61

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"Well, it might not necessarily be a ghost that you encountered," Satoru-niichan speaks up into the ensuing silence that follows after Kirara's reveal regarding the mysterious figure that he'd encountered. "But also… hmm. Not necessarily not a ghost, either?"

Kirara gulps.

… Which is a slightly strange reaction, truth be told, considering that he's a sorcerer and all. Satoru-niichan looks highly entertained by it, though.

Still. "Is it… really Jihei-san?"

Satoru-niichan casts a quick glance towards her, "That's the question here, isn't it?"

Shiki lifts her eyes to meet her cousin's gaze, knowing that he is not as unmoved and unperturbed by the unexpected news as he appears to be on the surface.

After all, both of them had been present, when the Kamo Clan had sent news that Gojo Jihei was dead and they'd recovered the body. And both of them had seen the mutilated corpse. There was no mistake that it had been Jihei-san's body presented before them; Shiki and Satoru-niichan had both confirmed that much with their very own eyes.

Gojo Jihei was dead.

He was dead.

… Shiki still remembers it. She very clearly recalls seeing his cold, dead corpse on the ground. Saturated with cursed energy residuals, and a mutilated mess of broken flesh and bone. In her mind's eye, she can still perfectly visualize the way that blood had pooled on the ground beneath him, red and dark. There had been a lot of blood. So much blood.

But Kirara's claim that it had been a Gojo with water manipulation that had helped him escape the strange dark space that he'd been thrown into…

It didn't make any sense. None of this did.

Either Kirara had encountered an impersonator, or… somehow, inconceivably–

Jihei-san wasn't dead.

… But how could that be? Shiki had seen it. Living humans might lie all the time, but corpses didn't. And if Jihei-san was alive, impossible as it sounded, then… why wouldn't he have returned to them? Why hadn't they heard a single word from him, all these years?

Unless… was this Araya Souren's handiwork again?

"There's no point in just standing here and thinking about it like this," Kiyohira-sensei's voice has calmed once more, but the fingers of his sole remaining hand are clenched tightly into a fist at his side. "We need more information. Hoshi-kun, did he… say anything to you?"

"Um… nothing in particular that I remember," Kirara responds. His voice is faintly regretful, apologetic. "He just said that I 'wasn't supposed to be here.' Seemed a little surprised when I mentioned the okuribi and told him that I didn't know where everyone else was. He showed me the way out by opening some portal-thing to the fire and shoving me through."

"He didn't tell you anything about his own situation?" Kiyohira-sensei presses intensely. "Didn't tell you to carry a message to anyone? To inform anyone in the Gojo Clan of his whereabouts, at the very least?"

"Nope," the boy shakes his head. "He didn't say anything about that. Although, I guess there was one thing he said to me at the end, but… um. That's not really–"

"What did he say?"

Kirara hesitates for a moment beneath the older sorcerer's gaze. "… He said, 'Don't come back again.'"

Kiyohira-sensei's fingers spasm briefly.

"Calm yourself, Kiyohira," Satoru-niichan's voice cuts across the room. "The highest likelihood is that we're dealing with an impersonator, or even someone else entirely. It's a little too early to tie yourself up into knots like this, don't you think?"

Kiyohira-sensei startles slightly, and glances over towards Satoru-niichan. "… Yes. You're right."

"Of course I am," the young man folds his fingers under his chin, leaning forward on his elbows. "Sit down. Let's talk about what we need to do next."

Slowly, Kiyohira-sensei reclaims his seat. "I… thought you said that the human puppet was all you found?"

"In the barrier, yeah," Satoru-niichan waves a hand carelessly, making a slightly miffed sound. "I plan to stick around Kyoto for a few extra days this year."

Kiyohira-sensei nods in understanding, "I see. You intend to conduct your own search?"

"I mean, the Kamos have thoroughly proven that they aren't up to the task," Satoru-niichan snorts. It's a very fair point to make, though.

"I'll stay, too," Shiki straightens.

"Don't, actually," the young man immediately shoots down her words as he turns. Cursed blue eyes meet cursed blue eyes, and her cousin starts speaking again before she can utter a single word of protest. "I get that you've got a bone to pick with Araya, but having both of us turn the city inside-out is a little overkill. Besides, there's something else that I need you to do."

Shiki tilts her head questioningly.

"I want you to check the storeroom," he tells her. "The Gojo Clan's repository of cursed tools. Because if I recall correctly, Jihei's sword should be in the clan's inventory."

Kiyohira-sensei stills. "Are you implying that…?"

"That someone might've stolen Jihei's sword and is using it to mimic his cursed technique? Considering that our mystery man here claimed to be a Gojo, I'd say that it's worth looking into, at the very least," Satoru-niichan shrugs.

