fics I read

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Consciousness filters in slowly, tendrils of awareness gradually reconnecting to her senses through the dull headache pulsing inside her skull. Her limbs feel heavy–

No, not heavy.

If anything, her limbs feel light. But… not in a good way. Her body feels too-light and near-weightless in a way that makes something even as simple as sitting up an impossibility, in her current state. Shiki's first reaction is to push herself upright, but her body refuses to obey her command.

… She can't move.

Confusion only lasts for the briefest of instants, before the memories come flooding back in.

The meeting with Daisaku-sama and Ima-san. Confirming Gojo Kansuke as the traitor. Satoru-niichan leaving them to hunt the man down, then Kiyohira-sensei deciding to look for Gojo Kikuhime afterwards…

The room filled with cloying incense. Kiyohira-sensei falling unconscious, the loud thud he'd made upon hitting the table. Then, Kamo Matsuhime had made her appearance, and–

Araya.

The woman had called out for Araya, when Shiki had been bringing the full force of her cursed energy to bear, as best as she could while afflicted by that poison.

Poison…

Of all things, it was poison that brought her down. If only it had been entwined with cursed energy as in the case of that Special Grade curse on the mountain, then Shiki would've been able to muster up a rudimentary defense against it. Fending off malignant cursed energy that was saturated with corrosive properties as a side effect was an entirely different beast to dealing with a physical poison. The latter was a 'mundane' poison, to be sure, but unlike the former, it required an advanced form of reverse cursed technique to overcome, with how it affected the body.

… Shiki does not know how to perform reverse cursed technique. It was one thing to defend herself against the poisonous characteristics of a cursed spirit's energies, but another thing entirely to deal with actual poison. She'd been woefully unprepared, much to her frustration.

Because her inability to counter this poison meant that she'd been helpless to resist, when Araya had grabbed her head from behind and slammed her down against the table.

You will break the barrier if you continue raising your cursed energy like this. You will also most certainly break Gojo Kiyohira.

… Kiyohira-sensei. Kiyohira-sensei!

The girl's eyes finally snap open.

Everything is… hazy. Disconcertingly unclear, gleaming red lines included. But Shiki can still see enough to realize that her surroundings are strange, unfamiliar, and she blinks rapidly a few times in quick succession to try and clear her vision. It helps, as things slowly swim into focus.

She still doesn't recognize this place.

Not the white-washed ceiling, not the fluorescent lights, not any of the strange contraptions scattered around the room –some sort of amalgamation of metallic machinery and organic puppetry that she doesn't know the proper terms for. In some ways, she would say that it almost looks like a workshop. The overall layout and arrangement is somehow vaguely reminiscent of the working spaces that Shiki has seen of the Gojo Clan's toolmakers. Except, instead of unrefined ores and other metals stacked on top of each other, it's an overflowing number of books and scrolls lining the shelves in this space. Instead of smaller 'proof of concept' models on display, there are rows upon rows of cylindrical containers filled with strange liquids and misshapen, flesh-like lumps.

Some of them, Shiki is unable to identify. But others… are distinctly recognizable. One of them resembles a wrinkled brain, almost.

Body parts, she realizes. Harvested organs.

…

… A slight chill runs down the length of her spine, unbidden.

"Admiring Araya's research?"

The girl whirls around at the sound of that voice–

Or tries to, at least. Her paralyzed body remains uncooperative, although she manages a slight turn of her head and shoulders, only for a light, metallic clink to ring through the air.

Shiki pauses.

Then, she automatically glances down towards the source of that unexpected sound. Belatedly, she finally registers the set of heavy chains coiled around her limbs and torso, tethering her firmly to the ground. The cursed chains are pulled taut, nailed to the floor by tall spikes wrapped in long cloth strips, each one densely packed with indecipherable sealing scripts.

… She hadn't even noticed the bindings restricting her. Hadn't even felt these chains, not with the numb, boneless lack of strength permeating throughout her entire body.

She doesn't like it.

Shiki doesn't like it. It's one thing to be overpowered by a stronger opponent, but it's another thing entirely to be betrayed by one's own body like this, a body that stubbornly refuses to obey her commands to move, move, move.

Was it still because of the poison? Or… was it the chains, perhaps? There are strange purple lines glowing brightly upon the steel links, now that she's studying it. A cursed tool imbued with some sort of special ability, no doubt.

Experimentally and entirely on reflex, Shiki tries to call on her cursed energy–

The chains tying her down light up, instantly draining the energy from her limbs.

So that's what it does. A cursed tool specifically meant for restraining, one that immediately bled off the cursed energy of the captured target when they attempted to use it…

"Ah, ah, none of that, now." This time, the voice is closer. Undeniably smug, and satisfied.

Kamo Matsuhime slowly steps into view from behind her, circling around so that she's standing in front of Shiki. The girl can only watch silently from where she lies limply on the ground, long white hair splayed out around her like a pale white shroud.

With some satisfaction, Shiki notes that the woman no longer carries herself tall and proud. Instead, Kamo Matsuhime is hunched over slightly, and her every motion is slow and careful, as if trying to prevent herself from aggravating a serious injury. She's also using a set of crutches to move around.

