89

The evening skies are dark outside, heavy clouds almost seeming to cast an additional shadow over the quiet buildings and pathways of the jujutsu school. But the nighttime scenery disappears swiftly once loose curtains are pulled tightly across the windows, and all that remains is the well-lit brightness of the indoor meeting room.

Turning around and taking a seat heavily across from her, Yaga-gakucho sighs and folds his hands together. The motion is far more tired and resigned than it is severe and intimidating, which Shiki supposes is probably quite indicative of his current mental state.

"Alright," the man says, steepling his fingers and wearing an expression that says he's internally bracing himself for something. "Is there anything that you'd like to say to me, Gojo Shiki?"

There's no doubt about what Yaga-gakucho is referring to with this vague question of his. The fact that two higher ups had just died –been killed– at Shiki's hands on the very grounds of the Tokyo jujutsu school wasn't something that Yaga Masamichi, as the principal of said school, could turn a blind eye to.

Hence the current situation, where Shiki is sitting across from the Tokyo principal, who does not look very pleased to be here.

"Not particularly," she responds in answer to the man's question.

Yaga-gakucho's brow twitches slightly. "Really. Nothing at all?"

"No," Shiki shakes her head.

The man sighs again. "Give me something to work with here, Gojo. You just killed two higher ups today. Why?"

"Because I'm tired of their games," she says simply, stating the obvious.

"… And so you killed them because of that?" Yaga-gakucho asks flatly.

"I already warned them before in Kyoto," Shiki shrugs. "… I'm tired of their power plays and maneuvering. If they insist on involving me in it regardless, then they have no room to complain when I express my disagreement."

The principal pinches his brow, the way Kiyohira-sensei does when the man is attempting to stave off an oncoming headache, mouthing 'disagreement' with a faintly incredulous air.

"Expressing disagreement and killing people over it are two different things," he eventually says. "Was there really no other way you could've settled this?"

Ah. Shiki thinks that she sees what's going on here. She's not blind to Yaga-gakucho's position in this… predicament. "Is this situation causing you a lot of trouble? The fact that I killed them inside the Tokyo school."

"… It's not the fact that you killed them in the Tokyo school that's causing trouble, it's that you killed them at all to begin with that has the higher ups in such an uproar," the man's shoulder sag slightly. "Last I've heard, some of them are even calling for you to be labeled as a curse user for this."

"I see. That's quite hasty of them." Shiki is willing to bet that the higher ups loudly calling for such a thing are either extremely shortsighted, or representatives from smaller sorcery clans acting on the behalf of the larger clans that they are aligned with. Because the declaration that Gojo Shiki is a curse user is a weighty declaration that would most certainly earn them the enmity of the Gojo Clan; such words are not to be said lightly, and the higher ups saying such things anyways should know that perfectly well themselves.

They should also know that applying the label of curse user to her is something that's both impractical and infeasible, which begs the question of why they would even attempt such a thing in the first place.

Firstly, branding a sorcerer as a curse user is no small thing. Given the small number of sorcerers there are to begin with, it typically takes the act of committing truly unforgivable crimes for one to be designated as a curse user.

Geto Suguru, for example, had killed a hundred villagers and promptly been labeled a curse user for it. But if he had killed ten of them, then he probably would've only received a firmly-worded reprimand or some manner of warning or punishment, then be permitted to continue carrying out his duties as a sorcerer. Because sorcerers were a precious resource, and difficult to replace. Particularly those who were higher-ranked and well-trained.

(The loss of Geto Suguru, a Special Grade sorcerer, had undoubtedly been something that hurt the Jujutsu Headquarters. And yet, given Geto-san's actions, there was no other alternative. The higher ups were able to overlook many things, but even they would not be able to overlook a sorcerer who used their jujutsu to slaughter other humans.)

… That there were higher ups currently threatening to mark Shiki as a curse user indicated one of two things: Either the higher ups were so unsettled by the deaths of two of their own that the fear was driving them to make unwise decisions, or they simply genuinely considered Shiki to be an element that had flown wildly out of their control –and thus, needed to be branded appropriately as befitting the danger that she posed to them. Or perhaps it was a mixture of both.