The older man grimaces. "… Just what in the world is going on here?"

Kiyohira-sensei's words are frustrated, aggravated. An understandable sentiment, especially in face of the current situation. Nonetheless, he closes his eyes and lets out a slow exhale in a clear attempt to re-center himself and refocus.

"We'll get to the bottom of this," Satoru-niichan says, clapping his hands together. "For now, though. Any other questions?"

"… So, uh," Kinji raises his hand, much like Kirara had done so earlier. "Can I just ask –are ghosts actually a thing?"

All heads in the room promptly swivel towards the boy for that tangent. Kinji blinks guilelessly at the sudden attention.

"… You're a sorcerer, and you don't believe in ghosts?" With a deliberate sort of agonizing slowness, Kiyohira-sensei rubs at his temples. His voice is faintly incredulous, disbelieving. To the side, Satoru-niichan also wears a faintly bemused expression.

"Hey, look," Kinji folds his arms across his chest, "It's not that I don't believe in ghosts, exactly? It's more like… even though I've seen plenty of cursed spirits over the years, I've never encountered a single ghost. Except people die all the time! So you'd think that there would be ghosts wandering around if they were actually a thing. But that's most definitely not the case, so… you get what I'm saying here?"

Satoru-niichan hums, "… I guess that makes a certain amount of sense?"

"Don't encourage the boy, Satoru-sama." Kiyohira-sensei immediately corrects in complete deadpan. "That does not make sense."

"No, no, it does! 'Seeing is believing,' right?" Satoru-niichan laughs, then addresses Kinji. "To address your question: The reason why you never see wandering ghosts has to do with the system of complex barriers that Tengen maintains over the country. That, and the numerous purification and pacification rituals that are performed throughout the year. Obon is one of them, actually. Arguably also the most important one."

Obon is a festival that honors and pays respect to the dead. These aren't just mere words to throw around.

"Huh," Kinji nods along in understanding, and then freezes as the words register properly. "… So isn't it a bad thing that there's this whole mess happening during Obon this year?!"

"Oh, absolutely," Satoru-niichan agrees. "So you might get your wish to see ghosts in this upcoming year, maybe?"

"Oh shi– I mean, uh," Kinji coughs, "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Kiyohira-sensei slaps a hand to cover his face, "That is not how this works!"

Satoru-niichan grins lazily, "But it's also not not how it works, right?"

"…" Kiyohira-sensei slants a pointed look at his clan head, then turns towards Kinji. "It's not an exact science, or anything. The correlation between the formation of ghosts and ritual ceremonies. But… it's also not entirely unrelated. As you might imagine, experiments that may potentially give rise to vengeful cursed spirits are strictly prohibited."

"Yeah, that sounds valid." Kinji flicks his gaze between the two older sorcerers.

"There's no need to be overly concerned," Kiyohira-sensei continues. "Although Obon was disrupted like this… Tengen's barriers still stand, so things should be fine."

"Cool," the boy makes a thumbs-up gesture with both hands. "Thanks, good to know."

Beside him, Kirara yawns –and flushes slightly with embarrassment at the attention that the motion draws.

"Sleep," Kiyohira-sensei's voice rumbles, "It's getting late, and… clearly we're not going to be getting any further with this discussion that's already derailed. There are far too many unknown variables at the moment, anyways…"

The man trails off, and shakes his head with a weary sigh.

"It is a little late, isn't it?" Satoru-niichan laughs good-naturedly, rising up from his seat and stretching out his arms over his head. "Off to bed now, everyone! We'll continue dealing with this tomorrow."

.

.

The next day, Shiki and her classmates bid their farewells and prepare to depart from Kyoto.

It would be a lie to say that she isn't slightly disgruntled by it. Satoru-niichan promised to take care of the chaotic state of things in Kyoto, and Shiki trusts her cousin to keep to his word. She doesn't have any doubt in his abilities.

Upon reflection, it's largely selfishness that has Shiki wanting to stay in Kyoto with him in the first place. The selfishness of wanting to confirm what was going on with her own two eyes, of being present if it turned out that Araya Souren was truly the mastermind behind the still-unfolding situation.

All sorcerers are inherently selfish, even if it manifests in different forms.

But Satoru-niichan wasn't wrong in that it would be overkill for both of them to linger in Kyoto. And if there was really someone within the Gojo Clan itself that was collaborating with Araya –or at the very least, a third party who was crazy enough to cause such a ruckus during Obon– then one of them needed to deal with things on that end, too. With the numerous sorcery clans present in Kyoto, it would be far more efficient for Satoru-niichan to navigate through the scene than Shiki, who was both a young student and female.

