51

"Oof!"

Shiki absently draws in her legs without skipping a beat, while still being mindful of keeping her hands steady. It would not do to jostle the metallic contraption that she's holding in her hands, after all.

Her reactions aren't a moment too soon. There's a loud thump in the space that her feet had previously occupied, accompanied by a subsequent groan of pain. Hoshi-san laboriously picks himself up from where he'd rolled to a stop on the hardwood ground, courtesy of having been bodily thrown across the room yet again by his new sparring partner.

"Still up for another round?" Hakari-san rolls his shoulders, grinning.

"Of course!" Hoshi-san reaches up and wipes away at the smear of blood on his chin, red droplets trickling down from where he'd accidentally bitten himself on the lip. But the boy gives no indication of feeling any pain, eyes locked on Hakari-san with unerring intensity instead.

Hakari-san grins approvingly, and then the two are at it again.

… For all that Hoshi-san has been a student of the school longer than Hakari-san, there is still a distinct gap between their combat abilities. One that's clearly skewed in Hakari-san's favor, to be precise. Which… makes a certain amount of sense. Hakari-san comes from a rough neighborhood, and he's admitted to having gotten into various fights over the years. Coupled with the fact that he'd clearly had some manner of prior instruction in manipulating cursed energy, and how he'd been aware of the location of the curse users' hideout…

Hakari-san may not have explicitly known about the world of sorcery and all that it entailed, but he was most certainly aware of various aspects of it. Quite different from Hoshi-san's purely civilian background, if one were to compare the two students with each other.

Higa-san had been adamant in his heated declarations that Hakari-san was not a curse user himself. The investigation and background check that had been conducted from the jujutsu school supported the veracity of Higa-san's claim… although it had also turned up some interesting information about Hakari-san's family history. Hakari-san himself might not be a curse user, but his–

"Ack!"

Shiki hefts the contraption in her hands and bounces lightly to her feet, neatly avoiding Hoshi-san yet again. The boy crashes down in the empty space that she'd just vacated.

She lifts her gaze, "Are you doing this on purpose, Hakari-san?"

"Hey, don't look at me!" Hakari-san holds his hands up in a surrendering gesture, all faux-innocence, "Hoshi here was the one who said you looked bored."

Shiki automatically glances towards Hoshi-san at that claim. Her classmate appears slightly embarrassed, if that red flush coloring his face is anything to go by… or it could also just be the physical exertion from a sparring session with Hakari-san. A mixture of both, maybe?

"… Sorry. I-I know it must not be very interesting to just stand there holding a video camera," Hoshi-san awkwardly scratches his head.

"It's fine. I don't mind." Shiki has actually never handled one of these before, and it's quite a fascinating experience. Takagi-sensei had suggested that Hoshi-san might benefit from recording some of his spars, so he could see for himself how he performed. Learn to analyze his own movements himself, in addition to receiving feedback and instruction from others. The same was also true for Hakari-san, who apparently had several 'bad habits' in his particular style of 'street brawl.'

("Who cares if it's 'street brawl' or 'drunken fist' as long as it works?" "You're going to break the bones in your hand someday if you don't use a proper punch." "But not if I use cursed energy, right?)

Shiki doesn't recall Kiyohira-sensei ever having used the same method with her. Mostly, he'd corrected her stances directly himself –or used his sword to do so. Although the latter method had been something that he'd eventually fell out of the habit of utilizing at some point…

Hoshi-san sighs and flops backwards, lying down on the ground with his arms splayed out wide. "Both of you are really good at using cursed energy. Like it's second nature, or something."

"Yeah, 'cuz we've had more practice." Hakari-san ambles over, tossing Hoshi-san a bottle of water. Hoshi-san fumbles in sudden panic as his fingers slip on the plastic bottle. "You've been at it for, what. Less than a year? I've been practicing for four by this point, and I bet Gojo has even more years under her belt."

"Well… that's…"

"Here, let me show you," Hakari-san turns around and sets his eyes on Shiki. "Hey, Gojo! How long have you been using cursed energy to fight?"

