Title: zenith of stars
Rating: T
Summary: "It's not the Six Eyes," they said. So then, the question is –what is it? [OC, Mystic Eyes of Death Perception!OC, AU]
Warnings: Description of violence/gore.
AN at bottom.
.
zenith of stars
"22: flicker"
.
In hindsight, she probably should've expected this.
Tsumiki-san taking the initiative to plan a hanami celebration was already proof enough that the girl clearly enjoyed such activities. It indicated that such celebrations and events were something that she actively paid attention to, and treated as special occasions.
With that in mind, of course birthdays would be no exception in Fushiguro Tsumiki's eyes.
…
Shiki is used to her birthdays being… quiet affairs, for the most part. For all that she is the 'blessed child,' Gojo Shiki is still the daughter of a minor branch family, which makes her position in the clan a curious thing. Prominent enough that she had apparently railroaded half the clan into supporting Satoru-niichan's rise to power as clan head, but negligible to the point where her opinion is not asked nor needed for… almost everything, really.
Not that Shiki particularly minds it. She's perfectly happy to be left to her own devices by the Gojo Clan.
Still, the strange dichotomy of her situation tends to present itself in a curious way when it comes to her birthdays. First and most obviously, Shiki's birthday isn't anything even remotely close to a clan-wide celebration. In fact, there's no celebration at all. Some Gojo clansmen will leave presents at Kiyohira-sensei's doorstep, while others ignore it entirely.
The presents themselves are by and large the same as each other. Colorful candies, or other confectioneries to appeal to her nonexistent sweet tooth. Books or scrolls. Bolts of colorful cloth.
Kiyohira-sensei had been incensed that year when Shiki received a beautiful silk kimono, one that was intricately patterned with lovely chrysanthemum flowers. White chrysanthemum flowers, to be precise –which explained the incandescent fury. That kimono was an expensive gift and unquestionable insult all in one; white chrysanthemums were flowers meant for the dead, not the living. Shiki had understood perfectly upon seeing it that the gift was one given in bad faith, but part of her had found it rather amusing nonetheless. After all, her innate technique did give her an inextricable connection to death…
That year, Kiyohira-sensei had thunderously stormed out of his home, then remained conspicuously missing for the entire day. Shiki never did find out which particular clansmen had the bright idea of sending her that kimono… probably someone who had been close to Isao-san, if she had to take a guess. Kiyohira-sensei never told her just what he'd done to 'take care of things,' either. She didn't particularly care to ask afterwards.
Not that she'd had to.
Because when the next year came around, there were notably a lot less clansmen gifting her birthday presents, even perfunctory ones. Shiki can take a hint, especially when it's thrust into the middle of her face like this.
So…
Birthdays tend to be a bit of a strange thing for her, in regards to the Gojo Clan. Shiki is neither significant enough to be openly celebrated nor insignificant enough to be overlooked entirely, which made the entire situation a rather ambiguous one. One that most preferred to cautiously place themselves a healthy distance away from, quite understandably.
On her part, Shiki has largely learned to ignore the other Gojo clansmen on her birthday in return. She's found that there's much less of a headache that way for everyone involved.
So instead, Shiki looks forward to other things –such as the gifts she receives from Ken-jichan and Satoru-niichan. The busy schedule of the jujutsu school means that they're not always free to visit Shiki, unfortunately, but the presents that she receives from them are something that she can cherish even in their absence.
It's really quite a shame that Shiki's birthday is in the late spring, after the school year has started. The terrible timing of it means that the date always coincides with a rush of missions for the returning jujutsu students.
Although, that's probably not something she'll have to worry about anymore, since both Ken-jichan and Satoru-niichan have both graduated now. Maybe she'll see them both this year, if there aren't any last-minute emergency missions to take care of? Shiki is tentatively hopeful that might be the case this time.
At any rate–
Shiki usually doesn't make any special arrangements for her birthday.
… Evidently, it's something that Tsumiki-san disagrees with.
Ken-jichan, too, for some reason. Shiki knows that Ken-jichan is in on Tsumiki-san's plans this time around –he's the one who leads her out of the clan compound early in the morning, in order to give Tsumiki-san the space and time to plan her 'surprise.'
