75

.

Well, that happened.

… Yagyu Nariyasu continues to lie face-down on the ground, even after the imminent danger has long passed. No sense in getting up before Toshiatsu does. The man's battered ego probably won't be able to take it if a lower-ranked Yagyu clansman recovered before him from the horrifying brunt of the Gojo girl's cursed energy.

So that's Gojo Shiki, hmm?

What a terrifying young lady. The weight of her attention had not been anything truly physical, and yet the sensation of it had proven singularly, overwhelmingly crushing all the same. She'd done nothing but glance back over her shoulder by the doorway, and Nariyasu had found himself struggling to even breathe.

And the girl had only been mildly irritated.

Yes. 'Terrifying' would be the right word for it.

"Such insolence," Toshiatsu rasps shakily from beside him, slowly staggering upright on trembling feet. Nariyasu idly wonders if the man is aware of the fact that the distinct thread of fear in his voice is poorly-hidden. Trepidation, mixed with a certain sort of low, simmering anger.

Oh, Toshiatsu. Please don't do anything stupid. There is already little love that exists between the Gojo and Yagyu clans. The absolute last thing that the Yagyus need is to serve up a convenient excuse for the Gojos to ruthlessly take advantage of. Targeting the blessed child any more than they already had? Would most certainly qualify.

Gojo Satoru had not hesitated to shatter the illustrious Kamo Clan's golden pedestal, when the Kamos targeted Gojo Shiki under the tacit directives of their last clan head. Bearing that in mind, Nariyasu would very much prefer for a repeat of the same fate to not befall the Yagyu Clan.

The Kamo Clan, at least, were one of the Three Great Families. In contrast, the Yagyu Clan were not anywhere even close to approaching the level of strength and influence.

Nariyasu sighs.

"Get up," Toshiatsu mutters to him, disgruntled. "I know you're awake."

… Back to work it is, then.

Nariyasu is careful to keep a habitual smile off of his face as he slowly straightens. Toshiatsu would probably see the expression as being smug, and they really didn't need to be at odds with each other right now. Not when Toshiatsu had gone ahead and made a fool out of himself so spectacularly just earlier, taking the initiative in pressuring Gojo Shiki as he did. Not that it had been particularly effective with the girl.

Naniwa Torikai, at least, had been easy enough to convince to stand down. Zenin Akimitsu had not required any reminders at all, and had more or less remained as a quiet observer throughout the entire process.

… Which meant that Gojo Shiki had walked away from this meeting with a less-than-stellar impression of the Yagyu Clan, when she was already predisposed towards adopting an unfavorable impression of them, given the bad history between the Gojo and Yagyu clans.

Not an ideal situation, to say the least. Hopefully, Toshiatsu still thinks this is worth it. As for Nariyasu… once again, he's going to be the one running damage control, isn't he?

Nariyasu understands the necessity of testing the Gojo girl. The Gojo Clan had meticulously hidden her away from jujutsu society at large throughout her younger years, so now that she had finally been properly enrolled as a student in one of the jujutsu schools, it was only natural for others to take her measure. Of course, the Gojo Clan would not have raised her to be easily controlled –by grasping hands other than their own, at least– yet the degree to which she would be amenable towards obeying given orders was something that warranted testing.

However, they'd clearly pushed a little too far recently. Nariyasu acknowledges this mistake. In his own defense, he was actually one of the people who'd argued against the latest attempt to circumvent her attendance in the annual Kyoto exchange. If the girl wanted to participate in a school event, then let her participate –she was a student, wasn't she? And this was nominally a friendly competition between students of the two jujutsu schools, yes?

… Admittedly, there was unlikely to be any sort of competition at all if Gojo Shiki joined as an active participant, and it would be terrible for the Kyoto students' morale. But a little adversity was good for the soul. That, and… any potential trauma or grave injuries, up to and including death, were all small prices to pay in the grand scheme of things, if it would keep a pseudo-Special Grade sorcerer happy.

Nariyasu realizes that this is a cruel stance to take. And also extremely unfair to the young students of the Kyoto jujutsu school.

But it's also the unvarnished truth, and one must learn to be pragmatic about these sorts of things when they stand in a position of leadership that requires looking at the bigger picture.

Gojo Satoru alone is easily worth more than a hundred lesser sorcerers. And while Gojo Shiki was not quite at the level of her cousin… it didn't matter. Even if she never reached his level, it still didn't matter. She was already one of the rare few sorcerers who were capable of combat on a Special Grade level. That made her worth her weight in gold and more.

It also meant that they needed to be careful with how they directed her, and nudged her along the path that she needed to tread.

