fics I read

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"Good to see you up again, Kiyohira!" Satoru-niichan's voice is bright and upbeat. Kiyohira-sensei definitely looks like he could do with a good dose of cheerfulness; the man's appearance is one that still speaks of battered exhaustion, still, and… there's a hint of something distinctly upset there too, if Shiki isn't seeing things wrong. She recognizes that downwards tilt to her teacher's lips to be different from his usual 'irritation' or 'exasperation.'

"Satoru-sama," Kiyohira-sensei dips his head respectfully, as best as he can manage from where he's currently laid out on the hospital bed. "Thank you for coming to our rescue."

"Don't sweat it," the white-haired young man waves a hand dismissively. "Really, if there's anyone that you want to thank, it should be Shiki! Things might've gotten a little dicey for you if she hadn't figured out how to stabilize you."

"Stabilize…?" A confused expression flashes across the older man's face briefly.

"Right, we should probably talk about that," Satoru-niichan snaps his fingers. "I can't believe we never got a chance to discuss this yet… although I guess there has been a lot going on lately, especially since we essentially just gutted the Kamo Clan and all."

"You did what to the Kamo Clan?!"

"Anyways!" Satoru-niichan claps his hands together, blithely ignoring Kiyohira-sensei's sudden alarm. Shiki gives her teacher a commiserating little pat on the shoulder –he's still recovering, it's bad for him to overreact like that. It's probably because he's only just woken up, so it stands to reason that Kiyohira-sensei might be a little groggy and slow on the uptake. "Moving on. Shiki, you finally sorted out how to activate your stasis trick and used it on Kiyohira, correct?"

"I did." To be honest, she hadn't done it on her own. Shiki's breakthrough could actually be accredited to Kamo Matsuhime in some ways, much to the girl's chagrin. She wouldn't complain, though, not when the realization regarding her cursed technique enabled her to save Kiyohira-sensei at precisely the right time before anything regrettable could happen. "You were right, Satoru-niichan. It's the strengthened 'lapse' of my cursed technique."

Her cousin grins. "So you managed to figure that out, too?"

Yes, thankfully, and it's finally a considerable weight off of her mind. Shiki had not enjoyed being confused by her own abilities, even if Satoru-niichan had derived no small amount of amusement from her apparent befuddlement over the entire affair.

She nods. "My cursed technique is 'nothing.'"

For a moment, the room is silent in wake of her statement. Of the three adults, Satoru-niichan is the first to understand what she means, while Shoko-san tilts her head and Kiyohira-sensei stares uncomprehendingly.

"'Nothing' as in, like," her cousin gesticulates exaggeratedly for emphasis, "Nothing, nothing?"

"Yes," Shiki confirms. "That's also why we had so much trouble with figuring it out before, I think. In its base state, it doesn't really seem to do anything. But if I overload it with cursed energy and expand the technique–"

"Then you get stasis. Which actually isn't so much 'stasis' in the sense of prolonging the chosen target's current state in order to prevent deterioration as it is ensuring that 'nothing affects the target,'" Satoru-niichan rubs his chin thoughtfully, humming lightly. "Oh, that's interesting. If you're actively applying it to yourself, then does it mean you can nullify other attacks coming at you? Or, does it work on inanimate objects? Could you apply it to a kimono of yours and essentially have it be like armor?"

"… Possibly?" Shiki hadn't exactly had the chance to test anything yet. But if her technique really worked as Satoru-niichan was suggesting here, then it opened up quite a few different possibilities for her.

"I wonder how your technique is defined," Satoru-niichan muses. "Limitless deals with the concept of 'infinity' and acts on the surrounding space, which effectively means spatial manipulation. In your case… is it applying 'nothing' to a specific target? Hmm…"

"Wait, so her cursed technique is literally 'nothing?'" Shoko-san breaks in, a clear note of surprise in her voice. "Wasn't it something to do with weak points in the lines that she sees, like Nanami's Ratio technique?"