Shiki should've broken a few more of the woman's bones earlier.

As if sensing her thoughts, Kamo Matsuhime's eyes narrow.

"This lady and her servants have been preparing for this moment for quite some time," the woman says faux-conversationally, drawing herself up in an attempt to bolster and reestablish her own sense of superiority. "Kanashibari to immobilize the body and dull the senses, the Prisoner's Chains to divert any buildup of cursed energy. The containment procedures for you have been selected deliberately. You won't be getting out of this."

… Should Shiki be flattered that the Kamos had apparently taken multiple precautions to prevent her from escaping?

But more than anything else, what Shiki was currently feeling in this moment was irritation. Irritation, and acute frustration towards herself, for getting caught in this sort of situation where Lady Kamo stood over her with such a self-satisfied, victorious smile.

For a woman who'd recently had multiple bones broken and required crutches to remain upright… her confidence was not completely unwarranted. Between the two of them, she was not the one currently chained to the ground.

Even though the faint blurriness in Shiki's vision still has yet to fully clear itself, the red lines gleaming on the woman's body glow invitingly, bright and undeniable. If only she could still move–!

But the paralysis afflicting her body barely allows her to even turn her head, much less move to her feet and attack. To cut the lines that she can see right before her eyes. And that was discounting the chains weighing her down, literally. It wouldn't have been a problem if she could just move and cut those lines, but–

Right now, Shiki lacks even the simplest basic control over her own body.

Not an ideal situation, to say the least.

"What do you want?" Shiki doesn't know how to clear the poison from her system. However, she realizes that the air in this room is clear of that distinct spicy-bitter acridness, so it's probably a sign that she isn't being actively poisoned right now. Probably. If she can get the woman to start talking, to drag out the time, then there will be a higher chance for her to look for other ways out of this situation.

And… Shiki still needs to find out what happened to Kiyohira-sensei, too. Her teacher had fallen unconscious before she did, and currently he was nowhere in sight. The girl tries to remain cautiously optimistic, but…

I have a bad feeling about this.

"Foolish girl," Kamo Matsuhime laughs. Her eyes, however, are undeniably cold, and regard Shiki in a way that the girl is not unfamiliar with: As if she is an object. Nothing more, and nothing less. "You ask this lady what she wants? You, of course. Isn't it obvious?"

… Fair enough. Shiki can't say that she's surprised by being the main target here. Araya's presence on the mountain with that Special Grade cursed spirit had alluded to as much already.

But all the same, "Why?"

"Do you really need to ask that?" A dismissive wave of the hand, and the woman scoffs. "The transition from a regular civilian to the blessed child is one that has clearly gone to your head, you arrogant thing. What else do you have going for you, aside from your cursed eyes and your cursed technique?"

Shiki eyes the woman silently. Cursed eyes, and cursed technique. True, it's the entire reason why the Gojo Clan had chosen to claim her as one of their own at all in the first place. But something tells her that Kamo Matsuhime clearly does not mean her words in quite the same context.

What did the woman want? More precisely, what did she hope to achieve, kidnapping Shiki like this? Did she not fear the Gojo Clan's –and more importantly, Satoru-niichan's– inevitable retaliation? Considering the way the Gojo Clan's elders had reacted to Satoru-niichan claiming custody of Megumi-san, it was hard to imagine that the Kamo Clan's elders wouldn't have a similar reaction towards Kamo Matsuhime and Araya kidnapping Shiki directly from within the walls of the Gojo clan compound itself.

Shiki doesn't understand the woman at all.

Even if she wants Shiki for her cursed eyes and her cursed technique… kidnapping wasn't the best method for encouraging any sort of obedience whatsoever.

Unless ensuring Shiki's cooperation had nothing to do with what Kamo Matsuhime had in mind for her.

"Cursed technique. Sorcery. It's all that matters to the elders, to the clan." The woman's voice gains a biting, bitter edge, before she swiftly smooths it out from her countenance. Kamo Matsuhime takes one last step forward, so that she towers directly above the white-haired girl chained to the floor.

Shiki stares back at the woman impassively, even as the lady's expression twists into a snarl.

"Strength as a sorcerer is not all that matters, when it comes to leading a clan," she spits out viciously. "What use is strength, when it is born of such dirty, filthy blood? The right to lead isn't something that can be determined simply based on power."

… Shiki tentatively agrees that 'strength' isn't the only requirement when it comes to any sort of leadership position, but the woman's reasoning behind it seems a little off.

How is that relevant to anything, though?

"Despite that, strength is the only thing that those bullheaded elders will recognize," the lady sighs. Blood-red lips part and close. "Nobutomo is meant to be the Kamo heir, and yet they still turn to that harlot's son. For as long as Nobutomo is without a cursed technique, they will not recognize him. How utterly foolish."

… Honestly, from Shiki's perspective, the foolish one here looked to be Kamo Matsuhime. The woman was delusional if she thought that a non-sorcerer would be able to lead a sorcery clan. If the Kamo Clan was anything like the Gojo Clan, then strength in such an environment was paramount.