Shiki pauses to think about it for a moment. The Gojos had claimed custody of her when she was six years old, and she'd gone on to train as a sorcerer starting from that moment. So that makes it…

"Ten years."

Hoshi-san suddenly chokes on a mouthful of water, sputtering.

"You should take smaller sips, Hoshi-san," Shiki advises the boy, because she's also seen Megumi choke on water like that before. It's always better to catch one's breath first before drinking.

"Wait a second, can we backtrack on what you just said? Ten years?" Hakari-san whistles, eyebrows raised. "Do sorcery clans start training their sorcerers starting from when they're toddlers or something?"

"Those who show an aptitude for sorcery usually begin training during early childhood." Those who showed potential, though, were assigned training regimens of higher intensity. Shiki is very familiar with this due to personal experience.

Hakari-san's eyebrows climb even higher. Hoshi-san swallows roughly as he slowly sits up from the ground, "You mean that's normal?"

Probably not for a civilian, but for a sorcery clan? Especially one that boasted both history and prestige like the Gojo Clan?

"Yes," she answers succinctly.

There's a beat of silence in the room.

"… Damn," Hakari-san says, arms folding across his chest. "Can't say that sounds great, honestly."

Shiki shrugs noncommittally. It wasn't really a matter of whether sorcery training was 'great' or not. In her case… it had only been the practical option to choose the path of a sorcerer. And in some ways, the only option.

They're starting to get a little off-track here, though.

"Ten years is simply how long I've been training by this point, not the length of time it took me to get a handle on using my cursed energy effectively," she explains, hoping to settle Hoshi-san's nerves. After all, her classmate still looks quite daunted by the prospect of requiring years' worth of training to use his cursed energy for physical reinforcement. "Familiarity with using cursed energy comes with practice. You'll get used to it."

Hoshi-san's mouth opens and closes. There's a strange expression on his face for a moment when he looks towards her, but it's gone before Shiki can make any sense of it.

"… Guess I've still got a long way to go, then," the boy sighs. But rather than sounding defeated, his tone is something determined instead.

"That's the spirit!" Hakari-san claps Hoshi-san on the back, a friendly motion that nearly ends up knocking the other boy over. "… Whoops, didn't mean to do that. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm all good," Hoshi-san mumbles over his knees, straightening gradually with a sharp shake of the head. "I dunno what I was really thinking this would turn out to be. Sometimes it all still seems like magic to me, y'know? Cursed energy, cursed techniques… but I get it. Practice is important, and there aren't any shortcuts to take towards gaining power."

Hakari-san nods, "I feel you there, when I first found out about all this–"

"Not exactly."

Both of her classmates whirl towards her with twin expressions of surprise.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Hoshi-san asks, clearly confused.

"… You're not wrong that practice is important," Shiki starts. A sorcerer who didn't know how to properly use their own cursed energy wasn't much of a sorcerer at all. One who was not practiced in combat could not hope to hold their own in a difficult battle, especially not against superior foes who outstripped them in skill and ability –as was often the case with sorcerers fighting dangerous cursed spirits.

"But…?" Hakari-san asks leadingly.

"But the easiest way for a sorcerer to strengthen themselves," she continues, "Is through the use of binding vows."

"Binding vow?" Hoshi-san repeats, blinking slowly and cocking his head. "I thought that was for stuff like… contracts between two parties? Like, making an agreement that you're not supposed to break. Because otherwise, there's going to be some serious, terrible punishment inflicted on you for failing to uphold the promise."

"Correct. That's one example of binding vows –enforcing an agreement," Shiki nods in affirmation. "Practically speaking, though, the most frequent usage that you'll see from sorcerers are vows made with oneself."

"… Eh?"

The blank looks that she's receiving from both of them… hmm. Has Takagi-sensei not gotten around to explaining this yet? He must not have, if this is how they're reacting.

