22

Summer slips away into autumn, gradually creeping into the cold winter months. Shiki experiences her first snowball fight this year –Tsumiki-san is very insistent about the game, Megumi-san takes his cue to hurl the first snowy projectile directly into the back of his sister's head, and everything goes downhill from there.

Especially after Satoru-niichan suddenly decides to join in… by grinning and dumping an armful of snow directly on top of Shiki.

The snow itself is ice-cold against her exposed skin, and the chilly winter air is freezing. But somehow, despite everything, it's still so warm, for some reason she can't quite discern.

Shiki ends up forming an impromptu team together with the Fushiguro siblings against Satoru-niichan, halfway through the snowball fight. Her cousin has both size and reach on them, and he's fast. He's more than fast enough to nail Megumi-san and Tsumiki-san with snowballs one after another while dropping Shiki into a nearby snowdrift, and–

A snowball flies over the top of Megumi-san's head, missing him by mere centimeters, and splatters into a messy, unceremonious halt against dark-clad legs that stutter and pause in surprise.

"What…?"

Shiki instantly jolts up from where she's sprawled out in the snow at the sound of that achingly familiar voice.

"Ken-jichan!"

Her body is already moving before she's even aware of it. Shiki's eyes are locked on her uncle's startled figure as she dashes across the snow, uncaring of anything else–

The blond young man catches the little girl who hurls herself into his arms with a small 'oof,' but holds onto her just as tightly as she clings to him.

I missed you.

"… You're covered in snow," he finally says at length, eventually drawing back and taking her in with his eyes. "Are you cold? How many layers are you wearing right now? Wait, no, give me your hands, let me see–"

"I'm fine, Ken-jichan," Shiki protests. She's already wearing a thick hanten coat over her winter kimono, that's plenty warm enough!

Despite her words, Ken-jichan still checks her over, slow and meticulous. Shiki pouts, but doesn't fight against her uncle's attentions. She stands in place patiently, allowing Ken-jichan to reassure himself that Shiki is perfectly fine, just like she'd said–

"What's this?"

The sleeve of her kimono had slipped upwards slightly, revealing an angry red scar carved down along the length of her forearm. Shiki… almost forgot about it entirely. She quickly slips her hand out of her uncle's hold and steps back with a short, sheepish laugh in embarrassment.

"It's just a scratch." A lucky shot from a rather tricky curse, as city-bound cursed spirits tended to be; Shiki had accidentally misread its feint. Not that the curse had lived very long after challenging her to direct combat in close quarters. "Really, it's just a small graze."

Ken-jichan frowns. "I'll be the judge of that. Does it still hurt?"

With her uncle looking down at her with such clear concern in his eyes, how could anything possibly hurt?

"It doesn't hurt at all, Ken-jichan," Shiki responds, smiling. Her smile falters and drops entirely when Ken-jichan's frown only deepens.

… Why is he not reassured? It's just a small scratch. Shiki is also deliberately smiling in the exact same way as Tsumiki-san, when the younger girl had tripped by the stairwell the other day. Kiyohira-sensei had been passing by at the time, and he'd paused to check on her. Tsumiki-san had smiled up at him, Kiyohira-sensei had given a brisk nod, and then everyone had moved on without any fuss. So why isn't Ken-jichan doing the same?

Shiki doesn't understand.

…

Fortunately, Satoru-niichan swoops in to rescue Shiki from her uncle's sharp scrutiny. Her cousin bodily leans in between the two of them, complete with a bedraggled Fushiguro child caught under each arm.

"Glad you made it here early, Nanami," he flashes Ken-jichan a bright smile; Ken-jichan's lips thin into a flat line, unamused. "C'mon, no need to give me that look, aren't we supposed to be past this sort of thing already? You know we would've told you if anything had really happened to Shiki, and she's not a glass doll."

Ken-jichan still does not look particularly happy, but at least he does not refute those words.

"Aaaand on another note," Satoru-niichan suddenly loosens his hold on the children that he's carrying, dropping both of them directly into the snow. "Say hello to the Fushiguro kids! This is your first time meeting them, yes?"

"Why do you keep doing this?" Megumi-san grumbles in complaint, visibly aggrieved by the manhandling. Regardless, the boy gamely picks himself up off the ground, shaking the snow out of his hair for good measure. To the other side, Shiki lends a hand to Tsumiki-san and helps the girl to her feet.

"Ken-jichan, this is Fushiguro Tsumiki and her brother, Fushiguro Megumi," Shiki introduces. "Tsumiki-san, Megumi-san. This is my uncle, Nanami Kento."

"Oh!" Tsumiki-san brightens, and promptly executes a respectful bow. "Good morning! It's nice to meet you, Nanami-san!"

