Beta-reader: Biabialex

2002 July 09

Education in Japan consisted of a 6:3:3:4 year ratio. They were primary school, lower secondary school/middle school, upper secondary school/high school, and university, respectively. However, another option focused on developing technical skills rather than pure knowledge, and depending on the institution you would be entering, it was 6:3:4 or 6:3:5. It would be from primary school, lower secondary school/middle school, to college.

The schools that offer the services like the latter were called Technical Colleges(高専, kōsen).

That was why when Kanda Katsumi, who was ranked as top one of their year, heard that Tokunaga Emi, who ranked second, would study in a place called Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, he felt it was such a waste. Although the college was located in Tokyo, it never removed the fact that her talent would be wasted if she went to a kōsen—he heard her prowess in science, specifically in medical-related fields, so why did she decide to ruin her future that way?

That was dumb, and it was something he did not expect from the girl.

"Why are you going to study in a technical college, Emi-chan?" One of his female classmates dared to ask what everyone in the classroom was thinking. Everyone was curious since they were all pretty close with Emi because she was easy to talk to and treated everyone equally.

Emi slumped on her desk like she always did, only raising her head slightly to look at the face of the person she was talking to. "I really like the school."

It was a simple answer; nonetheless, it did not satisfy the people's nosiness inside the room. Some of her deskmates raised additional questions, but she waved them off, telling them she wanted to rest. It was nothing new, seeing that she would always use their free time for sleep.

The students eventually dismissed the clamor after finding other things to distract themselves with, except Katsumi, who watched the sleeping girl in the corner of his eyes.

It was their first year of middle school, and everyone was excited to get to know the people they would be with for the next three years. When Katsumi found out he would be in Class 1-A, he did not look forward to anything. That was until a pretty kid with fringed white hair entered their room and aced every subject like he did; he could not help but pay attention.

Now that he thought about it, there was a weird rumor about her in primary school, but it did not stop him from admiring the girl's wits.

It also piqued his interest when he noticed a pattern. Emi never tried to get a perfect score, and if they had an exam, she would answer 98% of it correctly. If she knew the subject was complex, like algebra, she would make it 95%, perhaps an act of pity for the other students to lower their class curve. The idea was insane, and even Katsumi did not dare believe it. However, it was exactly what he had seen from her test scores so far. It was near impossible to fake, and even if she did, there would be inconsistencies.

"Tokunaga-san! Tokunaga-san!" Shouts could be heard along the hallways. The voice got louder until a girl entered their room, trying to catch her breath while holding on to the door frame. "I-Is Tokunaga-san here?"

"What's the matter?" Katsumi stood up, hoping the girl would not create that much ruckus or else Emi would wake up.

The girl, bright red from running, managed to reply in between her gasps. "A-Ah, Gojo-san, and Geto-san were beating up people from other schools outside of the gate."

"Gojo-san again?"

"Shhh. But this time, the one who usually stops him, Geto-san, is joining the party!"

"Why? What happened?" Katsumi's forehead wrinkled right after he heard the whispers inside the room. As the class representative, he needed to understand why the girl was running in Class 1-A instead of Class1-B's representative, who should be managing the two guys. "Is there an accident? Was someone from Class 1-A included in the fight?"

There were a series of questions, but the girl managed to compose herself before answering. "That's because we think they're about to kill the other students!"

Right after she shouted, there was a sudden sound of a window opening. When Katsumi turned to look, the only thing he saw was strands of white hair disappearing in the air. He widened his eyes in shock as he turned to Emi's silent seatmate that suddenly stood up. "I-Ieiri-san? Where's Tokunaga-san?"

"She jumped off," Shoko replied indifferently, packing the books she was holding earlier inside her bag and slinging them on her shoulder. She also grabbed Emi's bag from the nearby seat as she walked to the door.

"B-But we're on the third floor?" The girl asking for Emi managed to blurt out as she stared dumbly at the short-haired brunette.

"So?" Shoko deadpanned, briefly glancing at the girl who did not move aside when she tried to exit. "Can you please move aside? I needed to go home, and you're blocking the way."

