Crossover PS 192 (Patreon)

As they walked downstairs, Mahiru was silent for a long time. It wasn't until they walked out of the hallway and stood in the sunlight that she spoke.

"Shibata-kun."

"Hmm?"

"Kudo, he..."

Minoru looked at her. "What do you want to ask?"

Mahiru bit her lip. "The news said the evidence was conclusive, but..."

She remembered Mouri Ran's straining eyes from earlier. "If one day, I heard such news, I would definitely go crazy."

Minoru reached out and cupped her chin. "Mahiru."

"Hmm?"

"Look at me."

Mahiru looked up, meeting Minoru's gaze, which held a reassuring calm.

"That day will never come. Because I will always be here by your side. So you don't need to worry about going crazy. Because even if you go crazy, I'll go crazy with you."

Mahiru was stunned and her eyes reddened slightly. "Shibata-kun … Are you confessing to me?"

Minoru raised an eyebrow. "Didn't I already confess two days ago?"

Mahiru whispered, "That's different. That was sweet talk, but now it's… it's…"

Minoru smiled. "What is it?"

Mahiru stood on tiptoe and lightly pecked him on the lips.

"It's this."

Minoru reached out and ruffled Mahiru's hair. "Let's go, I'll take you to school."

…

The two continued walking.

Turning a corner, they entered a commercial street. There weren't many people, just a few pedestrians and individuals dressed as students passing by occasionally.

It was already time for the first class. It was hard to say if these students were actually students.

Just then, Minoru's gaze fell upon a figure across the street.

It was a girl in a school uniform. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders and she wore light makeup. Overall, she looked like a typical high school girl trying to be fashionable.

But Minoru's pupils contracted slightly.

Yoshida Saki.

From a work known as "the most realistic anti-drug textbook."

A story of an ordinary girl who gradually fell into the abyss.

School bullying, vanity, bad company, drugs, prostitution, pregnancy...

These words flashed through Minoru's mind.

He had never expected that in this world, which merged countless works, this particular work would also appear.

After all… it was an R18 work.

Minoru's gaze lingered on Yoshida Saki for a second.

Law Vision!

Compendium of Shared Affliction!

An invisible book opened in his consciousness. It was Yoshida Saki's "Book of Life." From childhood to the present, every page was clearly visible.

In her junior high school days, she wore clunky black-rimmed glasses, with unfashionable braided pigtails.

No friends.

No presence.

Then came high school.

New hairstyle, new makeup, new clothes. She finally had friends, a social circle but traces of vanity began to appear on those pages.

Wanting to be more popular.

Wanting to be more like those "fashionable" girls.

Wanting to be recognized by more people.

Flipping further, the pages blurred. That was the future yet to happen but Minoru knew what would happen next.

Bad friends, white powder, dim rooms, broken mirrors, lost lives...

Minoru withdrew his gaze.

Yoshida Saki was standing at the convenience store entrance across the street, holding a freshly bought milk tea.

She looked very normal, just like countless ordinary high school girls. But Minoru knew that those seemingly harmless vanity and confusion were pushing her into the abyss.

If left unchecked, in a few months, or a year or two, she would eventually meet a tragic end.

Minoru's thoughts stirred slightly and an invisible force surged from the Compendium of Shared Affliction. Like an unseen pen, it swept across Yoshida Saki's "Book of Life."

[Develop an instinctive aversion to bad habits]

[Establish clear cognitive boundaries for vanity]

[Develop a heartfelt interest in learning]

[Have a deep-seated understanding of the harms of drugs, promiscuity, and other behaviors]

[Be positive, love life, cherish oneself]

[...]

A few lines of text appeared on the pages.

Across the street.

Yoshida Saki was lowering her head, drinking milk tea. Suddenly, her head throbbed slightly and a strange feeling welled up in her heart.

She looked up and saw that across the street, a man stood there. Beside him stood a girl with flaxen hair. Both of them had a very unique aura.

If it were her usual self, she would take a few more glances and might even think, if only she could know such people.

But now, what she was thinking was actually…

I need to hurry back to school. That set of papers isn't finished yet.

There's a math quiz tomorrow, I can't be lazy, I can't delay my studies anymore.

Should I go to the library to study this weekend?

I want to get into Tokyo University!

Yoshida Saki was stunned.

What was going on?

Facing this incredibly handsome man, she actually felt nothing inside?! And even wanted to do practice problems?!

Yoshida Saki took a deep breath and turned to walk towards the school.

...

Minoru had a slight smile on his lips.

"What's wrong?"

Mahiru followed his gaze, only seeing the retreating back of an ordinary high school girl.

"Nothing," Minoru shook his head. "Just ran into someone familiar and said hello."

