fics I read

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"So you ran into a sighted kid?" Satoru-niichan's voice is distinctly interested as Shiki recounts the earlier events of her day.

"Mhm," Shiki nods. Choki had asked to stay a bit longer around the school after she'd exorcised the curse, and Shiki had acquiesced to the request easily enough. The sighted boy was not the only one who'd been injured on the scene, although he'd definitely been one of the ones who came off a little worse for wear.

"Worth keeping an eye on, y'think?"

"… Possibly?" Shiki tilts her head thoughtfully and waves her hand in a vague gesture. From what she'd sensed, Hoshi-san's cursed energy was a little on the lower end for sorcerers. Which meant a decent amount for a civilian, actually, although that didn't necessarily translate to an aptitude for sorcery… so it was probably too early to say anything for now. Of course, this was assuming that Hoshi-san retained the ability to see curses after this incident and was interested in involving himself in the world of sorcery after his –presumably– frightening experience.

Most sorcerers go into their line of work by way of family relations. It's a fact that power and abilities can be inherited through blood; it's how sorcery clans rose into prominence in the first place, carefully cultivating the talents of their bloodlines. Most people who are born with the potential to become sorcerers can all trace their ancestry to some sorcery line.

There are exceptions to this, of course. Ken-jichan, for example! To the best of Shiki's knowledge, Ken-jichan is the first sorcerer in the Nanami family. His parents had been regular civilians, as had their parents been before them. There had been no one to warn Ken-jichan about the strange monsters that he'd started seeing in his childhood until Shiki's father, Gojo Arata, came along.

… Although, technically in this case it was still 'family connections' that had seen Ken-jichan enrolled as a student in the Tokyo jujutsu school. It had been Shiki's father calling on a few connections with the Gojo Clan to recommend Ken-jichan as a student, after all.

Shiki pauses for a moment. Come to think of it–

"How does recruitment usually work?" she asks. She's not very clear about things on that front, but surely family connections and word-of-mouth recommendations don't account for everyone involved in sorcery. Sighted individuals were rare outside of sorcery clans, but they still constituted a not-insignificant number of people working as Windows or in other such roles for the jujutsu administration.

"Without a recommendation, you mean?" Satoru-niichan easily intuits her line of thought. "Scouting, for the most part. Windows also keep a careful watch on the community in their assigned areas in addition to looking out for cursed spirits. It's not a perfect system, but it does work to bring in fresh blood, whether they end up being sorcerers or managers."

Like the sighted boy that Shiki had recently encountered, then. Presumably, if he hadn't immediately started asking questions and if Shiki hadn't handed him off to Choki… then it was likely that the Windows stationed in his neighborhood would approach the boy afterwards. If nothing else, he was still a civilian child that they needed to check up on, given the close call he'd had with the cursed spirit in his school.

Choki was already on top of the follow-up work in this case, though. Shiki recalled that he seemed to be rather concerned about the sighted boy…

"There are also exceptional circumstances for recruitment," Kiyohira-sensei's voice is a low rumble in the air. "There's a boy over in Kyoto who was recruited for the abilities granted to him by his Heavenly Restriction a few years ago, but his case is… quite unfortunate. In exchange for powerful cursed energy, he was born with a sickly, deformed body. He was discovered by Windows in the hospital a few years back, and they intervened to arrange proper medical support for the boy."

"Oh, I think I remember hearing something about that awhile back," Satoru-niichan snaps his fingers. "You're talking about the boy who's in the care of the Kyoto school, right? They worked out an arrangement for him to attend the school and train as a sorcerer once he's old enough, in exchange for medical support."

"That's ridiculous," Ken-jichan's tone is one of clear disagreement, and there's a faintly incredulous look apparent on his face when Shiki looks towards where her uncle is sitting at the table. "Forcing a child onto a sorcerer's path in exchange for medical care is no different from extortion!"

"And if the kid doesn't become a sorcerer, then what's the point of the school diverting any of their resources to him?" Satoru-niichan points out reasonably, then swiftly raises his hands in half-surrender when Ken-jichan whirls on him and gives him a look for those words. "Hey, I'm just saying how things are! The jujutsu schools aren't charities; of course they'll want a return on their investment."

