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"So what's the plan from here?"

Upon having been filled in on the situation regarding Okkotsu-san, Kinji and Kirara had reacted with the same dual expressions of annoyance-irritation, which probably spoke enough of their thoughts on the higher ups' handiwork in this matter. Which likely also reflected their opinion of the higher ups as a whole, in fact. The previous mess involving Kinji's Domain Expansion had not left a good impression on either of them.

… And now, this.

"Satoru-niichan is still getting everything in order," Shiki informs her classmates. "If nothing goes awry, then Okkotsu-san will most likely be enrolled as a new student in the Tokyo school next year."

"Next year?" Kirara tilts his head. "But shouldn't he be in the same age group as us?"

Shiki gives a small nod, because that's true. If age is the only factor to be taken into consideration here, then Kirara is correct. Okkotsu Yuta should be enrolled as a first year student, effective immediately.

However, the current situation that they're facing is a little more complicated than that.

First and foremost, Okkotsu Yuta is, technically speaking, a danger to both himself and to those around them. Despite how the boy possesses a truly exorbitant amount of cursed energy, indicative of his immense potential, he also has an unruly Special Grade cursed spirit following him. More to the point, it's apparent at a glance that he's not exactly in control of either aspect of his curses. Any loss of control on his part had the potential to escalate into outright disaster –the recent incident involving Shiki's classmates and teacher would be a very apt example of that.

On that end, Shiki had agreed to play the role of a 'supervisor' of sorts for the boy. Regrettably, however, she can't say with any certainty that she would be able to subdue a Special Grade cursed spirit with zero collateral damage. It was one thing if Okkotsu's cursed spirit destroyed a civilian school, but another thing entirely if he destroyed one of the only two jujutsu schools in Japan.

Because the jujutsu schools served as more than an educational institution; they also acted as a base of operations for sorcerers in the system, wherein the administration coordinated their sorcerers as necessary. Sorcerers received crucial structure and critical support for their assignments from the schools. It's not an exaggeration to say that the loss of a jujutsu school would be no small blow to the jujutsu world at large.

In order for Okkotsu-san to be accepted as a student in Tokyo with minimal resistance from the higher ups, one of two conditions needed to be met: Either the boy needed to prove that he had enough control over his abilities that he would not be a dangerous, unstable element, or there needed to be someone stationed within the school who would be capable of subduing him should he lose control.

The first condition would be difficult to satisfy in the short term. Okkotsu Yuta had been raised as a normal boy in a completely civilian environment –save for the sole exception of the Special Grade cursed spirit haunting him relentlessly over the past years– and he had not been trained in any aspect of sorcery. Had not even been in contact with anything related to the jujutsu world, prior to the mission involving Shiki's classmates and teacher. Expecting him to be able to control his abilities to a satisfactory level was unlikely to happen anytime soon.

As for the second condition…

Technically, Shiki already fulfilled the requirement. One did not have to be officially ranked as a Special Grade sorcerer in order to be capable of taking on Special Grade-level threats. More relevantly to the situation at hand, Shiki had been the one to resolve the initial incident and bring in Okkotsu-san, anyways. So, it was not as if anyone could reasonably raise any doubts about her ability to perform the task, should there be any loss of control on Okkotsu's part.

However: Collateral damage.

Shiki is absolutely certain that the higher ups would definitely seize upon 'collateral damage' as a problem should she be the one presented as being responsible for Okkotsu-san, and it's… a legitimate concern. No one wants to see one of the jujutsu schools destroyed, after all.

To that end–

"Hold up just a second here," Kinji's brows are scrunched in a confused frown. "Back up a bit, you're kind of losing me with this explanation of yours. From what I'm hearing so far, it's starting to sound like the higher ups are going to be trying to… prevent Okkotsu from being enrolled? But you also mentioned something about Okkotsu being enrolled as a student a year below us?"