It's…
It's a little baffling, because Shiki never got the impression that the specific date of her birthday was particularly important to her uncle. Not to say that Ken-jichan doesn't care about her, because of course he does! Shiki knows that her uncle cares for her dearly.
It's just that–
Ultimately, the duties of a sorcerer will always take precedence before something as trivial as celebrating a little girl's birthday. Shiki understands that perfectly well. She's not upset by it.
Besides, in the end, the date itself is unimportant to her. Shiki doesn't care whether it's her birthday or a holiday or anything of the sort. She's just… happy, whenever Ken-jichan is able to spend time with her. That's all. So, the date is unimportant, really.
… Not that Tsumiki-san seems to think so, but Shiki has long since given up on trying to understand how Tsumiki-san thinks by this point.
So.
The morning of Shiki's tenth birthday, Ken-jichan picks her up from Kiyohira-sensei's doorstep. Her uncle takes her around town, and it's… nice. The Gojo Clan is fairly secluded in its gated enclosure hidden deep within the forest, so it almost feels like an entirely different world from the tall buildings and paved roads of an urban area.
It also belatedly occurs to Shiki that she's never really gone exploring on her own here. There's never been a reason to! Shiki usually runs off to visit Ken-jichan in Tokyo whenever she is free to leave the Gojo clan compound, so it's never been a priority to account for anything else…
…
Would Ken-jichan be upset if he knew that Shiki had never explored the surrounding area on her own? … Possibly?
Shiki doesn't really have a good sense for this sort of thing. Yuzuki-san or Tsumiki-san would definitely know much better than her, but neither of them are here for Shiki to ask at the moment.
"Is there anywhere that you would like to visit?" Ken-jichan's voice is soft, gentle.
Shiki doesn't care where they go, as long as Ken-jichan is there.
Their time together passes surprisingly quickly; eventually, the moment comes to return to the clan compound once more.
The first thing that Shiki notices upon opening the door is the unexpected sight of colorful strips of paper strewn about in absolute disarray everywhere. There is also what appears to be… glitter? Glitters and sparkles littered all over the wooden floorboards.
Kiyohira-sensei is definitely not going to be happy about that, she thinks.
"Gojo-san, can you hand me the –oh my god. Nanami-san, why are you back so early?!"
Tsumiki-san freezes as she rounds the corner of the hallway like a deer caught in headlights, complete with an armful of colorful paper strips trailing around her. Behind her, Megumi-san also freezes, but not for long. A black and white blur that can only be Panda-san collides into him, and the two go tumbling head over heels together with startled yelps, bringing Tsumiki-san down with them for good measure.
Shiki stares blankly at the groaning heap of surprise visitors in Kiyohira-sensei's home. "… Hello, everyone. It's… good to see all of you?"
"Hi, Shiki!" Panda-san waves his arms haphazardly from where he's sprawled at the very bottom of the groaning heap. "Happy birthday!"
"Happy birthday," Megumi-san wheezes, vigorously shaking his head like one of his Divine Dogs to rid himself of the colorful streamers stuck in his hair.
"Happy birthday!" Despite the bright cheer in her words, Tsumiki-san promptly covers her face with her hands immediately after, cheeks colored red with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, I know everything is a mess right now. I really thought we could get everything set up in time for your surprise…"
Shiki cocks her head, "Surprise?"
"Yeah! Like a surprise birthday party, 'cuz apparently you never celebrate your birthdays with anything special," Panda-san perks up. "We made a cake for you, too! It's sitting in the kitchen right now. And there are presents and everything!"
Entirely on instinct, Shiki looks up towards her uncle.
… A birthday party? What is she supposed to do with a birthday party? If her friends are already aware that Shiki doesn't really do celebrations of any sort, then why did they still see fit to go ahead and–?
Ken-jichan nudges her gently, "This is where you should thank your friends."
"Thank you," Shiki echoes him, although she still remains no less confused. She appreciates Ken-jichan pointing out how to react, but it's not exactly the explanation she was looking for. It's almost like being caught flat-footed, and Shiki… doesn't know how she should feel about it.