Megumi-san mimics his sister's motion and greeting. "Nice to meet you, Nanami-san."

"Good morning. It's nice to meet the both of you as well, Fushiguro-chan, Fushiguro-kun," Ken-jichan greets politely in return.

"Alright, now that introductions are out of the way," Satoru-niichan pauses for a moment. "… Snowball fight?"

There's a single second of perfect stillness. Then, Megumi-san tears off in a dead sprint away from Satoru-niichan without a word. Excellent instincts, that boy. Watching him like this, it's also quite obvious that he is a lot faster than he'd used to be only a few months ago… clearly, the physical training has been good for him. Tsumiki-san lets out a startled yelp, then jolts into motion as well, following after her little brother.

Shiki, on the other hand, hesitates, torn between running and staying with her uncle. It's a mistake. Satoru-niichan instantly capitalizes on her hesitation, promptly burying Shiki and Ken-jichan under a veritable mini-avalanche of snow.

"Using Limitless is cheating!"

Satoru-niichan cackles evilly. "You're welcome to use your cursed technique as well!"

Shiki lets out a small 'hmph,' arms folding across her chest. Her particular cursed technique is most certainly not one that lends itself so easily to frivolous use like that… What is she supposed to do, slash the lines on the snowy ground around her? If she gets rid of all the snow, how is there even still going to be a snowball fight?

Satoru-niichan sticks his tongue out at her; Shiki retaliates by clumsily scooping up a handful of snow and throwing it back at him.

Kento-jichan shakes his head at them… and gets a snowball to the face from Satoru-niichan for it.

Things devolve into chaos pretty quickly after that.

… By the time the five of them finally stagger back indoors, they are all varying degrees of sopping wet and lightly frostbitten. It's a relief to clean up and change into dry clothing.

There is warm tea sitting on the table, and a plate of snacks. It doesn't take long before Megumi-san starts nodding off, tired from the morning's activities. The young boy ends up falling asleep using Satoru-niichan's leg as a pillow. Tsumiki-san, too, doesn't manage to stay awake for long –the cheery girl is excited to meet Ken-jichan, but she, too, is tired from running in circles around the front yard all morning. She nearly ends up knocking the teapot over when she finally drops off to sleep, but Satoru-niichan manages to catch both her and the teapot just in time before either one of them topples to the floor.

"… You really do care for the children," Ken-jichan observes, sipping his tea. He sounds faintly surprised –yet at the same time, not surprised at all. "I must admit, I've always wondered about it, especially given the things I've heard."

Satoru-niichan waves a hand airily. "Technically the Fushiguro kids are my charges, y'know?"

"With all due respect, you are the last person I'd imagine actively volunteering to take care of children of your own will," Ken-jichan says flatly. Then casts a quick glance towards Shiki, and… something in his countenance softens. "Or perhaps… it's not so surprising, in retrospect. I apologize for my rudeness."

The little girl tilts her head, faintly confused by what her uncle is trying to say.

At least Satoru-niichan seems to understand, though.

"You're not the first to say that," her cousin shrugs carelessly, evidently unconcerned. "Don't worry about it."

Ken-jichan sighs. "Even so, it was still wrong of me to say something like that to you, and I'd like to apologize. And, aside from that…"

There is a brief silence in the room, as the younger man visibly takes a moment to think over his next words.

"Gojo-san. Is there… any chance of being able to get Shiki out of the Gojo Clan?"

"Absolutely none," Satoru-niichan instantly responds, shaking his head as he straightens in his seat. Or as much as he is able to, when both of the Fushiguro children are using him as a pillow. "If she was just a regular child, and you manage to establish yourself as a strong sorcerer after graduating… then, maybe. But she's not. You know she's not, Nanami. Between her killing that land god and the little light show during Obon, there's no way that the Gojo Clan will be letting her go."

Ken-jichan's hands clench into fists on his lap. "Not even with you as clan head now?"

The words are reckless, challenging. Shiki stares, because it's not like Nanami Kento to act this way.

"Ken-jichan…?"

"Not even with me as clan head," Satoru-niichan replies calmly. "Think about it for a moment, Nanami. Say that I completely disregard everything and let Shiki leave the clan with you –what will happen? She'd be targeted endlessly by curse users. By other clans who also covet her eyes. Naoya certainly seemed to be very interested in Shiki when he met her during Obon, for one, and you can be sure that he's not the only one out there."

Ken-jichan seems faintly green at the reminder. "That's…"

"So, unless you're strong enough to protect her from any and all dangers, her best option is still to remain with the Gojo Clan. For her own safety, if nothing else." Her cousin pauses for a moment, "… If Shiki wants to leave the Gojo Clan, then it should at least be after she has graduated from the jujutsu school. She should have the reputation and power to do whatever she wants, by that point."