"They wouldn't want Okkotsu Yuta to be enrolled as a Tokyo student," Shiki clarifies. And there was another factor to take into account here, too; an additional reason why the higher ups would not want Okkotsu-san to become a Tokyo student. They feared the boy becoming receptive to the influence of the Gojo Clan, if he were to become Shiki's classmate.

Presumably, the entire point of the higher ups having gone to the lengths of carefully hiding Okkotsu-san's existence to begin with was so that they could ensure that no one else would discover and recruit the boy. So that they could manufacture favorable conditions for when they finally acted to recruit the boy to their own side.

To their own side, and not that of the Gojo Clan's.

Of Gojo Satoru's.

"… Are you kidding me," Kinji deadpans, "You're telling me that this is all tangled up in politics again? … How the heck do you sorcerers ever get anything done like this?!"

Shiki shrugs. Even though the higher ups are constantly dragging their feet on more or less any matter that is neither an emergency nor something to their collective benefit, they are familiar with the workings of the administration. They're the ones issuing commands to keep everything running in an orderly manner… even though the details and minutiae of information processing and mission assignments is carried out by the assistant managers and Windows in actuality.

No matter what the higher ups might think about it, they're not irreplaceable. It's just that the process would be… inconvenient, and chaotic. Otherwise, Satoru-niichan probably would've killed them all a long time ago.

"Okay, murderous thoughts aside," Kinji waves a hand through the air impatiently. "What's happening to Okkotsu now, really? And where does that leave us to go from here?"

"Satoru-niichan will be discussing the matter of Okkotsu-san's custody with the higher ups." Had Okkotsu Yuta actually succeeded in killing Shiki's classmates and teacher, then the ensuing discussion likely would've turned out to be very different from the one that would be taking place soon. Unfortunately for the higher ups, the results of recent events had not played out anywhere close to their ideal outcome for getting Okkotsu under their thumb.

Shiki knows her cousin well enough to know that he was not about to relinquish someone like Okkotsu-san to the higher ups in Kyoto so easily.

… Or at all, really.

It's not just about keeping someone with Special Grade potential out of the higher ups' greedy, grasping hands, even though that most certainly is a factor that Shiki has no doubt her cousin had taken into consideration. Satoru-niichan has his own plans, plans that involve changing the way that the current administration operates–

And though he's never sat down and properly discussed his plans with her, Shiki has caught onto a thing or two over the years. Looking back on it all, it's probably something that started ever since Geto Suguru's betrayal.

The higher ups don't need a Special Grade sorcerer to defend their interests.

In terms of skill and ability, Okkotsu Yuta is most certainly not a Special Grade sorcerer. Considering the civilian upbringing, sorcery is something that would be completely new to him, and only time would tell what talent he possessed for these arts. But there is a Special Grade cursed spirit tied to him, and the amount of cursed energy that the boy possesses is quite ridiculous. There's potential for a new Special Grade sorcerer, here.

"Once it has been confirmed that Okkotsu-san is to remain in Tokyo, it's likely that some degree of basic instruction will be arranged for him privately," Shiki informs her classmates.

"Privately?"

"He won't be permitted to enroll immediately as a student." She's sure that there will be all manner of excuses made for this on the higher ups' part. Such as the fact that Okkotsu-san is a volatile danger to those around them and needs an adjustment period to grow accustomed to sorcery. That he is from a fully civilian background and thus needs to familiarize himself with information that others might take for granted–

But the core of the matter is, the higher ups would definitely want to limit the degree of influence that the Gojo Clan would have over Okkotsu-san, given the existing imbalance of power.

… And Shiki, for all her disinterest in clan politics, was still a sorcerer of the Gojo Clan. So it only stood to reason that the higher ups would attempt to separate Okkotsu-san from her, especially when being classmates was an easy way to build familiarity and camaraderie with each other.