"Nope!" Satoru-niichan beams brightly. "Shiki is more like me in this respect, actually! Her cursed eyes and cursed technique are independent of each other."

Shoko-san nods slowly in understanding. "So… her eyes allow her to visualize these… 'lines of death.' And her cursed technique is… actualizing the concept of 'nothing' on a specific target? Is that the 'stasis' we're seeing?"

"The 'stasis' would be my cursed technique lapse." Shiki is pretty certain on that front, what with the amount of cursed energy that she pours into it. And… it feels right. She's not quite sure how else to explain it. "It's like… I'm 'maximizing nothing' to the point where the target is unable to be affected by anything else, sort of."

"Huh," Shoko-san blinks. "Well, I suppose you would definitely know better than me on that front, considering it's your own cursed technique. But if this 'stasis' is your lapse technique, then what does your cursed technique actually do in its base state?"

Shiki sighs. "… As far as I can tell, nothing."

She probably sounds a little too aggrieved by it. Shoko-san snorts, one hand flying up to cover her poorly-hidden laugh at Shiki's expense. Satoru-niichan, on the other hand, openly bursts out laughing.

"At least things are finally starting to make sense now, though," her cousin grins. "We can work backwards from here, maybe try to reverse-engineer things…"

Hopefully the process of experimenting would be smoother now that Shiki had a general idea of what her cursed technique actually was, instead of blindly attempting to force things as she'd previously been doing.

She folds her arms by Kiyohira-sensei's side and leans forward to rest her chin atop the blankets, while Satoru-niichan and Shoko-san are caught up in a discussion of how to go about testing Shiki's cursed technique. Kiyohira-sensei is being oddly quiet right now –likely due to the toll that the severe injuries had taken on his body– and Shiki curls up quietly beside him in what she hopes is comforting silence.

Still, she can't help but find herself asking, "Do you blame me?"

Kiyohira-sensei jerks roughly, "Blame you?"

His tone is blatantly disbelieving and incredulous. He stares at her like he doesn't understand what she's saying… which can't be right, because–

"It's my fault that you were affected. The Kamos and Araya were targeting me." The first step in sincerely apologizing to someone is acknowledging your own failings and responsibilities in the matter, according to Yuzuki-san. Shiki follows her friend's advice. "You nearly died, and you lost your arm. I'm sorry, Kiyohira-sensei."

"Don't you dare apologize to me." Is it just her imagination, or is there a note of something angry in her teacher's voice? His tone is at odds with his words. How had Shiki's apology ended up making him angry? … Did that mean Kiyohira-sensei refused to accept her apology? "None of this is your fault. It's mine, for failing to keep you safe."

… Wait, what? Shiki draws back slightly and stares at the man in confusion. Kiyohira-sensei blamed himself for this? Why? Neither of them had expected Gojo Kikuhime to pull the stunt that she did, and neither of them had anticipated being poisoned and ambushed on Gojo clan grounds so audaciously. Kiyohira-sensei might not have picked up on any of the warning signs, but neither had Shiki, and–

And when Kiyohira-sensei woke up on Kamo clan grounds, it would've been easy for him to escape by himself. But he didn't. Kiyohira-sensei hadn't run. He'd tried to free Shiki instead, and fought Araya when he didn't even have a sword on him. And then he'd lost his arm for it.

The right sleeve of Kiyohira-sensei's hospital gown hangs loose and empty, distressingly so.

Her teacher sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth, a frustrated sound. "It's my fault that you were hurt."

What's with this guilt that she's hearing from him? Shiki came out of this entire ordeal with only a case of cursed energy exhaustion, and that was easy enough to recover from. Between the two of them, she wasn't the one lying in a hospital bed and permanently missing one of her limbs.

The girl shakes her head. "It's not–"

"Don't tell me it's not my fault," Kiyohira-sensei snaps at her. "Not when I was the one who led you straight into that trap, not when I failed to protect you in any way that truly mattered–"

The man's voice abruptly cuts off into silence when Shiki, finally having had enough of what she's hearing, reaches out and physically shuts him up by covering his mouth with her hand.

