fics I read

A few months later, they find a house in Saitama.

Satoru-niichan and Ken-jichan are the ones making the bulk of the arrangements for moving out, although Shiki and the Fushiguro siblings are still included in multiple visits to various prospective new homes with them before the final decision is made. Kiyohira-sensei also joins in along a few of their outings after he's released from Shoko-san's care.

Leaving the Gojo clan compound after having lived there for so long is… freeing, in a sense. Stepping into a modern house after having grown used to the traditional styling of the clan compound feels markedly different, especially as Shiki steps in with the knowledge that this will be her home for the foreseeable future.

The house itself is quite spacious. Deliberately so, since it'll be the six of them living together here. Shiki is looking forward to being able to spend more time with her uncle, and she's happy that Satoru-niichan agreed to join them. There's also a room set aside for Kiyohira-sensei who's still recovering. The Fushiguro siblings have their own rooms, too, ones that are located a little closer to Shiki's room.

Ken-jichan is currently in the middle of his Grade One promotion, and Satoru-niichan is also extremely busy. This means that Kiyohira-sensei is the one who watches over Shiki and the Fushiguros most days, since he isn't slated for any missions on account of his injuries. Only time would tell if Kiyohira-sensei would be able to recover well enough to return to his duties as an active sorcerer, but the loss of an entire arm coupled with the grievous injuries he had sustained… it would not be an easy hurdle to overcome.

Barely a week after the six of them move into their new neighborhood, the Gojo Clan makes their presence known. It's not entirely unexpected, since the clan had not been pleased to learn that Shiki would be moving out. The dissatisfied grumbling had promptly escalated into an uproar when Satoru-niichan, their clan head, cheerfully added that he would be moving out as well. Their protests hadn't changed anything in the end, but…

It's not much of a surprise that the Gojo Clan still wants to keep an eye on them. Shiki just hadn't expected something so heavy-handed and blatant from them, because it's barely been a full week before she finds herself running into one of her new neighbors. A neighbor who happens to be someone very, very familiar.

Suzurigi Choki smiles and sketches her a polite little bow, greeting her with a quiet, "Ojou-sama."

Then, the man turns back around and enters the nearby house behind him.

"Suzurigi?" Satoru-niichan makes an interested hum when Shiki relates her encounter later that day. "Pretty sure it's the Myorenji who the clan chose to act as their lookouts this time…"

"I think I remember Suzurigi-san," Ken-jichan says slowly. "He's… very professional, isn't he?"

Satoru-niichan glances over towards him. "Just making sure, he wasn't rude to you or anything, was he?"

"No! Nothing of the sort," Ken-jichan shakes his head. "He was courteous and respectful the time we crossed paths with each other."

"Which isn't something that can be said for all vassal families, especially if you're not a Gojo clan member by blood," Satoru-niichan clicks his tongue. "Well, the Suzurigi shouldn't be a problem either way. They rather like Shiki, after all."

Shiki blinks. "… They do?"

Her cousin laughs at her confusion. "They are indeed! Most of your serving staff who worked around Kiyohira's place were all from the Suzurigi family, weren't they?"

Well, yes, but Shiki had been under the impression that the Suzurigi had simply been assigned to assist Kiyohira-sensei's household, not that it was a voluntary choice on their part.

After all, there's no reason for the Suzurigi to like Shiki. For one, Shiki's personality isn't exactly 'likable.' And unlike those who served the main family or who were active in the Gojo Clan's internal politics, there were no tangible benefits from tying themselves to Shiki –not unless they were simply after the 'honor' of serving the 'blessed child,' or something inane like that. Most importantly, though, Shiki had been largely responsible for the death of one of their own: Suzurigi Hideo, the young man who'd gotten caught up in an attack on Shiki and died shortly after Gojo Isao in an attempt to protect her. Shiki still remembers attending the man's funeral.

… The only Suzurigi that Shiki thinks might be fond of her in any manner would be Suzurigi Choki, and that's because he's the one acting in the role of a semi-permanent assistant manager for her. Which means that he's probably grown used to Shiki by this point if nothing else.

But the Suzurigi family as a whole, liking Shiki? When Shiki doesn't recall interacting with them aside from that one instance at Suzurigi Hideo's funeral years and years ago?

"I don't get it," she finally says, perplexed.

"That's alright, I wouldn't worry too much about it," Satoru-niichan sing-songs, in a tone of voice indicating that he definitely has a better idea of what's going on here. Except he also has no intention of explaining anything, because he thinks it would be funnier to watch her flounder around on her own.