Granted, it probably wasn't a requirement for the clan head to be the strongest sorcerer within the clan. It certainly hadn't been true for the Gojo Clan's previous clan head Gojo Hisayasu, at any rate. But there was no denying that authority gravitated towards those with strength to hold on to it. Why else would the Gojo elders struggle so much against the unquestionable power that Satoru-niichan wielded within the clan?

Kamo Matsuhime readjusts her shaky grip on her crutches, and takes a moment to regather her composure. Then the woman fluidly smooths out her robes, before looking down her nose towards Shiki. "In order for the rest of the Kamo Clan to finally accept him, my son will need a cursed technique of his own. Yours will do."

For a moment, Shiki thinks that she must've misunderstood the woman.

Yours will do.

"Do you mean my… cursed technique?" To be precise, the cursed technique that even Shiki is still unclear on what it is, exactly?

Does –does Kamo Matsuhime know what Shiki's cursed technique is?

Mentally, the girl reels at the ludicrous, terrifying thought, as well as the equally ludicrous and terrifying insinuation that she somehow planned to–

"Of course this lady is referring to your cursed technique. It's not as if you possess anything else that's of any worth, is it? Aside from those cursed eyes," Kamo Matsuhime's voice borders on disdainful. "Unfortunately, those eyes are a little too obvious to transplant directly. But rest assured that the Kamo Clan will make good use of them after plucking them from your skull. After stripping your cursed technique from your corpse first, that is."

… Oh.

It takes a beat for the words to fully register. Pluck your eyes from your skull. Strip your cursed technique from your corpse.

Shiki is so stunned for a moment that she finds herself at a complete loss for words.

She… hadn't known that the Kamos were capable of that. Of just taking a sorcerer's cursed technique out of their body. Something of that magnitude –surely it would've been impossible to keep something as groundbreaking as that completely secret?

…

… It is everything that the other sorcery clans had feared of the Kamo Clan's forays into studying the secrets of the human body. The secrets of sorcerers' bodies. That Kamo Matsuhime apparently intended to forcibly harvest Shiki's abilities and implant them into her own son is… disturbing, on many levels. Horrifying, even.

And right now, Shiki is chained and helpless to stop the woman from achieving what she wants.

The woman smiles beatifically when Shiki remains silent. "You should've quietly submitted years ago and obediently agreed to become Nobutomo's bride when you still had the choice. Ever since you so rudely disrespected him, the elders' attitudes towards my son… hmph. It's only fitting that you make it up to him now, for all that he has suffered over the years."

"…" There's a lot that Shiki could say about how the utter mess of that near-betrothal and its repercussions were Kamo Matsuhime's own fault, which mostly boiled down to how the lady only had herself to blame for how things turned out. But the woman seems to be completely heedless of Shiki's reactions in this moment, as she continues rambling on her own.

"In retrospect, this lady should be grateful that you were too foolish to grasp the opportunity that was presented to you on a silver platter," Mocking laughter, light and ringing. The woman's eyes glitter darkly. "Oh, you're perfect for Nobutomo. A powerful cursed technique that couldn't be sensed by your clan's divination methods until your eyes changed? That's absolutely perfect. The Kamo elders will be so pleasantly surprised when Nobutomo reveals his cursed technique, but it will all be understandable. It's not that Nobutomo doesn't have a cursed technique, it's that his cursed technique couldn't be properly identified!"

An edge of madness seeps into the woman's triumphant laughter.

"Moreover, a novel cursed technique that the Gojo Clan still remains unclear on the actual specificities of?" An arm sweeps out to the side grandly, and one of the woman's crutches clatter uselessly to the ground. Kamo Matsuhime does not appear to notice it, even as she sways on her feet. "This lady is thoroughly convinced that you're meant for my Nobutomo. There's not a single more suitable candidate for my son to obtain his cursed technique from!"

The woman's laughter echoes inside the empty room, her injuries seemingly completely forgotten.

"Ah, it really is a pity about those cursed eyes, though." Abruptly, the laughter stops. Kamo Matsuhime sighs exaggeratedly. "But no matter. It will make for good research material in Araya's hands. Perhaps the Kamo Clan will see its first sorcerer with ocular jujutsu by the time Nobutomo becomes clan head…"

Was the woman implying that she planned to extract Shiki's eyes and use it as a template for artificially creating cursed eyes in other sorcerers? Something like that… was it even possible?

Then again, Shiki hadn't been aware that the Kamos were apparently capable of ripping a sorcerer's cursed technique straight out of their body and transplanting it into a non-sorcerer in the first place. It's… it's obvious why the Kamo Clan would do its best to keep quiet on this front. But Shiki still finds it genuinely hard to believe that something of this magnitude could truly stay hidden. It's not an exaggeration in the least to say that such an operation is a game-changer among the sorcery clans, with all the importance that's placed on power and bloodlines in their hierarchy.

"Look at you. All those rumors flying around about the blessed child… when you're only just a girl, in the end." The woman's words suddenly turn jeering and provocative, cruel and mocking. "Your clan overestimates you. A girl with the potential to rival the Honored One? Cursed energy second only to Gojo Satoru? Such preposterous rumors, hah!"

Kamo Matsuhime smiles. "True strength is something that one is born with, written in blood and traced through lineage. A branch house girl like you, thinking to match the likes of the Honored One? A bastard son, daring to lay claim to the headship of the Kamo Clan? Don't make me laugh."