"That's not the point, Gojo-san," Ken-jichan sounds upset. Why is he upset? … Why is he so insistent that Shiki leaves the Gojo Clan with him, for that matter? Hadn't he agreed that the Gojo Clan was their best –and only– option? "I want her to be able to have a choice. But at this rate, with the way your clan keeps pushing her with no respite, I'm afraid that she's only going to end up…"

His gaze cuts to her, and his voice trails off. Ken-jichan looks away, clenching his jaw.

"What are you afraid of?" Satoru-niichan asks him, with an unreadable note to his voice that has Shiki stilling in her seat, carefully attentive.

Ken-jichan doesn't answer that question. When he speaks again, his voice is quiet and subdued. "What if we just… leave? We won't involve ourselves with the jujutsu world at all. I'll get a normal job. We can leave the country, if that's what it takes–"

"Ken-jichan." Shiki has heard enough. The little girl leans forward, peering up at her uncle with a frown. "Ken-jichan, look at me. Please."

He's worried about her, that much is clear. Shiki appreciates his concern. But at the same time–

"Ken-jichan," she says. Quietly, clearly, so that there's no mistaking or misinterpreting her words. "I'm going to be in danger no matter where I go, because of my eyes. So I… want to be strong enough to deal with it. I want to be strong enough to protect you, just like how you want to protect me."

The little girl reaches out to hold her uncle's hands with her own. She idly wonders if the warmth that he feels from her is anything like the strange warmth she had felt, when Tsumiki-san had reached out and taken ahold of her hands so sincerely.

"I'm not scared of fighting," she sighs, a soft sound. Shiki knows that Ken-jichan does not like how the Gojo Clan is continually pushing her to fight, fight, fight. But personally, she doesn't really mind it. Not because of the simple truth that Shiki finds 'killing' to be something that comes naturally to her, but because– "I'm scared of not having the strength to fight, and letting the people I care for die because of it."

… If Shiki had known even half the skills she currently did, three years ago –would her parents have died, when the building collapsed on them? It would've been easy to cut the lines in the falling rubble, and reduce it all to dust. To reinforce her limbs with the strength needed to keep her loved ones alive in face of such sudden, unexpected disaster.

Going by the stricken expression on his face, Ken-jichan has clearly deduced the direction that her thoughts have gone in. "Shiki, I–"

"Oh! Wait, I think I finally get it now," Satoru-niichan suddenly snaps his fingers, startling the both of them. "Nanami, you're not just worried about Shiki, or upset about the intensity of her training. You don't mind Shiki learning the skills to protect herself with, either. But what you really want is for her to live like a normal non-sorcerer girl her age. Am I right?"

Wait, what?

Ken-jichan… wants her to live normally?

That's…

"Correct," Ken-jichan exhales slowly, while Shiki is left to look on bewilderedly. "At this rate, if Shiki continues as she is… she'll be…!"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Nanami, but any chance of Shiki being able to live a normal life kinda passed a long time ago." Her cousin informs her uncle, stating the obvious. Is that what Ken-jichan had still been hoping for, all this time? But with cursed eyes like the ones she had… any chance of a normal life had probably been dashed to pieces the moment Shiki had woken up from her coma in the hospital that fateful day.

And yet, even as abnormal as it was, at least it was still a life for her to live.

"… I know," Ken-jichan says. Then sighs heavily, shoulders sagging, "I know. I know you're right, that the Gojo Clan is still the best choice for Shiki. I can't… protect her. But sometimes, I still can't help but think…"

Satoru-niichan pats the younger man on the shoulder, carefully maneuvering himself so that he doesn't wake either of the Fushiguro children… both of whom are still soundly asleep. Shiki almost envies them, for being able to escape this sort of conversation.

Words are hard.

"What brought this on, anyways?" Satoru-niichan tilts his head. "I mean, it's great that you finally got this off your chest, I guess…? But it's not as if you haven't always been loosely aware that… oh. Hang on, is this because you're graduating in the spring?"

"Yes." Her uncle closes his eyes briefly, "Despite everything, I still…"

Satoru-niichan pats him again, "Great to see that you care about Shiki, but you're a little in over your head here, unfortunately. So? What are your actual plans going to be? Still going to stick around as a sorcerer?"

Ken-jichan nods firmly, zero hesitation. "If it was just myself, perhaps I wouldn't, but… that doesn't matter. Shiki is here. I'm not going to abandon her."

Satoru-niichan smiles. "Good answer."

"I'm glad you approve," Ken-jichan says dryly.