"W-Why?" Katsumi stuttered but also moved aside when the brunette passed by.

Shoko narrowed her eyes, visibly irritated that they were asking her too many questions. "Because we already finished our class? Don't you all need to go home too?" She replied, looking down at the girl who froze on the spot. "Move."

"A-Ah, yes. Sorry." The girl stuttered as if in a trance as she slowly moved her body sideways, letting Shoko pass.

Katsumi had to blink a few times, trying to process the situation. Gojo Satoru was a known troublemaker in their year, and he already managed to beat up people, mainly their seniors, who asked him for a fight. On the contrary, Geto Suguru was a popular student for his good looks and gentlemanliness. Their dynamic was popular since if someone would find trouble with Satoru, they only needed to call Suguru to stop the fight and save the people getting thrashed.

And now not only Gojo-san was fighting but also Geto-san?

"Hey, who told you to come here?" Katsumi, who finally processed the situation, turned to the girl beside him who had yet to leave.

"It was Geto-san. He told me to find Tokunaga Emi from Class 1-A." The girl scratched her cheeks, looking up as if trying to remember what happened. "He said they're about to kill someone, so unless Tokunaga-san is there…."

She did not continue, but Katsumi had gotten the gist of the situation. His mind ran through possible conditions as he concluded. So Emi was the only one who could stop them? He was confused as he went back to his seat to get his things to go home. They were only middle schoolers, and first years at that—what do they mean kill?!

And Emi jumped on from the third floor?! Katsumi was about to go insane.

"Ah, Satoru, don't kill the guy." Suguru managed to remind the white-haired boy, who then stopped punching the face of the leader of the group.

Dramatically wiping the non-existent sweat on his forehead, Satoru released his hold from his opponent and laughed. "But I'm really tempted to." He slapped the face of the boy he was holding then kicked his torso.

Suguru did not try to convince him a second time and continued to beat up his share of people. Obviously, not to kill them but to teach them a lesson. Okay, maybe it would be nice to give them a near-death experience; disabling them would not be bad, too. If only they did not go too far with their words, then he would forgive them, letting Satoru do his business as usual. However, they really had to insult Emi out of all people.

Shitheads.

As if he would let that pass. Well, he already did his best and asked a schoolmate to call Emi from Class 1-A; he was also sure Shoko would tag along.

"Are you the seventh one or the sixth one?" Suguru's facial expression underwent a minute change, making it change from friendly to sinister. He casually threw the boy's body he was fighting over his shoulder, glancing at his other opponents lying on the ground that was screaming in pain. He decided to ask them for assurance, "Do you still want to fight?"

The gathering of middle schoolers around them heard his question and burst into whispers. Suguru did not mind their blatant stares and thought it somewhat made sense, considering they were a few meters from the school gate.

Earlier, a pretty large group of boys decided to taunt Satoru when he walked out of the school, and the boy beside him decided to let it be at first. He thought it was the same as before, and they were only challenging the white-haired boy because of his increasingly bad reputation. However, Satoru was familiar with them.

Perhaps, his classmates back in primary school? Suguru was unsure since he did not get the chance to ask after punching one of them in the face after they called Emi a 'roach.'

Suguru was uncertain when that nickname came to be, but Emi did say they needed to ignore it since it was not worth their time. Too bad his Kaa-san only allowed him to go to the same school with his friends once he was in middle school. His mother said it would be hard to adjust to a new one if he transferred a few years before graduation. It was a good thing she gave in a few months ago and decided to move in a few blocks from the Gojo compound.

Suguru saw a familiar face approaching as his eyes turned into crescents; waving at the girl, he greeted her amiably. "Ah, Emi-chan!"

"You two are so dumb. Now, I have to get scolded with you." Shoko was following behind Emi. The girl rushed towards him, throwing both bags into his arms to kick a boy behind Suguru, trying to stand and attack again.

"Then I have to trouble you, Shoko-chan," he told her with an embarrassed smile, obediently carrying their school bags in each hand.