But whatever the case, their efforts would prove to be futile.

Shiki doesn't have any particular reservations about the act of killing itself, but she is not murderous. She doesn't kill without reason. To date, there really aren't very many humans that she's killed with her own hands, despite the numerous bloody rumors following in her wake. Shiki has her suspicions about those –in order to hamper the Gojo Clan's growing influence, wouldn't it be convenient if their 'blessed child' was a bloodthirsty monster. One whom most people would be better off avoiding, instead of forming connections with?

… Not that Shiki was particularly personable to begin with, but the point still stands.

All this talk about the Gojo Clan's blessed child being a ruthless killer who was fascinated with spilling blood… they really have no room to act surprised when Shiki shows them that it's true she does not hold any reservations about killing.

Moreover, killing the few higher ups who insisted on stirring trouble for her when she'd explicitly warned them against doing so was something that was completely different from killing great numbers of innocent civilians. The former was something that merely equated to drawing a line on the ground; the latter was flagrantly stepping over the line and blurring it in the sands.

And it was the latter that would undoubtedly mark a sorcerer as a curse user, instead of the former.

… At least, this would definitely hold true in Shiki's case, due to nepotism if nothing else.

Because Shiki is a daughter of the Gojo Clan, and in this world this is not without its advantages in jujutsu society. The Gojos are one of the Three Great Families, and they would not simply stand by and allow one of their sorcerers to be branded as a curse user without saying anything about it. Because it would be a disgrace for a curse user to come from the blood of the noble Gojo Clan, and so it's not an insult that they would suffer lightly. If such a criminal were to come from the Gojo Clan, then in all likelihood they'd be secretly executed before they had any chance of publicly becoming known as a curse user.

"… You're really not worried at all about it?" Yaga-gakucho asks her. "From what I was informed of, there are several higher ups who are quite vocal about you 'deserving' the title of curse user."

"Why would I be?" Shiki remains unperturbed. "No matter how much they quarrel and pretend to deliberate over it, I'm not going to be named a curse user just for something like this."

Yes. It doesn't matter if there are higher ups throwing a tantrum over the deaths of the Yagyu elders. Because no matter how much they argue their voices hoarse, Shiki knows that, in the end, she will not be named a curse user merely for killing two of their number.

… She might've killed two higher ups, but she is still one of their stronger sorcerers. And essentially, it boils down to this: Shiki is of more value actively taking missions as a Grade One sorcerer than she is as a blacklisted curse user. It's more trouble than it's worth to name her a curse user and simultaneously earn the ire of the Gojo Clan on top of it.

The higher ups might have a tendency to be foolish, but they aren't genuine fools. Probably.

"You're right, it's not going to happen," Yaga-gakucho sighs. "… But it's still a clear warning from them. And, it still doesn't mean there aren't going to be higher ups who will try to make things difficult for you because of what you've done. Is this really worth it?"

"At the very least," Shiki says, "It will let them know that there are consequences for attempting to use me as they would an unknowing puppet. I won't dance to their tune –and if I do, then they will most certainly bleed for it."

The entire point of Shiki killing the two Yagyus who had been ever so eager to involve her in their plotting was not only her making good on her threat, but also a warning from her end. From Shiki to the other higher ups observing the situation, to discourage them from engaging in similar acts, and to know that she could and would retaliate if they overstepped the boundaries that she'd drawn. It wouldn't stop all of them, but it would serve as a strong deterrent if Shiki showed herself to be fully capable and willing of acting on her words.

In her opinion, there's no point in making empty threats. Shiki wonders if the higher ups have finally realized that as well.

Yaga-gakucho is silent for a moment. "They won't be happy about it."

"I don't care if they are happy or not." As long as the higher ups just do their job and leave her and her friends alone, Shiki doesn't care much for what they're plotting. "If I don't react to anything that they're doing, then they'll only continue to push. They'll push, and push, and keep on pushing. I'd really rather that the situation does not devolve to that point."

Because if it did, then Shiki can't promise that there won't be a bloodbath.

