A Date with Rize Kamishiro

"All right, thank you."

After taking the deposit, Amahane Byakuya left and headed straight for Kamii University.

Although Yoshimura Kuzen knew perfectly well what would happen to this human boy for getting so close to Rize Kamishiro, he had no intention of saying anything.

In his eyes, Amahane Byakuya was just an ordinary human. Although he was a ghoul who had long since stopped wanting to harm humans, he would not casually put himself at risk for a human he did not know, either.

The same reasoning explained Yoshimura Kuzen's initial attitude toward Ken Kaneki in the original story. When Ken Kaneki was first captured by the Aogiri Tree, he had been unwilling to take risks to rescue him, only changing his mind later.

But rescuing Ken Kaneki had undoubtedly hastened his own destruction and that of Anteiku, so his initial attitude toward Ken Kaneki was entirely understandable.

Less than half an hour later.

Amahane Byakuya arrived at Kamii University on foot.

Since this was his first time attending classes here, the place was still unfamiliar to him. He could only follow the various signs and slowly learn his way around.

According to the information provided by the system, he was a student in the Literature Department. All he had to do was follow his class schedule and daily timetable and attend classes as usual.

Since everyone was a newly enrolled first-year student, even without the system's intervention, nobody would have cared if a newcomer like him suddenly appeared in the classroom.

Amahane Byakuya had little trouble keeping up in class. His courses leaned toward the humanities anyway, so it was just a matter of listening and taking notes.

He did not know any of his classmates yet, so after class, he buried himself in reviewing on his own. Striving to become stronger did not stop him from studying hard, just as even Touma Kamijou from A Certain Magical Index had to dutifully go to school and attend remedial classes every day.

By the end of the morning, Amahane Byakuya had finished all his classes for the day. He could pretty much do whatever he wanted after noon.

During their first and second years, Japanese university students averaged only a little over four hours of classes a day. That dropped by half in their third and fourth years, which was why Ken Kaneki had so much time to drink coffee at the Antique Café every day in the original story.

Amahane Byakuya planned to have lunch in the university cafeteria, then head to the Antique Café that afternoon to meet Rize Kamishiro. Of course, he had not forgotten the arrangement he had made with her yesterday.

After ordering his meal in the cafeteria, he searched for quite a while before finding an unoccupied table for four and sitting down. The cafeteria was packed with students at this time of day.

He had only been eating for a little while when someone walked up to him.

"Hi, would you mind if I sat here?"

Hearing the question, Amahane Byakuya looked up and saw a young man about his age.

The young man wore a very friendly smile. His delicate features gave him a somewhat feminine air, and there was a beauty mark beneath the lashes of his right eye.

Furuta Nimura (student days)

Once Amahane Byakuya got a clear look at his face, his chopsticks paused briefly. Wasn't this Furuta Nimura?

Sure, Furuta Nimura was attending Kamii University at this point in the timeline, but with such a huge campus, had he really run into him by sheer coincidence?

Clearly, it was no coincidence. From what Amahane Byakuya knew, Furuta Nimura was constantly monitoring Rize Kamishiro at this point. In all likelihood, he had already begun planning the Construction Site Rebar Incident.

If he was monitoring Rize Kamishiro, then he certainly knew that, on the surface, she and Byakuya were dating.

Although Ken Kaneki had secretly admired Rize Kamishiro for a long time in the original story, the two had never actually become a couple.

Amahane Byakuya, on the other hand, had confessed to Rize Kamishiro right off the bat and even successfully started dating her. It was only natural that Furuta Nimura could not sit still after hearing about it.

"Of course, go ahead."

Amahane Byakuya answered Furuta Nimura just as politely.

He was rather curious about what Furuta Nimura intended to do by approaching him.

"Thanks~"

Yet Furuta Nimura did nothing afterward. He simply sat across from Amahane Byakuya and ate his meal as usual.

[Ding! The host ate with Furuta Nimura. Reward received: 1 fusion point!]

Amahane Byakuya had not come away entirely empty-handed, either. Somehow, he had triggered the system's reward mechanism again.

Then again, that made sense. In the eyes of both Eto Yoshimura and Furuta Nimura, he was merely an ordinary human who had happened to come into contact with Rize Kamishiro. At most, they would appear near him while posing as passersby. They were hardly going to tell him anything more.

That afternoon.

Amahane Byakuya returned to the Antique Café.

He found that Rize Kamishiro had arrived before him.

What caught his attention more, however, was Ken Kaneki sitting not far from Rize Kamishiro.

The ordinary young man with a thin build and a student haircut, holding a copy of The Black Goat's Egg, was none other than Ken Kaneki.

Ken Kaneki

Amahane Byakuya was not surprised to see Ken Kaneki here.

After all, Ken Kaneki had a secret crush on Rize Kamishiro at this point. Whenever he had time, he would come to this café to steal glances at her. He had probably been too busy to come yesterday.

Amahane Byakuya had no intention of greeting Ken Kaneki, who did not know him. Instead, he walked over to Rize Kamishiro.

"Sorry, Rize. Have you been waiting long?"

Given that he was a student and the same age as Rize Kamishiro, Amahane Byakuya felt that addressing her as a fellow student was the most appropriate choice.

"No, I only just got here myself."

Rize Kamishiro smiled and replied gently.

Hearing Amahane Byakuya and Rize Kamishiro talking, Ken Kaneki immediately took notice from where he sat.

What was going on? That cute girl seemed pretty close to that guy.

By now, Ken Kaneki had completely lost interest in reading. He held his book and pretended to read, but his eyes kept stealing glances in their direction.

"By the way, Byakuya, do you have anything else to do this afternoon? If not, why don't we go out together?"

Then Rize Kamishiro suddenly suggested, "I've only heard this from other people, but going on dates is the most basic way for couples to grow closer."

"Sure. I'd love to go on a date with you too, Rize."

Amahane Byakuya readily agreed.

Hearing that exchange, Ken Kaneki was utterly crushed.

He looked deeply shaken, unable to accept the truth.

A date? A couple? That cute girl was already someone else's girlfriend?!

Just then, Amahane Byakuya's system was triggered again.

[Ding! The host has activated a mission. God-tier choices unlocked!]

[Option one: Ignore the dejected Ken Kaneki. Reward: 1 fusion point!]

[Option two: Discuss Sen Takatsuki's works with Ken Kaneki and claim to be a fan of the author as well. Reward: 10 fusion points!]

[Option three: Walk over to Ken Kaneki, shout "Kora!" at him, and tell him to keep his eyes to himself instead of ogling your girlfriend. Reward: 20 fusion points!]