"Someone familiar?" Mahiru tilted her head. "Do you know her?"

"Not really." Minoru smiled. "Just… seen her somewhere."

Mahiru looked at him, narrowing her eyes. "Minoru-kun."

"Hmm?"

"You weren't looking at pretty girls, were you?"

Minoru chuckled. "You're overthinking it."

"Is that so?" Mahiru leaned in closer on purpose, staring into his eyes. "Then is she pretty?"

Minoru thought for a moment and said, "She's alright."

"Alright?" Mahiru raised an eyebrow. "So that means she's pretty, right?"

Seeing Mahiru acting like a jealous girlfriend, Minoru couldn't help but laugh.

"Not as pretty as you."

Mahiru's face flushed slightly. "You're being a smooth talker."

But the smile on her lips couldn't be hidden.

The two continued walking, hand in hand, enjoying this rare time alone together.

After turning down a few streets and passing several familiar shops, Mahiru suddenly stopped.

"Minoru-kun."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we'll be like a normal couple in the future?"

Minoru looked at her. "What do you mean by a normal couple?"

"It's just... Going to school together, coming home together, going on dates on weekends, watching movies, eating delicious food... not having to worry about those dangerous things."

Minoru smiled. "Aren't we already?"

Mahiru said, "Except for the times when you occasionally have to go fight a Dominator, occasionally have to go wipe out the Monster Association, and occasionally get phone calls from the police warning you to be careful of retaliation..."

"Everything else seems pretty normal."

Minoru was amused by her. "Isn't that enough?"

Mahiru smiled. "I guess so."

After walking two more streets, they turned into a quiet alley.

Minoru stopped and snapped his fingers.

The next second, the two were already standing at the alley entrance near Shiroyama High School.

"We're here already."

Mahiru let go of Minoru's hand with some reluctance.

"Yeah, there are ten minutes left until class starts." Minoru checked the time on his phone.

Mahiru nodded, but did not leave immediately.

She looked up at Minoru. "Minoru-kun, are you not going to school today either?"

"I have some things to handle, so I'm continuing my leave."

Mahiru sighed, "Minoru-kun, has the total time you've spent at school even reached three days?"

Minoru thought about it and said, "Probably... a day and a half?"

Mahiru looked at him speechlessly. "If you keep going like this, you'll get expelled, won't you?"

"No." Minoru said calmly, "I have the power of money."

Mahiru was amused. "Fine, fine, you're rich, you make the rules."

She stood on tiptoe and lightly pecked Minoru on the cheek.

"Then I'm going in. See you tonight."

"See you tonight."

Mahiru turned and walked toward the school gate.

Minoru watched her walk into the school gate until her figure disappeared into the teaching building. Then, the smile on his face slowly faded.

He tilted his head slightly. Across from the school, a black sedan was parked on the side of the road.

The car windows were tinted dark. It looked very ordinary but in Minoru's perception, there were two pairs of eyes hidden in that car.

Through Law Vision, he confirmed that they had been lurking here since the morning. Obviously, they had scouted his information in advance.

The corners of Minoru's lips curled up slightly. "They're quite fast."

He remembered Inspector Megure's phone call from the morning.

Black Organization.

Karasuma Renya.

Retaliation.

"Interesting."

Minoru put his hands in his pockets and walked nonchalantly in the direction of the next target he planned to plunder today.

His pace was leisurely, like an idler with nothing to do.

But at the same time as he took a step, his consciousness spread out.

Law Vision!

Compendium of Shared Affliction!

Everything within several kilometers was in his view.

Inside that black sedan.

Two men in black suits were staring fixedly at his back.

One of them picked up a walkie-talkie and whispered something. The other was taking pictures with a mobile phone.

And further away, on the top floor of an office building.

A man wearing sunglasses was observing this side with binoculars. Intermittent sounds came from his earpiece.

"The target has left the school area and is not attending school... moving toward the commercial street..."

"Follow him, don't alert the enemy."

Minoru took all this in, but did not act immediately. After a few steps, he stopped.

Compendium of Shared Affliction silently seeped into the minds of those stalkers.

Memories of Mahiru, about the relationship between her and him, were all erased.

Inside the black sedan.

The man who was taking pictures suddenly froze. He looked down at his phone screen. There was only Minoru in the photo.

"Strange..." he muttered, "I feel like I saw something just now."

"What's wrong?" his companion asked.

"Nothing... probably just an illusion." He shook his head and continued to stare at Minoru's back.

He had no idea that he had just forgotten someone.

Minoru withdrew his ability and continued walking forward.

He was in a good mood.

'Alright, now I can play with them slowly.'

Minoru was even a little curious about how they would retaliate against him.