72

"Does it bother you? That you're not going to be able to attend the Kyoto exchange event with your classmates, I mean."

There's a faint crackle of static in Tsumiki's voice from the phone. Even so, it does nothing to hide the note of concern in the other girl's words. Shiki can already imagine her expression –the faint crease between her brows, the way that Tsumiki would bite lightly at her bottom lip.

"Yes and no," Shiki responds truthfully to her friend's concern. "I'm not particularly interested in the event itself. So, in that respect it genuinely makes no difference to me, whether or not I am attending as a representative of the Tokyo school this year. But at the same time, it's… a little irritating."

"Yeah, I think I can see how that might be irritating," Tsumiki hums. "Especially if you've been looking forward to hanging out with your friends! And you've been so busy with missions recently, Shiki."

… Has Shiki been actively looking forward to the exchange event? If so, that's news to her.

"It's true that my schedule has been a little busy recently," she acknowledges.

"So you should definitely remember to take breaks and rest properly. Speaking of friends and hanging out with them, though," the other girl's voice gains a cheerful tone. "How's your goal of making at least three friends for the year coming along?"

Ah. That. "It's… coming along."

"That's great, then!" Tsumiki exclaims brightly. "There's Hakari-kun and Kirara-kun already, I know. Have you decided on who to try and approach as your third friend?"

"…" After the altercation with Araya Souren, the only upperclassmen left in the Tokyo school were Ichinose Kiichi and Aikawa Ruri. And Aikawa-senpai… was an unlikely candidate for 'potential new friend,' for obvious reasons. Her only remaining option then, would be, "… Ichinose-san?"

A startled laugh from Tsumiki. "Is that a question, Shiki?"

"… Probably Ichinose-san." The third year student really is the only valid candidate left, if Shiki wants to meet the goal that Tsumiki set for her. And… there's senbei on the line here. The special kind that Tsumiki makes from scratch. "Although, I don't believe Ichinose-san likes me very much."

"Eh?"

Shiki remembers encountering the third year in Kyoto, inside the hallways of Araya's building. The boy had been professional enough –particularly in comparison to Aikawa-senpai– but he'd been on edge the entire time.

Not just because of the dangers that they'd faced, but also because of Shiki.

… Was it because she'd killed the puppet of his classmate in front of them? Shiki could see why that would be startling, especially if Ichinose-san hadn't realized it on his own beforehand, but surely he would've been able to move past it after she explained herself.

Ichinose-san is polite towards Shiki. Out of gratitude, perhaps, given his survival through the recent harrowing experience in Kyoto. Yet none of it was enough to mask the distinct undercurrent of something nervous in his demeanor when he spoke to her, which likely indicated that–

"I think I make him uncomfortable," Shiki says slowly.

"Oh. That's…"

"An obstacle to building friendship, presumably," Shiki nods, only belatedly realizing that Tsumiki won't be able to see her. "But I believe it would still be easier to approach Ichinose than Aikawa."

"You're… probably right about that," Tsumiki ends up agreeing with her assessment of the situation. "Any other Tokyo students that you're thinking of approaching aside from Ichinose, then?"

"Perhaps the Tokyo fourth year, if I manage to see them sometime." There was supposedly a fourth year student in the Tokyo school as well, but Shiki still has yet to catch sight of them around the school grounds. So, there probably wouldn't be any forthcoming luck on that front anytime soon.

"… That's it?"

"There aren't any other Tokyo students, Tsumiki." Of the Tokyo school's three third year students, two had died at Araya's hands, leaving Ichinose as the sole survivor. Aikawa was the only second year student; her fellow classmate had died long before Shiki ever came to attend the school as a student herself.

"Oh." Tsumiki's voice grows quiet for a moment, no doubt realizing the implications of 'no other Tokyo students.' Although Tsumiki is not involved in sorcery herself, this does not mean that she is unaware of it. "I'm sorry about that."

"Why are you apologizing?" It is not as if Tsumiki bears any responsibility in the deaths of students whom she's never encountered before.

"Because it's regrettable," Tsumiki responds simply.

So it's an expression of sympathy, Shiki concludes. That… makes sense. Empathy is not her strong point, but there is no doubt that Tsumiki is a very empathetic individual.

"How is Megumi doing?" Shiki changes the topic.

"He's been doing well!" Tsumiki acquiesces easily to the new line of conversation. "Although ever since school started up again, he's been, uh… consistently followed around by some very enthusiastic 'underlings.'"