And, Satoru-niichan had said before that a bloodbath wouldn't change things the way he wanted them to. Shiki doesn't fully understand what her cousin envisions, but she understands perfectly well that Satoru-niichan could easily kill all the higher ups himself if he wanted to.

So, the fact that he didn't means that Shiki will also refrain from doing so. For now.

Yaga-gakucho covers his face with a large, calloused hand. "It's not like I don't understand what you're saying and where you're coming from. Some of the higher ups' decisions… the less said about it, the better. But still, alienating and making enemies of the elders so blatantly like this… not even Satoru did such a reckless thing when he was a student."

Shiki tilts her head.

The principal looks up again. "You honestly couldn't have shown the higher ups that you weren't going to tolerate their actions some other way? Aside from killing two of them and causing a good number to get all up in arms together about it?"

"It's effective." And sends the message quite clearly, too. "Besides, would they really understand that I was completely serious about what I said if I didn't follow through on what I promised?"

Yaga-gakucho sucks in a deep breath. "You're playing a dangerous game here."

"That would be the higher ups, Yaga-gakucho," Shiki responds serenely. "I thought I made it very clear that I don't play their games. Satoru-niichan is patient enough to humor them, but I'm not."

"… Patient?"

"Mhm." The higher ups currently still being alive and well enough to complain about Shiki killing two of their number at this moment would be the best proof of her cousin's boundless patience, wouldn't it?

Yaga-gakucho stares at her for a long moment, deadpan, then lifts his gaze to the ceiling. "God help me, there's two of them."

Shiki blinks at the strange non sequitur that comes out of nowhere. "…?"

… Is he talking about how she'd killed two higher ups? Hadn't they already established that at the beginning of the conversation, though?

"Seeing as how you appear to be perfectly fine and unaffected by all of this…" Yaga-gakucho regards her with an unreadable expression, "I assume that you already have a plan for what comes next. The higher ups most likely won't be in a rush to involve you in their games again anytime soon, but this doesn't mean that they won't try to press charges for the deaths of Yagyu Toshiatsu and Yagyu Nariatsu. Nothing legal, of course, but there's no doubt that they'll try to exact something out of this."

"I am aware." Even though what she'd done is not something that's enough to see her named a curse user, it would still set a dangerous precedent if a sorcerer was able to kill a higher up with no repercussions. From this perspective, it's not as if Shiki expected there to be zero backlash on her end for killing two higher ups –even though it's still something that she would not hesitate to do again, were she to find herself in the same situation.

The higher ups are not the only ones capable of weighing potential gains and losses against each other, then choosing the most beneficial option to them.

Shiki is mildly curious as to what they've planned next, if they're bandying about the words 'curse user' right now. It might just be their frustrations speaking, but she thinks that it's a lot likelier this might be a deliberate effort in order to make it seem like the proposal of whatever they've planned next is perfectly reasonable in comparison.

… Which might mean that there are even more higher ups that she's going to have to kill, right?

Yaga-gakucho sighs. "For what it's worth… I'm sorry that you have to deal with all of this. I'll do what I can to curb their influence within the school, but I'm not on the best of terms with the higher ups myself, either."

Shiki remembers this. After all, the very first time when she'd met Panda had been when the higher ups had decided to reopen Yaga Masamichi's trial for conducting dangerous research into puppetry that posed a potential threat to humanity. Granted, it had been in the aftermath of the Star Plasma Vessel incident, and was likely a result of certain individuals looking to undermine Satoru-niichan at the time by implicating his then-teacher. But it was also more than enough to show that Yaga Masamichi himself did not have a particularly amicable relationship with the higher ups to begin with.

The fact that Yaga Masamichi was able to become the principal of the Tokyo jujutsu school was in no small part due to the efforts of the Gojo Clan behind the scenes, following the wishes of their clan heir.

Yaga-gakucho knows the kind of influence that the Gojo Clan holds, and the fact that he's telling Shiki to be cautious with the higher ups anyways is indicative of the power struggle taking place.

