Chapter 3 - Checking Yotsuya Miko's Potential

Head pounding.

Yotsuya Miko groggily opened her eyes. What greeted her was the pure white ceiling of the school infirmary, the white curtains drawn around the bed, and... the male spirit who had been walking alongside Rin Tohsaka earlier, now sitting by her bedside.

Miko immediately covered her mouth, trying to suppress her fear, but the shock of waking up to such a sight was too much. A small whimper escaped her lips, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Oh, you're awake?"

A mature yet somewhat airy voice came from outside the curtains. The curtains were pulled aside, revealing a blonde school nurse with a chest larger than her head. She smiled warmly at Miko.

"That's great, Yotsuya-san, you're really awake!"

"N-Nurse Marikawa Shizuka..." Miko struggled to control her emotions but couldn't stop herself from sniffling.

"I-I..."

"You fainted at the school gate," Marikawa Shizuka explained. "Luckily, Kaito-kun carried you to the infirmary. But it's strange, the diagnosis says you were scared to the point of fainting. Huh? Yotsuya-san, why are you so pale? And why are you crying?"

"K-Kaito-kun?" Miko's tears froze as she turned to look at Kaito.

"That's me," Kaito said with a smile.

After Marikawa Shizuka checked Miko and confirmed that she was fine and just needed some rest, she left the infirmary. Miko finally gathered her thoughts and turned to Kaito, who was still sitting by her bed with a grin.

"Why did you scare me?" Miko asked, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and confusion. But then she realized something wasn't right. "No, wait... why did you say, 'Can you see me?' And why could you walk through people? Why couldn't Yurikawa-san see you?"

The barrage of questions made Miko's face pale again. Could it be that Marikawa Shizuka had also become a spirit?

"How should I explain this?" Kaito rubbed his head, then stood up and pulled open the white curtains.

Sunlight streamed in, and Miko squinted. Then she saw it—a terrifying spirit perched on Marikawa Shizuka's shoulder!

"Oh, Kaito-kun, is something wrong?" Marikawa Shizuka, who was rubbing her shoulders, looked up at Kaito with curiosity.

"Shizuka, does your shoulder feel sore?"

"Huh? How did you know, Kaito-kun?"

"I know a little about medicine," Kaito replied.

As Kaito approached, the spirit on Marikawa Shizuka's back began to tremble in fear. It seemed to want to flee but was reluctant to leave. Kaito reached out, grabbed the spirit, and with a single squeeze, it let out a wail before dissolving into a puff of black smoke.

Marikawa Shizuka immediately felt relief in her shoulders and smiled in surprise.

"Wow, it really feels better! Is this some kind of traditional Chinese medicine? Kaito-kun, can you teach me? I'll do anything~"

Kaito chuckled. "Maybe another time."

"Aww..." Marikawa Shizuka pouted, but Kaito had already turned and walked away without a second glance.

Miko, who had been watching everything with wide eyes, finally snapped out of her daze when Kaito returned to her bedside.

"Are you an exorcist?!" she whispered, her face filled with hope.

Over the past few days, Miko had searched both in real life and online for exorcists and bought various talismans, but all of them had turned out to be frauds. None of them could actually see the spirits, and the talismans were useless.

"An exorcist? Not exactly, but you can think of me that way," Kaito replied.

Miko's face lit up with excitement. She opened her mouth to speak but hesitated.

"Do you want to become my disciple?" Kaito asked.

Miko nodded vigorously. "Can I?"

"You can. Your spiritual vision is strong. But before I accept you as my disciple, I need to check your potential."

"Check my potential?" Miko's face turned red.

From her recent research online, she knew that in Taoist practices, checking one's potential involved touching various parts of the body to assess bone structure and determine if someone was suited for cultivation. In other words, it required a thorough physical examination.

"It's up to you," Kaito said, glancing at the new trait he had acquired after carrying Miko to the infirmary.

[Conditions met, triggering a new trait!]

[Congratulations, host! You have acquired the trait: Five Thunder Spell!]

[Five Thunder Spell]: A Taoist thunder technique that calls upon the power of the Thunder God. When mastered, it can purify all impurities in the world.

Kaito wasn't just trying to take advantage of the situation or farm rewards. Checking Miko's potential was a genuine requirement to see if she had the aptitude for learning such techniques.

"But I'll be at this school for a while. Whenever you're ready, come find me," Kaito said, then stood up and left without hesitation.

As the curtains closed behind him, Miko heard Marikawa Shizuka's voice.

"Kaito-kun, can you teach me too? I'll do anything! Please, Kaito-kun, teach me~"

Miko snapped out of her thoughts. What was she hesitating for? She had finally met a real exorcist who was willing to take her as a disciple. This was a precious opportunity she couldn't afford to miss!

So what if it involved a physical examination?

"Sensei!!!" Miko called out urgently.

She jumped out of bed, not even bothering to put on her shoes, and immediately prostrated herself before Kaito in a deep bow.

"Please accept me as your disciple!"

Marikawa Shizuka, watching Miko's dramatic display, blinked in surprise before suddenly understanding. She quickly knelt down beside Miko and bowed as well.

"Please accept me as your disciple too!"

Kaito: "?"

As Kaito turned around, unsure how to respond to the sudden and overly formal display from Yotsuya Miko and Marikawa Shizuka, the door to the infirmary swung open.

"Shizuka, I think I pulled a muscle. Can you take a look—"

A lazy voice trailed off as the speaker stopped mid-sentence.

Kaito turned to see a woman standing at the doorway, her eyes widening as she took in the scene: Miko and Marikawa Shizuka prostrating themselves before Kaito like some kind of cult ritual.

The woman, none other than the school's infamous teacher, Hiratsuka Shizuka, stared at Kaito with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"What... is going on here?" she asked, her voice low and threatening.