Ah, right. Shiki remembers how this particular phenomenon had started for Megumi. Wasn't it something like… he'd been challenged to a fight by the top delinquent in his school? And after a decisive beatdown, suddenly found himself replacing said delinquent's position in the school's hierarchy? Completely unwillingly, much to his own dismay?

"I think Megumi was hoping that they'd forget about him over summer break," Tsumiki confides in a faux-whisper.

"Clearly, that didn't happen."

"Nope! That definitely didn't happen," Tsumiki giggles. "It's kind of hilarious, actually. Some of them insist that Megumi is the 'Boss' because he's the strongest guy around, and others keep trying to challenge him in order to bring him down from the throne. Apparently, it's an absolute disgrace that the top delinquent of Saitama Urami East Junior High isn't even a 'real delinquent!'"

Her amusement is contagious, and Shiki finds herself smiling a bit at the mental image painted by those words. She highly doubts that Megumi shares the same amusement regarding this entire situation, though.

Listening to Tsumiki talk about the various happenings at her and Megumi's public school like this is… nice. It's novel, and so very different from what Shiki has experienced of her own schooling to date. But then again, the jujutsu schools aren't exactly normal educational institutions to begin with. The classes are far smaller, the curriculums differ vastly. Instead of clubs and after-school activities students are sent out on missions to exorcise cursed spirits–

But even so, Shiki feels no desire to experience a 'normal school life' for herself. There is no wistful longing that stirs within her, listening to Tsumiki's stories like this.

Nothing at all.

She's just glad that Tsumiki likes her school. That she's happy with her school life and her classmates, even though it's not something that Shiki would choose for herself.

Tsumiki is happy, and Shiki is content with that.

.

.

The call from Tsumiki between her missions had been unexpected, but Shiki finds that it does help to… settle her, in a manner of speaking.

It wasn't as if she'd been angry over the circumstances of back-to-back 'urgent' missions in China, but it had been a little disgruntling nonetheless. She still isn't pleased over it, but she's already decided that she wouldn't prioritize attending a school event over exorcising cursed spirits.

And so, Shiki focuses on her mission.

Hangzhou, as it turns out, is hot and humid when Shiki arrives. To the point of being stifling, almost, and it makes her glad that it's the beginning of the autumn season now, instead of summer. She ends up adopting a high ponytail in order to leave the back of her neck bare, which helps –barely.

It's a good thing that her kimono is of high-quality material, because it could very well have made for a rather smothering experience otherwise.

Complaints about the weather in Hangzhou aside… the mission itself turns out to be one that's not of any particular difficulty. Perhaps it would've been a bit of a struggle for an experienced Grade Two sorcerer, but in Shiki's eyes, it hadn't been anything special. Nothing remotely even similar to the last mission in Chaozhou's countryside, which was… probably a good thing, honestly.

But it also cements the suspicion that this mission is more of a detour than an actual assignment for her.

Shiki sighs.

"Ojou-sama," Choki's voice breaks through her thoughts. Shiki glances over, only to find her assistant currently staring down in consternation at his cell phone. "It would appear that Tsukumo-san has… invited you for another conversation again."

"Refuse it," Shiki says flatly.

Choki nods, and begins typing on his phone. Shiki would like to think that it's a nod of approval at her decision.

In the meantime, she takes a cautious sip of the beverage that Choki had brought to her. They're currently seated at one of the outdoor tables of a small coffee shop, in the aftermath of Shiki's mission, and the not-coffee drink had been purchased from this establishment. It's cool, and refreshing –faintly bitter with the aftertaste of proper tea, and some mix of herbs that Shiki can't quite identify.

Encouraged, she takes a slightly larger sip–

And then a shadow falls across her.

It's a… civilian? A girl whose hair is dyed with red-brown streaks, saying something to Shiki in Chinese. Unfortunately for her, Shiki does not understand Chinese.

Fortunately for both of them, Choki does.

The man sets aside his work phone and says something politely to the girl. There's then a brief exchange that takes place, in which the girl flutters her hands nervously with a sheepish grin, while Choki offers a courteous smile of his own in response. A courteous expression that turns into something first bewildered, and then bemused.

"… It appears that you've received a request for a photo, ojou-sama," Choki informs her.

Shiki blinks.