Well, that's fine. She wonders what the higher ups would think, once Gojo Satoru inserted himself into the Tokyo school as a teacher next year. The expressions on their faces upon hearing the news would probably be quite amusing to witness.

Kinji and Kirara exchange a brief glance with each other, before looking back towards Shiki.

"So Okkotsu is just… going to get locked up in the Tokyo school for the interim?" Kirara asks cautiously.

Shiki tilts her head.

"Not locked up." Since the boy is neither a criminal nor slated for execution, he won't be held in one of the warded containment rooms. Had she not been clear enough about what was going to happen to Okkotsu-san? "This isn't like Kinji's case in Kyoto."

"And thank goodness for that, I guess," Kinji grumbles under his breath, making a face at the reminder of the debacle that had followed after the reveal of his Domain Expansion.

Kirara gives the other boy a commiserating pat on the shoulder, and turns towards Shiki again. "Will we be allowed to visit Okkotsu-san?"

"Visits should be permitted," Shiki responds.

"That's good –wait, what about his family, then?" Kirara pauses, and then his eyes widen. "Actually, do they even know what happened to him? We kind of all left in a rush together, did anyone inform his–"

"Yes." There are measures in place for this sort of thing. And as far as Shiki knew, the assistant managers assigned to this case had done their job properly. Including paying a visit to Okkotsu's parents in person to offer up a suitable cover story for sorcery incidents such as the one that their son had been involved in.

"Okay," Kirara lets out a long breath, "That's a relief, then."

Kinji raises a brow, "I thought you said that you didn't get along with your folks?"

"Well, yes, but just because that's the case for me doesn't mean that's also the case for everyone else too, right?" Kirara points out reasonably. "I mean, usually if a kid suddenly disappears out of the blue, then their family is definitely going to be worried about them."

"That's fair," Kinji nods.

"Okkotsu-san's parents already gave up custody of him," Shiki blandly informs her classmates.

The boys immediately swivel around with identical sounds of shock.

"That was fast," is Kinji's first reaction, which earns him a bony elbow straight in the ribs from Kirara. "Hey!"

"But why in the world would his parents abandon him?" Kirara ignores the other boy.

Shiki blinks slowly, raising a hand to point at herself. "… You're asking me?"

"Yeah, you're asking her?" Kinji parrots her words from the side. "Our socially inept little ojou-sama? Really?"

Shiki is fully aware of her shortcomings when it comes to social skills, so that's nothing new. But the word 'inept' is one that has a negative connotation to it, isn't it?

"Was that an insult?"

"Of course not."

Shiki squints at Kinji suspiciously despite his swift denial otherwise. Kinji leans away from her in an exaggerated motion, and elects to turn around and address Kirara instead.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say that Okkotsu has a really strained relationship with his parents, if they're giving up on him so easily," he says, answering the other boy's previous question. "Probably something to do with Rika? Y'know, the scary Special Grade cursed spirit following him around? All the cursed energy probably doesn't help things, either."

Yes. Even if most people don't possess enough cursed energy to perform any sorcery with it, a significant majority of the civilian population are still able to discern when something feels wrong.

The darkness of an abandoned building, the stillness of walking down an empty street at night, the silence of a grave.

"… But even then, they're still his parents," Kirara says quietly. There's a strange note to his response that Shiki can't quite place, as if these words should mean something. "I… I'm not on great terms with mine, but… they're still my parents. They care, even though they're not always… here, I guess."

With that said, the boy exhales slowly, clearly subdued. Then he looks up towards them, almost searchingly, but unfortunately Shiki does not understand what he is searching for.

"My parents are dead," she says.

"Oh, really? So are mine!" Kinji reaches over and claps Shiki on the shoulder in a friendly manner, which renews her confidence ever so slightly. "That makes things a little less awkward, I kinda don't get this, either."

Shiki tilts her head. "But you answered Kirara's question earlier?"

"Yeah, it's called common sense."