… She understands the reasoning, even if she doesn't particularly like it.

"Uhh, are you okay?"

Shiki turns at the sound of the sudden question, a query that breaks the silence within the car. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You have that whole…" Kinji makes a vague, nonsensical gesture with his hands. "I dunno, that 'I'm upset I didn't get to stab something' aura going on right now."

She blinks, faintly nonplussed. "… That's an oddly specific description."

"Okay, but am I wrong?" Kinji waggles his eyebrows.

From the driver's seat, Choki breaks into a sudden coughing fit.

"I wouldn't put it quite like that," Kirara interjects with a slight cough of his own. "Although… you do seem a little quieter than usual, Shiki."

"… Oh." She hadn't realized that. "It's… nothing to worry about."

"If you say so," Kirara responds, and pauses for a moment after those words. "… But if there is something weighing on you, you can talk to us about it, y'know?"

"I'll keep that in mind." The offer of conversation is appreciated, although Shiki is also well aware that there's nothing that her classmates can do to alleviate the mysteries surrounding Obon, nor resolve the situation with Araya Souren. But the sentiment is a well-meaning one. In Yuzuki-san's words, the proper response to this would be, "Thank you."

Her answer must be correct; Kirara gives her a small smile–

Shiki's head snaps up.

There's a sudden ripple of cursed energy to the east. Shiki looks out the car window, watching silently as a dark Curtain slowly forms in the distance, tracing a half-dome shape through the air to hide the area within from prying eyes.

On its own, it's not something to be concerned over. Even disregarding the fact that there are a good number of sorcerers gathered in Kyoto right now, encountering a Curtain being drawn like this is typically just an indication of a mission underway. Logically, Shiki understands that there's no need for worry.

But…

It's a little difficult to articulate the faint sense of doubt that creeps up on her in this moment. Maybe it's because of the events of the past few days, or the strange happenings at the final okuribi last night, but… for some reason, Shiki watches the barrier form and inexplicably thinks–

"Choki. I'd like to take a look at that Curtain."

"Of course, ojou-sama," her assistant agrees easily, and turns the steering wheel of the car.

"… Wait, don't we have a bullet train to catch?" Kinji gives her a strange look.

Shiki returns it with one of her own. "What does that have to do with anything?"

The boy raises an eyebrow. "You sure we're not going to end up missing our train if we make this detour?"

"If that happens, then we can just take the next train." She doesn't see what the issue here is.

Kinji chokes, "… But haven't our tickets already been bought in advance?"

Shiki tilts her head in confusion at the reaction.

"It's of no concern, Hakari-san," Choki adds helpfully. "New ticket reservations can always be made. There is no need to worry on this front."

The boy is silent for a moment. "… Such an ojou-sama."

It's a sudden, random statement that comes out of absolutely nowhere, in true Kinji fashion.

The trip doesn't take too long, passing by swiftly in the chatter of her classmates. They end up arriving in a fairly secluded area of the city, an abandoned area that has been cordoned off with construction tape. Behind the tape, there's the Curtain, as they'd spotted from a distance. The dark barrier stretches high, high upwards, and it's difficult to see it in its entirety at this perspective from the ground.

Contrary to expectations, however… there is no assistant manager stationed nearby. Which is quite strange. Goes against typical protocol, at the very least, even if there are rare occasions with extenuating circumstances that require any assisting staff to be positioned a greater distance away.

Shiki extends her senses. There does not appear to be anyone else stationed in the vicinity.

The vague feeling of something being off grows stronger. Is she being paranoid? … Perhaps. She'd hoped to be able to ease her paranoia by arriving on the scene and then inquiring about the situation from the assistant manager in charge. But by the looks of things, it's quite evident that won't be happening.

On one hand, it would be rude to barge in unannounced on another sorcerer's mission when they haven't specifically requested for backup. But on the other hand… it is part of a sorcerer's duties to investigate irregularities. This Curtain, if it was truly an unsanctioned one, would certainly qualify.

Shiki wavers briefly between the knowledge that she is expected to be 'polite,' and the faint sense of something foreboding rearing its head in her instincts.

Her hesitation lasts for only a moment, before she makes her decision.

"Ojou-sama, do you intend to enter?" Choki is the first to catch on to her thoughts. Which is perhaps due to the years that they've worked together, granting him an insight born of long familiarity.

"Is that even in question?" Kinji rolls his neck almost lazily, cracking the joints. "I mean, we came all the way here, didn't we? And we're also missing the bullet train for this."

"'We?'" Shiki blinks, repeating the word. "This isn't a proper assignment or anything, you don't need to–"

"We're classmates, aren't we?" Kirara breaks in. "Of course we're going in together."

