Under attack

"Of course I mean it. I haven't read many of Teacher Takatsuki's works yet, but I became a fan as soon as I finished To Kafka."

As he spoke, Amahane Byakuya sat down across from Ken Kaneki. "Mind if I sit here?"

He wasn't doing this because of the system. Besides, he had already completed the god-tier choice it had triggered, so he could easily have turned around and left instead of continuing the conversation with Ken Kaneki.

He simply wanted to chat with Ken Kaneki of his own accord. That was all.

"Of course! Please, have a seat."

Ken Kaneki still sounded a little reserved, since he was naturally rather introverted.

The other man's identity also put some pressure on him-namely, the fact that Amahane Byakuya was Rize Kamishiro's boyfriend.

"You look like a student. Don't tell me you go to Kamii University too?"

Amahane Byakuya asked despite already knowing the answer.

He couldn't act as though he knew everything about Ken Kaneki right off the bat.

Kamii University happened to be the closest university, so his question wouldn't seem abrupt or strange.

"Yes. Are you a student there too?"

Ken Kaneki couldn't help asking curiously.

"That's right. I'm in the literature department. My name is Amahane Byakuya."

Amahane Byakuya gave a slight nod.

"I... I am too..."

Ken Kaneki could hardly believe it. Could there really be such a coincidence?

They were in the same department, and they were both fans of Teacher Takatsuki's books.

"My name is Ken Kaneki. It's... it's nice to meet you."

Ken Kaneki rather enjoyed talking to someone who was both a fellow reader and a student in his department.

After all, he had only ever had one friend. Making another would be nice.

Even if the other man was that girl's boyfriend...

[Ding! The host has become friends with Ken Kaneki. Reward received: 2 fusion points!]

As Amahane Byakuya and Ken Kaneki chatted, they became friends. Sen Takatsuki's works gave them plenty to talk about.

Caught up in their conversation, Ken Kaneki seemed to have forgotten that the other man was that girl's boyfriend. Or perhaps he had already come to terms with it.

Knowing she had a boyfriend, someone with his personality would never try to steal her away.

And now he had unwittingly become friends with her boyfriend, too. He felt even more embarrassed about harboring any feelings for a friend's girlfriend.

Afterward, Amahane Byakuya borrowed a book from the café's shelves.

[Ding! The host has read The Black Goat's Egg. Reward received: 1 fusion point!]

[Ding! The host has finished The Black Goat's Egg. Reward received: 1 fusion point!]

Evening came, and the café was almost ready to close.

Only then did Amahane Byakuya and Ken Kaneki head home.

They had spent that time reading Sen Takatsuki's works, not chatting nonstop, occasionally exchanging their impressions of what they read.

On his way home, Ken Kaneki was still in a cheerful mood.

Although Hide Nagachika was his best friend and had previously been his only friend, they had different interests. Hide didn't enjoy reading, so Amahane Byakuya's arrival filled that particular void in his life.

Meanwhile, Amahane Byakuya was also on his way home.

He took the same route as yesterday, which passed through a few narrow alleys.

There were almost no pedestrians around, especially in the alleys.

It was late, and with ghouls existing in this world, people feared being attacked. They didn't dare venture into deserted places like alleys at night.

Amahane Byakuya felt that he should be more careful too. Running into a ghoul ranked S or higher would be trouble. With his current strength, it was hard to say whether he could fight an S-rated ghoul.

Ghouls looked almost identical to humans, but their strength was on a completely different level from that of ordinary people.

Besides, his fusion progress was only Level 1. He might not even have one percent of Madara Uchiha's strength. Leaving Six Paths Madara aside for now, a simple example was enough: what percentage of the Rinnegan's power could a one-tomoe Sharingan possibly possess?

Still, the chances of being attacked by a ghoul ranked S or higher in Ward 20 were slim. Aside from a handful of disobedient ghouls like Rize Kamishiro, the others didn't dare casually defy the rules Yoshimura Kuzen had laid down.

As for Rize Kamishiro, she wouldn't appear and attack him at a time like this. That wouldn't be exciting enough for her.

In any case, Amahane Byakuya headed toward the alley's exit, preferring to take a longer route along the main streets.

But before he could leave the alley, he heard faint footsteps behind him.

He looked back and saw a hostile-looking man approaching.

Although the man's eyes hadn't yet become kakugan, his first instinct told him the man was probably a ghoul.

"Seriously, those guys at Anteiku won't let us hunt humans. I just can't stand eating rotten meat every day anymore."

The man suddenly began grumbling to himself, saying things that would have sounded rather baffling to an outsider.

But hearing those complaints only made Amahane Byakuya more certain that the man before him was a ghoul.

His brows furrowed slightly. This guy clearly intended to make a meal of him...

"If you want to eat me, come and try."

Amahane Byakuya spoke evenly.

The unfamiliar face alone told him that this wasn't a particularly powerful ghoul.

There wasn't a single notable ghoul in Ward 20-say, anyone ranked S or higher-whom he didn't recognize.

This was a perfect chance to practice on the guy. He hadn't used Madara Uchiha's abilities even once yet.

"Oh? You know I'm a ghoul, and you're still not running?"

The man was taken aback. Any other human facing this situation would already have fled, screaming and crying.

Yet the human boy before him was so calm. If the kid hadn't been without a Quinque, he might almost have suspected him of being one of the CCG's White Doves.

"You're bluffing!"

The man snorted, then suddenly lunged at Amahane Byakuya.

His eyes turned into crimson kakugan, their normally white sclera becoming black, while his expression twisted into a vicious snarl.

Kakugan as shown in the image.

A dark green bikaku kagune also sprouted from his tailbone, resembling a long, thick tail. It was an important weapon ghouls used to hunt their prey.

Amahane Byakuya's gaze grew cold. In an instant, his ordinary black eyes transformed into a one-tomoe Sharingan.

Just as the man was about to reach Amahane Byakuya, he suddenly noticed that the boy's eyes had also turned scarlet.

?!

His expression changed drastically, and his mind went blank for a moment.