Hitori Gotoh Plays "The Empty Box" / Yukino Yukinoshita's Suspicions

It's not that their information has been hidden, but rather that their presence has been reduced to make them easier for people to subconsciously overlook.

"To be honest, your Stand ability makes me curious to see what level it can reach after it fully matures."

Enhancing one's own perception and influencing the perception of others is, in a sense, a grand illusion.

Kato Megumi, on the other hand, seemed quite modest.

"It was with Hinakage's help that I was able to obtain this power. Perhaps it was Hinakage's Destiny Power that had an effect on my Stand."

Miyauchi Hiyage felt that Kato Megumi's attitude towards him seemed to have changed after she awakened her Stand.

Before this, they could be considered to have a normal friendship.

But now Kato Megumi's attitude towards him is clearly not that of a friend, but rather more like that of a lord and his retainer.

However, Miyauchi Hiyage didn't know what information Kato Megumi had received from her stand-in. With Miyauchi Kouka and Eriri Spencer Sawamura by his side, it wasn't appropriate to ask her about such things, so he could only let Kato Megumi do as she pleased for the time being.

Miyauchi Hiyage did not respond, but continued to keep his gaze on the Shadow Gotou Hitori.

"She should activate her Stand ability."

After all, the Shadow Gotou Hitori, had just said that he wanted to help the cafe staff attract more customers.

But death rock alone certainly can't achieve this.

So, apart from her own Stand ability, at least Miyauchi Hiyage couldn't think of any other way.

As Miyauchi Hiyage finished speaking, several pedestrians appeared on the street.

Judging from their appearance, they should be ordinary office workers walking through here on their way home from get off work.

Normally, they wouldn't come here specifically for a cup of coffee.

Especially since there was a rock girl playing death metal music that was somewhat ahead of its time for ordinary people right next to the coffee shop.

But then, as these people walked away from the coffee shop with furrowed brows, something happened, and they abruptly sat down at the coffee shop's tables and chairs, and somewhat bewilderedly called over a waiter to order some snacks and drinks.

Chapter 364: Gotou Hitori Plays the Sora no Hako

"Is this... a temporary control over someone else's actions?"

Seeing the passersby sitting in the outdoor cafe with slightly stiff expressions as they ordered, not to mention Miyauchi Hiyage, even Miyauchi Kouka could sense the problem.

"It's still unclear what kind of ability she has, but she must have used her ability on these passersby just now to make them sit down," Miyauchi Hiyage said, looking at the shadowy Shadow Gotou Hitori was still engrossed in playing her instrument, but she didn't know how the other person had managed to do it.

It was clear that the staff were also a bit bewildered by this sudden surge of customers. There were only two or three tables of customers in the entire cafe just now, and some of them were rushing to leave because of Gotou Hitori's death rock music.

As a result, just two or three minutes after the other party offered to help attract customers, more than a dozen customers suddenly appeared in the coffee shop, making it difficult for the staff to keep up with the orders.

"But we, the other customers at the previous tables, and the staff don't seem to have been affected much," Eriri Spencer Sawamura said, looking around.

"So, the opponent's ability isn't just a simple area-of-effect attack, but rather it filters out people within that area?"

"And not everyone who passes by will be attracted. There are still a few empty seats here, but just now a few people passed by and they didn't seem to want to stay at all."

Miyauchi Kouka muttered to himself, seemingly trying to analyze what kind of abilities the other party possessed.

"Let's keep watching. If it's a mind control ability, then there will definitely be a reaction after she makes contact," Miyauchi Hiyage simply checked that there were no problems with the people's physical condition and then stopped worrying about it.

A few more minutes passed, Shadow Gotou Hitori finished playing another song and stopped to rest for a while.

A few scattered claps broke out from the few customers in the open-air café, while most others looked slightly puzzled, as if they were just realizing why they were sitting there.

"It doesn't seem like simple mind control. Judging from the expressions on the faces of the guests that Gotou Hitori brought over, they actually knew what they had done. They were just confused about their actions after the music stopped."

Kato Megumi also took out her phone, and after the Black Hermit's analysis, two likely outcomes were given.

