"How about it?"
Rei stayed quiet, so Shuya asked again, voice calm.
Rei answered on pure reflex. "For dinner I think something light would be—"
"Who asked about dinner?"
Shuya flicked her forehead with a gentle thunk. "Miyamoto, you still with us?"
"Eh?!"
Rei rubbed the faint red spot on her forehead and froze.
Wait… she hadn't misheard?
Shuya had seriously offered to kill Koichi Shido for her.
The question hit her like a truck.
Did she hate Shido? Despise him? Wish he would drop dead right this second?
Yes. Absolutely. If she had a gun she would have pulled the trigger herself years ago.
But asking Shuya to actually do it?
Rei's heart screamed no.
Her dad was a cop. She'd grown up hearing every lecture about right and wrong. Killing—even a monster like Shido—wasn't something you just… did.
Plus, in Rei's eyes Shuya was still just an insanely strong swordsman. He hadn't shown her Nen yet. No ranged weapons. To kill Shido he'd have to leave the infirmary, chase the guy down, and do it up close.
And right now Shido was almost at the gate.
Too dangerous. She refused to let Shuya risk himself for her grudge.
Rei shook her head, voice firm. "No. Someone like Shido… even if we ignore him, karma will catch up eventually."
"Really?"
Shuya gave her a long, unreadable look.
"And besides, if it wasn't for Shido…"
She trailed off, eyes flicking away.
Everyone in the room understood the rest.
If Shido hadn't schemed to make her repeat the year, she never would have sat behind Shuya. Never would have followed him out of class on "a date." Never would have ended up here, safe, with him playing with her ahoge like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Maybe… she should even thank the bastard?
Rei tried to swallow her hatred, forcing herself to rationalize. "I'm good. Really."
"Got it," Shuya nodded.
Rei exhaled in relief. Thank god he wasn't about to rush out like some hot-blooded idiot. If anything happened to him because of her, she'd never forgive herself.
Then Shuya spoke again.
"Karma, huh? Too bad. His karma just arrived."
Rei's brain short-circuited for the second time.
Before she could even open her mouth, Shuya raised both hands like he was drawing a bow. Aura surged.
A glowing Nen bow and arrow formed instantly in his grip—pure Emission, synced straight from Shizuka's type. The arrow hummed with power, invisible to normal eyes.
Shido was sprinting for the gate, one foot already lifting to step outside the school grounds, face twisted in ugly triumph.
Thwip.
The first arrow punched clean through his heart.
"Ugh—!"
Blood sprayed from Shido's mouth. His eyes bulged. One more step and he would have been free. Instead he staggered, hand clawing at nothing.
The other fleeing students didn't even slow down. They trampled straight over him like he was a speed bump. Exactly the way he'd always treated them.
Thwip. Thwip.
Second arrow through the right lung. Third straight through the skull.
Koichi Shido dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. Dead before he hit the ground.
Shuya lowered his hands. The bow dissolved. He let out a satisfied breath.
"Feels good."
Back in his old world he'd read tons of transmigration novels. Almost every protagonist had one annoying habit that pissed him off: they followed the "plot" like it was sacred. Enemies they could crush in one move? Spared. Girls who clearly liked them? Friend-zoned or straight-up handed over to other guys. All for the sake of "not changing the story" so they could keep their future knowledge advantage.
Shuya had always scoffed.
Plot? What the hell was that?
If it didn't hurt his interests, sure, he could play along. But the second someone touched what was his?
Screw the plot.
You couldn't even live well in the present—who the hell cared about "future advantages"?
Shido was nothing. Even if the guy somehow had the cure for the zombie virus in his pocket, so what? Dead was dead.
Well… Rei cared.
"Shuya!"
She slammed into his chest, arms wrapping around him tight. Tears shimmered in her eyes. She didn't even stop to wonder how he'd done it. She just stared up at him, golden eyes sparkling, cheeks flushed.
He did this for me…
Her lips trembled. The urge to kiss him right there was so strong her whole body leaned in.
Eyes closing, she rose on her toes—
"Kiss him! Kiss him!"
Shizuka's cheerful voice suddenly rang out from the bed like a cheering squad.
Rei froze mid-air, face exploding into crimson. She remembered they weren't alone. Saeko was polishing Reizan in the corner. Saya was adjusting her glasses, pretending to study the ceiling very hard.
Rei's head dropped. She stared at her shoes, toes curling inside them, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Maybe a nice three-bedroom apartment she could hide in.
Shuya turned his head slowly toward the nurse.
His smile was terrifyingly sweet.
Shizuka Marikawa… again?
Still claiming it's not on purpose?
How come every single time something good is about to happen, it's always you ruining it?!