Ken-jichan twitches, "And you don't see anything wrong with that?"

"Let's not get too heated, now," Kiyohira-sensei interrupts. "To my knowledge, if it weren't for the Windows stepping in at the time, the boy might already have died due to the lack of proper medical care. While it's… regrettable, that a child should find themselves with no recourse but the path of a sorcerer before them, the jujutsu schools truly have no reason to involve themselves otherwise."

Was it Shiki's imagination, or had her teacher looked directly towards her for a moment there?

Hmm. Probably just her imagination.

Ken-jichan frowns. "Even so, that's…"

Listening to their discussion, part of Shiki can't help but think of the Fushiguro siblings. If Tsumiki and Megumi hadn't ended up being brought to the Gojo Clan by Satoru-niichan, then was it possible that they would've ended up in a similar situation with one of the jujutsu schools? Would Megumi promise to become a sorcerer in exchange for financial support for himself and his sister?

… No, if Satoru-niichan hadn't intervened, then in all likelihood the Fushiguro siblings would've been picked up by the Zenins, eventually. They wouldn't have any financial worries in that case, but the Zenin Clan… had its own host of myriad issues to deal with, not unlike the Gojo Clan. And without anyone to support them like Satoru-niichan, their fellow Zenin clansmen would prove to be a problem for the two of them.

The Zenins would probably treat Megumi well, for the most part. But knowing what she does of them, Shiki doubts that the Zenins would've treated Tsumiki with any kindness.

But thankfully, it's not an issue that they would ever need to worry about in any manner.

"… all that can be done for now. On a completely unrelated note," Satoru-niichan leans forward, hand rising to prop up his chin, "How's your arm doing, Kiyohira?"

"As well as can be expected, I suppose."

Kiyohira-sensei shifts in his seat, raising his arm. It's a bit of a jarring sight, seeing a limb made entirely out of metallic machinery in place of a human arm. The movement is still rather stiff, but less so than when Kiyohira-sensei had first attached the prosthesis to his shoulder. Shoko-san says that practice will help him acclimate to the mechanical arm and improve his range of movement, although it's unknown to what extent Kiyohira-sensei will be able to recover as compared to his original arm.

He struggles to pick up small things, now. Shiki has seen the way that small coins and bottle caps slip through the metal fingers awkwardly angled towards them. Kiyohira-sensei also needs to constantly be looking at what he's holding in his prosthetic hand whenever he's carrying something, in order to account for the newfound lack of sensation and balance.

None of this has stopped Kiyohira-sensei from picking up his sword again.

Every swing of Kiyohira-sensei's sword lacks the surety and strength that used to be behind every blow. But even so, he never fails to push himself through his sword forms and exercises each day, stubborn and determined. Frustrated, at times, but determined nonetheless.

Shiki can only hope that his efforts would eventually be rewarded.

Kiyohira-sensei reaches out towards a cup of tea sitting atop the table. The movement is stiff, careful. Metal fingers curl over the cup awkwardly, and there is a clear pause where he's adjusting his hold on it, before slowly lifting it into the air and raising it to his lips.

A long drink, followed by a quiet exhale. Slowly, the cup is placed back onto the table, without spilling or toppling over.

"You're not going to be mission-ready anytime soon, are you?" Satoru-niichan asks bluntly.

"No," Kiyohira-sensei answers. Then, neutrally, "I am no longer listed as an active sorcerer in the clan's ranks."

"About that," Satoru-niichan picks up a rice cracker and bites down with an audible crunch. "Have you given any thought about retiring, actually?"

"… Excuse me?"

There's a funny expression on Kiyohira-sensei's face that's a cross between bewildered and offended, like he hasn't yet decided which reaction to commit to upon hearing those words. As if the very prospect of retirement was something that had never crossed his mind before.