"If you hadn't interrupted Araya, I would be dead," she says simply, laying out the undeniable facts that her teacher is so stubbornly insistent in overlooking. "I was paralyzed, and I couldn't move. If you hadn't fought him and delayed him long enough for Satoru-niichan to arrive, I would be dead. Thank you for protecting me, sensei."

The man stares at her speechlessly for a long moment. Shiki calmly withdraws her hand, satisfied that Kiyohira-sensei has finally heard her words–

Then lets out a small, involuntary squeak when he promptly reaches out with his sole remaining arm and crushes her against himself in a giant bear hug without a single word or warning.

"Kiyohira-sensei, your injuries!" she protests. Sudden movements like that can't be good for him!

In response, her teacher only tightens his hold on her. Bewildered, Shiki pats at his back a little awkwardly, feeling a little bit like she's trying to reach her arms around a thick tree trunk. Kiyohira-sensei is not someone who's prone to overt displays of affection like this –or any displays of affection at all, come to think of it. He'd… really been worried, hadn't he?

"Thank you, Shiki," he whispers into her ear. There's something in the inflection of his words that seems significant, somehow, but Shiki struggles to pin it down or put a name to it.

Why is he thanking her? He shouldn't be thanking her for anything, especially considering how she is the reason why he–

Oh.

This is about Shiki using her lapse technique on him, right? Because Shiki had managed to figure out how to activate the 'stasis' effect after having a breakthrough in understanding her cursed technique. It helped stabilize Kiyohira-sensei and keep him alive until they reached Shoko-san for treatment. That's why he was thanking her.

To the side, Satoru-niichan clears his throat. "Do you guys need another extra moment or anything? … Shoko and I can step out of the room?"

Kiyohira-sensei stiffens slightly and draws back from Shiki. "… No. There's no need for that, Satoru-sama."

The white-haired young man eyes the injured sorcerer for a moment, then shrugs. "If you say so, then."

Shiki glances towards her cousin. "Is it already time to leave?"

"Kiyohira is still recovering, isn't he?" Which means that rest is important for him, and he won't be able to rest and heal properly when he's entertaining visitors.

Shiki understands that. It's best that they leave Kiyohira-sensei to get some rest, especially since he's looking markedly more tired and worn out now than he'd first been when they'd entered his room earlier. If that's apparent to Shiki, then it must be glaringly obvious to Satoru-niichan's Six Eyes. Kiyohira-sensei should be resting.

For some reason, though, there's a part of Shiki that just wants to curl up by her teacher's side so she knows that he's alright. That Araya hadn't killed him.

(That Kiyohira-sensei hadn't died because of her.)

Shiki steps back from her teacher's bedside, carefully looking him over as she does so. Good, it doesn't appear that he'd reopened any of his injuries when he'd uncharacteristically, spontaneously decided to hug her.

"Please get better soon, Kiyohira-sensei." Seeing him like this feels wrong. Shiki is used to Kiyohira-sensei being a mountainous pillar who is always up and about, not confined to a sickbed as he currently is.

If only he'd had his sword with him during his altercation with Araya, perhaps things would've turned out differently. Or at the very least, it definitely would've been much harder for Araya to so easily gain the upper hand in their fight, Kiyohira-sensei hampered by poison or not. After all, Gojo Kiyohira was –is– a master of the sword, and he's the only successor of the Kageryu. An ancient sword style whose origins dated long before the Heian Era, if the records were accurate. Many modern sword-based techniques could all trace their roots to some derivative of Kageryu.

Shiki wonders if Araya had known all of this, when he'd so ruthlessly torn off Kiyohira-sensei's arm with zero hesitation. If there had been another underlying motive to his actions, if he'd moved to eliminate the Gojo Clan's only master of Kageryu –likely the sole remaining master of the ancient sword style in this day and age, unless there were any hidden practitioners that still existed somewhere out in the world.

