Byakuya did not understand what Kurona Yasuhisa meant.

"Didn't you say I was starved for affection? About that... do you know why Nashiro and I were hostile toward you at first?"

Kurona Yasuhisa looked emotionally worn out, and her voice was soft and weak.

Amahane Byakuya shook his head slightly.

In truth, he could guess. It most likely had something to do with Akihiro Kanou.

Still, he was surprised that Kurona Yasuhisa had suddenly become willing to share these personal feelings with him.

"It was because of 'Father.' Nashiro and I wanted 'Father's' approval and praise, so we wanted to take first and second place between us. Then 'Father' would definitely be proud of us."

Kurona Yasuhisa explained.

However, she did not reveal that this "Father" was not their biological father, because they had long since come to regard him as one.

"Even so, don't push yourselves too hard. I noticed you were both exhausted today. That's not a good thing."

Amahane Byakuya was about to offer some advice, only to realize that Kurona Yasuhisa no longer seemed to hear him.

On his other side, Nashiro Yasuhisa had already fallen asleep. Her head gradually tilted, and her cheek suddenly came to rest lightly against Amahane Byakuya's right shoulder.

Immediately afterward, Kurona Yasuhisa did the same, unconsciously leaning against Amahane Byakuya's left shoulder. Her soft, even breathing showed that she, too, had fallen asleep.

Caught between them like that, Amahane Byakuya was momentarily dumbfounded...