"A photo?" That's… unexpected. A bizarre request that came completely out of nowhere, not to mention that Shiki has never received such a bizarre request from a civilian, too? "… Why?"

"I believe that it's due to your attire." At those words, Shiki automatically glances down at herself. She's only wearing the dark robes of her school uniform… although Shiki supposes that it's certainly true that she hasn't exactly seen very many people wearing similar outfits during her time in China. So, perhaps that's what he's referring to?

"Yes," Choki confirms. "Kimonos are not a very common form of dress outside of Japan."

… But even so, what did that have to do with a random civilian coming up and asking to take a photo?

Shiki glances towards the stranger. The girl smiles exuberantly, and her eyes are bright with something akin to anticipation-excitement.

How… odd.

"You do not have to agree to this, if you're uncomfortable with it," her assistant says, this time in a slightly lowered tone.

Which is inaccurate; Shiki isn't uncomfortable, it's just… unexpected, really, and not something she's ever experienced before.

… She doesn't really have any opinion about it.

But while her first instinct is a gentle but firm refusal, for some reason Shiki also finds herself recalling her conversation over the phone with Tsumiki. Tsumiki had regaled her with many new recent stories of daily happenings in her life, while Shiki didn't really have any anecdotes of her own to share in return. After all, Tsumiki would not be impressed by violent missions to exorcise malicious cursed spirits. In fact, Tsumiki was more likely to be actively distressed by it.

… And so, for some indiscernible reason, Shiki finds herself taking photos with a local Chinese girl.

A few of the photos are just of Shiki standing cluelessly on her own, while in some of the other photos the girl strikes a pose next to Shiki… who continues to stand around haplessly with no idea of what she's doing. Halfway through the 'photoshoot,' the civilian picks up on this fact and begins gesturing at Shiki, miming certain movements. Although there is a language barrier between them, Shiki eventually gets the gist and gamely raises a hand with two fingers raised in a 'v'-sign.

As time stretches on, Shiki finds herself a little impressed by this random civilian girl's natural resistance to cursed energy. While it's true that Shiki is actively suppressing and controlling her own cursed energy so that adverse effects to her immediate surroundings are minimal, there aren't very many regular civilians who can find it in themselves to just approach a sorcerer like this in the first place.

… It's either that, or this photo-girl has terrible survival instincts.

Although… come to think of it, it's supposed to be a tourist activity to take pictures recording their trip while they're traveling, right? So, since Shiki is the one visiting a foreign country… that makes her the tourist in this situation, right? Going by this logic, then, shouldn't she be the one actively taking pictures? Instead of having pictures taken of her?

Shiki mulls over the thought quietly in her mind.

There's a small smile curled over Choki's lips, towards the end of their impromptu little photoshoot. Sometime throughout the duration of the activity, Zhang-san had also appeared to join them as well. The unfortunate man had done a spit-take upon initially catching sight of a civilian girl happily taking photos with Shiki, and… he's currently still wearing a boggled expression on his face, actually. There's an empty cup of iced coffee clutched in his hands, its contents decorating the ground, without Zhang-san being any the wiser to it all.

Choki takes pity on the other man and gently pries the wrinkled cup from him, offering a clean handkerchief in its place.

Eventually, the civilian girl is satisfied with her photos. She chatters something excitedly in Chinese with one last wave in farewell, then turns around and merrily skips away.

"… She might have potential," Shiki muses, observing her departing form.

Choki pauses. "Shall I follow up on her background, ojou-sama?"

Shiki shakes her head. It was just an idle thought based on the girl's fearless demeanor; her cursed energy was exceedingly average, as far as civilians went, and this situation was completely different from Kirara's or Kinji's. If Shiki's instincts were correct… it was unlikely that this girl would take well to sorcery, assuming that she was even one of the rare individuals who possessed the ability to see cursed spirits to begin with.

Perhaps she would make for a decent assistant manager, with the proper training. But far be it for Shiki to recruit an unwitting soul to the world of sorcery for no reason aside from potential, especially when the individual in question appeared to be perfectly content with her own life away from sorcery.

Smoothing out her kimono, Shiki turns around to where the two men are standing together. Choki is passing Zhang-san's half-cup of iced coffee back to him, while Zhang-san mumbles a quiet thank you.

Well then.