It's unnecessary, part of her can't help but think. And even aside from that, this is also an unknown situation before them. Certainly, there's a chance that this is just an intrusion into another sorcerer's mission, where everything is perfectly under control… but there's also a chance that this is something that would potentially be dangerous. Especially when taking into account all the strange happenings during Obon this year.

So–

"Alright, then," is what ends up coming out of her mouth instead of a firm rejection, somehow. Shiki promptly falls silent after she realizes what she's just said.

… Well, it should probably be fine either way. White is enough to suffice as protection for Shiki and her classmates. Moreover, they're still in Kyoto, directly under the eyes of so many other sorcerers. Shiki doesn't believe for an instant that they're the only ones to notice this Curtain here, and if it's truly an unregistered one, then it shouldn't be long before other sorcerers come to investigate as well.

Besides, Satoru-niichan is still in Kyoto, too.

"Choki, you should vacate the area." Shiki might not know why there isn't another assistant manager around, but she certainly isn't going to take any chances. "Check if this is a registered Curtain. If it's not, then contact Kiyohira-sensei or Satoru-niichan, and inform them of the situation. If it is, but I don't return in a timely manner, then go ahead and contact them anyways."

"As you command, ojou-sama," Choki bows respectfully, then straightens. "I shall await your return."

"Thank you," Shiki nods to her assistant.

"Don't we get a 'thank you,' too?"

Shiki pauses, and glances towards her classmate. There's a slow grin that spreads over his face, a sign that he's either teasing or joking.

"… You can get one after we come back out again."

Kinji laughs. "Okay, that's fair."

And with that, the three of them step through the barrier together.

There's a single instant of coolness that washes over Shiki's skin as she passes through the Curtain, a feeling that's not entirely unlike the sensation of being submerged underwater. But the dissonance disappears swiftly enough, in the brief instance that it takes to cross the barrier's threshold.

Then, they're standing on the other side of the Curtain.

The building that had been obscured by the barrier is quite a large one. There are several floors reaching high upwards. But the overall appearance is distinctly run-down, in a way that's similar to the other abandoned structures in the general neighborhood.

It's also oddly quiet–

–actually, never mind.

Almost as if on cue to her thoughts, there's a loud crash that sounds from somewhere inside the building. Kinji lets out a low whistle, while Kirara winces.

"Sounds like they're really going at it, huh?" Kinji remarks.

Shiki steps inside the building and sets a brisk pace, following the mix of violent noises and cursed energy residuals left along the way. It seems that there are three different sources of cursed energy, from what she can observe. One appears to be that of a cursed spirit, twisted and malicious. Of the two that remain, one appears to be that of a sorcerer, while the other is faint to the point of being indistinct. The missing assistant manager, perhaps? Had the sorcerer brought them inside the Curtain with them?

Still, even despite being as faint as it is, there's something about the weaker trace of cursed energy that almost seems… familiar, somewhat, as strange as it sounds. Although Shiki can't quite remember where she would've–

A sudden figure turns the corner in front of them; Shiki already has a knife in her hand when Kirara makes a sound of surprise. Shiki can't blame him for it in the least, because–

"Aikawa-senpai?!" her classmate splutters.

–it is indeed Aikawa Ruri who is standing before them in this moment, pale-faced with her mouth agape in unfiltered shock.

… It's been awhile since Shiki has last encountered her upperclassman. Meeting her here like this was the last thing that she'd expected, though. What was the girl doing in Kyoto?

Amidst the stunned silence, Kirara is the first to regain his bearings. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I–?" Aikawa-senpai startles, and draws herself up to her full height. Which is only a few centimeters taller than Shiki, who is the shortest of her classmates, so it's not particularly intimidating nor cowing in the least… "What do you mean, what am I doing here? I-I'm–"

"The heck are you doing, Aikawa?!" A new voice suddenly hollers out, fierce and loud, "Keep running! Otherwise we're only going to–"

A dark-haired boy rounds the corner in a dead sprint, nearly bowling over the second year student as he spins back around at the last moment. Without pause, the boy proceeds to cast out a handful of talismans behind him with a wide sweep of his arm. The small slips of yellowed paper fly out almost as if they have a will of their own, automatically arranging themselves into a circular formation in the air –and just barely managing to block the giant fist that crashes down from the ceiling directly overhead.

… A giant fist that is made of a strange mix of flesh and metal.

Shiki narrows her eyes.

"Ichinose-senpai?" Kirara breathes out disbelievingly. "You're here, too?"

The other boy jolts, "Who the fu– Hoshi-kun–?"

