Campione: Strongest# 435: Am I Interrupting?

Ding, dong, ding, dong—!

As the final bell of the day rang out, Shiki, who had been dozing at her desk, shot upright. The chair behind her, caught in her sudden movement, slammed against the desk behind it with a loud thud.

Creak—!

The abrupt noise made the teacher, who was just about to dismiss the class, choke on his words, biting his tongue. Tears welled up in his eyes.

The balding, middle-aged teacher shot an angry glare in the direction of the noise, but when he saw the culprit was Shiki, his anger instantly evaporated into panic.

“M-Miss Ryougi, was there... something wrong with my teaching?”

With any other student, the teacher could have pulled rank. But against the young lady of the Ryougi family... he’d rather not end up sleeping with the fishes in Tokyo Bay.

Shiki turned her head, her black, pearl-like eyes holding a deep, empty void—the kind of look one gives the dead.

‘I’m going to die! I’m going to die! I’m going to die!’

“...I just remembered I have something to do at home. Class is dismissed,” the teacher said, his face dazed. He quickly gathered his materials and fled the classroom without looking back.

“Hiss—! To scare off a teacher with a single look? As expected, the Ryougi family must be connected to the Yakuza.” The students sucked in a sharp breath, their faces filled with terror as they looked at Shiki.

She ignored their terrified gazes. In her view, these so-called classmates had less presence than a rock. If not for her family’s insistence that she at least graduate high school, she wouldn’t be wasting her time daydreaming in class.

Shiki left the school without a backward glance and, following the sidewalk, headed straight for the Asagami residence in the west district.

'Huh? We’re going to the Uncle’s place?' SHIKI asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.

'Mm. He didn’t come over last night,' Shiki replied, her brow furrowed, her words succinct. The disruption of her new routine made her feel a strange sense of unease.

'I mean, are you two ever going to stop? You just stare at each other all night. It’s been two months. Even if you sleep in class, your mind can’t take it.' SHIKI’s voice was filled with a helpless tone. As someone who also held control over the body, how could she not notice Shiki’s fatigue?

Shiki paused, and after a moment’s hesitation, she said, '...How about you control the body during the day, and I’ll take over at night? That way, we’ll both get enough rest.'

A large question mark appeared in SHIKI’s mind. Shiki, who had always forbidden her from interacting with the outside world, was now prepared to release her for a ‘boring’ nightly activity? So much for being afraid of her homicidal personality going on a killing spree. Why was she so easily letting her out now?

SHIKI felt that today’s Shiki was very abnormal.

'Though I’m not opposed to coming out to play. But, Shiki, you haven’t fallen for the Uncle, have you?' SHIKI asked with a wicked grin.

'It’s you who’s fallen for him. I’ve just gotten used to the nightly activity,' Shiki, now walking briskly, replied nonchalantly.

'...Shiki, we seem to have changed a lot recently,' SHIKI said after a long silence, a soft sigh escaping her.

Shiki fell silent. These past two months, SHIKI had been appearing more frequently, and her own cold personality seemed to have softened a little. The source of it all seemed to be that shameless, persistent guy.

While Shiki was lost in thought, on a nearby overpass, a burly, gloomy-looking man focused his grave gaze on her retreating back.

“An Origin of「Nothingness」, a truly remarkable existence. Well then, she’ll be the backup plan. The most important thing now is to achieve the「Paradox Spiral」.”

With that, a troubled look on his face, the middle-aged man strode off into the distance.

————

At the main gate of the Asagami residence.

Shiki stood before the three-meter-high, massive wooden gate, lost in silence. Having come here on a whim, she only now remembered that she seemed to have no reason to be here.

'To show up just because he didn’t come to watch us last night... that seems particularly stupid. And the Uncle will probably misunderstand,' SHIKI said, her tone awkward.

The person who understood Shiki best was herself. And unfortunately, SHIKI was part of that ‘self.’ She knew very well the real reason Shiki had come.

'Use my brother as an excuse? He’s been getting quite close with the Asagami family lately, hasn't he?' Shiki lifted her right hand and gently bit her fingernail, her voice filled with an anxious tone.

'It’ll definitely be exposed,' SHIKI sighed. How could she deceive others with a reason that couldn't even convince herself?

'To say you’re here because you’re concerned about your brother’s love life... according to the Uncle’s way of thinking, that’s something only a sister with a brother complex would do,' she said with a teasing tone.

The next second, she blinked. How did she get out?

'I can’t do it. You do it,' Shiki said, her tone flat.

————

“...Alright.” SHIKI shrugged. It was her turn to go and cause trouble for Haru.

Looking at the main gate, she turned her head to the surrounding wall, jogged forward, and with a few quick steps, she leaped over the high wall and into the courtyard.

“Since I’m looking for trouble, of course I have to sneak in!” she muttered and, like a wildcat, began to search the residence for Haru.

Familiar with the layout of Japanese architecture, she first came to the main living room. She slammed open the sliding door and, as if she were in her own home, brazenly began to inspect the room.

“Huh, found my target on the first try?” SHIKI froze, seeing Haru sitting cross-legged before her.

“...” Hearing the familiar, lively voice, Haru subconsciously turned his head.

“Why didn't you come over last night, Uncle?” she asked, getting straight to the point.

“Last night? I didn't come over?” Asagami Fujino said with a look of bewilderment. Thanks to Japan's... advanced education on certain matters, and Haru’s recent habit of not returning home at night, the young girl's mind immediately jumped to a certain restricted conclusion. This was, after all, a country where a terrifying number of young girls gained... experience... at an early age.

“There’s someone here... ah.” SHIKI turned her head. Looking at Fujino, who was only wearing white cotton pants and holding a uniform in her hands, she fell silent.

A man and a half-naked girl? Did they just take off their clothes?

The short sword tied to her kimono sleeve slid into her palm. She reverse-gripped the hilt and, with a flick, the scabbard separated from the blade, falling softly to the floor.

“I seem to be interrupting you,” she said, her brow arched, a humorless smile on her face.