7

.

It takes another week, in wake of Shiki's return from the Kamo Clan. But eventually, a consensus is reached regarding the entire incident:

"For dereliction of duty, Gojo Ima will no longer remain as the guardian of Gojo Shiki."

The words are delivered lightly, without any particular tone or inflection. But beside the young girl, Ima-san's frame is visibly trembling, and it's clear that the woman is unhappy with the ultimate verdict reached by the clan's elders. Her mouth opens in protest, but any objections are promptly silenced as the messenger speaks again.

"You failed to properly care for your charge. You allowed her to leave the compound without verifying anything prior, and you nearly allowed a new technique to fall into the Kamo Clan's hands."

"I… am aware of my failings, regarding this matter," Ima-san grimaces and bows her head, hands clenched into fists at her sides. "But please, Shiki is Arata's daughter! No matter what, I would humbly request that this decision be reconsidered. Surely the child shouldn't be separated from her blood–"

"Before anything else, the girl is a daughter of the Gojo Clan," the man interrupts impassively, looking almost bored. "… And it's a bit too late to be playing that card, Ima. If I recall correctly, you only ever visited your brother's family once, after he married and left the Gojo name behind."

Ima-san flushes as she draws back, her cheeks an ugly color. "Arata chose to discard the clan name willingly. How could I possibly have–"

"Clan name or no, he was still your brother." Brown eyes narrow coldly, regarding the trembling woman in a manner that's almost… disdainful. His voice drops lower, dangerously soft. "You may have taken it upon yourself to care for his daughter in wake of his passing, but it's clear to anyone with eyes that you see her more as a tool than her own person. They elders may not have cared for it so long as the girl was properly looked after, but then you went and proved your incompetence in spades."

"How dare you!" There is a tight fury in Ima-san's voice as she glares at the brown-haired man. "Gojo Jihei. What gives you the right to say such things to me? All this time, I've been caring for the girl and–"

"And it's the least you could've done in the first place." Jihei-san counters, cutting her off easily. "Ima, you had only one job, and it was to take care of your niece. Arata would be rolling in his grave if he knew what you've been doing. The Kamo Clan, really? What on earth were you thinking?"

Ima-san's lips thin into a severe expression. "Kansuke-sama was the one who approached me. You speak as if I had a choice in the matter."

There's a hollow ring of something undeniably bitter to those words, but Jihei-san shakes his head.

"There's always a choice, Ima," he sighs tiredly. "Had you bothered to check with anyone or simply even make a report to Daisaku-sama before heading out with Kansuke-san, this debacle could've been avoided entirely. Can you really look me in the eyes and say that you had the girl's best interests at heart here? … Or did you simply see a rare opportunity for the Tobiume to one-up the other branch houses, and decide to seize this chance to build connections with the Kamo Clan through Kansuke-san's introduction?"

The silence following those pointed questions is telling.

"… You were too hasty. I know that the Tobiume have been in a difficult position, and that you've always worked tirelessly to improve your line's standing within the clan. But when you became responsible for the child Arata left behind, you should've known better than to mix up your priorities like this."

Ima-san looks away stiffly, "I don't need you lecturing me on how to act."

"Really? Someone needs to remind you of these things, certainly," the man responds. "… And seeing as how you've cowed your entire line into submission after taking in your niece, I suppose that task now falls to me. I can't say I'm impressed, Ima."

For a long moment, Ima-san does not reply to his words. Her gaze briefly flickers towards Shiki, something strangely torn in her expression, before it shutters away into a mask of cold, unmoving calm. She turns back to Jihei-san.

"… Is there truly no changing the elders' minds?"

"On the matter of your niece being transferred to another household?" The man shakes his head decisively. "No, I'm afraid not. Kansuke-san's plans may have fallen through in the end, but the elders are still… displeased, that things were able to progress as far as they did in the first place. And you enabled that, Ima."

The woman frowns, "I enabled nothing."

"Your inaction itself was enablement enough," Jihei-san cuts her a sharp look. "You should know the kind of attention that the child is receiving! A new ocular curse… how could you possibly think that the elders would risk her leaving the compound with so little protection, as untrained as she is?"

