"...?"
Hearing Yukinoshita Yukino's question, Shin smiled with interest.
He understood—Yukinoshita Yukino seemed to want to take the initiative to come find him, but coincidentally, every time she chose to do so, it was always at noon, heading to the Paranormal Research Club to look for him.
However, in order to prevent anyone from disturbing them during lunch, Shin had long used the ability of Black Bird Requiem to fix the outcome of "irrelevant persons being unable to approach the Paranormal Research Club at noon."
Clearly, Yukinoshita Yukino had been classified as an "irrelevant person" under that ability, so every time she tried to approach the Paranormal Research Club, she would be stopped for various reasons.
All those so-called "accidental circumstances" existed for the sake of ensuring the already-fixed outcome: "irrelevant persons cannot approach the Paranormal Research Club at noon."
An ordinary person would likely just think of this as coincidence, but Yukinoshita Yukino realized it was possible Shin had done something.
In other words—Yukinoshita Yukino already knew he possessed some sort of special ability?
Thinking of this, Shin's mind conjured up the image of Yukinoshita Haruno—because, in his view, the person most likely to have revealed his Stand ability to Yukinoshita Yukino would be Haruno.
As for Saeko Busujima, Shin hadn't considered her at all—mainly because he had never displayed his Stand ability in front of Saeko; at most, he had simply used brute strength to drive a wooden sword through a cement wall.
So he looked at Yukinoshita Yukino and asked:
"I did indeed use my Stand ability… was it your sister who told you?"
Originally, he thought that with Yukinoshita Yukino's personality, she would admit it without hesitation.
But when Shin finished speaking, he saw a hint of doubt appear on Yukinoshita Yukino's face, quickly turning into a look of surprise.
She stared blankly for quite a while before asking, seemingly in disbelief:
"What did you say? My sister?"
"Ah, so you didn't hear about it from your sister, huh?"
Yukinoshita Yukino's reaction told Shin that her source of information wasn't Haruno.
It seemed his previous guess was correct—Yukinoshita Haruno had no intention of dragging Yukinoshita Yukino into family matters, nor letting her come into contact with "superpowers" and such.
It was just that Yukinoshita Yukino seemed to have learned similar information from elsewhere, so Haruno's secrecy was, in truth, meaningless.
"I see… yesterday when you left school with her, were you discussing this kind of thing?"
Yukinoshita Yukino immediately recalled the scene she had inadvertently witnessed at the school gates yesterday—Shin and Haruno leaving together.
At the time, she had speculated whether their leaving together was related to "superpowers" and the like. Now, it seemed her guess was confirmed.
"Sort of, though it was really just her unilaterally coming to find me."
Shin shrugged, not denying it, and instead raised an eyebrow at Yukinoshita Yukino.
"You seem to already know a few things… so, if there's anything you want to ask, just ask. As long as it's not too outrageous, I'll answer you.
"Think of it as a little benefit based on our relationship—after all, I think we can call ourselves friends, right?"
"Friends…?"
Yukinoshita Yukino froze for a moment, as if she hadn't expected Shin to view their relationship so optimistically.
However, being acknowledged as a friend by Shin made her feel a bit happy for some reason—perhaps because his current status was anything but ordinary, and he was instead the legendary "superpowered person."
For someone as rule-abiding as Yukinoshita Yukino, being acknowledged by such an exceptional existence brought a strange sense of accomplishment.
"I see… a Stand, the Shinomiya family, the Kiryu group…"
After asking several questions and receiving Shin's answers, Yukinoshita Yukino slumped slightly against the back of her chair, her eyes still filled with shock.
She had just asked a few questions about "superpowers" and received answers so detailed they could have been straight out of a manga's setting book.
At first listen, those things all sounded extremely chūnibyō, but thinking of her sister and Saeko Busujima's previous situations, it was clear that what Shin said was real.
It also explained why Haruno and the Busujima family would actively approach Shin.
Even a large clan like the Shinomiya family could gain benefits with Shin's help—so smaller families would naturally be even more tempted.
But at this moment, Yukinoshita Yukino's heartbeat was racing—not because Shin's ability could bring benefits to her family, a somewhat mundane concern—
But because she suddenly felt a sense of yearning… like finding a road leading to a different world in the midst of her unchanging daily life.
Yukinoshita Yukino wasn't someone who particularly sought out excitement, but right now, she suddenly wanted to step into the "world" Shin inhabited.
So she looked straight at Shin and asked:
"…Then, is there a possibility that I could also become a Stand user?"
"You also want to be a Stand user?"
Shin stroked his chin, looking at Yukinoshita Yukino—he had thought she wasn't very interested in such things.
But thinking about it, before he transmigrated, even though Shin had seen the work Yukinoshita Yukino came from, that work didn't have supernatural powers, so naturally, he couldn't have predicted her reaction upon encountering them.
Now it seemed Yukinoshita Yukino wasn't without interest—she had simply never had the chance to encounter true supernatural powers.
Still, although she looked somewhat expectant, Shin shook his head:
"Unfortunately, the awakening of a Stand depends on aptitude. Neither you nor your sister have Stand aptitude."
"Is that so…"
Yukinoshita Yukino felt a little disappointed—learning that Stand users existed, yet having no chance of becoming one, gave her a strong sense of letdown.
Especially thinking that missing this opportunity might mean she and Shin would one day become parallel lines never to intersect again made her feel momentarily irritable.
"…But, considering you've helped a friend of mine before, it's not entirely impossible."
Seeing her disappointment, Shin couldn't help but smile and add.
Coincidentally, he had an experiment in mind, though he had been hesitating about who to use as the test subject—now it seemed Yukinoshita Yukino might be a good choice.
As for the test itself…
"Try carrying this with you."
Shin reached out and plucked a black feather from Black Bird Requiem's shoulder, then used High-Note Saxophone's ability to materialize it so Yukinoshita Yukino could see it.
He placed the black feather on the table and said to the slightly stunned Yukinoshita Yukino:
"Every few days I'll come to test you… maybe this thing can change your Stand aptitude."
Indeed, because Matou Sakura had carried Black Bird's feather with her for ten years, she seemed to have completely gained Stand aptitude, even being able to see the maid-outfit Stand worn by Reines.
So Shin suspected that long-term contact with a Stand component might change a person's aptitude.
He didn't know whether this was unique to his Stand or if it applied to all Stands.
In any case, this was the perfect opportunity to research whether such a method could really change a person's Stand aptitude—and whether Matou Sakura's case was an exception or the norm.
To be continued…