Shinji Matou At Your Service

Chapter 176: Boy Meets Girl

This is a somewhat cliché story, where a boy meets a girl.

The boy's name is Mikiya Kokutou.

On a certain day in 1995, the city of Misaki was hit by a heavy snowfall, something that hadn't been seen in years.

Amidst the snowy night, within the darkness that should have been gloomy but was instead dyed white, the boy encountered a girl dressed in a kimono.

With just a glance, just a moment, the boy fell deeply, unable to forget the girl's figure from that day onwards.

Shortly after, on the first day of the new school semester, the boy once again saw the unforgettable girl. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that the girl attended the same school and was even in the same class.

He learned the girl's name, a somewhat peculiar name that would be etched into his memory for a lifetime—Ryougi Shiki.

She had a neutral yet graceful appearance, always wearing a kimono to school. Though she rarely spoke, her behavior and serene attitude, which seemed beyond her years, were enough to captivate people's attention.

However, this peculiar girl always kept others at a distance, persistently avoiding human contact. It was as if she lived in her world. Over time, she became a known but ignored outsider at school—except by him.

The ordinary boy revealed his extraordinary tenacity for the first time.

As you distance yourself, I draw closer.

As you reject me, I try again.

Even if you evade me, I will find you.

Even if you say you'll kill me, I will still stay by your side.

The boy relentlessly approached the girl, as if she was his everything.

It's not sure if it was the girl who was moved by the boy or if she realized that all her resistance was in vain. Slowly but surely, the relationship between the boy and the girl grew closer, and they became very good friends. Some even believed that they were dating.

The boy learned about the girl's background, about her unusual family, and about the fact that she had two personalities, just like her surname.

"Taiji begets two modes, one Yin, one Yang. Shiki represents the Yin, the feminine personality, and the affirmative heart. SHIKI, pronounced the same as Shiki in Japanese but written differently, represents the Yang, the masculine personality, and the negating heart.

They are independent of each other yet intricately connected like the Yin and Yang forming the Taiji symbol of two fish biting each other.

Many people feel uncomfortable or even disgusted by this way of existence, but the boy doesn't, not at all. He doesn't mind at all whether he is with Shiki or SHIKI.

They naturally and carefreely spend time together, as if no one else exists. There are no confessions, and they don't seem like lovers, but they are more intimate than ordinary friends. Maybe they are more than friends but not yet lovers?

Well, it doesn't matter because neither Mikiya nor Shiki or SHIKI care about labels. In each other's eyes, they are special.

Days go by, and if things continue like this, they will probably remain classmates, grow up together, and eventually get married calmly, living their lives together.

But the girl's extraordinary existence destined her to have an eventful fate, and the boy, being with her, will also experience an unusual life.

In the peaceful city of Misaki, a series of bizarre murder cases occur. One day, the boy learns through his uncle, a police officer, that the crime scenes have the school emblem of their school.

A few days later, when the sixth victim appears, the boy notices the girl's injured hand and recalls her previous remark about having the urge to kill. A sense of unease creeps into the boy's heart.

After a few more days, near the girl's house, the boy sees her and witnesses the seventh victim. The girl stands there amidst a pool of blood, her elegant kimono stained with crimson, exuding a cruel beauty.

The nauseating smell of blood, the shocking scene with its dark aesthetics, and the impact of the unbelievable truth overwhelm the boy, and he faints on the spot.

When he wakes up, he finds himself in a police station.

Faced with police questioning, the boy chooses to conceal the truth and says nothing. However, at the same time, he starts waiting in front of the girl's house every night, watching her room.

The girl, who notices this, allows the boy's behavior and even prevents her family from trying to drive him away.

The next day, the girl asks the boy why he is still willing to approach her.

The boy simply smiles and answers because he believes her.

He saw the girl at the crime scene, but he didn't see her commit the murder. He believes in this girl named Ryougi Shiki, and he believes she wouldn't do such a thing.

From that day on, the girl completely ignores the boy, and the boy doesn't initiate any conversations with her either. However, he still waits outside her window every evening.

Is it to investigate the truth?

To find the real culprit?

It's not like that. If that were his purpose, his smile wouldn't be so gentle, and it wouldn't be filled with trust.

He stands there to confirm her innocence, and his smile reflects the relief he feels when he confirms that she hasn't left the house at night.

And that smile is what attracts the girl and also what makes her feel uneasy.

Unable to handle the inexplicable and increasingly intense emotions within her, the girl confesses to the boy, saying that she is the murderer.

But even so, the boy's smile and trust remain unwavering.

The girl showed a hysterical expression for the first time and said, "What do you understand about me? What do you believe in me?"

The boy's smile became even gentler. "Without any evidence, because I like you, I want to keep believing in you."

The sudden confession made the girl, who had just built up her emotional walls, falter. She lowered her head, letting her bangs cover her eyes, and murmured, "You're an idiot."

The boy kept smiling. "Yeah, you often say that."

Everything seemed to return to how it was before, back to peaceful everyday life.

However, it was only an illusion for the boy. At night, he continued to monitor the girl.

The girl appeared wearing a bright red kimono, unlike her usual attire, and walked out of her house. She held a small knife and lunged at the boy as if she had gone mad.

She wanted to kill him.

The boy didn't want to die, but the girl persisted, determined to kill him as if to protect her existence.

Finally, the girl pinned the boy to the ground, holding the knife against his throat. With a face that seemed like a crying mask, she said softly, "I'm going to kill you."

In the end, the boy didn't die because they were stopped by a middle-aged man of unknown origin.

In the ensuing fight between the girl and the middle-aged man, the girl instinctively avoided killing. The boy's guess was right; the girl was never a murderer to begin with.

The man pointed out the girl's motive for wanting to kill the boy. It wasn't for survival, and it wasn't for anything else—it was simply to escape.

The girl did escape, constantly running away.

The boy chased after her, desperately pursuing her.

But just as the boy was about to catch up to the girl, she was hit by a passing car and sent flying, falling into a coma for two years.

For two years, the boy faithfully stayed by the girl's side, regularly visiting and taking care of her.

One day, the boy coincidentally saw a doll that resembled the girl at an exhibition. Following the information left by the doll maker, he found an underground office in a dilapidated building.

Mikiya Kokutou dropped out of his university and became an employee of the office. He started narrating the story of him and the girl to the office director and his new friend.

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