Shoko was impressive; she had already utilized her reverse cursed technique in many different ways ever since she requested to train with Emi to use it in combat. From what he could see, she also became the fastest out of the four, easily kicking Satoru at the top. It allowed her to be valuable support during combat, saving them right before they sustained a severe injury. Suguru even owed the girl his life a couple of times after saving him when she increased her skill in close-quarter combat.

In terms of overall power, Satoru and Emi should be fighting for the top spot (if the white-haired boy did not use his domain expansion), Suguru closely ranked next to them, and lastly, Shoko, which made sense since she was never the type to be fighting at the front.

"Satoru. Suguru." Emi, who finally arrived at the place, gave them a 'this-better-be-worth-it' gaze. "You better make sure you're not creating problems for me because I'm sure as hell you'd be the one talking to their families for the compensation if they die."

The white-haired boy that was called using his full name for the first time in years stopped slapping the boy he was holding right away. "Emi-chan! There's no one dead—right?" Looking over, he saw Shoko gave him a quick thumbs-up, which caused him to smile proudly. "See?"

"Just a few broken bones and trauma for life. Nothing the Gojo family money can't handle." Shoko retrieved the bags from Suguru, walking to the sighing Emi that was grumbling about how she should be at home by now.

Emi gestured for her two friends to come over then walked towards Satoru. She narrowed her eyes and grabbed his face to examine it for any cuts. "At least you know better than getting injured," she said, flicking his forehead in irritation. She also approached Suguru and checked for any cuts or bruises, then grabbed her school bag from Shoko, muttering a word of thanks.

"Roach head, Emi!" A shout was heard, and the crowd parted as a girl their age became visible. She was wearing a furious expression, wringing the wrinkled handkerchief in her hands; she went forward to attack.

As if it was her first time noticing the horde of people, Emi glowered, glancing at Suguru beside her. "Shoko already did her part, right?"

"Of course, Emi-chan. It's your turn now." Suguru gave her a doting smile he only ever showed to the girl.

Slapping the girl that was charging towards her, Emi then proceeded to do a quick judo throw. The furious girl landed on her back with a thud as the crowd around them went silent, disappointed that the fight ended swiftly. Suguru watched her lean over the girl, whispering a few sentences to her ear while holding her chin with one hand. He did not hear what she said, but he could make out some from the movements of her lips. He let out a chuckle out of amusement and thought how she never failed to amaze him.

Kill the girl if she dared to approach her people again, huh.

Suguru turned around only to see Shoko smiling and Satoru smirking with closed eyes. It was no surprise they also heard what the girl said. They were the only ones who had good eyesight and better hearing among the people here. He suddenly thought of how alone and scared he was of his power for the first half of his life; realizing his life changed for the better, his smile got wider.

2002 August 30

Tadashi carefully drank his tea while he looked at the training grounds. The shoji doors were open, allowing the fresh air inside the room as the two older men conversed. "I think we are giving the children too much work," he admitted after some realizations. Emi and Satoru were 12-year-olds, and it seemed overkill to give them workloads of adults continuously. "Although it is rather too late, would it be best if we let them be kids for a while?"

"The only thing we gave them was the things they needed to start with," Kunitaro gave him a disapproving glance. "Moreover, your gaki brought it upon herself. Correspondence with other clans? Especially the Zenins?"

"Careful, Kunitaro-sama," he reminded the Gojo family head, feeling a little bit attacked when Emi got blamed. "That's my grandchild you're talking about."

"She knows it, too." The man frowned absently, as if recalling a distant memory he buried in his head. "Regardless, we should give praise to those who deserve it. The three great sorcerer families' relationship is getting better. Instead of contending with each other, we now work on things that mutually benefit us. Although resources aren't equally shared, we don't have to worry about another family hoarding resources for themselves."

Since Emi had no familial relationship with the Gojo, Zenin, and Kamo families, they could rest easy knowing it maintained the status quo. This happened because she only swore loyalty to Satoru and not his family, making it easy for others to be unguarded against her. It also helped that she had the few reverse cursed technique users on her side, so the other factions were hesitant to offend her. Tomita Osamu had already given his stance along with Yaga Masamichi—they decided to protect the girl if it comes down to it.