The fragile expression on Kirara's face shutters, turning into something deadpan and exasperated instead. Kirara slaps a hand to his face, covering his eyes and making a strangled little sound in his throat that's either a tired groan or a mortified laugh.

"… Uh, you okay there?" Kinji asks.

"Neither of you guys have any ground to stand on when it comes to common sense," Kirara says. But there's something fond and affectionate in his tone, rather than reproaching. "Now, Shiki, I can understand. But I expected better of you, Kinji."

Kinji sputters indignantly in protest, "Oi, what did I do?"

Kirara only shakes his head with a smile instead of responding with a straight answer. Which makes Kinji huff and roll his eyes, although without any real heat.

"Getting back on track to our conversation before we derailed a bit, though…" Kirara continues, "About Okkotsu. Is it okay if we visit him?"

"… Now?"

Kirara nods.

"I'm kind of worried about him," the boy confesses. "I know how overwhelming it is to get all this sorcery stuff tossed at you out of nowhere. Well, I guess it's not out of nowhere for him, considering the cursed spirit following him and all, but it's still got to be a lot on his plate. And this thing with his parents, too…"

… Shiki actually isn't sure about whether or not Okkotsu-san has been informed about the recent decision that his parents had made, when they'd been approached by representatives of the jujutsu school. Probably not? If there are concerns about aggravating the boy's mental state, then hearing news about his parents being all too relieved to give up custody of him probably wouldn't be of any assistance on that end.

Seeing a few familiar faces would be good though, right? Kirara seemed to get along with Okkotsu-san well enough, and Kinji thought he was interesting. It's hard to say how much of that was reciprocated on Okkotsu-san's end, but… a visit wouldn't hurt.

"You know where he's staying?"

"He's still on school grounds." Not in the student dormitories, but in another section of the buildings that's usually meant for guests instead.

"Let's get going, then!" Kirara bounces up to his feet. "Think he'll be surprised to see us?"

.

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Okkotsu Yuta is surprised to see them, as it turns out.

Surprised, but nonetheless glad to see his visitors –although he casts a quick, nervous glance towards Shiki, and ends up smiling awkwardly when he sees Shiki staring passively at him. Kirara ends up taking the reins for conversation after that, with Kinji chiming in from the side as they ask Okkotsu-san how he's been doing over the past few days.

There are also a few things that end up being discovered over the course of their conversation. "This is a school?"

"Yup! It's called the 'Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School,'" Kinji draws quotes in the air with his fingers as he recites the full title of the Tokyo school. "There's also another school in Kyoto, but they're not really important–"

"The Kyoto school was the original jujutsu school–"

"But they're not important," Kinji repeats himself, deliberately raising his voice as he does so in order to drown out Shiki's corrections. Kirara stifles a slight laugh, while Okkotsu-san looks between them in confusion. "So you don't have to worry about them."

"O… kay…?" Okkotsu-san responds, clearly still confused.

"Don't mind Kinji," Kirara advises him. "Although he's not wrong, you shouldn't have to worry about the Kyoto school. Right, Shiki?"

Shiki blinks in surprise at being called out, but gamely nods along with her classmate's prompting, "… Yes."

"There we go," Kirara turns back to the dark-haired boy. "You can trust Shiki when it comes to this sort of thing. She's the one who's most familiar with how all the jujutsu stuff works."

"O-oh, I see," Okkotsu-san says.

"Mhm, you can trust the ojou-sama here," Kinji grins.

Okkotsu-san nods slowly, even though it's clear to see that he still doesn't fully understand what's going on. But Shiki doubts that anyone has spoken to him much in the past few days. The serving staff assigned to him would not have been able to explain anything important about his situation, and Satoru-niichan had only been able to drop in on him for a brief moment before he needed to depart and deal with the higher ups. Shiki had fielded a few of her cousin's missions for him while he'd been otherwise occupied, which meant a busy schedule for her.

