Shinji Matou At Your Service

Chapter 259: Shizune Seo

"Wait, wait a moment."

"What else do you need, miss?" Shinji maintained his posture with his right hand gripping the doorknob and turned his head.

"Well, um—"

The unknown girl hesitated for a moment, finally mustering the determination to speak.

"Well, please don't take offense... um, your actions tonight might not go smoothly... so, please be careful."

"Huh?" Fujino let out a faint exclamation, seemingly surprised that her friend would say such words. "Shizune?"

"N-No, it's nothing." Sensing Fujino's peculiar gaze, the girl known as Shizune hurriedly lowered her head.

Shinji released the doorknob and turned around, carefully examining this girl with a low presence.

She was a petite girl, neither her appearance nor her figure were as mature as Fujino's. Her fluffy short hair looked somewhat messy, as if it hadn't been properly cared for. Her eyes, like her hair, were a shade of brown between red and orange.

Combining Fujino's address for her, a name popped into Shinji's mind.

"Forgive my forwardness, but are you called Shizune Seo?"

The girl made a soft sound of confirmation and lifted her head with surprise. "You know me?"

"Indeed." Shinji understood and said, "I've heard about you from Mikiya." 

"Oh, are you referring to Mr. Mikiya Kokutou?" When Mikiya was mentioned, Shizune seemed like a different person—her attitude was no longer timid, and her voice became much louder.

"That's right. We're friends. Thank you for the warning. I'll be careful." Shinji nodded to both Kaori and Seo Shizune, then gave Fujino a knowing smile. "Well then, goodbye. Starting tomorrow, you won't have to hide like this anymore."

After nodding to Kaori Tachibana and Shizune Seo respectively, Shinji left the girls' dormitory.

As soon as the door closed, Shizune couldn't wait and grabbed Fujino's hand, asking, "Who is this boy? What's your relationship with him?"

"He's the most important person to me." Fujino looked in the direction Shinji had left, her eyes filled with overflowing warmth.

Such an ambiguous answer naturally piqued the curiosity of the other two girls.

"Mmm~ That's a bold statement."

"Could it be that he's the person you like, Fujino? I didn't realize you had a preference for younger guys."

"So, do you prefer older guys then?" Fujino retorted, "I can see it. Whenever we mention 'Azaka's Brother,' you become very enthusiastic."

"N-No way," Shizune's face immediately turned red.

"Don't deny it. Your face is all flushed," Kaori Tachibana chimed in.

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore," Fujino relented. "You mentioned earlier that his actions tonight might not go smoothly. What's the matter?"

"Well, how should I explain?" Shizune hung her head, choosing her words carefully. "It's just that when I saw that boy leave, I suddenly had this indescribable feeling. Fujino, you might not know, but my intuition has always been accurate."

"Perhaps that's just a girl's intuition," Kaori Tachibana didn't take Shizune's words seriously.

"I see."

Fujino's expression, however, was much more complicated. Having been with Touko and Shinji for such a long time, she had encountered too many unimaginable things.

"Let me ask one more question. Is it just that things won't go smoothly?"

"Yes, just that things won't go smoothly."

Shizune's words reassured Fujino somewhat. If it's just that things won't go smoothly, worst-case scenario, they could abandon the plan. Shinji's safety shouldn't be a problem. She only wished for his well-being.

Observing Fujino's expression, Kaori Tachibana smirked, "You're worried about him, huh? Seems like the relationship between you two is complicated. If you don't honestly confess, I won't let you sleep peacefully tonight~"

"That's right, that's right, confess honestly~" Shizune chimed in.

The girls' late-night conversation continued.

...

On the other hand, Shinji was pondering Shizune's reminder.

He knew Shizune Seo was a student at Reien Girl's Academy and Azaka Kokutou's roommate. In "Future Gospel", she takes a prolific role. She was an important character in the chapter called Future Gospel. Like Fujino, she also possessed Mystic Eyes, the ability to see the future called ESP: Precognition (Future Prediction)

Shizune's "Future Prediction" was a relatively common type and the lowest level. Its ability was essentially based on the analysis and prediction of information.

By actively and passively gathering information and data through visual and auditory means, Shizune's mysterious brain would unconsciously analyze and anticipate the future. She would combine all these elements and materialize them into the realm of reality, finally presenting them as images on her retina. That was Shizune's "Future Prediction."

Because it was only analysis and prediction, the future she saw was not absolute. If the gathered information was insufficient, there could be misjudgments. That was why Shinji didn't make a deliberate effort to win over Shizune.

"Just from a brief few minutes of contact, can you see through my future, Shizune? Moreover—"

As he thought about it, the apartment building where the faculty resided was already in sight. Shinji's calm expression was now filled with anticipation.

"—Things won't go smoothly... How exactly won't they go smoothly? To what extent will they go wrong? Honestly, I'm quite curious. I didn't expect that a spontaneous act would yield unexpected results."

As Shinji said, tonight's action was originally a spur-of-the-moment indulgence, satisfying his sympathy and apologies toward Kaori Tachibana.

Otherwise, aside from the exposure of the "Enjo kōsai" incident, there was the question of whether Hideo Hayama could escape the retaliation of angry parents. Don't forget, that the parents of Reien Girls' Academy were influential figures in society, and they had numerous ways to ruin someone's life. Even if he managed to escape, Shinji didn't think he could harm Azaka, who possessed Spontaneous Combustion, or Fujino with her Mystic Eyes of Distortion.

Even before he got Isekaid, Shinji knew about the "Enjo kōsai" incident at Reien Girls' Academy. It was the main storyline of Chapter 6, Oblivion Recorder, in "Kara no Kyoukai." However, the "Enjo kōsai" was a two-sided affair, and while Hideo Hayama was certainly the main culprit, the participating girls were also involved. Shinji didn't think it was necessary to get involved in a consensual matter like that.

The only exception was Kaori Tachibana. In the book, she wasn't saved by Fujino and fell into the clutches of Hideo Hayama. As a result, she became pregnant and was ostracized by the entire class. In the end, she was burned alive by Hideo Hayama because she refused to have an abortion.

She was innocent, she was pitiful, and if possible, Shinji wanted to help her.

Unfortunately, Kaori Tachibana had already died at the start of the storyline, and her name only appeared a few times throughout the story. After so much time had passed, Shinji couldn't remember what this poor girl's name was, so he had no way to help her except to silently apologize in his heart.

Fortunately, due to the cycle of cause and effect, Shinji became the cause that changed Fujino's fate. This indirectly led to the result of Fujino saving Kaori Tachibana, and Shinji now had the opportunity to turn his sympathy and apologies into action.

"The time for retribution has come, Hideo Hayama."

Shinji landed on the balcony of the Hideo Hayama dormitory, his voice colder than the winter night wind.

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