18

"How's my favorite little cousin doing, hmm?"

Shiki gets less than a second's warning before she's promptly swept off of her feet like a rag doll.

… At this point, she's more resigned to this sort of manhandling than alarmed by it anymore, really.

"Good morning to you, too, Satoru-niichan," she says, voice muffled somewhere behind her own sleeve in this mess. The little girl makes a vague attempt to extricate herself –an exercise in futility, as these things tend to be when it comes to the veritable force of nature that is Gojo Satoru.

Her cousin laughs breezily.

"Let's go on a walk together," he grins. Shiki peers suspiciously upwards toward the bright expression. Satoru-niichan sounds as cheerful as always, but it's almost a little… too cheerful, for someone who spent the past week mired knee-deep in various clan matters and dealing with the higher echelons. Shiki does not envy her cousin in the least.

And on that note…

The little girl squints. "When was the last time you slept?"

Satoru-niichan turns his nose up at her and sniffs, "Sleep is for the weak."

"… You need to take a break," Shiki's lips curve downwards into a slight frown.

"Nah, I can cheat with reverse cursed technique. And besides, what do you think this is?" Her cousin finally sets her down on her own feet again, and immediately begins steering her by her shoulders towards the open doorway. "I'm taking a moment to finally spend time with my adorable little cousin! Everything else can wait."

Shiki blinks slowly. It might just be her imagination, but…

"Is there something wrong?" she asks.

"Hmm? Oh no, there's nothing wrong. What gave you that idea?" the young man laughs.

"… No reason."

Satoru-niichan pokes her in the cheek. "If anything, I should be the one asking after you. The elders haven't been giving you any trouble yet, have they?"

The little girl automatically shakes her head. "Daisaku-sama hasn't said anything."

Her cousin snorts.

… Fair enough. Shiki hadn't really been thinking when the words left her mouth –of course Daisaku-sama wouldn't be in a hurry to find her for anything, considering what she'd unintentionally done during the clan meeting. In all honesty, the man was probably tied up dealing with all manners of internal clan issues lately, on top of hastily-called private meetings with the clan's other elders. The majority of whom most likely all had some choice words to say to him regarding his 'decision' to give his support to Satoru-niichan as clan head.

If any of the elders wanted to give Shiki a hard time, it certainly wouldn't be Daisaku-sama. Not yet, at least.

"I haven't been approached by any elders for any ongoing clan matters," Shiki amends her previous statement. "Kiyohira-sensei has been out and about more these days, and I've only seen Jihei-san twice since the meeting, but… aside from that, nothing has really changed for me."

"Hmm… I see. It'll probably take a few more weeks before any of the other elders try to feel you out, then. I guess no one wants to risk ending up as a second Daisaku," Satoru-niichan muses aloud.

Shiki puts a hand to her forehead. "It wasn't on purpose!"

"It wasn't now, was it?" Satoru-niichan reaches down and twirls a lock of her hair around his finger, giving an affectionate tug. He smiles broadly. "Not that I don't appreciate you trying to stand up for me, but… you know you didn't have to do anything during the clan meeting, right?"

Of course she knows that.

"I know," Shiki nods. "But I wanted to."

Yes. Shiki did it solely because she wanted to. Because she just wanted Satoru-niichan to see that he wasn't standing alone.

… She hadn't expected half the clan to end up following her, but the point still remains.

"Because you wanted to?" her cousin repeats after her, amused. "You don't even know why I'm taking in Megumi, and you'll support my bid for clan head? Just like that?"

Shiki shrugs, "I don't need to know what you're planning to know that I trust you."

For a moment, the older boy falls uncharacteristically silent.

"… So it's that simple, is it?"

Of course it is. Isn't that obvious?

The little girl peers upwards. "… Satoru-niichan, are you really sure that you don't need to take a nap or something?"

"I'm sure," the older boy responds dryly, and Shiki gets a none-too-gentle hair-ruffle for her trouble. "I'll be fine. I'm always running reverse cursed technique formulas on my brain to keep Limitless active indefinitely, anyways. Revising the formula so I don't need to sleep for a few days is a lot easier than that. As a short-term solution, it works perfectly fine."

Shiki frowns at the thought that Satoru-niichan is disregarding his own health in order to keep up with the stresses of his sudden ascent to clan head. She knows perfectly well that her cousin holds no love for the coveted position, and the disgruntled elders are unlikely to make things any easier for him.