Shadow Gotou Hitori could be to exert psychological suggestion on those around him through music, making them act according to Gotou Hitori's wishes as much as possible.

Another theory is that since the Shadow Gotou Hitori is a being born from the Gotou Hitori, the Shadow Gotou Hitori may have the ability to influence the main body in reverse through the shadow.

The former has a 30% probability, the latter a 40% probability, and the remaining 40% is due to insufficient information to conduct further analysis at this time.

Looking at the probability of 30% + 40% + 40%, it already exceeds 100%, but there is still a relatively low possibility that the Stand of Shadow Gotou Hitori has two abilities at the same time.

"Hikage-kun, which possibility do you think it is?" Kato Megumi asked Miyauchi Hiyage in a low voice.

"That's still a shadow," Miyauchi Hiyage pointed to his eyes. "You might not notice it, but my eyes can see it clearly. When they entered within a hundred meters of this area, their shadows were out of sync with them for a fraction of a second. And when the music stopped, a similar phenomenon occurred, only this time it was much faster."

Even for Kato Megumi, her stand-in probably only noticed a slight problem. It couldn't be completely certain about the distance of a hundred meters and the asynchrony of a fraction of a second or even a fraction of a second, so it only gave a 40% probability.

"However, rather than manipulating shadows, shadows are actually another side of a person that is not easily noticed by others."

A shadow exists in relation to its host. Unless someone can live in absolute darkness, no one can escape their shadow as long as there is even a glimmer of light.

As Shadow Gotou Hitori Gotou Hitori's shadow, she knows everything about him and understands all of "her" inner desires, which is why she manifests such a peculiar behavior after gaining freedom.

If we connect the shadow with "the hidden self within," then Gotou Hitori's Stand ability isn't too hard to guess.

"However, if it really is about controlling shadows, there is actually another person in the Jujutsu High who can control shadows, but their shadow magic is probably not as strong as Gotou Hitori's."

Megumi Fushiguro's ten shadow spells can indeed control shadows and summon shadow shikigami from them.

However, nine-tenths of the power of the ten shadow spells actually resides in the final demon, Xu Luo, which is almost impossible to control and tame using conventional methods.

Such a summoned shadow shikigami, which is completely disobedient and kills everyone it can see before dissipating, may not be as expressive or controllable as the Shadow Gotou Hitori is currently displaying.

Given the abilities Gotou Hitori has demonstrated so far, Miyauchi Hiyage is somewhat curious whether Gotou Hitori could control the girl Shadow Yuuko, who is currently working as a laborer for him in his basement, Gotou Hitori's house.

After all, Shadow Yuuko is the embodiment of the negative emotions that Kanoe Yuko herself is most unwilling to face.

"Hmm... I've done the math, and she's probably controlled about thirty people so far. These people come to this cafe to spend money and listen to her play, even though she's already deactivated her powers. Besides the six people who applauded, there were two who gave her money as a tip. They must have acted on their own initiative."

Listening to Miyauchi Hiyage's analysis, Miyauchi Kouka couldn't help but mutter a few words: "So what's so good about this kind of messy music? What's the mentality of those people to pay for it?"

Eriri Spencer Sawamura, standing to the side, offered her answer, "Even within rock music, death metal has a relatively small audience. Normally, one needs a certain understanding of music and rock to fully appreciate the characteristics and charm of this genre. However, everyone's aesthetic is different, and some people are naturally interested in this kind of music. It's just that they may have never fully experienced this kind of music before, so they themselves are unaware of their own preferences."

Just like her, when she first started learning to paint, she didn't understand what was so good about those abstract modern paintings.

But as she devoted more energy and time to painting, she gradually came to realize that painting is never better the closer it is to reality.

Even in the Middle Ages, many world-famous paintings would sacrifice realism in some areas and choose to present the subject in a more aesthetically pleasing way in order to highlight the key points of the painting.

Although she herself has not yet reached the level of a master, now when she appreciates the works of those abstract masters, even if she still cannot fully understand what these works contain, she certainly will no longer find these paintings incomprehensible as she did when she was a child.