Lack of information in a wholly new, uncertain environment would be enough to make anyone nervous. It would be best to reassure Okkotsu-san, then, so that he would be more comfortable.

"You won't be executed," Shiki tells him.

The boy immediately pales. Kirara grabs the sleeve of Shiki's hanten, giving it a sharp tug.

"Why would you say that?" her classmate hisses, despairing.

"… Don't worry, you won't be executed?" Shiki tries again. Judging by the way that Okkotsu-san inches away from her slightly, though, evidently she has yet to find the right combination of words. "… I am attempting to ease your concerns."

"Yeah, you've got a funny way of doing that," Kinji says almost admiringly. "It's even funnier because you never do it on purpose."

Shiki huffs, folding her arms across her chest. Once again, it seems that her classmate is deriving entertainment at her expense.

Kirara pats Okkotsu-san on the shoulder, "She's just like that, it's fine."

"I… but…" Okkotsu-san stutters incoherently, before finally managing to string together his words properly again, "Why is execution even an option on the table?"

There's incredulity in the exclamation, and a faint hint of fear, ever so slightly.

"The higher ups will execute dangerous elements that are uncontrollable, or pose a significant threat," Shiki tells him. "Usually, only the most dangerous curse users will receive this sentence."

Okkotsu-san swallows roughly. "… What's a curse user?"

"A sorcerer who uses jujutsu for malicious purposes, causing considerable harm to others." Such as Geto Suguru, who'd massacred a village of regular civilians using his Cursed Spirit Manipulation the night he'd gone rogue.

Okkotsu-san's hands clench into themselves. "So if Rika-chan… hurt others, then–"

"According to the reports, Rika has not done anything that would earn you an execution sentence," Shiki cuts the boy off. "You did not kill anyone. The only one who was harmed grievously by Rika was Kinji, and he doesn't count."

"What do you mean, I don't count?!" Kinji glares, affronted.

"You healed from everything, didn't you?" Shiki counters serenely, not seeing the point of the boy's indignation.

"Yeah, but it still hurt, okay?" the boy grumbles.

Okkotsu-san flinches, "I'm sorry."

"Nah, I didn't mean it like that. It's not your fault," Kinji blinks and shakes his head dismissively. "You did your best to try and stop that cursed spirit, anyways. And, well, better me than someone else who can't recover from it."

The reverse cursed technique that operates automatically in Kinji's Domain Expansion allows him to heal from anything that isn't an outright fatal wound that kills him immediately. This gives him a lot of leeway when it comes to fighting, because it allows him to continue fighting past injuries that would otherwise be debilitating for any other sorcerer.

And in this case, it's also good for Okkotsu-san, because it means that the cursed spirit haunting him didn't actually kill anyone. Caused a significant amount of structural damage to the school, certainly, but no one had died. So in a manner of speaking, it's actually lucky that Kinji was part of the team that encountered Okkotsu-san.

If Okkotsu-san had a kill count, then it would become a little more difficult to negotiate with the higher ups on his behalf. Not impossible, though. And in the worst case scenario Satoru-niichan could just single-handedly override any and all protests against his decision to keep Okkotsu-san in Tokyo. But…

It wouldn't be ideal. Sentiments towards Gojo Satoru from the higher ups would undoubtedly worsen, and while their opinions weren't something that her cousin cared for, it meant that things could become more troublesome in the future. The alternative of just killing them all and finding replacements who were likely to be more or less the same as their predecessors wasn't much of a solution, either. Aside from various delays and other issues that would arise from a sudden change in administration, seeds of conflict would also be sown by such an action.

The vast majority of sorcery families were already wary of the Gojo Clan, to varying degrees. Killing all the higher ups would give them an excuse to unite with each other and see the Gojo Clan –see Gojo Satoru– as a common enemy.

How many people would Satoru-niichan have to kill, in order to silence all voices of dissent? How many sorcerers would be left afterwards? How many would still be willing to cooperate with him?