"Visit Ieiri-san."

Satoru-niichan rolls his eyes, but he's smiling. "Alright, alright, I'll go see Shoko once this mess is over. Happy?"

The little girl nods. Her cousin sighs exaggeratedly.

"Such a demanding little cousin," he says teasingly. "That's enough about me, though –tell me what you've been up to. Jihei says you've been plotting something with Yuzuki?"

It figures that Satoru-niichan would already know about it. "We're thinking about bringing Panda to the clan compound."

Satoru-niichan hums thoughtfully. "Panda, huh?"

"Yes. To meet the Fushiguro siblings," Shiki explains. "Most of the elders are all preoccupied right now, so it shouldn't be too hard to go around the–"

"Nah, don't bother circumventing anything," her cousin waves his hand. "Just send an invitation directly."

The little girl tilts her head questioningly. "But the elders–"

"The elders will know better than to pull anything," Satoru-niichan says firmly. "And if they really do try something, then I wouldn't mind making an example out of whoever sticks their head out."

As hilarious as the mental image is, "Aren't you trying to have Daisaku-sama get the other elders to settle down? They'll just start saying that you're abusing your power if you do that."

"Really now, what's the point of being the clan head if you can't abuse the power that comes with it?" Satoru-niichan stretches his arms with a yawn.

… Shiki wouldn't quite put it in those words, but he does have a point, somewhat. Sort of, if you tilt your head at it and squint.

What's the point of being the clan head if you never exercise the power that comes with it?

Well, if that's how he wants to play it…

"A straightforward invitation for Panda it is, then," Shiki nods. If Satoru-niichan, the clan head, gave the go-ahead for this, then that was another layer of protection for Panda inside the Gojo clan compound. Better than what she and Yuzuki-san were thinking of arranging on their own.

"You know what else might also help give that invitation a little more weight?" her cousin continues slyly, "If it came from the Gojo clan heir. What do you think?"

… Clan heir? Her?!

"Absolutely not," Shiki instantly responds. She does not want to be the clan heir! No matter her apparent current involvement in the Gojo Clan's internal politics, she is Not Interested.

Satoru-niichan laughs at her. "No? Are you sure? No one would say anything against it."

"No, I'm pretty sure people would say a lot of things," Shiki lets out a small 'hmph,' arms folding across her chest.

Because no matter what Yuzuki-san insisted about her cursed eyes and her innate technique, it didn't change the fact that Shiki was born outside the Gojo Clan as a daughter of a minor branch family. Heirs are supposed to be from the main line, right? Shiki is perfectly happy to leave it to the main line to deal with the utter mess of their internal politics.

"Ha! As if you care about what the clan thinks," Satoru-niichan sounds highly entertained by her knee-jerk reaction. He gives her one last headpat. "Well, think about it, alright?"

Shiki makes a face. She does not want to think about it, thank you very much!

Satoru-niichan tips his head back and laughs at her.

.

.

Inviting Panda to the Gojo Clan compound turns out to be an excellent idea. The Fushiguro siblings are both surprised at first ("Is that a panda?" "Why is there a panda here?"), and even more startled after Panda introduces himself ("Oh my god!" "Wait, the panda can talk?"). But Panda is friendly and fluffy, genuine and cheerful. It doesn't take long before they begin to warm up to her friend, even sullen-faced Fushiguro Megumi.

Good.

Shiki might not be the best with making new friends –Gojo Yuzuki is, quite literally, the only other child in the clan around her age that she talks with on a semi-consistent basis– but Panda is the friendliest soul that she knows. A sharp contrast from everyone else in the Gojo Clan.

Shiki herself included. Obviously.

… She still tries, though. And with Panda present as a buffer, Fushiguro Megumi forgets to glare suspiciously and Fushiguro Tsumiki's smiles change from stiffly polite to something that looks much more natural instead. It's a shame that Yuzuki-san couldn't make it here with them; there was an unfortunate relapse in his sickly condition the other day, and he's still resting right now.

But overall, Shiki thinks that she can tentatively mark this down as a success in her books.

… With certain exceptions.

Shiki flicks her gaze over towards the gate of the garden that they're currently standing in.

There are always serving staff scattered throughout the clan estate. It's not strange to see them walking around, or lingering at their designated posts –but instead of just one or two gardeners, there are quite a number of people currently scattered around the vicinity, milling about just out of visual range.

