"By the way, do you think Mayu can handle bathing on her own?"
At that moment, Yoshimura Eto suddenly thought of this issue.
She figured Mayu had probably never used any of the "tools" for bathing before.
"Well… that's hard to say."
Uchiha Byakuya replied.
"I'd better go check on her."
As she walked toward the bathroom, Eto suddenly turned back and said,
"You better not peek! Or else I'll call the police~"
It was obvious she was joking, but Byakuya still responded without missing a beat:
"Not happening."
With that, Eto entered the bathroom to check on Mayu.
To her surprise, Mayu hadn't even closed the door properly.
Eto had originally planned to knock, but when she lightly tapped on the door, it just swung open.
Inside, she saw Mayu standing there, completely lost.
She knew she was supposed to use water to take a bath, but she had no idea where the water was supposed to even come from.
Was she supposed to bathe using the sink's faucet?
"Mayu, you don't know how to use any of this, do you?"
As expected, Eto's concern was right.
"Ah… I've never used anything like this before..."
Mayu's face turned red with embarrassment.
"It's okay. I'll help you."
Ten minutes later.
Eto had dried Mayu off with a towel and helped her change into the clothes she had prepared.
She then pulled Mayu over to a mirror.
"How do you feel? It's a little big, but still looks great on you."
"It looks amazing!"
Mayu was stunned by her own reflection.
Her eyes lit up instantly.
"For now, you can stay here with us. We'll help you find a new place later."
Eto said.
The "place" she was referring to was actually Anteiku in the 20th Ward.
"Mm..."
Hearing those words, Mayu suddenly felt a bit reluctant.
Because it meant she would eventually have to separate from Byakuya-nii and Eto-nee.
But they were the kindest people she had ever met.
Still, she didn't want to burden them any further.
After all, they had already helped her so much.
Even though she was hungry, she didn't dare to mention it.
In her mind, asking humans for human flesh was unthinkable.
Even if it was just corpse meat, it still didn't feel right.
So she decided; she would go out on her own and see if she could find any human corpses.
However she realized that this wasn't the 19th Ward anymore.
Being in a completely unfamiliar place made her uneasy.
After thinking for a while, Mayu made up her mind to go out and find something to eat.
She turned to Byakuya and Eto and said,
"Byakuya-nii, Eto-nee, I want to go out for a bit. I might be back late."
From her past experience; since she didn't have a designated feeding ground, finding a human corpse was extremely difficult.
It was entirely possible that she could spend an entire day searching and still find nothing.
On top of that, she had to avoid other ghouls as much as possible.
"Hmm?..."
Eto immediately guessed the reason.
"You're hungry, aren't you?"
"Ah..."
Mayu froze.
She couldn't believe Eto-nee had seen right through her!
Mayu was completely stunned.
Eto-nee actually saw right through her?
She couldn't help but feel a bit shocked. Wasn't Eto-nee a little too terrifying?
"Um... yeah, I'm hungry. The last time I ate was several days ago, and I didn't have much then..."
Since she'd already been found out, Mayu had no choice but to admit it.
"But I don't want to trouble you. Eto-nee, you and Byakuya-nii probably don't like this kind of thing, right? I can just go out and find food on my own."
"This is nothing. Just wait here for a bit, I'll be back soon."
With that, Eto turned and left.
Of course, she was heading back to the 24th Ward's hideout to retrieve some of the preserved flesh stored there.
"Uh..."
Mayu was at a loss for what to do.
She hadn't specifically mentioned that she could only sustain herself by eating human flesh.
What if Eto-nee went out to buy her human food instead? That would just be a waste of her kindness.
But then again, Byakuya-nii was a ghoul investigator, so Eto-nee should know about a ghoul's dietary needs, right?
"Don't worry, Mayu, she's just going to bring back some preserved flesh for you," Byakuya said to her.
"Oh!"
Mayu immediately smiled.
Come to think of it, Byakuya-nii was a ghoul investigator, yet she didn't feel afraid of him at all.
Instead, she felt a strong sense of security.
"Byakuya-nii, even though you're a ghoul investigator, you really don't hate ghouls, do you?" Mayu couldn't help but ask.
"It depends," Uchiha Byakuya replied honestly. "If it's a brutal ghoul that kills indiscriminately, of course, I'd despise them but if it's someone like you, Mayu, I don't see any difference between you and a regular human girl; being born a ghoul wasn't your fault to begin with."
"Ohh..."
Mayu felt more and more that Byakuya-nii was incredibly kind. He actually saw her as just a normal girl.
Before this, she had always believed that "Doves" were terrifying enemies-after all, that's what other ghouls had always told her.
"Um..."
Mayu hesitated for a moment before curiously asking, "Byakuya-nii, do you and Eto-nee have a baby? Like how my parents had me?"
"...Ahem."
Byakuya cleared his throat. "No, uh... how do I put this... anyway, not yet."
He had wanted to explain, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.
Honestly, Eto always said things that could be easily misunderstood-especially in front of such a pure and naive child.
"I see..."
Mayu hesitated again before finally asking, "Then... can I call you 'Papa' and 'Mama'?"
It wasn't just a random thought. Byakuya-nii and especially Eto-nee gave her the feeling of a father and mother.
"This..."
Byakuya felt like this might not be a good idea.
If the CCG found out that he suddenly had a daughter, wouldn't that just make things even more complicated?
Not to mention, it might even draw suspicion from the Washuu clan.
"I'm not allowed to? I'm sorry, I was being too forward," Mayu quickly apologized, looking pitiful.
More than anything, she was afraid of making Byakuya-nii and Eto-nee dislike her.
"Let's wait for Eto to come back before deciding," Byakuya said, unable to bear seeing her looking so dejected.
He would have to discuss this properly with Eto when she returned.
As long as she didn't pull another stunt like last time; dragging Mayu into the CCG headquarters or some public place and casually calling him "the father of her child"-then there shouldn't be too much of a problem.