The afternoon's work was also without difficulty; having power in hand made his job easier, yet his income increased, and with his ability, his boss trusted him exceptionally.
As soon as work ended, Kira Yoshikage rose and left precisely, without delay. He took a detour to a high-end supermarket and, using the wealth inherited from Otoishi Akira, purchased premium steak and red wine.
'Thanks, Otoishi Akira.'
Tonight, perhaps he could try making a Western meal. A little change, a little ambiance, would help solidify his new position in this family and allow him to better observe and 'adjust' Shinobu Kawajiri's reactions.
'Sooner or later, she will fully accept it, as long as...'
On the way home, as dusk fell, his gaze briefly met a few people walking towards him as he turned a street corner.
It was Kujo Jotaro and Higashikata Josuke. They seemed to have just returned from somewhere. Jotaro's face was stern, while Josuke looked indignant, still muttering something under his breath, "...those damned bureaucrats..."
They brushed past each other. Kira Yoshikage's expression stiffened slightly, his thoughts paused for a moment. An endless killing intent rose, then was suppressed. 'What the hell, fate, you're not even pretending anymore, are you?'
Jotaro's gaze seemed to linger on him for a fraction of a second, his sharp eyes like a searchlight, but quickly moved away.
'Was he an innocent civilian hostage who was injured before?'
In Jotaro's understanding, Kosaku Kawajiri was just an ordinary employee who was slightly involved in the incident and luckily survived, a background character not worth more attention.
Higashikata Josuke didn't even notice this "passerby," simply continuing to curse the prime minister and other officials.
Kira Yoshikage also quickly recovered after they passed. His face was normal, his heart rate very stable, maintaining a steady pace, and then he continued walking forward.
Perfect disguise, perfect passing.
He could feel Jotaro's oppressive and frustrated presence behind him, which had not completely dissipated, almost tangible.
It seemed they had hit a wall with the authorities, which made this matter even more interesting.
The corner of Kira Yoshikage's mouth curved upward ever so slightly, at an angle no one could see.
Very good.
Let them get entangled with that madman and the vast state machinery.
And he, Kira Yoshikage, would enjoy this stolen, blood-and-lies-woven peaceful daily life, forever.
'Although I can kill them directly now, I don't want to expose myself again.'
He carried the groceries, walking steadily towards the house with its warm lights. Behind the door was his warm and happy home.
As for the son hiding in his room, spying through cameras?
Kira Yoshikage's gaze swept over the curtained window on the second floor, his eyes cold.
As Kira Yoshikage, carrying the groceries, stepped into the Kawajiri family's entryway, the feeling of being watched by an invisible eye instantly sharpened.
It wasn't from Hayato's camera; he was already accustomed to that kind of spying, which was like a child's toy to someone already prepared. This was another, colder, more aggressive gaze.
But his expression remained unchanged. He placed the groceries in the kitchen and, as usual, offered a slightly tired but gentle smile to Mrs. Shinobu, who came to greet him, "I bought some steak. I'll cook tonight."
A blush of pleasant surprise immediately spread across Mrs. Shinobu's face, and her fingertips brushed his hand inadvertently as she took the shopping bag.
This subtle, tentative intimacy had gradually increased over the past few days. Kira Yoshikage did not avoid it, merely looking calmly towards the second floor as he gently hugged Mrs. Shinobu.
"Where's Hayato?" he asked casually.
"He's probably doing homework in his room," Mrs. Shinobu replied with a hint of undetectable perfunctoriness; clearly, her attention was more on her husband and tonight's steak.
"Don't mind that disobedient child. When he came back today, he didn't even bother to look at me and rushed straight back to his room.
I really don't know what he's thinking. He never even answers me. Does he really find me, his mother, that much of an eyesore?"
Kira Yoshikage nodded, not asking further, just stroking her hair. But he knew Hayato wasn't in his room at all.
That child... had gone out. And that cold sense of surveillance had nothing to do with Hayato. Was it someone from the authorities? Or... Jotaro and his group?
Never mind, it didn't matter.
He didn't want to expose himself, but if these guys dared to investigate, one would die, then a whole group, and their deaths would definitely have nothing to do with him; his current misfortune could be exploited.
As he tied on his apron to prepare dinner, he reviewed the situation around the house. There were no suspicious vehicles or people around the house, but the feeling of being spied upon clung to him like a persistent illness.
The other party was very professional and likely used non-human means. It should be a Stand User, or some kind of sorcery from those masters under the government.
Dinner proceeded in an atmosphere that seemed warm but was, in fact, fraught with undercurrents.
Mrs. Shinobu raved about the delicious steak, her cheeks flushed, and even proactively poured wine for Kira Yoshikage. Kira Yoshikage cooperatively played the role of a husband, but most of his attention was focused on detecting any slight disturbance around them.
'Damn it, a hard-won cozy evening, completely ruined by these guys...'
He knew that fate's targeting had never stopped, and human threats were silently approaching, but he had never thought he would be so angry. His nails, which he had just trimmed, and his suppressed anger, were re-ignited.
This feeling of being attacked from two sides made the violent killing intent within him surge like a suppressed volcano, desperately needing an outlet.
'Since that's the case, I'll relax a bit tonight. No hands needed.'
His expression became increasingly calm. He could feel that Kira Yoshikage's two obsessions were gradually being satisfied. It seemed that this obsession also understood that the most perfect hand was not a dead person's hand, but a living person's hand.
