The rain in Morioh had stopped, but the sky had not completely cleared; lead-grey clouds hung low, as if accumulating for the next storm.
Several days had passed since the last heavy rain. After the Section Chief's accidental death, his family received a large sum in compensation, and Kira Yoshikage successfully leveraged the situation to become the Section Chief.
Upon ascending to this position, he received flattery from his colleagues, Mrs. Shinobu's excitement, and his boss's approval.
Everything was perfect, yet he was not in a good mood.
Because his luck had been terrible these past few days. Just that day in the rain, as he was walking to the company with a few colleagues, he encountered the ambulance carrying the Section Chief, who was almost certainly dead, and nearly sent it flying.
If not for Killer Queen's power, he suspected he would have been crushed to death, just like in the original story, dying by a JoJo ambulance.
Fortunately, the current Killer Queen had A-rank power and speed, and its range was also considerably longer than before; not as long as The World's 10 meters, but still about seven or eight meters.
And so, the ambulance was directly thrown aside by Killer Queen's invisible large hand, exerting force.
This caused a series of traffic accidents, completely ensuring the Section Chief's death, and conveniently 'accidentally' sending off a competitor whom Kira Yoshikage considered somewhat capable.
But he was still very annoyed.
Because he truly hadn't intended to eliminate that competitor. "The hand of fate acted, damn it!"
He didn't need to think to know what was going on. This series of coincidences would either take his life or cause trouble around him, drawing people's attention and gradually making him a suspect.
It must be because he interfered with the original course of events, causing fate to begin targeting him. He didn't know how he could completely overcome fate's targeting.
'Completely eliminate the main characters?'
'No, I'd rather not. I've only just managed to avoid those things. I should still try to hide thoroughly. Bites the Dust should also have certain attributes of fate and causality. After it grows again, it might be able to solve the problem.'
At this moment, Kira Yoshikage stood at the sink, meticulously washing the breakfast dishes.
The water flow, water temperature, amount of detergent, wiping angle... every step was as precise as if performing some ritual.
The dishes were spotlessly clean, neatly stacked back in the cupboard, evenly spaced, to the millimeter. But his mind was constantly thinking about how to resolve fate's targeting, and he wasn't paying attention to these small objects.
Suddenly, a small bowl shattered out of thin air, just above Kira Yoshikage's side. Sharp fragments leaped directly towards Kira Yoshikage's eyes, and several other fragments hit other bowls nearby.
It seemed they were meant to knock them over, turning them all into fragments, giving Kira Yoshikage a 'fragment bath.'
But Killer Queen appeared out of thin air, skillfully first blasting all the flying fragments into dust, then, with extremely fast hands, grabbing the fragments that were about to knock over the other bowls.
Then, it blasted them all away as well.
Throughout this entire process, Kira Yoshikage silently washed dishes, not even glancing at the fragments. He had grown accustomed to it these past few days; Killer Queen had even switched from manual to automatic mode.
Otherwise, he might have died directly while sleeping at night.
These past few days, the area within 100 meters centered around Kosaku Kawajiri's house had been blasted dozens of times by Bites the Dust Rhapsody. If not for Bites the Dust Rhapsody and Killer Queen's automatic mode, he wouldn't dare to sleep now.
Fortunately, Bites the Dust Rhapsody could be controlled to explode or not during its initial activation; otherwise, this area would have long become a no-man's-land.
He also silently thought about the absurd incidents he had encountered these past few days: light bulbs suddenly falling, but inexplicably bringing their wires down with them, and for some reason, they were high-voltage wires.
Or when he was bathing, the water pouring over him inexplicably began to endlessly swirl, almost completely shredding half of his body.
Or a large truck, appearing from who-knows-where, inexplicably crashed into his house late at night, directly penetrating the second floor, almost crushing him and Mrs. Shinobu, who were still dreaming, into meat paste.
'I'm as unlucky as a mouse being toyed with by a stray cat, like a piece of rotting, festering flesh, loathed by this damned puppet fate.'
Thinking this, Kira Yoshikage's fingernails couldn't help but grow rapidly again. He had suppressed it for several days, but today he still couldn't quite contain his inner anger.
Meanwhile, Shinobu sat at the dining table, sipping coffee in small sips, her gaze occasionally drifting towards her 'husband's' back.
The regularity of life these past few days made her a little unaccustomed, yet strangely captivating.
Exquisite meals, ample household funds, and the calm, in-control aura of her 'husband'... all of this was completely different from her past dull and oppressive married life, even if his actions were strange.
A twisted tendency deep within her, a craving for unconventional stimulation, was being quietly satisfied. She felt a kind of 'love' she had never experienced before.