Satoru-niichan is the strongest Special Grade sorcerer of the current age, and while Shiki is not quite a Special Grade sorcerer herself –yet– she's probably the Grade One sorcerer who's closest to that level right now. With this sort of power, it's only inevitable that the Gojo Clan's influence continues to grow in direct correlation with it, and there are many others who are displeased by it.

It also does not help that the current balance of power in the jujutsu world is a little… unstable. For the longest time, the Three Great Families have served as the foundation of jujutsu society. But the Kamo Clan, by their own actions, are not in a position where they retain their powers and have fallen to a shadow of their former glory. Gojo Satoru's rise to prominence and the Kamo Clan's fall from grace mean opportunity, and there are many who wish to seize advantage of it.

… This is something that has been going on for quite awhile now, and has the very real potential to get even worse before an equilibrium is reached.

The introduction of Okkotsu Yuta, a potential Special Grade sorcerer, into the jujutsu world at a time like this –likely isn't helping things any.

"Do you have a general idea of what the higher ups are planning to do next?"

"It depends." There are a number of higher ups, and not all of them have the same goals as each other, or agree on the same means to achieve their goals. But in some ways, they are still predictable as a whole. "I think I've sufficiently dissuaded most of them from meddling with me, but it might take a little more discouragement before they fully give up on Okkotsu-san."

The principal pauses briefly. "… You're talking about Okkotsu Yuta."

Shiki nods. "The higher ups have a vested interest in acquiring a Special Grade sorcerer for themselves."

"As if an untrained boy would be enough to offset Gojo Satoru," Yaga-gakucho mutters under his breath. There's nothing demeaning about his words –and it's the truth that Okkotsu-san is still largely untrained at the moment. And it will take significant training before he's capable of reaching the level of strength required to truly become Special Grade.

The higher ups seem to be under the impression that they'll be able to challenge Satoru-niichan as long as they have a Special Grade on their side, but that's really, really not the case. There's a certain level of prestige that comes from an association with Special Grade, but there's only so much prestige that comes from an empty title without the strength to back it up.

"But if they manage to get their hands on Okkotsu…" the principal frowns. "All political ramifications aside, they're definitely not going to have the boy's best interests at heart."

Of course not. The only interests that the higher ups hold best at heart are their own.

"Is this another reason why you killed the Yagyus?" Yaga-gakucho's gaze abruptly cuts to Shiki. "It's not a secret that you're watching and protecting Okkotsu right now. So if you show yourself to be willing to kill at the drop of a hat for any transgressions against you, then it would make them think twice about approaching Okkotsu. Especially while he's still in Tokyo with you."

"And if the higher ups are preoccupied with finding a suitable 'punishment' for me, then there will be less attention on Okkotsu-san while they're sorting that out between themselves," Shiki acknowledges.

"What are you planning to do if they decide to send you away on a long mission? Or one that's overseas?"

"Then I'll take Okkotsu-san with me." It's better for Shiki to keep a close eye on the boy that her cousin is interested in training. "And after I return, I'll kill whoever was responsible for assigning such a mission to me. They should get the hint after that."

The older sorcerer stills. "… You're planning to kill even more higher ups?"

"Not 'planning,'" Shiki disagrees. "As long as they leave me alone and respect my boundaries, then I won't kill any more of them."

"In an ideal scenario, you might not have to. But knowing what the higher ups are like…" Yaga-gakucho heaves a tired sigh. "I doubt they'll be fine with letting things be. But… if you kill too many higher ups, not even the Gojo Clan will be able to brush that under the rug. Yagyu Toshiatsu and Yagyu Nariyasu are prominent within their clan, but not among the higher ups. But if that changes and you kill a higher up who's of greater importance, then there's no telling how they might choose to retaliate."

"Do you really think that will happen?" Shiki muses.

The man automatically opens his mouth to respond, then looks at her suspiciously. "You don't think that they would retaliate?"

"No, I just don't think that anyone who's that high-ranked would risk themselves like that," Shiki corrects. "If they take action, then they'll be acting through proxies. The Yagyus made good proxies, didn't they?"

Yaga-gakucho frowns. "… Who do you suspect, then?"

"If I were to guess… then, the Zenins," she responds.

The principal raises an eyebrow. "Not the Kamos?"