Carefully, carefully.

Nariyasu does not know what Naniwa and Zenin hoped to accomplish by imprisoning the Tokyo first year the way they did. Not precisely, at least, and… he is fine leaving the ambiguity to rest ambiguously where it is, rather than delve any further into things. The Yagyu Clan will not be able to escape unscathed should they embroil themselves in matters beyond their means.

Hm, how to convince Toshiatsu to see sense on this front…

… It would require a bit of finagling on Nariyasu's part, but he'll have to manage somehow. Toshiatsu was so very stubborn sometimes. Alas, that was an inconvenience that Nariyasu would have to live with. Unless Toshiatsu were to be replaced, of course, but if that were to happen, then there was a potential risk of ending up with someone even worse in Toshiatsu's place. As far as Yagyu representatives in the administrating body of the jujutsu world went, the clan could do a lot worse than having someone like Yagyu Toshiatsu as their nominal spokesperson.

Because at the end of the day, Toshiatsu's greatest weakness was not avaricious greed or some cruel moral failing, but his unwavering pride in the Yagyu Clan. Which Zenin Akimitsu had effectively leveraged for his own purposes, in this particular instance. Nariyasu will have to find a way to discreetly bring this up in a private conversation with Toshiatsu sometime.

… After ensuring that nothing was too severely amiss on the Gojo girl's end of things, first.

Nariyasu knows that he will not be the only one to keep a wary eye out on the young lady from this day onwards. Gojo Shiki had proven herself to be… a little more confrontational than any of them had suspected, although her ire may have been additionally aggravated by the situation with her classmate. But in truth, the detainment of Hakari Kinji hadn't been entirely born of a desire to observe Gojo Shiki's reactions.

Hakari Kinji had used a Domain Expansion out of nowhere, and from a non-clan sorcerer that was… quite startling, and genuinely a matter that warranted thorough investigation.

It also didn't help that the boy's cursed technique was decidedly nontraditional. Toshiatsu had not been the only one to have been outraged by the 'insult' to 'proper jujutsu' that the boy's technique revealed itself to be. Nariyasu would be lying if he said that he himself approved of it, but… in some ways, he is sympathetic. Because it wasn't as if a sorcerer could choose what cursed technique they would manifest, was it?

What an unlucky boy. Nariyasu did not bear Hakari-kun any particular ill will –and would not, unless the boy became a danger to others around him someday– but all the same, he foresees many difficulties in the boy's future if he wishes to be accepted by his peers.

… Although, perhaps that wouldn't be quite as difficult as it would've been otherwise. Clearly he had Gojo Shiki on his side, and the goodwill of a sorcerer like that was no small thing.

Ah, Nariyasu really needed to catch up with his daughter-in-law's brother sometime. For all that Kusakabe Atsuya had been gradually distancing himself from the politics of the Yagyu Clan over the years, and Nariyasu had graciously allowed him to do so… there were times when a person must act in accordance to the obligations demanded of them. Duty, and responsibility. Thus far the Yagyu Clan had been satisfied with intermittent reports from Atsuya, but after this little display from the Gojo girl and the report that Toshiatsu would undoubtedly make to their clan head, Nariyasu had no doubt that there would be pressure placed on Atsuya.

After all, Kusakabe Atsuya was slated to be Gojo Shiki's teacher as a second year Tokyo student.

Best to act preemptively, then, and calmly discuss matters with Atsuya first to put together a proper report ahead of time, before it came down as an order from the Yagyu Clan. No sense in putting Atsuya into a difficult place between the Yagyu and Gojo clans. If Atsuya was able to genuinely cultivate a good relationship with Gojo Shiki as teacher and student, then all the better. Perhaps relations between their respective clans would finally see some improvement.

Hmm. Did Nariyasu have any nephews who were of an age with Gojo Shiki? A second or third son, whose families would not be opposed to marrying into the Gojo Clan…

… but he was getting ahead of himself. There's no point in thinking that far, and if the stories were true, apparently Gojo Shiki had turned down a betrothal with the Kamo Clan, flatly stating that she would not marry someone who was weaker than her. Which could've just been the precocious declaration of a young child, of course, but if there was any truth to that matter on a subconscious level… then the Yagyu Clan could give up on any thoughts of entertaining a marriage alliance.