Shiki ducks her head briefly, hiding a small, helpless smile of her own behind her sleeve.

.

.

As promised, Ken-jichan remains in the area after graduating in the following spring. He moves so that he's much closer to the Gojo estate than he used to be, all the way out in the Tokyo school campus, although he doesn't move into the clan compound itself.

Which is probably for the best, really. So far the clan elders have largely seen fit to leave her uncle alone, but if he were to move in with Shiki, then he would definitely end up getting dragged into the clan politics. Which were already messy enough, these days. Even though things had already settled down significantly in comparison to the chaos that had followed the immediate aftermath of Satoru-niichan's ascent to clan head.

Elder Takatomi has been fairly quiet recently. Shiki doesn't know if that is a good sign or not.

… Despite the myriad uncertainties, Shiki is still happy that Ken-jichan is much closer now, and she's able to see him more often.

Aside from Ken-jichan's arrival, there is also… another surprise, one that also happens during the spring this year. It's a surprise that's arranged by Tsumiki-san, made possible with Jihei-san and Kiyohira-sensei's help in the background, although the latter is something that Shiki only finds out afterwards.

(Jihei-san likes children, so it's not too surprising that he's quickly grown fond of both of the Fushiguro siblings. Kiyohira-sensei, on the other hand… how Tsumiki-san managed to charm Kiyohira-sensei, Shiki will never know.)

On a bright spring day, Shiki returns to the Gojo estate in the afternoon, after a long morning spent exorcising a slippery snake-curse. The curse in question hadn't been particularly powerful, but it had been fast, so chasing it down had been rather headache-inducing. Shiki had managed to herd it into a dead end, eventually, but it had still taken a lot more effort than she'd initially expected upon receiving the assignment.

"Shiki! There you are!"

The white-haired girl pauses in her footsteps and turns around at the call of her name. "Good afternoon, Tsumiki-san."

She watches the younger girl run over to her excitedly, with a dazzlingly bright smile that rivals the overhead sun. The smile falters and dampens slightly, though, when she notices Shiki's slightly disheveled state due to the mission that she had just returned from.

"Are you alright?" Tsumiki-san bites her lip in concern. It's almost cute how she raises her hands and flutters anxiously over Shiki –how much worse would her reaction be, once Megumi-san started taking assignments as well? "T-There's blood–!"

"Oh." Shiki follows the direction of the younger girl's gaze, placidly lifting the hem of her blue kimono sleeve to examine the dark splatters on the cloth. "It's not mine."

The snake-curse had been halfway through devouring another unlucky civilian before the Curtain barrier had been pulled down. Some of the blood must've splattered onto her without her noticing. That was a little embarrassing… if it had been Satoru-niichan, he would've walked away from the mission perfectly spotless.

Then again, Limitless was a great help in this respect, and Shiki's cursed technique really doesn't work in the same way.

The white-haired girl lets her sleeve drop back down, and continues walking forward. Tsumiki-san gives a small start, but hurriedly follows despite the decidedly paler color to her face.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Shiki asks, slowing her steps slightly so that the other girl doesn't have to jog to keep up with her.

"U-um…" Tsumiki-san falters for a moment, then forges on determinedly. "Would you… come with me to the garden?"

"Right now?" she blinks, surprised. That request… seemed to come out of nowhere, to be honest. Tsumiki-san fidgets slightly under Shiki's bewildered gaze.

"Please?" the younger girl asks, voice soft. Despite obviously being uncomfortable with the blood staining Shiki's dress, she still tentatively reaches out to her, tugging gently at her sleeve.

"… Let me change first," Shiki finally says. Was there something in the garden that Tsumiki-san wanted to show her? She knows that the other girl likes flowers, and the gardens in the Gojo estate are very well-maintained by the meticulous serving staff. Although, that still didn't explain this strange insistence…

It doesn't take long to change into another outfit. Shiki slips on a light blue yukata patterned with small white flowers, and meets Tsumiki-san where she has been waiting outside Kiyohira-sensei's home.

Speaking of, "Have you seen Kiyohira-sensei today?"

When Shiki had left in the morning, Kiyohira-sensei had still been home. She didn't recall him mentioning that he'd be heading out today, but when Shiki had slipped into the house to change her clothes just now, the house had been empty.

"You'll see!" Tsumiki-san chirps brightly, which… doesn't really answer Shiki's question. Bemusedly, she allows the other girl to snatch her hand and pull her along. "C'mon, let's go! We'll be the last ones!"