Unfortunately for him, his distraction comes at quite an inopportune moment and costs him. The fragile talisman barrier shatters beneath his brief inattention, and the fist comes down–

But Shiki is faster.

She grabs the boy in one hand and throws him backwards; with her other, she draws her sword. A swift kick sees Aikawa-senpai safely out of range of any immediate danger as well, and Shiki swings Kuji Kanesada upwards.

The misshapen, vaguely humanoid lump of flesh-metal disintegrates.

… Which is… unexpected. Shiki hadn't expected it to be this fragile, not with what she suspected…

The girl slowly lowers her arm, sheathing her blade in a clean motion.

"So who the heck is this guy?" Kinji asks Kirara, pointing towards the talisman sorcerer groaning in a heap on the ground. Dark hair, dark eyes, wearing a pair of broken headphones around his neck and… a jujutsu high uniform…?

"Ichinose Kiichi," the boy manages to get out his own introduction as he laboriously hauls himself upright. "Tokyo Jujutsu High, third year student."

… Oh, right. So that was his name. Shiki had thought that the boy seemed vaguely familiar.

It's not entirely her fault that she doesn't remember –and it's not just Ichinose-san in particular, either; Shiki simply isn't very familiar with her upperclassmen in the Tokyo school. She's only encountered Ichinose-san in person all of once before, when the boy had been looking for Aikawa-senpai. And Ichinose-san hadn't left a particularly strong impression back then, either.

"Wait, really?" Kinji sounds surprised. "He's a third year from our school?"

Kirara blinks quizzically at his classmate. "… Okay, I get why Shiki would be unfamiliar with the upperclassmen, since she's constantly out of the school. But why are you unfamiliar with Ichinose-senpai?"

"Ehh…" Kinji scratches his head. "Just never managed to run into him, I guess? I've seen Matoba and Isoda around a few times before, though."

"Ah," Kirara makes a faint sound of understanding, "I mean, I guess we don't see the upperclassmen around school all that often…"

"Which makes it all the stranger that we're seeing them all the way here in Kyoto," Shiki casts her gaze upon the older students. Both of them are injured, Ichinose-san more so than Aikawa-senpai. There's a long trail of blood trickling down the side of the boy's temple, which he reaches up and messily wipes away at with the back of his hand.

"Yeah, funny thing, that," Ichinose-san makes a face. "For some reason, Matoba suddenly received orders from his clan last night to haul ass to Kyoto and do… something. He didn't exactly disclose the details or anything, but from the looks of it, my money's on it being some secret clan thing. And it's not like Isoda or I could just let him take off on his own in the middle of the night, so…"

The boy shrugs in a hapless 'what can you do' gesture.

"And the same goes for her, too?" Kinji jerks a hand towards Aikawa-senpai.

The girl's eyes narrow. "What do you mean by that?!"

Kinji rolls his eyes. "Don't think too much about it, I mean exactly what I said."

"You–!"

"Aikawa caught us while we were sneaking out, and insisted on tagging along," Ichinose-san coughs. "And… this isn't the time to get derailed. How did you guys even find us in the city?"

"Well, the Curtain was kind of a pretty big hint," Kinji deadpans.

"… What Curtain?"

"The Curtain that was just…" Kinji trails off into silence. "… None of you guys were responsible for the Curtain, huh?"

"… No." There's a slightly stunned look that flashes over Ichinose-san's face, "None of us here have any skill with barriers, and we didn't think that we'd need to…"

Shiki exchanges a look with her classmates. There was nothing that seemed to be off with the Curtain when they'd entered together just now. But if what Ichinose-san was saying was true, and if the upperclassmen had nothing to do with it–

… The upperclassmen.

"How many of you are here?" Shiki asks. This is not the time to be lingering around and leisurely taking the time to decide their next steps. "What's the current situation?"

Ichinose-san immediately straightens, "Aside from me and Aikawa, there's also Matoba and Isoda –they're still back there, holding off the horde. We decided to get Aikawa out first so she could call for reinforcements–"

"Hang on, horde?" Kirara's voice is faintly incredulous, "There's a horde of cursed spirits?"

Cursed spirits? Probably not. If the half-flesh half-mechanical thing chasing down the two upperclassmen had been any sign to go by…

"I know this sounds absolutely insane," Ichinose-san says, "But there's a basement level down below that's full of… like, cursed corpses? Except half-machine and half-flesh, which is kind of a real doozy, and –look, I don't mind explaining more, but Matoba and Isoda were not doing great back there when I was getting Aikawa out, so maybe we could hurry? Please?"

Shiki had thought that the vaguely jittery behavior that she observed from Ichinose-san was a sign of the boy being unsettled. And perhaps he is, but it's clear that it's also largely motivated by concern for his classmates. The unspoken urgency of wanting to return to them and help is abundantly clear.

