After the end of the "Dragon War," Tokyo began its reconstruction.
In areas where the damage wasn't too severe, civilians were already being gradually relocated back.
Both the CCG and Aogiri Tree members had increased their patrols, guarding against the possible reappearance of the Dragon Orphans at any time.
These Dragon Orphans didn't only attack humans; they would also launch indiscriminate attacks on ghouls. To both humans and ghouls, they were a common enemy.
The massive body of the Dragon, which had sprawled across much of Tokyo, was preserved.
Then again, there was no need for special efforts to preserve it; there weren't many people who could destroy something of that scale anyway.
Under the direction of Commissioner-General Uchiha Byakuya, the Dragon's body was placed under the management of the CCG, with research led by Akihiro Kanou and his team.
Of course, it was also time for the CCG to undergo a name change, continuing to call it the "Commission of Counter Ghoul" clearly no longer made sense.
Byakuya didn't directly disband the organization, but instead renamed it, forming a new institution composed of the original CCG personnel and ghouls from Aogiri Tree.
To put it simply, the former CCG and Aogiri Tree had been merged into one. Just like in the original work, the name was changed to TSC, short for Tokyo Security Committee.
This also saved Byakuya the trouble of coming up with a name himself.
It wouldn't be long before Tokyo would return to the peace it once had.
Not only that, but the first batch of Specially-Processed Ghoul Food had already begun distribution.
Humanity and ghouls had entered a relatively peaceful era.
Of course, there was no such thing as absolute peace; after all, there were plenty of criminals among humans themselves, let alone ghouls.
These kinds of issues would now be handled and regulated by the TSC, enforcing punishments as necessary.
Everything was unfolding just as Byakuya had originally envisioned. Still, there were things he hadn't yet accomplished, so there was no time to relax completely.
Washuu Estate.
Today, Byakuya had specially come to visit.
However, he didn't show up with any aggressive air. He calmly sat across from Washuu Tsuneyoshi and Washuu Yoshitoki, with Washuu Nimura seated beside him.
"This is my will."
At that moment, Tsuneyoshi didn't bother with pleasantries and directly placed a letter on the table.
Yoshitoki had already written his will as well; this one was addressed to Washuu Matsuri.
Matsuri was his son, and the one he was most concerned about. He was currently in Germany.
Looking at the wills on the table, Nimura felt uneasy. Though his father had stood against Byakuya-nii, he was still his father in the end.
"I never said I had to kill you. If you're willing to behave, I really don't have any reason to deal with you."
Byakuya said calmly, "Now that Nimura is the 'King' of Washuu, how to deal with you is up to him."
He handed over the decision-making authority directly to Nimura.
After all, killing couldn't solve everything, and Tsuneyoshi and Yoshitoki still had their uses.
For example, compared to Nimura, who had only just been appointed as the Washuu's King, Tsuneyoshi and Yoshitoki still held more sway when dealing with the Cabinet or pulling strings for bureaucratic matters.
Byakuya had no intention of ruling every little thing personally; he understood the importance of delegation.
Unless they were still harboring any crooked thoughts even now, Byakuya wouldn't hesitate to crush them like ants.
"..."
Washuu Tsuneyoshi and Washuu Yoshitoki were both a little stunned; they hadn't expected Byakuya to spare their lives.
However, they knew all too well that they no longer had the power to stir up even the slightest ripple. Before absolute power, they didn't have the tiniest chance. So, they had already given up.
Byakuya was in no rush to bother with them.
For now, there were more meaningful things to focus on, for example, a short vacation with Eto, after all, most of the trouble regarding the Dragon and Washuu has now finally been dealt with.
A few days later..
"Well, I guess I see the appeal, they really are pretty.." Yoshimura Eto said, gazing up at the falling Sakura petals.
It had been a few days since the Dragon incident was cleared up, with the trouble in Tokyo being so close to Kyoto; Byakuya thought it was a good opportunity.
He could finish his remaining mission and more importantly, spend some time with Eto; without it being interrupted.
Currently, Eto and Byakuya were on vacation, visiting a popular couples spot- Arashiyama, near the outskirts of Kyoto.
Byakuya's eyes weren't drawn to the petals but rather Eto as he spoke, "I didn't expect you to like something like this."
"Huh? Of course I do," Eto looked back from Byakuya to the Trees again, "I just never really cared about it before.."
Then, before Byakuya could respond-
Eto locked her arm with his, wearing a smile, "So~ where to next?"
Byakuya felt a small headache, "You decide.."
"Sure, Sure~" Eto said as she pulled him along, down the wooden bridge and along some street stalls.
A flyer by the roadside ended up catching Eto's eyes, "Hey, how about this?"
Byakuya glanced at it, "The bamboo grove?"
Eto pulled him along, "Ironic isn't it? Bamboo is supposed to ward of evil spirits~"
The days passed rather quickly and soon, two weeks had already fled by.
Anteiku Café.
On a rather warm afternoon, Byakuya and Eto arrived at the entrance of the café.
Pushing open the door, they were greeted by the familiar faces inside.
Even though they had only been away for just under half a month, both Byakuya and Eto felt like it had been a long time.
"Byakuya-kun, Eto, you're back."
Seeing them walk in from outside, Yoshimura Kuzen immediately smiled.
"Yeah."
Byakuya nodded slightly.
"I heard you two went on your honeymoon. So? Got any photos to show for it?"
At that moment, Kirishima Hikari spoke up.
Byakuya gave an awkward smile.
"Ah… we didn't really take any."
"That's a shame then."
Hikari said with a hint of regret.
Just then, Uruka Minami and Arima Kishou happened to be sitting inside the café as well.
"Eh? So Uchiha-kun and Eto-sensei really were on a honeymoon?"
Minami exclaimed in surprise.
Clearly, she hadn't known about it. Though she hadn't seen Byakuya or Eto for several days, she'd assumed they were just busy with other things.
"Ah, right… I guess I forgot to tell you, Minami-chan."
Hikari said with an apologetic smile. Then she smoothly shifted the topic toward her.
"Speaking of which, when are you and your Arima-kun going on a honeymoon too? Studying and working every day; you guys really should take some time to relax together."
"N-No! I mean… I… I…"
Minami instantly became a flustered mess, too shy to form a proper sentence.
"A vacation? That doesn't sound bad.."
Arima, on the other hand, remained calm and expressionless but surprisingly, he responded to the topic.
Ever since the CCG was rebranded, and especially after the upheaval of the Washuu Clan and V, Arima's life had become far more peaceful.
He was no longer bound by the duties and manipulations of the Washuu or V.
He only needed to occasionally go out and deal with some hard-to-handle Dragon Orphans or high-level rogue ghouls.
The rest of the time, he attended school as usual and spent nearly every day with Minami.
At present, the Dragon Orphans hadn't begun evolving yet, and they were still at a disadvantage against the combined efforts of humans and ghouls.
"Oh my~ Your Arima-kun already said the words. What's there to be shy about now?"
Hikari continued to tease Minami.
"Eh…?"
Minami was clearly taken aback; she didn't expect Arima-kun to actually respond to something like that.
"So even you've finally woken up, Kishou?"
Byakuya couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
....
So, for those wondering about the whole Honeymoon thing, that's an excuse used for the whole AOT mess in the raws.
I decided to use it to stitch things together and avoid inconsistency later down the line, since, annoyingly enough, literary girl didn't just add a few Aot chapters but strung parts of it all throughout these later chapters, even though the CN readers weren't interested either.
I kept it short since I didn't want to change the tone completely, have a good one.