But Kiyohira-sensei is still alive.

He's still alive and here, and if there's anything that Shiki can say with any certainty about her teacher… it's that he's stubborn. She has no doubt that Kiyohira-sensei will pick up a sword again after he recovers, but as to whether that would be with his left hand or with a new prosthetic limb…

It will be a struggle, this she knows. But Kiyohira-sensei isn't one to give up easily, and there would be plenty of time for him to decide on that in the future.

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"So I was wondering," Satoru-niichan says to her, shortly after they leave Kiyohira-sensei and Shoko-san. Instead of heading straight back to the clan compound, Shiki and her cousin are currently standing together in one of the Tokyo school's grassy training fields, where Shiki is demonstrating her lapse technique under her cousin's watchful eye. "Have you thought about names yet?"

"For my cursed technique?" Shiki hums thoughtfully. "I guess… just 'Nothing' or 'Nothingness,' probably."

"And your cursed technique lapse?"

"… 'Stasis,' maybe?" It's what they've been calling it all this time, might as well make the name official by this point. Even though it was a bit of a misnomer, technically. The lapse technique was less 'maintaining the current state of the target' and more 'ensuring nothing affects the target' starting from the moment of technique activation.

Satoru-niichan laughs at her, "Not very creative, are we?"

Shiki pouts at her cousin's teasing, good-natured as it is. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, I was thinking," he grins, "There's a bit of a white glow when you activate the technique, right? So… how about calling it White?"

"Sure." Shiki doesn't really have any preferences when it comes to the naming or anything. It doesn't matter to her if–

–wait a minute.

The girl peers suspiciously up towards her still-smiling cousin, who looks far too pleased with himself for just coming up with a simple name for a new technique. "… I think I'm sensing a theme here."

"Oh really?" Satoru-niichan bats his eyes at her innocently. Shiki doesn't buy his act for a single second.

… The cursed technique lapse of Limitless is 'Blue.' Effectively the ability to attract, where the physical surrounding space is forced to contract in order to close the gap that's created by actualizing the concept of 'negative distance' in reality. And the cursed technique reversal of Limitless that created a repelling force was named 'Red.'

Satoru-niichan wasn't being very subtle here, was he?

In both cases, the names of the techniques were largely due to the color that the user's cursed energy took on when activating the technique in question. Which made sense, and was a rather simplistic and straightforward method of naming, but–

Her cousin really wanted her to use the same naming theme as well?

Shiki thinks on it for a moment, then shrugs. A name is a name; it doesn't really matter, in the end. "White is a good name."

"It is, isn't it?" Satoru-niichan beams. "And then your cursed technique reversal can be–"

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there." It's not as if Shiki can decide what color her techniques will end up being! … Although if it really did end up being some shade of black, then that would make for some hilarious symmetry, admittedly.

Hmm… if only her lapse technique was 'yellow' instead of 'white,' maybe she and her cousin could try to cover the color wheel between the two of them?

"Okay, okay. But if it does end up being black, then I reserve the right to say 'I told you so,'" Satoru-niichan tells her. Fair enough. "On another note –remind me to bring you into the clan's restricted archives sometime."

The restricted archives? From what little that Shiki had heard from Yuzuki-san, there were some interesting scrolls stored in there, and she was rather curious as to–

–hang on. "Is there something that you want me to look at specifically, Satoru-niichan?"

Considering their current topic of Shiki's cursed technique… no. It was highly unlikely that the Gojo Clan's archives had any information on 'Nothingness.' Otherwise, she definitely would've been granted access to the appropriate records for it a long time ago. It had been fairly clear from the start that –how had they put it again? A new cursed technique. One that has never surfaced in the clan's bloodline before. And it had been precisely because of the difficulty inherent in deciphering the details of a complex, wholly new technique that Satoru-niichan had been going out of his way to help Shiki properly develop her abilities.