"Is something the matter, Zhang-san?" Shiki decides to be blunt. Zhang-san previously had excused himself to remain in Chaozhou for overseeing the aftermath of her last mission, while Shiki and Choki headed to Hangzhou for the new mission. A mission that had been easily concluded, for all the urgency that it had originally been assigned to her with. "Did another situation arise in Chaozhou?"

"A-ah, no. No, nothing of the sort." The man gives a small start at being addressed directly, and swiftly shakes his head in the negative. "The situation in Chaozhou has been successfully resolved, for the most part."

That's one piece of good news, then. Although it doesn't explain why Zhang-san traveled here to Hangzhou to find them again. Unless… was it the Chinese branch's way of keeping track of Shiki and Choki? Plausible, but it didn't quite explain why Shiki and Choki had been allowed to depart on their own and separate from Zhang-san in the first place, then.

"… It's not another mission, is it?"

"No!" Zhang-san coughs, which ends up coming out through an expression that's somewhat reminiscent of a cross between a wince and a grimace. "No, it's not that, miss. Um."

Shiki would not be pleased if another mission suddenly emerged from the woodwork to delay her when this was already the last day of the Kyoto exchange event today. But if it's not that, "Then, what is it?"

"I…" The young man falters. Then, crisply folds himself into a deep bow. "I just wanted to say thank you. And… sorry, for doubting you. That's all."

Shiki stares at Zhang-san for a moment, then looks towards Choki.

Why?

Individually, the words are understandable on their own, but Shiki still does not understand what Zhang-san means, nor what he is hoping to achieve here by his mystifying apology.

Also, Zhang-san's bowing is drawing attention from the passerby milling curiously around them.

"There's no need for that," Choki cuts in, reliable as always. The man reaches out a hand, firmly guiding Zhang-san to straighten up again. "I believe the rest of this conversation would be better held elsewhere, no?"

Belatedly, Zhang-san seems to finally become aware of his surroundings. The young man colors faintly in awkward embarrassment. "… Yes."

And so, they find themselves returning to the nearby coffee shop that Shiki and Choki had originally been sitting in, before the brief interlude with the photo-girl. Shiki returns to sipping lightly at her herbal tea, while Zhang-san replaces his iced coffee.

"I wanted to apologize," Zhang-san says again to her with a new cup of iced coffee sitting between his hands atop the wooden table. "I… was not confident in your abilities, even though I was aware of your rank as a Grade One sorcerer. You were the one to make the correct call of reassigning the assisting staff in the end, while I… I couldn't bring myself to… even though we all knew the cursed spirit's patterns, I still couldn't…"

Shiki does not understand Zhang-san's thought process, but she thinks that she's heard enough of his incoherent rambling. "Unnecessary."

The man startles, "W-what?"

"Your apologies are unnecessary," Shiki repeats herself, enunciating her words clearly so that there's no misunderstanding. "Whether or not you were confident in my abilities, you still assisted me and carried out your duties properly. It is unnecessary to apologize to me."

Zhang-san chokes slightly, "You're not upset?"

"I have no reason to be," Shiki responds. Zhang-san looks at her in confusion, and… to be honest, Shiki is also confused. She's really not understanding the man's reactions here. "Am I to be upset with you for doing your job?"

Zhang-san stares blankly at her. "That's not… I… no, if we'd already searched the villages before your arrival, then we would've been able to pin down the location far faster instead of forcing you to make the order. Or at least, we would've realized that there was a Special Grade sorcerer who was also lurking in the area–!"

The former, perhaps they would've succeeded in; Shiki rather doubts the latter, though. "If Tsukumo didn't want you to find her, you probably wouldn't have been able to find her no matter how hard you looked."

"Perhaps." Zhang-san bows his head, "I… I'm also sorry. For the way that the Lijia villagers reacted to you, when you arrived to exorcise the cursed spirit–"

"Did you incite them to react that way?"

The man's jaw drops, "What? No!"

"Then why would you need to apologize for it?" Oh, wait. Shiki remembers her recent conversation with Tsumiki. Apologies could also be indicative of sympathy. So… did that mean Zhang-san felt sympathetic towards her? Because he was of the opinion that the villagers' rude reaction towards Shiki was unwarranted, or something along those lines?

But again, that's unnecessary.

"I should've anticipated it beforehand and prepared properly for it!" Zhang-san bursts out. "I… I know that there are still many of my fellow countrymen, particularly those among the older generations who lived through the War of Resistance during the Second World War, who harbor hatred and resentment towards the Japanese for the atrocities that were committed during the conflict. Especially in rural areas like Lijia Village. Villagers living in such areas are often unkind to outsiders already, even when they're not Japanese."