"The definition of a binding vow is 'a pact made with jujutsu that enforces certain conditions in order to achieve a goal, agreed to by one's own will.'" Better to start from the beginning, then. Shiki readjusts her sitting position, folding one leg over the other. "At its core, binding vows revolve around the concept of exchange. Gain and loss, and how to leverage it accordingly."

"Okay," Hakari-san nods, "And that means…?"

"What Hoshi-san mentioned earlier –a binding vow between two parties– is easy enough to understand," Shiki decides to use what her classmates are familiar with as an example. "Party A promises to do something, in exchange for Party B doing something as well. Or, Party A makes a promise to Party B that must be upheld."

"Right, right," Hoshi-san's hands fiddle restlessly with the water bottle that he's still holding. "I mean, I get all of that. But what was that you were mentioning about binding vows made with yourself? … Is that actually a thing?"

"It's quite common," Shiki informs him. "By imposing a specific condition or a restriction on yourself, you can gain something else from it when you abide by what was promised in your contract. And unlike binding vows made with other people, if a vow that's made with yourself is broken, then the worst thing that could happen is just losing what was gained. Vows made with others, on the other hand, may have far more dangerous consequences."

"Hmm," Hakari-san makes a thoughtful sound. "Sounds like that could be very useful."

"It is," she's glad that her explanation makes sense to her classmates. "One of the more common vows made with oneself that a sorcerer will often use is the binding vow of 'disclosure.' In exchange for revealing the details of their technique to an enemy, a sorcerer is then able to increase its strength and effectiveness."

"Wait, really?" Hoshi-san leans forward, mouth dropping open slightly. "How does something like that even work?"

"It has to do with the nature of binding vows and the cursed energy involved." More specifically, it's related to how cursed energy was closely entwined with emotions and intent. Hence why the trickiest thing about binding vows between two different parties wasn't so much about the exact phrasing of the words involved as it was the intent behind those words.

If two parties were to enter a binding vow without clarifying the details beforehand, both holding different interpretations of the contract that was agreed upon… such vows ran the very real possibility of being risky and full of loopholes.

"Deliberately creating a riskier condition for yourself, and having your cursed energy respond to that…" Hakari-san's lips spread into a slow, wide grin. "Sounds interesting."

Hoshi-san glances over towards him, "Don't you mean 'dangerous?'"

"Interesting," the other boy firmly reiterates, and flashes a sharp grin. "What can I say? Big fan of risks and rewards here, and I'm a gambling man."

"By disclosing your technique to an enemy, you're giving them information to work with that they can use to retaliate… but it simultaneously strengthens your own technique as well…" Hoshi-san falls into thoughtful silence for a moment. "Gojo-san, you said that it's pretty common for sorcerers to make binding vows with themselves, right? What are some other examples of it?"

"Other examples…" Shiki tilts her head. "Ken-jichan uses a binding vow that exchanges the cutting strength of his cursed tool in exchange for increased physical power. He accomplishes this by wrapping his cleaver in a thick layer of cloth bindings so it can't cut anything. By restricting himself from using the sharp edge of a blade to fight, the strength behind each blow when he uses a blunted weapon is magnified."

Ken-jichan's Ratio Technique granted the ability to enforce a weak point on a chosen target at a precise seven-three ratio. As a result, raw strength was more useful to him than a sharp cutting edge. It would ensure a stronger hit aimed at the critical point, and thereby deal more damage.

The exact opposite was true for Shiki.

In her case, there was no resistance to her blade when she was severing a target's lines. But it was important that she had a sharp blade to cut those lines to begin with. For Shiki, a sharp cutting edge was far more important than raw physical strength. A binding vow such as the one that her uncle used would only be cumbersome in her hands.

"Binding vows can be useful, but what kind you use and how you use them really depends on the sorcerer," she tells her classmates.

… That's probably the best way that she can put it. Different sorcerers use different binding vows to strengthen their abilities. Moreover, different factors affecting the conditions of the same contract can also result in differing amounts of power gained. A binding vow that carries little risk or importance to the sorcerer is unlikely to provide any significant results.

