Campione: Strongest# 428: A Successful Escape

‘Shiki, what… are you doing?’ a question from the depths of her heart echoed in SHIKI’s mind.

(PS: SHIKI is the personality that controls the aspect of Denial/Negativity)

‘Of course I’m asking for help. We can’t beat that stalker, can we?’ SHIKI replied nonchalantly.

‘But…’

‘Though I also hate to throw my troubles onto others, that stalker doesn’t look like someone a middle school student can handle.’

‘And besides, the police should have guns, right? Isn't it a police officer’s duty to deal with monsters?’ SHIKI replied with a shrug.

In her eyes, Haru, who was impervious to blades, was a monster. Losing to a human was one thing; she could recover from that. But a monster… it was better to leave that to the police.

Ignoring the internal conversation, the four officers in the police department finally reacted.

“Hiss… there’s a pervert chasing you?” an older officer said, clicking his tongue as he looked at her.

Seeing her in a sweat-drenched kimono, as if she had just been pulled from the water, his expression immediately turned serious. This was clearly the look of a victim who had just escaped a high-intensity chase.

Feeling the officer’s sweeping gaze, SHIKI uncomfortably pulled at the collar of her kimono. It was fortunate she was wearing a light blue kimono; otherwise, her sweat-soaked clothes might have revealed more than she intended.

“Sato, Yamamoto, you two go outside and check the situation. I’ll ask this student about the specifics,” the older officer said to his colleagues.

“Yes,” they replied in unison. The two officers quickly stood up and walked towards the main gate.

“Those two slackers. Just because it’s a pretty girl, they’re so eager.”

The officer, Kobayashi, muttered with a chuckle. He looked at the sweat-drenched Shiki, took a plastic cup from the cabinet, filled it with water, and walked straight towards her.

“Can you describe him? The criminal’s appearance,” Kobayashi asked, handing the cup to her, his voice gentle.

“Gulp, gulp… ah, that…”

SHIKI, her lips chapped, took the paper cup and took a large gulp. She looked at the main gate with a wary expression and was about to describe her pursuer when her eyes widened.

The two officers, who had walked to the door, pushed open the glass door, and Haru, with his hands in his pockets, walked in with a grin.

Throughout this process, the two officers felt nothing unusual. Instead, they looked around with wary expressions and reported back to Kobayashi.

“Sir, everything is normal at the main gate. We didn't find anything suspicious.”

“Damn it, that pervert must have slipped away. Honestly, why are there so many scumbags in Tokyo lately? Is it because the weather is getting warmer?”

Thwack.

The water cup slipped from SHIKI’s hand and fell to the floor. The splashed water drenched the tabi on her feet and her floor-length kimono.

“That—that, he’s right there!” SHIKI lifted her small hand and pointed at Haru, who had just walked into the lobby, her face a mask of horror.

How could she not be horrified? He had just walked into the police department, right under the noses of two officers. This strange scene made both her and the original Shiki immediately think of ghost stories.

Could it be that she was seeing a ghost?

“There’s no one there?” Kobayashi, looking in the direction she was pointing, scratched his head with a puzzled expression.

In his eyes, there were only his two colleagues. But looking at her horrified expression, it was clear that she was seeing something.

Could it be…

“Call the mental hospital,” Kobayashi said softly to the last officer sitting at his desk. Then, he turned his head and looked at her with a hint of pity. “Young lady, can you tell me your home address and contact information?”

“Damn it.” Her pretty face instantly darkened. She glared at Kobayashi and then, looking at Haru, who was leisurely walking toward her, she gritted her teeth.

“Eh, miss, don’t run!” Kobayashi looked on in bewilderment as the girl who had just rushed into the police department fled out the door.

“The object of the game seems to have changed,” Haru mused as he passed by Kobayashi. Maintaining a ten-meter distance, he leisurely followed behind her.

He had heard the earlier exchange. That vibrant, expressive personality was completely unlike the ice-cold Shiki. So, the one he was chasing now was the other personality? Thinking of this, his lips curved into a faint smile.

From the look on his face, it was clear that he was enjoying the thrill of the chase. Stalking a young woman was an exceptionally exciting thing. And to stalk a ‘famous’ beauty like Ryougi Shiki was even more so. His interest piqued, he happily resumed the chase.

…

‘Shiki, the first time you let me out, and this is how you treat me,’ SHIKI said, half-joking.

To be honest, the two personalities were two sides of the same coin; there was no such thing as mutual sabotage.

The reason SHIKI had appeared was because she thought her way of doing things was more suitable for escaping his clutches. Therefore, the original Shiki had decisively released her control over the body, letting her ‘Homicidal’ personality face reality for the first time.

Running out of the back door of the police department, SHIKI made seven or eight turns and slipped into a large shopping mall.

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, the fiery SHIKI decisively slammed open the door and ran into the women’s restroom.

“What the fuck? There’s this trick too?” Haru, following closely behind, looked at the women’s restroom door with a bewildered expression.

“Ah!”

Her sudden entrance made a woman in the restroom let out a sharp cry. Sensing that the intruder was a beautiful girl in a kimono, the scream came to an abrupt halt.

“What, little sister, even if you’re in a hurry, you don't have to be like this…” a series of faint complaints arose. It was only because of her cute face that a confrontation was averted. After all, this world was all about looks.

‘So, Shiki. To escape, you have to be like me: throw away your shyness, suppress your discomfort, and use all favorable terrain!’

She glanced at the interior of the women’s restroom and decisively rushed into a stall, slamming the door shut. She looked at the toilet before her, then lifted her head to the ventilation window above, her lips curving into a faint smile.

She pulled down the toilet lid, stepped on it with her wooden geta, and with the sharp short sword from her sleeve, she skillfully cut the bars of the ventilation window.

Her small body squeezed through, and she easily passed through the opening, arriving at the lawn behind the mall.

“Besides the fact that my kimono was cut a little by the broken bars, the escape plan was a perfect success!”

She lowered her head to look at her mostly-torn kimono, which now revealed her tabi-clad feet. She lifted her right hand and, with her thumb, wiped her delicate nose, a cheerful expression on her face.

“I personally think it would be better to buy a new kimono before we continue our little game of escape,” Haru said, leaning against the wall beside the ventilation window, his tone teasing.

Her face instantly stiffened.