As for Aikawa-senpai…

The second year student bites her lip, hands clenching into fists at her sides. There are several emotions that flash across her face –fear, worry, shame– before she lowers her head and Shiki is unable to observe her expression anymore.

"I'm sorry," she finally whispers. Shiki can't help but give the girl another glance, because it's very unlike the confrontational, antagonistic attitude that she's used to seeing from her.

Ichinose-san exhales. He doesn't say things like It's okay or It's not your fault, but instead, "It's on us for agreeing to bring you along to Kyoto."

There's a faint tremor that runs through the girl's frame. Is it frustration, or helplessness?

The third year student looks up towards Shiki. "Gojo-san. I don't know how you guys found your way here–"

"Obon," Shiki answers succinctly.

"–but there's really no time to waste right now, so," the boy sucks in a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he meets her gaze again, there's a determined set to his entire demeanor. "Could I trust Aikawa to Hoshi and Hakari, and ask you to come with me to rescue Matoba and Isoda?"

Kirara and Kinji are both first year students. If Ichinose-san believes that what lies ahead is dangerous, then it only makes sense that he wouldn't want them to come along. On one hand, it was to protect underclassmen from the very real threat of potential death from being thrown into a fight beyond their means to deal with, and on the other hand… it was simply the very practical desire to not bring along any sorcerers who would be burdens.

It's most likely true that the four students were overwhelmed by the cursed puppets they were inadvertently ambushed by, and made the executive decision to send Aikawa-senpai out so she could call for help. But it probably also says a lot that Ichinose-san also has no trouble asking Kirara and Kinji, two first year students, to protect their senior.

This is the best decision to make in this moment, though.

"Alright," Shiki nods, and turns towards her classmates. "Kirara, Kinji. Take Aikawa with you, and go back the way we came. I'll proceed with Ichinose."

The boys immediately make identical sounds of protest, but Shiki is unmoved. If what she suspects is true… suffice to say, she very much doubts that it's a coincidence that they encountered a half-flesh half-machine monstrosity here, right on the heels of the unexpected reveal of a human puppet during the okuribi last night.

Is it a trap? … Perhaps.

But even if it's a trap, she'll spring it.

"Shiki–!"

"Check on Choki, please," she continues. "And contact others for assistance once you leave the Curtain."

"Oh,so you mean that you aren't too good to ask for help?"

Shiki blinks in confusion. Ichinose-san reacts faster than her this time, though.

"Aikawa!" His voice is sharp, reprimanding. "This is not the right time! You're a sorcerer; act like it!"

A red flush instantly rises in Aikawa-senpai's cheeks, and she looks away from the harsh look that's leveled upon her by the older boy.

"… I can get back out on my own," she mumbles under her breath mulishly, "I'm not that fragile. I don't need two first years to–"

"Aikawa, please." Ichinose-san sucks in a deep breath, as if to draw strength. When he speaks again, there's something that's a mix between irritated and anxious-almost-begging in his voice. "You shouldn't have gotten involved in this in the first place. Isoda and I only tagged along with Matoba because we're his classmates, but you don't need to–"

"No!" Aikawa-senpai shakes her head rapidly. "No, I'm not going to run away like a–"

The girl suddenly breaks off with a high-pitched, startled cry. Kinji straightens, carrying Aikawa-senpai over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

… A sack of angry potatoes.

"Put me down!" Aikawa-senpai demands, voice shrill.

"None can do," Kinji responds casually, then points at Shiki with his free hand. "We'll get Aikawa out. Check in on Suzurigi-san, get in touch with your clan, yadda yadda ya. But, Kirara and I are both coming back afterwards."

Shiki frowns, "No. You shouldn't–"

"If you don't want us coming back," he interrupts without preamble, "Then you better make sure that you finish up the fight so we'll have nothing to do, yeah?"

"… This isn't a game, Kinji."

"What do you mean? Everything's a game," the boy retorts with a sharp-toothed grin, purposefully contrary. "And what's life without a little gamble, anyways?"

Ichinose-san gives Kinji a considering look. Considering, mixed with faint disbelief, "Including gambling with your life?"

Kinji's grin widens.

Shiki sighs.

The group finally parts ways here. Kinji, Kirara, and Aikawa-senpai go back the same way they'd arrived, while Shiki and Ichinose-san press onward. Or rather, in Ichinose-san's case, it would be 'retracing his steps' instead.

Shiki follows the boy along the dark corridors. The path is vaguely maze-like, but Ichinose-san's long strides are confident. He brushes his hand against the wall, and a sigil lights up beneath his fingertips –one that is vaguely reminiscent of the stylized markings on the talismans that he'd used earlier.