For all Shiki knows, that might very well be the case. Most sorcerers probably expected to die on a mission instead of living long enough to retire. There were those who found themselves retiring due to grievous injuries, but with the lack of sorcerers running missions, it was far more common for sorcerers to be forced to return to the field again and again until they found a far more permanent form of retirement in death.

"I can still fight," Kiyohira-sensei scowls.

"You can," Satoru-niichan allows, "But not as well as before, and who knows how long it'll take for you to make a full recovery. Also, you're kinda getting up there in age, don't you think?"

The older man's scowl deepens.

Ken-jichan coughs slightly. "Gojo, please have some tact."

"Tact? I have plenty of tact," Satoru-niichan mutters, just a touch petulant. Which probably doesn't do him any favors here.

Ken-jichan sighs tiredly and shakes his head at the other sorcerer's antics.

"Look," Satoru-niichan turns back towards Kiyohira-sensei. "I'm not saying that you should give up on trying to regain mobility and combat skills, but I'd say that it really is about time for you to consider retiring."

Kiyohira-sensei stares at his clan head. "… I would've thought that you would want me to resume taking on missions as soon as possible."

What, really? Shiki blinks and startles. What gave her teacher that impression?

"Do I really come across as that sort of person?" Satoru-niichan's voice is wry, but not surprised. That's…

"But it doesn't–" Kiyohira-sensei cuts himself off in the middle of his own words. "You're the head of the Gojo Clan. Something like this, is it –is it really the sort of thing that you should be supporting?"

Satoru-niichan rolls his eyes. "I'll support whatever I want to, thanks. Just give it some thought, would you?"

Kiyohira-sensei bows his head.

Retirement…

As a Grade One sorcerer, Gojo Kiyohira retiring from the field would be a loss for the Gojo Clan. Then again, with the loss of his sword arm, it would take quite some time for him to regain his former level of skill –if something like that was even possible, with a metal prosthetic arm that gave him trouble in everyday life. It would be far more dangerous for Kiyohira-sensei to return to actively taking missions as a Grade One sorcerer under these circumstances, and if one also took into consideration his age…

…

… how old was Kiyohira-sensei again, come to think of it?

Shiki peers towards her teacher discreetly. The hard, unchanging lines in his face do not give her any answer, but going by the graying hairs on his head… hm… there's still a ways to go before Kiyohira-sensei finds himself with a head full of stark white hair like Daisaku-sama, so maybe–

A sudden thought strikes her. "Kiyohira-sensei, if you retire, then does this mean that you would become an elder of the clan?"

"Usually, elders will appoint their successors, if they hold certain positions of power," her teacher responds after a slight, suspicious beat. Shiki bats her eyes innocently, and Kiyohira-sensei looks away with a low grumble under his breath.

What he says makes sense. An elder of the Gojo Clan holds both influence and responsibility, and age isn't the only factor to be considered for a role of such importance. Being an elderly isn't the same as being an elder.

At the same time, "No elders have reached out to you regarding this?"

"Not exactly," Kiyohira-sensei shakes his head. "But… not recently. I've received a few offers in the past, particularly after you were first placed under my tutelage. But after the incident with the Kamo Clan…"

Shiki still maintains that her kidnapping wasn't Kiyohira-sensei's fault, but she can see why others would try to find fault with her teacher for it, and why it might make things… difficult, for him.

Gojo Kiyohira was a powerful Grade One sorcerer, one with his own influence within the clan –particularly among its sorcerers. It's not surprising to hear that there were elders who wished to bring him into their fold. His swordsmanship was unmatched within the Gojo Clan, and he was the only master of Kageryu that remained to this day. There was weight behind such a title.

And not only was Kiyohira-sensei personally powerful, he was also Shiki's guardian. Attitudes towards Shiki might be ambivalent at times, but there was no disagreement on the matter of her potential as a sorcerer.

No, it's not surprising that elders would have their eye on Kiyohira-sensei as a potential successor to their role.

However, some of them would've grown wary and changed their minds after Kiyohira-sensei made it clear that he supported Satoru-niichan and no one else. And now between Shiki having been kidnapped under his watch, and Kiyohira-sensei himself being severely injured and losing his arm, compromising his abilities as a sorcerer…

It's only reasonable that most elders would keep a cautious distance, in the aftermath of this unexpected turn of events.