In some ways, Gojo Shiki was undoubtedly more difficult to predict than her cousin and clan head. A little more… volatile, as women tended to be. Except, instead of being volatile in the emotional sense that women were predisposed towards, in Gojo Shiki's case it had evidently been directed into a proclivity for violence at the drop of a hat. Gojo Satoru, for all his barbed words and less-than-respectful demeanor that was amusing and infuriating all at once, at least had a firm grip on his temper and his self-control. The man argued and threatened and made no secret of the fact that he was dangerous, but never had he gone and done something as outrageous as bringing down his cursed energy upon them like an angry hammer.

This has been an… interesting experience. The closest to death that Nariyasu has gotten, since the days in his youth as an active sorcerer. Nariyasu also easily admits that he would also be very happy to never experience it again.

Let me be clear. If it ever becomes necessary for me to return here again because of your petty power plays, then those responsible will be leaving in caskets.

I am not as patient and good-natured as my cousin.

… Prior to this encounter with Gojo Shiki, Nariyasu has never once thought of Gojo Satoru as someone who was patient and good-natured.

In comparison, though, he supposes that he can see the point in her words.

.

.

"So, um… why are we doing this again, exactly?"

Nishimiya Momo bites her lip almost immediately after she ends up inadvertently blurting out the question. She shuffles her feet, wincing slightly, and her hands tighten nervously around the handle of her cursed tool.

A broomstick, to be precise, which has earned her no small amount of laughter and incredulity by multiple sorcerers to date. People who all take one look at Momo and her small stature and dismiss her as nothing more than a little girl playing at being a sorcerer–

But the thing is, Momo isn't playing around.

Her choice of weaponry being a broomstick might seem silly for a real sorcerer, but for her, it's practical. Practical, and useful. Momo's cursed technique is a derivative of her dad's cursed tool-based telekinesis. Dad is able to lift things that are really heavy, while Momo is solely restricted to lighter objects. As an apparent trade-off, though, the only limit for how long she's able to continuously manipulate a cursed tool is her own cursed energy. Dad's cursed technique, on the other hand, comes with a forced-interval cool-down, which can be rather inconvenient sometimes –but he's skilled enough to work around it.

The Nishimiya family isn't of any particular standing or renown in the jujutsu world. They're pretty much just a normal family, honestly. Although, Grandma used to be pretty close with someone from the Naniwa Clan, back when she'd still been an active sorcerer. Momo isn't sure about the precise details of it, but apparently Grandma had even been on good enough terms with the Naniwas that they'd even been willing to sponsor Mom as a jujutsu student.

And at one point Mom had nearly married into the Naniwa Clan, too? Momo is a little spotty on the details there. Mom didn't really talk about it much. Clearly, it hadn't actually ended up happening; Mom met Dad on an overseas mission, and then the rest following after that was history.

When the Naniwas had offered to sponsor Momo, the adults in the family had a whole big row over it. Mom didn't want anything to do with the Naniwas, and Dad was wary of getting involved with an old sorcery clan. Grandma, on the other hand, had been eminently practical and mercenary about things.

"If they're willingly offering up their own resources and providing Momo with an advantage, then why not make use of it?"

"Nothing in the jujutsu world comes for free!"

"True. But unless you are fool enough to give yourself up in an unequal binding vow, no one can take more from you than what you are willing to give."

Momo hadn't ended up being officially sponsored by the Naniwa Clan. But Grandma had wrangled some sort of deal with the Naniwa Clan to send instructors to the Nishimiya household every now and then, to assist with Momo's training.

… Which was its own kind of pressure. As one of the older sorcery clans, the Naniwas demanded excellence and perfection from those associated with them.

Momo didn't just need to be a 'good sorcerer.' She also needed to be well-versed in etiquette. Look pretty, and be presentable. Expectations upon expectations, continuously heaped upon her until it was enough to make a person suffocate beneath it all.

Why did they care about Momo being perfect? She wasn't even a Naniwa!

…

Anyways, the point of everything being: Nishimiya Momo isn't exactly in a position where she can do whatever she wants, and act freely with no thought to the repercussions that her actions would bring. Both for herself, and for her family.

… So why was she helping Kamo-kun break out one of the Tokyo students who'd been locked up by the higher ups?! A student whose punishment Naniwa Torikai had been involved in?

Oh, right. Because Kamo-kun had decided that it was wrong for the Tokyo first year to be held like a criminal, and declared that they needed to do something about it. Except Todo-kun was currently out at some sort of meet-and-greet event for that pop idol he liked, which left only Momo to be Kamo-kun's fellow partner-in-crime. And Momo wasn't about to let her classmate go ahead and do something potentially dangerous alone!