Logically, she knows that she should be happy. But for some reason, there's a part of her that also wants to turn heel and run.
But why would–?
A heavy hand claps down on her shoulder. "Happy birthday, my adorable little cousin!"
Satoru-niichan? When did he get here?!
Shiki is subsequently herded into Kiyohira-sensei's unusually colorful home in short order by her older cousin, feeling vaguely betrayed.
"Don't think too much about it," Satoru-niichan leans down and whispers into her ear. "I know you're not used to this, but let your friends celebrate for you, 'mkay? It'll grow on you. Probably."
He briefly ruffles her hair before she can make any sense of things, straightening and standing back up. The young man stretches out his arms over his head for good measure.
"So!" Satoru-niichan says brightly, "Let's grab the rest of the others and get to it, then. Who wants cake?"
The cake, as it turns out, is buried beneath a monstrosity of frosting and sprinkles that may or may not pass as abstract art if one squints at it really, really hard. Despite its… intriguing appearance, the cake itself is still edible. It actually tastes… nice. Satoru-niichan dramatically bemoans the lack of sugar, but in Shiki's opinion, this level of sugar is just right for a cake.
Tsumiki-san smiles happily when Shiki says this aloud. Had she been the one in charge of the cooking again, then? Just like she had that time when they made mochi together? It appears to be the most likely possibility. Neither Megumi-san nor Panda-san seem like they know how to cook, while Tsumiki-san is fairly experienced with finding her way around in a kitchen.
Maybe Shiki should ask Tsumiki-san for cooking lessons sometime.
After sharing the cake, it's time to open presents. It's a markedly strange feeling, to be surrounded by so many other people while she's holding the presents that were given to her. Shiki is used to spending her birthdays quietly with Kiyohira-sensei, and Jihei-san if the other man isn't held up by various other duties to the Gojo Clan.
Something like this, it's–
It makes her want to sink herself into it, like a cat curling up beneath a warm patch of sunlight. It makes her want to run away and escape it all, like a startled bird taking flight. Which is conflicting and confusing, and makes no sense.
It makes absolutely no sense at all.
The young girl glances up.
In this moment, everyone is gathered around her. Tsumiki-san is smiling, as is Panda-san. Megumi-san and Yuzuki-san are more reserved, but no less earnest. Kiyohira-sensei and Jihei-san are talking quietly with Ken-jichan, but when they catch Shiki looking at them, Kiyohira-sensei cocks an eyebrow questioningly in her direction while Jihei-san offers a faint smile. Ken-jichan smiles, too, which is…
…
Shiki casts her gaze towards Satoru-niichan. Her cousin is watching her with a knowing look on his face, and it helps to settle something inside her.
Contentment? Or is it… happiness?
Shiki knows that she was probably 'happy' with her parents, once upon a time. But that was a long time ago. The Gojo Clan is… not without its own problems, to say the least. But despite the various issues that Shiki has with the Gojo Clan, despite the rough patches she'd experienced and the overbearing elders… it wasn't as if everything was all bad.
After all, Shiki met Satoru-niichan through the Gojo Clan, didn't she?
Kiyohira-san and Jihei-san, as well. And Yuzuki-san, too.
Is Shiki… happy?
…
… She thinks so. This warm feeling in her chest, as she is surrounded by friends and family, by people whom she holds dear to her heart… this must be what it means to be happy, right?
"C'mon, open your presents!"
Shiki opens her presents.
Books from Yuzuki-san –she's not surprised. Some of the readings were ones that had come up in conversation a while back. How very like the older boy to pay attention to small details like that. And from Panda-san, a clear case with various insects framed inside.
"So you can start your own bug collection!"
To the side, Kiyohira-sensei twitches, while Jihei-san swiftly smothers his own laughter at the older man's reaction.
From the Fushiguro siblings, Shiki receives a box of homemade senbei crackers. Savory, rather than sweet –"Birthday cakes are a must! But I know you don't like sweets all that much, so we kept that in mind here."– and while objectively speaking, it's not as good as the ones made by the household staff working in the Gojo estate, they're… delicious. There's something to the taste that makes them different from all the other senbei crackers that Shiki has ever eaten before, even if she can't quite describe it in words.