Shiki pouts.

"Should we be worried about other eyes on us, then, if the Suzurigi apparently won't be a problem?" Ken-jichan asks with a faint crease marring his eyebrows. "The… Myorenji, you mentioned earlier?"

"Any other eyes that the clan are putting on us will be more discreet. The Suzurigi probably just wanted to make a blatant play and get themselves noticed by Shiki here," Satoru-niichan says, amused, "As for the Myorenji or whoever else it is that they're sending… they'll know better than to make a nuisance of themselves."

Ken-jichan eyes Satoru-niichan warily. "I'm sensing an 'or else' tacked on to the end of that sentence."

"You're hilarious, Nanami," Satoru-niichan grins widely. "Anyways, we've already put up enough wards on this place to ensure basic privacy. No point in squirreling ourselves away so well that no one can find us at all, because as long as the clan has an easy way to keep watch, then it means they won't need to get creative."

What he's saying makes sense, but Shiki still can't stop herself from arching an eyebrow at that statement. "The elders? Creative?"

Satoru-niichan pointedly takes a long drink from the soda can in his hands and does not respond. Shiki wonders if she should be mildly concerned by that.

Ken-jichan, on the other hand, is definitely concerned. "Gojo, what does that mean?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," Satoru-niichan responds breezily.

"No, that definitely sounds like something I should be worrying about–"

"Anyways, overbearing clan elders aside!" Satoru-niichan interrupts loudly, blithely cutting Ken-jichan off in the middle of his words, "How's that Grade One promotion coming along, Nanami?"

"…" Ken-jichan gives Satoru a look, then sighs and grudgingly acquiesces to the sharp change in conversation. However, there's a certain glint in his eyes that says he's definitely going to be bringing this up again later.

"Mei-san and Kusakabe-san submitted recommendations on my behalf," he answers. 'Mei-san' is a familiar name to Shiki, but this is the first time that she's heard of 'Kusakabe-san.' "I've already completed one of the two requisite missions under the oversight of a Grade One sorcerer."

"Who was it?"

"The one who oversaw my first mission? Matoba Nozomu."

Satoru-niichan hums. "Interesting. I would've thought that they would assign a non-clan sorcerer to you, although I do suppose that we don't have very many of them…"

Ken-jichan pauses. "Is there a significance to the Matoba name?"

"The Matoba are another sorcery clan," Shiki supplies helpfully. "In terms of power and influence, they fall short of the Three Great Families, but they're still a fairly prominent clan. Their current clan head lost an eye to a cursed spirit a few years back, though."

"You actually remember all that off the top of your head?" Satoru-niichan whistles.

"… It came up in my last conversation with Yuzuki-san." They had been discussing the potential reactions from various sorcery clans' to the precarious situation that the Kamo Clan had fallen into, and the Matoba Clan had been among those Yuzuki-san mentioned.

Ken-jichan coughs lightly, "Is there anything I should know about the relationship between the Matoba and Gojo clans?"

"Mm? Nah, there's not really any relationship to speak of," Satoru-niichan shakes his head in the negative. "The Matoba don't really have any significant connections to any of the Three Great Families. But this sort of timing… I guess we'll have to wait and see if they take any further actions."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it could be complete coincidence that a Matoba sorcerer accompanied you on your mission," Satoru-niichan elaborates, "But it could also be the Matoba making a play for themselves. How would you say that they acted towards you during your mission? Were they nice? Friendly? Trying to get on your good side? Did they ask you anything about your relationship with the Gojo Clan?"

Ken-jichan frowns at the leading questions, which is probably an answer in and of itself.

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything, though," he finally says. "You really think they might've been trying to –to build some sort of connection to the Gojo Clan through me? But I'm not even a member of your clan!"

"But you're Shiki's uncle, and Shiki is my cute little cousin," Satoru-niichan shrugs. "Don't worry too much about it just yet, especially since it's a little too early to conclude anything from this alone. It's also entirely possible that this really isall just coincidence, and we're grasping at shadows where there are none."

"… Then why are you even bringing all of this up in the first place?" Ken-jichan asks tiredly.

"Ordinarily I wouldn't, but considering what's going on with the Kamo Clan…" Satoru-niichan splays his hands out in a 'what can you do' gesture, "It's not often that one of the Three Great Families falls to this sort of state, and that means opportunity for a lot of people."

… So, it was possible that the Matoba Clan was angling to take advantage of the Kamo Clan's current weakness somehow. They wouldn't be the only ones to do so. Shiki has no doubt that there are others attempting to maneuver themselves into favorable positions in the chaos of the Kamo Clan's upheaval.