Similarly, she has also met people who, upon seeing these abstract works for the first time, could immediately appreciate their charm, but such people are indeed few in number.

Kato Megumi also handed her phone to Miyauchi Kouka at the opportune moment. The phone showed that the audience had indeed become interested in the musical style of Gotou Hitori after listening patiently for a few minutes.

"Well, I still don't really like this style myself," Miyauchi Kouka said listlessly.

In response, Miyauchi Hiyage took out her wallet, pulled out several 10,000 yen bills, and handed them to her older sister.

"What do you mean by that? Are you trying to comfort me?"

Miyauchi Kouka rolled his eyes at his younger brother.

Miyauchi Hiyage shook his head. "What I mean is, if you don't like the music they're playing, then just pay them to change it to a type of music you like."

Miyauchi Kouka glanced suspiciously at Shadow Gotou Hitori his performance. "He's a rock musician, are you sure you're not humiliating him?"

"She's just venting and having fun by expressing things she hasn't experienced," Miyauchi Hiyage said, pointing to Gotou Hitori his "strange clothes."

"She may genuinely like this kind of music, but if you've read her blog, you'd know that she likes more than just metal rock; she's got a wide range of tastes."

Someone who has kept their preferences to themselves for years and has few friends is now completely open-minded and naturally wants to use more unique ways to express their individuality.

Miyauchi Hiyage watched this guy split off from Gotou Hitori's body and clearly saw that in the past two days, the other party first spent a whole day going to some bars and dance halls that he had never dared to go before. After wandering around there and feeling bored, he then spent another day today getting himself this outfit.

Once she'd had her fill of that excitement, she probably had no regrets.

By then, even if Gotou Hitori hasn't discovered her existence yet, she'll probably have to show up in front of Gotou Hitori to declare her presence after the Stand rampage ends.

Miyauchi Hiyage coughed lightly, then took out a few bills from his wallet. "Now, you can go over and ask her if she's Guitar Hero, then look at her with admiration and ask her to sign your autograph, and then ask her to play some of the songs you've covered in the last two years. I bet she'll definitely fulfill your request as a 'fan'."

Gotou Hitori's personality, she must have thought about the scenario of being recognized, but her social anxiety made her heart stop just thinking about it.

But can you really say that she never expected this kind of thing?

How could I not have had expectations?

Clearly, this Shadow Gotou Hitori, is probably hoping to run into a fan who recognizes her.

"You can do that? But I haven't seen any of her videos, how would I know what songs she's covered? And if you want to hear them, why don't you go and listen yourself?"

"Because if a female fan goes over, the other party is more likely to lower their guard," Miyauchi Hiyage said casually, then stroked his chin. "How about this, I remember she covered a song called 'Sora no Hako' at the end of last year. You can say that you really like this song, and if you can get her to play it, your allowance will double this month, how about that?"

Doubling one's allowance is very tempting for someone like Miyauchi Kouka who spends money extravagantly. Miyauchi Kouka gritted his teeth and then added, "Also, after you awaken your Stand, you have to find a way to help me awaken one too."

"Alright, alright, I definitely won't forget you when the time comes. As soon as I awaken my Stand, I'll help you awaken yours next, okay?"

Miyauchi Hiyage waved his hand, indicating that it was settled then.

He originally planned to awaken Stands for the people around him one by one after he figured out the process of painless awakening Stands.

Miyauchi Kouka, that troublemaker, even if Miyauchi Hiyage asks Wonder of U to help keep an eye on her safety, her own safety would be more guaranteed if she had a stand-in.

After receiving his younger brother's assurance, Miyauchi Kouka's face immediately broke into a bright smile.

Right then and there, she took out her phone, found the video account of Guitar Hero, followed it, asked Kato Megumi cover for her, and then used the funds given to her by Miyauchi Hiyage to try and get close to the Shadow Gotou Hitori.

It has to be said that among the four of them, only Miyauchi Kouka is the most natural fit.

In just a few words, Miyauchi Hiyage saw a hint of undisguised joy in Gotou Hitori's eyes, which he tried to keep calm.

