Ghoul: Starting with Sharingan

Roma had a feeling that Byakuya wasn't just a simple enemy.

So she tried striking up a conversation.

"Of course, I remember. I didn't expect to see you here, though."

Byakuya spoke with a blank expression.

Naturally, he had no intention of letting Roma know about his identity as the One-Eyed King.

This woman knew a lot of secrets — even meeting the real One-Eyed King hiding underground. But instead of getting involved, she had always chosen to be an amused bystander, watching from the sidelines.

Until, of course, she played her hand wrong and was killed by Kuki Urie.

"Aren't you going to arrest me? Scary Investigator?"

Roma asked, as if testing him.

"That's not part of my assignment. But if you insist, I can make it happen"

Byakuya replied indifferently.

The CCG had indeed issued a capture order for the SSS-rated ghoul known as the Dodgy Mother but his squad, the Squad 0, wasn't responsible for that mission.

Right now, their only priority was taking down Aogiri Tree.

"Then I'll pass. I don't feel like getting myself killed."

Roma put on an exaggeratedly scared expression.

"You know him too?"

Yomo asked Roma.

"Yeah, back when I was locked up in Cochlea, I was just a regular ghoul. During the Cochlea raid, I almost got killed by this handsome investigator when I tried to escape."

Roma replied, half-truthfully.

"Is that so…?"

Yomo wasn't about to take her words at face value.

There were no regular ghouls in Cochlea. The ones imprisoned there either had valuable intelligence or were extremely dangerous.

Still, she seemed to get along well with Uta, so she probably wasn't all that bad.

At that moment, Byakuya handed Roma the gift he had prepared for her.

Even though he never fully trusted this woman, he still had to follow through with the gesture. It was an expensive women's wristwatch.

"Wow, thank you so much!"

Roma was instantly delighted. "I almost feel like I should kiss you, handsome~"

The moment she said that, she felt an icy gaze pierce through her.

"Ahaha, just kidding!"

She laughed it off.

She was just testing the waters — curious about Byakuya and Eto's relationship.

The way she felt that cold gaze so instantly only confirmed her suspicions.

Roma had seen a lot in her time.

But a pairing between a ghoul and a CCG investigator?

Now that was a first.

Eto withdrew her gaze.

She could tell tha Roma was probing, not outright provoking her.

But she didn't care. She had no intention of hiding her relationship with Byakuya. If anything, letting Roma know was just as well.

"Eto…"

Yoshimura wanted to say something to her.

But Eto cut in, "There's really nothing that needs to be said. At the very least, I'm doing fine right now."

"That's… good."

Whatever Yoshimura had planned to say, he swallowed it back.

After a brief pause, he still ended up saying, "No matter what… I'm sorry for everything."

"You don't need to apologize to me. I understand."

Eto spoke calmly. "None of this was our fault. If we can just bring 'them' down, wouldn't all these problems be solved?"

By "them" she was, of course, referring to the entire Washuu clan.

Yoshimura instantly understood what she meant. His expression turned grim.

"But that's far too dangerous and unrealistic."

He knew all too well how powerful V was, and taking on the Washuu clan meant going against everything they controlled.

In the original story, the Washuu clan was wiped out far too easily—slaughtered by Furuta and his Clown allies.

But in reality, the Washuus were all born as natural kakuja, and no matter what, they weren't weak. The power-scaling had been completely broken in the story.

And there were many Washuu branch families — like the Arima, Ihei, and Soutsu families — all of whom were erased from the story without explanation.

"So what? Hiding and cowering in fear is better?"

Eto replied casually.

"..."

Yoshimura fell silent.

He could tell Eto looked down on him for staying in hiding like this.

So, rather than argue, he let it go.

Besides, compared to Eto, he knew he was just a coward.

He had given up on resisting V and the Washuu.

And with the guilt he carried toward Eto, he couldn't bring himself to refute her beliefs.

Yoshimura and Eto's conversation was kept quiet. The others — Hikari and the rest — were focused on Byakuya, so they didn't pay attention.

Only Mayu overheard them.

But she had no idea what "Mom" and "Grandpa" were talking about—it just sounded like riddles to her.

Since she didn't understand, she stopped listening altogether, instead taking her time sipping on the weird-but-interesting-tasting coffee.

"Anyway, I didn't come here to argue with you. Let's talk about something else."

Eto changed the subject, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere.

"Let's go upstairs, then. It'll be easier to talk there."

Yoshimura suggested.

"Mhm. Mayu, stay here with 'Papa' for a bit, okay?"

Eto told Mayu before following Yoshimura upstairs.

"You opened this café… was it to honor Mom?"

Eto asked.

In the journal Ukina had left behind, there weren't just secrets about V—there were also records of her time with Yoshimura.

That's how Eto knew her parents first met at a café.

"…Yes."

Just mentioning Ukina filled Yoshimura with guilt.

"It's a nice place. It really looks like you've been happy here with everyone. Good thing I have Byakuya and Mayu, or I might've been jealous."

Last time, she had been bitter about it.

But today, Eto could joke about it with a smile.

"..."

Yoshimura was silent for a moment.

Then, unable to hold back his curiosity, he finally asked,

"Eto… what exactly is your relationship with that guy?"