10

Shiki yawns.

"Awake?" A familiar voice sounds somewhere above her, a lazy drawl. That's…

"Satoru-oniichan?" The little girl blinks blearily, reaching up to rub at her eyes–

–which she probably shouldn't be doing, given her injuries and the sorry state of her fingers. Shiki immediately pauses as the thought occurs to her, but… there's no pain, surprisingly enough. Which can't be right. She knows that she'd been hurt, during her struggle against the curse user.

But in this moment as Shiki looks down at her hand, confused by the conspicuous lack of pain, everything is… normal. The skin over her hand is wholly smooth, unblemished, and there are no signs of any bruising or scarring at all.

As if she'd never been injured in the first place.

… Now that she's fully awake and actually paying attention, it's not just her hand, either. All of her cuts and bruises and scrapes have been miraculously healed, almost as if she'd never been in a fight to begin with.

Almost.

"Feeling better?" Satoru-oniichan adjusts his grip, and Shiki realizes that her cousin is still carrying her in his arms. "We dropped by the school earlier and got Shoko to take a look at you, but you were out of it the entire time."

"… Oh."

So it really wasn't all just a fever dream, then. Well, that explains why Shiki isn't dressed in the flower-printed kimono she remembers putting on this morning, either. In this moment, the ordinary sensation of a simple white T-shirt and shorts somehow weighs strangely upon her skin.

… It had all been real. Shiki had really been attacked by a curse user. Isao-san had been killed. As had the young driver, unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In her mind's eye, Shiki can still see red-black blood pooling over the asphalt ground.

"Shoko said you might be tired for a bit," her cousin peers down at her. "Want to take another nap or something?"

Tired? She's still feeling a little tired, certainly, but it's… strange.

Yes, there's a distinct lingering soreness in her body, the sort of fatigue that Shiki has grown familiar with given her own experiences of overexerting herself during her physical training. But more than that, there's also this sense of… mental fatigue, oddly enough. She's not quite sure how to put it.

But, it doesn't make any sense for Shiki to feel this way. She'd been sleeping, hadn't she? So there's no reason that she would still be mentally tired now that she was awake.

Weird.

"I'm fine," the little girl finally decides, carefully shelving her internal confusion without a word. "… May I know what's happening right now?"

"Nothing you'll need to worry about," another voice responds to her question. Shiki twists, turning around to blink owlishly at Geto-san, who's currently typing away on his phone. The teenager glances up when he realizes that the girl is looking in his direction, and offers a brief smile.

"Really, it's nothing for you to worry about," he repeats, emphasizing the words. "Satoru and I have a bodyguard mission to get to right now, and we've decided to bring you along since… since we couldn't really drop you off anywhere on such short notice. Sorry if it's a little uncomfortable, but we'll definitely keep you safe."

Shiki slowly nods at the explanation. She'd thought that Satoru-oniichan might immediately pass her off to his clan again after retrieving her from the car wreckage, but… it's nice, to be able to stay together with her cousin a little longer. Just a little bit longer, before she's locked away like a bird in a cage again. Given the recent incident, Shiki wouldn't be surprised if her movements were to be restricted even further than they already were.

"Thank you," is all she says. "… I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I will be in your care, then."

There's a slight twitch in Geto-san's face, his expression darkening for a moment as if he's reminded of something not entirely pleasant. Shiki doesn't understand… was there something wrong with what she just said?

… Probably not, given that his expression quickly smooths out when he notices her confusion. Geto-san even reaches over and pats her on the head, too, so it's… most likely safe to say that it really wasn't Shiki that he was upset with, however briefly? But then, why did he react that way?

"You don't need to say thanks or apologize for something like that," the older boy tells her, which clarifies absolutely nothing.

"… Yeah, I probably should've staged an intervention way sooner," Satoru-oniichan pokes her in the cheek obnoxiously with a bony finger. "You've really been stuck around the elders for way too long, Shiki. Was I ever this impressionable when I was your age?"

Geto-san clicks his tongue, "It would certainly explain a lot about you now, wouldn't it?"

"Hah?" Satoru-oniichan turns on his friend indignantly, "Are you trying to pick a fight?"

"I would never," Geto-san deadpans. "… Y'know, I've actually been meaning to mention this for awhile now, but you should really try and be more mindful of the way you talk, Satoru. You're way too rude. You should consider–"

The young man's words are broken off by a distinct boom. Startled, all three of them glance upwards toward the source of the unexpected explosion.