… Does the woman even realize how hypocritical and self-contradictory her words are? In one breath, she insults Shiki for being weak, and in the other she claims that Shiki has a powerful cursed technique suitable for her son. One moment she talks about a person's strength being determined by their blood, and in the next she looks down on Shiki for being the daughter of a branch family. On the Kamo heir's suitability for the position, simply because he was born a bastard son.

It's almost impressive.

"If you're going to all this trouble for 'just a girl,' then what does that make you?" Shiki states blandly.

The woman freezes for a moment, before her expression turns vicious.

"Forgetting your position again, hmm? Allow this lady to remind you."

Kamo Matsuhime delicately, deliberately raises her foot, then lowers it. Paralyzed as she is, there's no way for Shiki to avoid the foot coming down towards her face. Which means that she is forced to watch helplessly as the woman's foot slowly, inevitably makes contact with the side of her cheek, then grinds down harshly.

Cursed energy sparks and rises inside her reflexively, swirling restlessly, but it's no use. Any cursed energy that she summons is immediately drained by the cursed tool binding her to the ground, vanishing the instant she calls upon it, and it's–!

"Still trying to struggle?" Kamo Matsuhime immediately notices the glowing chains, and laughs. "Foolish girl. Utterly foolish. Even Special Grade sorcerers cannot escape from the Prisoner's Chains!"

The woman presses with all her weight down one final time, then draws back, satisfied.

Something burns inside Shiki's chest at the insult done to her. If she could just move, Kamo Matsuhime wouldn't have dared to put her hands on her.

… But there's no point in raging uselessly. It's Shiki's own fault that she'd blithely overlooked all the suspicious oddities while Kiyohira-sensei had been talking to Gojo Kikuhime, so in this she only has herself to blame.

Ignoring the stinging in her cheek, Shiki breathes calmly as her emotions settle once more. Right now, Shiki needs to keep a level head if she wants to find a way out of this situation.

She still needs to keep the woman talking.

Not upset, to the point where she tries to take her frustrations out on Shiki. The girl doesn't doubt that any excuse would be capitalized upon, no matter how faint, and the woman probably has a bone to pick with Shiki over her… broken bones.

But if she can get her to continue monologuing again, preferably before Araya Souren shows up–

"You've certainly made thorough preparations for everything," Shiki says tonelessly. "How long have you been planning this?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Kamo Matsuhime's voice gains a sly edge.

That's not an answer.

But, unfortunately it seems like that's all the woman is willing to say on this particular matter. Kamo Matsuhime leans over her and Shiki stares back steadily, unflinching.

"Curious," the woman murmurs, tilting her head. "Will you not beg for mercy? Cry and threaten this illustrious lady with the wrath of your clan?"

"Would it work?" Shiki thinks that Kamo Matsuhime is very obviously missing a healthy sense of self-preservation, but it's obvious that the woman is somehow completely unconcerned about inevitable reprisal from the Gojo Clan, bafflingly enough.

An audacious plan like this, kidnapping Shiki straight from the Gojo clan compound… Unless Kamo Matsuhime was an absolute fool, she would know that the Gojo Clan wouldn't take her actions lying down. The 'blessed child' going missing, then turning up dead in the aftermath, with obvious traces of the Kamo Clan involved? It's not hard to predict that the Gojo Clan would be utterly incandescent with rage. Shiki doesn't imagine that Satoru-niichan's reaction would be any better.

… Actually, the Gojo Clan would probably be the least of Kamo Matsuhime's worries in that scenario. Satoru-niichan would decimate the Kamo Clan, if Shiki was found dead on Kamo clan grounds. Would there even be a Kamo Clan left, after he was done?

Not that Shiki planned to die here, no matter Kamo Matsuhime's clear preferences on the matter.

(The truth is: Shiki should've died a long time ago. She should've died years and years ago –but instead she opened her eyes again, to a world full of fractured red lines.

And now… now, there is much for her to still live for.

Someday in the future, death surely awaits her, as it does all things.

But not now. Not yet.)

"There is nothing for this lady to fear from the Gojo Clan," the woman eventually responds dismissively. There's not a single note of fear or worry in her voice, which is… Shiki doesn't know whether to call her brave or suicidal, although she definitely leans towards the latter. "Oh, there's no doubt that they would be furious. The blessed child, kidnapped and murdered from the very walls of their clan compound? Butchered and killed in such a brutal manner? How tragic! The Kamo Clan will be sure to offer their full cooperation in assisting the manhunt for the perpetrators of such a cruel, horrible deed."

Shiki is unimpressed.

Was this the full extent of Kamo Matsuhime's plan? Did she really think that the Gojo Clan would be easily fooled by whatever scapegoat she found for her misdeeds? If Shiki didn't know any better, she'd say that the woman was trying to incite conflict between the Kamo and Gojo clans.

… Was the Kamo Clan aware of Kamo Matsuhime's activities? She was the matriarch of the clan, so surely they must be. Were her actions sanctioned by her clan's elders, then? It seemed like an impossibility, for conservative elders of the like to approve of something as drastic as this, unabashedly instigating conflict between two of the Three Great Families.