The Kamo Clan itself was currently in a rather… tumultuous state. To the shock of everyone observing the unfolding events –and quite possibly to the shock of the Kamo Clan itself as well– the one poised to step up as the new head of the Kamo Clan seemed to be a man from a branch family. A well-respected sorcerer, but a branch family member. Which then catapulted the Kamo Clan straight from the mess with the Gojo Clan into internal warfare among themselves.

The last Shiki had heard of the situation, there were three candidates from separate branch families vying for headship of the clan. One would think that the Kamo Clan had other priorities to be focusing on these days aside from incessant infighting…

She isn't entirely sure what happened to their bastard clan heir. The Kamo elders had made the executive decision to hide the boy after one too many assassination attempts, and no one knew where the boy had been spirited off to. There were also rumors floating around saying that the boy was dead, but both Shiki and Yuzuki agreed that it was rather unlikely.

Because if Kamo Noritoshi, the previously favored heir and inheritor of Blood Manipulation was dead, then there was absolutely no way that his rival opponents wouldn't capitalize upon it by very obviously expressing their sorrows and regrets during the boy's funeral. Afterwards, it would only be natural to tactfully point out that with the boy's death, obviously the mantle of clan head should fall to another qualified candidate. None would dare to directly claim responsibility for the boy's death, of course, especially given how Blood Manipulation was a prized cursed technique. But if the boy blessed with Blood Manipulation was removed from the equation entirely, then the position of clan head would definitely fall to someone not of the main family.

Out of Kamo Teruichi's children, only one child had inherited a cursed technique, and that was Kamo Noritoshi. There were still a few other sorcerers remaining in the main family's bloodline, but the highest ranked of them was a Grade Two sorcerer. The candidates for headship from among the branch families were all Grade Ones and Special Grade Ones –who were each supported by more than just a few prominent clan elders.

Shiki wonders if any of them realize that the title of Kamo Clan Head is only going to mean less and less at the rate they're going with this infighting. Surely there are still clear-headed individuals who can see the precarious situation for what it is?

Well, it doesn't really matter to Shiki what the eventual fate of the Kamo Clan ends up being. Considering her experiences with that clan, Shiki honestly couldn't care less about how they sort themselves out –or not. The Kamo Clan could run around like headless chickens all they wanted to and proceed to set themselves on fire the next day, and Shiki wouldn't bat an eye at any of it.

… Okay, maybe she'd raise an eyebrow if that actually happened. But the overall point still stands!

It was unlikely that the Kamo Clan would be able to muster up the strength to pose any threat to the Gojo Clan within the next few years, at the very least. Not unless they did something drastic, like allying themselves with the Zenin Clan. Which was very unlikely to happen, for multiple reasons.

For starters, it would be obvious that the Kamos needed the Zenins. The same would not be true the other way around. If the Kamo Clan desired to retaliate against the Gojo Clan in their weakened, fragile state, then they needed to rely on an ally capable of making the Gojo Clan take pause. Their only option in that case would be the Zenin Clan. And given the Kamo Clan's situation, they would very swiftly find themselves in a subordinate role to the Zenins in any alliance. If this arrangement were to become permanent… then there was a very real possibility of the Three Great Families being reduced to two.

It was hard to imagine that the Kamos' pride would allow them to resort to such desperate measures. They did not loathe the Gojo Clan enough to demand vengeance no matter the cost in order to repay the humiliation suffered at Gojo Satoru's hands, either. It had, after all, been the collective effort of several high-ranked Gojo clansmen working in tandem that 'convinced' the head of the Gojo Clan not to follow through on his threat of destroying the Kamo Clan.

That would be another reason why the Kamo Clan was unlikely to act against the Gojo Clan: Gojo Satoru.

Satoru-niichan was the Gojo Clan's single greatest trump card, and a highly effective one. The most effective one, arguably. He was the reason why the Kamos hadn't dared to protest against any of the punishments or restrictions imposed upon them, and he was also the reason why the Zenins hadn't dared to stick their foot into this mess at any point during the proceedings.

Because that was another thing that the Zenin Clan needed to consider: If Gojo Satoru could and would waltz into the Kamo Clan, tear down half the clan compound, and walk away completely unopposed with the clan head and his wife as prisoners, then what was stopping him from doing the exact same thing to the Zenin Clan if they crossed the line?