Smoke billows out from the side of a tall building, a clear indicator of something gone awry.

"… That's the place where the girl we've been assigned to protect is staying at, isn't it?" Satoru-oniichan cranes his neck back to look higher. "Is it our fault if she's already dead?"

Geto-san gives his friend a long look, but Satoru-oniichan remains utterly unrepentant for his attitude. "… I'll head up to take a look. Can you take care of things down here?"

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead. I got it," Satoru-oniichan waves off his friend idly. Shiki watches on with no small amount of interest as Geto-san proceeds to form a seal, cursed energy pooling beneath his fingertips, and suddenly summons a cursed spirit from seemingly out of nowhere.

It's not her first time seeing cursed spirits –Shiki has seen more than her fair share of cursed spirits during her time with the Gojo Clan– but it's her first time seeing someone pluck one out of thin air like this. And it's tamed too, if the way that the manta ray-esque cursed spirit obediently carries Geto-san on its back is any indication of things.

"Stop looking so impressed," her cousin grumbles as Geto-san takes off towards the site of the explosion. "It's just Cursed Spirit Manipulation. What's so interesting about that? Limitless is a hundred times cooler!"

Shiki considers the words for a moment. "… Can you fly with Limitless?"

"'Course I can!" Satoru-oniichan's response is as instant as it is thoroughly indignant.

"Okay," the little girl nods. "Then I guess Limitless is cool, too."

"… What do you mean, 'I guess?'" The white-haired teen pulls back to give her a distinctly affronted look. "Aren't you supposed to be firmly on my side for this? Am I not your favorite Toru-nii?"

"Toru-nii is just being silly now," Shiki reaches over and pats her cousin on his cheek. "Are you going to kill him?"

"Nah, no way," he shrugs carelessly. "Suguru might get on my nerves sometimes, but he's a friend."

"Not Geto-san," the girl shakes her head, exasperated. "That other person who's throwing knives at you right now, Satoru-niichan."

"Aw, is my cute little cousin worried for me?" There's a delighted note to the older boy's voice and not one jot of concern whatsoever. But considering how the sudden onslaught of knives speeding towards them has been solidly frozen in the air several inches away, it's clear that his confidence isn't misplaced.

Shiki peers over her cousin's shoulder to look at the knives. They're fairly small, and look like they wouldn't be too difficult to handle for her, even with her childish hands and stature. Shiki is being specifically trained to use longer blades, and she surmises that it probably wouldn't be too difficult to pick up some knife work on top of that. And… most importantly, knives are easy to hide and easy to carry. If Shiki had knives on her when she'd been attacked earlier, then maybe…

Her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of slow clapping.

"Amazing," a new voice says. The person who'd just thrown knives at them.

… He's dressed oddly. There's a cape attached to his suit, and a dark mask covering the entire bottom half of his face. His hat looks a little strange and poofy, too, and is sharply emblazoned with the dark letter 'Q' right in the middle.

"You're Gojo Satoru, aren't you?" the man continues, calm and unruffled despite having his knives stopped so easily. "You're famous. I've heard that you're strong, so why don't you show me if–"

The stranger cuts himself off mid sentence, eyes widening slightly as they fall upon Shiki.

"That's… is that the rumored Gojo child with new cursed eyes?" There's a clear thread of surprise in the man's voice as his attention suddenly shifts to her. Shiki resists the urge to frown, responding to the man's appraisal by turning her head away. She doesn't like the way he's looking at her. "How unexpected. I'll admit, the resemblance is certainly… uncanny."

"Keep your eyes to yourself," Satoru-oniichan says, "Before I decide that you're better off having them plucked from your head."

The man raises both hands in a harmless gesture of mock-surrender. "My bad, my bad. I assure you that I didn't mean anything by my curiosity. It's not every day that you get to take a look at an ocular curse like that though, yes?"

Her cousin tilts his head and smiles, unamused. "Try pulling the other foot, you think I'd buy that?"

"Now that's not a very nice thing to say," the strange man drawls, not even bothering with making any more flimsy excuses for himself as he drops into a combative stance, his intentions clear.

Satoru-oniichan doesn't bother with anything further than hooking a finger around the frame of his sunglasses to lower the shades, crystalline blue eyes flashing dangerously beneath the light.