It's just, "Hayato is really disobedient. Does he truly see us, his mom and dad, in his eyes?"
Looking at Kira Yoshikage's back, Mrs. Shinobu's face was flushed, but when she saw the elementary school hat still hanging by the entrance, an uncontrollable hint of disgust appeared in her expression.
"I'm leaving." Kira Yoshikage dried his hands, picked up his briefcase, his tone flat and unruffled.
...Be careful on your way." Shinobu unconsciously replied, her voice much softer than usual; her momentary bad mood had vanished.
Hayato had already left for school early.
The child had become even more silent recently, and the several hidden cameras in the house seemed to be working more frequently.
Kira Yoshikage could feel the omnipresent, scrutinizing gaze, but he didn't care. An overly clever insect, no matter how much it observed, couldn't change the outcome before the wheel rolled over it.
He was just waiting for the most natural and reasonable moment. By then, although he wouldn't directly kill the child, he would ensure that he could never pose a threat again.
'Blasting a part of his brain should be fine, as long as I keep him alive, it shouldn't matter, right?'
'Once I have my own offspring, he won't be necessary anymore.'
Walking on the road to Kameyu Department Store, Kira Yoshikage enjoyed this stolen tranquility. Despite some bad luck, it was generally peaceful.
The air was fresh, and the streets were gradually regaining some vitality due to the lifting of the previous curfew and the recent 'Revitalization Plan' propaganda. As he passed a newsstand, he glanced at the front-page news.
He also shifted his step, just managing to dodge a giant rock falling from the sky. Unfortunately, the newsstand owner, standing next to his newspapers on the ground, wasn't so lucky.
Of course, Kira Yoshikage was reasonable; he directly paid him double the newspaper fee, with the extra portion serving as a contribution.
The large headline read, "Genius Manga Artist Kishibe Rohan Teams Up with Government to Create a Future Cultural Capital!" The subheading was, "Prime Minister Praises His Vision, U.S. Representatives Express High Interest."
In the center of the page was Kishibe Rohan's iconic smile, full of madness and confidence, surrounded by dignitaries and those strangely dressed "masters."
"Hmph." Kira Yoshikage let out an almost inaudible cold snort. A madman had taken the stage, and a clown was playing the prophet.
As he read the newspaper, he drove, feeling a mix of emotions. The main characters should still be wondering if he was alive, but their focus should now be on this madman. This guy didn't exactly draw all the fire.
He was even a little grateful to Kishibe Rohan. It was this madman's high-profile actions that allowed Kira Yoshikage to peacefully manage his small household.
"But I remember this guy wasn't this crazy before. Wasn't he just a manga artist? How did he suddenly get into politics?"
Looking at the newspaper, Kira Yoshikage muttered to himself in confusion. The hidden Kira Yoshihiro also remained silent, because he also couldn't figure out what manga and politicians could have in common.
Upon arriving at the company, as the new Section Chief, he had already taken over Sato's authority.
Initially, he had shown no eagerness to climb the ranks, simply performing every task perfectly and mechanically. This, ironically, earned him his superior's appreciation and his colleagues' reliance and awe.
During lunch break, he sat in a corner of the employee cafeteria, quietly eating his homemade bento. Yes, Shinobu made it.
Although it was terrible; the rice alone made Kira Yoshikage feel like it was a pile of corn mixed with rat poison, ground into corn flour, mixed with pickled cucumber juice made from cured meat sauce, molded into rice shapes, and then cooked.
But it was her effort after all. Gritting his teeth, Kira Yoshikage ate it bite by bite as if gnawing on iron, while the chatter of a few female colleagues at the next table drifted into his ears.
"Did you hear? Apparently, some foreigners went to cause trouble for the R&D department yesterday?"
"Uh-huh, it seems they were some American investigators, looking very aggressive, saying they wanted to check for security vulnerabilities..."
"But it seems they didn't find anything and left quickly. It's really strange, our company doesn't have much business with America."
"Who knows? Maybe it's related to that new town revitalization plan? There are more and more strange people lately."
Kira Yoshikage's chewing did not pause, but his eyes subtly shifted.
Americans? Investigation? Security vulnerabilities?
He immediately connected these fragments with the words "U.S. representatives" in the news. It seemed Jotaro and his group hadn't given up, and might even have used some American contacts through SPW to investigate Kishibe Rohan.
No, it was also possible that Kishibe Rohan had brought in Americans through Japanese politics to help. But either way, they would certainly be getting along very well.
These undercurrents of conflict, happening out of his sight, were the best possible cover for him.
Everyone's attention was focused on the flamboyant celebrity manga artist in the center of the stage. Who would notice an ordinary, by-the-book office worker in the shadows offstage?