"The Kamos have enough to be dealing with internally right now, I don't think they have the inclination to be interfering with anything outside of their own succession issues at the moment," she shakes her head. "But the Zenins are the ones who have reason to be the most concerned by the Gojo Clan's growing influence. They also have the most to gain out of a situation where my reputation worsens and negatively affects the Gojo Clan as a result."

"You don't seem very worried about it, though," Yaga-gakucho observes.

"Because I'm not." It would take more than small tricks like this to truly impact the Gojo Clan in any meaningful manner, and Shiki doesn't really care about what reputation she has in jujutsu society.

"Hm," Yaga-gakucho folds his arms across his chest, "How are you so certain that the Yagyus were only proxies?"

Because as much influence as the Yagyus hold, manipulating mission records and outright assigning missions isn't something that just any sorcery clan can influence within the administration. Moreover, Shiki also remembers how outspoken Yagyu Toshiatsu had been during that time in Tokyo, to the point where it was almost suspicious in retrospect. Knowingly or not, it was most likely that he had been acting on behalf of another. She would need to ask Choki to look into this, in order to narrow down the possibilities.

"Just a feeling," she responds.

"Just a feeling," Yaga-gakucho repeats, dry and disbelieving.

"I don't have proof."

"That… does complicate things a bit, then." For a moment, the man is quiet in thought. "… I'll see what I can do to look into the Zenin Clan from my end as well. They were never on the best of terms with the Gojo Clan to begin with, and things didn't exactly improve after Satoru took custody of Fushiguro Megumi."

Yet another reason why the Zenin Clan would be pleased for the Gojo Clan's power to be restricted and whittled down, then.

"And on that note," Yaga-gakucho continues, "Your friends. Have you thought about how you'll be explaining this to them?"

Shiki does not understand. "What is there to explain?"

"… Okkotsu Yuta was standing right beside you when you killed two Yagyu elders without batting an eye, I'm pretty sure that warrants an explanation of some sort," Yaga-gakucho says flatly. "If someone next to you suddenly killed another person out of nowhere, wouldn't you be concerned about it?"

"It depends." If it were Satoru-niichan who'd suddenly killed someone, then Shiki is certain that her cousin would've had a reason for it. In that case, then there's no need for Shiki to be concerned over anything.

"Alright, maybe that was a bad example," the older man closes his eyes briefly. "Then, if Hoshi Kirara suddenly tried to kill someone. What would you do about it?"

Shiki considers the hypothetical situation. "Hand him a knife?"

"Hand him a–? No, no, forget this," Yaga-gakucho swiftly shakes his head, brow twitching. "Look. The point I'm trying to get at is –murder is something that your classmates are not going to be accustomed to. And most people are averse towards murder, no matter the reason behind it. So… please try to be careful when you're broaching the topic with your classmates."

Ah. Is this a tacit way of reminding Shiki to be considerate of what her classmates might think of her killing other humans?

Killing humans… is both different from killing cursed spirits, and not. Kinji might be more accepting of it, considering his rough background, and Kirara… Shiki doesn't know what Kirara would think. But, as a sorcerer, it's only inevitable that he would run into a similar situation someday –with curse users, if nothing else– and so it's something that he'll have to adjust to.

As for Okkotsu-san… well, Shiki had literally killed both Yagyu elders in front of him. It was a bit too late to be worrying about whether or not she had accidentally traumatized him at this point, probably.

"I appreciate your advice, Yaga-gakucho." Whether or not she would be able to successfully apply it, however, was another matter entirely. If Yuzuki were still here, Shiki would've been able to ask for his thoughts on how to apply it, but…

Yaga-gakucho nods simply. "I know that it's not just yourself that you're protecting, but also your classmates around you. But it's easy for misunderstandings to arise, especially when they aren't aware of the full situation. I'd also recommend that you talk to them about the current political state of things in the jujutsu world as well sometime."

"I will try." Politics, especially jujutsu politics, is unlikely to be a topic that either of her classmates are interested in. Neither of them had seemed to be particularly enthused during the few times that Shiki had attempted to explain jujutsu-adjacent history to them, after all.