"Here's how it's going to work," he tells the curse user. "You get the one chance, because my adorable little cousin has had a terrible day so far and I don't want to make a mess in front of her. Cry and apologize now, and maybe I won't kill you."

"You brat…!"

"Can I have his knives?" Shiki asks.

Satoru-oniichan hums. "Sure, go for it. It's not like he'll be needing them anymore, is it?"

It's probably the way he's being utterly ignored by them that finally ignites the man's fury. But despite the rage fueling him, he's still no match for Satoru-oniichan. One moment, the man is charging towards them, and in the next, he's been blown off of his feet by an invisible force and bodily thrown into a nearby tree.

It's a sight that's all too familiar for Shiki, who can't help but recall how Satoru-oniichan had waltzed in one day and proceeded to throw Kiyohira-sensei all over the place in his own home.

The one-sided 'fight' that ensues is almost laughably short.

Compared to the doll user that Shiki had fought and struggled so hard against… actually, forget that. Shiki can't really tell how this curse user would've compared to her in a straight fight, the knives he'd thrown at the beginning had been all she'd seen of his skill. Satoru-oniichan had then proceeded to thoroughly trounce the older man without ever moving a single inch from where he was standing, Limitless being more than enough to crush the curse user with no room for any resistance.

Shiki thinks she has a slightly better understanding of why the clan elders hold such reverence for Satoru-oniichan's Limitless and Six Eyes, from this perspective.

… Is this the sort of level of power that's going to be expected of her in the future, too?

Helplessness and powerlessness are not pleasant feelings to experience, not in the least. But it's good to have a clear goal in mind, and Shiki knows that she will become stronger. She has to. There's no other option for her, the way things look to be going forward.

"C'mere," Satoru-oniichan says distractedly, fiddling with his phone. Shiki notes her cousin's careless nonchalance after thrashing a dangerous curse user, observes the complete confidence with which he stands over his opponent's downed body. Gojo Satoru-sama alone is the Honored One. "Let's take a photo to let Suguru know that everything is perfectly okay down here!"

Shiki isn't anywhere near close to her cousin's level of power. She doesn't know if that's even something realistic to expect of herself in the future, not with how much she'd struggled against fighting a single curse user on her own earlier. But Satoru-oniichan seems to think that she has potential, and so does the Gojo Clan. All Shiki can do for now is to work hard so that she'll be able to live up to those expectations someday.

Then, maybe…

"Smile, Shiki!"

The soft click of a camera shutter sounds from Satoru-oniichan's handheld phone.

.

.

Amanai Riko.

That's the name of the girl that Satoru-oniichan and Geto-san have been assigned to protect for the duration of this mission. She's a 'Star Plasma Vessel,' and slated for a 'merger' with Tengen-sama in a few days. Tengen-sama, the ancient sorcerer with a cursed technique of Immortality who served as a fundamental pillar of jujutsu society, since he was the one maintaining all the complex barriers over both jujutsu schools.

Shiki… doesn't really know how to feel about it. The merger, that is. Or, maybe it would be a little more accurate to say that she has no particular opinions on this matter, and that's… probably a bad sign. Because Shiki is perceptive enough to deduce from the short explanation given to her that merger is essentially death for Amanai-san, and death is typically not something that anyone would willingly welcome with open arms.

I'm more useful to you alive, don't you realize that?

The doll user's voice sounds in her ears, and Shiki ignores it entirely. Shiki might have yet to pin down how she feels about the entire debacle, precisely, but she knows enough of her own nature by this point to admit to herself that she doesn't regret what she did. She doesn't regret it. And it had been beyond easy, to grip the knife and let it fall, even with full knowledge of exactly what she was doing.

Mm… she really is a horrible person, isn't she?

Amanai Riko is not a horrible person. She's very… vibrant. Spirited? Excitable and energetic in a way that leaves Shiki feeling a little tired just looking at her, and if the slouch in Satoru-oniichan's shoulders is anything to go by, her cousin probably feels similarly on the matter.