The head of the Zenin Clan, Zenin Naobito, might be espoused as the fastest sorcerer, but that was on a scale that discounted Gojo Satoru entirely. One does not get any faster than instant teleportation, and that was to say nothing else of Satoru-niichan's abilities.

So, the Zenins could praise and play up their clan head all they liked in order to satisfy their own egos. At the end of the day, it did nothing to change the fact that Satoru-niichan remained the undisputed strongest, and neither the Kamos nor the Zenins possessed the power to stand against him. Even combined, they wouldn't be able to overturn the situation.

… It would still be prudent to keep an eye out before anyone got it into their heads to make a nuisance out of themselves, though. That is a lesson that Shiki has already learned thoroughly by this point. Even though the Zenins haven't made any overt movements, they probably wouldn't sit by idly twiddling their thumbs while something of this magnitude was going on with the Kamo Clan. And even discounting the Zenin Clan, there were still several other smaller sorcery clans out there who would only be all too eager to take advantage of the opportunity before their eyes. Such as the Matoba Clan, for example.

Apparently, powerful age-old clans being forced to disperse their power, then plunging headfirst into a fierce internal dispute directly afterwards was not a common occurrence at all. Perhaps this had even given other sorcery clans thoughts of replacing the Kamos' position –who knows?

Satoru-niichan's explanation to Ken-jichan covers most of this, more or less. Unlike the conversation that Shiki had with Yuzuki-san, though, Satoru-niichan focuses more on what smaller, opportunistic sorcery clans might aim for in the Kamos' moment of weakness.

That's not to say that the Kamo Clan is in a dire situation, not exactly. Dangerous, maybe, but not dire. Because despite the punishment inflicted by the Gojo Clan, the fact remains that the Kamo Clan is still one of the Three Great Families, and this is a title that they've held for centuries. If it was so easy for the Kamo Clan to fall from grace, then they would've fallen a long time ago, most likely during the time of the Kamo Noritoshi who conducted human experiments with complete disregard to any ethics in the pursuit of his horrific research.

Ken-jichan seems to follow Satoru-niichan's words well enough. Inter-clan politics and how they would potentially affect the jujutsu administration wouldn't be things that he was used to keeping track of, but now that Ken-jichan was halfway through the process of becoming a Grade One sorcerer, this would be extremely useful for him to be aware of. At the very least, it would prevent him from being unwittingly used for subtle plots from the higher echelons.

Shiki leans against her uncle's side wordlessly in silent support. Quiet sympathy, too, because clan politics are never fun, not unless one happened to have a natural mind for it like Yuzuki.

She receives an absent-minded pat from him in response.

.

.

Tsumiki and Megumi begin attending one of the local public schools in the area. Shiki does not. Even though she no longer lives within the clan compound, she is still one of the Gojo Clan's sorcerers, and that means regularly taking missions to exorcise curses, between lessons on various subjects from Iori-sensei slotted into her irregular schedule.

The first time that Shiki receives one of these missions via paper cutout shikigami, she finds herself at a slight loss as to how to go about completing it. Because it's not like she's living in the clan compound anymore, where she can just turn around and as a nearby member of the serving staff to find someone to make the preparations–

"What's that you're holding?"

Shiki wordlessly shows the paper to Kiyohira-sensei, who reads two lines of what's written on it and promptly scowls. Then, he begrudgingly takes out his phone.

Twenty minutes later, Suzurigi Choki shows up on their doorstep. Somehow, a pattern is established from there.

Eventually, though, there comes a point when Shiki has to ask, "… Were you assigned here by the clan?"

"Not quite," the young man responds. "There was no official assignment. The head of the Suzurigi family recently suggested to me that I should consider a change of pace, and recommended spending some time away from the clan compound in a new area. So, here I am."

He's not being very subtle with making excuses, is he?

"Why are you really here, Choki?" Shiki asks, stating the question on her mind clearly.

"To serve, ojou-sama," he answers matter-of-factly.

"The Suzurigi family serves the Gojo," Shiki points out. Satoru-niichan might've said that he found it unlikely for the Suzurigi were here on behalf of the clan's elders, but that doesn't mean–

"The Suzurigi serves Gojo Shiki."

… What?

For a single moment, Shiki thinks that she must've misheard him. Because why in the world would…?

Suzurigi Choki smiles. "For generations, the Suzurigi have served the Gojo Clan. But ours is not a line of powerful sorcerers, and there are dozens of families such as ours in the Gojo Clan's service. The entire Suzurigi family could disappear one by one over the course of the next year, and the Gojo Clan would never notice."