It was also… commendable that Kamo-kun was honestly trying to do the right thing. Even if a first year student suddenly pulling a Domain Expansion out of nowhere was downright suspicious, Momo didn't get the impression that the Tokyo boy was a bad person, exactly. Besides, if he was really a powerful sorcerer with ill intentions, then surely he could've chosen some far better opportunity to expand his domain and do maximum damage in the heart of the Kyoto school, instead of… outing himself in the exchange event.

Kamo-kun wanted to help him. Even though he was already facing enough difficulties from the whole mess with his clan, her classmate is still steady and determined and resilient in a way that Momo can't help but admire.

"I'm sorry for putting you into a difficult position," Kamo-kun says apologetically to her. Kamo Noritoshi is very much unlike any clan sorcerer that Momo has met before. For one, he's not as arrogant as most of them are, and secondly–

He's observant, and considerate of those around him. Momo had never specifically spoken to anyone about her personal circumstances before, and yet Kamo-kun had sought her out in private. If the Naniwa Clan gives you trouble, then please let me know. The Kamo Clan may not command as much power as we used to, but you are my classmate, and I will look out for you.

How rare was it to find a thoughtful boy like that?

"It's fine, you don't have to apologize for that," Momo finds herself responding, mentally kicking herself for the lackluster mumble that it comes out as.

… It's okay. It'll be fine. She needs to stop doubting herself, and stop doubting Kamo-kun.

The two of them have already successfully stolen the 'key' to the barrier that was keeping the Tokyo student trapped. It helped that the higher ups were still distracted with some important Grade One sorcerer who'd shown up to argue with them. Now, they just needed to find and free the Tokyo student, preferably without anyone catching her and Kamo-kun in the act. Neither of them could really afford to be caught doing something like this, especially since they were–

A sharp, shattering sound rings through the air with all the subtlety of a gunshot.

Momo jumps, startled, "Was that the barrier?"

… The barrier trapping the Tokyo student, to be precise? The one that couldn't be unlocked, not unless a person was in possession of the very same key that Kamo-kun was holding in his hands right now?

The two of them exchange a swift glance with each other and immediately hurry the last few steps over, rounding the corner and–

–a girl?

Momo blinks in surprise.

… There's an unfamiliar girl standing there. Long white hair, dressed in the dark colors of the jujutsu school. Her age marks her as a student, clearly, except Momo is quite certain that she's never seen this girl around Kyoto before. She hadn't been part of the Tokyo group, either. Momo would definitely have a deep impression of a memorable appearance like that, and if this girl could break a high-level locking barrier with nothing more than a sword in her hand, then clearly she had to be a pretty powerful sorcerer, too.

The blond man behind her –wait, isn't he the Grade One who was supposed to be in a meeting with the higher ups right now?– makes a faint sound in his throat, "That was quite the commotion, Shiki."

Shiki?

… Oh.

Momo realizes the identity of the girl instantly. T-that's Gojo Shiki, the 'blessed child' of the Gojo Clan who had so many rumors surrounding her!

It's one thing to listen to exaggerated stories, and another to see the subject of those very stories in person. For one, the rumors hadn't mentioned the poise and elegance to her movements, even holding a sword like that… although, it was something that probably could've been extrapolated from the numerous accounts of Gojo Shiki being an excellent dancer. They also hadn't mentioned that she was pretty, in an effortless way –no makeup, and only a few decorative hairpins as accessories.

But appearances aside, this girl was also dangerous. Momo would know; she's being trained as a scout more than a direct combatant, and she can tell when she's looking at someone completely out of her league.

How is Momo-chan progressing in her studies?

Nishimiya-san is doing quite well, my lady.

And how does she compare to the Gojo girl?

… With all due respect, I believe it would be unfair to hold Nishimiya-san to the same standards of one who is truly blessed.

"Nishimiya?"

Momo jerks slightly, forcibly shaking herself out of her thoughts. There's a faint look of concern on Kamo-kun's face, which is sweet of him.

"Sorry, I was just a little… surprised." Momo clears her throat, "T-that's Gojo Shiki, right?"

"Yes," Kamo-kun nods. He doesn't seem to be taken aback by Gojo-san's unexpected appearance here in the Kyoto school –more to the point, he doesn't seem to be fazed by Gojo Shiki at all. Once more, Momo finds herself forcibly reminded of the distance between herself and her classmates. "Shall we go offer our greetings, then?"

… Wait, what?

Momo squeaks.

.

.

Aikawa Ruri grimaces, curling in on herself.

… The exchange event had been awful this year. She'd done terribly. Ruri is fully and acutely aware of her own poor performance, and it's something that she regards with both frustration and helplessness. Frustration, because even if she's not a particularly strong one, she's still a sorcerer! And yet, what has she accomplished recently?