"Listen up, you simpletons: Tengen-sama is me, and I am Tengen-sama!" Amanai-san declares impassionedly, dark eyes shining. She tosses her head, flipping her braid behind her shoulder. "You consider merger and death to be one and the same, but you're all gravely mistaken! With the merger, I will become Tengen-sama… and Tengen-sama will also become me! My will, my spirit, my heart will all live on after merging–"

Shiki glances to the side as the older girl continues rambling. Satoru-oniichan and Geto-san are comparing something on their phones together, long having lost attention in Amanai-san's words. Shiki suddenly feels very tired.

"–are any of you still even listening?!"

"Obviously not," Satoru-oniichan drawls, finally looking up from his phone. "Geez, do you talk like that all the time? Do you even have any friends like this?"

"I talk just fine at school!" the girl roars back without skipping a beat. Then startles, as if just realizing something. "… School! Oh my god, Kuroi, what's the time?!"

Shiki gently tugs on her cousin's sleeve as Amanai-san whirls onto her housekeeper in a flurry of chatter, mildly confused and feeling like she's somehow missed a great deal of context in the past few seconds, even though she's been standing here this entire time. "Satoru-oniichan, she was targeted by curse users just now, wasn't she? … Should she really still be going to school like this?"

"See? Even the six year old here is more sensible," her cousin mutters under his breath, disgruntled, then raises his voice. "Oi, I really wouldn't recommend–"

"Nonsense! It's only noon, I'm still going!"

And with that, Amanai-san sweeps out of the room, leaving a ringing silence in her wake.

"… What the hell?" Satoru-oniichan gestures violently towards the door the girl had just left through. "Unbelievable. Are you seeing this?! What does that girl think she's doing?"

Going to school, as it turns out. Shiki had wondered for a moment there if the girl might've been joking, but… evidently not.

Satoru-oniichan even calls his teacher, at some point, probably for permission to just haul Amanai Riko back to Jujutsu High, where she would be much more well-defended from any threats. But no, apparently the mysterious Tengen-sama had left very specific instructions as to Amanai-san's care during the duration of their protection detail:

"Please oblige Amanai's requests."

Satoru-oniichan had been none too pleased to learn that. "Tch, they're being all soft on her. Isn't it obvious that it's a lot more dangerous like this?"

"Don't be like that, Satoru," Geto-san is more thoughtful in his approach. "After the merger, she'll be stuck down below Jujutsu High with Tengen-sama to form the school's barriers. I know she was spouting off those things about 'being one and the same with Tengen-sama' earlier, but… the truth of the matter is, she'll never be able to see things like this again. Friends, family, everything she holds dear…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Satoru-oniichan sighs.

"So let her enjoy herself," the dark-haired boy says firmly. "Our mission is as simple as that."

Shiki lightly swings her feet from where she's sitting on a stocky caterpillar-like cursed spirit. Geto-san had summoned it to carry her around, so Satoru-oniichan's hands could be free as the two of them surveyed Amanai-san's school.

"You're a nice person, Geto-san," the little girl surmises from his words.

The dark-haired teen blinks in surprise, "… Well, I don't know if I would go that far."

"'Ya really shouldn't."

"Satoru, would it kill you to keep your mouth shut for once–"

"I'm grateful," Amanai-san's housekeeper interjects from the side, bowing deeply. Kuroi, the energetic girl had called her. "Truly, thank you for allowing Riko to be able to spend more time with her friends. My lady does not have any relatives, her entire family had been involved in an incident when she was younger… I've been her only caretaker since."

"So that makes you her family, then, right?"

"… Yes," Kuroi-san responds with a distinctly watery sheen to her eyes.

It's obvious that Kuroi-san cares for Amanai-san. Shiki finds herself wondering if it's anything similar to the way Kento-ojichan cares for her. But Kento-ojichan is good in a way that Shiki is beginning to realize that she really, really isn't, and that's… that's…

Shiki is abruptly pulled out of her spiraling thoughts when the caterpillar-curse that she's sitting on suddenly bumps her hand with a friendly nudge. It's not cute –curses are beings fundamentally born from fear and malice, which is rarely cute– but there's something oddly endearing about the clumsy motion all the same. The uncanny timing of it also makes it seem as if the pudgy curse had intuited some disturbance in her emotions and was concerned for her.

She knows that it's all just her imagination, of course. Low-level curses like these are attuned more to their own destructive impulses than human emotions, even ones tamed and controlled by a powerful cursed technique.

Wait, cursed technique?

Shiki glances towards Geto-san on instinct. The older boy doesn't offer her anything beyond a slight smile, but it's enough to confirm Shiki's suspicions.