"Like a trail of breadcrumbs," Ichinose-san says, purposefully cheery in a way that indicates he is attempting to use humor to lighten the situation. But the lightheartedness in his voice does not erase the faint crease between his brows. Exhaustion, worry. "You're a close-range fighter, right? I'll cover for you once we get there. Some of those cursed corpses have this weird laser beam-thing built in, too, so you need to watch out for–"

There's a sudden movement in the shadows up ahead. Ahead of her, Ichinose-san tenses, one hand forming a seal while the other immediately reaches for another talisman–

–but relaxes, when it's not a monstrous abomination that tumbles out, but instead another boy wearing a Jujutsu High school uniform.

Russet hair, startled brown eyes. Unfamiliar, for the most part, although it's entirely possible that Shiki may have encountered him in passing in the Tokyo school at some point. The boy's clothes are splattered with what looks to be blood, although he himself appears relatively unharmed.

… But that's not the important thing here, is it? Impassively, Shiki quietly studies the lines gleaming upon the newcomer's body.

"You're alright," Ichinose-san says, evidently relieved. He hurriedly stashes the crumpled talisman in his hand back into the pouch at his side, and swiftly makes to head over to the other boy's side–

Shiki reaches out and grabs the older boy by the back of his shirt, forcibly stopping him.

Ichinose-san glances back, bewildered. "Gojo-san? What are you doing?"

"Do not approach," she shakes her head.

The boy's eyebrows shoot up. "What do you…? No, no, you've got this wrong. That's Isoda Morio, he's my classmate."

"Ichinose? Who's…?" 'Isoda' looks from Ichinose-san to Shiki, and his jaw drops open slightly in unabashed surprise. "Is that Gojo? What in the world is she doing here? Don't tell me Aikawa-chan went to find her for help?!"

"We got lucky," Ichinose-san tells him. "Gojo-san and her classmates were in Kyoto for Obon anyways, and happened to notice something in the area. Aikawa and I ran into them just now; the other two are going to get some more help with Aikawa, and Gojo-san is with me. Where's Matoba?"

"We got separated earlier," the other boy responds grimly, pushing himself to his feet. He dusts himself off, and begins walking over to them. "You would not believe the weird thing that showed up after you left with Aikawa, looks like something straight out of a horror film."

"What do you mean, 'weird thing?'" Ichinose-san asks. "Actually, wait, I remember there were a lot of those cursed corpses when I left you guys. You managed to shake them all off? It doesn't seem like there are any following you"

"Somehow, yeah," 'Isoda' makes a face. "I think… I think Matoba might've done something to draw them to himself so I could get away."

Ichinose-san grimaces, "Then there's no time to waste. We need to–"

"Not all of them."

The older boy breaks off mid-sentence and turns around with a puzzled expression, "I'm sorry?"

"Not all of them," Shiki repeats herself. "There are still cursed corpses here with us."

"What? Where?!" Ichinose-san's eyes widen, and he hastily scans their surroundings.

"Really? Are you sure?" The other boy's eyebrows furrow as he approaches them. "I mean, I certainly don't see anything…"

Shiki gives it a placid look.

Then, without another word, she draws her sword and summarily beheads the puppet.

.

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Extra.

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"ISODA!"

Ichinose Kiichi's mind goes blank. Something whites out in his head –or maybe there's a faint buzzing sound, which makes everything seem so distant, but… but there's nothing distant about this. There's nothing that's distant about the warm blood splattering onto his face, nor the way that Isoda's headless body falls to the ground with a meaty thump.

That girl's the worst, Ichinose-kun, Aikawa-chan had told him before. Kiichi hadn't thought much of it. They all knew about Aikawa-chan's aversion to clan sorcerers, something that had only intensified in wake of Kinoshita's passing last year. The arrival of someone like Gojo Shiki, the lauded young princess of the noble Gojo Clan in their school… it's unfortunate, but not a surprise that Aikawa-chan ended up taking it personally. How could she not, when Gojo Shiki was practically the embodiment of 'picture-perfect clan sorcerer?'

And now it was that very perfect sorcerer who'd just killed Isoda.

How could she–?!

"Get a hold of yourself." The feminine voice that sounds next to his ear is indifferent, uncaring. Faintly irritated, perhaps –and with a small start, Kiichi blinks and realizes that he's staring down into the ground, directly into a pool of blood.

… Isoda's blood. The very thought makes him nauseous, and Kiichi wants to hurl, or scream, or even–

"Are you even listening, Ichinose-san?" A soft sigh. There's a weight that removes itself from the small of his back, as Gojo straightens and lifts her foot from where she'd kicked him down.