For example: Ken-jichan's binding vow to abstain from using the cutting edge of bladed tools. Suppose that Ken-jichan made the binding vow with himself, then proceeded to forego using bladed weaponry entirely. While it was undeniable that staffs and tonfas and the like had no sharp edges and definitely fulfilled the conditions of a blunt weapon, such weaponry wasn't meant to rely on sharpness in the first place. If Ken-jichan fought with a set of tonfas, there was unlikely to be any notable increase in the strength to his blows –if any at all. There was no tradeoff taking place here.

But by using a cleaver that was swaddled in thick layers of cloth, to the point where it effectively functioned more as an unwieldy bludgeon than an actual blade of any sort, Ken-jichan was deliberately giving up the natural advantage provided by a sharp weapon. There was inherent risk in doing so. And in exchange for the drawbacks that he accepted, there was a marked increase to the raw power behind each and every one of his strikes wielding the cursed tool.

… Shiki understands the logic behind her uncle's decision to utilize such a binding vow. It makes sense, is effective, and it works for him. But she still finds herself a little miffed by it, sometimes.

Satoru-niichan was of no help in this matter; he'd only laughed at her when she'd confided in him about it. You and your love of sharp objects, ha!

"Uh… is everything okay?" Hoshi-san's hesitant voice breaks Shiki out of her thoughts. "You look a little… annoyed? Sorry if we were asking too many questions–"

"No, it's not that," she shakes her head. "I don't mind. Sorry. I was… just thinking about Ken-jichan's binding vow. It's good for him and works as an effective tool in his arsenal, but I don't like it."

"Eh?" Hoshi-san blinks rapidly. "Wait, why not?"

It's… silly. Shiki determinedly looks away from her classmates and does not answer.

"… Do you really need to ask? Isn't it obvious?" Hakari-san rolls his eyes and gestures towards Shiki. "Hoshi. Have you ever seen her go anywhere without that sword of hers and, what, hiding a dozen knives on her body? No? Yeah, I didn't think so, either."

"You can never have too many knives," Shiki automatically responds.

Hoshi-san snorts, "Okay, yeah, I definitely get your point."

Shiki huffs, "What's not to like about knives?"

They're convenient, and useful. Easy to hide, and sharp. She honestly doesn't understand why there aren't more sorcerers walking around with knives like her. Even low-quality ones can also work as makeshift cursed tools in a pinch when properly infused with cursed energy!

"Y'know, the fact that you even need to ask that in the first place means you've probably got a problem," Hoshi-san tells her sagely. But it's clear to see from his expression that he's biting back a smile.

Hakari-san doesn't bother with trying to hide his expression. There's a wide smile stretched over his lips right now, "I bet you half of the pay for our next mission that she's thinking knives are solutions, not problems."

"No bet," Hoshi-san says dryly.

… There might still be a lot of nonverbal context flying over her head, but Shiki is aware enough to realize that her classmates are amused by something at her expense.

She raises the video camera that she's still holding in her hands. "… I will drop this on the ground."

"Wait! No, I don't want to go through another sparring session without reviewing first!"

"Wait! No, you can't do that, don't you know those things are damned expensive?!"

Both of her classmates lunge towards her simultaneously. Shiki's first instinct is to block and duck, sweep out Hoshi-san's feet from beneath him and drive a knife deep into Hakari-san's shoulder, then wrench the blade downwards–

But she's very good at controlling her instincts.

Friends, not enemies, she patiently reminds herself, and allows Hakari-san to snatch the video camera from her with little resistance.

"Look, we know you're rich, but there's still no need to break expensive equipment just for the heck of it," Hakari-san grouses. The following friendly slap to her shoulder indicates that he's not truly upset with her, though. "Alright, Hoshi! Let's take a look at what our ojou-sama here recorded for us, yeah?"

Hakari-san lifts the contraption in his hands and immediately presses a few strange buttons, while Hoshi-san circles around him to peer down at the digital screen.

"Let's see… this is…" Hakari-san squints. "Hey, Gojo, what happened to the file? I'm not seeing it here."