"You're welcome to take a look at anything in there that catches your attention," Satoru-niichan tells her, "But I want you to make sure to read the clan's records on Limitless."

"… That's supposed to be a clan secret, isn't it?" A highly-classified clan secret, too. If it was in the restricted archives, then it would be the Gojo Clan's thorough documentation on Limitless, compiled over the centuries in detail from previous users.

Satoru-niichan waves a hand, dismissive and uncaring. "You have the Gojo name, might as well use it for something. Besides, you're a branch head now, too –that's the minimum level of clearance officially required to start accessing some of the clan's more… sensitive information, shall we say."

Shiki pouts, "Is that another reason why you encouraged me to accept the position?"

Her cousin laughs and ruffles her hair. "I'd still find a way to get you into the archives without it, but it does make some things a little easier like this."

Shiki nods slowly. "Is there something about Limitless that you think would be useful for me to know in order to develop my own cursed technique?"

"I'm sure that the parallels don't escape you," he says plainly. "Limitless and Nothingness. 'Everything' and 'nothing.' Your cursed technique might be completely new, but there are… similarities. So yes, I think it would be a good idea for you to get an overview of Limitless in full. Couldn't hurt, at any rate."

Not that Shiki wouldn't appreciate getting a look at the Gojo clan's archives, but, "Can't you just explain it directly?"

"Binding vow," Satoru-niichan lets out a gusty sigh, making a 'what can you do' sort of gesture. "Sharing certain restricted information with the intention of instruction or teaching is prohibited. I'm sure you're already familiar with that –it's sort of like what the clans have going on with Falling Blossom Emotion."

Right, that makes sense. In order to keep certain techniques and secrets solely within the clan itself, binding vows are employed in order to enforce secrecy. If Shiki recalls correctly, the same is also true for Shin Kageryu's Simple Domain as well. Students who learn how to deploy a Simple Domain are forbidden to teach it to those not part of the same school, or something along those lines.

"While you're reading the texts, make sure to pay attention to the incantations, too," Satoru-niichan adds helpfully.

Shiki tilts her head. "Why? The incantations are for Limitless techniques, aren't they? It's not as if I'd be able to use them."

"Well, no, but I figured that it might be useful as a loose template for you to figure out your own incantations," he responds breezily.

"… Is that really how it works?" Shiki asks her cousin, vaguely skeptical.

"Your doubt wounds me!" Satoru-niichan stumbles back and clasps his chest dramatically with a gasp, then grins. "Incantations provide 'structure' and 'ritual,' which allows a sorcerer to bring out the full potential of a technique. Typically, one would start out using incantations and hand seals, then gradually work on omitting them while simultaneously maintaining the full strength of the technique in order to achieve mastery."

Shiki thinks back on her seal-less, incantation-less activations of her own lapse technique. "… So I'm doing everything really, really backwards."

"Hard not to, in your specific case," her cousin shrugs. "But now that we actually know what your cursed technique is, we can start working on this. One, it'll help you get a better hold of your technique in general. Two, you'll be able to maximize the power of your technique –and use incantations to give yourself an additional boost, once you've attained mastery."

That makes sense. But at the same time, "How would this work in practice?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do I just…" Shiki makes a vague gesture with her hands, "Do I try to string together random nonsense until I finally get something that seems to work with my technique?"

She doesn't do a very good job at hiding the plaintive note in her voice; Satoru-niichan bursts out laughing at her again.

"Alas, the misfortunes of developing a new cursed technique," he says solemnly when Shiki gives him a look. His lips part into a wide grin. "Again, using Limitless' incantations as reference would probably be a good starting point. In all likelihood, though, your incantations will end up being very different from mine."

That was likely to be the case, considering how different their cursed techniques were from each other. 'Limitless' and 'Nothingness' had an undeniable sort of symmetry to them, but that didn't change the fact that they were essentially opposites of each other.

Come to think of it… the same was sort of true for their eyes as well, wasn't it? The Six Eyes amassed vast amounts of information and processed everything in the user's surroundings. It wasn't just observing cursed energy; everything was revealed beneath the Six Eyes.