Or, they would be out of her visual range, if Shiki weren't capable of observing bleeding lines in the world around her.

…

None of them are sorcerers; their cursed energy levels aren't high enough. In all likelihood, they were servants who'd been ordered here to 'keep an eye on things' by various elders. Elders who were undoubtedly concerned by a cursed corpse doll being invited into the grounds of the noble Gojo Clan. With the express permission of their new clan head, even.

From what she's heard, Daisaku-sama's face upon hearing the news had looked like he'd bit into a lemon for a split-second, before he'd forcibly smoothed out his expression again. He was not the only one to react that way, either.

… Shiki sort of wishes that she'd been there to see his expression. Yuzuki-san would probably be pleased to hear about it at least, if he wasn't already aware.

"What are you looking at over there? Did you find a butterfly?" Panda's cheery voice snaps her out of her musings. Shiki blinks and reels in her wayward thoughts, looking back towards the other children in the garden with her.

"Ah, no, it's nothing. I just spaced out a little bit there, I apologize," she responds lightly with a small smile. "Shall we head inside now? I think you've already seen most of the garden by this point."

Shiki is also mildly curious as to how the elders plan on continuing to monitor their activities while they're inside Kiyohira-sensei's home. If they cross the threshold and ignore the garden's boundary to come closer… that would be most inconsiderate and inappropriate and not at all proper behavior now, wouldn't it? But if they didn't know what was going on…

It would make them antsy. Anxious. Apparently, what Shiki had inadvertently pulled off during the clan meeting now marked her as a 'person of interest,' or something along those lines. Yuzuki-san had informed her that more than one elder had nearly gone ballistic upon discovering that Shiki sent an official invitation to a cursed corpse doll to visit, fearful of what she was planning this time.

Joke's on them!

Shiki honestly doesn't have any plans at all aside from 'make friends,' here. Or barring that, try to make sure that the Fushiguros don't find her off-putting; Fushiguro Megumi is part of Satoru-niichan's plans, so Shiki would rather they at least be on cordial terms. Distracting a little bit of the elders' attention away from Satoru-niichan is also a nice bonus.

"Kiyohira-sensei is still out right now, but he should be back soon," Shiki says. "Guest slippers are to the side… hm. I can show you the training room? Kiyohira-sensei probably wouldn't want us poking around too much, I think…"

Kiyohira-sensei hadn't seemed particularly pleased when Shiki told him that she intended to bring Panda and the Fushiguro siblings over, but the look that she'd received from him had been something more along the lines of, 'dear god, what are you planning this time,' rather than 'please cease and desist immediately,' so things were fine. Mostly.

She… should probably try to do something nice for Kiyohira-sensei, once things settle down a little bit. Jihei-san, too.

"Training room? Do you have any games there?" Panda tilts his head curiously.

… Right, she's entertaining guests right now. Friends.

The little girl briefly closes her eyes, faintly embarrassed.

What was she thinking, offering to show them to the training room? The training room is for training. What would they even do there, spar? Shiki is banned from casual sparring, especially given the nature of her cursed technique…

Is there anything suitable for children's games in this house? Kiyohira-sensei certainly wouldn't have anything of the sort, and Shiki… Shiki has a mountain of books and scrolls stacked neatly in her room. Wooden training blades. A few knives, and her tanto for missions.

Maybe it was a bad idea to invite them inside…

"Oh hey, what's this?"

The little girl glances over. Panda had wandered over to a certain strange-looking doorway, and started poking curiously at the varied notches carved into the wood.

"Ah, that? Just one of Kiyohira-sensei's strange habits," Shiki responds. "I… apologize, I don't think I actually have anything on hand to entertain guests with…"

"Oh, it's fine! Don't worry about it, really" Tsumiki-san says in a rush, hurriedly waving her hands in front of her. "It's nice to just sit down, after running around outside. Isn't that right, Megumi?"

The younger boy shifts his feet and mumbles something incomprehensible; his sister clears her throat and gives him a pointed look.

"… Yeah, sure."

If any of her etiquette tutors were present, they'd probably be clucking their tongues disapprovingly at Shiki for being a terrible host. In Shiki's defense, she doesn't have any experience with hosting friends… That aside, the bulk of her and Yuzuki-san's initial attentions had been on how to safely arrange Panda's visit in the first place, rather than the details of what the visit itself would involve.

