Tokyo, Ward 13, Seisei High School.
Ito Ryo leaned back in his seat, yawning. Faint dark circles were visible under his eyes, and his fingers unconsciously tapped the instrument case beside him. He couldn't hear a word of the teacher's lecture.
After all, he wasn't a student at all, but an Investigator from White Day Garden, deployed into society to eliminate Ghouls, taking over some of the duties of CCG Investigators.
The CCG, or Commission of Counter Ghoul, was responsible for leading human Investigators against man-eating Ghouls, while White Day Garden was a special Investigator facility built by the Washuu Clan within the CCG.
After a period of hellish training at White Day Garden, he had finally emerged from that dreadful place in one piece. His current plan was to wait for the little angel Kaneki to liberate the world in over a decade.
He just wanted to be a lazy bum, avoid all high-risk jobs, live peacefully for over a decade, and then quietly live out his life.
Although he also wanted to live a peaceful life, he had been on a mission last night, and now he truly had no energy to continue listening.
"Ryo-kun? Didn't you sleep well again last night?" Sanba Rika quietly leaned over, pushing her notes towards him.
Sanba Rika was also a transfer student, having only transferred to Seisei High School a few months ago. A faint scent of cherry blossoms always emanated from her petite body, and she had thick, fluffy dark brown hair that reached her waist. She was currently his girlfriend.
"Yeah, things were a bit busy last night," Ito Ryo responded wearily, "Too many things... I'll have to borrow your notes to copy today."
Screech—
Just as the two were chatting, the sound of a wooden door being pulled open rang out. A tall, slender blue-haired young man walked into the classroom, carrying a half-human-sized instrument case on his back.
"Excuse me."
Seeing the young man's figure, Ito Ryo, who had been dozing, instantly woke up and sat upright. Only one thought ran through his mind: What kind of joke is this?!
The blue-haired young man stood at the doorway expressionlessly, with the homeroom teacher following behind him. Seeing that the class teacher's lecture had stopped, the homeroom teacher then led the blue-haired young man to the podium.
"This is our new classmate who just transferred today. Let's give him a warm welcome!"
The homeroom teacher's awkward welcoming ceremony wasn't particularly popular with the students; only sparse applause rang out below the stage. However, the blue-haired young man didn't seem to care about any of this.
"I am Arima Kishou. Please take care of me."
Amidst the sparse applause, Arima Kishou's calm eyes swept across the entire classroom, completely ignoring the other ordinary students and directly landing on Ito Ryo.
"Classmate Arima, you can sit..." The homeroom teacher looked around, and his gaze naturally fell on the empty seat beside Ito Ryo, "You can sit next to Classmate Itou."
Arima Kishou nodded slightly. He took a step towards Ito Ryo with the instrument case, his movements completely without hesitation.
Clatter.
With the sound of a chair being pulled out, Arima Kishou sat down next to Ito Ryo. He unstrapped the instrument case from his back, and instead of casually placing it at his feet like Ito Ryo, he placed it in the space between the two of them.
The moment the case landed, it made a dull, solid thud, not the lightness of an ordinary instrument case, but rather the metallic texture of some material.
"Senior Itou, long time no see." Sitting next to Ito Ryo, Arima Kishou greeted him, "The higher-ups sent me to partner with you, responsible for clearing Ghouls in Ward 13. Please take care of me."
Ito Ryo was on the verge of tears. How could he not know who this guy in front of him was? This guy was not only the future Reaper of the CCG but also an old acquaintance from his time in White Day Garden.
He had originally thought that by leaving White Day Garden, he could avoid this troublemaker, but he hadn't expected him to return to his district just a few months later, and even as a partner... Washuu Yoshitoki! What in the world are you planning?! Believe it or not, I'll switch to Aogiri Tree in a minute... Oh, well, at this time, let alone Aogiri Tree, even Takatsuki Sen is probably holed up in some corner.
Ito Ryo forced a smile, "Long time no see, Arima."
Meanwhile, Sanba Rika, sitting to Ito Ryo's left, simply looked at Arima curiously for a moment before no longer paying attention, continuing to whisper with Ito Ryo.
"Alright, that concludes our class here."
"Um... Ryo-kun, are you going to have lunch with me today too? I prepared a bento for you today."
"Of course, I'll have lunch with you."
After the class teacher left, Arima tidied up the things on his desk and calmly looked at Ito Ryo, "Senior Itou, please come with me to the rooftop. I have something to tell you."
He paused, then glanced at Sanba Rika next to him, "It won't delay your lunch time."
"Understood, I'll be there."
Listening to Arima Kishou's cold words, Ito Ryo also felt a splitting headache. Although he really wanted to have lunch with Sanba Rika, Arima Kishou's matter was a bit more important.
Ito Ryo stood up and followed Arima Kishou to the rooftop.
Upon reaching the rooftop, Arima Kishou finally turned around and, with an expressionless face, said to Ito Ryo, "Senior Itou, Ghoul activity in Ward 13 has been unusually active recently, especially around the school."
"The higher-ups believe that your 'part-time' efficiency is insufficient to address the potential risks." Arima's voice showed no discernible fluctuation.
Ito Ryo suppressed his urge to roll his eyes. He just wanted to avoid high-risk missions; he wasn't slacking off all the time. Besides, even for high-risk missions, he would call other Investigators to gang up on Ghouls.
"So they sent you?" Ito Ryo twitched his lips.
He probably understood why the higher-ups sent Arima, this guy; they completely thought of Arima's high combat power like a brick, to be moved wherever there was danger.
However, this operation was not wrong. Given Arima's combat power, he could be sent anywhere there was danger to suppress it.
"It's a partnership, Investigator Itou Second Class." Arima corrected him expressionlessly, "We need to share information and cooperate."
"Senior Itou has been here longer and will be more familiar with the environment and potential anomalies. I am only responsible for being Senior Itou's subordinate."
Although Arima used all the honorifics, his expression didn't change at all. Honorifics were probably just a necessary lesson for this guy... "Anomalies, huh... The Ghouls within the school have basically been cleaned up by me. As for the streets outside, they're not within my jurisdiction. Ward 13 is chaotic enough as it is."
Arima nodded slightly, acknowledging his words, and his gaze shifted to the noisy campus below, "Tonight at seven, the target is the alley behind the 'Red Flower' bar."
"According to reliable intelligence, it has become a fixed feeding ground for several Ghouls, and we need to clear them out."
"Understood, I'll be there tonight."
Arima turned around and walked towards the rooftop entrance. As his hand reached the doorknob, Arima paused.
"Senior Itou, you are a CCG Ghoul Investigator. Don't forget this identity..."
After saying this, Arima didn't linger and walked straight down the stairs, leaving a bewildered Ito Ryo alone on the rooftop.
Is this Arima using x-ray vision?! This guy is definitely hinting at something!