"The last ones for what?" Shiki doesn't get an answer to her question, and so she casts out her senses instead. Faint pinpricks of cursed energy register to her in their surroundings, indicative of the serving staff stationed throughout clan grounds. But in the direction that Tsumiki-san is leading her in, it's not just faint pinpricks ahead of them. In fact, it's–

"You're finally here!"

"Heh, took a little detour earlier, did you?"

"Shiki!"

The little girl blinks, bewildered.

… It's springtime. In the gardens, the sakura trees are all in full bloom, slender branches laden with flowering pink blossoms. A gentle breeze brushes past, scattering a handful of stray petals in its wake. There are a few that land directly atop of Megumi-san's head, which Yuzuki-san reaches over to brush off his hair for him. Kiyohira-sensei makes a face when one of the petals lands directly into the small dish of clear liquor that he's holding, and Jihei-san gives him a consoling pat on the shoulder. To the other side of the colorful picnic blanket spread out over the grass, Panda-san rolls over on Yaga-san's lap. The severe-looking teacher nods silently towards Shiki in greeting. To his right, Satoru-niichan waves to Shiki holding a piece of sakuramochi, and beside him Ken-jichan looks up and smiles.

For a moment, Shiki finds herself stunned into silence, at a complete loss for words at the unexpected sight. She glances over at Tsumiki-san, silently demanding an explanation.

"We're celebrating hanami!" Tsumiki-san grins brightly.

… Flower-viewing?

Shiki distinctly remembers joining the Gojo Clan's flower-viewing a year ago… but the elders had called it umemi, so the focus had been on plum blossoms, rather than sakura. Hanami wasn't quite a festival in the same sense as Obon with its many rituals and intricacies, but it was nonetheless a traditional custom to admire the blooming flowers during springtime.

Shiki had spent several dull, stuffy hours suffering silently behind Daisaku-sama with a cup of warm tea and a platter of too-sweet wagashi confectioneries, to the point that it almost felt as if she would fall asleep sitting upright.

This particular hanami… seems nothing like that.

Megumi-san is scowling at Yuzuki-san, but there's no real heat in his expression. The older boy smiles gently in response, placating. Kiyohira-sensei tosses back his sake in one go, and Jihei-san reaches for another jar. Panda-san nearly flattens a box of sweets, only to be scooped up by Yaga-san just in time. Satoru-niichan whispers something conspiratorially to Ken-jichan, and gets a half-hearted swat and roll of the eyes.

It's…

It's refreshingly casual, carefree, and easygoing to the extreme. Absolutely nothing like what Shiki remembers of her own hanami experience in the past, all stilted formality and grave decorum.

And the food spread out over the blanket is… colorful. There's not just wagashi, in addition to the sweets there's also a selection of other foods in wrappers and containers that look nothing like the lacquered boxes typically used within the Gojo Clan. Was it actually–?

"I bought some of these outside with Suzurigi-san's help, from the stalls that were set up around the actual hanami that's going on," Tsumiki-san explains. "I thought… well, sorcerers aren't really supposed to go to festivals because of their cursed energy, right? So, if you can't go out into the parks with everyone else for flower-viewing, then I figured… we could just hold our own flower-viewing right here instead."

Shiki blinks.

… She doesn't know how to respond. How is she supposed to respond to something like this?

Shiki knows that Fushiguro Tsumiki is nice, kind, with sweet smiles and bright laughter to match. But even so, she still never expected Tsumiki-san to go out of her way for something like this. Going by all the people gathered here, the food and the drinks, the way things are well-organized… clearly, this wasn't just a spontaneous decision on Tsumiki-san's part. She had been planning this, deliberately, and for a while.

"Why?" Shiki asks, genuinely confused.

The brown-haired girl cocks her head, giving her an odd look –almost as if Shiki is the one who's said something strange. "Why wouldn't I? Everyone has been so kind to Megumi and me, so I thought… well, I thought we could all have fun during hanami together. Especially, um. Especially with the mess that we made of things for you back during Obon…"

"There was no mess," Shiki automatically corrects, still trying to figure out what Tsumiki-san means. "What happened during Obon had nothing to do with you."

"Can you really say that? If Megumi and I hadn't pushed to attend the festival, there wouldn't have been any trouble," Tsumiki-san argues, shaking her head. For a moment, her expression even appears to be a little shame-faced. "I know I've said this before, but I really am sorry about it. I might not have known about the side-effects of cursed energy, but that's still no excuse. I should've–!"

"Don't be too harsh on yourself." While it was true that sorcerers generally did not make a habit of attending festivals, it wasn't as if occasionally dropping in on one for a moment meant the end of the world. Despite the negative effects that civilian non-sorcerers might experience from overexposure to a sorcerer's cursed energy… unless a sorcerer started carelessly throwing about their cursed technique with complete disregard or something equally tasteless, it was unlikely to achieve permanent, lasting damage.