Standing in the backdrop and trying to stay out of the way like some damsel in distress. Getting called out on her behavior and then punched in the face by a first year student.

She's not–

Goddamnit, she's better than this. Ruri knows that she's better than this! And yet…

Sorcery is something that's, like, practically ninety-percent innate talent and ten-percent who you know. Strong and weak cursed techniques are decided at birth, and no one can do anything about it. Gods, how Ruri wished it were otherwise.

But that was just the way things worked in this world. No matter how hard Ruri pushed herself, there would always be sorcerers like Zenin Naoya who viewed her as nothing more than an ant, and sorcerers like Gojo Shiki who did not consider her to be of any real worth at all.

… Urgh, she's doing it again.

Ruri knows that she can be caustic and a bit vindictive sometimes, and… and a certain someone always used to laugh and tell her that she needed to slow down. That she shouldn't be so hotheaded. She also might want to work on how she's a teeny-weensy bit prone to holding grudges, oftentimes to her own detriment.

But Ruri can't help the way she feels!

You need to do better, Ruri reminds herself determinedly, a mantra. But it's hard, especially when she doesn't –when she doesn't even really know where to begin.

Of her three underclassmen, she'd already burned bridges with Gojo, and Hakari by proxy. Hoshi was still willing to speak with her, but there was a marked distance between them. One that had been growing for quite some time now, possibly ever since the first time Ruri encountered Gojo in her school.

Ruri honestly tried to make amends with Gojo! She'd apologized. It had been hard, because in many ways, Gojo was just… the quintessential clan sorcerer. Perfect in practically all aspects of sorcery, and that holier-than-thou attitude she exuded just by standing there…

Ruri didn't like it. Ruri didn't like it at all.

But Gojo's faults aside, it wasn't like Ruri was without her own mistakes either, right? She needed to be the one who was mature about this.

Don't project onto others, Ichinose-kun had said to her. And try to keep an open mind, alright? Try to stop forcing Gojo's every action and wording to fit your own perspective of what you think her to be like. She's… not the same as Zenin Naoya.

And so, Ruri had apologized to Gojo.

Apologized, without expecting to receive any apology from the other girl in turn. She'd also reassured Gojo that she would not go around spilling her secrets. The incident with that curse user in Kyoto was the second time that Gojo had saved her life, and Ruri wasn't ungrateful.

Gojo had stared eerily at her for a moment, nodded, then kind of just wandered off after that. Ruri hadn't been sure whether to be relieved that Gojo had accepted her apologies, or irritated that the girl was still doing her whole 'I'm a better sorcerer than you so that means I'm above you thing' that always got Ruri's blood boiling.

"Look," Ichinose-kun had rubbed his face tiredly, "I'm not saying that Gojo is doing it on purpose, but even if she was, then that just means she has a bad personality. With how strong she is, it's probably even justified."

Ruri had scowled. "So you're saying that might makes right?!"

"Aikawa-chan, please," Ichinose-kun then raised his hands in a placating gesture. The heavy dark circles under the boy's eyes had never seemed more pronounced, and Ruri had instantly felt bad for unloading her problems onto him again. "That's not what I'm saying, and you know it. If you don't like Gojo-san, then that's your right, but don't antagonize her."

… Why is it always like this? "Just because she's a clan sorcerer?"

"Because she could easily kill us if she wanted to, and I'm pretty sure that the most that the school would do in response is help her hide the bodies."

Ichinose-kun's words had been blunt, tired, and just faintly pleading.

His words had also reminded Ruri that Gojo Shiki was someone who was not right in the head.

… The same might actually be true for Hakari Kinji, as well, actually. In Ruri's opinion, the guy always seemed a little too happy to jump headfirst into a situation with his fists swinging, and she wasn't just speaking from personal experience here.

His 'Domain Expansion' had taken all of them by surprise –not that Ruri had even realized what she was seeing until Ichinose-kun had given her a cursory run-down in the aftermath of Hakari being subdued and dragged away. Hoshi had missed that explanation, due to being bedridden. The younger boy had promptly disobeyed the higher ups' order to stand down. Where she and Ichinose-kun had hesitated in confusion, Hoshi had leapt to Hakari's defense and been summarily crushed for his efforts.

Gojo probably wouldn't be happy to learn about it.

… Assuming that she even knew what was going on here, anyways, given that she was currently off doing more important things, like saving the world.

Ruri sighs. You need to be better, Aikawa Ruri.

