At this point, Byakuya, Eto, and Roma joined Furuta on his trip to 6th Ward. The group was quite the show of force.
Currently, Rize was living in 6th Ward alongside Shachi. In this timeline, Rize had left the Washuu clan much earlier than she did in the original story, so she wasn't nearly as rebellious.
In fact, she was rather well-behaved — willing to listen to Shachi's guidance and mostly staying out of trouble.
With Shachi now overseeing 6th Ward, the area had aligned itself with the TSC, resisting the Dragon Orphans and striving to coexist peacefully with humans. Their ghouls survived by feeding only on corpses or on specialized nutritional substitutes developed by the TSC.
Life for Shachi and Rize was relatively stable, interrupted only by occasional skirmishes with those Dragon Orphans appearing throughout the area.
Still, Rize had been visibly uneasy lately.
Shachi had a good idea why. It was all about that boy—Furuta.
Back when he brought Rize to 6th Ward, he had explained Furuta's circumstances to her. Rize had listened and even seemed to understand.
But the boy never came to see her—not even once. And while Rize deeply disliked the Washuu clan, she was also being stubborn, refusing to go to them to find Furuta.
Which led to the current deadlock between them.
"Rize, maybe we should go visit Furuta" Shachi finally said.
"This can't go on forever."
Having devoted his life to martial arts and never been interested in women, Shachi had no experience in these matters. He could only offer blunt, practical advice.
"No" Rize replied flatly, clearly still sulking.
It was as if she needed Furuta to come find her first.
"But if you keep waiting like this, that brat might end up with someone new" Shachi said, half-serious. "He's the Leader of Washuu now—he can have any girl he wants. Who knows when one will catch his eye?"
As soon as he said that, he paused — something about it felt weird.
He remembered: they were both still kids, and yet here they were dealing with relationship drama like adults...
He couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "So young, yet already so cunning."
"Hmm..." Rize looked troubled. She couldn't deny the possibility.
After hesitating a moment, she finally relented.
"Fine... we'll go see him in a bit."
"Alright" Shachi said, just about to say more when suddenly his expression shifted. He seemed to sense something. "Actually, scratch that—we don't need to go. He's already on his way here."
"Furuta? He's here?" Rize perked up.
"Yes, and he didn't come alone" Shachi confirmed with a nod.
Though among those approaching, there was one particular presence Shachi found unpleasant.
Of course — it was Roma.
He hadn't expected her to come along.
Rize, meanwhile, looked genuinely happy.
Soon after, Furuta arrived—with Byakuya, Eto, and Roma in tow.
"You came too, huh? And brought the child of Kuzen with you..." Shachi addressed Byakuya and Eto.
Being referred to as Kuzen's child didn't bother Eto in the slightest. She smiled and nodded.
"I didn't have much going on. Thought I'd drop by and see little Rize."
As for Roma — Shachi outright ignored her.
It was obvious he didn't like her. Probably because she was the infamous mastermind behind the Clowns.
"Aww, ignoring me? How tragic~" Roma said playfully.
"So what are you doing here?" Shachi asked with a chilly tone.
"I'm just here to watch. Promise I won't cause any trouble" Roma said with a grin.
"Do what you want" Shachi said, too disinterested to argue.
As long as she wasn't trying to stir up chaos, he didn't care. And since she came with Byakuya, she likely wouldn't dare act out in his presence anyway.
Meanwhile, Furuta was now face-to-face with Rize.
"Rize..." he began, about to explain everything.
But Rize cut him off.
"No need. I already know what happened. But the fact that it took you this long to come see me? I'm not forgiving that so easily."
"Eh—?" Furuta had thought clearing things up would be enough. Guess not.
He remembered Eto's advice: you'll need to make it up to her. But he didn't know how to comfort girls. He was at a total loss.
What do I do...?
He looked helplessly toward Byakuya and Eto for help—only for Rize to suddenly grab his face and turn it back toward her.
Furuta looked at her, confused.
Rize leaned in slightly. "Kiss me on the forehead" she said. "Then I'll forgive you."
Furuta froze.
He hadn't expected that at all.
Wait, what...?
"If you hesitate" Rize added calmly, "I'll definitely not forgive you."
Furuta, flustered and blushing, quickly leaned forward and gave her a shy kiss on the forehead.
Rize's lips curled upward in a satisfied smile.
Her face was a little pink too, but clearly she'd taken the lead here—Furuta was completely under her control.
"Well, looks like we don't need to worry about them anymore" Byakuya said with a calm nod.
"Yeah. Kids these days sure know how to play the game" Eto laughed.
Roma, who was watching with obvious amusement, turned to Shachi and teased,
"So it's true—you're actually raising a daughter now?"
"What of it?" Shachi responded dryly.
"Nothing wrong with it. Just feels odd considering your personality" Roma smirked.
"Though I am surprised you haven't put her through martial arts training yet."
Clearly, Roma knew Shachi well.
The Clowns had always had a strong intel network.
"..."
Shachiignored her, choosing silence over engagement.
"Okay, I forgive you now" Rize finally said to Furuta, clearly satisfied.
Then she leaned in and whispered in his ear,
"But if you ever fall for another girl... I'll eat both of you."