Byakuya leapt down from the rooftop.
Arima followed closely behind.
"Didn't expect to run into you here of all places, Mo Mo" Byakuya said.
"Sorry, I guess I stole your credit" Mo replied a bit awkwardly.
He hadn't known Byakuya and Arima were nearby—clearly they were on a mission.
"No worries," Byakuya said with a faint smile. "That Quinque you're wielding looks top-tier. You're not just an ordinary foreign exchange student, are you? I'm guessing you're a Ghoul Investigator from China?"
"Yeah, seems like I can't keep that secret from you two" Mo said, pulling out his investigator ID.
Since it's illegal for regular civilians to possess a Quinque, it was important for Mo Mo to prove his status — otherwise, it could land him in serious trouble.
Byakuya glanced at the ID: sure enough, Mo Mo was an investigator from China. More than that —he was Special Class.
Of course, compared to the strict hierarchy in Tokyo's CCG, investigators from other regions had faster promotion tracks. Back when Tatara led the "Chi She Lian" faction, China had dispatched numerous investigators, and it was only with the help of Kousuke Houji that they managed to crush the organization.
That battle had cost over a hundred investigators, including fifteen Special Classes and thirty First-Classes. It reflected how promotions in China weren't as rigid as the CCG.
After all, the Tokyo branch of CCG only had a few Special Class Investigators. A battle on par with that Chi She Lian incident would have required someone of SSS+ level.
And Tatara and his brother were only SS-ranked. Taking them down would've overwhelmed most of Tokyo's Special Classes, save for Arima himself.
Still, that didn't mean Mo Mo's rank was undeserved. His takedown of the half-kakuja moments ago had proven his combat ability was solid.
"You're already Special Class at such a young age… you've got real potential" Byakuya said, not hiding his admiration.
Mo Mo was barely twenty years old. To reach that level so early clearly marked him as a prodigy.
Byakuya now understood why Mo Mo had the confidence to join the club — he had no reason to fear a group of university-aged ghouls.
"You flatter me. Compared to you two, I still have a long way to go" Mo said modestly.
And he wasn't just being humble—he genuinely felt he was far behind. After all, both Byakuya and Arima were still young themselves...
Just then, Eto and Minami arrived.
They had finished off the ghouls in their area, but when Byakuya and Arima suddenly disappeared, they figured something serious had happened nearby—and followed the disturbance here.
"Mo Mo? Was that commotion earlier because of you?" Minami asked, noticing the ghoul corpses and the half-kakuja at Mo's feet, not to mention the quinque in his hands.
"Yeah" Mo nodded. "I heard there was some unrest in the 22nd Ward, so I thought I'd check it out. I've been investigating around here after school every day, but didn't find anything—until today."
"So you were the one who flushed them out. Looks like we were the backup," Minami smiled.
"Don't say that. I'm really grateful for your help" she added. "And since you handled a half-kakuja, you must be pretty strong yourself."
"I'm alright. You're all way stronger than me" Mo replied.
"Say, Mo Mo… are you studying here because of a mission?" Minamo asked, even though she already suspected he was an investigator.
"Actually, no. I really did come to study. My work as an investigator is separate. If something important comes up back home, I'll be recalled."
"Alright, let's get someone to clean up the scene and head back" Byakuya said, pulling out a comm to call the cleanup crew.
A few minutes later, a TSC unit arrived — trainees mostly, responsible for low-risk cleanup work.
Later, at the station, they ran into Suzuki.
Her presence confirmed suspicions.
"Looks like the president and vice president are closer than we thought" Eto giggled.
"Well, they are college students. Most people start dating around this age," Rika chimed in.
"Yeah, that's what makes college life so colorful. Once you graduate, the window closes" Byakuya sighed.
Before his transmigration, he'd expected a typical post-graduation life — job, savings, car, house, marriage, kids…
No more carefree student days.
Thankfully, things had changed.
...
The 22nd Ward incident was resolved quickly—just in time for the celebration in the 20th Ward.
That day, the whole Anteiku took the day off for some fun. Nothing extravagant—amusement parks, mostly.
Since most of them couldn't eat human food, they couldn't throw a big banquet. And obviously, a human-meat feast was out of the question.
Still, even simple activities felt special when shared.
Byakuya, for example, wouldn't bother going to a movie theater alone. Even dining solo felt awkward. Having a friend made everything better.
They ended the day with a group photo.
Yoshimura stood in the center, flanked by Byakuya and Eto.
On the way home, Yoshimura suddenly said, "Byakuya spoke to me about the wedding earlier. Eto, you already knew, didn't you?"
Eto blinked in surprise that her father brought it up, then nodded. "Yeah. We've already set a date. But he didn't tell me what you thought."
"My opinion? I don't have one" Yoshimura said with a gentle smile. "I've never been much of a father — I've no right to interfere. But if you want me to weigh in, then I fully support you both."
"I see" Eto nodded.
"Wait, you two are getting married already?" Hikari exclaimed.
"They've basically been acting like an old married couple anyway" Irimi laughed.
"Guess the boss is about to be a grandpa," Koma added.
"So fast…" Minami murmured.
She and Arima had just started dating—not quite ready to talk marriage yet.
"Wait… Eto is a half-ghoul, and Byakuya is half-human. That means their child wouldn't be fully human or fully ghoul, right?" Minami asked suddenly.
She knew that children of humans and ghouls ended up as half-human or half-ghoul.
"So wouldn't theirs be the same?"
"Correct" Byakuya said. "Only those two outcomes are possible."
"Then... that probably applies to me and Arima too..." Minami realized, face flushing.
They hadn't been dating long, and she was already thinking about children. Embarrassing.
"Yeah, your child would also be either half-human or half-ghoul" Byakuya said plainly.
Yoshimura's face turned thoughtful. He knew firsthand how hard it was for hybrid children to be born — especially for the mother.
Mixed-blood babies require both human food and human flesh in the womb. Without both, they die before birth.
Ukina, Eto's mother, had been forced to eat human flesh while still human — just to carry Eto to term. Yoshimura could only watch, helpless.
For Minami, eating human flesh would be fine — but normal food would be torture. Ghouls find it revolting, even nauseating. Forcing it down daily would be unbearable.
Eto, by contrast, had it easier. As a natural-born half-ghoul, she could eat both human food and meat.
"It'll be painful for you" Byakuya said gently to Minami.
Minami understood what he meant, but kept smiling. "It's okay. I've been through worse."
To fit in at school, she had practiced eating normal food, even though it made her sick. She knew how to suppress the urge to vomit.
"Minami, you're amazing!" Hikari hugged her tight.
"So, when's the big day?" Hikari asked.
"We're planning for next month—if nothing changes" Byakuya said.
"Will it be a human or ghoul-style wedding?" she asked.
The two traditions were vastly different. Ghouls had to hide their ceremonies. Human-style weddings were often out of reach unless you were someone like the Tsukiyama family — wealthy, influential, and secretly ghoul.
Most, like Kaneki and Touka in the original story, held modest ghoul ceremonies in secret.
"We already discussed it. We'll go with a ghoul-style wedding," Byakuya said.
After all, neither he nor Eto were fully human, and Yoshimura was a pure-blooded ghoul. A human wedding just wouldn't feel right.
He didn't really understand human marriage customs beyond what he remembered from his pre-transmigration days.
A ghoul ceremony suited them better.
And all three of them — Byakuya, Eto, and Yoshimura — were happy with that choice.