"Think your ojou-sama will come to the rescue again?" she halfheartedly asks the sleeping body of the comatose boy. Unsurprisingly, Hoshi does not respond. "If she'd been here in the exchange event in the first place, then we wouldn't have–"

Huh?

Ruri cuts herself off in the middle of her words with a frown. She'd just heard a strange sound of something shattering…

"Ichinose-kun, is everything okay?" Ruri raises her voice slightly. Not enough to disturb the slumbering patient, but enough so that the upperclassman in the other room can hear her. "Did you just drop a plate on the ground or something?"

Well, that was awfully clumsy of him. Shaking her head, Ruri rises from her seat by Hoshi's bedside, and heads over to help out her upperclassman.

.

.

Fushiguro Megumi reaches the front of the school gates and pauses, eyes narrowing.

The sudden halt in his movements comes out of nowhere, so it's no surprise that there's someone who almost immediately bumps into him from behind. "Oi, watch where you're… urk. F-F-Fushiguro? I-I, uh, I'm really sorry for not watching where I was going, please forgive me–"

"Beat it," Megumi says without turning around, and there's instantly the sound of stumbling footsteps that break into a run, a panicked escape.

… If only he could do the same.

In front of him, the Zenin man merely folds his arms across his chest, his expression unmoving. "You need not regard me with such enmity, Fushiguro Megumi."

There's a slight twist to his tone when he says Fushiguro, as if there's something distasteful to the syllables. Megumi stares him down.

"What do you want?" Damn. Damn, this isn't good. Why in the world is someone from the Zenin Clan here, at his school? Did they want to cause a scene? Wait, no, hadn't Gojo already made some sort of deal with the Zenins years ago to leave him alone?

Megumi realizes, with a sudden start, that the Zenins probably had factored Gojo Satoru into their decision in approaching him like this. The guy was currently overseas and traveling across Europe, while Shiki was still coming back from China.

Megumi tenses.

Zenin Ogi sighs.

"The Gojos will not help you reach your full potential," the man says abruptly. "When will you realize the truth? You need us, boy."

"No, I don't."

"You do. The Gojo Clan does not have complete documentation of the Ten Shadows technique. They cannot teach you secrets of the Zenin Clan that they do not know of." For a moment, Megumi is stunned that the sorcerer is talking about jujutsu subjects so blatantly out in the open like this –what happened to trying to keep jujutsu a secret from non-sorcerers?– before he notices a strange sort of… shimmer in the air. Talismans filled to the brim with sealing scripts, plastered by the man's feet.

Some sort of barrier? Doesn't seem like it's visual; people are still giving him some weird looks. An auditory barrier? Something that obscures his words, then?

Faintly, the low growl of the Divine Dogs fills his ears.

"Moreover," Zenin Ogi continues, "The Gojo Clan would not teach you, even if they were aware of how to properly develop the Ten Shadows technique. You're being used and suppressed, foolish boy. The Gojo Clan desires to deprive the Zenin Clan of the Ten Shadows so that they may reign supreme and unchallenged. They act to remove us just as they did the Kamo–"

"The Kamos had it coming to them."

After all, the Kamos had kidnapped Shiki.

It's not like Megumi can't see where the Zenins are coming from, but no matter what they might think, he doesn't see why they're laboring under the impression that he would care. Megumi is not one of them. No matter who his parents were. And he wants nothing to do with them, either. As for the Gojo Clan…

Megumi can't say anything about the Gojo elders, but Gojo Satoru? Is definitely nothing like what Zenin Ogi is trying to imply here. The guy can definitely get a bit irritating and obnoxious sometimes, yeah, but Megumi trusts him.

(He's family, after all.)

The same cannot be said for the Zenin Clan. Zenin Naoya had not left a great first impression, and the same could also be said for the various other overtures that the Zenins made over the years.

"The Zenins will never follow in the footsteps of the Kamos," Zenin Ogi's lips thin. "… The Ten Shadows is one of the only cursed techniques capable of rivaling the Gojo Clan's Six Eyes and Limitless in strength. So long as you refuse your Zenin heritage, you are intentionally crippling yourself and wasting your potential–"

Suddenly, the man cuts himself off, whirling around. His arm raises in a blur, enhanced with cursed energy to block an airborne projectile flying in his direction–

Strawberry milk splatters everywhere in a dripping, pink mess.

… Wait, strawberry milk?

Stunned, Megumi looks over Zenin Ogi's shoulder towards where Tsumiki is standing with a scowl, arm still slightly outstretched from where she'd thrown a carton of strawberry milk at a sorcerer.