And, the Gojo estate is nothing like the mountains where Tokyo Jujutsu High is located. Yes, it's also secluded and hidden away on the forest outskirts of the nearby cityscape, but it's a gated compound. The forest itself is also full of seals and barriers –not exactly meant for children's romping or bug-hunting or what have you.

Even the locals know better than to carelessly trespass on Gojo land. Although, that might be more due to certain rumors that may or may not have been exaggerated over the years…

"So… this is where you live with your brother, then?"

Shiki blinks, "Brother?"

Tsumiki-san falters, similarly confused. "Isn't… isn't Gojo-san your brother?"

"Ah," Shiki finally realizes where this misunderstanding is coming from. Best to clear things up directly, "Gojo Satoru is my cousin, not my brother."

"Oh!" The other girl's eyes widen, and she embarrassedly ducks her head. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to assume. It's just, you called him 'niichan,' and you both look so–"

Tsumiki-san makes a helpless, inarticulate gesture in Shiki's direction. And the thing is, Shiki actually understands what she means.

It's the white hair and cursed blue eyes again, isn't it.

"It's alright," she reassures the flustered girl. "You aren't the first to make that mistake, actually."

"They do look surprisingly similar, don't they?" Panda interjects cheerfully from the side. "The two of you could probably pass as real siblings!"

Shiki waves her hand idly. It's not something that's ever registered to her mind as anything more than a passing thought, but, "… Maybe, I guess? Although, I honestly wouldn't know what it's like to have a sibling."

Unprompted, the Fushiguros immediately exchange a quick look with each other; Tsumiki-san smiles sunnily, while Megumi-san rolls his eyes.

"Megumi is a bit of a sourpuss sometimes, but I wouldn't trade him for the world," Tsumiki-san says fondly. "Our… our parents aren't around, so it's just the two of us. We've got each other's backs, right?"

"Speak for yourself," the little boy grumbles. Dark eyes flick towards her briefly, and then he pointedly turns away from his sister.

Tsumiki-san laughs.

"Seems like you're pretty close with each other," Panda observes.

Of course they are. Shiki had known the Fushiguros were close from the moment Satoru-niichan made it clear in no uncertain terms that Fushiguro Megumi was adamant about staying away from the Zenin Clan for his sister's sake. It's admirable.

Impossible, too, if it hadn't been for Satoru-niichan's intervention.

Given that Zenin Toji had apparently been planning to sell his son to his clan, and had even been in touch with the Zenin Clan Head on the matter prior to his death… well. Suffice to say, it was incredibly lucky for Megumi-san that Satoru-niichan had been the first to successfully track down the Fushiguro children.

"Say, would you… um, would you happen to know what Gojo-san likes?" Tsumiki-san's expression turns into one of sheepish embarrassment. "He's done so much for me and Megumi here, and… I've been wondering if there's anything that we could do for him as thanks?"

Shiki can confidently say with one hundred percent certainty that Satoru-niichan couldn't care less about receiving anything from the Fushiguro children as a 'thank you' for what he's doing. But even so, the fact that Tsumiki-san wants to thank him… the fact that Megumi-san appears to be in agreement as well, despite not being particularly talkative…

It makes something in Shiki's chest feel light, even if she doesn't quite understand why.

"Satoru-niichan likes sweets," Shiki says.

"Sweets?" Tsumiki-san brightens, "Does he like daifuku mochi?"

Shiki pauses, "… Probably?"

She knows that Satoru-niichan is fond of sweet foods, but she doesn't recall him ever mentioning a favorite sweet. Does he have a favorite sweet, actually? It's never really come up in any of their conversations before…

"Daifuku mochi!" Panda cheers, "Mochi is great."

"Is it?" Shiki's impression of mochi falls somewhere between 'too sweet' and 'too sticky.'

"Eh? Wait, you don't like mochi?" Panda whirls on her, his jaw dropping open in clear surprise. "But it tastes so good! Very chewy. Principal Yaga makes the best mochi –I bet you just haven't had good mochi before!"

All of the food that Shiki eats are prepared by the serving staff in the Gojo Clan. At the very least, it's probably not bad mochi that she has eaten before…?

"Homemade mochi is the best," Tsumiki-san agrees. "We can try making some together sometime, if you want! I'm pretty good at cooking."

And so, the four children find themselves in the kitchen in short order.