Kamo Matsuhime… was she truly the mastermind behind this? But if not her, then who?

…

That didn't matter. The entire situation still reeked of suspicion, but that wasn't the most pressing issue at the moment.

Shiki's current priority was escaping this situation. Or… at the very least, stalling out until reinforcements arrived.

She doesn't know how much time has passed since her disappearance from the Gojo clan compound, but there's assuredly no way that her absence will go unnoticed for long. Especially not when Kiyohira-sensei is also presumably missing at the same time; she imagines that the Kamos wouldn't have left Kiyohira-sensei free and unattended to gather reinforcements on his own… if they hadn't already decided to tie up that loose end in a more permanent fashion. That was, unfortunately, a very real possibility.

Regardless, the Gojo Clan will notice that she's missing, and they will search for her. That's not in doubt. And if they find her in the Kamo Clan's hands, if they find that the Kamo Clan had attempted to forcibly extract her cursed technique and her cursed eyes so they could claim it for their own–!

This is magnitudes beyond the offense that Satoru-niichan had purportedly committed when he'd 'stolen' the Zenin Clan's Ten Shadows in the form of adopting the Fushiguro siblings.

So… what gave Kamo Matsuhime such confidence that she would be able to walk out of this situation unscathed?

Shiki really doesn't understand what the woman is thinking. If 'Gojo Shiki' died, then the Gojo Clan would be out for blood. Even assuming that Kamo Matsuhime managed to fool the Gojo Clan with whatever scapegoat she found to take the fall for her, or if she somehow managed to pacify the Gojo Clan's rage through numerous concessions…

It's not impossible, Shiki supposes. In the end, for all that she was called the 'blessed child,' Shiki was not Satoru-niichan. There were expectations of her, but none of the weight and history, the significance that accompanied the Gojo Clan's lauded Six Eyes and Limitless. It's entirely possible that the Kamo Clan might be able to reach an understanding with the Gojo Clan, for the noble sake of upholding 'peace' in the jujutsu world. Takatomi-sama would petition for that, at the very least, prioritizing maintaining a passably cordial relationship with the Kamo Clan over vengeance for a cold, dead corpse.

But, there's no way that Satoru-niichan would just sit back and do nothing. Her cousin… isn't that sort of person.

Shiki understands that Satoru-niichan is capable of being cold and cruel, but he's never been cruel to her. And he's not heartless, which is something that the vast majority of people constantly seem to keep forgetting, for some reason.

Does Kamo Matsuhime expect Satoru-niichan to bow to the pressures of the Gojo Clan and count Shiki as an 'acceptable loss?'

She really doesn't know Satoru-niichan at all, Shiki realizes.

… She can use this.

How long would it take Satoru-niichan to realize that Shiki and Kiyohira-sensei were both missing? How long would it take him to track them down to wherever Kamo Matsuhime had brought them to? How long would Shiki have to try and stall, hoping that it would be enough?

Relying on someone else like this –even if it's her cousin– leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. The entire point of Shiki training to become a sorcerer in the first place is so that she wouldn't be a burden to those she cared for. Yet here she was, trapped and helpless, unable to do anything about her situation.

Because she'd hesitated. Because she'd hesitated and hadn't spoken out, hadn't warned Kiyohira-sensei. Hadn't taken matters into her own hands, even despite the numerous hints that were so blindingly obvious in hindsight, hadn't reached out and cut–

But there's no use regretting things now.

… Move. Move!

Shiki's fingers twitch.

It's a small, slight thing, and near-unnoticeable. But the movement is slightly more than what she'd managed upon regaining consciousness, giving Shiki a faint flicker of hope–

For a brief moment, that is.

"The preparations have been completed, Lady Matsuhime."

Similar to that night on Obon, and again when ambushing her from behind, Shiki had not sensed any presence prior to Araya Souren making himself known. The dark-haired man with hooded eyes does not take even a single glance in her direction as he strides forward–

And inclines his head in a simple nod towards the Lady of the Kamo Clan, instead of bowing as proper for a clan vassal. Kamo Matsuhime's lips curl, thinning in displeasure, but she does not say anything.

Interesting.

Initially, Jihei-san had said that Araya came under the Kamo Clan's employment for his skill in the dying art of hojutsu. Kiyohira-sensei later conjectured that Araya was actually one of the clan's researchers whose field of expertise actually involved human experimentation. But neither option explained why he could get away with careless disrespect towards Kamo Matsuhime, the wife of the current clan head. It would be one thing if Kamo Matsuhime was someone who did not stand on ceremony, but given how much the woman seemed to enjoy her power plays, given how much she obsessed over her son's position and status… Shiki highly doubted that Kamo Matsuhime was someone who found the rules regarding social hierarchy and showing proper deference to be inconsequential.

No. If the woman's expression of faint displeasure was anything to judge from, then there were two possibilities that immediately came to mind, as to why Kamo Matsuhime didn't use her rank to force Araya to give her the respect that she was due:

One, Araya Souren did not answer to her. That meant he served under some higher-ranked elder –or potentially even the clan head himself– and so that, in turn, indicated that Kamo Matsuhime's act of kidnapping Shiki to steal her cursed technique really wasn't representative of just herself. This was a plot that was backed by other forces that ran deeper within the Kamo Clan.

