If he thought about it carefully, he'd done far too many reckless things lately.
The fact that his [Fate Power] had quietly risen back to five—without him noticing—was proof.
The calm days of the past, so calm that even the system had grown bored and vanished… that ordinary, uneventful life was what he'd been chasing all along.
So why was he willing to gamble his life for others?
Like a curse: the more he tried to get close, the farther away he ended up. The more he tried to do the right thing, the more he failed.
Maybe it was because things had gone too smoothly at first—so he got cocky, forgot that whenever he felt like that, misfortune always followed.
Just like when he succeeded in his past life and tried to bring his family over.
Just like now, when he had to leave Tokyo and come to Kanbu City.
He knew it clearly.
Don't get close. Keep distance. Maintain an absolute boundary.
That was how relationships lasted.
So why—why couldn't Yuuki give up his bond with Ryougi Shiki?
When he heard what Fujino said, Yuuki finally acknowledged it—something he'd sensed a long time ago but refused to face:
The wish his heart was still screaming for.
A wish unbearably willful, unbearably selfish.
A wish that brought Shiki no benefit whatsoever—purely from his own desire.
Asagami Yuuki simply wanted to be at Ryougi Shiki's side.
He would stake his life to stop Araya Souren for it.
He would risk himself to patrol murder scenes at night for it.
It wasn't just fear that one day he'd hear news that someone he treasured had died.
It was fear that when Shiki was hurt, he wouldn't be there.
Even if, like last night, Shiki killed him—Yuuki had no complaint.
What mattered was that even if he died, he wanted Shiki to accept him.
Was it liking? Love? Romance?
Those feelings were too distant for Yuuki to confirm.
But if admitting it was love meant he could stay at Shiki's side, he would admit it without hesitation. If denying it was the only way he could stay near her, then denying it was fine too.
He wanted to go back.
Back to the days at school, chatting lazily with Shiki.
Back to the days he brought his little sister to visit Shiki's home, and even though she looked bothered, she would still come out with tea and snacks.
Back to the days when, if he felt lonely, she would allow him to stay beside her—as long as he didn't speak and disturb her.
Back to…
Back to the times when he was hurt, when he felt like he couldn't go on—when he could safely entrust his body to that slender, warm back.
Staying by Shiki's side—being able to protect her—held that kind of pull over Yuuki.
It was… truly… selfish.
…
When Miss Tama returned, Yuuki handed Fujino over to her. Then he ran—straight in the opposite direction from home.
The pedestrian street by the fireworks grounds was less than twenty minutes from the Ryougi estate.
It was a route Yuuki had walked twice a day recently—there and back. He could find it blindfolded.
"Sorry, Fujino…"
Rejected. Losing courage. Yet still hesitating—struggling, ugly and unwilling to let go.
Inferiority gnawing at him, yet he still clung to the short blade Shiki once held to protect him.
That contradiction had been seen through by Fujino—who then comforted him, and pushed him forward, with her trembling hand.
"I really… there should be a limit to how pathetic I can be."
If no one reached out and pulled that shut-in, awkward young lady up—then on a rare holiday like this, Shiki would probably spend it alone in her room, frowning the entire time.
But on the other hand, it had been only a day since he received a death threat—and he was still going alone to see Shiki.
Her brother was away. Miss Tama had to stay behind with Fujino.
If danger happened, no one would come to save him.
Even if Shiki really did kill him, he couldn't blame anyone.
So…
"I'm counting on you, my cheat."
The conditions were harsh and twisted, but somehow, stumbling along, he'd managed to gather five points of Fate Power again.
He dumped all of it into a single pull—one spin, nothing more.
[New Skill Unlocked]
Yuuki looked at what he'd drawn and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"So you're telling me to go for it without fear… Fine. If fate really is guiding me, then I'll do as you wish."
…
Although it took some time, Araya Souren still managed to find the hospital where Fujou Kirie was staying before visiting hours ended.
Now Kirie was receiving the best care money could buy. Not only that—her body had clearly improved. Most importantly, inside her private room, Araya sensed faint residual traces of magecraft.
Using the pretense of being an old friend of Kirie's father, Araya approached her. Although recruiting Kirie as a tool was now impossible, a conversation without overt malice could still yield information.
For example, confirmation that the person who took Kirie away had indeed been Asagami Yuuki.
And confirmation that Yuuki was currently heading toward the fireworks festival.
And the most critical point:
Even if he couldn't fully confirm the extent, Araya's heart had already decided—Yuuki possessed some form of future sight.
And Yuuki was undeniably becoming an obstacle to Araya's plan.
When visiting time ended, Araya still did nothing. He was not a man who killed frivolously. There was no need, no personal grudge. So he simply left the hospital in silence.
"What a pity."
The Asagami had inherited the contaminated blood of the Asakami—an inheritance that seemed to offer unlimited potential for psychic abilities, yet in truth carried a natural limit.
Too many abilities awakening in one body would only push the vessel toward collapse.
Awakening one bloodline ability was easy.
Two required luck, but remained possible.
Three at once was a once-in-a-lifetime fortune.
Beyond that was nearly impossible—difficulty rose exponentially.
When Araya saw the surge of power in Yuuki, it seemed like the Seven Nights' "demon-hunting impulse." The healing magecraft traces that improved Kirie's body could be explained by many bloodlines—Wunen, Tohno, Sakayanagi, or others Araya had yet to investigate.
But "future sight" would be Yuuki's third ability.
The probability that Yuuki contained Ryougi blood was plummeting—while the threat Yuuki posed was increasing without limit.
Unlike the irrelevant Kirie, removing Asagami Yuuki had become necessary.
Once Araya confirmed that—
His figure vanished into the night.
....
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