There is a kitchen in Kiyohira-sensei's house –for all that Shiki's never seen him use it. Or used it before herself, even. According to Tsumiki-san, it's 'well-stocked,' which is… great?

"Are you sure your guardian won't mind us using any of this?"

"He'd have to stop by and notice that there's anything missing in the first place," Shiki responds dryly. "It's fine, Tsumiki-san. Kiyohira-sensei won't care about it, as long as we clean up after ourselves."

"Alright, then," the other girl nods. "Then… any preferences for what you guys would like as the filling? Red bean paste? Custard?"

Shiki doesn't particularly care for either option–

"How about ginger?" Megumi-san chimes in from the side.

–but on second thought, red bean paste sounds great.

"You utter heathen," Tsumiki-san says to her brother, aghast, and Shiki slowly lets out a tiny breath that she hadn't even noticed she'd been holding in.

"What? You asked!"

In the end, Panda saves the day by miraculously unearthing a jar of white bean paste somewhere from the upper shelves, before Megumi-san can get to the ginger that his sister is doing her level best to keep out of his hands.

Making mochi is… messy. Shiki had not ever realized there was even a difference between rice flour and glutinous rice flour, but thankfully Tsumiki-san knew what she was doing. After mixing the flour with sugar and water, the dough needed to be steamed, before then being turned out onto a cutting board for light kneading–

"Make sure you have some flour spread over the board first, otherwise it'll stick!"

Panda panics and lunges for the small bag of flour the same time Shiki reaches for it; a small white explosion goes off in the middle of the kitchen room.

Shiki coughs, choking slightly.

"Ah! Don't cough onto the mochi!"

"I-I apologize."

Panda sneezes.

"No sneezing, either!"

"Sorry," Panda manages. Shiki gropes around blindly for a paper towel, and hands one to Panda when she finally finds one.

Megumi-san slowly straightens up from where he'd instantly dived for cover when the air was filled with flour. There's a fine layer of flour that fell all over him, regardless of his efforts –his dark black hair is looking a little decidedly gray right now. Shiki, on the other hand, is spared from such concerns even though she was practically standing right in the middle of it all; her hair is white.

Using the sticky dough to wrap up the white bean paste filling turns out to be a lot harder than she thought it would be. Tsumiki-san's hands are deft and confident, finished with three perfectly round mochi pieces in the time it takes Shiki to make a single misshapen one. Megumi-san has finished two ovals over on his end, while Panda has…

Shiki tilts her head. "Is that a–?"

"Yeah! It's a flower!" Panda beams.

… Thank goodness she hadn't finished her question to ask him if that was supposed to be a cursed spirit.

"Oh, that's a fun idea!" Tsumiki-san smiles. "Mochi is hard to shape. You're doing great!"

"It's just mochi," Megumi-san grumbles from the side. And is promptly chastised by his sister for being a grump, although Panda isn't offended by any of it.

Shiki can't say that this is where she foresaw this playdate going, when the idea had first occurred to her during her conversation with Yuzuki-san. But for all that the taste of mochi is as thickly sticky and sickeningly sweet as ever on her tongue, for all that she still doesn't care much for the taste, it feels… nice, somehow, just sitting down in the flour-covered kitchen with the other children like this.

… She wouldn't mind doing this again sometime. Hopefully, Yuzuki-san will be feeling well enough to join them next time, too.

.

.

Extra.

.

Gojo Satoru had grown up with the expectation that he would, inevitably, take up the mantle of clan head someday.

Six Eyes, and Limitless.

Honestly, it was really only a question of when.

He'd gone into that clan meeting knowing that there was a very real possibility that he'd walk out of it being the head of his clan. It wasn't something he looked forward to –quite the opposite, really– but it wasn't something that he was going to shy away from, either, if push came to shove.

Which it did, unfortunately for everyone involved. Satoru himself included.

Gojo Satoru has plans, and he can't exactly enact any of them if he's forever stuck in the compound running circles around his elders as the clan head. It's lucky that he already has some ideas in mind on how to work his way around that, although he'll need a little more time to get everything in the Gojo Clan in order first.

To the Gojo Clan, Gojo Satoru was only a tool. But in his eyes –the Gojo Clan was also a tool to be used.

It's only fair, isn't it?