"I did not think…" Ima-san trails off helplessly, wringing her hands. "It was the Kamo Clan."

Jihei-san clicks his tongue. "The Kamo Clan has their own internal issues to be resolving, as of late. You should've realized that there was something amiss the moment you saw that it was a personal invitation from Lady Kamo Matsuhime, delivered by Gojo Kansuke."

"What's even the point of saying all this now?" The woman laughs, a bitter sound. "… The elders won't allow me to keep the girl anymore. All these years, all that I've done for the Tobiume, and now this…"

"… If that's all you can take away from this conversation, then there truly is no hope for you." Gojo Jihei gives the woman a complicated look that's part pity and part scorn, before clearing his expression as he turns towards Shiki. The man is polite enough about it, even if he only meets her eyes briefly before subtly diverting his gaze to the side.

"I am Gojo Jihei, aide to Daisaku-sama," he proceeds to sketch a brief, courteous bow. "… It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, although I regret that it was not under better circumstances."

Shiki offers a slight bow of her own in return. "It's a pleasure, Jihei-san."

Is she happy to be leaving Ima-san? If she thinks about it… yes. Yes, she is. Shiki holds no love for Ima-san. But for some reason, it still doesn't feel like victory in the least, even if there is a sense of vindication to it all.

"Shiki," Ima-san calls softly. The little girl looks towards her aunt silently. "I… visit me sometime, will you?"

Even if this is a request born of selfishness, despite all her faults… there's something strangely vulnerable and conflicted in Ima-san's expression, in this moment. Regretful, almost.

However, Shiki is not moved by her aunt's piteous air in the least. While she does not hate the woman, she certainly does not harbor any kind feelings towards her, either, knowing what the woman is like at her core. Shiki can't say that she's pleased by Ima-san's attitude towards her –that Shiki is only a valuable asset to be taken advantage of– but she supposes that she should be grateful that Ima-san didn't try to hide her motivations, at least. Not like Kansuke-san, who masked everything beneath a calm smile.

Shiki doesn't bother responding to Ima-san. Instead, she simply turns her attention to Jihei-san, who waits patiently to the side. "Who have I been reassigned to?"

"Gojo Kiyohira will be your new caretaker," the man responds. "He is the clan's most talented swordsmen, and a skilled sorcerer. The elders believe that he will be a fine mentor for you."

'Gojo Kiyohira' sounds like a vaguely familiar name. Shiki feels like she's probably heard one of her tutors and trainers mention him at some point, although she can't quite recall just what was said about him, exactly. Shiki doesn't know if living with Kiyohira-san will prove to be any better than living with Ima-san. She certainly hopes so, but the little girl is sharp enough to catch the implication in Jihei-san's words. The elders believe that he will be a fine mentor for you.

So she'll be living with one of her instructors from now on, then. One who will most certainly want to train Shiki to become a strong sorcerer in the future for her 'potential.' Because of her eyes.

… It all comes back to her eyes, doesn't it.

"Please allow me to guide you to your new dwellings, Shiki." Jihei-san says politely. But it's clear that his words are not so much a request as they are a statement, a command. A command from the Gojo elders, who've deemed Gojo Ima unfit to care for her niece any longer in wake of the incident with the Kamo Clan.

(… They're not wrong, really.)

"Shiki!"

The little girl pauses at the call of her name, halfway towards reaching Jihei-san at the gateway.

Ima-san…

"Good-bye," is all she finally says to her aunt, in the end. She steadfastly refuses to turn around. "… Take care."

Is it cold of her, to respond like this? … Perhaps. But Shiki doesn't think that she's wrong in reacting this way. If anything, she should be perfectly justified in how she feels, considering all that Gojo Ima had done.

Good-bye, Ima-san.

Shiki continues walking forward without a single backwards glance.

.

.

Gojo Kiyohira turns out to be a tall, well-muscled man, who has a permanent scowl etched upon his face as deeply as the eerie red lines scored into his body. He grunts and squints at Shiki like a grouchy, grizzled bear when Jihei-san introduces them. There is a beat of stilted silence in wake of Jihei-san's immediate departure when they stare wordlessly at each other, a towering mountain of a middle aged man standing above a tiny slip of a young girl. But it passes, and Kiyohira-san eventually turns on his heel to slowly amble his way back inside his home.