… Shiki is honestly still a little irked by Zenin Naoya, recalling the events during Obon; aside from being rude, the young man also had terrible restraint. As well as subpar control over his own cursed energy and an appalling lack of consideration for his surroundings on top of that. He's supposed to be the heir of his clan, shouldn't he know better?

Tsumiki-san briefly gives a rueful smile, then looks away. "I promise that I'll be more mindful of things, going forward. And… Obon was fun, but a little part of me still regrets how it ended. So. I, um, wanted to try and do better this time, with hanami. Especially after I heard from Kiyohira-san and Jihei-san that you've never actually experienced a proper flower viewing with friends before…?"

Anything beats sitting in mind-numbing silence for hours with the clan elders, Shiki thinks. Even though she still doesn't quite understand, what she says aloud instead of her thoughts is, "Thank you, Tsumiki-san."

The younger girl smiles, a dazzlingly bright expression that lights up her entire face.

"Anytime! Now, c'mon!" Tsumiki-san reaches out and grabs Shiki's hand, tugging her along towards where everyone else is sitting beneath the flowering cherry blossom trees. "I made sure to get some okonomiyaki when I was out at the festival stalls. I remember that you seemed to like the ones that Megumi got back during Obon, so I also wanted you to try…"

Tsumiki-san continues chattering happily away. Shiki listens with half an ear as she's pulled into the circle, distracted by some strange, indescribable emotion that makes everything feel… oddly light.

Why?

…

"… Are you alright?"

The quiet question that eventually comes from Yuzuki-san catches her off-guard. Shiki turns towards her oldest friend, who evenly meets her gaze for a split second, before lowering his eyes and blowing gently on his bitter-smelling medicinal tea.

"You look like you have something heavy on your mind," he says simply. "Tsumiki-san did her best to organize things with Kiyohira-san and Jihei-san's assistance, because she wanted to make sure that you would enjoy it. Also, if you continue your staring match with your tea for any longer, then I'm pretty sure she's going to start thinking that there's something wrong. Or worse, that she did something wrong."

"Of course she didn't." Shiki hesitates, briefly flicking her eyes towards the Fushiguro siblings, who are thankfully both distracted by Panda-san for the moment. "I just… I'm still not sure why Tsumiki-san did all of this. She mentioned feeling regretful over how things ended during Obon, but it's not as if any of it was her fault in the first place. She doesn't have anything to make up for, she didn't have to do all of… this."

Shiki gestures vaguely at the picnic blanket, the festival foods. Towards all the friends and family whom Tsumiki-san has gathered together.

"She didn't have to," Yuzuki-san agrees, "Shiki-san, Tsumiki-chan isn't doing this because she feels obligated to. It's because she wants to. Because she knows hanami to be a joyous occasion to share food and games between friends, and she wants to share and experience that joy with you and everyone else. It's not that hard to understand."

"… Oh."

"'Oh,' indeed," her friend shakes his head with a wry smile. "I'm glad I could clear that up for you."

Shiki ignores him and takes another sip of her tea. The beverage is still warm, and refreshing. She closes her eyes for a moment, and tries to mentally parse through everything again, in order.

… Tsumiki-san likes hanami. She wants everyone to experience it with her, so everyone can all enjoy flower-viewing together. But with everyone around her being sorcerers, having a typical picnic in a public area filled with other non-sorcerer civilians would be a disaster. So instead, Tsumiki-san decided to… hold their own version of hanami right here within the walls of the clan compound? … So they could celebrate hanami together?

Something like that…

Tsumiki-san is really far too nice for her own good, she realizes. And for a single instant, Shiki is so fiercely glad that Megumi-san is the one with Ten Shadows, and not Tsumiki-san. This girl's disposition… is not one that's very well-suited for the life of a sorcerer.

But she's kind. She's kind and warm, and tries her best to be caring and considerate, even when it's towards someone she doesn't understand or relate to –someone like Shiki. But Tsumiki-san still tries.

Fushiguro Tsumiki probably wouldn't make for a very good sorcerer. But… she's a good friend.

Really, Shiki could probably stand to learn from Tsumiki-san's example, even though she has no idea where she would even start. Empathy is not one of her strong suits, to say the least.

Neither is it Satoru-niichan's, actually, although that's probably not much of a comparison…

"Having fun?" Her blue-eyed cousin grins when Shiki later makes her way over to his corner of the large picnic blanket. "This is a lot more entertaining than what the elders get up to for flower-viewing, isn't it?"