But they're fools to do so.

Kiyohira-sensei levels her with a suspicious look as he slowly reaches for his tea again. "Are you going somewhere with these questions?"

How astute.

"I was just thinking," Shiki smiles, and tries not to look too eager. "How would you feel about being an elder for the Tobiume?"

Kiyohira-sensei stiffens and knocks over his teacup, making a strange spluttering sound.

Satoru-niichan, on the other hand, just starts laughing. "Interesting idea, Shiki! What made you think of it?"

"The Tobiume currently does not have any elders. Of the three who are old enough to be considered elders, one is senile, another is completely detached from ongoing events, and the last is… indecisive and lacks objectivity," Shiki answers. "It would be helpful for me to have someone else also keep an eye on the Tobiume."

More than just helping Shiki, hopefully it would also give Kiyohira-sensei reason to preoccupy himself with something else aside from his sword forms. Getting used to his prosthetic arm was one thing, but if it was always the only thing that he focused on, day in and day out… something like that couldn't be healthy, right? Shiki remembers Shoko-san saying something along those lines.

A task, and a sense of purpose. Something that wasn't just 'being a sorcerer for the clan.'

… It also really would be helpful to Shiki if Kiyohira-sensei agreed to the role. Of her limited experiences interacting with the Tobiume family to date, there's not a single person whom Shiki feels comfortable leaving in charge to their own devices.

It either says something about Shiki's trust issues, or the overall incompetence of the Tobiume's leadership. Considering that Shiki really doesn't care about maintaining control over the branch family… she's quite put out that she can't find a single person to pass the mantle of headship to. Or she could, but then the Tobiume would run themselves into the ground, and that's not something Shiki wants to be responsible for.

Gojo Hijiri is probably the closest to a replacement candidate that Shiki has in mind. But the man is responsible for three young children all on his own, and he's made no secret of the fact that the children will always be his priority over everything and anything else. His personality was also –how had Yuzuki-san put it, again? Abrasive? Shiki hadn't really noticed it in her interactions with him, but Yuzuki-san has always had a better sense for this sort of thing than her…

"I'm not related to the Tobiume," Kiyohira-sensei finally says, once his breathing has recovered.

Shiki doesn't bat an eye. "Your surname is 'Gojo.' All the branch families are related, aren't they?"

"You know what I mean," her teacher says dryly. "The elder of a branch family should at least be a close relation or member of said family."

"So we can just add your name to the registry." Shiki still isn't seeing the problem here. It wasn't unheard of for clan members to 'move' between different branch families for various reasons. Kiyohira-sensei was a high-ranked sorcerer, but he didn't actually belong to any branch family, so there shouldn't be any issues on that front, either.

"That…"

Satoru-niichan leans forward. "Any particular reason for the hesitation? Is there something between you and the Tobiume that we should know about?"

"… Not in particular," Kiyohira-sensei eventually responds. He glances briefly towards Shiki, before turning back to his clan head. "I would not mind the role. It's just ironic, I suppose."

"Ironic how?" Ken-jichan asks.

Kiyohira-sensei huffs, leaning back in his seat. He flicks his gaze upwards towards the ceiling in clear avoidance of any eye contact. "… I was the one who had Shiki's name removed from the Tobiume registry."

Shiki blinks. Suddenly, a lot of things start to make sense, but, "That was you, Kiyohira-sensei? … Why?"

"Because Ima was overreaching herself. Acting in your stead, capitalizing on opportunities despite how she treated you… so I had your name removed from the Tobiume family registry," her teacher explains himself stiffly. "Closed off any loopholes for her to take advantage of."

Thereby inadvertently contributing to the host of issues that Shiki now found herself dealing with as head of the Tobiume branch family. But Shiki can't find it in herself to blame him for it. In his own way, Kiyohira-sensei had only been protective of her, warning Gojo Ima the way he did.

"Okay, yeah, I can see why you would call this ironic, then," Satoru-niichan laughs.