… Leaving Shiki standing alone at the doorway by herself.

The little girl blinks.

Well. That's new, she thinks. It would be a stretch to say that Shiki is well-liked by all the tutors that the Gojo Clan has arranged for her, but never have any of them been openly dismissive of her like this, either. They've all been varying degrees of polite and respectful, for the most part. Kiyohira-san's attitude, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. If Shiki had to take a guess, it was almost as if he–

"Well? What are you still dithering around for? Waiting for someone to hold your hand and lead you inside like a little princess?" Kiyohira-san's voice suddenly sounds, loud and booming. A slight scoff finishes off his words at the end. "Listen, the elders may have ordered me to take you on, but don't think that means anything. Find a spare room and settle yourself in. The dojo is underground; your training starts at six."

There's the faint sound of heavy footsteps receding somewhere down the hallway, quickly fading into silence. Clearly, the man hadn't bothered to linger around for a response to his words.

For a wild moment, Shiki wonders what would happen if she just turned around on his doorstep and walked away. Surely no one would blame her if she did, considering Kiyohira-san's less-than-friendly attitude?

Jihei-san's words float across her mind again. Gojo Kiyohira is the clan's most talented swordsmen, and a skilled sorcerer.

Shiki… does not particularly care much for exorcising curses, truth be told. She hadn't even chosen to be a sorcerer out of her own volition in the first place. In fact, Shiki hadn't had any choice in this matter at all, not with being whisked away from the hospital by Gojo Ima the instant that she'd woken up with cursed blue eyes.

But.

But, it's not like she has any other options. The Gojo Clan will not accept anything else out of her. Her technique is literally the ability to kill, and while Shiki might be a child who doesn't understand much of what's going around her, it doesn't take a genius to see that such a technique would be very useful in exorcising curses. The girl has potential, she'd heard multiple elders saying on more than one occasion, not even bothering to hide their words from her. It's not the Six Eyes, but if developed well and honed correctly, then it could become a powerful technique in its own right. The potential is there.

And, more importantly–

Kento-ojichan.

Kento-ojichan is training to be a sorcerer, at the jujutsu school. He's training to be a sorcerer. And being a sorcerer means fighting curses in order to save people, and that's dangerous. Kento-ojichan is training and fighting curses and he can't even fully focus on that, because he's also worrying about Shiki, even well before the Kamo Clan incident. Especially after the Kamo Clan incident.

If Shiki was stronger, then this wouldn't be an issue.

If Shiki was strong. If she was strong, strong like Satoru-oniichan, then Kansuke-san wouldn't have dared trying to pull what he did. Ima-san would not have been able to control any of Shiki's actions. From the very start, her parents wouldn't be dead.

Shiki lacks strength. She's acutely aware of this now.

… If Shiki can become strong, then Kento-ojichan wouldn't have to worry about her anymore. And, and she would be able to protect Kento-ojichan in the future, too. Right? That's how things work, isn't it? So if Kiyohira-san can help her become strong, then it doesn't matter if he likes Shiki or not. It doesn't matter if he's mean or nice. If he can train her to become strong… then…

Shiki straightens. Exhales. Without any room for doubt, she squares her shoulders and steps inside Kiyohira-san's home.

And thus her training with Gojo Kiyohira begins, on an entirely different level of intensity compared to what she had grown used to.

Shiki quickly discovers that her first impression of Kiyohira-san is both accurate and not. The man seems to be perpetually grouchy, with a temper that's easily irritable. It's clear that he's not particularly pleased to be saddled with a child, special eyes or not, given that he can never stand to be in the same room as her outside of training. And during training, Kiyohira-san doesn't hesitate in raising his voice towards Shiki whenever she makes a mistake with her sword forms. Nor is he above mercilessly hitting her with his own wooden blade during sparring practice.

The first time that had happened, Shiki had been shocked by the pain blooming across her arms and ended up freezing and dropping her own blade –to which Kiyohira-san had responded by striking her so hard in the side that she'd had ugly bruising spread over her ribcage for weeks in the aftermath, and then proceeded to deliver the most spectacular scolding that she'd ever received to date.

