Campione: Strongest# 442: The Pickup

Mikiya Kokutou was a high school student, freshly graduated from middle school and about to enter the next phase of his life.

He didn't dye his hair or keep it long—he wore no accessories, preferring simple, dark clothes.

He lived a perfectly ordinary life: owned a house, had a sister, and his parents weren’t overbearing. He expected his future to continue along the same unremarkable path.

Graduate, go to college, get a job as an office worker, meet a pleasant woman through an introduction, get married, and live out his days in quiet contentment.

He thought his life would continue in this ordinary fashion. But in this season of falling snow, he encountered his greatest anomaly.

Holding a black umbrella, Mikiya walked down the winding mountain road, heading home. A relative who owned a shop had asked him to help out, so he frequently took this sparsely populated route, a thirty-minute shortcut over the hill to the next town. It was rare to see anyone on this road—to see two people at once was astonishing.

He subconsciously looked at the pair before him, and his world froze.

—————

“Hmm, what’s wrong with him?” Haru asked, glancing at the stunned youth five meters away.

“That’s the normal human reaction to seeing the Origin—me. Are you jealous?” Root Shiki said, her lips curving into a smile as she gracefully hooked her arm through his.

Her sudden movement startled Mikiya, whose gaze shifted from her to Haru, then froze again.

Haru’s lip twitched wildly under the youth’s intense stare. “What is his deal?”

“The Origin of ‘Ordinariness’ reacts keenly to anomalies. Whether it’s my ‘All of Nothing’ or your off-the-charts abnormality, it’s enough to capture its full attention.” Root Shiki frowned slightly, pressing a hand to her forehead with a look of feigned distress.

“I think you should be worried. He might steal your girlfriend.”

“…Get lost,” Haru glared at her.

“Talking to me like that? Aren’t you afraid I’ll run off with him?” she teased, resting her head on his shoulder.

“…Stop messing around. Let’s go home,” Haru said, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the Ryougi mansion. He felt that if he didn't leave now, the little imp beside him would surely wear him down.

“Hehe,” Root Shiki chuckled, allowing him to lead her slowly away.

The two, hand-in-hand, smiled at Mikiya, who was still frozen in the middle of the road, and gradually disappeared. Long after their backs had vanished, Mikiya finally snapped out of his daze and quickly turned, searching for any trace of them.

“Were those two a couple? Why do I care so much?” he scratched his head, completely bewildered. Unable to figure out why he was so focused on the short-haired girl, he smacked his forehead.

“Forget it. I should go home.” Mikiya glanced at the old mansion nestled in the bamboo grove, opened his umbrella, and headed down the hill.

Meanwhile, in the old graveyard of Mifune City.

A hand violently smashed through a tombstone, and a man clawed his way out of the grave.

“Ptooey!” Ryuunosuke Uryuu spat out a mouthful of dirt, brushed the dust from his forehead, and climbed out.

“Valery, you’re still here?” he asked, looking strangely at Valery Fernand Vandelstam.

The old Dead Apostle Ancestor, still clad in his dark suit, looked at the now pale-skinned Ryuunosuke with a hint of surprise.

“A slight miscalculation. To become a high-ranking Dead Apostle in just a year and a half… I didn't expect you to have the potential to become an Ancestor of the same rank as myself.”

“Eh? Really, Valery? I can really become a King?” Ryuunosuke asked, his face flushed with excitement.

“Mm, the possibility is high,” Valery nodded, musing. If he hadn't sensed Ryuunosuke’s potential during the conversion, he wouldn’t have come all this way to witness his 'rebirth.' He desperately needed powerful help.

Though he could control him through bloodline, Valery, a master of human nature, knew the value of a trusted ally. In his eyes, despite his homicidal tendencies, Ryuunosuke was a reliable partner.

“A possibility, huh?” Ryuunosuke scratched his head, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“Enough talk. Welcome to the ranks of the Dead Apostles,” Valery extended his hand.

“Hehe, please take care of me, Valery,” Ryuunosuke said, shaking his hand and laughing loudly.

“Then, as your mentor, I shall teach you the ways of a Dead Apostle hunter.”

“I’d love that!”

—————

Two months later, at the gate of Kansan High School, students poured out, heading home.

Mikiya Kokutou flipped through his notebook. It contained the identities and information he had gathered on Ryougi Shiki and Haru.

This was his special talent: finding any trace of anyone in the city.

“Huh, they’re not a couple…” Mikiya frowned slightly, inexplicably pleased by this discovery.

'Even if they aren't married, they’re probably dating. Why am I so happy about this?' He smacked his forehead.

Just then, he paused, his eyes widening. He quickly jogged forward.

—————

“Could you wait a moment?”

The sudden male voice made Shiki stop. She turned and looked at the newcomer with a cold expression. “Yes?”

Mikiya opened his mouth. Now that he had called out, seeing her look at him like a stranger, he realized he had been too impulsive. Looking at her face, which was gradually darkening with impatience, a sudden impulse gave him courage.

“I’m Mikiya Kokutou. Um, this is the second time we’ve met. I didn't realize you attended this school. Can we be friends?”

“No,” Shiki replied coldly, turning and walking away.

“Ugh,” Mikiya lamented, close to tears.

Just then, a large hand pressed down on his shoulder.