Chapter 4 Headless Chicken Chaos

Trivia #4: In case that Kuma couldn't use Amanozako to get rid of the ambushing Sorcerers, she actually prepared booby traps all over the house and requested a Cursed Weapon from Yaga

Despite the confusion from earlier, the night went relatively well after they ordered some takeout for dinner. That was the most excited they've seen Kuma as she tried the variety of new food provided to her since she was usually only served the best of the best. And the highlight of dinnertime was absolutely how she discovered the existence of sweets. In Shoko's words, it was like Kuma's eyes became literal flashlights with how bright they sparkled as she took her first bite of sweets.

Then it was practically an all out war as she hungrily eyed the box of kikufuku Satoru was holding, silver eyes glinting sharply. Shoko was casually sipping on her coffee, knowing chaos was about to go down even as Suguru attempted to step in. And just on cue to her thoughts, the silver eyed female wasted no time to pounce on the Gojo heir who yelped loudly as he tried to protect his box of kikufuku. Suguru who stood in between them previously was of course, inevitably dragged in. Shoko was proud to say she pretended to not see his plea for help to her and instead continued sipping her coffee.

All she could see was a cloud of dust and their heads peeking out every once in a while, though somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind she could almost hear them screeching like cats. Poor, unwilling Suguru was trying to get out of their wrestling match to no avail while Shoko just watched like it was the movie of the century.

"LET ME GO YOU DAMNED—"

"GIVE ME THAT KIKUFUKU BOX YOU OLD MAN—"

"TF YOU MEAN OLD, LOOK AT MY EYELASHES AND SAY I'M NOT BEAUTIFUL AF—"

Shoko paid absolutely no mind even as she saw Suguru's imaginary soul floating out of his body and the male brunette was abruptly thrown out of the squabble. Skin white and pale as a ghost, Suguru laid still on the floor with blank eyes. Catoru strutted over to the Curse Manipulator, plopping down with a scoff beside him as it poked him mockingly for looking so weak. Though the brunette didn't bother to move even when Catoru was swishing its tail at his nose. His energy was fully spent from just being unintentionally involved in the sweets fight. Never a moment of peace indeed.

The white haired Sorcerer had the nerves to stand tall and dangle the box of sweets on top of her, pulling it out of reach each time she tried to grab it. He even smirked at her and called her a shortie. To which she retaliated with a hard roundhouse kick, and Satoru practically flew across the room and crashed into Suguru. Which effectively knocked out the breath out of Suguru and successfully K.O.-ed him. Surprised by the sudden crash, Catoru who was near Suguru screeched like a demonic cat. Its back was arching up hilariously as it jumped to its favorite human without hesitation.

And so Kuma who was laughing maniacally in an evil villain manner in the center of the room while the box of kikufuku held high as the sign of her victory, was soundly taken down as Catoru rammed to her and she was promptly knocked down to the floor with a groan. The box of kikufuku flew out of her hands dramatically and without a doubt, landed on the floor. Shoko could practically hear the dramatic music as Kuma and Satoru went rigid like statues and cracked away when they realized they lost their dessert.

It was safe to say that none of them won tonight. Well, none except Shoko who had it all on camera secretly. That was indeed the start of the blackmailing teasing album Shoko would cherish dearly. Not that they had any idea at the time even as Shoko dragged Suguru back to their dorm. The two sweets fanatics that were left alone sulked as they prepared to go to bed, Catoru following its owner silently but not before sticking out its tongue to his human carbon copy.

Lips pressed thin and a vein bulging from his forehead, Satoru made a mental note to massacre the damned cat when Kuma wasn't looking. Why was the cat version of him so annoying anyway? He would've thought that he would get along with whatever version of him, especially when they were eerily similar. Or maybe it was exactly because they resembled each other that it felt too odd.

And honestly he could tell this wasn't going to be an easy ride. His Six Eyes has been on full caution since he first stepped into the house and he could sense the traces of Curse Energy lurking around, poorly hidden from the radar of his Six Eyes. Who did the Higher Ups think they were going to fool with this level of pathetic skills? It was a good call on their side to at least send Satoru beforehand just in case anything happens. The Gojo heir's attention was focused on the roof, gaze subtly following the Curse Energy of a random Sorcerer lying in wait to ambush the brunette girl.