"YOU! DO NOT! DROP! YOUR! SWORD!" The man roars at her, red-faced in rage. Shiki can only watch on with wide, watering eyes, curled in pain on the floorboards of the dojo. "Dead, dead, DEAD! If you drop your weapon in battle, you will die. Might as well serve yourself up to the curses on a silver platter like this! Idiot! Imbecile! Do it again and I'll kick you out of my dojo permanently, y'hear?!"

The words are cruel and stinging. The pain is poignant and real, but Shiki grits her teeth regardless and rises to her feet again. You need to become strong. The only freedom is in strength.

"Yes, Kiyohira-san," she says.

The man pauses. For the first time, there's a flicker of something appraising and approving in his eyes –but that might just be her imagination, given that the man's lips curl into a deep scowl in a heartbeat. "… That's Kiyohira-sensei, girl."

All training sessions with Kiyohira-sensei are painful. Shiki is soon constantly covered in cuts and bruises, after coming to live with Kiyohira-sensei. The majority of her days are filled with endless training, repeatedly swinging a wooden sword and being thrown around the training hall by her ill-tempered sensei. Her hands are constantly bandaged and bloody, but Shiki does her best to ignore it all and never complains. If you don't like how I teach things, then you can just scram and never come back!

Other lessons aside from swordplay are held during the afternoons. Sometimes the lessons are on regular subjects, like mathematics and literature, but the majority tend to be a little more… esoteric. How to manipulate cursed energy. Elementary shikigami summoning. Meditation. Seals.

Unlike Ima-san, Kiyohira-sensei does not keep any servants around his home. There are servants who come by to deliver meals each day, to drop off any requested materials or medicine or to take care of laundry, but aside from that it's only Shiki and Kiyohira-sensei in here by themselves.

… It's not so bad. While it's certainly not as comfortable to live with Kiyohira-sensei as Ima-san, at least Kiyohira-sensei doesn't look at Shiki like she's more of a tool than a person, even despite his rough edges.

There are bad days, though. Days when everything hurts, hurts, hurts, overwhelmingly so, and Shiki wonders to herself if this is really worth it. Wonders if it's really right to silently grit her teeth and bear this pain, in the name of training. On days like these, her gaze will linger longer on the red lines scarring Kiyohira-sensei. Both of them know a simple truth: That if Shiki ever cuts along those lines, then Kiyohira-sensei will never be able to hurt her again.

… Shiki knows better than to act upon her impulses thoughtlessly, of course. She'd promised Kento-ojichan that she would be careful with her ability, didn't she? But sometimes, she still wonders.

She never acts upon it, though, so it's harmless enough. Probably.

Let it not be said that Kiyohira-sensei is not a cautious man: He only ever allows Shiki to hold blunt training swords in his home. Shiki's nails are always cut short, and she is only permitted to tie her hair back with a long strip of cloth. She has not seen a hairpin or anything of the like in ages.

But even so, despite all his caution in dealing with his young, dangerous charge… it wasn't Shiki that Kiyohira-sensei should've been wary of.

This becomes evident the first time that Satoru-oniichan drops by to visit her in Kiyohira-sensei's home, unannounced.

It had all happened far, far too quickly. One moment, her white-haired cousin had been standing by the doorway, cheerful and smiling. In the next, his expression shuttered, and suddenly he was right next to Shiki, one hand reaching out to grab her arm. Without a word, he roughly rolls up the long sleeve of her kimono.

"S-Satoru-oniichan?"

Startled, Shiki instinctively tries to withdraw her arm from his grip, but Satoru-oniichan doesn't let her. He doesn't hurt her, his hold on her arm loose but firm. Still, there's nothing Shiki can do as her bare arm is promptly exposed beneath her cousin's gaze. There's no hiding the ugly, mottled yellow-black bruises decorating her forearms, new injuries scattered directly atop the old. The bandages wrapped tightly over her hands are still faintly red with blood.