"Get away from my brother," his sister says firmly, even despite the slight tremble in her frame.

Zenin Ogi lifts his gaze slowly, looking up from the pink mess covering his sleeve and a good portion of the ground, ruining some of the seals that he'd placed in the area. The man's expression is blank and unmoving, dangerous, and–

Megumi immediately runs and places himself between his sister and the Zenin sorcerer.

"The Zenins can keep their clan secrets." He does not clench his hands into fists; better to keep them free and lose, if he needs to form seals. "I don't care, I'm not a Zenin."

Thankfully, Zenin Ogi's attention refocuses on him. "You cannot deny your blood."

The howling in Megumi's ears grows louder, his Divine Dogs agitated in response to the threat perceived by their master. He thinks that his shadow might be rippling unnaturally beneath his feet, given the brief glance that the other sorcerer casts towards the ground.

"My name," he says, slow and deliberate, "Is Fushiguro Megumi."

"… You are being manipulated by the Gojo Clan," Zenin Ogi frowns. "Do you really think that Gojo Satoru acts in your benefit? That he genuinely desires the best for you, out of the goodness of his heart? Think about it, boy."

Is that really what his argument is going to be? That Gojo doesn't care about Megumi or his sister? When they're the ones who actually live with the man?

You're being manipulated by the Gojo Clan, the Zenin sorcerer says, as if the Zenin Clan does not want to manipulate Megumi.

They're all the same, sorcery clans like these.

And Megumi refuses to be used by them.

"I'm not going with the Zenin Clan," he says flatly. "Ever."

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The pen in Gojo Kiyohira's hands suddenly snaps into two, spilling ink all over his desk. He stares at it for a moment, then reaches for a nearby paper to clean up the mess.

The movements feel… natural. As if Kiyohira had never lost an arm to begin with, which comes with a small burst of… complicated emotions, that even now he has yet to fully sort through.

Human puppetry is what Kiyohira has to thank for regaining his arm. And yet, it's the very same human puppetry that was part of Araya Souren's research, and Araya was the one who cost Kiyohira his arm in the first place.

Not to mention, the things that Araya had done to Shiki…

Just the very thought of it is enough to make his blood boil. It's a good thing that the man is dead –killed by Shiki herself, which is in its own way a gratifying form of justice.

But unfortunately, even the death of a reviled curse user is not without its ramifications.

There were many accusations that had been leveled in the aftermath of the disastrous Obon ceremony this year, different clans pointing fingers at each other and desperately shifting around blame as to how a curse user like that was able to infiltrate at all. It was reasonable to think that Araya had a collaborator –or perhaps even multiple collaborators– and much of the investigations had been directed towards sorting out that particular mess.

Kiyohira hadn't wanted Shiki to get too involved with it. Although this was far from her first time killing a human, and Araya Souren was decidedly more monster than man, the entire affair still left a bad taste in his mouth. It would be better for Shiki to distance herself from it all, to take a break instead and rest properly–

And then she'd been thrown into a string of missions, including one that was in a different country altogether.

China might be close to Japan, but a different country was still a different country.

Choki had accompanied her, but Kiyohira still found himself inexplicably worried about the girl. Even though he knew that Shiki could take care of herself.

… But it wasn't just the mission itself that Kiyohira was concerned about. The timing of recent events… killing Araya, then being sent on an international mission. A test from the higher ups? An attempt at ascertaining Shiki's strength?

The Gojo Clan had nominated Shiki for the rank of Special Grade sorcerer before, but the proposal had been swiftly turned down by the council. She does not possess the requisite level of strength to qualify, had been the official reasoning. And while at this point it was a bit of an open secret that Araya Souren had been quite a lot stronger than anyone had ever really expected, it wasn't as if Araya Souren had actually been ranked as a Special Grade sorcerer now, was he? So Shiki killing the man didn't really prove anything. Wasn't Araya more of a researcher, anyways?

Kiyohira would've liked to see one of the higher ups attempt to fight Araya Souren themselves. If nothing else, it certainly would've been a swift and humiliating death.

As for Shiki…

The Gojo Clan wishes for her to be named Special Grade. To bolster the clan's influence, and set them firmly into place at the apex of the jujutsu world as the only clan with two Special Grade sorcerers to their roster. Gojo Satoru was already the Strongest, but another Special Grade would cement their position even further into something immovable.

Selfishly, though, Kiyohira would prefer for her to remain as Grade One for as long as possible. The myriad pressures that would come with being a Special Grade sorcerer, and the increased burden in her mission workload…

There would always be more dangers in this world that needed to be dealt with, more curses that needed to be exorcised.