Whereas Shiki's cursed eyes…

True, the lines were essentially everywhere in her surroundings. But at their core, the lines that Shiki saw only represented one very specific thing:

Death.

… Hm. Her abilities really contrasted Satoru-niichan's, didn't they? The fleeting thought flashes through her mind, and Shiki sets it to the side. She'll think on the implications of this… later.

As for now…

Incantations, huh?

Shiki can't say that she's looking forward to blindly stringing nonsense words together, given her previous experience with blindly attempting to work out her lapse technique. White.

At least she won't be going on wholly blind this time around?

"It won't be that bad," Satoru-niichan tells her, amused. "I have a good feeling about this."

Well, at least one of them did.

Shiki sighs.

"C'mon now, show some enthusiasm!" Satoru-niichan pokes her in the cheek. "Think about it like this: If your lapse technique really makes it so that nothing can affect the target, and you can use it on inanimate objects –you could apply it to your kimono! Aren't you always complaining about getting your dresses dirty when you're out and about on missions? If it works the way we think, then that means no more bloodstains! No more rips or tears! No more–"

"When are we going to visit the archives?"

Satoru-niichan laughs at her again. "As soon as we get back to the compound, okay? Best to get it done as early as we can, especially since you'll be moving out soon… and that way you'll have more time to read anything else that you might be interested in, too."

Part of Shiki's mind focuses on the careless statement of 'you.' 'You' will be moving out soon.

… Not 'we?'

Shiki glances towards her cousin. He doesn't look bothered in the least, and there's no particular expression that she can make out. But she can't help but think of the oppressive silence in that empty home. The way that it was well-furnished and richly decorated but coldly impersonal all the same.

Shiki's 'home' is with the people whom she cares for, rather than the Gojo Clan itself. Is it the same for Satoru-niichan? Because from all appearances… it didn't seem that Satoru-niichan considered the Gojo Clan to be his home.

The girl tilts her head. "Are you not coming as well, Satoru-niichan?"

Her cousin blinks. Then, a little wryly, "I'm the clan head, Shiki."

"I am aware," she responds, equally dry, which causes Satoru-niichan to let out a small snort. "But… that doesn't mean you need to be in the compound the entire time, right?"

Satoru-niichan pauses, then looks down towards her. He arches an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say here? … You want me to move out of the clan compound with you?"

There's a faint note of confusion underlying her cousin's voice. Why? … But is that really so hard to understand?

"You're not happy here," Shiki states reasonably. Then, on an afterthought, "If you suddenly move out unpredictably, then it'll also keep the elders on their toes, won't it?"

"Well, I suppose…"

"We'll talk things through with Ken-jichan." Shiki still remembers what Yuzuki-san had said about spontaneously asking others to leave with her like this. "But I'd like it if you're here, too, Satoru-niichan."

He stares at her for a long moment. Then, a slight smile, and he tousles her hair.

"Is that a request I'm hearing from my favorite little cousin?"

Shiki blinks and bats her eyes at her cousin. "Please?"

One moment, Shiki is staring up towards her cousin, and in the next, there is a whirlwind of movement. A small huff of surprise escapes her lips, as she finds herself hoisted onto her cousin's back without another word, and–

And Satoru-niichan is laughing.

Shiki pokes the back of his head, "Aren't I a little too big to be carried around like this?"

It's not as if Shiki has anything against an impromptu piggyback ride from her cousin, but compared to how easily Satoru-niichan used to just swing her up into his arms and carry her around when she was younger, the motions are a little more inconvenient now, aren't they?

"Never!" Satoru-niichan declares with a sniff, "You'll never be too big for me to carry."

The words themselves are silly, and his dramatics over them even more so. But still, the answering smile that flits over her own lips is helplessly involuntary and absolutely impossible to repress.

Shiki presses her face to the back of her cousin's shoulder with a small, breathless laughter of her own.

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…

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