[3] : Time to Eat Big Sis?

You could say calling this cat "shameless" is never an exaggeration.

Ten minutes later, when Bokue Keikain finished his shower and stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his neck, he turned to see a certain cat-eared girl at the dining table. She'd already opened the briefcase that contained the sealed item and was sitting there—holding the dried, purple-black finger wrapped in talismans—rotating it back and forth under the overhead light.

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"Hey, Bokue, check this out—looks like one of those Onmyōji thingies, right?"

"…Hand it over."

He had, of course, told Kuroka not to open the case before he went into the bathroom. But Bokue knew full well that a simple warning would never curb her curiosity. So he wasn't at all surprised by the sight that greeted him.

He walked over and sat beside her at the table.

But Kuroka didn't pass him the sealed object right away. Instead, she climbed fully onto his lap.

Through the thin silk of her kimono, she could clearly sense his body heat, her nose picking up the faint, fresh scent of body wash and steam.

It was like finding her favorite cozy nook. Kuroka smiled contentedly and, leaning her cheek against his chest, finally held out the sealed finger.

"Here."

"Mmm…"

Bokue took the talisman-wrapped finger from her. After a quick glance, he shook his head.

"It's not Onmyōji-related. This is Jujutsu Sorcerer work."

"Is there even a difference? Looks like a bunch of scribbles to me."

Kuroka gestured at the tightly packed talismans on the finger.

"…That's exactly why it's from a jujutsu sorcerer—it's literally covered in scribbles."

With his thumb and forefinger, Bokue lifted one end of the talisman at the fingertip and gave it a slight tug, peeling the entire thing off in one continuous strip.

No one would've guessed all those overlapping talismans were actually a single, absurdly long piece—like a roll of duct tape wrapped around a leaky pipe from end to end.

He set the finger back on the table and stretched out the talisman to show Kuroka.

"Now you see the difference?"

"I'll be honest—nope."

"Come on, it's obvious. Look at all the repetitive content—that's how jujutsu sorcerers do it. We Onmyōji never draw stuff out this long. We keep it neat and concise—just enough to get the job done."

"Feels like you get extra salty anytime jujutsu sorcerers come up."

Kuroka blew a light breath against his cheek and poked his face.

Bokue shrugged. "Not salty—just stating facts. Most jujutsu sorcerers in the world awakened their powers on their own. No real lineage to speak of—fine. But imagine an average Joe suddenly gets superhuman abilities. It often warps their personality. Basically… they act like nouveau riche. Worse, because there's no established method to refine or simplify their techniques, they stay locked in that messy, primal form. They don't evolve. If I had to sum it up in one word—crude."

"And even the so-called 'Big Three Families' in the jujutsu world aren't much better."

"First, look at the Zen'in Clan. Their signature is the Ten Shadows Technique—they claim anyone who masters it automatically inherits leadership. Yet their current head never even inherited Ten Shadows to begin with."

"Then there's the Gojo Clan, who rely on Limitless. But you can only use Limitless if you also have the family's unique Six Eyes trait. Apparently, about thirty years ago, a 'strongest sorcerer' was born into the family with both Limitless and Six Eyes at once. Problem is, that kind of phenomenon only happens once every few centuries. Sure, they got lucky this time, but once that 'strongest' eventually kicks the bucket, who knows if they'll survive until the next one is born?"

"Finally, the Kamo Clan, whose signature is Blood Manipulation. The barrier to entry isn't quite as high, so you can learn it without insane genetics… but you have to use your own blood as the medium. So everyone there's chronically anemic—when they fight, they might win, but it's always a case of hurting the enemy by a thousand while also losing eight hundred themselves."

"But if you look at our Keikain Clan—"

At that, Bokue abruptly changed his tone, raising a fist and pointing his thumb back at himself with proud, passionate fervor.

"Our family's inherited technique—Hagun—is basically a portable ancestral shrine. The further along the family line goes, the more generations of past heads you can summon, and the stronger it becomes. That's real lineage, unlike those so-called Big Three that rely on random genetic lottery."

"Oh…"

Kuroka listened to this long rant—and then asked, point-blank:

"So, does that mean you can use this Hagun thing?"

Bokue fell silent for a moment, then nodded with forced confidence.

"Sort of, yeah. It's not that complicated. My kid sister Yura is still in middle school, and she can already use it."

"Huh. Okay, then."

'Well, if even Bokue's little sister can do it, presumably he can, too…' Kuroka thought.

Then her gaze wandered back to the purple-black finger on the table—now stripped of its talisman.

"So, what do we do with it? The seal's already off—if we just leave it there, won't something dangerous pop out?"

"In theory, you could just wrap it again. But this talisman's about to give out anyway. I'll just create a new seal."

At that, faint Spiritual power ignited at Bokue's fingertips. He touched the side of the briefcase he'd brought back.

In an instant, the energy etched intricate characters across the case's surface—these symbols shimmered like living things, weaving into a crisscrossed Seal formation.

"That'll do. Then we can just toss the finger in and close the lid."

"But seriously, what is this thing?"

He scrunched his nose, leaning in to examine the finger again from various angles. Coming up blank, he grabbed his phone and snapped a photo. Then he opened a certain forum app.

Kuroka peeked curiously. "What's that forum?"

"It's a paranormal board run by folks at the Tokyo Jujutsu High. Most users are jujutsu sorcerers, plus a few supernatural hobbyists. I've gotten a few gigs off there before."

"Gigs?" Kuroka blinked. "Didn't you just trash talk jujutsu sorcerers as a bunch of nouveau riche—"

"Money's money," he said smoothly, as he typed out a new thread. His thumbs tapped the screen while he added text to the photo:

[You'll never guess what I found night-fishing…]

Then he attached the picture of the finger and hit post.

"…That's it?"

Kuroka tilted her head at the "Post Successful +3 EXP" message on-screen.

Bokue locked his phone, picked up the finger, shut it in the now-sealed briefcase, and set it aside. With his hands free, he lightly smacked the catgirl's rear through her kimono.

"Of course. Not like I'm gonna stay up all night waiting for replies. I'll check back in the morning."

"Mmph…"

Kuroka made a small sound but didn't stand up as he'd expected. Instead, she deftly turned another ninety degrees in his lap, shifting from a sideways lean to a full, face-to-face embrace. She wound her arms around his neck, and her legs slid to either side beneath her kimono. Leaning in, she purred into his ear:

"Well, you've already had dinner, and you've taken a shower… so isn't it time… to eat… your big sis…?"

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