Shiki thinks that she might understand why Zhang-san is so insistent on apologizing to her now: The man perceives himself as having done a subpar job in his appointed tasks. That's the core reason for his regret, which is perhaps also mixed with fear from the thought of having offended Shiki, a high-ranked sorcerer of the influential Gojo Clan, by proxy.

Perhaps another sorcerer in Shiki's place truly would've taken offense. Luckily for Zhang-san, Shiki does not care enough about the villagers to be offended by their words… not that she understands the local language anyways…

"If you understand your failings in how you executed your tasks," Choki is the one to speak up in the brief lull of silence, calm and sedate, "Then simply work to ensure that such failings do not happen again next time. My lady has already deemed your apologies unnecessary, and as such there is nothing on your behalf that requires being forgiven."

"I…" Zhang-san bites his lip, looking like he still intends to protest. Then, sucks in a deep breath, visibly forcing himself to swallow those words and move past it. "… I understand. Thank you. I… I won't make the same mistakes again, going forward. No, I'll definitely be better."

"So long as you understand," Choki inclines his head slightly in a small nod, approving. "I am aware that you and your team were working on a time limit, and as such some details may have been overlooked. However. I hope you realize that my lady overlooked such slights to her person is not an indication that this is not a problem. Were it any other clan sorcerer, this situation may have progressed in an undesirable direction."

"Yes, I know," Zhang-san grimaces slightly. "… We definitely can't afford to offend or alienate the sorcerers who are helping us. But… most people don't even know about cursed spirits to begin with, and attitudes towards the Japanese in some places are still… just, utterly impossible to work with, if it's a Japanese sorcerer assigned to the job."

"Then work around it instead," Choki advises the other man. "The bloodstained history of our reality is not something that we can change, and it will take many generations for animosity to dull and for amends to be made. But in this time, there will always still be cursed spirits that must be dealt with."

"Right. And it doesn't help that there was an explosive growth of cursed spirits in China following the war, for obvious reasons… and we're all still dealing with the aftermath of it to this day," Zhang-san sighs heavily. "Admittedly, the situation in China is nothing compared to what you're dealing with in Japan. Almost makes you wonder if the initial incursions from Japan during the war also had something to do with wanting land that wasn't overrun with cursed spirits, in addition to acquiring and exploiting new resources…"

The young man trails off and shakes his head roughly.

"Anger… is justified. Terrible things happened during the war, and that's not something easily forgiven or forgotten for many people. Especially those who lived through it. But…" Zhang-san's hands clench into fists briefly, "But that still doesn't change the fact that cursed spirits are a problem and need to be exorcised. Every year, there's always so many victims to curses. I just… I know that human conflicts are inevitable, but having to deal with cursed spirits on top of everything else just makes it all even worse."

He trails off into silence. Then, saying nothing, curls his fingers around his coffee.

Shiki nods to herself, feeling like she's seen enough from observing the man's helpless anger and frustration. "I think you might have something in common to talk about with Tsukumo."

Zhang-san sputters and chokes on his drink. "Excuse me?"

The man sounds shocked, and flabbergasted. Like he can't even begin to imagine why she would say such a thing.

But Shiki thinks that it only makes sense. While Tsukumo is not nearly as emotional as Zhang-san is, "Her goal is to eradicate cursed spirits in the world."

"What? That's…" Zhang-san's eyes widen almost comically. "Is that even possible?"

Shiki shrugs. Tsukumo's idea of permanently getting rid of cursed spirits is an ambitious one, certainly, but as for how feasible it is… "She had a few theories for it."

"… If I might ask, ojou-sama." For some reason, Choki's expression has suddenly stiffened slightly. "What is your opinion of those… theories?"

Tsukumo's proposed solutions had been to either get rid of cursed energy altogether, or make every single person capable of controlling their cursed energy. In theory, both methods would ensure that there wouldn't be any excess cursed energy lingering in the environment. Without this excess cursed energy, no new cursed spirits would form. If this scenario came to pass, then humanity would be freed from cursed spirits for good.

But–

"I don't see it as being particularly feasible," Shiki is candid about her thoughts. Getting rid of cursed energy would be akin to rewriting a natural law of the world. All humans possessed cursed energy, because the core of cursed energy lay in negativity, and all humans experienced negative emotions.