"Emi was my granddaughter before she was a jujutsu sorcerer and Satoru-sama's aide. Although I helped you with convincing her to voice out her stand, it did not remove the fact that I, as her grandfather, have to prioritize her well-being before anything else," Tadashi snorted lightly, implying the family head's nonchalant attitude about the issue was an unacceptable response.

Kunitaro raised one of his eyebrows, impressed that the old man did not lose his edge over the years. "I don't know why I feel like everyone is blaming me these days, but it was her who wanted to do it in the first place. I did my part and dissuaded the girl a couple of times. Again, I can only help people if they want to be helped."

Tadashi, of course, was aware of this. If the family head wanted to mistreat people, he would not even allow them to do something as big as inter-family relations. He would rob them of the chance and give it to someone more deserving. Besides, it appeared Kunitaro was rather fond of Emi if he was continuously giving her the deciding power in the life of the future family head, Satoru. But it seemed his grandchild was too intelligent, even refusing to use her full authority at times.

It allowed her not to be too bound with the Gojo family. The only connection between them was the white-haired boy.

"But I heard you did not like her?" Tadashi pointed out, even giving his friend an accusing look.

"Nonsense. If I did not like her, I wouldn't be accompanying them around the Gojo territory setting up curtains here and there." Kunitaro would not even spare the time to talk to her, and yet he dragged his old bones around town, lowering one curtain after the other. Any other Gojo aide could have done that, but he volunteered himself since he wanted to watch the two improve.

Tadashi wore a weary smirk after the older man finally acknowledged he liked the girl. "And here I thought you would never admit it."

"Emi is one hell of a girl, so who wouldn't?" Kunitaro replied as he wished he had brought his pipe earlier. Inhaling nicotine would help him with his stress. "Even the old man from Zenin needed to admit that a little girl was the liaison between families." With an impressed look, he stared at the other man when he added, "What did you make her eat to grow like that?"

"The normal thing humans eat?" Tadashi gave him a blank look for his ridiculous question.

"Preposterous," he immediately replied, a little offended. "Why are you hiding it from me?"

"Why are you hiding it from me?" Tadashi sarcastically copied his words, irritated when the man kept asking. "Why are you pushy, old man? I did not contribute anything except my genes. As if you made your grandson eat something different to have Six Eyes."

"I did not," Kunitaro admitted, appearing wise beyond his years.

"See?"

"But I did make my son and daughter-in-law eat dishes with animal eyes," he continued, touching his beard remembering those times where all the dishes they ate were full of eyes.

Tadashi looked at him with disappointment and could not help but say, "Disgusting bastard."

"It was for the greater good. It all worked out in the end, right?"

"Don't you dare talk to me again. I only left for a couple of years, and you became this unbridled."

"As I said, for the greater good."

2002 September 14

"Good evening, Suzume-san!" Satoru grinned at the woman right after he removed his shoes. Emi lined up their shoes by the door, making sure they looked proper.

The older woman gave him a motherly smile as she removed the oven mitts from her hand. "Good evening, Satoru-kun and Emi-chan!"

"Satoru, is this what I think it is?" Suguru held the paper bag in his hands as if it was some holy relic. He looked at the white-haired boy straight in the eye as if communicating with it.

"Yes," he replied earnestly, giving the boy a thumbs up. Satoru brought kikufuku (rice cake stuffed with cream and sweet paste) from his recent trip when he remembered they would spend the night at Suguru's.

Emi grabbed the two by the scruff of their neck when they did not move away from the door entrance. "Good evening, Suzume-san. Do you need any help?" She asked, entering the house then dropping the two in the living room.

"Ah, if you want to help, that is." Suzume did not reject her offer since she indeed needed help considering she started to cook late, yet her guests began to arrive early. "Shoko-chan is in the kitchen!"

"Then… maybe we should help, too?" Satoru, who could not cook even if his life depended on it, suggested, nudging the other boy who was busy fawning over the shopping bag.

Suguru turned into a foodie after the white-haired boy shared his food with him every time he returned from his trip. He wiped the dripping saliva on his face and said, "H-Huh? Ah yes, Kaa-san, do you need our help?"