Ken-jichan's present turns out to be a set of lovely, flowery hairpins. A gift that is as beautiful as it is eminently practical, going by the look of those pointed ends. Satoru-niichan's present is a pair of dark, reflective sunglasses. There's also a subtle spell laid on it, one that suggests the face behind those glasses is easily overlooked and unmemorable. Shiki appreciates it; she can definitely see that being useful.
Ken-jichan's smile turns a little fixed when Satoru-niichan whips out his own sunglasses while Shiki tries on her cousin's gift, which makes Shiki pause for a moment. Do the glasses look weird on her?
"No, no, you look perfectly fine, Shiki," her uncle says unconvincingly, with a distinctly pained expression.
Shiki glances at Satoru-niichan, who gestures towards her in a 'Don't worry' motion. Then her cousin turns towards Ken-jichan with a wide smile of his own.
"Doesn't she look like me?"
Ken-jichan ignores him entirely. Oh, is that what's bothering him? … Silly Ken-jichan.
Shiki moves on to opening Jihei-san's present. It's…
Long. Also a lot larger than all of the earlier gifts combined –even Kiyohira-sensei's, although Kiyohira-sensei's mystery present is also similarly long and large in bulk. Shiki slowly turns over the curious package in her hands, and meticulously unwraps the decorative gift wrapping just as she had all the others.
… Oh!
The girl visibly brightens, lifting Jihei-san's present out of its casing. "A sword? That's really nice of –Ken-jichan, are you alright?"
Her uncle, still struggling from his sudden coughing fit, waves a hand placatingly in Shiki's direction while he glares at Jihei-san.
The man raises his hands in surrender. "She needs a weapon. The tanto that she's been using broke recently, didn't it? So I thought–"
"A sword is not an appropriate birthday gift–"
"Calm down, Nanami," Satoru-niichan idly pats Ken-jichan on the back, craning his neck to get a better look at the katana Shiki is currently holding in her hands. The other children are also looking at it inquisitively –with the exception of Yuzuki-san, who had probably recognized it the instant that Shiki had lifted it in her hands. Her cousin tilts his head, "Oh hey, is that the Kuji Kanesada?"
Upon hearing that, Kiyohira-sensei scowls. "Really, Jihei? Didn't you say that you were going to–"
"Well, I thought it would be fitting," Jihei-san waves his hand dismissively, interrupting Kiyohira-sensei mid-sentence. "Besides, it's about time that Shiki finally gets a proper cursed tool of her own, wouldn't you say?"
Kiyohira-sensei works his jaw slowly. "Even so, that's still not exactly –don't! Shiki, do not unsheathe that thing in here! You're going to tear down all the wardings I have on this house!"
Shiki removes her hand from the hilt with a small pout, faintly put-out. Tsumiki-san giggles at her reaction, while Yuzuki-san shakes his head.
Megumi-san leans forward curiously. "That's a cursed tool? … It doesn't look any different from a regular sword. Does it do anything special?"
"That's the Kuji Kanesada," Yuzuki-san gestures towards the sheathed katana in Shiki's hands. "If you're asking whether or not it has a cursed technique embedded in it, the answer is 'no.' Only Special Grade cursed tools are imbued with cursed techniques –conversely, any cursed tool that's imbued with a cursed technique is automatically considered to be of Special Grade ranking. Kuji Kanesada is a Grade One cursed tool."
"A Grade One cursed tool that's five hundred years old, and has already accumulated a significant amount of power by this point," Kiyohira-sensei rubs at his forehead and sighs. "In terms of durability and cutting strength, it won't lose to any Special Grade cursed tool."
Ken-jichan still does not appear to be particularly happy. "It doesn't matter whether or not it's a Grade One or a Special Grade cursed tool. That's not the point!"
Then what is?
Shiki doesn't quite understand what her uncle is getting at, but somehow Jihei-san seems to realize what's going on.