Geto-san really is a nice person, she thinks. Not like Satoru-oniichan. Satoru-oniichan would probably pout and complain if he knew about her thoughts, but Shiki won't waste her time entertaining any illusions on this matter.

She likes her cousin, of course. Shiki likes how he looks out for her, how he picks her up and carries her around so easily in his arms. How he pokes and prods and teases her like Shiki's eyes haven't been permanently stained an eldritch, inhuman blue. She likes how he possesses a cursed technique that won't ever allow Shiki to cut or harm him, accidentally or otherwise.

But despite it all, Satoru-oniichan is not nice. One wouldn't have to look any further than his usual interactions with the clan elders to see solid proof of that. Shiki wonders if this particular aspect of his character will turn out to be another point of similarity that they'll end up sharing between themselves. Ken-jichan probably wouldn't be pleased…

"Satoru, we've got a problem," Geto-san suddenly says. "Two of my surveillance curses in the school were just exorcised. We need to get to Amanai, now."

"Gotcha," Satoru-oniichan nods and heaves a sigh. "Guess we're going to have to just get to it, then. I'll bring Shiki with me, you get Kuroi and–"

"We don't know how many attackers there are," Geto-san shakes his head. "Best to keep your hands free, especially if you'll have to watch out for Amanai, too. It would be better for me to leave behind a few of my stronger cursed spirits for protection instead."

Her cousin stills for a moment. "And if that's not enough?"

"It will be," is the level, confident response. The two lock eyes for a moment, some unspoken conversation passing between them in a heartbeat.

On the other side, Kuroi-san swiftly surges to her feet. "I-I will come with you! Please, if my lady is in danger then I need to be–"

"A deadweight for us to watch out for?"

"Satoru!"

"What? You were thinking it, too!"

"I can take care of myself," Kuroi-san's face sets into a determined look. "If something happens to my lady, then I'd never be able to… please."

The boys exchange another look, and this time it's something a little more resigned.

"Have it your way," Satoru-oniichan grumbles. Then reaches over and ruffles Shiki's hair, "Be good and stay with Suguru's cursed spirits, okay? We'll be back before you know it."

"Kuroi-san, we won't stop you from entering the school yourself, but I'd like to ask that you remain with Shiki," Geto-san tells the older girl. Cursed energy swells in the air as he reaches out towards the caterpillar-curse that Shiki is seated upon, doing… something. "I don't want her to be left alone. And as long as you're not too far from each other, I'll be able to protect you with my cursed technique, too."

The pudgy cursed spirit doesn't look any different by the time he draws his hand back, but looks can be deceiving.

Shiki blinks, and the entire world shifts into eerie lines once more. The lines concentrated on the caterpillar curse somehow appear to be… denser. No, that's not quite the right way to describe it. It's more like there are multiple sets of fractured lines within the curse now, in addition to the red lines already existing upon it.

Multiple lines for multiple curses, Shiki is guessing.

Satoru-oniichan and Geto-san depart swiftly after that, rushing on ahead, and Kuroi-san and Shiki are left to catch up on their own. Strangely enough, Shiki doesn't find herself particularly bothered by this. Is it because she knows that they haven't left her entirely undefended? Is it because she knows that worrying is useless? Because there's nothing she can do about her situation in this moment, anyways?

… She's not quite sure what these thoughts say about her, and instead decides to distract herself with absently patting the caterpillar-curse as it merrily bounces along after Kuroi-san.

"My apologies, Gojo-san," the woman finally says to her as they enter the grounds of Amanai's school together. Satoru-oniichan and Geto-san are nowhere in sight. "I couldn't just sit still, not if there was something I could do for my lady–!"

"I understand." Well, not really. But if the relationship between Kuroi-san and Amanai-san is anything like what Shiki has with her oji-chan… Shiki knows what it's like to be concerned for a family member, to want to be by their side.

Even if it's for the best that they're kept separate.

"There's no need to apologize to me for this, Kuroi-san," she says calmly. "And I would prefer 'Shiki,' please. 'Gojo-san' is my cousin."

"Ah… of course," Kuroi-san falters for a moment, casting a quick glance in Shiki's direction that the little girl can't quite discern. "I… thank you, Shiki-san."

The little girl blinks slowly and says nothing, humming noncommittally in response.