Unfortunately, he couldn't spend a good night with her tonight. He looked up at Mrs. Shinobu's shy face.
She had already tidied herself up, no longer disheveled as she was at first, which made her uninteresting. Now, her shy and beautiful appearance was terrifying, but he didn't have the habit of doing such things while being monitored by others.
Thinking of this, the fork in his hand creaked as he squeezed it, perplexing Mrs. Shinobu.
"It's nothing, it's just that I have to go out for some overtime tonight, so I might not be home. But tomorrow night, I'll spend it with you properly."
Saying that, Kira Yoshikage gently held Shinobu Kawajiri's hand, revealing an elegant smile that made Mrs. Shinobu nod repeatedly, turning her blushing face away... Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Morioh, inside the temporary safe house set up by the SPW Foundation.
The atmosphere was so heavy it could be wrung out.
Jotaro, Josuke, Okuyasu, Koichi, and even Joseph, all sat around a piece of equipment with serious expressions.
On the instrument screen, a highly blurred and distorted thermal imaging video was displayed. This was a super machine acquired at a high price, capable of faintly capturing Stand energy fluctuations and photographing Stands that appeared before it.
Moreover, it could detect Stand energy fluctuations within the entire Town.
It was said to be some kind of World War II technology, a precious legacy left by the German army, now a discontinued item.
In fact, this technology has not been researched by people today, and Germany has not inherited these valuable technologies left by the German army. It is said that those materials were completely burned by Hitler. These devices can be said to be one less every time one breaks down.
Each one was worth tens of billions of dollars. This one was obtained by the SPW Foundation and Joseph at a great cost.
Seeing this, Joseph, as the current real estate king of New York, couldn't help but exclaim, "German technology... as shocking as it was back then.
I seem to remember an old acquaintance... Hmm, what was his name, Shutoru-Hairo, or Atroheim?"
Everyone around him ignored him. They were now used to Joseph's occasional senility, just staring intently at the monitor.
The video's location was near the Kawajiri family home.
"So..."
Josuke gritted his teeth, pointing at the extremely faint, humanoid energy outline that briefly appeared near the Kawajiri family's courtyard before and after Kosaku Kawajiri returned home, "How do you explain this?! Don't tell me it's a coincidence again!"
Shortly after brushing past "Kosaku Kawajiri" this afternoon.
Jotaro's strong intuition and Star Platinum's super perception, combined with his rich experience and high intelligence, made him realize that something was off about that man; he seemed to have a guilty conscience.
Coupled with Kira Yoshikage's unnatural death and the missing arrow, he immediately made a judgment: this person was highly suspicious.
They immediately used the SPW Foundation's device to conduct a long-distance scan of the Kawajiri family home, capturing this blurry image.
"This energy reaction... is very weak, but its structure is very special, neither like a long-range Stand nor a close-range Stand."
An SPW Foundation technician analyzed, "And it appears and disappears very quickly, like... some kind of intelligence-gathering Stand? Kira Yoshikage probably obtained various pieces of information from him before. He should be Kira Yoshikage's accomplice."
Koichi's face turned pale, "Could it be... Mr. Kawajiri... ?"
He didn't dare to think further. Could that ordinary-looking and lucky-to-survive office worker be a hidden enemy?
Then Mr. Jotaro and Josuke were really lucky today, not being ambushed, and nothing happened.
"It's too early to draw conclusions," Jotaro interrupted calmly, but his eyes were incredibly sharp, "But this is no coincidence. Once is a coincidence, twice... is inevitable."
He recalled the moment he brushed past "Kosaku Kawajiri": that suppressed stiffness, and clothes that didn't fit his body.
And, the very survival of Kosaku Kawajiri as a "hostage" in the explosion that caused "Kira Yoshikage's" death, which first aroused his suspicion, was full of doubts.
One should know that, apart from that one time, Kira Yoshikage had never spared anyone.
"But..." Okuyasu scratched his head, "If he's a Stand User, why were there no signs before? And didn't the government say the case was closed?"
"Government?" Joseph sneered, firmly tapping his cane, "Those bureaucrats only care about that madman and their so-called 'national interests' now! Even if they know something, they'll never tell us! Even..."
The old man's gaze deepened. His old face was filled with reminiscence. He gently tapped his cane, thinking about his youth, and his cloudy eyes scanned the young people around him.
...they might even deliberately cover up the truth. You know? They remind me of the German army during World War II; they're just as fanatical."
Just then, the safe house door was violently pushed open, and an SPW Foundation staff member rushed in, looking distraught. He was wearing a high-quality black suit, but it was now wrinkled.
Upon seeing Jotaro, he collapsed onto the ground as if exhausted and shouted.
"Mr. Jotaro! Our informant in the Metropolitan Police Department just risked his life to send a message... Regarding the previous traffic accident that caused the death of Kosaku Kawajiri's superior.
And the subsequent routine interrogation records of Kosaku Kawajiri... All relevant data has been ordered by higher-ups to be encrypted and transferred! Access privileges have been raised to the highest level!"
"What?!" Everyone was shocked, especially Higashikata Josuke, who couldn't help but smash the table beside him.
"Furthermore," the staff member added with difficulty, "the person who relayed the message said... the order came directly from the 'Kishibe Rohan Affairs Response Headquarters,' with the Chief Cabinet Secretary's seal! They... they seem to be erasing all traces of any in-depth investigation that might be related to 'Kosaku Kawajiri'!"