"Akatsuki? World peace?..."
Rize smiled faintly. "I have absolutely no interest in that sort of thing. But... I am interested in you."
Halfway through, Byakuya had thought Rize might refuse. By the end, he smiled with relief.
It wouldn't have been strange at all if Rize had truly refused to join the Akatsuki Organization. For instance, when Banjou had once hoped Rize would become the leader of Ward 11, she'd nearly killed him in annoyance.
The solitary Rize found such matters extremely uninteresting—even repulsive. If it had been anyone other than Byakuya inviting her, she would have given them the same treatment as Banjou or Tsukiyama.
"What about you two, Kurona and Nashiro? Anything you want to say?"
Byakuya turned to the sisters.
"Nothing."
"Neither do I. Whatever Oniichan asks, Nashiro is willing."
Kurona and Nashiro spoke simultaneously.
"Good."
Byakuya smiled at them. "I won't let you down. Eventually, you'll be able to return to normal—become regular humans again."
"Really? Nashiro and I can actually become human again?"
Kurona immediately asked with interest.
She'd thought she and Nashiro would be "one-eyed ghouls" for the rest of their lives. She hadn't expected there might be hope of returning to normal.
"Of course. As long as the Akatsuki Organization achieves its ultimate goal."
Byakuya spoke with certainty.
The "ultimate goal" he referred to was naturally the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
The system had already hinted at it very clearly—practically stated it outright. The unlocking of information about the Infinite Tsukuyomi was tied to the Akatsuki Organization.
Byakuya also agreed with this path: achieving the organization's goal through the "Eye of the Moon Plan."
If all ghouls could truly be transformed into humans, there would be no more conflict between species. The racial divide between humans and ghouls was the key issue—resolving it would undoubtedly bring relative peace to the world.
He said "relative peace" because war among humans themselves would always exist. That was unavoidable—human nature was simply like that.
Sometimes, class issues could be even more severe than racial ones. Just look at how comfortably the upper-class ghouls lived—especially the Washuu Clan. Meanwhile, lower-class ghouls were merely tools for the Washuu to maintain their dominance.
The same went for lower-class human investigators—they too were tools being used by the Washuu. The clan had gone to great lengths to develop Quinques precisely so human investigators could fight on equal terms with lower-class ghouls.
And naturally, upper-class humans were complicit as well. The Washuu Clan couldn't have risen to their current position without colluding with certain human elites.
Lower-class investigators and lower-class ghouls would fight to the death, never knowing who was truly oppressing them...
But this was getting too far off topic—a slippery slope best left alone...
In any case, Byakuya couldn't be bothered with all that chaos. He just wanted to resolve the human-ghoul problem first.
Although Kurona and Nashiro didn't know what Byakuya meant by "ultimate goal," they were willing to trust him unconditionally.
After all, Byakuya was the only person they could rely on now—not family by blood, yet closer than family.
"Besides you three, Tsukiyama Shuu and those two Tsukiyama servants will probably also become members of the Akatsuki Organization. I just haven't told them yet."
Byakuya continued. "I'm planning to wait a while before bringing it up with them. Tsukiyama is still an unknown quantity."
Theoretically, given Tsukiyama's personality and after what had happened, he should become quite obedient and reliable. But in practice, things weren't always so predictable—some observation was definitely needed before he could feel at ease.
"I have no objections. But I still won't go easy on him if he gets any ideas about you."
Rize said lightly.
"On that point, even I wouldn't go easy on him."
Byakuya said.
Kurona and Nashiro naturally had no objections either—unless Tsukiyama proved untrustworthy, in which case they'd be the first to help Byakuya eliminate the problem.
...
During this period—or rather, ever since the Aogiri Suppression Operation had ended—Byakuya's life had been quite comfortable.
Occasionally, he'd be assigned to go on extermination missions with Koori Ui, since Ui was still technically his partner. They'd eliminated a handful of ghouls here and there.
