Campione: Strongest# 432: The Void Slowly Fills

SHIKI's pace was deliberately slow. Like a curious child, she paused frequently to observe the shops on both sides of the street, occasionally stepping inside for a closer look.

However, despite walking for four hours on the journey home, she only purchased one item: a red-and-black checkered leather jacket from a small clothing store.

She bought it only after Haru, on an impulse, asked if she needed something to fend off the lingering cold. The bill, naturally, fell to Haru.

“You brought it up, so of course, you pay, right? Besides, I don’t carry cash,” SHIKI had said, patting her pocketless kimono with a wicked smile.

The rhythmic clack-clack of her wooden geta provided a steady beat.

The towering skyscrapers of downtown began to give way to rows of single-family, Japanese-style homes.

Ahead, the dark green bamboo forest grew larger in her view, ancient structures faintly visible between the trees.

“By the way, Uncle, what exactly do you like about me? I feel like I need to fix it.”

“I like your face. So, are you going to get plastic surgery?”

“No thanks. I don’t like stuffing my body with foreign materials.”

“Huh, we’re almost home. See you next time, then.”

The moment she saw the sprawling complex of buildings, SHIKI abruptly halted her conversation.

Her vibrant, cheerful expression instantly vanished, replaced by an icy coldness.

“…Ryougi Shiki.” Haru looked at the sudden shift in personality with a hint of surprise.

“Yes, it’s me,” Shiki replied, glancing at him and nodding slightly.

It seemed she didn't feel like talking. The atmosphere plunged into a strange silence. Only the crisp, rhythmic clack-clack of her wooden geta could be heard.

Shiki brushed aside her wind-swept hair, walking half a step ahead of him, her face maintaining its usual frigid composure.

The only difference was in her dark, onyx-like eyes. As she walked, she continuously glanced back at the calm Haru from the corner of her eye. Her constant, stealthy glances were undeniably comical, even on her unsmiling face.

Haru suppressed a smile, maintaining his impassive expression, waiting to see what interesting move she would make next.

However, Shiki made no move until they reached the stone-paved path leading up the mountain. She simply maintained her sideways watch. The distance between them was less than a meter, yet they walked in silence. Normally, this would be extremely awkward.

But Shiki didn’t find it awkward at all. Instead, she felt a strange sense of fulfillment.

She raised her brow slightly, having only just noticed the anomaly: simply being near Haru made the lifelong void inside her feel as if it were being filled, radiating an inexplicable warmth. The perpetually suppressed emotions within her felt ready to burst forth, yet, strangely, the murderous impulse that lived within her surged with an almost joyful intensity.

If this had been before today, she would have already grabbed the hidden short sword in her sleeve. But now, she only wanted to prolong this strange silence.

The walk ended as they reached the familiar main gate. Looking at the tall wooden structure and the Ryougi family crest, Shiki stopped.

She lifted her hand to knock, but as the back of her hand touched the wood, she paused.

“I don’t want you following me inside,” she said, coldly dismissing him. She knocked twice.

“Oh,” Haru replied flatly, his tone unconcerned.

Creak—!

The wooden gate slowly opened, and a middle-aged woman in a white kimono appeared.

“Young Lady?!” the woman, clearly a family servant, gasped in surprise. “Mr. Akiha! Mr. Akiha! The Young Lady is back!” she called out loudly.

In less than a minute, a man in a black suit with black-framed glasses jogged to the gate and bowed slightly.

“Young Lady, you’ve finally returned.” Then, he added, “The Master is furious about you skipping your kendo lesson. Be careful.”

Faced with the butler’s kind warning, Shiki maintained her detached expression, merely nodding in acknowledgment.

She hesitated for a moment, then said, her voice flat, “Akiha, the person behind me is my friend. Arrange a guest room for him.”

“Friend?” Akiha froze. He took the silk handkerchief from his jacket pocket and wiped his glasses. “Young Lady, if I’m not mistaken, you came back alone?”

Shiki’s eyes widened. She quickly spun around to look at the empty space behind her, her face turning from cold to utterly bewildered.

“Never mind. I must have been mistaken,” she said, biting her lip, a faint blush and a hint of frustration on her face.

Before Akiha could reply, Shiki, her face slightly flushed, strode towards her room.

“The Master is waiting for you… well, this is going to be trouble,” Akiha tried to stop her, but then helplessly lowered his hand, a wry smile on his face.

————

1 a.m. In Shiki’s bedroom.

The young woman silently got up and put on her new mustard-yellow kimono, intending to go for a walk. This was a recent habit. Though the dark night was usually enough to make a normal person uneasy, it gave Shiki a strange feeling of peace. Wandering aimlessly in the dead of night was one of her hobbies.

“It’s a little cold,” Shiki muttered. After a moment’s hesitation, she picked up her new red leather jacket and put it on.

“I’ll take the back way.”

Her bedroom window faced the bamboo forest, and a stone-paved path led directly to the mountain road. This was her usual starting point. And her usual exit was, naturally, the window.

“Hmm?” The moment her hands rested on the window ledge, she saw the figure sitting cross-legged in the bamboo forest.

“Yo,” Haru greeted her with a smile.

Shiki froze. She was about to say something, but the memory of the embarrassing incident earlier made her face darken instantly.

Slam—!

She abruptly closed the window.

“Oh dear. I seem to have overdone the joke this afternoon,” Haru chuckled to himself. He wasn’t angry, simply using his Clairvoyance to observe Shiki through the wall.

Time passed slowly. About an hour later, the wooden window opened slightly, and a pair of dark eyes peeked out.

“Why isn't he leaving? How am I supposed to get out?” Shiki squatted on the tatami floor, gently nibbling the nail of her left thumb, glaring furiously at the calm Haru outside. Her angry gaze was fixed directly on him.

————

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

A loud rooster crowed as the rising sun shone down on the earth.

Shiki was still chewing her finger, her eyes wide with fury, glaring at Haru.

“You’ve been staring at me all night. Aren’t you tired?” Haru looked at her with a speechless expression.

“Are you leaving or not?” a hoarse, tired voice quietly sounded.

“Alright, I’m leaving. You get some sleep,” Haru stood up, patted his rear, and slowly walked away along the forest path.

It wasn't until his figure completely vanished that Shiki’s lips curved into a faint smile, as if she had won a battle.

“Ah-woo~” Shiki yawned and rubbed her numb legs. Without even taking off her clothes, she crawled into bed.

That night.

Shiki chewed furiously on the nail of her right thumb, glaring at Haru. “Why are you here again tonight!”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? My current objective is just to watch you,” Haru said, raising an eyebrow.

“…” Shiki fell silent.

The seventh night.

Shiki furiously threw the dented short sword in her hand away and, with bare feet, climbed back into her room through the window.

Haru lifted his right hand and blew on his index finger, saying with contempt, “You can’t even break the defense of my one finger. Who gave you the courage to resist?”

Shiki, who had been climbing halfway, shuddered and fell face-first onto the floor. Clutching her flushed cheek, she glared at Haru with hatred.

That month, Shiki continuously threw small objects from her room at Haru.

Two months later.

Shiki rested her chin on the windowsill and looked at the empty bamboo forest with surprise.

“He didn’t come today?”