But there was only one Shiki.

Shiki, who'd never really even gotten a childhood, and… at the very least, Kiyohira wishes for her to be able to properly enjoy her time as a student with friends her age. Including events like the Kyoto exchange event, which she'd just so happened to miss due to unfortunate mission scheduling this year…

Kiyohira had his suspicions about it. Shiki's request to send Nanami Kento to Kyoto only served to cement his preexisting suspicions.

… so the ojou-sama has contacted and arranged for Nanami-san to be in Kyoto as her own declaration.

The mission in China has concluded smoothly, albeit with an unforeseen element. A request to investigate Kamo Kosaku, previously a researcher of the Kamo Clan, has been included in a separate file. The Special Grade sorcerer Tsukumo Yuki made her presence known in China and requested a meeting with the ojou-sama…

Kiyohira stiffens. Re-reads the last line of the reports that he's catching up on after dealing with Tobiume affairs, and promptly chokes on thin air once the words process properly.

… Shiki met who in China? Tsukumo Yuki?!

That woman –what did she want? What was she intending to do this time? The only thing that came to mind upon hearing this was– Geto Suguru–

Kiyohira's hands slam down on his desk, and he promptly rises from his seat.

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.

Gojo Satoru flops down onto the soft, cushy hotel bed with a long and drawn-out sigh.

A last-minute trip to China had not been part of the plans. But it couldn't be avoided, especially not after he'd heard about how Tsukumo Yuki had cornered Shiki for a 'talk.'

The last time something like this had happened? Suguru had been the one who'd held an extended conversation with the woman.

Suffice to say, Satoru is not inclined to think kindly of Tsukumo at all. The woman had probably been sharp enough to sense his irritation with her, and she'd also possessed enough self-preservation to realize that Satoru had not been in the mood to play around.

He'd meant it, the words that he'd spoken to her in that shabby food stall.

If you approach Shiki again, I'm going to kill you.

… He's not going to let the same thing play out in front of his eyes. History repeating itself, with a different actor. Shiki is his. She's his adorable little cousin with a healthy penchant for stabbing things.

It doesn't matter if Tsukumo is aiming for world peace or world domination. If she takes away someone from Satoru again with nothing more than mere words, he's probably going to go insane.

… Yeah, Satoru is perfectly aware that he's probably overreacting and being irrational about everything, but he doesn't care. He also knows that there's more to Suguru's decision than just Tsukumo's pitch, that it's not wholly Tsukumo's fault–

But she's not blameless, either. Those thoughtless words had definitely influenced Suguru's path, and a dark part of Satoru will always hate her for it.

Gojo Satoru might possess the power of a god, but in the end, he's only human.

(Humans aren't meant to be alone.)

"Ugh," Satoru grimaces. Leave it to Tsukumo to dredge up unhappy thoughts that are better left to gather dust in a dark corner. One of these days, he's going to finally lose it and try to destroy the world in a fit of morbid curiosity or something, just to see what might happen.

… Okay, yeah, that was a bad joke. A joke that's definitely more up Suguru's alley than his.

Satoru rubs his face tiredly.

Get it together, he firmly reminds himself. There are still the remaining missions in Europe that he needs to power through –which aren't really difficult or challenging, not for a sorcerer of his caliber, but he definitely needs to speed things up a little this time. He has to go back and check on Shiki, just to be sure that she's not about to snap and develop an interest in mass murder. Can't do anything about the taste for plain old murder, though; that's already here to stay, and Satoru wouldn't have it any other way.

It was good for her to be a little sharp. At the very least, it would also keep the higher ups on their toes around her, and remind them that messing around with Shiki was a Bad Idea.

Not that the higher ups ever seemed to be in shortage of bad ideas…

… which would be another reason why it was best for Gojo Satoru to return to Japan as soon as possible.

Oh, and there was Hakari Kinji to take a look at, too! Domain Expansion, wow. Satoru is very curious about the sort of cursed technique that the boy evidently developed. Not gonna lie, he'd always presumed that it would be Shiki who would be the next sorcerer to successfully put a Domain Expansion under her belt.

That was still good, though. Because it meant that her classmate had potential –perhaps enough to stand beside her in the future. Motivation, too. Satoru bets that his cute little cousin is definitely going to ask him about Domain Expansions once he's back in the country.

And of course, Satoru would only be all too happy to impart his wisdom and experience to her.

With one last yawning stretch, Satoru straightens and rises to his feet from the luxuriously soft bed.

… Rest later. Probably not until he's back in Japan.

Right now, there's still work to be done.

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…

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