Upon hearing Mado Kasuka's blessing, Byakuya felt a bit awkward. It wasn't because of the "may you have children soon" type of blessing; It was because Mado and Eto were supposed to be mortal enemies.
If Byakuya hadn't prevented the tragedy from unfolding, Kasuka would have died a gruesome death, and Mado Kureo would have spent the rest of his life consumed by hatred for the One-Eyed Owl.
So hearing Kasuka earnestly blessing him and Eto felt… surreal.
"Thank you for your kind words." Eto smiled warmly as she accepted the blessing.
But at that moment, she finally noticed something strange.
This young woman before her… looked somewhat familiar; It was like she had seen her somewhere before.
The next second, it hit her. She had seen this woman before-back in the 24th Ward.
And not just that, Eto remembered Byakuya had fought actually herself back then.
More importantly however, he had fought her to protect this woman.
Even after realizing the truth, Eto's expression didn't change at all; She continued to smile sweetly, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Akira, say hello to the young lady."
Since Kasuka now fully believed Eto was Byakuya's wife, and given that Byakuya had done so much for the Mado family, her impression of Eto was naturally quite positive.
"Hello, Onee-san." The little Akira politely greeted Eto.
"Aren't you adorable~" Eto gently patted Akira's head.
It was a picture-perfect moment-the two women smiling and chatting like good friends.
No one would have ever imagined that just a short while ago, they were supposed to be mortal enemies.
Watching Eto getting along so well with the Mado family, Byakuya still felt a little weird about it.
But… wasn't this exactly what he had hoped for?
With that thought, he quickly moved on. "By the way, Eto; did you come here just to see me, or is there something else?"
This was, after all, the first time Eto had come looking for him at the CCG.
And not just anywhere-she had come all the way to the 1st Ward's headquarters.
It was only natural for Byakuya to assume she had some kind of important reason.
Luckily, since Eto had inherited Kuzen's bloodline, the CCG's RC gates wouldn't detect her, and on top of that, the Washuu clan had no idea who she really was.
"What? Can't I just come see my dear husband?" Eto teased playfully.
Of course, her real reason for coming was because Byakuya had told her about Furuta Nimura and Rize; She knew he would be bringing them to the CCG today, so she wanted to see them in person.
However, with so many eyes on them, she obviously couldn't say that outright.
If she brought up Furuta Nimura and Rize, it would be too easy to draw suspicion from the Washuu clan.
So, as she spoke to Byakuya, she subtly shifted her gaze-just for a fraction of a second-toward where Furuta and Rize were standing.
It was a movement so small that the average person wouldn't even notice.
But Byakuya's perception was far beyond average.
He immediately understood her signal.
"Uchiha Byakuya and his wife really do seem to have a deep bond." Kureo Mado sighed in admiration.
"Tch. You're making it sound like we're old." Kasuka complained lightly.
At that moment, Eto walked over to Furuta and Rize. "You two must be Byakuya's disciples, right?"
"He's mentioned you before." She smiled as she spoke-her sharp green eyes filled with interest.
"Ah, y-yes, Eto-nee…" Nimura Furuta nodded nervously. Being suddenly approached by Yoshimura Eto, he became a bit flustered.
"If I remember correctly, your name is Furuta, right?" Eto grinned playfully before turning to Rize. "And this little girl here, Rize… Is she your girlfriend?"
"Eh?!" Nimura immediately blushed. "No, no, no! We're not like that! We're just childhood friends!"
"Ohhh~ Childhood friends, huh?" Eto's smile widened mischievously. "Well, that just means it's only a matter of time, right? Do your best, little boy."
"U-uh…" Nimura mumbled softly. With Rize standing right there, and Eto openly teasing him like this, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
However, Rize herself didn't seem too fazed by it. She wasn't the type to get shy easily, nor did she care too much about these things.
Since she and Furuta were indeed close, it didn't really matter how others perceived their relationship.
Eto's sudden intrusion into the conversation was nothing more than a brief comedic moment, Byakuya soon returned to training Furuta.
As for Rize, since she wasn't interested in training, Byakuya didn't force her.
The session continued until evening. Byakuya barely broke a sweat, whereas Furuta lay collapsed on the ground, completely exhausted.
"You shouldn't push yourself too hard." Byakuya advised calmly. "Pace yourself properly."
"I-It's fine… I can… keep going…" Furuta panted, refusing to give up.
Meanwhile, Rize crouched down beside him and poked his cheek with her finger.
Though it looked like she was checking on him, it felt more like teasing.
Just then, Eto approached with a towel in hand; Even though Byakuya wasn't sweating at all, she tiptoed up and gently wiped his face.
It was completely unnecessary, but Byakuya didn't reject her.
Since Eto was in a good mood, he figured there was no harm in letting her do as she pleased.
Watching the scene unfold, the surrounding investigators felt like they were being force-fed dog food.
And not just any dog food-but the purest, most youthful kind.
"Damn… This is making me jealous."
"Ugh, now I want a girlfriend too. …Then again, knowing our line of work, I might just get killed by a ghoul before that happens."
"Calm down. Even if you did get a girlfriend, you're never gonna find someone as cute as Eto-san. Only someone like Uchiha Byakuya could pull that off."
As CCG investigators, falling in love-let alone getting married wasn't easy.
Due to the high-risk nature of their job, most of them hesitated to commit to relationships.
Some remained single until retirement. Others ended up dating fellow investigators, since at least that way, they both understood the risks involved.
Meanwhile, Rize subtly observed Eto's actions.
Something about them seemed to spark an idea in her mind.
Instead of poking Furuta's cheek, she took a page from Eto's book and used her sleeve to gently wipe the sweat from his face.
"R-R-Rize?! W-what are you-?!" Furuta was utterly stunned. He had barely reacted to the teasing earlier, but this sudden act of kindness caught him completely off guard.
At that moment, Eto smirked slyly. "Looks like those two are pretty close, huh?" She turned to Byakuya and whispered teasingly- "We can't let them outdo us like that~"
Before suddenly leaning in and planting a soft kiss on his cheek.