"Careful, Choki." Shiki understands what he means, but for someone from a vassal family to say such things aloud can be dangerous. Because, "That sounds like dissatisfaction with the Gojo Clan."

And while Shiki is someone who couldn't care less about it –in fact, Shiki herself is dissatisfied with the Gojo Clan in multiple ways as well– such words could prove to be troublesome for the Suzurigi in the future, if it were discovered and traced back to them. Shiki would prefer that Suzurigi Choki stays alive.

"Ah, my mistake. Please pardon my wording," the young man dips his head briefly in acknowledgment of the reprimand. "'Dissatisfaction' is probably the wrong word for it. The Suzurigi recognize and understand the importance and the crucial nature of the work that the Gojo Clan does. We have no complaints in contributing to this endless fight against curses in what meager way we are able to, with what little strength we can bring to bear. It's just…"

Suzurigi Choki pauses for a moment, his voice trailing off into silence inside the car. Shiki tilts her head questioningly.

"When we die," he finally says, "It would be an honor to be recognized and acknowledged by those we serve."

That still doesn't make sense. Shiki frowns, "Does the Gojo Clan not acknowledge the service provided by vassal families?"

She knows that the Gojo Clan is proud. It's this deep-seated pride in their sorcery that leads them to exalt strength, and thereby be dismissive of those who lack it. Most vassal families are all varying degrees of weak, which is presumably why they act as vassals, instead of striking out on their own as a proper sorcery clan. But that doesn't mean the role they play is unimportant. Without their vassals and servants to rely on, the Gojo Clan would immediately find it difficult to execute all manner of tasks, and even the day-to-day details would also be hampered.

Shiki doesn't get it.

Instead of properly answering her question, though–

"We've arrived, ojou-sama," Choki says as the car rolls to a smooth stop.

… Okay. Mission first, then.

Shiki steps outside of the vehicle and stretches, before turning back around and deftly picking up her sword.

Kuji Kanesada is a familiar weight in her hands. She raises the cloth-wrapped weapon in her hands and slings it over her shoulder with ease. Unlike when Jihei-san had initially gifted the blade to her on her tenth birthday, Shiki is tall enough to carry it around comfortably now. In wake of her kidnapping ordeal, she's picked up the habit of bringing it with her wherever she goes. Shiki can't say that she'll never be caught off guard by an unexpected enemy again, but she likes her odds against them much better with a sword in her hands.

The young girl tips her head back and curiously looks up at the unfamiliar scenery in front of her.

From outward appearances alone, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong. In the sunny afternoon lighting, one could even say that there's something pretty about the clean walls of the buildings and flowering trees lining the paths. To the senses of a sorcerer, however, there is a 'dark cloud' hovering over one of the smaller buildings towards the east. In all likelihood, that would be where the cursed spirit was hiding this time.

Shiki briefly wonders if the school that Tsumiki and Megumi attend looks anything similar to this. Hopefully not. Megumi was skilled enough by this point to take care of minor curses on his own, and if there were any dangerous cursed spirits haunting his school, then he definitely would've brought it to their attention.

"Ojou-sama?"

Shiki turns around. Choki bows slightly and presents her with a small plastic card that's attached to a looped string.

"It's a visitor's pass," he explains upon seeing her curious look. He gestures towards himself, where there is a similar card hung around his neck. "While it's technically not school hours anymore and there are certainly less students around, it would be best to have everything in order. I believe there should still be a few student clubs and other activities going on in other parts of the school."

Is she supposed to wear this card too, going by his example? Shiki isn't too fond of the idea of wearing something loose like this around her neck, though… she ends up stashing the small card in the sleeve of her flower-patterned kimono instead.

Although she has taken multiple missions in city areas to date, this is actually her first time being assigned to one in a school while there are still students actively milling about on campus. Shiki glances curiously at a group of children her age playing soccer on a grassy field, while she's making her way towards the unnatural concentration of cursed energy. Through one of the open windows, she also catches sight of another cluster of students who seem to be reading something aloud from books.

They seem to be having fun. Shiki draws her attention back to the task at hand as they arrive at their destination.

"I'll be heading in," she tells her companion. "Stay here, and ensure that no one else enters the building. I will call you once I'm finished."

Choki bows lowly. "Please be safe, ojou-sama."

Shiki nods mutely, then leaves him behind as she steps inside the building. There's an echoing sound as she walks through the dark, empty hallways, no sign of any cursed spirits in sight.

She spreads out her senses, and takes off her sunglasses.