His promotion to First Class would have to wait for the "Promotion Ceremony," when the CCG would hold a unified promotion ritual for qualifying investigators.
During this time, Aogiri Tree had been quiet. The CCG had been investigating them intensively, but with little success.
It seemed Aogiri was biding its time, waiting for the day they'd strike again with something as major as the Cochlea prison assault.
"Suzuya, how's the preparation going for the written exam and interview?"
Today, Byakuya had come to the Ward 1 CCG Main Office for some business.
He happened to run into Suzuya and greeted him.
"Should be fine. Shinohara-san has been coaching me."
Suzuya said with a smile.
By now, Suzuya's ghoul elimination record was enough to promote him from Rank 3 to Rank 2. As long as he passed the relevant written exam and interview before the Promotion Ceremony began, he'd be promoted smoothly.
Suzuya was working hard toward that goal. Both the written exam and interview were considerable challenges for him.
"Speaking of which, Suzuya will be promoted to Rank 2 soon. I still don't know when I'll ever get promoted."
Byakuya and Suzuya were chatting in the rest area when Takizawa passed by and joined the conversation.
"Takizawa-san, Houji-san."
Seeing Takizawa and his partner Houji beside him, Suzuya greeted them politely.
Under Shinohara's guidance, he'd become considerably more mature and composed than at the start. Besides, if he didn't change, he'd easily fail the interview.
"Suzuya looks like he's in good spirits. You must feel confident about the exam and interview."
Houji replied kindly.
"So Suzuya is about to achieve 'Rank 3 to Rank 2 in one year.' The last person—and the only person—to do that was Arima-san, wasn't it?"
Takizawa said enviously.
Going from Rank 3 to Rank 2 in one year might not sound that impressive, but to date, only Kishou Arima had ever accomplished it.
As for Byakuya going from Rank 2 to Rank 1—that was a different matter entirely, and even more remarkable.
"By the way, Amaha-san went from Rank 2 to Rank 1 in less than half a year, right? That's even more terrifying!"
Takizawa exclaimed.
He'd previously idolized Amon and Arima. Now he had one more person to admire.
He really wanted to hear Amaha-san recount his exploits—like how he'd eliminated "Jason"—but he was too embarrassed to ask, not wanting to waste his time.
"..."
Byakuya just smiled without comment.
In reality, he'd done it in less than a month. Mainly because he'd passed the written exam and interview at lightning speed. But there was no need to emphasize such things.
After some more small talk, everyone went their separate ways.
Byakuya had come to the Ward 1 Main Office today for the written exam and interview materials. He needed to take some relevant materials back to prepare—the First Class promotion exam would definitely be harder than the Rank 1 exam.
Even so, it was no challenge for Byakuya.
In his room, he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and effortlessly memorized all the theoretical knowledge needed for the written exam. Half a month later, he passed the written exam with a near-perfect score.
The written exam ended in the morning; by afternoon, he'd cleared the interview as well.
[Ding! Host has completed the written exam and interview for promotion to First Class Investigator. Reward: 10 Fusion Points!]
Now he just needed to wait for the upcoming Promotion Ceremony, where Bureau Director Washuu would bestow upon him the First Class Investigator's badge.
...
Perhaps because Aogiri Tree was lying low, Eto had more time for her side job—things like holding fan meet-and-greets.
Her main job was, of course, the great cause of Aogiri Tree.
"Oniichan, Takatsuki-sensei's fan meet-and-greet is about to start. Can you come with me?"
Hinami was sitting on Byakuya's lap, reading one of Sen Takatsuki's books together with him, when she brought this up.
"Sure."
Byakuya agreed without hesitation.
The mention of Takatsuki's fan event reminded him of Kaneki. He hadn't seen Kaneki at the café lately.
Probably because of the Tsukiyama incident.
Actually, Kaneki had come by occasionally during this period, but upon seeing Tsukiyama through the window, he'd fled in terror.
After that previous incident, he'd called the police after escaping, but when they arrived, they'd found nothing.