But it would benefit them to know more about such things, and to be aware of what the higher ups might intend to do without their knowing. How had Shoko-san put it, again? That learning about the politics of the jujutsu world was only 'self defense' for her?

… Maybe Shiki should try explaining things to her classmates in the aftermath of a sparring session, when they would be too exhausted to run away. That should work, right?

"Alright. I think we've covered mostly everything here, then," Yaga-gakucho places his hands on his knees and rises to his feet. "Anything else, I'll leave for Satoru to cover with you when he gets back. He'll probably try to blitz his missions again, once he hears about what happened here… ah. Right, one more thing."

Shiki looks towards the principal questioningly.

"About Kusakabe," Yaga-gakucho starts. "I understand that Yagyu Nariyasu was his sister's father-in-law. Are there any problems on that front?"

"Problems?" Thinking back on Kusakabe-sensei… the man had attempted to stop her, initially, once he'd realized that she fully intended to kill both Yagyu elders. But he hadn't succeeded in his efforts, and Shiki had killed the Yagyu higher ups anyways. And in the aftermath…

He hadn't been hostile towards her, afterwards. Shocked, more than anything else, if Shiki had to put a word to it. In fact, she would say that there was a distinct lack of enmity in his attitude towards her, even though she'd technically killed a family member of his… which probably said a lot about his relationship with the late Yagyu Nariyasu to begin with, and that had nothing to do with Shiki.

Although Kusakabe-sensei had also stiffened when she'd brought up the very real possibility of him being considered her 'accomplice' in the murders.

Even if it wasn't by choice, and even if he'd tried to stop her… it didn't matter. The fact remained that Gojo Shiki had killed two Yagyu higher ups while Kusakabe Atsuya had been standing in the same room as her, and so there would be suspicions cast upon him for this alone if nothing else. Which meant that Kusakabe-sensei would probably be quite busy for the next few days, defending himself from accusations that would undoubtedly come from the Yagyu Clan.

Hm. Perhaps Kusakabe-sensei would be facing several problems soon.

"Kusakabe-sensei would know about his own problems better than me." Shiki is familiar with the inner workings of the Gojo Clan, not the Yagyu Clan. "You should ask him about it, if you wish to learn more about the Yagyu Clan's attitude on this matter."

"… That wasn't what I was asking," Yaga-gakucho rubs his forehead tiredly. "Even though they had their differences, Yagyu Nariyasu was still Kusakabe's in-law. I'm concerned that there might be… difficulties between the two of you, going forward, since you just killed Yagyu. Right in front of him, no less."

Oh.

"I don't think so." If Kusakabe-sensei cared enough about Yagyu Nariyasu to resent Shiki or desire vengeance upon her for it, then he wouldn't have been able to analyze the situation as clearly as he did when the man had died. Kusakabe-sensei had been quite clear in his opinion that it was reckless to make enemies of the higher ups the way Shiki did, and in a manner of speaking… this was the sort of concern that a teacher would show for a student who found themselves in a spot of trouble, right?

Yaga-gakucho stares at her for a long moment, then sighs, long and heavy.

"I'll… find Kusakabe and have a talk with him myself sometime," is all he says in the end. "In the meantime, please try not to kill any more higher ups until the situation has stabilized somewhat."

"That depends on them more than it does me, Yaga-gakucho."

The man sighs again, closing his eyes, and waves his hand at Shiki in a clear gesture to get out, you're dismissed.

Shiki rises to her feet and leaves the room after bidding the principal a polite, quiet farewell. This wasn't quite how she'd thought her first prolonged encounter with Yaga-gakucho as a student of his school would be, but… even despite the circumstances and the politics involved in it, it was still nice to see him again.

Yaga Masamichi is stern and unmoving, but there is a reason why Panda loves his father the way he does. Satoru-niichan trusts him, too. As for Shiki… mostly, she remembers Yaga-gakucho as a steady presence in the background of her own childhood from her own visits to the Tokyo school back then.

It's unfortunate that she's caused trouble for him, but Yaga-gakucho seems to be understanding of her circumstances, and Shiki can appreciate that.

.

.

…

.