Shiki isn't entirely surprised when they stumble across another curse user in short order. But this time, it's… a man wearing a paper bag over his head?

… She's starting to get the impression that all curse users are eccentrics to some degree; she has yet to see any compelling evidence suggesting otherwise.

"Are you with Q? Or the Time Vessel Association?" Dark-haired Kuroi-san demands, stepping forward in a way that coincidentally blocks Shiki from the curse user's line of sight. For all that she's dressed like a maid and armed with a mop, there's undeniably a certain dangerous air to the woman as she squares her shoulders and prepares to face an enemy. "… Probably the Time Vessel Association. Those associated with Q tend to wear pretty strange clothing, after all."

Wait, did wearing a paper bag over one's head not count as 'strange clothing?' Shiki is thrown for a loop. But Kuroi-san isn't wrong, because aside from that paper bag on his head, the curse user really is just dressed casually in regular streetwear. That's probably it, then.

And then the man melts entirely when Kuroi-san's broom hits him squarely between the legs. As in, his body literally liquefies into some strange sludge-like substance before crumbling away into nothing, only leaving behind a disembodied voice echoing in the empty air.

"Thirty million… thirty million…"

"Thirty million?" Kuroi-san frowns.

"Someone set a thirty million bounty on Amanai," Geto-san's voice is grim as he suddenly comes up behind them, making Kuroi-san jump in surprise. Shiki would've been startled, too, had the caterpillar-curse not perked towards its master's direction scant moments before he made his reappearance. Geto-san mutters a quick apology, before continuing, "Satoru's picked up Amanai just now. We're going to be heading back to Jujutsu High, it'll be easier to defend her there with the barriers. Also, did that curse user just–?"

"It's not a teleportation technique," Shiki says. The curse user's lines hadn't vanished to indicate teleportation –if anything, the lines on his body had increased as he crumbled into dust, which then begged the question of if what they had seen was his real body at all. "… Shikigami, maybe? Or a body double technique?"

Kuroi-san's eyes widen with panic at the assessment. "Geto-san, please go on ahead! Who knows what could happen with a cursed technique like that?"

"Right, I'll be going." Briefly, Geto-san pauses next to Shiki and pats her shoulder. "Stick together, Satoru and I will meet up with you guys in front of the school."

There is a flare of cursed energy as Geto-san summons a birdlike curse, leaping into the air and swiftly disappearing from sight once more.

Kuroi-san exhales slowly, long and trembling.

Shiki stares at the woman blankly for a few seconds, before something finally clicks together in her mind. It's a little hard to find the right words to say to Kuroi-san despite this, though. "… Satoru-oniichan and Geto-san are strong. Amanai-san will be fine."

"Am I really that obvious?" Kuroi-san lets out a shaky laugh. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be like this. I… I do trust them. I know they're strong, they're Special Grades, for heaven's sake, but I still…"

"But you still worry, regardless." Shiki nods. Then, consideringly, "Amanai-san is lucky to have you, Kuroi-san."

"It's kind of you to say that," the woman responds softly with a smile. "My lady is a sweet, lovely girl. I only wish… I only wish for her to be happy."

An earnest wish, only wanting the best for someone you care for.

"Do you think Amanai-san will be happy with the merger?"

… It's not the kindest question to ask of someone who genuinely cares for Amanai-san, of course it isn't. But Shiki only belatedly realizes that after the words have already left her mouth. Thankfully, Kuroi-san does not appear to take any offense, although her smile takes on a decidedly more melancholic edge.

"I will support the path that my lady has decided to take."

It's decidedly a non-answer if she's ever heard one. But Shiki recognizes that it would be cruel to push for an answer, and so she remains silent.

And the silence from the brief lull in their conversation is the only reason why Shiki catches the faint sound of something moving through the air.

It's only a light whisper of the whistling wind, soft enough to be absolutely nothing out of the ordinary at all. But given the day she's had so far, given that Shiki currently knows there are multiple curse users actively targeting Amanai-san for the bounty placed on her–

The girl's head snaps up the moment she catches the sound of a faint displacement in the air, and her paranoia proves to be her saving grace.

There's a man standing behind Kuroi-san. Dark-haired and flinty-eyed. Tall, scarred, and heavily-muscled. It's difficult to imagine a man of that size moving so silently, but it's the truth that none of them noticed this man coming up behind them. Not even the caterpillar-curse that Shiki is riding on, the one meant to protect her and Kuroi-san from any threats they couldn't handle.

