Hearing these words, Eto's pupils trembled slightly.
But she wasn't particularly surprised—she could guess who had told Byakuya this.
Just as in the original story, Nico had hinted to Kaneki that the "One-Eyed King" was Sen Takatsuki. Later, when Kaneki lost his memories and became Sasaki Haise, then eventually recovered them, he'd immediately gone to Takatsuki's home with Furuta to arrest her.
At that time, Eto hadn't been surprised at all. She'd even turned herself in voluntarily, as if everything had been within her predictions.
At this point in the timeline, Eto probably already knew that the Clowns might be stirring things up behind the scenes. At the very least, she definitely knew of the Clowns' existence. She likely knew that both the "construction site steel beam incident" involving Rize and the "one-eyed ghoul" experiments had the Clowns' involvement. Whether she knew about Furuta specifically was another matter.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying. As you can see, I'm just an ordinary author who enjoys creating."
Eto's face still wore its composed smile. "But I'm interested in you. Would you mind waiting until the meet-and-greet ends and having a drink with me?"
"Of course."
Byakuya responded without hesitation.
"..."
Only Hinami looked completely bewildered.
She hadn't heard what Byakuya had whispered to Takatsuki-sensei, so naturally she couldn't understand their exchange—or why Takatsuki-sensei had suddenly invited her big brother for a drink.
"Then I'll trouble Amaha-kun and Hinami-chan to wait a bit."
Eto said. "Or you could go have fun elsewhere first and come back for me when the time comes. I wouldn't want to ruin your date, after all~"
At this, Hinami's cute little face flushed red. "That's not... Oniichan is just accompanying me. It's not a date or anything..."
"Mm-hm, I know. Big sister knows everything."
Eto grinned, clearly enjoying teasing little Hinami.
"Then we'll go explore elsewhere first."
Byakuya said.
"Mm..."
Hinami lowered her head shyly.
"Have fun, Hinami-chan."
"Thank you, Takatsuki-sensei."
With that, Byakuya and Hinami temporarily left the meet-and-greet venue.
As they were leaving, more and more people were flooding in from outside.
At that moment, Byakuya extended his hand toward Hinami.
Hinami was slightly startled—she hadn't expected her big brother to reach out first.
"This way we won't get separated."
Byakuya said.
"Mm!"
Hinami nodded happily.
Afterward, Byakuya walked around with little Hinami, exploring various places.
Since this Takatsuki meet-and-greet was being held in Ward 19, which happened to be Hinami's original home, their wandering eventually brought them past the Fueguchi family clinic.
Little Hinami reminisced about the past here.
"I always used to play here when I was little. Those times were really happy."
Hinami said wistfully. "But I'm happy now too—because I have Oniichan and everyone at Anteiku."
"I hope Hinami-chan can stay happy forever. I won't let the things you cherish be destroyed again."
Byakuya smiled warmly.
"Thank you, Oniichan. But please don't push yourself too hard..."
Hinami felt both grateful and worried.
After all, she could imagine that the only ones capable of destroying Anteiku would be the CCG. If her big brother wanted to protect Anteiku in such a situation, he'd inevitably be going against the entire CCG...
She didn't want him to put himself in danger for something like that.
"Don't worry. I'll definitely act within my means."
Byakuya said.
Hinami relaxed somewhat.
...
As they continued walking, they came across a shopping mall.
Byakuya was about to ask if Hinami wanted to buy anything when he noticed her gaze fixed on a particular storefront.
It was a shop selling various accessories.
Little Hinami seemed captivated by all the pretty, cute accessories.
But there was also some conflict in her eyes—probably because she didn't have the money to buy them.
"Come on. I'll get you a little gift."
Byakuya led Hinami over.
He picked out a "cherry blossom pink" hair clip that seemed perfect for her. "What do you think of this one? Or you can pick something you like."
"I really like this one. Thank you, Oniichan!"
Hinami said with a smile.
Truthfully, she'd love anything her big brother chose for her.
"Then this is the one."
Byakuya bought the hair clip for her.
It barely cost anything, but making little Hinami this happy was definitely worth it.
But just then, Byakuya happened to turn his head and spotted an unexpected figure.
It was "Nutcracker"—specifically, the adolescent version of "Nutcracker."
She wasn't dressed boldly or provocatively yet, had no garish makeup, and wore only a thin, worn-out dress. Her somewhat disheveled black hair was long, and her dark red eyes weren't unusual enough to draw suspicion.
Though completely unadorned and even a bit grimy, her delicate features couldn't be hidden. Her figure had already developed gracefully.
Byakuya suddenly recalled that Ward 19 was indeed Nutcracker's home territory. He just hadn't expected to run into her by chance.
In the original story, the "Nutcracker" who appeared at the "Ghoul Auction" was about three or four years in the future. Her name came from her fondness for crushing men's testicles...
But the Nutcracker of this era didn't seem so twisted yet. Her clothing clearly showed she was still just a poor, down-and-out young girl.
Nutcracker's eyes were fixed on Hinami—apparently drawn by the new hair clip on Hinami's head and her prettily dressed appearance.
This was quite understandable. Nutcracker loved being beautiful but was too poor to dress herself up. That frustration would eventually drive her to increasingly deranged behavior—like devouring or auctioning off any woman she deemed prettier than herself. And then there was the origin of her "Nutcracker" moniker...
Even at the very end, when she was killed by Mutsuki, she was still murmuring, "I want to be beautiful..."
[Ding! Host has triggered a Choice Mission!]
[Choice 1: Ignore "Nutcracker" entirely. Reward: 10 Fusion Points!]
[Choice 2: Eliminate "Nutcracker" on the spot to prevent future trouble. Reward: 10 Fusion Points!]
[Choice 3: Spend a few bucks to gift her a pretty hair clip. Perhaps it will change "Nutcracker's" future fate. Reward: 10 Fusion Points!]
...
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