That's true enough, Shiki supposes. Removing her from the Tobiume registry, only to end up adding himself to that list one day…

Even Ken-jichan seems faintly amused by Kiyohira-sensei's situation.

Kiyohira-sensei sighs, long and loud.

.

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Ken-jichan is officially promoted to Grade One in the early summer this year, and they end up holding a small celebration for him at home. Dinner that night is pasta, cooked with homemade garlic oil under Tsumiki's instruction. Which means that there's a strong scent of garlic oil that permeates the entire house for a few days in the aftermath, but Ken-jichan had seemed to enjoy it, so Shiki counts that as a win in her books.

The decision to appoint Kiyohira-sensei as the Tobiume family's elder is one that's met with shock by most clan members, for some reason. Daisaku-sama goes into a sudden coughing fit when Shiki drops by to inform him of the news.

"You named Kiyohira as what," the long-suffering elder wheezes over the papers on his desk.

Shiki can't really tell from his tone if this is a statement or an actual question, but she's polite enough to provide a clarifying answer all the same.

"I named Kiyohira-sensei as an elder for the Tobiume," she says.

"… And why didn't you pick a candidate directly from the Tobiume themselves?" Daisaku-sama asks warily, as if he's scared of what the answer might be. Which is just silly, honestly. "The position of an elder doesn't necessarily have to be one appointed with age in mind–"

"There are no suitable candidates within the Tobiume," Shiki informs him candidly. "And I don't want Kiyohira-sensei to get bored."

The elder splutters, "B-bored–?!"

"Oh, and I suppose it's also a good way to keep people on their toes."

Daisaku-sama makes a strangled sound.

All in all, Kiyohira-sensei's transition from sorcerer to clan elder goes fairly smoothly, in Shiki's opinion.

The most interesting thing that happens this year is the Obon festival in summer. Namely because it's the Kamo Clan's turn to arrange the preparations this year, and the Kamo Clan is still struggling with internal upheaval. When Satoru-niichan had gutted the Kamo Clan as punishment, Shiki didn't think anyone had expected it to set off internal conflict on this scale…

The current head of the Kamo Clan was only recognized by barely half of his clan. There were rumors that he'd ordered multiple assassination attempts on Kamo Noritoshi, the Kamo Clan's former bastard heir –and inheritor of Blood Manipulation. The man himself denied the accusations, of course, but it didn't help his case any that it was an irrefutable fact that the boy had vanished entirely from the public eye. He hadn't even been present at Obon, when it was the Kamo Clan that was in charge.

As such, Kamo Noritoshi's conspicuous absence only fanned the flames of rumors regarding the disorganized mess that was the Kamo Clan's internal affairs.

There had been multiple minor clans that stepped forward to offer the Kamo Clan assistance in preparing for Obon. Which the Kamo Clan had all turned down, as expected. No matter how severe the infighting became, it would not do to blatantly reveal weakness in front of outsiders. Furthermore, if another clan were to take their place in preparing for Obon rituals –what would that imply about the Kamo Clan? How far had they fallen, that others would dare assume their role from them? Would it be an indication that the Kamos be supplanted by another clan eyeing their position as one of the Three Great Families?

Suffice to say, Obon had been a rather interesting experience this time around. There had been a lot more politicking going on than what Shiki was used to seeing there.

The remainder of the year, Shiki finds her attention split between missions and training… and the Tobiume family. With Kiyohira-sensei's help, Shiki no longer needs to personally oversee every issue that's raised, which is a blessing. Kiyohira-sensei rolls his eyes at her when she expresses this to him, and sends her off to practice sword forms in the backyard.

From what Shiki can surmise of the overall situation, there are currently two very practical problems that the Tobiume face.

First, their numbers. Twenty people was quite small for a branch family; including Kiyohira-sensei, that only made for twenty-one. While this was good for Shiki in the sense that there were less people for her to manage, this likely didn't mean anything good for the Tobiume's development as a whole. A family needed people to flourish –and that was to say nothing of how there were a good number of younger children in the Tobiume's ranks, which meant that a not-insignificant amount of attention and effort was directed towards childcare. It was the right thing to prioritize, even though it meant that there was less manpower to direct towards other efforts.