… The only exception to this that Shiki knew of was the Sorcerer Killer, whom she'd had a violent run-in with during her childhood. Zenin Toji was someone who didn't possess any cursed energy in his body, due to the Heavenly Restriction that he'd been born with.

As far as she knew, there wasn't any way to artificially induce a Heavenly Restriction. The closest equivalent would be undertaking a binding vow, yet for all that Heavenly Restrictions were described as binding vows placed upon the body at birth, there was still a distinct difference between a naturally-occurring binding vow like that and one that was made knowingly and intentionally by an individual.

Furthermore, binding vows could not enforce fundamental alterations to the human body the way that Heavenly Restrictions were capable of doing. For example, if a sorcerer took a binding vow to 'give up their cursed energy' then breaking the condition would just result in death, instead of creating something similar to the Sorcerer Killer. This is a documented fact. There have been multiple occurrences of this in the past, specifically in certain instances of vassals pledging their loyalty to a chosen master.

… Not that there was really any point in sorcerers ridding themselves of their cursed energy to begin with. Even if such an act didn't end up killing them, it would render them incapable of performing sorcery, which a sorcerer was unlikely to be pleased about. It was also a useless effort to begin with if the primary goal was culling cursed spirits; it wasn't as if sorcerers who knew how to properly control their energy would even 'leak' cursed energy into their surroundings in the first place. It would be non-sorcerers incapable of controlling their cursed energy who needed to lose said cursed energy here. Preferably without dying, to say nothing of the fact that those unable to manipulate cursed energy were also incapable of forming binding vows.

A Heavenly Restriction like the one that the Sorcerer Killer possessed was rare, and not something that could be achieved through conventional means.

So, in short: Shiki does not see 'removing cursed energy from the human population' as something that's particularly likely to happen.

As for the other path that Tsukumo currently appeared to be actively pursuing…

Unless there was some sort of scientific breakthrough that revealed the mysteries in how the human body interfaced with cursed energy, allowing it to become possible to artificially recreate the same aptitude in those who were born without the ability to harness and utilize their cursed energy…

Then, and only then would it become possible for cursed spirits to be permanently eradicated through eliminating excess cursed energy from the environment: If non-sorcerers no longer unknowingly released any cursed energy into their surroundings, then cursed energy would no longer accumulate and fester, and theoretically it should be impossible for any cursed spirits to be born. Aside from rare cases of vengeful cursed spirits, perhaps, since those were born from sorcerers instead of being anything naturally-occurring.

But unfortunately for Tsukumo, this 'breakthrough' wasn't looking likely to happen anytime soon. It might even be delayed, actually, given that the foremost researchers in this field –the Kamos and their affiliates– were currently in a difficult situation nowadays. Then again, there was also the matter of dubious ethics that needed to be raised in regards to these experiments, which was also a problem of its own that would undoubtedly aggravate and contribute to the problem of cursed spirits in the meantime.

Perhaps Shiki is biased, though, given her own less than stellar experiences with the Kamo Clan.

In summary, Shiki sees the validity in Tsukumo's theories, but not in their practicality or likelihood. Not that Tsukumo appeared to be discouraged by the monumental difficulty of the task that she's set for herself.

Choki nods slowly when she finishes laying out her reasoning for him on why she does not believe Tsukumo's goals to be feasible anytime soon.

Across from them, Zhang-san's brows furrow into a look of concentration. "… So Tsukumo-san is working towards something that's… really, really unlikely to happen?"

The young man's voice sounds both quietly disheartened, and cautiously hopeful.

"Quite unlikely," Shiki gives her opinion. She has her doubts about the older sorcerer's self-professed goals, and… to be perfectly honest, Shiki does not think that she likes Tsukumo very much. But her encounter with the older sorcerer also could've been far worse, which is something that Shiki willingly acknowledges as well. "If this is something that you wish to learn more about, you would be better off speaking with Tsukumo in person yourself."

Zhang-san's eyes widen. "… Talk to a Special Grade sorcerer?!"

"Yes." What's with the flummoxed reaction? Special Grade sorcerers were still humans who could be conversed with. Shiki literally had a conversation with Tsukumo in Chaozhou! … One that she'd been all but railroaded into by the woman, but the point still stands.