Shiki tilts her head questioningly, "… File?"

"Yeah, there should be a video file that gets created automatically somewhere in here once you finish recording, right?" Her classmate raises the video camera indicatively, "Except I'm not finding it anywhere."

Shiki easily accepts the video camera from him and peers down towards the metallic object. "… How do I look for the 'video file' in this? I doubt you want me to cut the lines–"

Without skipping a beat, Hakari-san reaches over and reclaims the video camera from her. "Never mind, never mind! Forget what I just asked you."

"Uh…" Hoshi-san looks at the video camera, then looks over to Shiki. "Just making sure… you did record us, right?"

"I did," she confirms. Hoshi-san relaxes at those words, and Shiki decides to provide some further reassurance. "You and Hakari-san were both moving on the screen the entire time."

Hoshi-san immediately tenses again. "… You're sure you were recording?"

"Yes," Shiki nods confidently, and reaches over to where Hakari-san has suddenly stopped fiddling with the video camera in favor of staring blankly at her instead. She raises her hand and points a finger, "I followed your instructions. I pressed this button and made sure the two of you were both on the display screen."

Hoshi-san sinks down to the ground, burying his face in his hands.

"Buddy," Hakari-san says, "That's the 'Play' button. The 'Record' one is the one below it."

"Oh… my apologies."

…

(Later, Takagi-sensei is surprised by Shiki's unprompted request to learn about technological devices from him. But he takes it in stride, and both Hoshi-san and Hakari-san cheer happily in support, so Shiki decides to take that as a good sign.)

.

.

The summer sun is warm on her skin. Shiki stands quietly by the red torii gates leading to the Tokyo school, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she soaks in the sunlight. It's still early in the morning, which means that the temperature hasn't heated up yet, and the passing breeze brings with it a pleasant, refreshing coolness.

Part of her feels as if she could just doze off like this. The other, much louder part of her tells her that this is no time for a catnap.

"Ojou-sama?"

The voice that calls out to her is soft, quiet. Shiki opens her eyes.

"… Choki. Good morning," she greets.

Her longtime assistant bows respectfully, "Good morning to you as well, my lady. Preparations have already been made; we will be ready to depart at your convenience."

"I appreciate it, Choki."

The mission lined up for her this morning isn't particularly difficult to deal with. She is assigned to exorcise a Grade One cursed spirit, one that had six legs and was fast on its feet –but not faster than Shiki, and especially not once she finished cutting off its legs. It wasn't hard.

There's nothing particularly interesting to note about the assignment itself. But after concluding the mission, Choki takes a detour and makes an unprompted stop at one of the many bakeries in Tokyo. Shortly thereafter, he walks out of the shop with yakisoba bread in his hands, which he then proceeds to offer to Shiki.

… Back when she'd lived in the clan compound, yakisoba bread had been a rare treat. It wasn't a type of food that was offered inside the clan; instead yakisoba bread was something that Jihei-san would sneak to her on occasion.

It's not altogether unsurprising that Choki is familiar enough with Shiki to know her preferences like this, considering the years they've worked together, but she can't say that she'd been expecting this out of the blue. Suzurigi Choki is the adult between the two of them, but it's Shiki's decisions and orders that he defers to. So it's rare for him to take this sort of initiative, even for such a minor thing –perhaps precisely for such a minor, fickle thing, clearly meant as a considerate gesture towards Shiki.

Not to say that Choki isn't thoughtful and considerate, because he is. Choki is a very meticulous person. But he doesn't usually adopt such a straightforward, heavy-handed way of showing it. This is a little… uncharacteristic.

Shiki looks up from the yakisoba bread that Choki had given to her. "Is there something that I should know about?"

"There… is." A slight hesitation. Choki ducks his head, "I received a call from one of my cousins while you were fighting the cursed spirit earlier. He… told me that there was a medical scare with Yuzuki-sama earlier today, ojou-sama. Fortunately, it was discovered and treated in time; the danger has passed for now, and his condition has stabilized. I thought it would be best to inform you of this."