In the short term, killing them all would certainly solve the immediate problems that Shiki could see. But unfortunately, it was not a viable option to consider… for now.

"Something on your mind?"

"… Not particularly." Shiki's immediate, honest answer to Kirara's question had been 'Killing the higher ups.' But upon catching sight of Okkotsu-san looking towards her as well and recalling the boy's reaction towards 'execution' earlier, she decided to opt for a non-answer instead. Shiki can be tactful. "Just politics."

"Ew," Kinji says. Understandable.

Kirara also makes a face, leaving Okkotsu-san to blink cluelessly at them.

"What does politics have to do with anything?" he asks, clearly confused.

"Everything," Kinji sighs, a heavy sound. "… Y'know, when I got recruited to this 'secret school for sorcerers,' the last thing I expected from it was getting thrown headfirst into jujutsu politicking."

Okkotsu-san slowly turns towards Kirara, evidently hoping for an explanation for the long-suffering statement.

"Yeah, no, he's not joking," Kirara shakes his head apologetically. "As it turns out, there's a lot of politics involved in everything here."

Okkotsu-san swallows roughly.

"Don't worry, it's not something that you'll have to worry–" Kirara freezes midway through the blatantly false comforting, apparently realizing himself how ridiculous he's sounding. There's absolutely no way that Okkotsu Yuta, a boy with Special Grade potential, would be left untouched by the higher ups' schemes. "… It's not something that you'll have to worry about immediately. For now."

The other boy does not appear very reassured by those words.

"Man, have you been taking lessons from Shiki or something?" Kinji pokes Kirara in the side.

"Shut up," Kirara grumbles, cheeks coloring faintly with embarrassment.

"Why are you bringing me into this?" Shiki slants a look towards Kinji.

Her classmate snorts, "Why do you think?"

"… Next time, I'm leaving you to the higher ups."

"Hey, hey, let's not go that far!" Kinji startles upright from his seat. "That's just cruel, don't you think?"

Shiki rolls her eyes. She can't think of any situation where she would actually leave her classmates to fend for themselves against the higher ups' machinations, especially when neither of them are very experienced in this area, nor do they have sorcery clans backing them as she does. Kinji is clearly aware of it, too, if that note of good humor persisting in his voice is anything to go by.

"C'mon, back me up here, Okkotsu," Kinji says, slinging an arm across the younger boy's shoulder.

Okkotsu-san squeaks, "M-me?!"

"Well, yeah. Kirara has been lucky enough to escape the higher ups' attention for the most part, but unfortunately the same can't be said for us," Kinji informs him. "If you get on Shiki's good side, then at the very least you can trust that she'll break you out of jail when they try to lock you up."

"Jail?" Okkotsu-san yelps, alarmed.

"Err, jujutsu jail," Kinji clarifies swiftly in his own defense. "Not an actual jail. Yeah. Although I think there's also something about sorcerers getting each other out of jail if they run afoul of the authorities anyways?"

Not quite how Shiki would phrase it, but that's… not exactly wrong?

Okkotsu-san gapes at them, at a complete loss for words for a few long moments. "… Are sorcerers criminals?"

"Yup." "No." "Some of them."

This time, Shiki and her classmates are the ones who exchange a long, silent look with each other. Each one of them had ended up giving a different response to Okkotsu-san's question.

"… You can't seriously tell me that the operation of a secret paramilitary organization is a perfectly legal activity," Kinji, who had answered in the positive, is the first to break the silence. "Like, yeah, some officials know what's going on with sorcerers and are sworn to secrecy and everything, but we're still breaking laws and causing property damage everywhere."

"But there is some degree of government approval," Kirara points out. "It's not like sorcerers are running around and committing crimes! And Windows also cooperate with local law enforcement, too."

"Curse users," is all Shiki says in defense of her own answer.