… Not that Shiki requires their manpower for anything.

Which was also the other problem that the Tobiume faced: Lack of power. Their lack of sorcery-related skills in a sorcery clan –with the sole exception of Shiki– wasn't something that could be 'fixed.' What was it that Gojo Toku had mentioned before? Only one person in the Tobiume family currently showed any aptitude for sorcery, and it was a four year old kid?

Shiki is honestly of the opinion that it would be better if the Tobiume didn't try so hard to cling to their name. What did glories of the bygone past matter, when they themselves no longer had the strength to secure their position? Unless the Tobiume made themselves indispensable to the Gojo Clan in a way that couldn't be ignored, they would only return to the same unsustainable situation as they had before once Shiki left.

Quite frankly, aside from Gojo Ima, Shiki didn't see any burning desire to 'revive' the Tobiume from anyone else in the family. Which may or may not have something to do with how Ima-san had ended up indirectly murdering several of her peers with her ill-thought out plan for them to dive headfirst into sorcery without the requisite training…

…

… Well. Given that no one among them seemed eager to get involved in sorcery, Shiki was most certainly not going to force any of them to. There were other jobs in the clan unrelated to sorcery that one could pick up if they wanted to –or they could just step out of the clan compound entirely. Find some profession out in the wider world, and choose a life with zero connection to sorcery.

Gojo Ima had been scandalized when Shiki had put forth that particular option as a valid choice. "How could you possibly suggest such a thing?! Have you no pride? Does the name of the Tobiume mean nothing to you?"

"Yes," Shiki had responded without batting an eye, causing Kiyohira-sensei to snort in amusement.

The woman's mouth had slackened, eyes wide and disbelieving as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. As if what Shiki had said was something utterly incomprehensible.

"If you don't mind me asking," Gojo Hijiri had later approached her in the aftermath of that clan meeting, "With all due respect… if you don't care about the Tobiume, then why are you even here? Why are you doing all of this?"

"Because I'm responsible for the people here," she'd answered. Reluctantly so, but nonetheless still responsible, thanks to Daisaku-sama. And it's not in Shiki's personality to go about carelessly shirking her responsibilities. That's all.

… Satoru-niichan also seems to think that she can do a good job if she puts her mind to it. So, while she still remains as the head of the Tobiume family… Shiki doesn't want her cousin to be disappointed in her.

It's a childish thought, to be sure, but she is a child.

The first Tobiume to seek a path for themselves outside of the Gojo Clan is a young woman by the name of Gojo Tsuru. Kiyohira-sensei was the one who made the arrangements, and it was during the process of doing so that he discovered that the young woman's primary motivation was escaping her parents' attempt to marry her off against her will.

Shiki does not approve of railroading people into betrothal contracts. Neither does Kiyohira-sensei, evidently, because he finds Tsuru-san's parents for a talk, and there is no talk of marriage whatsoever after that. The couple also tend to dissolve into senseless blubbering whenever they're in the same vicinity as Kiyohira-sensei thereafter, which probably isn't unrelated to whatever had been said in their conversation.

So, Tsuru-san is the first. The young woman leaves her parents to find a job in Tokyo, haunted by the harrowing experience of nearly having been married off to a man almost two decades her senior. There are also two others who decide to look for opportunities outside the Gojo Clan in wake of Tsuru-san's departure.

By the time Shiki's fourteenth birthday rolls around, that number increases to four. A teenager –young adult?– is accepted into Kyushu University. Gojo Toru eagerly heads off to continue their studies. Shiki suspects that their eagerness might have something to do with the fact that Kyushu is on the other side of the country, and thus far, far away from the Gojo clan compound.

A sorcery clan is not particularly kind to those who are non-sorcerers.

"How's wrangling the Tobiume going?"