Suzume's face changed color instantly, then tried to reject his son gently. "You two can stay here. It'd be too crowded if all of us were in there."

Emi exchanged looks with the older woman, and both of them heaved a sigh of relief. None of the two could cook, and even if they did try, they tended to ruin the food they were cooking and the kitchen tools. The last time they agreed to the two's offer, they made a lot of mess, so they had to ask for external help to clean the Geto household. What was worse was that none of them seemed to realize they were incapable, so they would offer their help time and time again.

It seemed like Emi needed to find someone who could teach the two if they were willing to learn.

It was the end of the week, so they had their monthly sleepover in Suguru's house. Shoko would bring a movie to watch, Suzume would usually cook for them, and the rest would bring other food to snack on. It was pretty easy considering Satoru would travel to shop and get delicacies in each prefecture. On the other hand, Emi would typically send their food ingredients in advance, so the older woman did not need to bother herself to go to the market.

"Shoko, need any help?" Emi glanced at the food the girl was stirring in the pot when she entered the kitchen. "Suzume-san is outside preparing the table."

Shoko thought for a moment, pointing at the plates on the counter. "Maybe you could put each of our serving on the plates and give them to Suzume-san."

Emi nodded, following her suggestion. After a couple of minutes, the children sat in front of the dining table to eat, Suzume on one end, Shoko and Suguru sat on the left side, while Emi and Satoru sat on the right. The dinner was curry, much to the kids' delight since they would only eat a home-cooked dish when Suzume was present during their sleepovers. Usually, the older woman would visit her friends to avoid bothering the surprisingly independent children.

Even if Emi and Shoko could cook, the former would be too busy before the sleepover itself, while the latter did not want to volunteer unless she was asked.

One woman and four children muttered 'itadakimasu' in unison and began eating.

"Ah, Emi-chan. Why didn't you participate in the school competition in Urami East Middle School? I heard Suguru-kun would be representing since you did not join." Suzume gave her a questioning look while she handed a bowl of miso soup to each child. She was aware that the little girl was more competent than she pretended to be, so she could not help but ask.

Emi watched as Satoru sneakily gave her his vegetables, then glanced at the older woman to answer. "I have somewhere to be, Suzume-san. It would be too inconvenient if I had to visit another prefecture during that time."

"Are you going around again?" Satoru looked relieved when all he could see on his plate were pieces of meat and some potatoes. "Are you going to bring Shoko-chan?"

Suzume changed her target to Shoko, so the girl could only put down her chopstick politely to answer her interrogative look. "We usually visit… places. It's like a grand reunion for families in a certain community we periodically visit, Suzume-san."

Emi sent a glance of approval as she continued to eat. What Shoko said was more or less correct. She had to visit the three prominent jujutsu sorcerer families as a sign of respect since she was the liaison in between. It would help her better understand each family's internal politics and updates on their agreements. Thankfully, she managed to drag Shoko a few months ago that helped her finish some tasks when she was unavailable, but mainly to remind her to stop overworking herself. The brunette also gained a handful of secretarial skills that lightened her burdens, primarily supporting her with the thing she dreaded most—paperwork.

"You seemed to be doing a lot for children your age," the older woman voiced out her worries, finally probing about the children's usual activities outside of school. Suzume had noticed it a long time ago; the bags under Emi and Shoko's eyes, their slumping shoulders, and their weary looks. On the contrary, the two boys seemed uncharacteristically energetic, and the difference was much more evident when placed beside the two girls. "Is what you're doing volunteer work?"

The girl who was getting paid by the hour smiled reassuringly. "It's nothing major, so rest assured, Suzume-san." Emi gave her a look of fake confidence like a faithful slave to capitalism.

Suguru, who knew how hard they had been working for the previous months, hid his mocking smile behind his rice bowl when the white-haired boy who figured out what he was doing rolled his eyes. Shoko watched their interaction then kicked the two under the table, maintaining her blank facial expression. It made their dinner a little more lively because it took some time before all of them finished their food. The two boys who did not help in food preparation obediently gathered and washed the dishes after.