Upstairs, she concludes. According to the mission dossier, Windows had discovered the presence of a Grade Two, borderline Grade One cursed spirit inside this school. One that mysteriously made students who wandered in after school hours go missing, prompting investigators to come in. Which subsequently led to the discovery that there were distinctly supernatural factors at play, at which point Windows had been contacted by those 'in the know.'

Students always went missing in this building, and always in bathrooms. One report had spoken of a hysterical girl who'd been waiting on a friend –only for said friend to never come back out. The girl had waited and waited until she finally lost her patience and barged inside… only to find nothing but her friend's overturned bag on the ground and a distressing splatter of blood.

They were looking at a cursed spirit that liked to hunt, then, and was likely also skilled at covering its tracks. Unfortunately for it, Shiki had good eyes.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the cursed energy residuals that Shiki follows up the stairway leads her to a bathroom. Opening the door reveals it to be empty inside–

But not for long.

Something wet and viscous drip-drip-drips down from the ceiling as the door swings shut behind her. All the lights flicker ominously, then blink out entirely, promptly plunging the bathroom into total darkness. A distorted, echoing laughter starts up in the background, not entirely unlike nails scratching roughly upon a hard surface.

But Shiki has seen far scarier things by this point, and the darkness means nothing to her. Even though her eyes are still adjusting to the sudden change in lighting, red lines gleam brilliantly in front of her all the same.

"… I'm not even going to need Kuji for this, am I?"

How dull.

A knife slips into her hand in a heartbeat, and Shiki slashes out immediately with it. The curse itself has a long, long body, something that seems vaguely reminiscent of a centipede, but its large size works against itself in this moment. Instead of instantly crushing another hapless victim into a bloody paste, the lack of space means that it has nowhere to avoid Shiki as she cuts away at its body. There's no room for it to run now that it has made itself known, and it–

Oh?

The cursed spirit writhes and shrieks and slams into the bathroom mirror as if pulled by a magnet, and Shiki sees what its trick is, now. It can move through mirrors. No wonder its previous attacks were all limited to bathrooms, which had large mirrors for it to use at will.

Not that this ability is of any use against Shiki, because she doesn't give the cursed spirit a chance to run.

Her knife bites deep into its carapace smoothly, and Shiki slashes down. The cursed spirit shudders and drops, gooey green blood sliding off the edge of her knife with a wet squelch, and–

Wait, was that the sound of human screaming mixed in with the cursed spirit's rattling death throes?

Shiki experiences a single perplexed moment of confusion, before the mirror spanning the length of the entire wall in front of her shatters into tiny pieces. And behind this mirror isn't a solid wall, but instead another bathroom, one with a group of five students cowering in terror. Three of whom are injured and unconscious, and one of whom is unharmed but still screaming his head off. The last is pale-faced and drenched for some reason, practically dripping with water. There's some spectacular bruising going on across his forehead and a cut that's bleeding profusely, but aside from that he seems to be fine.

He's also staring down the other end of Shiki's knife. The knife that she's still holding, extended outwards from her last strike to kill that boring Grade Two curse just now.

… Why were there still students wandering around in this building? Weren't they all supposed to have been cleared out beforehand? At least none of them were dead, she supposes.

Shiki sighs, briefly raising her eyes up to the ceiling in resignation. "I hate dealing with witnesses."

.

.

Extra.

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Hoshi Kirara hates going to school.

He knows that he's bad at talking to other people and making friends, okay? No one likes him, and he's always the odd one out. Kirara knows. He's repeatedly tried and tried and tried to make friends and fit in, except there's something wrong with him that Kirara doesn't know how to fix.

People don't like sticking around Kirara because he's too gloomy, so he tries smiling more. It doesn't work. People tell Hoshi he shouldn't wear brightly-patterned clothes because that's for girls, so he carefully sets aside his favorite shirts and trades them for boring, dull outfits instead. It still doesn't work.

… He's still not exactly sure how 'looking like a girl' and 'acting like a wimp' culminated in him being bullied, because it's not like this suddenly happened all at once. It was just little things, at first. A missing pencil or two, or an unkind snicker in the hallway. Little things, little accidents that built up slowly one by one throughout his days in elementary school, until eventually they weren't just accidents anymore. In junior high, things escalated. Stolen pencils became shredded notebooks and ruined homework. Careless shoves began leaving behind angry purple bruises, and Kirara–

Kirara doesn't know what to do.

Tell his teachers? It never works, and it's always the weird problem student's word against literally everyone else in class. Tell his parents? Kirara hasn't seen his mother in months, and his dad is a tall man who's built like a brick wall and always telling Kirara that he needs to toughen up. He'd laughed at Kirara that time when Kirara came home in tears.