"Definitely," she agrees. To the side, Kiyohira-sensei is looking rather red-faced from all the sake he drank, and appears to have switched over to tea… but Jihei-san swaps his cups in a split second when he's not paying attention. It doesn't appear that Kiyohira-sensei actually notices anything different when he turns back and downs the rest of his drink, either.

Oh dear.

"Someone's going to have to save Kiyohira from Jihei at some point," Satoru-niichan muses, making absolutely no indication of getting up despite his words. "Guess it's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for, eh?"

Jihei-san's eyes flicker over in their direction for a brief moment, as if he'd caught those words, and the man flashes a fox-sly smile. He's quick to turn back to Kiyohira-sensei again with a pleasant expression, though, before Shiki's unfortunate teacher notices anything awry.

"… I don't think I've ever seen Kiyohira-sensei drink before," the girl remarks.

"He'd better not have," Ken-jichan grumbles from the side, eyes narrowing.

"Be nice, Ken-jichan," Shiki pointedly tugs the edge of her uncle's sleeve. "I know you don't like Kiyohira-sensei very much, but he's taught me a lot. He might be a little rough around the edges, but he's trying his best."

The blond young man sighs, a frustrated sound. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of."

"…?" Shiki blinks and instinctively looks towards Satoru-niichan in her confusion, hoping for any hints as to what her uncle means. Her cousin shrugs haplessly –that makes two of them, then.

Why in the world would Ken-jichan be displeased that Kiyohira-sensei is doing his best in teaching Shiki swordplay so she can become a better sorcerer? … Was it his training methods that Ken-jichan disagreed with? But it's been years since Shiki was last left as a bloody mess on the ground. Not to mention, that the occurrences had dropped to zero ever since Satoru-niichan's unexpected intervention that one time… Shiki herself has also improved vastly since then; the girl doubts that Kiyohira-sensei would be able to put her down so easily, these days.

So clearly, there's nothing for her uncle to worry about here. Silly Ken-jichan.

Shiki loves him, but she doesn't always understand him.

"Kiyohira-sensei aside…" When in doubt, change the topic. Otherwise Ken-jichan might get weird about Shiki asking him 'strange' things, and she doesn't want to cause him to worry even further. Since Satoru-niichan is no help, she'll probably have to ask Yuzuki-san later. "What were you and Satoru-niichan talking about, earlier?"

"School."

Shiki tilts her head. "… School?"

Satoru-niichan waves his hand, "Public schooling, to be precise. Not for you, unfortunately, since you're in a bit of a special situation like I was, way back when. We were talking about schooling for our Fushiguro kids! Nanami thinks locking children away in an isolated clan compound is no proper way to raise kids."

"He's right about that."

"Yaga-sensei!" Her cousin whips around with a bright smile, "So nice of you to join us."

The tall, dark-haired sorcerer gives a mild grunt, and readjusts his posture so that he's facing them. In terms of physical builds, Yaga Masamichi is very similar to Kiyohira-sensei, but whereas Kiyohira-sensei's aura gives a sense of something sharp, Yaga-san feels more like… a placid, immovable wall. Rock-solid, and steady.

"From what I'm seeing so far, Fushiguro-kun might need a little more training, before he can attend a public school again," Yaga-san says straightforwardly. "We had to send in a team of assistant managers to clean up the lingering aftereffects of his uncontrolled cursed energy at his old school. Fushiguro-chan, on the other hand, should be able to begin school immediately. But I'd assume that she would want to wait for her brother?"

"Most likely," Ken-jichan nods. "The siblings share a close relationship, and separating them from each other while they're still adjusting to jujutsu culture would be… unwise."

School.

Shiki… doesn't really remember school. Compulsory education in Japan begins at age six, and when Shiki had been six, she'd just woken up from a coma… before subsequently being kidnapped by the Gojo Clan. Preschool is a vague blur of colors and faces she no longer remembers.

It's irrelevant to her now, anyways.

Unlike Megumi-san, who would be able to attend a public school if he so chose to after getting a better handle on his cursed energy, Shiki is aware that she will remain homeschooled in the Gojo Clan, all the way up until her eventual enrollment in one of the jujutsu schools. It all comes down to the fundamental differences in the nature of their innate techniques –the shikigami summoning of the Ten Shadows is a controlled technique, one that cannot be activated without the deliberate, willful intent of the user. There will never be any worries of Megumi-san accidentally summoning a shikigami in the middle of a math lesson and destroying his entire school.

On the other hand, the lines that Shiki sees never truly disappear for her, even when she's not actively looking. All it would take would be an accidental cut, perhaps a careless sweep of the hand…

Limitless is rather similar in that respect, since it's quite difficult to control. There are several sections of the Gojo Clan compound that Shiki knows were repaired multiple times for structural damage, from Satoru-niichan's childhood years.