"… What's going on here?" Satoru-oniichan asks, deliberately calm in a way that's downright unsettling, because Shiki has never heard her cousin speak in this particular tone of voice before.

At this moment, Kiyohira-sensei finally rounds the corner of the hallway. "Satoru-sama? You… you shouldn't be here. If I recall correctly, the elders have not yet given permission for anyone to–"

Her cousin looks up and flings out his arm; instantly, Kiyohira-sensei is thrown off of his feet by some invisible force. The burly man slams into the wall –no, is bodily thrown through the wall– and there is a massive crash from the destructive impact.

… It's the first time she's seen Satoru-oniichan use his cursed technique, and Shiki can't help but openly stare a little bit.

"That wasn't what I asked," her cousin says pleasantly. "Now, what the hell is going on here?"

The last few syllables are punctuated by another sharp gesture with his hand. Kiyohira-sensei's eyes widen and the man immediately moves, nimbly flipping himself up and out of the small crater that had formed where he landed. It's not a second too soon, given that the rubble behind him literally twists and explodes.

If Kiyohira-sensei hadn't moved when he did, he would've lost his right arm instantly.

… His… right arm. Satoru-oniichan is still holding onto Shiki's right arm, in this moment. Shiki is unsure of what to make of this connection. Is it bad that it makes a part of her feel quietly happy, somehow?

"Satoru-sama, you need to calm down–"

Kiyohira-sensei ducks. Above his head, a light fixture shatters.

"I thought I made it clear enough last time that Shiki is under my protection," Satoru-oniichan says flatly. "What, are the elders so desperate for a shiny new weapon that everything I say is worthless now?"

Kiyohira-sensei darts along the corridor. A heartbeat later behind him, every single window breaks.

"Satoru-oniichan," Shiki tugs at her cousin's sleeve a little urgently. It hasn't even been five minutes, and already the house is looking like it's about to fall apart. Are these bruises really such a big deal? "Satoru-oniichan, it's fine. It's only training–"

"It's overkill, is what it is," Satoru-oniichan clicks his tongue in irritation, eyes still trained on Kiyohira-sensei's fumbling. "Oi, are you really training her, or just using her as your personal sandbag? 'Cuz I could use a new sandbag too, get what I'm saying here?"

It's amazing, truth be told. This entire time, Satoru-oniichan hasn't moved a single step –but Kiyohira-sensei is injured and bleeding, always forced on the run lest Satoru-oniichan's technique tear him to pieces. Limitless. The ability to manipulate and distort space at will, through the actualization of "infinity."

… Not that this is really the time or place to be admiring her cousin's cursed technique! Shiki tugs again, this time a little more insistently. "Satoru-oniichan, please don't kill Kiyohira-sensei. Jihei-san said that he's the Gojo Clan's best swordsman. I still need him to teach me kendo."

"Your self-restraint is amazing," her cousin says dryly. "Also, no. I get that you haven't realized it yet, but there's a difference between training and outright abuse, okay? I'll find you a better teacher if you want to keep learning kendo–"

"No pain, no gain, Satoru-sama," Kiyohira-sensei cuts in with a bloody smile. "What, you think I like beating up a kid for fun? But the more she grows accustomed to pain now, the less she'll be hindered by it in the future. Think of it as an investment."

"Investment?! Look, even when I was six–"

"She's different from you, Satoru-sama," the man interrupts brusquely, shaking his head. "I know that you sympathize with the girl for her ocular curse. But she's not you, Satoru-sama. Your eyes may be similar, but your techniques are fundamentally different in nature. And so your training must differ from each other as well, in order for both of you to reach your full potential."

"Hah?" Satoru-oniichan raises an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.

Kiyohira-sensei straightens slowly out of his defensive stance, now that he is being given a chance to speak. "… When it comes to Limitless, mastery of the technique is important. Power and control. Training the technique takes precedence over any development in physical disciplines. For Shiki's 'Fragility,' the opposite is true. Her technique revolves around her being able to strike at the lines that she sees. It's essential that she trains her body so that she is able to utilize her technique effectively."