The four became rowdier and child-like once they had to stand outside their classroom a couple of months ago. It did not help that when someone got in trouble, everyone would join in on the fun, so they all had to be punished at the same time. A perfect example was the fight that happened in front of the school gates, where their class advisers scolded them to no end. Luckily, Class 1-A's class representative came to their defense.

The 12-year-old girl was never a troublemaker in her previous life, so it was an underwhelming experience in this one when she realized getting in trouble was not so bad. The girl realized she never really minded experiencing those punishments.

Emi was lying on the floor, watching the television as Shoko browsed the different channels. Satoru, who came from the kitchen, comfortably rested his head on her stomach. "Are you going to meet Naobito?" He did not even bother to add a suffix as a sign of respect as he handed his blindfold to his childhood friend to tie it for him.

"He wanted to change some clauses in our agreement," she replied, tying the knot behind his head carefully as she patted her stomach, gesturing him to lie down again. "He wanted either the Gojo or Kamo family to take in Zenin Toji."

"What?!" Shoko reacted after overhearing their conversation, disapproval evident in her voice. "Isn't that too extreme? He's a part of their family, after all."

"Who's Toji?" Suguru inquired, walking out of the kitchen while wiping his hands with a rag.

"The Sorcerer Killer," Satoru replied with a yawn, silently wishing the other boy did not consume all the kikufuku he brought. "He's from the Zenin clan, and he was creating problems for them. He was born without an innate talent for jujutsu, so they wanted to kick him out of the family registry."

Suguru showed his displeasure on his face. "That's too harsh."

Emi agreed, and regardless of her pity, she could not agree to the older man's request. Toji was already an adult and had already built distrust with sorcerers. Unless the change came from the relationships he made himself, he would never help any clans. Rather, he would be a threat instead with his outstanding track record of killing jujutsu-shis. He currently worked as a hired assassin for sorcerers and non-sorcerer's alike under the grounds that he was appropriately paid. If only the girl had been born earlier, she might be able to resolve his problem.

The girl could only decide based on the interests of the clan she was 'affiliated' with. Kunitaro would agree to the set-up because he trusted her, but Toji was too much of a liability to attract on their side. Now she had to think of a proposal that would benefit the interest of the Zenin clan and other families.

Emi recalled the rumor that Toji decided to settle down; she needed to check if that information was correct.

"It's not our business," she finally said after some thought. "You should all focus on how you can utilize your technique better instead. You don't have the privilege to pity someone the time you decided to be a part of a community that promotes discrimination between users and non-users." Emi felt ending her statement like that would leave a bad taste in her mouth, so she added, "If you really won't—change the system. Be powerful enough that you don't have to bend your principles for others."

"Why should we change it?" Shoko shared her opinion; she believed they should let things happen when it was supposed to happen. Actively changing it seemed like Suguru's style.

"Why shouldn't we?" As if proving the girl's thought, Suguru answered in a calm manner as he munched on some snack on the table. "If it's a system that benefited you too well, surely someone is suffering."

The white-haired boy fiddled with Emi's hand, watching her cursed energy circulate continuously even while resting. "We should just find a bunch of strong sorcerers and let them take the position of those old hags."

Wasn't that a revolution?

Emi felt his statement was surreal since the future strong sorcerers he talked about were sitting inside the same room, eating snacks while watching TV. One was supposed to be a mass murderer, while the other was supposed to kill the said mass murderer. The other girl in the group was apolitical and had never taken a strong stance about these issues. Was it okay for them to discuss topics as early as this?

The girl tried to process what happened and ultimately decided she should let it be. For goodness' sake, they were still children, and there should be no harm.

2002 October 06

Zenin Naobito swung his gourd, looking down on the children before him. Carefully scrutinizing the kid with the mole under her eyes, he felt disinclined to converse with the Tokunaga girl. Considering they already agreed that she should talk to him alone whenever Emi visited the Zenin compound, this offended him.

"Is she needed here?" Naobito swigged the contents of his drink in one gulp, wiping away the residue on his face.

"Would you be more comfortable without her?" The little girl acted as if it was their first time talking, foolishly asking if he would be comfortable with others around.