Two, Araya Souren was someone she could not risk offending. Which was a laughable thought, in some ways. The clan lady, unable to command a researcher who served the Kamo Clan? … But if, say, Araya possessed some special skill or knowledge that made him irreplaceable, then it explained why offending him would be most unwise.

Human experimentation. Preserved body parts littered around the workshop. The man himself moving around with ease in the room, the way Jihei-san did in his own study.

Kamo Matsuhime's talk of ripping Shiki's cursed technique out of her body to graft into her own son. An impossibility by all respects, but if it was someone from the Kamo Clan claiming that they could isolate a sorcerer's cursed technique like this–

What if Araya was the only one who knew how to perform this forbidden procedure? Likely a forbidden technique, a closely-guarded taboo and secret of the clan?

… Was this what Jihei-san had uncovered about the man? Was this why he had been killed for it?

"What took you so long to arrive?" Kamo Matsuhime's voice is level, with only the faintest trace of irritation.

"My apologies," the man responds calmly, rummaging through something on a table to the side. "It took a little longer than I thought it would, to source the materials that I needed."

"Is that so?" A testy note enters the woman's silken voice. "It is most excellent that you've finally finished your preparations, then. This lady was concerned that you might've forgotten that there is still a time limit here. It would be quite troublesome if the operation is not completed before the Gojo Clan comes calling."

Araya Souren looks back over his shoulder, a stern expression etched into his features. For a long moment, he does not say anything, merely staring silently at Kamo Matsuhime.

The Kamo woman's smile turns fixed, as an edge of something almost nervous enters her countenance under the weight of the sorcerer's wordless scrutiny.

… Eventually, the man looks away. "There is no need for such concerns, Lady Matsuhime. Rather than the details of my work, I would advise that you have greater care for your own injuries. I am not so skilled with using reverse cursed technique on another person that I can fully heal broken bones in the blink of an eye. If you do not rest properly, your ribs will break again."

Reverse cursed technique. Araya could use reverse cursed technique on another person? Wasn't that something only Shoko-san could do?

… Araya Souren was far more dangerous than Shiki thought.

Kamo Matsuhime clenches her teeth, then forces herself to smile again. A beautiful expression, if wholly insincere. "This lady thanks her vassal for his consideration."

The man nods silently, either oblivious to the daggers behind the words stressing his subordinate status or wholly uncaring of it, then finally turns towards Shiki.

"We meet again, child," he says gravely. "You may not realize it, but this has truly been a long time coming."

Even though her body still remains largely paralyzed, somehow Shiki is calmly able to return his look with an utterly unimpressed one of her own.

"Do you mean three years ago when I encountered you during Obon, or twelve years ago when I was born?" she asks bluntly.

Off to the side, Kamo Matsuhime inhales sharply in surprise. So she hadn't known about it, then. But as for Araya Souren–

The man smiles, a slight, crooked little thing that flits over dry lips on that sunken face and is gone in an instant.

"Either, or. It matters not, in the end." … So he's openly admitting that he'd been watching Shiki since she'd been born. Long before she'd ever gotten involved in the world of sorcery and curses, or before she'd ever awakened these cursed eyes of hers.

Even though they'd already suspected it, hearing confirmation from the man's own mouth was more chilling than she'd expected.

"You knew of the girl since her birth?" Kamo Matsuhime makes an indignant sound. "Then why did you never say anything earlier? The Kamo could've–"

Araya cuts her off by shaking his head. "There was no guarantee at the time. But now, finally, there is a path forward. To the end and the beginning, to life and to death. To the truth hidden within the core of this broken world… and the way to finally break free of this endless cycle of madness and suffering."

"… What?"

Honestly, Shiki's own reaction isn't so different from the Kamo lady's, in this instance. But both of their confusion means nothing to Araya, who crouches down before Shiki. Leans over, reaching out for her without another word, and–

Shiki tries, but her body still refuses to move–

For a single instant, everything in the world seems to slow. Kamo Matsuhime's face is frozen in a caricature of surprise. Araya Souren's hand, split by a gleaming red line across the center of his palm, hovers right in front of her face.

He's not–

Shiki needs to–

"Get away from her!"

Motion.

A sudden swirl of movement. Kamo Matsuhime shrieks as she is unceremoniously thrown aside by a single backhanded strike, while Araya Souren whirls around at the interruption and–

–swiftly raises his arms into a block in front of himself, grunting slightly as he's forced back by the unexpected blow that seemingly comes out of nowhere.

Shiki stares, wide-eyed.

"… Kiyohira-sensei?"

It's a relief to see that Kiyohira-sensei is alive and breathing, even if he… doesn't look too well. There's a distinct pallor to the man's face, and the strike just now clearly lacked his usual strength. He's not visibly injured from what she can see, but his robes are liberally streaked with dirt and drying blood.

… But Kiyohira-sensei is here and he's still alive. For a single instant, Shiki allows herself to take comfort in that. Even though Kiyohira had been poisoned and taken with her–

I didn't get Kiyohira-sensei killed.