… She's also heard of a boy from a smaller sorcery clan who inherited the ability of cursed speech; a technique that allowed one to invoke curses through spoken words. Which also sounds like something highly dangerous and inherently risky to others, in a similar vein. Unless the boy passed himself off as being mute, it was unlikely that he was attending public school like other children his age. Maybe if his clan took extra precautions and made specific arrangements for it… but in all likelihood, he was probably in the same boat as Shiki.

That is to say, home-schooled by tutors until he's old enough to attend one of the jujutsu schools in Tokyo or Kyoto.

A warm hand lands atop her own, breaking her out of her thoughts. Shiki blinks, and looks up to see Ken-jichan looking at her with faint concern.

"I… I'm sorry we can't arrange something similar for you," his voice is apologetic, weighed down with guilt.

But it's not his fault. If anything, it's Shiki's, for having such a hazardous cursed technique easily capable of killing things whether or not she herself truly means to.

"Don't worry about it," she says lightly to her uncle, gently patting his hand in consolation.

The young man only shakes his head. "You might not see it, but a child your age should be in school, playing and learning with friends. Being kept inside the clan compound and restricted like this, missing out on everything… I understand why that's the case, but it's not right."

Ah. Ken-jichan is overthinking things again, as he's so prone to doing whenever it comes to matters involving her.

"I don't mind," Shiki shrugs. "I can't miss something that I never knew in the first place. Besides, I'll still have one of the jujutsu schools to look forward to in the future, right?"

… Ken-jichan is giving her a strange, complicated look again. Something that speaks equal parts to dismay and turmoil.

What did she say this time?

Shiki swiftly runs though her words in her mind again, but… she still can't tell what's causing her uncle to look at her like this. He should be glad that Shiki will be attending one of the jujutsu schools in the future, if school is so important. Right? And surely he would also be comforted to know that Shiki doesn't actually mind being taught by private tutors in the meantime? Considering her situation, it's not as if she'll be able to attend a regular public school anyways, so…

Satoru-niichan picks up on Shiki's distress, and clears his throat. "So, while we're on the topic of schools and learning things –Shiki, is there anything that you've been wanting an introduction to, but never had a chance to try out because it wasn't included in your lesson plan? Like… oh, I don't know. Origami or pottery? Fishing?"

All things that are largely unrelated to sorcery, Shiki notes. Which seems to relax that furrowed crease in Ken-jichan's forehead ever so slightly…

Oh! Oh, she sees what her cousin is doing, shifting the subject like that. Shiki gets it, now. Despite everything, Ken-jichan still worries about her becoming a sorcerer. So in hindsight, it was silly of Shiki to bring up going to a jujutsu school someday in the future, of course Ken-jichan would be unhappy. That makes sense.

"What about dancing?" she asks.

Satoru-niichan blinks. "Don't you already have a teacher for that?"

"I do, but…" Shiki shrugs, "I'm not learning anything new from her at this point."

… She's also pretty sure that her current dance teacher is one of Gojo Takatomi's people. Which, while mildly annoying, wasn't something altogether surprising or worth getting worked up over. The elders had a terminal habit of slipping spies anywhere and everywhere, so it's always good to know who and where they are. Shiki honestly wouldn't mind it very much as long as the woman was teaching her and doing her actual job.

Which she wasn't.

"I see," her cousin hums, leaning back. "We'll have to rectify that then, won't we?"

Ken-jichan looks between them with a raised brow, clearly unaware of the subtext, and Shiki distracts him by passing him a piece of sakuramochi. The wry, unimpressed look that Ken-jichan gives her says that he knows exactly what she's trying to do, but he wordlessly accepts the small rice cake from her anyways.

Shiki smiles, soft and sheepish.

Satoru-niichan taps his chin. "… How do you feel about learning from Utahime?"

"Iori-san?" Shiki remembers the graceful woman. Back when Satoru-niichan had introduced her to his former upperclassman during Obon, Iori-san had shown herself to be very knowledgeable on the associated traditions and ceremony. That she is also a skilled dancer does not come as any surprise to Shiki.

If Iori-san's dancing matched up to half the expertise she had shown when talking to Shiki about ritual details for Obon, then there is a lot that Shiki could stand to learn from her.

She tells this directly to Satoru-niichan. Ken-jichan smiles slightly upon hearing it –that's right, Iori-san was his upperclassman too, right? That's another point in Iori-san's favor, then, if the two people who Shiki trusts the most in this world both approve of her.

Something to look forward to.

Shiki glances up in time to a passing breeze, and reaches out to catch one of the sakura blossoms carried by the laughing wind.

.

.

…

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