… Yuzuki-san.

Clever, tactful Yuzuki-san, who probably would've made sure to tell his servants not to pass on news of his failing condition to Shiki, because Yuzuki-san was like that. He didn't want to distract her or cause her any trouble, even when Shiki had made it perfectly clear that she didn't consider him a burden the way he so clearly thought of himself as.

He was her friend. Her first friend.

Yuzuki-san's illness… the doctors had predicted that he wouldn't live past his twenties. And in recent years, it wasn't as if Shiki had failed to notice the way that Yuzuki-san's already-too-pale skin had grown even paler. The way that his raspy, rattling coughs had grown steadily more blood-flecked. It was…

…

It wasn't as if Shiki wasn't aware of it. Yuzuki-san's illness, that is. It had been obvious from the beginning of their acquaintanceship that the boy was sick, and he'd always been frail. He'd seen so many doctors over the years, and none of them had a proper cure for whatever ailment it was that afflicted him. Not even Shoko-san. Shiki knows that even though reverse cursed technique is capable of healing many things, it's far from being a miracle cure.

Yuzuki-san is dying. She's known this since the day they'd met each other at Isao-san's funeral.

But somehow, she still…

"I thought we had more time," Shiki murmurs quietly into the air. Choki wouldn't report to her like this if it was only a regular episode; the medical emergency this time must've been serious. Yuzuki-san's condition was likely… not good. He'd told her just last week when she'd visited him that he was feeling better these days…

What a liar.

"Yuzuki-san has been ordered to rest now, hasn't he?" she asks placidly. "No visitors allowed?"

"I'm afraid not, ojou-sama."

That was expected. It wouldn't be the first time, either. Then…

"Let me know when that changes and arrange something, please." Shiki is quiet for a moment, "… There's also Tsumiki and Megumi. They should also visit him with me."

Because Tsumiki and Megumi were Yuzuki-san's friends, too.

"As you wish," Choki bows.

The car ride back to the jujutsu school is quiet. It gives plenty of time for Shiki's thoughts to wander.

Death is inevitable. This is fact. Yuzuki-san is dying. This, too, is fact.

… Shiki doesn't like it when people whom she is close to die. It's unpleasant. Especially when there's nothing that she can do about it. She's no doctor herself, and there were already so many doctors who were all unable to help Yuzuki-san. Shiki possesses no aptitude for healing at all.

… The closest skill that she has in her repertoire would be her cursed technique lapse, White, but that's not healing. It ensures that 'nothing' is able to affect the target, but it's not a cure. Only a temporary stopgap measure, at best –and one that would not actually prevent Yuzuki-san's condition from deteriorating. Shiki does not possess the cursed energy reserves to power such a technique indefinitely, either; the moment that the technique terminated, Yuzuki-san's health would continue worsening.

I thought there would be more time.

…

When Shiki finally returns to the school again, she ends up running into Aikawa-senpai at the bottom of the stairway path leading up into the mountains. Preoccupied with her thoughts she might be, this does not stop Shiki from absently nodding towards her upperclassman in a cursory greeting.

The older girl's expression twitches slightly, which probably doesn't signify anything good, unfortunately.

"… What are you doing here?" Aikawa-senpai asks. Her tone is more muted and neutral than something outright hostile. But it still doesn't change the fact that she sounds like she doesn't particularly care for the answer to her question at all –which then begs the question of why she would even ask it in the first place.

… It doesn't matter. Shiki isn't in the mood to deal with this right now. She doesn't think that she currently possesses the patience to guess at what might be running through the other girl's mind.

Next time, maybe just… I dunno, try not to say anything to Aikawa-senpai? Hoshi-san's advice for dealing with their upperclassman flits through her thoughts in this moment. Shiki decides to follow it. Hoshi-san is better at dealing with Aikawa-senpai than she is, after all, so surely this would be a good course of action.

And so, Shiki proceeds to brush past the older girl without a word. Aikawa-senpai stiffens slightly and makes a frustrated sound in her throat, reaching out towards her as if to stop her –only to rethink her own actions at the last minute before her fingers skim the edge of Shiki's kimono.

