[295] Eyes in the Shadows

"Huh..."

Iwamoto Yu let out a sigh of relief as he sat in the car heading to the home of the mangaka.

In reality, he had been harboring a sense of satisfaction all along.

While the Chief Editor of JUMP led the magazine to its peak, the atmosphere had deteriorated. The overall atmosphere in the JUMP editorial department was not as good as before. The older editors were still okay, but the new ones brought in by the Chief Editor didn't treat their mangaka like they were from their generation—more like colleagues and partners.

It was simply a matter of work.

However, given the current popularity of JUMP, there was indeed confidence.

The combined sales of the two leading manga magazines behind JUMP were still not as high.

Leading the way...

Among them, the works of Kurokawa Kazuya was particularly noteworthy. Moreover, Kurokawa Kazuya was not just a regular highly popular mangaka.

He was wealthy, owned an animation production company, and even had a theme park worth billions of dollars.

Even the Chief Editor of JUMP didn't dare to interfere too much with him.

Exceptional freedom.

Even the editor in charge, like Iwamoto Yu, felt at ease because Kurokawa Kazuya had said, "Changing editors for me is too troublesome..."

Ah, it must be admitted that there was indeed a thought of replacing him from above, but if Kurokawa Kazuya disagreed, there was nothing that could be done.

After all, the collaboration had to continue.

...

"Akitaka-san, have you been waiting long?"

Seeing the door being pushed open almost the moment he knocked, Kazuya waved his hand with a slightly awkward expression.

"No, I just happened to be getting ready to go out." Since it was someone he was more familiar with, like Akitaka Suzurugi, Kazuya's face showed a slightly stiff smile. It seemed like he hadn't smiled much lately.

"I still have some matters to attend to. Shiki-sama is in her room, can you find your way? Will you be okay by yourself for a while?"

"Huh? What's going on?" Kazuya asked with some confusion. However, judging from Akitaka's expression, it shouldn't be anything major. Still, he activated his Stand while asking, "Is it something serious?"

"No, it's just a trivial matter related to the black market... Nothing that should cause any trouble, just a bit tricky to handle when showing off our strength without going overboard."

"YES YES YES."

"I see."

Kazuya understood. This kind of thing wasn't the first time.

There were always those who thought they were strong, challenging the established underworld.

Generally, those aged below 20 who had just entered this world tended to do that... and after being taught a lesson, they usually settled down.

After all...

Compared to these "professional combatants," how could ordinary people compete in terms of combat power? But it was just a group of ordinary people, and it would end soon.

Kazuya didn't mind. He had been here several times before and stayed here several times. He was already quite familiar with the layout of the Ryogi family.

Hmm, then Kazuya couldn't find Shiki Ryougi.

"Shiki-sama, right? She's at school, she hasn't come back yet."

"Huh? Oh, right... Haha." Kazuya smiled awkwardly before remembering, "But I did call her and thought she might wait for me and give me a heads up or something. I didn't expect her to already be at school."

"Kurokawa-san, would you like to wait here for a while? Shiki-sama will be back in a few hours."

"No, forget it. It's a good time for me to pick her up. I remember she goes to a school nearby, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Well, then I'll pick her up." Kazuya said as he opened the door and walked out.

Looking at the scenery on the street, he couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.

Unconsciously, he had been in this world for almost ten years...

He arrived in this world in 1983.

Now it was 1992, and soon it would be exactly ten years.

The passage of time had brought about many changes, and Shiki had grown up like an ordinary child, spending her elementary school years and entering middle school.

He had also steadily reached his current status.

Whether in the visible or invisible world, he had gained some influence.

Hmm, it felt good.

Walking on the streets, Kazuya appeared relaxed. He had always been like this, after all. There was nothing chasing him from behind, and even if there was, it was his own dreams and pursuits.

Taking the opportunity to relax a bit, not for any other reason, just calmly looking at the world with expectations.

At that moment, he would find.

Even in the repetitive scenery seen countless times, there was an inexplicable sense of tranquility.

"But Akitaka-san should have told me directly if Shiki isn't here."

Kazuya, at the school gate, found a bookstore, flipping through old books while waiting for the school to finish.

Around 3:30 in the afternoon.

The school bell rang, indicating the end of school.

Kazuya slowly walked out.

Watching the students come out of the school gate one by one, he quickly spotted Shiki.

After all, she was wearing a kimono.

It was easy to spot.

"Shiki—"

Shiki blinked for a moment, then smiled slightly when she saw the approaching figure. After that, she returned to her usual expression. "Oh, it's you. When did you come back?"

"Just now." Kazuya smiled and said, "Since there's nothing much, I came back to see you first. But... what's the matter? Cairo has such a big incident, aren't you worried about me at all? I thought you would be waiting for me at home..."

"What is there to worry about?" Shiki walked alongside Kazuya towards the Ryogi residence and said as she walked, "You won't run into any trouble, right? There's no need to worry at all."

"But..."

"Well? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, as long as you're okay. Ah, anything happened at home?"

"No, maybe it's just my illusion, but I always feel like someone... is looking at us from over there."

"Impossible, right?" Shiki laughed, "When did your intuition surpass mine? If I didn't notice something, you wouldn't be able to either, right?"

"Yeah... Well."

Generally speaking, that was true, but...

If it was a special circumstance...

For example...

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