From a technical standpoint, sorcerers most definitely fall under a gray area when it comes to the legalities of their activities. However, it's highly unlikely that a sorcerer will ever be summoned to a formal court for jujutsu-related reasons. The matter of whether or not sorcerers are criminals is a question that does not have a clear answer.

But, it's undeniable that curse users, who commit crimes using sorcery, are most certainly criminals. Both under the regulations of the jujutsu world, and by the standards of the larger world around them.

"Right. I guess the cop-out answer is 'Sort of, it's kinda complicated,'" Kinji tells Okkotsu-san. "Technically yes, practically no, for the most part."

"To be fair, sorcerers are secretly fighting invisible monsters that most people can't see, so that probably doesn't help with officiating anything," Kirara adds from the side, then makes a face. "… It kind of sounds ridiculous when you say it aloud like that."

"Well, it's the truth," Kinji shrugs. "Cursed spirits are invisible monsters for most people."

"Are there… a lot of cursed spirits?" Okkotsu-san asks softly. Then, after a brief hesitation, "… Like Rika-chan?"

"Yeah, there are a lot of cursed spirits. But not like Rika, actually," Kirara answers. "Rika is a Special Grade cursed spirit, right? You don't see Special Grade cursed spirits all that often."

"I dunno," Kinji rubs his chin thoughtfully, "It certainly feels like we've been running into a lot of Special Grade threats, so it's probably likelier than you think."

"There usually aren't that many Special Grade threats." Admittedly, the number of Special Grade dangers that Shiki has encountered in recent times has been rather… frequent. But that's an anomaly, not the norm as Kinji apparently believes it to be.

"Really?" Kinji squints skeptically.

Shiki nods.

"… But it is possible to help Rika-chan, right?" Okkotsu-san ventures.

Shiki sighs. The simplest answer is the same as the one that she'd given the boy before: Kill it. With how intertwined the cursed energy was between them, it was possible that there would be some… potential backlash, at least until Shiki was able to get a better read on their lines.

But, since killing is not the answer that he's looking for…

"Satoru-niichan will be able to answer the specifics of that." Once he's been freed from dealing with the higher ups, at least.

"Satoru…?" the boy blinks in confusion.

"He should've visited you once already." Briefly, but still. Shiki has a hard time believing that Satoru-niichan would not have left an impression on him.

Okkotsu-san makes a sound of dawning realization, "Oh! That white-haired man who asked me a few questions the other day. Is he your brother?"

"No. We're cousins." Shiki isn't even surprised by this question anymore, at this point.

"Don't worry, I totally get you," Kinji reaches over and pats Okkotsu-san on the shoulder. "They look really alike, and they even act like siblings together!"

Shiki ignores the byplay.

"Satoru-niichan knows more than I do," she tells him. "He'll be able to analyze your situation. But depending on the circumstances, and how actively malicious Rika is, it's possible that he'll give you the same answer as I did."

Okkotsu-san bites his lip. "That's not… I-I mean, there have been accidents before, but nothing as bad as the last one at the school. Rika-chan is… dangerous, I guess, but she's not malicious."

"She's a vengeful spirit." And Shiki has yet to encounter a cursed spirit that wasn't hostile towards humans –Geto-san's cursed spirits being the sole exception, but that was because they'd been tamed by his cursed technique. It doesn't seem that things are the same between Okkotsu-san and Rika here, given the boy's distinct lack of control over the vengeful spirit. But whether that was due to a lack of skill or simply because he was unable to exert any control over the cursed spirit's behaviors…

Shiki wonders if the boy will be able to live up to any of her cousin's expectations. Certainly, he does not need to, but it will definitely be to his own benefit if he does.

Strength is something that's of utmost importance for a sorcerer, after all. If Okkotsu-san wishes to retain any semblance of self-agency in the jujutsu world, whether it be from the higher ups or from Gojo Satoru, then he will sorely need it.

.

.

…

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