"… It's going." Things could be worse. There are certain members of the Tobiume family that Shiki doubts she will ever see eye to eye with, but she doesn't need to like them in order to do the work of a branch head. It also helps that there hadn't been any cases of outright disobedience or defiance for Shiki to deal with, although that was probably less out of respect for her and more out of a healthy-sense of self-preservation. The Tobiume family were non-sorcerers; none of them even came close to matching Shiki in a fight.

"Is Kiyohira pulling his weight?" Satoru-niichan's voice is teasing as he sits down on the grassy ground beside her. "Do I need to punt him through a wall or two again to make him get his act together?"

Shiki rolls her eyes at the reminder of her earlier days with her teacher.

"Kiyohira-sensei has been a great help. I think he might be upset that I'm leaving him with a lot of paperwork, though." It's not Shiki's fault that administrative work for the clan somehow always ends up endlessly generating paperwork!

"Bleh, paperwork." Satoru-niichan sticks out his tongue and makes a face, shuddering exaggeratedly. "Is that what you're escaping by hiding out here?"

"I'm not hiding!" Shiki protests, puffing out her cheeks. If she'd wanted to hide, she would be suppressing her cursed energy. It wouldn't be enough to hide her from Satoru-niichan's eyes, but it would make it difficult for Kiyohira-sensei to track her down if he wanted to foist extra paperwork onto her… "I'm trying to see if I can extend my limits on 'White.'"

Her cousin whistles. "How's that going for you so far?"

Shiki waves her hand in a 'so-so' gesture. Visiting the Gojo Clan's restricted archives had helped provide a new perspective, but there's still a lot of experimenting involved on Shiki's behalf in working with an undocumented cursed technique. Her control has improved vastly from what it had been before the kidnapping incident, but…

"I'm having trouble broadening the target for my lapse technique," she admits to her cousin. "From what I've tried so far, it doesn't seem that I can apply it to multiple targets simultaneously. For example, if I'm using it on someone else, then I can't use it on myself. But there seems to be some leeway through physical contact, so I'm trying to see if that's something I can work with."

"Worth a shot," Satoru-niichan hums. "Well, let me know if you end up having any luck on that front! And while we're on the topic of your cursed technique, here."

With a flourish, her cousin presents a few sheets of paper to her. Shiki accepts them curiously.

"Oh," she blinks. "This is…"

"The update that we'll be adding to your cursed technique in the clan records," Satoru-niichan confirms. "I figured that you'd want to take a look at it beforehand."

Since Shiki's cursed technique is completely new to the Gojo Clan, it makes sense that the Gojo Clan would want it to be documented properly. There's already a file on her 'Fragility,' although that has probably been officially scrapped following the kidnapping incident and Shiki's realizations on her own abilities.

The papers that Satoru-niichan hands to her is… surprisingly vague, for something that's apparently going into the clan records. On one hand, it's completely understandable, since there's a lot about it that still remains unclear even to Shiki. But on the other hand… Shiki can't help but wonder if this is something that Satoru-niichan is doing on purpose, hiding the details of her abilities from the clan elders' eyes. That would probably be for the best, honestly.

"Does everything look good?" Satoru-niichan asks her. "Or, do you have any questions for me?"

Shiki has no complaints. Information is both a weapon and a tool, and she is perfectly happy to leave the elders guessing a little longer.

Although… there is a question that she has for him, actually.

"Why does it say 'Nihility?'" Shiki taps at the top of the paper. Hadn't they tentatively decided on 'Nothingness' as the name for her cursed technique a while back?

"You don't like it?" Satoru-niichan scratches his chin. "Well, I think it's a little more apt. Unless you're more attached to 'Nothingness?'"

That's true, she supposes.

"Nihility is fine."

… Wait, does this mean that Satoru-niichan basically named everything for her?

Shiki traces a slow finger over the characters, black ink printed on snow-white paper. Nihility. 'Kyomu.'

"Are you smiling?"

Shiki pointedly turns away from her cousin when he abruptly leans down with a teasing grin –only to realize her mistake in looking away from him a second too late.

Satoru-niichan tosses her over his shoulder, laughing, and carries her home.

.

.

…

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