"Shiki," the man says shortly in acknowledgment. The man's eyes flicker across her paralyzed form, over the chains binding her body, then snap back towards Araya, who's still standing between them. "You. You're the one responsible for this?"

Even though he's the one who poses the question, it's clear that Kiyohira-sensei isn't really waiting for an answer. Cursed energy swiftly covers his fists with a ghostly glow, and Kiyohira-sensei launches himself at the other man with a low snarl in his throat.

… Kiyohira-sensei is a swordsman.

He's a swordsman, but he's also highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. It's not a surprise to Shiki, who knows her teacher's skill firsthand. What comes as a surprise to her in this moment is that Araya is matching Kiyohira-sensei blow for blow. No, perhaps that's not so surprising. After all, Shiki had already suspected that Araya was a skilled sorcerer, but seeing it like this–

Kiyohira-sensei doesn't have his sword, and he's already weakened. Would it be enough?

A cross punch from Araya breaks through Kiyohira-sensei's guard, striking him in his midsection. But Kiyohira-sensei doesn't so much as even flinch, and instead immediately takes the opportunity to counter with his own swing. It catches Araya on his side, but the impassive man remains equally unmoved, the two sorcerers evenly matched in this barehanded fistfight.

He's not just a 'researcher,' clearly.

Kamo Matsuhime slowly raises her head, face pale as her gaze fixates on Kiyohira-sensei. "How in the world…? No, I know that the seals were perfect! You were contained properly! How in the world did you escape? Who gave you the antidote?"

Kiyohira-sensei doesn't answer her. Araya doesn't spare the woman a second glance, either.

"I admit my surprise to see you standing here like this," Araya says, grave and deliberate, then shakes his head. "… But if this is all you have, then you can forget about saving the girl. You can't even save yourself."

Kiyohira-sensei bares his teeth in challenge to that declaration. "And who are you to decide that, Kamo dog?"

"Think what you will. But I–"

Not even bothering to hear his full response, Kiyohira-sensei charges forward once more.

The ensuing exchange of blows that follows is a blur that ends up shifting beyond Shiki's field of vision, and the girl struggles to turn her head and keep track of their movements.

Araya lands another strike on Kiyohira-sensei. Unsurprisingly, Kiyohira-sensei is able to shrug it off like nothing, then throws the other man across the room. The small break in the middle of the fighting is enough for him to whirl around and return to Shiki's side, crouching down–

Large hands seize the chains around her body, crackling with cursed energy–

–to no avail. Kiyohira-sensei's brows furrow when the chains promptly absorb his cursed energy as easily as they did Shiki's own. Another sharp tug, and the man mutters a sharp curse under his breath, craning his head downwards in sharp scrutiny.

"The hell is this?"Kiyohira-sensei growls incredulously, yanking roughly at the metal links. "… Instantaneous cursed energy absorption? The fuck? There's got to be some sort of drawback or limit to this thing–"

"Its name is Prisoner's Chains. A cursed tool that's specifically designed to trap sorcerers who overly rely on their cursed energy," Araya responds, and his voice is far too close for comfort. Kiyohira-sensei spins back around to face his opponent–

He's half a beat too slow, this time. Something audibly cracks when Araya's kick catches her teacher on his side.

Shiki's heart leaps into her throat. "Kiyohira-sensei–!"

"I'm fine," the man grits out through his teeth, even though he's clearly not fine. There's blood trickling down the side of his mouth now, and that's not a promising sign.

Another fresh burst of frustration wells up inside Shiki's chest.

I have to do something.

But… what could she do? Paralyzed as she was, she was useless. It wasn't as if she could stand up and fight. The chains rendered even her cursed energy ineffective–

No, she couldn't think that way. There had to be something she could still do. If only it weren't for these accursed chains–!

Kiyohira-sensei's words suddenly drift across the forefront of her mind, unbidden.

Instantaneous cursed energy absorption? There's got to be some sort of drawback or limit to this thing.

… These chains. They were a cursed tool that trapped sorcerers by absorbing any cursed energy that was used in an attempt to break them. There was no way for Shiki to cut the lines on these chains even though they were so close to her, bound as she was. Neither was there any practical method for her to identify its other drawbacks right now.

But Kiyohira-sensei was right about one thing: There had to be a limit to the amount of cursed energy that these chains could absorb.

Everything has a breaking point.

(End.)

…

This was a gamble. If she was wrong, or if it turned out that the cursed tool's capacity exceeded Shiki's current reserves of cursed energy, then it would only prove to be an exercise in futility–

But right now Shiki was already utterly useless, and… at this rate, she would be nothing but a hindrance to Kiyohira-sensei, who was fighting so hard for her.

This isn't the time to doubt herself and deliberate over the best course of action.

Do it. Now!

Determinedly, Shiki draws on her cursed energy.

Immediately, the chains glow, lighting up in response to the energy actively coursing through her body in this moment. She grits her teeth, mentally prepared for and expecting the now-familiar sapping sensation of the chains drinking in her cursed energy. Cursed energy wells up within her core, spreads through her limbs, and is instantly drained, leaving her with nothing but an acute sense of numbing loss.

