Campione: Strongest# 426: A Frustrated Shiki

The morning sun shone down on the skyscrapers, slowly dispelling the night's chill.

Due to the surrounding tall buildings, the sun had only just begun to grace the small alleys of the suburbs. But surprisingly, the alley, which should have been cold, was held at a constant, comfortable 27 degrees Celsius.

The source of this anomaly was the silver-haired youth standing nearby.

The sudden transition from cold to warmth made Shiki uncomfortable.

She turned her head and looked at the youth beside her. With her natural sensitivity to abnormalities, she had immediately identified him as the cause.

His deliberate approach, his unclear purpose, and this unsolicited attention frustrated her immensely.

“What is your purpose in getting close to me?” she asked, her voice cold.

Haru raised an eyebrow, a little surprised by her directness.

'Her simple, blunt way of speaking is quite to my liking...' he thought.

His lips curved into a faint, wicked smile. “For now, just looking at you is enough. But if we’re talking about the ultimate goal, it’s to ‘hold you’.”

Shiki looked at him with a hint of surprise. It was clear from her expression that she hadn't expected him to be so straightforward.

After all, the subtext of ‘Hold you’ in Japanese was ‘I want to do intimate things with you.’ Combined with the undisguised possessiveness he had shown at their first meeting, she knew he was stating his true feelings.

His honesty only increased her disgust. To say that to a woman he had just met… it would be stranger if it didn't disgust her.

The moment he finished speaking, she said, her voice icy, “Get lost.”

Her wooden geta clattered against the stone tiles, a clear, sharp sound. After the sharp cry, she turned without hesitation and strode away, intending to lose him.

In just a short while, the fast-walking Shiki had passed the advancing Kaname and Masako. The irritable young woman ignored the astonished couple and headed straight for the bustling city center.

She chose the city center because she was worried about being attacked in the suburbs. If she were cornered in a remote area, calling the police would be useless.

She glanced over her shoulder and, with a frown, saw Haru following closely behind. She quickened her pace again, diving into the labyrinthine streets and trying to lose him.

…

Two hours later.

In a small alley connecting two commercial streets in the city center, Shiki leaned against a gray wall, panting.

Large beads of sweat slid down her forehead, tracing a path down her smooth cheeks and dripping onto the collar of her already-damp kimono.

Her feet, wrapped in tabi socks, ached, her arches cramping.

'Blisters?' she thought with a slight frown.

The combination of two hours of fast walking in ill-suited wooden geta would have exhausted even a strong man. She had only been able to persist this long thanks to her regular martial arts training.

An arm in a black knit shirt reached out before her.

A bottle of mineral water rested in his palm.

“Thank you.”

Exhausted, dehydrated, and with blisters on her heels, Shiki immediately took the water, twisted open the cap, and brought it to her lips. She was about to take a gulp when her face suddenly stiffened.

This water… who gave it to me?

Her face filled with confusion, she slowly turned her head and looked at Haru, who was leaning against the wall beside her with a smile. Her pupils constricted slightly.

“...” she frowned. Fearing the water was drugged, she suppressed the urge to drink and placed the bottle on the floor.

The sound of her wooden geta against the ground echoed once more.

Looking at the figure following closely beside her, the fatigue of her body, coupled with the frustration in her heart, made her face gradually darken. Her sharp gaze continuously searched her surroundings.

Found it.

A cold glint flashed in her dark eyes, and she quickened her pace.

Though the downtown area was bustling, it was not without its deserted alleys. The one she now entered was one of those rare places, used as a fixed garbage dump. Outside of disposal times, the foul odor kept it deserted.

It was exactly the place she needed.

She walked quickly through the small alley, Haru following closely behind, maintaining a distance of thirty centimeters. This constant, oppressive proximity frayed her nerves.

The moment she entered the alley, she had already determined by eye that the surrounding crowd would not pass the entrance for at least three minutes. Now, the narrow view at the exit also confirmed there were no pedestrians.

Confirming she was alone, with a skillful flick of her sleeve, the short sword tied within slid free and into her hand.

She reverse-gripped the sword and, with a flick of her arm, the scabbard separated from the blade. Pivoting on her right foot, she put the force of her waist, legs, and wrist into the strike. The short sword whistled through the air, a testament to the power of the blow.

“Haven't you followed me enough, you pervert!”

With a hysterical roar, she lunged forward, stabbing the short sword directly at his heart.

Clang—!

The piercing sound of metal clashing exploded in the alley.

The force of the rebound instantly numbed her hand and tore the skin between her thumb and forefinger, but the pain couldn't mask the astonishment in her heart.

This guy’s body… what is it made of?

She was very clear about the sharpness of her sword. It was a blade carefully forged by a skilled craftsman from special, high-tech steel. She had tested its legendary sharpness countless times.

“A heart-piercing blow. I thought after our meeting at the banquet, you would have understood the difference in our strength, Ryougi Shiki,” Haru said, raising an eyebrow with some surprise.

Run!!!

She made a split-second decision and, ignoring the pain in her feet, fled towards the alley entrance at high speed.