Shinji Matou at Your Service

Satsuki Yumizuka, though a quiet girl, was not bad at sports. This school idol had no weaknesses. Whether in academics, sports, or home economics, she excelled in all areas and had even won awards at the school's sports festivals. Normally, it would be impossible for her not to catch up with the frail Shiki.

However, things were unusually strange. Shiki moved incredibly fast, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch up with that slender figure. Her shouts also seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Thus, one chased and one ran, darting through the dark alleyways for a while. Suddenly, after turning a corner, Satsuki found herself having lost sight of him; that familiar figure seemed to have vanished as if by teleportation.

"Tohno-kun? Tohno-kun? Shiki Tohno?"

She called out his name loudly, even louder than when she was trapped in the storage room.

"Are you looking for me?"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind her. She turned around to see that familiar figure.

A plain white shirt and black pants, slightly messy hair, and that clean, refreshing face. Unlike usual, he wasn't wearing those old-fashioned glasses that covered half of his face.

"Tohno-kun... you..."

"Oh, so you're an acquaintance of his..."

The boy revealed a strange smile, his aggressive gaze unabashedly scanning her body.

Satsuki shrank back, instinctively feeling that something was wrong. The Shiki she remembered would never look at someone like this, and more importantly, this person didn't give her that familiar sense of reassurance.

"Tohno-kun..."

"Yes, it's me, but don't call me Tohno-kun, call me SHIKI."

The b tossed his hair, wearing the same aggressive smile as he took a step closer.

The sudden demand startled her, making her subconsciously take a few steps back. She had fantasized about calling the boy she secretly admired that way many times and had even secretly practiced it when alone, but this unprompted change still made her uncomfortable.

"Tohno-kun, what's wrong with you?"

"Me? I'm fine."

The boy continued to approach, "I told you, call me Shiki."

"Shiki," Satsuki weakly called out.

"Yes, that's right."

The boy seemed very pleased.

"Hehe, his taste isn't bad, just the personality..."

"Toh—"

"Hmm?"

"Shiki, are you alright? You've been saying some incomprehensible things since a while ago."

"I'm fine, but you're about to have a problem. Can you guess what it is?"

Satsuki looked at him with concern, but the boy took out a small knife from his pocket.

"W-why do you have a knife?"

"Can you guess?"

"Is it for self-defense? I heard there have been frequent disappearances lately," Satsuki answered naively.

"Sorry, that's wrong."

The boy flicked his wrist, and the knife flashed dazzlingly before her eyes.

"A knife is for killing, and I only know how to kill. Do you want to try it?"

"K-kill!!! This joke isn't funny at all."

"Of course, it's not funny because it's the truth. You mentioned the disappearances, right? Those were all my doing."

"!!!"

Killing? That gentle Tohno-kun, killing?

Satsuki was in shock. The boy didn't give her time to react and played with the knife as he drew closer.

"You'll be joining them soon. Don't worry, I'm a professional killer. I guarantee you won't feel any pain."

Impossible! This is impossible!

Something must be wrong. Tohno-kun, Tohno-kun, he—

The cold gleam of the knife blade illuminated Satsuki's confusion and reflected the boy's ferocious smile.

"Farewell, sweet girl!"

The knife flashed.

"Danger! Get down!"

At the critical moment, a third voice echoed through the secluded alley.

As soon as the voice rang out, Satsuki fell to the ground in an extremely awkward position, narrowly avoiding the throat-slashing knife.

"Tch."

Missing his strike, the boy didn't pursue. He stepped on the wall with both feet, leaping over Satsuki's head like a spider, muttering in dissatisfaction.

When the boy landed, another girl had already appeared next to Satsuki.

This was another girl, one characterized by the color purple. She had long, light purple hair, a purple-red beret, and a dress, and while her short skirt and skin were white, they emphasized the impression of purple. Her milk-white skin and prominent nose silently indicated she wasn't Japanese.

"Don't be fooled, he's not the person you know."

The purple girl's voice awakened Satsuki's consciousness.

"Yes, that's right. His smile isn't like this. You, you're not him!"

"Ah, I've been found out."

The boy covered his forehead with his hand and laughed loudly, "Surprisingly sharp, woman. I like you. It's such a waste to leave you to that idiot."

The crazed laughter made the air freeze.

Satsuki trembled with unprecedented fear, but she didn't run away. Instead, she got up from the ground—perhaps she was broken, but there was something she had to clarify before that happened.

"Who, who exactly are you? Why, why are you impersonating him?"

Her unyielding eyes and stubborn attitude made the boy laugh even more maniacally.

"Oh, don't say that. I'm not just a simple impostor. I am Shiki's sin, the murderous impulse he fears in his subconscious, like the moon's reflection on the water."

"A reflection should disappear."

The purple girl's voice was as cold as her expression. She spread the fingers of her left hand, and in her right hand, she held a handgun, aiming it at the boy who called himself Shiki's sin. It was this gun that had just forced Shiki to push away.

"How heartless."

The boy shrugged lightly, "Don't talk as if there's a huge difference between me and the real one. Even though this body has a short lifespan, I still want to spend it with someone I like. That's only human nature, right?"

"Is this how you spend it?"

The purple girl's left-hand fingers began to tighten.

"Because I'm a killer, I only know how to kill. And the battlefield of life and death isn't bad either, don't you think?"

The boy reversed his grip on the knife, his slender body stretching naturally like a beast eyeing its prey.

"The only one who's going to die is you, Tatari phantom."

Her left hand clenched tightly, and the spot where the boy stood shattered.

The ground, the air, the walls—all fragmented.

But before that, the boy had already leaped far away, the entire movement silent except for the laughter from his mouth.

"Welcome to this wonderfully delightful killing space. Let's fight, woman caught in the web and weaving the web at the same time."