"Kuroi-san, watch–"

Shiki's warning comes far, far too late. Before the first word has even left her mouth, the man has already struck like a viper; Kuroi-san immediately crumples to the ground, unconscious.

Shiki promptly throws herself backwards, tumbling off of Geto-san's screeching caterpillar-curse as she lashes out with a kick. More of a desperate attempt to keep the curse user away than an attack that has any hope of doing any damage, really. There's a sickening squelching sound and an inhuman, ear-piercing shriek when the man's foot ruthlessly stomps down on the caterpillar-curse. The cursed spirit's head is instantly crushed in a messy purple splatter.

That didn't bode well for her.

"The hell's a kid doing here?" the man raises an eyebrow, although it's clear he's not expecting any real answer. His movements don't slow in the least as he advances on Shiki –only to abruptly whirl back around when a wave of curses erupts from the caterpillar-curse's body. The failsafe that Geto-san had embedded within the curse. But even as the man's body is literally overwhelmed and completely subsumed by the onslaught of curses, there's a sudden chill that runs down the length of Shiki's spine.

She slips one of her new knives into her hands.

And not a moment too soon, as the man emerges from the attack entirely unscathed, if slightly bloodied. None of the blood is his. The mix of unusual colors staining his clothes is most definitely not the color of human blood.

Shiki barely manages to raise her knife in defense before the man shatters it with his bare fist. It takes a moment before Shiki even realizes what just occurred. Before she realizes that, even though she'd tried angling the blade so that it would cut him if he attacked her directly, the curse user had simply changed the angle of his punch so that it would connect against the flat of the blade instead at the last second, breaking it instead of being cut by it.

… She hadn't even seen him move, which meant that this curse user was even faster than Kiyohira-sensei. Far, far faster. Without a doubt, he was dangerous, far more so than the doll user –who'd at least intended to keep Shiki alive.

She silently slips out another knife from her sleeve. Recognizing that she is outmatched is one thing; going down without a fight is another.

"Oh, that's not how you use a knife," the man laughs at her, low and mocking, teeth bared into a sharp grin, "Little blessed child."

Shiki can see the man's lines. They're right there, scored across his body. Crimson-bright and sharp.

But being able to see the lines means nothing when her knives can't reach him, not when the next knife that Shiki slips into her hand is stolen from her fingers in a heartbeat. Not when the stolen blade twirls easily over his palm as it settles into a backhand grip in his hands and–

And then he sweeps out with his arm, slashing the knife across her eyes.

Shiki's reaction is entirely instinctive; flinching back, closing her eyes, ineffectively raising her arms because there's a blade coming at her face. But it's no use, she knows it's no use and it–

–it doesn't hurt.

… It doesn't hurt?

"Tch," the man clicks his tongue in annoyance. "Guess I should've expected something like this."

Heart thumping in her chest, Shiki forces herself to open her eyes again.

A swirl of lines, glittering before her eyes. It looks like there's something… is there something on top of her? Covering her, from the looks of it? Whatever it was, it had definitely saved her eyes from being blinded –and likely her life as well.

Shiki cautiously pulls back, glancing up to note that the curse user had actually retreated a short distance away. One hand is idly spinning the knife that he'd taken from her, while the other is closed over the back of an unconscious Kuroi-san. His gaze is focused on her –no, on something above her.

Shiki looks up, and her breath hitches in surprise.

Long dark hair, scarlet robes the color of fire. The strange figure hovering above her –one that most certainly hadn't been there a second ago– bends over to peer at Shiki in return, and the girl finally recognizes it for what it is: A cursed spirit. Four eyes blink down simultaneously at her all at once, but it's far from the most unnerving sight that Shiki has seen before, when it comes to curses.

Even Special Grade Curses.

Shiki recognizes this one from the scrolls, even. Tamamo-no-mae Incarnate.

"Oh," she breathes in sudden comprehension. So that's why her cousin and his friend had both seemed as unconcerned as they did about letting Shiki move separately from them with Kuroi-san.

It wasn't just the caterpillar-curse and the other assorted curses that they'd given her as a precaution in their absence. Geto-san had also left behind a Special Grade Curse to protect her.

.

.

…

.