Byakuya left the corpse where it lay, tossed aside the kagune, and took only the crowbar.
He didn't want to leave evidence that might attract police or CCG investigators.
Not that self-defense against a ghoul was illegal—ghouls had no legal protections. But explaining how he'd killed one without a quinque would be troublesome.
Without obvious traces, a dead ghoul wouldn't raise much alarm. Ghouls killing each other was common enough that authorities rarely investigated causes of death.
The kagune would deteriorate without its host's RC cells, eventually dissolving entirely. That was why quinques required both kagune and kakuhou—the kakuhou sustained the kagune.
I should really get myself a quinque...
The thought crossed his mind as he left the alley.
In his current state, a proper weapon would help immensely. Fighting ghouls barehanded was inefficient.
But obtaining a quinque meant joining the CCG—the Commission of Counter Ghoul, Tokyo's government agency dedicated to combating ghouls.
Only certified investigators—at minimum Rank 2—were authorized to carry quinques.
CCG ranks from lowest to highest: Rank 3, Rank 2, Rank 1, First Class, Associate Special Class, and Special Class. Below Rank 3 were mere assistants—non-combat support staff without official ranking.
Maybe I should visit the CCG soon...
...
Ward 20, Movie Theater.
After meeting at Anteiku, Byakuya and Rize had made their way here.
This world's timeline was roughly the late 2000s to early 2010s. Most people still used flip phones. Smartphones weren't yet ubiquitous, and movie theaters remained popular entertainment.
Tickets purchased, they found seats near the middle.
Byakuya wasn't particularly enthusiastic about cinema, but accompanying a girl? He'd sit through the whole thing.
Regardless of everything else, Rize was still a girl. An extraordinarily savage girl, but still...
Midway through, Byakuya noticed something about the film's core theme.
It bore striking similarities to Rize's own life.
The female protagonist suffered constant mistreatment from her family, valued only as a money-making tool while her brothers received all the favoritism.
The plot had just introduced a male lead who would presumably help her escape her toxic household.
Byakuya knew Rize's real history. It was even more tragic than the movie's fiction.
Rize was born into the Washuu Clan—a ghoul family, arguably the most powerful in Japan.
Her bloodline was exceptionally pure, containing undiluted Washuu ghoul genetics. In any cultivation novel, such purity would make her a treasured prodigy.
But the Washuus valued human bloodline. The more human blood a Washuu possessed, the higher their status. Rize's pure ghoul blood made her an outcast.
Bloodline differed from the half-human or half-ghoul mixing principle. Most ghouls carried some human genetics; "bloodline" referred to something else entirely.
Rize's low status meant she couldn't live with the main family. She was sent to a place called the Sunlit Garden.
She couldn't even inherit the "Washuu" name, remaining nameless until she later took "Kamishiro" as her surname.
Worst of all, her pure bloodline—the very thing that condemned her—made her ideal as a "Breeder." A "Mother."
In other words: a baby-making machine. The horror was self-evident.
If her childhood friend Nimura Furuta hadn't helped her escape the Sunlit Garden, she'd still be trapped.
Even now, the Washuus were hunting her. If recaptured, escape would be nearly impossible. Yet she continued hunting humans brazenly—recklessly casual about her situation.
...
The credits rolled.
"Finally done. Everyone was right—it really was good."
Rize sounded somewhat moved.
Tear tracks were visible on her cheeks. Apparently the film had made her cry.
Byakuya assumed it was an act and didn't comment.
"It was good," he agreed. "Though the male lead was a bit too indecisive and weak."
"That's true. He waited until the very end to act. If he'd just eloped with her from the start, so much trouble could have been avoided."
Rize concurred.
Since it was a late showing, the movie ended past 9 PM.
Walking home, they continued discussing the film.
That's when two girls in school uniforms passed them going the opposite direction.
Touka Kirishima and a classmate.
Seeing Rize with that human boy so late at night, Touka glanced back.
"..."
She watched Byakuya's retreating figure, frowning slightly.
"Touka? What's wrong?"
Her classmate noticed she'd stopped.
"Nothing..."
Touka looked away and kept walking.