He's never made his feelings on this matter a secret; that would be another reason why so many of the elders initially refused to support him, probably. Not that it did them any good in the end. Especially not after Shiki had gone ahead and…

…

Shiki had surprised him. Satoru never would've expected his cute little cousin to stand up for him like that –and right after Old Hisayasu's needling, too! The look on Old Daisaku's face when she'd walked out into the middle of the room, haha.

Then she'd kneeled. To him. Blessed Child to the Honored One.

And the best part about it all?

You know you didn't have to do anything, right?

I know. But I wanted to.

… I don't need to know what you're planning to know that I trust you.

Satoru has the most adorable little cousin, really.

"I don't know what she sees in you."

Satoru grins smugly, making zero effort to hide his pleased expression. "You wouldn't, would you?"

Gojo Kiyohira scowls, disgruntled. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Satoru-sama."

"Hey, I'm your clan head now," he leans back lazily into his chair. "How about a little respect here?"

Kiyohira very visibly grits his teeth, then forces himself to relax despite Satoru's deliberate prodding.

Hmm. Interesting.

Satoru reaches out to the plate on the corner of his desk and picks up a piece of daifuku mochi. Daifuku mochi that was made by Shiki and the other kids yesterday, actually! It's a little misshapen and lumpy and could definitely use some more sugar, in his humble opinion. But it's also distinctly sweet in a way that has nothing to do with the taste itself.

How strange.

He polishes it off in two quick bites and promptly snatches up another piece. "So, are you actually here to see me for something, or are you just delivering mochi from the kids?"

"Do you plan on making Shiki your heir?"

Satoru pauses, mildly surprised. "She told you?"

"She didn't have to. I can read between the lines on my own well enough," Kiyohira responds dryly. "Whatever you're planning, just… leave Shiki out of it, won't you? She's under enough scrutiny already. If you name her as your heir on top of that, then the elders… definitely won't sit aside quietly. We'll need at least another Grade One to help deal with the inevitable assassination attempts. Did you see how many elders immediately set watchers on her yesterday, using Yaga's cursed corpse doll as an excuse?"

"Yeah, that was pretty funny," Satoru grins, steepling his fingers under his chin as he leans forward and rests his elbows on the low table.

He knows what Kiyohira is talking about. The low-key surveillance on Shiki had increased sharply following her little performance during the clan meeting. Panda's visit was just that: An excuse for the elders to oh-so-subtly escalate in their annoying, petty ways.

Satoru had kept half an eye on the kids the entire time, and laughed when his little cousin finally got fed up with their antics and just headed indoors entirely. The elders probably hadn't expected Kiyohira to change the sealing wards on his home to accept the entry of a cursed corpse doll; the chagrined looks on their faces when they realized that their spies had been rendered completely useless, ha!

For all that Shiki had yet to be formally tutored in any sort of politicking, she certainly seemed to have a natural sense for navigating this sort of thing. Or maybe it was mainly Yuzuki's influence, hmm…

Kiyohira exhales slowly. "Just… don't make her your heir. Please."

… Frankly speaking? Satoru is pretty sure that Shiki would make a great heir, going by her performance so far. Of course, she's still a little too young to say for sure, but Satoru gets the feeling that she would be a lot more suitable for the position than he'd ever been… that is, if she ever decided that she wanted to step into the role.

Which wasn't looking very likely, alas, given the direction things looked to be headed in. Although, Satoru still has his hopes. It would be nice to have an heir who could work in tandem with him, but he's not going to force his sweet little cousin into anything.

They've both had enough of that from the elders already.

Clan heir…

In a sorcery clan, there are really only two conditions for being named the heir: Power, and blood. Shiki has the first part down, unquestionably. The elders might still be arguing themselves hoarse over the specifics of her abilities, but given her feat of killing a cursed god, there was no way for anyone to deny her potential.

And as for her blood… Satoru couldn't care less about her being from a minor branch family. The elders would probably kick up a major fuss about her not being from the main family and for having the audacity to be female on top of that… but really, what does that matter?

… It might be for the best that he doesn't stir that particular hornet's nest right now, though. The elders were already losing their minds over his recent unexpected ascension as clan head; no need to add oil to the merrily-crackling fire by promptly naming the 'blessed child' as his heir immediately after. Satoru still needs his clan to be relatively intact while he's busy dealing with the Zenin Clan for Megumi.

Part of him despises the fact that he has to clean up after Zenin Toji, ugh. But Toji is Toji, and Megumi is Megumi. Besides, practically speaking, if Megumi wants to stay out of the Zenin Clan's greedy clutches –which the kid does– then these talks with the Zenin Clan are only inevitable.