"… Why are you like this?" Aikawa-senpai whispers, letting her hand fall back down to her side. The conflicted twist to her voice is not something that Shiki cares for. She also doesn't care for the way that Aikawa-senpai's eyes narrow as the older girl takes a step towards her, "Why do you act like–"

"Oh, hey there! Aikawa-chan, there you –ah, sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Aikawa-senpai startles violently as she whirls around, nearly tripping over her own two feet at the sudden sound of a new voice. In contrast, Shiki is far more composed than the other girl. She'd sensed the new arrival coming towards them, after all, so there wasn't any particular surprise on her part.

… She doesn't recognize him, though. The boy heading towards them is not one whom Shiki has seen before, even though he's wearing a school uniform in the dark colors of the jujutsu school, complete with a button containing the school's insignia. Short black hair, dark eyes, wearing a small half-smile over his lips. One hand reaches up to tug down the large set of headphones that he's wearing over his ears, letting it rest comfortably around his neck as he approaches them.

For a brief moment, Shiki finds herself eyeing the red line stretching from his temple down the side of his face, curving across the base of his throat. Takagi-sensei has a similar line there. Except, Takagi-sensei's line crosses over the bridge of his nose before trailing down to his neck–

"Ichinose-senpai," Aikawa-senpai greets, relaxing. For all that she'd been badly startled just now, she seems to be glad for the boy's presence. "You're finally here!"

"You talk like you were expecting me to skip out on our mission," he jokes, before turning towards Shiki, smiling determinedly. The expression is decidedly fake, but his desire to convey goodwill appears to be real. "Hello there, Gojo-san. This is the first time we've seen each other around, yeah? I'm Ichinose Kiichi, one of the third year students."

Ichinose… the name is familiar to her. Takagi-sensei had mentioned to them before that there were three third year students attending the Tokyo school, and Ichinose was one of the names mentioned.

"Hello, Ichinose-san," she greets politely in return. It's clear that he already knows perfectly well who she is, but courtesy dictates that she offer her own name in response, "I'm Gojo Shiki. First year student."

"Mhm, mhm. Man, I honestly can't believe it took this long into the school year to get basic introductions with you out of the way," the boy laughs good-naturedly, his words flowing out from his mouth in an upbeat ramble. "You sure keep a busy schedule, don't you? I feel like I never see you around in school."

It's true that Shiki finds herself outside of the school quite often, but such is the nature of a sorcerer's endless workload. As a Grade One sorcerer, there are always new assignments waiting for her.

"Like you're one to talk," Aikawa-senpai huffs, "Ichinose-senpai, you're always holed up in your room playing games when you aren't out on missions, or when Matoba-senpai isn't dragging you out to train!"

"Aww, don't be so mean, Aikawa-chan," Ichinose-san does not appear to be offended in the least by the girl's words. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Hmph," Aikawa-senpai folds her arms across her chest and looks away from him. But her irritation is an exaggerated one; nothing like the genuine frustration that she'd consistently shown around Shiki.

"Anyways," Ichinose-san claps his hands together. "Sorry to steal Aikawa-chan from you, Gojo-san, but we've got a mission lined up for us that we should probably get going on. Trying to get more missions out of the way and all before the exchange event comes up in September, y'see."

… All for the best that he takes Aikawa-senpai with him, then. Given Shiki's past experiences with the girl, any longer spent in Aikawa-senpai's general vicinity would most likely result in the girl accruing even further grievances with Shiki somehow. It's something that Shiki would prefer not to deal with.

She gives the boy a small nod, then turns around and takes her leave. There's the slight sound of hushed whispers promptly starting up behind her, agitated and indistinct even through the dual clatter of footsteps against the hard stone steps. Aikawa-senpai does not appear to be very good at being discreet, it seems.

Shiki continues walking up the staircase. Gradually, the steady sound of footfalls and rustling leaves behind her fades into eventual silence.

.

.

…

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