Though the girl in question merely scoffed as she picked up Catoru who was pawing at her, glancing at Satoru with what he could only say as arrogance and cockiness that rivalled his own. "Let them be, they have their own problems to deal with."

And on cue to her words, he could hear a sudden crash and a surprised scream from the roof before it slowly faded away to the distance. His eyebrows raised, sensing a familiar Curse Energy abruptly showing up in the reach of his Six Eyes. A few seconds later, Amanozako descended and passed through the roof as a ghost would, bringing about a ghastly air with her.

There was a subtle change in the room as the Special Grade Cursed Spirit draped itself around her shoulders, one that Satoru would somehow classify as alarming even if it had no shred of malice in it. She smirked, confidently so with the aura of a rebel who can never be ruled. "They should've just restricted me from using Curse Energy. I don't necessarily have to show hostile intentions to attack someone darling. Your Higher Ups are making it too easy for me even when I'm still a newbie in this whole Sorcery business."

Without giving him a chance to reply, Kuma smiled mischievously and walked away with a skip in her steps. To say Satoru felt suspicious was an understatement, not long ago she was just a random stray they picked up in the forest. One with questionable background and abilities that the Elders were terrified of like the cowards that they are.

For someone who claimed to be unfamiliar to the Sorcery world despite being somewhat exposed to it, she seemed to be adapting at an extremely fast rate that one wouldn't expect. And she was taking full advantage of the fact that the Elders were underestimating her in their cautiousness. A big grin took over his expression as he retreated to his new room, excited for what the future had in store and how she'll grow.

Though one thing he couldn't understand was how she could sleep through all the screaming as Amanozako carelessly threw the malicious Sorcerers to who knows where. To Satoru it was as if he's hearing a child whining in a tantrum, wrecking their toys out of childish rage. He barely got any sleep by the time dawn breaks and the first thing he had to hear was literally another ridiculous scream but this time from the only other occupant of the house.

The reason would be the hyper Catoru scurrying around like the little menace that it was, bumping into every single thing in sight which inevitably roused Kuma from her sleep. She has never been an early riser, likely wouldn't have woken up either if it wasn't for Catoru jumping on her and knocking the wind out of her. In a rush trying to get the fluffy cat off of her, she accidentally rolled off the bed and promptly fell to the floor with a loud thud. The morning wasn't off to a good start with the pain and the burn in her bloodshot silver eyes. God, she was up for a murder for waking up this early even. Not Catoru though, too damned cute for its own good.

Instead she grumbled as she begrudgingly stood up, hissing at the sting from slamming to the floor. Catoru was lucky that it was so adorable or she would've committed homicide. Though frankly this was the worst sleep she's gotten in years with all the annoying cries of help from those Sorcerers last night when Amanozako wreaked havoc playfully.

Has she mentioned how arson in the morning sounded like the perfect idea? Perhaps she'll consider it after grabbing some proper breakfast… which she had to cook on her own since the servants that would usually serve her are nowhere to be found. But then again when was it never a good time for chaos? She was probably a walking recipe for disaster, but hey, at least she's cooking. She should've known better to be honest.

As you would expect, it was downright hell right off the bat. With no experience in the kitchen, she was clueless on how to use a knife nor how to turn on the stove. To be fair she didn't even have proper ingredients stocked since this whole cooking matter just dawned on her this morning. So she settled for a simple french toast recipe instead. Shoko had told her that french toasts were tasty last night, surely it'll turn out somewhat decent even if she messed up right? She was wrong, big time.

The first few eggs she cracked were utterly ruined since she smashed it on the counter with her majestic strength. Eggshells and slimy egg substance littered all over the kitchen counter in a mess. Kuma bit her lips in frustration, finally getting it right after a few more tries. In all honesty she has no idea how the chefs could do this every day.

Kuma was left mumbling to herself, gazing at the random french toast recipe she found on the internet. Muttering about the lack of oil mentioned in the recipe, she began to pour a large amount of vegetable oil into the pot and heated it up. "Anything deep fried should be tasty right?"