Choki shakes his head with a wry smile. "Ojou-sama, it's typically not easy at all to get into contact with a Special Grade sorcerer. Tsukumo-san especially, given her frequent traveling. And… it also tends to be an intimidating experience, for most people."

"Tsukumo is still in China, isn't she?" The woman has to be, if she'd tried to invite Shiki for another conversation… actually, on that thought, "Oh, Zhang-san can go talk with her instead of me."

"WHAT?"

Coffee spills over the table as Zhang-san shoots up gracelessly from his seat. Shiki blinks at the newly-created mess, then gives the young man an unimpressed look –not that it appears to be particularly effective on him. Maybe it's because of the sunglasses that she's currently still wearing?

"Sit down. You're making a ruckus." Unlike Shiki, Choki's quiet reprimand is enough to snap the other man back to his senses. Zhang-san glances around, flushing as he catches sight of the numerous gazes of curious onlookers, and hurriedly sits down again, still oblivious to his coffee mess.

"I-I…" Zhang-san's voice stutters, clearly at a loss for words. "I can't just have a talk with a Special Grade sorcerer!"

"Why not?" Shiki asks.

"I'm just… I'm just a nameless member of the assisting staff!" Zhang-san shakes his head roughly. "Look, I'm absolutely certain that there's nothing about me worth catching the attention of a Special Grade!"

So he's worried about the hierarchical difference between them. Shiki supposes that she can see the reasoning in that. In a way, it would be like one of the household servants suddenly requesting a direct meeting with Satoru-niichan of their own volition –mind-boggling and completely against etiquette. Satoru-niichan would probably find it amusing, though.

As for Tsukumo…

Well. Perhaps telling Tsukumo that she should meet with Zhang-san instead of her will serve as a very clear indication of Shiki's feelings on the matter. And at the same time, it would be a test of just how interested Tsukumo is in speaking to Shiki again. Would the Special Grade sorcerer humor such an impetuous request?

"I appreciate the suggestion of speaking to Tsukumo-san in person, but–"

"It's a good idea," Shiki decides.

Zhang-san freezes. "I-I couldn't possibly–"

Ah. If he's concerned about being in her debt for this, then–

"In exchange, you can help me pick out good omiyage to bring back with me," Shiki tacks on helpfully.

There, everything works out neatly now, doesn't it?

Zhang-san's mouth opens, and closes mutely. His fingers, which had reached out to close around the rip of his cup again, suddenly jerk unevenly. The motion ends up spilling the very last dregs of coffee onto his sleeves.

… Is Choki hiding a smile behind his hand? Why?

"I'm sure that Mr. Zhang will do well with the opportunity that you've granted him, and he will be more than happy to assist you in selecting appropriate omiyage, ojou-sama."

.

.

Extra.

.

"Do you think Shiki is having a good time in China?"

"I mean, probably?" Kinji leans back, stretching out his arms. Ooh, that hits the spot. "I bet the cursed spirits there aren't, though."

"No bet," Kirara snorts. Kinji cracks a smile at finally managing to break through the nervous, pensive look on his classmate's face. Kirara definitely looks better smiling naturally like this.

…

Coming to Kyoto again had been… a little weird, honestly. Especially since Shiki hadn't been with them this time. I've been scheduled for a second mission in China, had been all that she'd texted them when they were already in Kyoto.

Kinji's response included a trail of question marks. Wait what, really? Back-to-back like that? Hold up, are things actually okay over there?

An eternity later, after patiently waiting through the ojou-sama's slow-ass turtle-speed typing:

Really. Yes. Yes.

And that had been it.

… Yeah. Texting definitely wasn't her strong suit.

Shiki could take care of herself, for the most part, but that didn't mean that Kinji and Kirara weren't still concerned for her. It was perfectly reasonable to be concerned for a girl like that, okay? Especially with all the things she'd been through recently! Mental health didn't seem to be very high on the list of priorities for sorcerers, for some bizarre reason. You'd think that people would be more concerned about the mental stability of humans with superpowers…

But, yeah.

And so, sans a certain small classmate, Kinji and Kirara had spent the entire first day of the Kyoto exchange event feeling a little… jittery. Even though there really wasn't much that they could do, an entire goddamned country away from the girl who could probably win this entire schoolyard event blindfolded and with one hand tied behind her back.