…

There are significant problems in jujutsu society, as backwards and stagnant as it is. Satoru would know; he grew up with a front-row seat to most of these problems. It hadn't really struck him how serious and nigh-impossible it was to change things until Suguru left, but… he's pretty sure that indiscriminate wholesale slaughter of non-sorcerers is not the solution to the problem. Or any problem, really.

He's occasionally contemplated killing off all the higher-ups himself before, in order to force change. But as Tsukumo Yuki liked to say –there's no sense in treating the symptom and not the cause.

And that's exactly what this is, isn't it? If Satoru goes ahead and kills the higher echelons of the jujutsu world, then they'll just be replaced by more of the exact same kind of people. The sorcery clans are full of Hisayasus and Takatomis and Daisakus who keep things running.

If Satoru wants to truly change things, then he needs to start from the bottom up. Megumi plays directly into those plans; it's part of why Satoru is invested in making sure that the Zenins will keep their noses out.

And as for Shiki…

"I won't name her as my heir," he says idly. Then, just as Kiyohira relaxes and sighs in relief, "Unless she asks me to."

The man chokes. "What?"

Satoru cracks a smile.

Most of the elders definitely would not want Shiki to be the clan heir. It's probably also another reason as to why they've been so jumpy recently. Not because of a lack of power –although there would certainly be those who would argue that it would be inappropriate for someone with a nontraditional clan technique to be named as heir– but because of various other factors:

Shiki being from a branch family. Shiki being a girl. Shiki very clearly being aligned with Satoru, and the elders have a vested interest in curtailing Satoru's influence within the clan. If Shiki was already able to subvert Daisaku's faction without him being any the wiser as she currently was, then what would she be capable of as the clan heir?

Oh, they're definitely overthinking the entire situation, but that's the thing about meddlesome elders. They always think they know what's best, when the reality is another matter altogether.

Satoru taps his fingers against the table in a jaunty little rhythm as another thought suddenly occurs to him. "By the way, do you know what's going on with Ima?"

"… Jihei is looking into it," Kiyohira replies, letting go of the previous line of conversation. "Daisaku-sama forbade any contact between her and Shiki shortly after Shiki was given into my care."

Satoru makes a vague sound of understanding in his throat. Typical Daisaku.

… Ideally, Gojo Ima had finally come to her senses and realized that her niece was an adorable little girl instead of a useful tool for her ambitions. He'd leave it to Jihei to figure things out on his end. Even though the man was nominally Daisaku's personal aide, it was obvious that he had a soft spot for little Shiki.

Heh.

"Aside from Ima and the ongoing matters with the Zenin Clan… Satoru-sama, have you decided on what you'll be doing for Obon preparations yet?" Kiyohira shifts his weight, arms folding heavily across his chest. "The festival of Obon is coming up soon. As you know, each year one of the Three Great Families is in charge of the final okuribi in Kyoto. This year, it falls to the Gojo Clan. Typically, Takatomi-sama is the one who makes arrangements for the ritual, but…"

But Takatomi is stubborn and would happily use this opportunity to spite Satoru, or use it as a smokescreen to liaise and destabilize things with the Zenins behind his back. If it were Daisaku, Satoru would at least have confidence that Daisaku would be thinking of the Gojo Clan's image first and foremost. But with Takatomi… things were a little trickier.

Still. "Don't worry about it, it'll be fine."

Kiyohira does not look reassured in the least, how rude.

Buuut that's not his problem!

"This isn't a trivial matter, Satoru-sama," the man frowns, his voice terse. "Obon is important, and this will be the Gojo Clan's first public showing with you as clan head. If any mistakes are made during the ritual, it would tarnish the clan's reputation –and yours along with it."

"Oh, I know," Satoru says, amused. "I'm not worried."

"But the preparations– the ritual–" Kiyohira makes a frustrated sound. "The majority of experienced clansmen who are trained in traditional spellwork and ritualistic performances belong to Takatomi-sama's line. We might get some amateur apprentices from them, but I'm not holding my breath for anything more than that."

Yeah, that kind of pettiness sounds like it's straight up Takatomi's alley.

But even so–

"It'll be alright," Satoru smiles. "I have a few ideas in mind. And on that note, do you think Shiki might be interested in taking a trip to Kyoto?"

.

…

.