He… he'd never even seen her move.

Gojo Shiki is every bit as beautiful as the rumors depicted. Kiichi knows this, had known this from the one time he'd briefly encountered her on school grounds. But with how Hoshi-kun always spoke well of her, Kiichi hadn't realized that the bloodier rumors surrounding her were true as well–!

Long white hair sways behind her as she steps away from Kiichi with her back to him –she doesn't consider him a threat at all, it doesn't matter if she shows her back to him in such an obvious opening and the most frustrating thing about this is that she's right– and crouches down. The girl reaches out and… and…

"… No," Kiichi finds himself muttering as Gojo picks up Isoda's decapitated head and turns it around in her hand, assessing, as if Isoda is only an object. Almost desperately, he scrambles to his feet again, "No, stop! What are you doing, you can't just–!"

"Look."

Kiichi's breath hitches. Isoda's eyes are still open, and he's–

Another sigh.

"Ichinose-san, look."

She tilts Isoda's bloody neck towards him, and–

And–

…

Kiichi can only stare blankly, numb with shock. Amid the glistening red flesh of the open cut, there's the cold glint of metal gears.

"This isn't your classmate," the girl tells him calmly.

"… You couldn't have led with this?!"

Gojo-san blinks, and tilts her head. Cursed blue eyes look down upon him despite the discrepancy between their respective heights.

"You're the one who attacked without giving me a chance to explain," she says, and…

… Okay, she might have a point. But would it have killed her to give him a heads-up before just pulling out a sword like that?! Any sort of warning before this stunt would've been appreciated.

Kiichi is overcome with a sudden wave of tiredness. Tiredness, mixed with relief that Isoda isn't dead after all. But the relief only lasts for a moment, before it is replaced by a new concern.

"Is… is Isoda still alright? Why in the world was there a cursed corpse doll like that?" The puppet had been a perfect replica of Isoda. Kiichi hadn't noticed anything wrong at all, and… wait, come to think of it, "How did you even notice there was something wrong?"

"I have good eyes." Right, right. This was the Gojo princess with cursed eyes that he was talking to, the sorcerer who was rumored to be the second coming of Gojo Satoru. Stupid question, Kiichi.

… Man, he must be really frazzled right now, to be overlooking simple things like this. You have to pull yourself together, your classmates are relying on you and this little budding sociopath to get them out of here.

Goddamnit, Matoba is going to owe him so much for this.

Kiichi sucks in a shaky breath, forcing himself to calm down. An effort that is not helped in the least by the oppressive feeling of Gojo-san's cursed energy, now that she's no longer bothering to rein it in tightly. Cold pinpricks shiver along his skin, and the more Kiichi struggles to even out his rapidly-beating pulse again, the more it seems to quicken. To the point where it almost seems hard to breathe–

The pressure in the air instantly vanishes. Kiichi chokes, stumbling over his feet, and the air that rushes into his lungs in this moment tastes sweet.

"My apologies," the white-haired girl murmurs, not even looking towards him. Her gaze is fixated somewhere in the distance, cursed eyes gleaming with an eldritch glow. "… If things become dangerous and I need to fight seriously, then you should just run."

On their own, the words are insulting, even though her voice remains calm and measured. No wonder Aikawa doesn't get along well with Gojo.

"Yeah, I got it. Because I'll get in the way, right?" Kiichi has always been acutely aware of the fact that he's not a particularly powerful sorcerer, not like Matoba; everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before Matoba was eventually named a Grade One sorcerer. But even so, Kiichi had always thought of himself as a decent one. He'd always performed well on his missions. His classmates knew they could rely on him.

But standing next to Gojo Shiki, Kiichi finds himself forced to take a good, long look at the insurmountable distance existing between the two of them.

… He doesn't envy her for it in the least.

Power and responsibility comes hand in hand with each other, and she's practically the heiress of her clan on top of that.

Nope, no thanks. Kiichi just wants to hang out with his friends and play videogames in his spare time, and earn a good wage. Be a decent person, and help others to the best of his ability.

He gets the feeling that Gojo Shiki is a creature that's motivated by something else entirely. A motivation that someone like Kiichi probably wouldn't understand, but–

But that's okay. Because all that matters is that Gojo Shiki is on their side. She genuinely hadn't been aiming to kill Isoda out of nowhere earlier, she'd only killed a dangerous cursed puppet wearing his friend's face.

That's good enough for Kiichi.

"… There's still a little more to go before we reach where I left Matoba and Isoda," he tells the younger sorcerer. Younger, but far more powerful than Kiichi could ever hope to be.

The girl nods, unbothered. "Then, lead the way."

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…

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