… Tell the police? Just over schoolyard bullying? No one would take him seriously! And it would only make his situation at school even worse.

Right now, though, being forcibly dragged into an empty bathroom by four other students who are all larger and stronger than he is, Kirara really, really wishes that he had just gone to the police or at least done something.

How had things escalated this badly?

"Let go of me–!" He struggles valiantly against the other boys, but it's no use. The hands holding him down might as well be iron manacles clapped onto his arms and legs.

"We're just helping you, Hoshi," Maruyama's voice drips with a mix of scornful condescension and gleeful anticipation. "No one likes that foul odor you bring with you everywhere, so we're taking the time to wash it out for you. Aren't you grateful?"

"Yeah, you said it, Bunta!"

"Hey, get your phone out so we can get some good pictures of the weirdo getting dunked."

"Oh, I like the way you think!"

As Kirara is dragged into an open stall against his will, a fresh wave of fear slams into his chest, and he redoubles his struggles. It's no use. Cruel laughter rings mockingly in his ears, and Kirara ends up hitting his head on the toilet bowl twice because of his wild thrashing, before someone swears and grabs him by the back of his neck and pushes him in face-first.

The water is ice-cold. The hand on his neck disappears after a moment, and Kirara immediately lifts his head, gasping–

Only to be shoved straight back in.

"Hey, hey, look at him flail! Dude!"

"Kinda reminds me of that time my old man took me fishing and just tossed one of his catch on the ground. The way it flopped over and kept jumping and wriggling, man–"

"What do you think about this angle? Maybe I should take a few pictures from here, too… Yeah, 'course I'll send it to you afterwards–"

Kirara can't breathe. He can't breathe, he can't breathe, he can't breathe, he's going to die from a bunch of assholes drowning him in a toilet–!

Someone yanks his head up. Kirara coughs, sputtering, doing his best to suck in lungfuls of sweet, sweet air, even as he's roughly pulled away and dragged over to the sinks.

"Take a good long look at yourself, Hoshi. I'd say that this is an upgrade, don't you agree?"

Blearily, Kirara opens his eyes. He's… he's sprawled over in front of the mirror. Maruyama had dragged him in front of the mirror, and Kirara can see himself. His hair is plastered to his forehead by the water and he's completely drenched. Is that really him? The boy in the mirror is near-unrecognizable. He looks awful. Kirara feels awful, and he doesn't need a mirror to tell him that.

"I said," Maruyama leans over and hisses into his ear, "Don't you agree?"

Kirara should agree. He knows that he should agree. Because if he agrees, then Maruyama will laugh and be assuaged in his own sense of power and superiority over Kirara, and Kirara will probably be let off soon afterwards. His torment would come to an end. Kirara will drag his waterlogged self home, cry to himself in the shower, then drag himself back to another torturous day of school tomorrow. Rinse and repeat.

Kirara's fingers curl into the edge of the sink, gripping it tightly.

"… No," he whispers.

He can see the way that Maruyama's expression twists from a smug grin into a snarl. "What did you say?"

Kirara swallows roughly. "I said, no!"

And then his head is slammed into the mirror. Once, twice, thrice–

Kirara screams and thrashes desperately, but Maruyama's hold on him is strong, and he can't get out of it. He can't get out.

Is he going to die?

Desperation and fear swell up inside him, surging, to the point where Kirara feels like he's choking on it. Or that might just be choking on his own breath, Kirara can't really tell, not through the startled shouts surrounding him and the pain rattling around inside his head. The mirror is red –is that his blood? Kirara's blood?

Something inside him twists and pulls, thick and nauseating in his terror, and–

And a giant centipede monster bursts out from the mirror.

… Like something straight out of a horror film, except this is all real.

The monster twists, knocking one of Kirara's tormentors into the air, and everyone starts screaming. Maruyama loses his grip on him, and Kirara instinctively throws himself backwards. It's not a moment too soon, because a giant centipede leg comes down directly in the spot where Kirara had been standing a second ago, holy fucking shit–

"What the fuck are you doing?" Maruyama roars at him, like he thinks Kirara is the one who summoned a centipede monster out of thin air to kill them all. Like, seriously, dude?!

But the monster rears up, casting them all into its cavernous shadow. Its massive body is oozing something strange liquid onto the ground, and Tanaka slips on the puddle and promptly goes down in his mad dash for the doorway. Someone else is impaled on one of the spikes protruding from its body and– oh gods, there's nowhere to run, the thing is massive and it's taking up the entire room–!