The other party even took out a marker that was obviously prepared in advance from his pocket and wrote the words "Guitar Hero" in large letters on Miyauchi Kouka's underwear.

A minute or two later, as Miyauchi Kouka returned with a smug look on his face, Gotou Hitori on the flowerbed suddenly changed his tune and started playing the song "Sora no Hako".

"It seems like Hikage-kun is quite happy," Kato Megumi remarked, watching Miyauchi Hiyage holding up his phone to take pictures.

Miyauchi Hiyage smiled and nodded, "Because it is really interesting. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the two main characters will react when they see this video."

Chapter 365: Yukino Yukinoshita's Suspicion

After filming the video of Gotou Hitori playing the Sora no Hako, Miyauchi Hiyage casually created a new account and uploaded the video.

Others might need one or two years of hard work and perseverance to build up their accounts. Even Miyauchi Himekage, relying on the jokes and ideas from her previous life, spent several months and studied with the people of Asahigaoka for a long time before gradually Miyauchi Hiyage up her account.

However, for Miyauchi Hiyage Himakage now, with the Golden Rule —an unreasonable ability that Miyauchi Hiyage has researched and can automatically turn on and off—he can easily create a popular account and generate revenue within half a month or even a few days if he wants.

This wealth luck Miyauchi Hiyage can also share a portion with those who are close to you, such as Asahigaoka Media, whose development speed in the past two months has increased significantly compared to the previous year.

Tohru and Shiina Mahiru were able to gain a million followers in just one month thanks to Miyauchi Hiyage's ability.

Watching the video of the unique Gotou Hitori and her playing "The Sora no Hako," Miyauchi Hiyage casually added a few tags.

This can be considered a gift from Miyauchi Hiyage to the Kessoku Band, the Diamond Glitter who are currently reorganizing, and the Thorn Band, which is not yet fully formed.

With this traffic boost, their initial stages should be easier than in the original work.

Of course, the only victim among them is probably Gotou Hitori himself.

After all, if someone as socially anxious as her saw herself getting so much discussion online, she'd probably faint on the spot.

"I have a feeling that you're planning something weird, Hinkage," Miyauchi Kouka muttered to himself.

Miyauchi Hiyage waved his hand. "It's just that we did some good deeds, it's just that the people involved might feel a bit embarrassed."

As he said this, he glanced at the snacks on the table, which Miyauchi Kouka had almost all eaten by himself.

Before they knew it, they had been sitting there for almost half an hour.

Aside from playing a few death metal rock songs at the beginning, the songs that Shadow Gotou Hitori played gradually became more normal afterward.

Even without using her Stand ability, her professional-level guitar skills alone are enough to attract a lot of onlookers.

Within half an hour, the instrument case in front of the other person had accumulated quite a few tips.

Including the tip that Miyauchi Hiyage gave to Miyauchi Kouka, it's almost equal to the money that Shadow Gotou Hitori secretly took from Gotou Hitori.

"They're almost here, we should probably head out," Miyauchi Hiyage said, glancing at the other side of the street.

Morioh is only so big. Although he and Kato Megumi each used some tricks to buy some more time for the Shadow Gotou Hitori, after spending so much time, it's indeed time for someone to find this place.

Miyauchi Hiyage, who had just uploaded the video to the internet, still felt a little guilty for doing something wrong; she didn't want to be arrested on the spot.

"Hey, are we leaving already? What if she gets into a fight with those girls later?" Miyauchi Kouka felt a little unsatisfied.

She was also wondering if, if the two sides couldn't reach an agreement, they would immediately start a superpower brawl.

Seeing that her older sister was clearly reluctant to leave, Miyauchi Hiyage shrugged.

Indeed, given the current mental state of Shadow Gotou Hitori, there is a real possibility that some turbulence might occur. In short, she certainly won't return to Gotou Hitori's original body so easily.

However, based on Miyauchi Hiyage's understanding of Gotou Hitori...

Her stand-in wasn't exactly lawless; there were probably just some hiccups along the way, but the other person would eventually revert to their original self.