Never in all the years of his life would he be able to predict that he would get along with a kid.

The 54-year-old man laughed as if drunk, realizing it did not matter at this point but told her his preference nevertheless. "If you can make her go away. That's better."

Emi responded to his request by gesturing to the other child to wait outside of the room. After they were finally alone, she wearily sighed. "Water poisoning is a real condition, and you can be intoxicated by consuming water alone."

"Whatever," he threw his drink backward, slightly believing the girl's words. "So, did you think about what I sent you?" Naobito went straight to the topic as he sat in front of the girl.

He referred to the proposal he sent a few weeks ago after the Zenin family head became extremely weak. Hence, it made him unable to manage the clan's matter, temporarily transferring his authority to Naobito.

"That's hard," she started. "I'll be straight with you—we can't take him. The Kamo Clan wouldn't even maintain pretenses. They would straight out reject my offer if I ever tried considering you're not yet head of the Zenin Family." Emi knew the circumstances of his proposal, and although Naobito was a perfect candidate for the head position unless they could prove that his other brothers were incapable, there was only a small chance other clans would listen to him.

"Then what are you even doing here?" Naobito knew this would happen, but he at least had some hope when he learned Emi would like to talk about the issue personally. Ever since she appeared in the compound a year ago, there was nothing she did not dare do to the point she even convinced his father to mend the two family's broken relationship.

Emi, as if expecting this reaction, gave him a slight smirk. With her small hands, she retrieved a stack of papers from the folder she brought, browsed through it for a while then stopped at a specific page. "We can't do much about Zenin Toji, but we could take in any future members of your family who have little to no potential to be a jujutsu sorcerer," she proposed, pointing at a particular sentence in the paper. "But unlike our previous agreements, and for the two sides to trust each other, we needed to close this agreement with a binding vow."

Binding Vow (縛り, Shibari) was a jujutsu pact that established terms for oneself or others. They were simply contracts that an individual made with themselves or another person with cursed energy. Following the rules and constraints outlined in these contracts could lead to increased power or goal accomplishment, while violating a binding pledge would lead to uncanny consequences. Naobito believed there would be others like Toji, so he was satisfied with Emi's proposal. If this goes through, it would be a give-and-take agreement between the two parties.

"Then I agree." Naobito examined the little girl's facial expressions, preparing to take back what he said if Emi had a wicked plan. "Outside, this would be known as something that benefited the Zenin Family since we have no space for incapable people. In return, we will continue to cooperate with the temporary alliance."

"You didn't want them to know that Zenin Naobito cared for his people more than anyone?" Emi snickered in good humor, referring to the act he had put on for years.

The older man glared at her, releasing his killing intent. "Brat, you're still too young to know what's going on."

Naobito liked alcohol, but he was never the type to get drunk. He was also never the type to indulge with vices, but he had to act like it seeing how his younger half-brother was getting more vicious as time went by. If he tried to be more capable, it could lead to his death. The older man had tried to put on this act for years as an attempt to catch people off guard. It was such a shame his father and this little girl quickly saw through him.

As a matter of fact, he hated how people discriminated against his nephew, and he hated himself a lot more since he let it happen. But Naobito had to consider the family elders, like how all the other family heads did.

The intermarriage was getting out of hand, and he could already see how it affected their descendants. There was a large possibility that future clan kids would be born as non-sorcerers and the only thing he could offer them was a chance to escape. For some reason, Naobito and the current family head had the same thoughts. He was chosen as the next head over his rotten half-brother over that alone, and all that he needed to do was be the drunk 26th clan head without care for this world.

Naobito and Emi finished their binding vow after the feeling of their souls being shackled by invisible chains subsided. By the end of their conversation, he was surprised the little girl respectfully avoided the topic even until he saw her off the room.

Watching the representatives of the Gojo family leave, the older man felt there would be a new age for jujutsu sorcerers, and hopefully, he would still be alive to see it.

A/N

Our main girl still thinks she's doing well despite being overworked lol. We got to see the results of Emi's efforts this time and some wholesome bonding (plus school life which I enjoyed writing). Again quick thanks to the people who followed and favorite by this chapter!