But instead of stopping, she determinedly continues feeding the cursed tool with her cursed energy. More and more, and in response the metal glows increasingly brighter and brighter still–

"What are you doing?" Kamo Matsuhime screeches. Shiki is faintly aware of a pair of hands grabbing at her shoulders, sharp nails digging in and shaking her in an attempt to forcibly, physically break her concentration. But before those pale fingers can close over her throat, there is a crackle of cursed energy that lances off of her body, causing the woman to promptly release her with a sharp cry.

More.

More.

She needs even more cursed energy. It's not enough–

It's not enough–

Even Special Grade sorcerers cannot escape from the Prisoner's Chains!

Shiki is not a Special Grade sorcerer. She still falls vastly short of that standard; Shiki is not anywhere close to Satoru-niichan's level.

But…

The chains binding her begin rattling ominously from the sheer amount of energy that's being funneled into them. Shiki resolutely forces herself to continue drawing on her cursed energy, despite the growing lightheaded dizziness it leaves her with–

Minuscule cracks spiderweb throughout the metal.

Only a few, to begin with, but they multiply rapidly across the surface, glowing with a blinding light.

"H-How…?" Kamo Matsuhime's voice is high, disbelieving. "How in the world are you doing this? The clan's records –in the past, these chains have successfully contained multiple Grade One sorcerers. Even true, genuine Special Grade sorcerers! The records don't lie!"

That might very well be the case, Shiki wouldn't know. However, while Shiki equates 'Special Grade' with Satoru-niichan, she suspects that there weren't very many Special Grade sorcerers throughout history who could match up to her cousin.

Shiki might not be Special Grade, but she doubts that all sorcerers who've achieved that rank in the past were truly deserving of that rank the way Kamo Matsuhime apparently thinks they were.

And… even though Kamo Matsuhime remains so stubbornly willful in passing off all rumors surrounding Shiki as false, it did not change the fact that there was a reason why Shiki was called the 'blessed child,' for more than just her cursed eyes.

"No. No, this can't…" the woman shakes her head rapidly in denial. "You… you're just a worthless girl, without your cursed eyes and cursed technique! The Gojo Clan can blow rumors out of proportion all they want, there's no way… there's no way…!"

"Of course not all rumors are real," Shiki tells the older woman. "… But in the Gojo Clan, my cursed energy really is only second to Satoru-niichan."

And with that, the glowing chains constricting her body shatter.

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…

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NOTICE:

So, reactions to the last update. Mostly 'Wow, looking forward to seeing how Shiki will get out of this unexpected situation!' or 'Shiki is so stupid, getting poisoned and captured like this is stupid, terrible chapter this story is going downhill, blech.' More or less in those exact words.

To the former: I'm glad this twist came across as an interesting development! Hope you look forward to the rest of the encounter.

To the latter: If this is something that you still have strong feelings about, I've shared some of my thoughts below if you're interested in understanding part of my reasoning.

On the topic of Shiki's 'stupidity' –obviously she noticed something off about the incense. But she didn't expect it to be poison of all things. In the traditional setting of the Gojo Clan, incense is not uncommon for clansmen to use in their homes if they have household shrines.

Moreover, Shiki was inside the Gojo clan compound with her teacher, and she was supposed to be safe. Imagine visiting a relative's house and they use a weird cleaning agent that leaves a strong scent in the air; that's more or less what Shiki thought she was dealing with. Shiki expects to encounter dangers outside the Gojo compound, not while she's still under the protective clan wards with her teacher right beside her.

Neither of them anticipated that Gojo Kikuhime would lay a hostile trap for them using poison. Gojo Kansuke was one thing, being another sorcerer. Gojo Kikuhime, an unassuming housewife who mainly kept to herself within the Gojo Clan? They were more concerned about the Kamo Clan behind her, not the woman herself, and both of them paid dearly for underestimating her.

Kiyohira stuttering his words a bit was intended as a red flag for readers. Even though Shiki noted it as an oddity, it wasn't immediately alarming in her eyes. Partially due to already being impaired by poison, and partially due to Kiyohira just being Bad At Talking (previously, it's been implied that Jihei was the one with interpersonal skills out of the group, not Kiyohira). Had his odd behavior become more pronounced, events may have gone differently, but then the poison kicked in so everything just went downhill from there.

At this point, a major fault in Shiki's character becomes apparent: It's not so much stupidity as it is passivity that does her in here. Which is a problem that we'll be looking to address.

This isn't a comprehensive explanation by any means, but hopefully this helps to clarify some confusion. I take it as a sign of my shortcomings as a writer that an explanation like this needs to be tacked on outside the context of the story, and I realize that some readers may still disagree on how events were handled. All I can say is that I'll do my best to be more mindful of how I approach any similar situations that may arise in the future.

'Your story is awful, dropping it now.' I'm sorry to hear that, but by all means I encourage you to do what is personally best for you! I genuinely believe that it's good to have a healthy self-awareness in curating your online reading experience. If you find that you're no longer enjoying a story, or if there are events happening in a story that you vehemently disagree with or just find plain frustrating, there is absolutely no need to force yourself to continue doggedly slogging along. This I say sincerely and respectfully, with best intentions.

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