"Starting the day after tomorrow, I'll be on assignment," Byakuya said casually. "It'll likely last for some time, so I won't be at Shoei Publishing during the day. But at night, I should still be back here."
"Oh, I see... Alright. But please don't overwork yourself, Uchiha-san."
Eto sounded genuinely concerned.
Internally, she was a little surprised; this guy was seriously dedicated.
Balancing his duties as a ghoul investigator while still editing her manuscript?
It seemed almost unbelievable.
But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
Byakuya truly valued her writing.
She could tell he genuinely respected and recognized her work.
"It's fine, it's not too exhausting."
Byakuya replied evenly.
"Then, since you'll be fighting ghouls… stay safe."
Eto's concern sounded perfectly natural.
Had Byakuya not known her true identity, he might have even been touched by her words.
But he knew the truth.
This soft-spoken girl in front of him was also the ruthless One-Eyed Owl.
So he couldn't bring himself to feel anything from her words.
Because, most likely, her concern wasn't even genuine.
"I will. Thanks."
Byakuya simply nodded.
[Ding! Sign-in complete. Reward: +1 Attribute Point!]
[Ding! Sign-in complete. Reward: +1 Attribute Point!]
In the blink of an eye, the mission day arrived.
Byakuya and Arima Kishou met up at CCG's 13th Ward Branch.
"Second-Class Arima, our transfer student identities have been set up."
Byakuya explained. "We'll be attending school as normal starting today. Our target is the A-Rank ghoul, codename 'Lantern.'"
"However, this particular ghoul is more dangerous than a standard A-Rank. Officially, it's classified as A+."
To refine mission intelligence, the CCG divided ghoul ranks into finer categories.
For example, A-Rank was further broken down into A-, A, and A+.
This made threat assessments more precise.
"During our time undercover, we must avoid exposing ourselves as investigators unless we've confirmed Lantern's capture."
Byakuya added.
This was standard protocol within the CCG-something every investigator knew.
Arima, of course, was no exception.
Still, Byakuya said it for formality's sake.
Arima merely nodded slightly, offering no unnecessary words.
"Let's change into our school uniforms before heading out."
Byakuya suggested.
Stepping into the changing room, he found their uniforms neatly prepared-custom-fitted, white blazers from Seishin High School.
After changing, Byakuya noted that the fit was perfect.
Both he and Arima looked exactly like normal high school students.
Their ages weren't far off from real students, so it was an easy disguise.
That was, until you noticed the briefcases in their hands.
Inside those cases-their Quinques.
Byakuya carried two A-Rank Quinques: Tsukikage and Fūrei.
Arima carried a B-Rank Quinque: Yukimura 1/3.
That name wasn't a mistake.
Yukimura was divided into three blades-hence the "1/3" designation.
To avoid suspicion, Arima had creatively disguised all three blades as a single violin case.
Byakuya discreetly slipped both Quinque cases into his backpack.
This wasn't just any ordinary bag, the CCG had specially modified it for him.
The storage capacity was significantly larger, and it had a quick-release mechanism.
With just a touch on a specific spot, the backpack would automatically eject both Quinque cases, ensuring he could react swiftly in emergencies.
As Byakuya and Arima finished gearing up, their fellow investigators couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
"First-Class Uchiha and Second-Class Arima look so young... They don't even need disguises to pass as high schoolers."
"Aren't they both eighteen? And First-Class Uchiha is already at that rank? That's insane!"
"I heard he drove back the SSS-rated One-Eyed Owl and protected Associate-Special-Class Mado. If that's true, then he might even be stronger than her..."
Ignoring the chatter, Byakuya and Arima set off for their mission.
Tokyo's 13th Ward – Seishin High School
On the surface, humans and ghouls were indistinguishable.
Unless a ghoul activated their kagune, there was no way to tell them apart.
This allowed many ghouls to blend seamlessly into human society.
Some ghouls truly sought peaceful coexistence-wanting to live alongside humans.
To maintain their disguise, they even learned to fake eating human food.
For example:
Forcing themselves to swallow food whole without chewing, despite their instincts rejecting it.
Later, they'd vomit it back out before their body could digest it.
This was because human food was fundamentally toxic to ghouls.
1. It tasted revolting, making it almost impossible to chew.
2. Digesting it would actively harm their bodies.
Despite these difficulties, some ghouls still chose to assimilate into human society, struggling to live as normal citizens.
Seishin High School was no exception.
Among its students, some were not human at all.
Classroom – 2nd-Year Students
Before the first period even started, their homeroom teacher entered the classroom.
The students exchanged confused glances.
It was unusual.
Their teacher almost never showed up before class began.
Clearly, something was up.
"Alright, class. We have two new transfer students today."
"Come in, Uchiha-kun, Arima-kun."
The moment the teacher spoke, Byakuya and Arima stepped into the classroom.
Byakuya took the lead.
"I'm Uchiha Byakuya. I'm from Tokyo's 1st Ward. My hobby is reading."
Short. Simple. Straight to the point.
Yet compared to Arima's introduction... Byakuya sounded like a chatterbox.
"Arima Kishou."
That was it.
Just his name.
Nothing more.
A murmur rippled through the classroom.
"Two transfers at once? That's pretty rare..."
"Wait, isn't our class getting a lot of transfers lately? Minami-san was also a transfer student last year."
"These two aren't very talkative... but they're seriously good-looking."
The teacher turned to them.
"There are two open seats. You can sit wherever you like."
"Understood."
Without hesitation, Byakuya moved first.
He chose the seat next to Fura Taishi-right among the delinquent group.
This left only one other open seat.
Arima had no choice but to take it.
He sat beside Minami Uruka.
Originally, in the Tokyo Ghoul: JACK storyline, it was Arima who sat next to Fura.
But this time, Byakuya had taken that spot instead.