The first day of the exchange event had featured a modified game of hide and seek. Tokyo and Kyoto students took turns hiding and seeking while simultaneously attempting to exorcise as many cursed spirits as they could in the process. These had mostly been Grade Four and Grade Three curses, each granting a different number of points upon being exorcised. Double points for seekers who found and caught a hiding student from the opposing school, which would eliminate the hider. The team with the most points would be named the victor. Cumulative points from two rounds total; Kyoto students would be seekers first while Tokyo students hid, and then the roles would be reversed.

The results:

Aikawa got herself caught out less than five minutes after the game started. Go figure. Then, there was clearly some rivalry going on between Ichinose and the Kyoto third years, who'd worked together to corner the only Tokyo third year and remove him from the game as well. Upon witnessing it, Kinji couldn't help but wonder if all the Kyoto students would try to gang up on Shiki instead if she were here–

–nah. They're probably not suicidal.

Kirara was clearly the MVP in this game; his technique was great for both keeping people away and forcing them to zoom straight across the room to him. There had been some very hilarious reactions from the Kyoto students to being thrown around willy-nilly, which was great.

Unfortunately, it still hadn't been enough to overcome the tough disadvantage of six against four. The game had still ended in the Kyoto team's victory, even though it had probably been a closer victory than anyone in Kyoto really expected.

A loss was still a loss.

Kinji had expected to see smug looks on the faces of the grouchy old Kyoto grandpas at the results, but instead, there had been sour looks instead. Mostly directed at a tall blond guy, which was kind of weird. Was it because he was a foreigner…?

… Yeah, Kinji had not expected to find out that this guy was Shiki's uncle! What the heck, they didn't look alike at all!

"We get that a lot," the guy had remarked, with the long-suffering tone of someone who's heard the same thing far, far too often. "Shiki takes after her father's side of the family."

"Like Gojo Satoru?" Kinji had blurted out.

"… Like Gojo Satoru," Nanami-san had responded with a small twitch, looking like the answer physically pained him.

It turned out that the older man –also a Grade One sorcerer!– had also known a lot more about what was going on in China than Kinji and Kirara did, no thanks to the ojou-sama's stellar text updates. He brought them up to date about how Shiki was being intentionally bogged down by last-minute missions and everything. Then, Nanami-san had continued to briskly give the two of them a run-down on the entire situation, in a way that explained a lot more than just Shiki's 'Really. Yes. Yes.' and absolutely nothing else.

The way he'd explained things had been succinct and informative, without talking in circles or using fancy words. Which made him a pretty cool guy, in Kinji's books.

Why didn't you tell us that you had a cool uncle who's also a sorcerer? He'd later texted to Shiki.

Her response: I didn't?

Kinji rolled his eyes. Typical Shiki.

Still, it was good to know that she was doing well… even with all the convoluted political stuff going on. Blergh. Kinji doesn't know how she deals with it, honestly. But clearly she's got things well in hand, if she's even sending her uncle over to Kyoto in protest while she's still stuck in a different country.

So, Kinji finally turned his mind away from his stress-inducing classmate. Right now, he needs to be focusing on the second half of the exchange events: A tournament-style match of Kyoto vs. Tokyo.

The sun shines brightly overhead, and there's a nice breeze blowing. Kirara's mood is also finally lightening up, and Kinji can feel his own mood being buoyed in response to his friend's emotions.

… Yeah, y'know what? He has a pretty good feeling about everything today.

Even Kinji's cursed energy is tingling a little bit beneath his skin as he stands across from his Kyoto opponent in the fighting ring. A guy who likes to fight with a polearm, while Kinji is simply standing here barehanded, but he's not worried about it at all. He's anticipating the upcoming fight, even.

Kinji is more than ready to finally loosen the reins on this restless energy in his veins the way it's been begging to be released these past few weeks. A faint echo of what he'd experienced that last time he'd been in Kyoto, standing across from a curse user who was about to kill them all–

And okay, there's no fucking way that the Kyoto student he's facing is as dangerous as that crazy zombie puppet guy. But it's less his opponent and more Kinji's own body right now that's giving him the vibe of being–

Ready. Finally ready.

–just, everything feels right. Feels great, even.

So Kinji exhales, letting his mind drift into that fun, enjoyable state that's relaxed and focused all at once. His mouth opens, and there are two words that roll straight off of his tongue, without any prompting or conscious input from his end, and he knows down to his soul that it's right.

"Domain Expansion!"

.

.

…

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