Catoru seemed to not agree with her words, shaking its head fervently as if it could understand her words and hissing for its precious life. That being said, the brunette didn't have the mind to even listen and just dumped the soaked bread into the piping hot oil. Unknowing of what it would cause, she could only yelp and jump away hurriedly as the oil splattered everywhere. Undiluted cuss words were flying off everywhere as Kuma jumped around, biting back a yelp of pain. Seeing its owner was in pain, Catoru also went haywire and ran around aimlessly in chaos. The pot was of course long forgotten at the side, left unattended and already ablaze in flames.

And the one who came out of their room with the perfect timing was none other than Satoru, greeted by the sight of Kuma and Catoru prancing about or perhaps performing some sort of unique morning dance ritual…? Whatever it was, this was too early for those shenanigans after his lack of sleep. He was in dire need of coffee with a ton of sugar, not a display of eggshells all over the place and a slippery floor. Though one would wonder why he didn't comment on the clearly concerning fire that was only growing bigger by the moment, nor did he seem panicked.

He was more amused by the string of profanities that showed no signs of stopping from Kuma. At least until her back hit the kitchen counter and she slipped on the slime covered floor, falling with a loud thud at the experienced Sorcerer's feet. Satoru leaned down, towering over her small figure lying helplessly on the floor as she glared at him unreasonably. He wasted a good minute cackling at her misfortune and clumsiness, uncaring of her indignant huff and stare of disbelief at his action.

Rolling her eyes, she decided it would take Satoru to help her and grudgingly ignored the throb as she got up slowly with a morning greeting. "Well good morning to you too, Satoru."

The aforementioned man shut his lips obediently with a nod, eyes glinting in amusement as he struggled to contain his laughter without success. Distracted by himself and the mirth in the situation, he failed to notice a small furry being approaching him. By the time he realized it, he was already yelping in pain when Catoru bit his left leg as hard as it could for mocking Kuma. Now he was the one dancing around, swinging about his extremely long legs in panic so that Catoru would be flung off.

It only made the fluffy menace bite even harder without any signs of stopping. Kuma glanced to the side, hiding a smug smirk as she inwardly hoped Catoru would bite harder before. Kuma had gone back to her position, humming at the flashy display of fire she was witnessing and not the least alarmed. On the other hand Satoru gave up and just let his cat doppelganger be, letting it dangle about while chomping his left leg. He took a seat and propped his head on the kitchen counter lazily while watching the inferno of flames with a grin. "So what's on the menu, chef?"

"Just made a simple french toast since I didn't buy a lot of ingredients yesterday, I'll probably buy some more today… Breakfast should be ready when the fire dies down."

"Roger~"

They saw absolutely nothing wrong in the situation. To the pair of clueless idiots used to fancy cooking techniques despite never trying them and only hearing their names, this was what they would call flambé in their books. Well it certainly isn't in reality, but they wouldn't know that until Suguru barged in nonchalantly already dressed in the uniform. He was completely calm, saying good morning to the two others and saying how they needed to get prepared since they have to meet Yaga soon. Until he saw the blazing fire, completely dumbfounded and frozen in his tracks.

"...f*ck I shouldn't have left these two crazy idiots alone." Both Satoru and Kuma let out a dramatic gasp, playfully offended at his bluntness. They were ready to launch themselves at him and whine childishly. Except before they could take another step forward Suguru, the male brunette already had a hand out to summon one of his Cursed Spirits. And without another word, promptly blasted the whole kitchen with water.

Though he didn't think that far ahead and ended up being soaked too. The floor was flooded and water was everywhere, none of them particularly looking happy with the results. The fire had died down for sure, and the pot fell over to the floor along with the oil and all. At this point Catoru unceremoniously let go of Satoru's leg and plopped down to the wet floor, soaked from top to bottom and hissing in displeasure. Satoru and Suguru were in no better state, hair and clothes utterly drenched while Suguru's iconic man bun was inevitably undone.

Kuma's eyebrows were twitching, uncomfortable with how her shirt was soaked and partially see through as it clung to her. Being one to never waste a chance, Satoru stared at her and appreciated the view with a thumbs up, making Suguru facepalm at his idiocy. The girl rolled her eyes, picking up Catoru who meowed weakly at her and hugged it to cover herself a bit at least. It was safe to say Suguru forgot to lecture them afterwards and Kuma took her sweet time in the shower with Catoru while the two male were busy cleaning up the house.

A/N:

._. Half feel like my writing style is inconsistent here and there and some parts of the chapter feels off to me—