Mirumo had had the scene cleaned up, and the whole matter had been swept under the rug.
Byakuya felt he should find an opportunity to explain things to Kaneki—and bring Tsukiyama along, since he was the one who'd caused the whole mess.
"I knew Oniichan was the best."
Hinami beamed with joy.
"By the way, Oniichan, what does this word mean?"
She pointed to a word in a certain passage of the book.
Her reading had improved to the point where she could get through most things without trouble, though she still occasionally encountered complex vocabulary.
It didn't really affect her overall comprehension, but she'd grown accustomed to having her big brother read with her.
...
A few days later, "Sen Takatsuki's" fan meet-and-greet arrived as scheduled.
Hinami had dressed up especially pretty today, with her mother's help.
"Perfect. Our little Hinami is the cutest now."
Ryouko looked at Hinami's reflection in the mirror with satisfaction.
"Mm!"
Hinami smiled happily.
"When you meet Byakuya-oniichan later, remember to ask him what he thinks first."
Ryouko began instructing her.
"Mm-hm, I understand."
Hinami nodded seriously.
"Then when it gets crowded, hold onto Byakuya-oniichan's hand. He definitely won't refuse."
"Mm-hm."
"That should be enough for now—don't rush things. After that, just enjoy your 'date' today~"
"Mm... um...?"
Hinami had been following along, but gradually started feeling something was off.
"It's not... this isn't a date. Oniichan is just going with me to meet Takatsuki-sensei."
Hinami's cheeks flushed slightly as she explained.
Ryouko just smiled knowingly without saying more.
...
When Hinami arrived at the agreed meeting spot, she'd come half an hour early—yet found that her big brother was already there.
"Am I late? I didn't make you wait too long, did I?"
"No, I just got here myself."
Byakuya said.
He wasn't being polite—he really had just arrived.
"That's good."
Then Hinami remembered what her mother had said before she left. "Um... what do you think, Oniichan?"
She asked somewhat bashfully, keeping her question vague.
Byakuya's reaction was quick. One look at Hinami's expression and he knew what she was asking. "Mm, Hinami-chan looks very cute today. You must have put a lot of effort into dressing up."
"Yes."
Hinami's face lit up with joy, a faint blush coloring her cheeks—making her even more adorable.
Later, at the meet-and-greet venue, Hinami also remembered her mother's words. Taking advantage of the crowd, she reached for her big brother's hand.
Sure enough, he didn't shake her off. If anything, he held on a bit tighter.
After waiting in line for a while, Byakuya and Hinami sat down in front of "Sen Takatsuki."
"Isn't this Amaha-kun from last time? And this time you've brought such a cute little sister?"
Eto spoke first.
Her hair looked even more disheveled than at the last meet-and-greet—probably having overslept and rushed to the venue. But the messy style only made her look more like an eccentric genius.
Hinami hadn't expected Takatsuki-sensei to be so chatty right off the bat. She immediately felt a bit nervous.
"What's your name, little one? Can you tell big sister?"
Eto asked Hinami with a smile.
"Hinami... Fueguchi Hinami..."
Hinami responded nervously.
"So it's Hinami-chan. You and Amaha-kun seem to get along really well—so close~"
As she spoke, Eto's gaze drifted downward, landing on Byakuya and Hinami's joined hands.
Hinami suddenly realized she'd forgotten she was still holding her big brother's hand. She let go shyly, embarrassed.
"So cute~"
Eto giggled.
Having teased little Hinami enough, Eto turned her attention to Byakuya. "So, Amaha-kun, any wishes this time? A signed autograph, perhaps?"
Byakuya shook his head slightly.
He beckoned with his finger, gesturing for Eto to come closer.
Eto actually complied, standing up and leaning in toward him.
Byakuya whispered directly into Eto's ear: "I've heard that Takatsuki-sensei is the 'One-Eyed King' of Aogiri Tree. Is that true?"
...
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