"Very well, from today onwards, you'll temporarily stay by my side."
After going through several rounds of candidates, Kiryu had finally found another subordinate with a Stand ability, who had successfully awakened his Stand with the help of the Arrow.
Moreover, this Stand was a close-range power-type, humanoid like Blackbird, which made Kiryu a bit envious.
With the birth of another Stand user, Kiryu was quite pleased. Although this subordinate wasn't the one he'd had the highest hopes for, being a Stand user increased his authority within the group.
He decided to keep this new Stand user by his side as an important member of his campaign.
"Do well, and the position of Vice Leader of the Kiryu Group could be yours in the future. Don't disappoint me or Lord Shin."
"Yes! I understand!"
The new Stand user had originally been a relatively marginal member of the Kiryu Group. Now, having gained Stand powers and received recognition from the boss, he was overjoyed.
Of course, despite his newfound enthusiasm, he remained deeply respectful towards Shin, even more so after seeing Shin's Stand manifest as a small raven that flew into his ear and perched on his brain.
He knew that with a mere thought, Shin could end his life. Naturally, he felt both grateful and fearful of Shin.
"A simple close-range Stand... I guess it'll do."
As he'd done with Kiryu's Stand, Shin tore off a piece from this new Stand user's arm, feeding it to Blackbird to absorb its power.
But Shin was somewhat disappointed. This Stand didn't have any unique abilities; it was purely a close-range combat Stand, with the only notable traits being its dual A-rank power and speed.
In JoJo's original work, there were quite a few Stands without special abilities, like Silver Chariot and Tower of Gray, which relied solely on their stats and form for combat.
Even without special abilities, having dual A-rank power and speed meant it was far beyond ordinary humans. As long as it wasn't surrounded by heavy weaponry, it could wreak havoc in enemy lines.
"It seems you two are the only ones in the Kiryu Group with Stand potential."
Shin looked at Kiryu and the newly awakened Stand user.
"Expand your forces and bring other factions under your command. With more people, more Stand users with potential will appear."
"Yes, we will do our best."
Kiryu bowed respectfully to Shin.
With the power of Stand users, he could continuously expand their influence, which in turn would attract more Stand users.
Such a virtuous cycle was, of course, something Kiryu hoped to see more of.
...
"That's all for today. Remember to come to work tomorrow, Bocchi."
Since Hitori Gotou usually acted too unreliable, Nijika Ijichi was afraid she might forget about her important shift.
Hitori could only respond with an awkward smile and a wave, then left in a fluster.
It might seem odd to constantly describe Hitori Gotou as flustered, but her actions often gave off that impression.
With the sky beginning to darken, Hitori still had to hurry back home for dinner. Her house was a bit far, so she needed to rush to the subway.
However, she hadn't walked far when she stopped.
She was back at the entrance of the bar she'd accidentally entered this morning. Now, music could be heard coming from inside, signaling that the regulars were gathering.
Both the bar's lively atmosphere and memories of this morning's events made Hitori hesitate, fearing she might once again run into someone she shouldn't.
"This... this can't be that much of a coincidence, right?"
Her face twitched as she tried to muster up courage, deciding to dash past the entrance quickly to avoid any contact with the place.
Run, run!
But just as she started to sprint, the bar's door opened, and someone stepped out—directly into her path.
Thud!
Predictably, Hitori collided head-on with Shin, who'd just stepped out of the bar.
Logically, with her running momentum and a heavy guitar case on her back, even as a girl, she should have knocked down an average person...
But unfortunately, Shin wasn't an ordinary person. To her, he felt like an immovable wall, and she stumbled backward.
"Hm?"
Shin was surprised. He'd sensed an approaching "aura" as he exited, assuming the person would stop.
He hadn't expected Hitori to be looking down and miss seeing him, leading to the direct collision.
Twice now, her awareness of "aura" had failed her due to her social anxiety, and Shin didn't know what to say.
"Watch where you're going; don't keep your head down all the time."
With reaction speed beyond ordinary, Shin caught her hand as she stumbled, preventing her from falling.
"Ah... it's... it's you..."
As Hitori looked up, her face flushed slightly, probably from Shin's cool save, but her expression quickly turned to fear.
"S-sorry..."
She seemed to have imagined something terrifying—one of those anxious imaginings typical of her social anxiety.
"You really should work on your personality."
Before his reincarnation, Shin had found Hitori's personality amusing in the series, but in real life, he was realizing how challenging it was to deal with.
It was almost impossible to communicate with her normally; her voice was soft, she'd often stop mid-sentence with self-doubt, and she constantly made up strange scenarios in her head and panicked.
Shin had initially thought about helping her overcome her personality quirks and awakening her Stand to see if she'd be useful.
Thinking back, the few people in the original story who managed to talk to her must have had incredible patience.
"I... I'm sorry..."
Sure enough, Hitori trembled and apologized again, looking at Shin with a face full of terror.
She recalled the people in the bar earlier that day treating Shin with such reverence, and the memory played back in her mind as she looked at him, her expression frantic.
"Pl-please don't throw me into Tokyo Bay..."
To be continued…
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