"… Are you for real?" Satoru-oniichan raises Shiki's arm from where he's still holding her. The little girl gets the feeling that if it weren't for Satoru-oniichan trying to be careful and not aggravate her injuries, he'd be shaking her for emphasis, too. "Look at her. Minor injuries from physical training is normal, but this? This crosses the line. Do you want her to be crippled before she even steps onto the field? 'Cuz I gotta say, you're well on your way towards achieving that goal."

"You exaggerate, Satoru-sama," Kiyohira-sensei's lips twitch, as if he is about to scowl –but apparently thinks better of it, going by Satoru-oniichan's darkening expression. "… She can take it. I haven't even heard any complaints from the girl herself–"

"Because she doesn't know any better, obviously! You seriously think she's familiar enough with physical training to recognize her own limits? She's six, and only just started training. She grew up outside the clan!" Satoru-oniichan shakes his head, obviously disgusted.

For some reason, this actually gives Kiyohira-sensei pause.

The man's mouth opens and closes soundlessly. Then, haltingly, as if he's been thrown for an unexpected loop, "She's… she's an out-clan child with no training? But… she… she bears the family name!"

"… Are you serious?" Satoru-oniichan gives the older man an incredulous look. "The kid's dad left the clan after getting married, and her aunt brought her back in after she awakened her technique. It's been the talk of the clan for months. You should know this! I'm barely even in the compound anymore, and I still know what's going on!"

The mountainous man's brows furrow deeply in consternation as he frowns, one hand coming up to rest at his chin. "I… I only knew that the child with the new ocular curse was born of the Tobiume line. The Tobiume haven't seen any sorcerers in their household for ages, so I assumed that was the reason why her basics were so lacking…"

"That's your excuse?" Her cousin smiles. It's not a very nice expression. "Bzzt, try again. Didn't the elders explain things to you, when they brought Shiki here?"

Kiyohira-sensei coughs. In all the days that she's known the man, this is the first time that Shiki has seen him acting so awkwardly. Even Satoru-oniichan's impromptu attack earlier hadn't seen him floundering and flat-footed like this.

"… I may not have been paying attention to what Jihei was saying," Kiyohira-sensei finally admits, his voice slightly strangled. "Wasn't… wasn't going to give the girl any special treatment, cursed eyes or not."

Satoru-oniichan cracks his knuckles. Not menacingly, but it would be a lie to say that the motion is entirely unthreatening. "Looks like you're an even bigger failure of a teacher than I thought."

Kiyohira-sensei jerks up, "Satoru-sama, I–"

The teenager curls his fingers, cutting off the older man's words. Another section of the house instantly implodes.

Honestly, it's a miracle –and probably a testament to his own skills– that Kiyohira-sensei is still alive at the end of it all, if profusely injured. By the time other clan members finally arrive on the scene, Kiyohira-sensei's home has been reduced to rubble, quite literally. Daisaku-sama is present as well, and the elderly man is visibly displeased… although it's unclear whether his ire is aimed towards Satoru-oniichan or Kiyohira-sensei.

Things change a little bit, after that.

Kiyohira-sensei never apologizes, but he doesn't leave as many injuries on Shiki during training anymore. She can also see the man visibly biting his tongue sometimes, too, instead of spitting out scathing words as they come to mind.

Unexpectedly, he also gives her his share of sakuramochi one day when they sit down for lunch together. Shiki blinks at the extra rice cake on her plate, then slowly looks up.

"… I don't like sweets," she informs him, faintly bewildered.

"Just eat your food," Kiyohira-sensei fires back grumpily. Shiki returns his share of sakuramochi to him silently. Then, after a brief moment of thought, quietly adds her share of sakuramochi to his plate, too.

The man looks askance at her. For a moment she almost thinks that he's about to say something to her, but in the end Kiyohira-sensei only heaves a gusty sigh and proceeds to ignore her entirely for the rest of their meal. He eats both pieces of sakuramochi, though.

The next day, there is an extra side dish filled with natto in the multilayered bento box delivered to them. Shiki eats it with her rice. Salty, savory. She takes another bite, quietly satisfied.

Without even raising his eyelids, Kiyohira-sensei nudges his small plate of natto towards her from across the table.

This time, Shiki does not refuse it.

.

.

…

.