The monster turns towards Kirara, mouth opened wide, and it's in this moment that Kirara realizes that he is going to die.

There's nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Someone is screaming. Is it Kirara?

Something shatters in the background with a thunderous sound, and he can't–

He doesn't–

He–

…

… wait. He's… not dead?

Kirara slowly opens his eyes, unaware that he'd even squeezed them shut in the first place, then gasps loudly.

Because there is a blade sprouting from the back of the monster's throat. Inexplicably, there is a blade piercing through the monster's throat –one that stops barely a centimeter away from his nose.

Kirara swallows roughly.

Holy fuck.

Slowly, the monster's body falls to the ground with a deafening thud, revealing a white-haired young girl standing behind it who holds onto the other end of the blade.

She's… possibly the most beautiful girl that Kirara has ever seen. Is he saying this because she'd just saved his life? Maybe. But she really is beautiful, in a way that almost doesn't even seem real, because, like. White hair, really? And those dark blue eyes, ringed with a strange glow that can't possibly be natural, no way–

Her kimono is amazing, though. That flower print pattern where the blossoms all cascaded on top of each other so elegantly? Ten out of ten. Excellent taste.

Then, the girl opens her mouth, and Kirara's blood runs cold.

"I hate dealing with witnesses."

Kirara does not squeak. He doesn't! Instead, he gulps and blurts out the first thing that comes to mind, "Please don't kill me."

"What?" The strange girl blinks in surprise and tilts her head at him curiously, which lessens some of that crazy intimidating factor she has going on, thankfully. "Why would I kill you?"

Kirara looks at her, then looks down cross-eyed at the knife that's poking him in the face.

"… I know my way around blades. I wouldn't have hurt you." The girl finally withdraws her knife… wait, why does she have a knife? Ugh, Kirara's heart still feels like it's about to rabbit-jump out of his chest and his head is killing him– Wait, no, bad word choice– "I don't kill humans. Usually."

That is not reassuring, holy shit.

"W-who the hell are you?" Maruyama demands from the side, only slightly hysterical. "What the fuck did you just do, y-you broke through the mirror into the boys' bathroom–"

"Silence."

Her voice is quiet. Soft, and casual with a light drawl of something that sounds bored. Kirara can only stare in amazement when it's somehow enough to make Maruyama shut up immediately.

Then, the girl pulls out a… cell phone? And proceeds to ignore them entirely.

"Choki? … Yes, the cursed spirit has been exorcised." A small pause. Kirara understands the words that she's saying, but strung together like that –he can't make any sense of it. Cursed spirit? Exorcised? What? "There were students trapped inside. Five of them… minor injuries. One is worse off than the others… yes. I'll leave things for you to take care of. Thank you, Choki. I'll be out shortly."

"U-um," Kirara starts, when the girl finishes her phone call and looks like she's about to just up and leave without another word. Except Kirara has so many questions, and she seems like she knows what's going on, right? "Excuse me, but… what the heck was that, just now? Y-you burst through the mirror and there was that giant centipede–"

Maruyama whirls on him, snarling. "The fuck are you talking about, Hoshi? Centipede? Everything just exploded on its own out of nowhere! Have you finally lost your goddamned mind–"

The boy's voice cuts out into silence when the girl suddenly jabs two fingers to his forehead unceremoniously. Maruyama promptly crumples to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Kirara doesn't exactly care for the other boy, but, "Please tell me that you didn't kill him."

"No. Just a sleeping spell." Spell? Wait, so was that magic? … Was this like one of those mangas with a whole secret magic society hidden somewhere out there? Kirara thought that was supposed to be fiction, not reality!

"Uh… I…"

"Follow me." The girl doesn't wait for him to gather his thoughts. She turns on her heel and leaves the destroyed bathroom, clearly expecting Kirara to follow her, and Kirara… follows. What else is he going to do? Stick around and wait until the police arrive and arrest him for property damage? Wait until Maruyama and his buddies decide to go for a second round of 'dunk Kirara in the toilet bowl?'

No thanks, hard pass.

Kirara hurries after the strange girl. For such a small slip of a girl, she's surprisingly fast, and he finds himself having to jog a few steps in order to catch up.

"U-um, can I ask–?"

"If you can see curses, then you should at least know the basics of what's going on," she tells him. "Choki can explain things better than me, so you should ask him about it once we're outside."

"… Alright, thanks." Kirara hesitates. "Err, I also wanted to ask… what's your name?"

"Gojo Shiki."

.

.

…

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