In the original story, Arima Kishou spent almost his entire life serving V.
The only two times he acted on personal motives were: first, when he cooperated with Yoshimura Eto and became the true first "One-Eyed King" behind the scenes of Aogiri Tree; And second, when he trained Kaneki Ken-also known as Sasaki Haise-to become the new One-Eyed King, fulfilling his long-held wish.
Arima knew his lifespan was short. Even if he openly rebelled against V, he wouldn't have been able to change the world.
And while his strength was unmatched, he was ultimately outnumbered. The leader of V, Kaiko, had once been his mentor-if he was not outright stronger than him, he was at least on par.
Furthermore, Arima's enemies wouldn't be limited to just V.
As a ghoul investigator for both V and the CCG, Arima had erased his emotions. No matter how pitiful a ghoul was, even if he felt the slightest sympathy, he would still kill without hesitation.
Because that was V's command-eliminate all threats.
Even up until his death, he obeyed V's orders, executing Kamishiro Rize's adoptive father, Kamishiro Matasaka.
Of course, in the current timeline where Uchiha Byakuya found him, Arima had not yet been fully shackled by V, as he had not yet become their official "cleaner."
"By the way, Uchiha-san, you're not falling for that ghoul girl, are you? You sure seem to care a lot about her."
Yoshimura Eto suddenly shifted to gossip mode.
"No."
Byakuya denied it without hesitation.
He was actually hoping for Arima and Uruka Minami to end up together, so there was no way he had any interest in her.
"Oh? That was a surprisingly firm denial."
Eto raised an eyebrow.
She had somewhat suspected that this bastard investigator might have feelings for the ghoul girl, after all, no normal investigator would go this far for a ghoul.
But to her surprise, he had shot down the idea so definitively.
If he truly had feelings for that girl, it would have been impossible for him to remain this calm and decisive.
"A ghoul investigator who cares about ghouls is definitely strange, but that's just the kind of person I am."
Byakuya said cooly.
"Got it. Uchiha-san is a weirdo. But you know, having a weirdo as the protagonist of my next novel might actually be pretty interesting."
Eto scribbled down another character concept in her notebook.
13th Ward.
After parting ways with Byakuya, Arima Kishou returned his quinque, "Yukimura," to its case inside his cello bag, then escorted Uruka Minami home.
Walking side by side, they looked just like two ordinary students heading home after school.
No one would ever suspect that one was a ghoul investigator and the other a ghoul.
If anything, they appeared more like a young couple in the eyes of passersby.
"This is my house. Thanks for walking me home, Arima-kun."
Standing at her doorstep, Uruka Minami smiled and thanked him.
"..."
Arima nodded slightly, saying nothing.
Despite his cold demeanor, Minami's smile remained.
Just as Arima was about to turn and leave, she suddenly spoke again.
"In the morning… can we walk to school together?"
Arima was silent for a moment.
"...Sure."
He didn't refuse Uruka Minami because he considered it a reasonable request. Besides, this way, he could ensure her safety from any potential attacks by the ghoul from yesterday.
"Mm!"
Uruka Minami's face immediately lit up with a bright smile.
It was the kind of radiant smile that could easily make any boy's heart skip a beat. But for Arima Kishou, there wasn't even the slightest change in his expression.
With that, Arima turned and left.
Back home, Uruka Minami found her thoughts drifting once more to that masked ghoul with the tiger-stripe pattern.
Who exactly was that person?
Not only were they terrifyingly strong, but they also knew her identity as "Lantern." She had always been cautious at school-so much so that even other ghouls whom she occasionally spoke to, had no idea about her true nature.
The thought made her uneasy. Unknown enemies were always the most frightening.
But in the end, she was destined to be captured and sent to a ghoul detention center, so she supposed it didn't matter much anymore.
Shaking off those lingering thoughts, Uruka Minami focused on studying for next week's exams.
Her top-ranking grades weren't just for show-she genuinely enjoyed studying while she was at school.
The next morning.
On the train heading to the 13th Ward, Uchiha Byakuya casually asked, "Arima, did anything happen after you walked Uruka-san home yesterday?"
"No. 'Lantern' doesn't seem to have any intention of resisting anymore," Arima replied matter-of-factly.
"That's not what I was asking… but whatever, with your personality, it's not like you'd get anywhere that fast anyway."
Byakuya's words were somewhat vague.
Arima, as expected, didn't quite understand. "Anywhere with what?"
It never even crossed his mind that his superior was subtly prying into whether he and the ghoul "Lantern" had made any progress romantically.
"Nothing."
Byakuya didn't bother clarifying.
"By the way, when we get to the 13th Ward station, I'll be heading to 'Lantern' first," Arima stated.
He no longer referred to her as "Uruka-san"-it was now just "Lantern."
"Mm, good luck with that."
Byakuya's tone carried a hint of amusement.
Arima, of course, took it at face value, thinking his superior was simply encouraging him in his duties.
Upon arriving in the 13th Ward, Arima went straight to Uruka Minami's house and waited outside.
He didn't call out to her or ring the doorbell. He simply stood there, waiting.
It was only when Uruka Minami happened to glance out her window that she noticed him.
"Ah! Arima-kun, why didn't you say anything? Have you been waiting long?"
Arima looked up at the second-floor window, where she stood, seemingly still finishing up her morning preparations.
"No. I just got here."
"Oh, that's good then."
Uruka Minami glanced at the clock on the wall-it was precisely 7:00 AM.
She thought to herself, Arima-kun sure is early… Are all CCG investigators this disciplined?
Although she herself had woken up early, she had spent quite a bit of time fixing her appearance-mimicking human girls who liked to dress up for school.
Not wanting to keep Arima waiting too long, she quickly slung her schoolbag over her shoulder. Before leaving, she grabbed a piece of bread from the table and bit into it.
As she stepped out the door, Arima noticed her walking toward him with the bread still in her mouth.
"…Ghouls aren't supposed to be able to eat human food."
Uruka Minami grinned and replied, "That's true, but I just wanted to try mimicking those manga heroines."
Minami smiled as she spoke.
"You know, the ones who dash out of their house, late for school, with a piece of bread in their mouth, it gives off a certain feeling, doesn't it?"