The man regards Ken-jichan quietly for a moment, then nods. "… Fair enough. I understand where you're coming from, Nanami-kun. But as much as you and I might both dislike it, there's no denying the facts before us. Shiki is a sorcerer, and the Gojo Clan will ensure that she remains on this path. I may not have the means to protect her as I'd like, but at least I can provide her with the proper tools she can use to protect herself with. I hope you can understand where I'm coming from."
Going by the way Ken-jichan silently works his jaw and does not respond, it's obvious that he does understand, even though he's still clearly unhappy.
"… Ken-jichan?"
Her uncle sighs, a heavy sound. "It's… don't worry about it, Shiki."
The little girl blinks slowly.
Hmm.
… If she's reading the room correctly, Ken-jichan doesn't like the fact that Jihei-san gave her a sword. Because he… doesn't think it's an appropriate birthday present?
But how so?
It's not as if Jihei-san gifted Shiki a kimono patterned with white chrysanthemum flowers, or anything. He gave her the Kuji Kanesada, a cursed katana engraved with a nine-character inscription that is its namesake 'kuji.' More to the point, Jihei-san gave her a Grade One cursed tool that's on par with a Special Grade weapon; it only lacked a cursed technique imbued into it, to be truly considered as such.
Kuji is a useful present! Shiki likes the sword, and even now she's still tempted to pull it out of its lacquered red sheath. Kiyohira-sensei is giving her a warning look, though, so she patiently restrains the impulse.
Shiki decides that the best course of action to distract Ken-jichan's attention from Kuji is by opening her last present from Kiyohira-sensei. Out of sight, out of mind, right? If Ken-jichan wasn't looking at it, then maybe she could–
"…" Shiki slowly lifts a new sword out of the box she'd just opened.
Well.
Now this was a little… um…
Ken-jichan noticeably stills for a moment, then whirls on Kiyohira-sensei without a single word, his intent obvious.
"I didn't know that Jihei was planning to give her Kuji Kanesada!" the older man valiantly defends himself, shifting awkwardly when Ken-jichan's glare does not lighten up in the least. "I… this is a cursed Kotetsu blade. An authentic Kotetsu, even. It doesn't match up to the Kanesada, but it's a wakizashi, rather than a katana. Shiki is still a growing girl, so it would be easier for her to handle a shorter wakizashi in the meantime until she has the proper reach for a katana…"
That makes sense. Shiki is touched by Kiyohira-sensei's consideration, but… evidently, Ken-jichan doesn't feel the same, going by the unrelenting death glare.
Jihei-san clears his throat, "That's very thoughtful of you, Kiyohira-san."
"'Thoughtful' isn't the word I would use," Ken-jichan grits out.
Kiyohira-sensei looks away. "… You're being far too overprotective. It doesn't matter how you personally feel about it. Shiki doesn't–"
"She's only ten! You can't treat her like she's–"
"You might be her uncle, but you don't know her, Nanami," Kiyohira-sensei interjects sharply. "Not as we do. And Shiki isn't–"
"Ahem!" Satoru-niichan coughs loudly, pointedly. "Sort this out between yourselves some other time, 'kay? What ever happened to setting a good example in front of the kids?"
The three of them freeze for a moment, and look towards where the children are gathered.
Tsumiki-san is visibly apprehensive, fidgeting in her seat. Megumi-san is uncomfortable, too, even though he's doing his best not to let it show on his face. Panda-san seems to be similarly discomfited, although it's hard to discern through his expression. Yuzuki-san has his head lowered, and is carefully not looking in their direction.
Shiki, on the other hand, only tilts her head quizzically.
…
Despite the hiccup over Jihei-san's and Kiyohira-sensei's gifts, the rest of the day goes… fairly smoothly, in the end. Shiki's caretakers end up having a long conversation with Ken-jichan in the aftermath, although Shiki isn't privy to the contents of their discussion. She can hazard a guess, though, now that she's had a little more time to think about it.
Ken-jichan worries about her. No matter what happens, there will probably be a part of Ken-jichan that always worries about her. Kiyohira-sensei and Jihei-san worry about Shiki, too, but not in the same way that Ken-jichan does. Whereas Ken-jichan worries in a way that indicates he would very much like to hide Shiki away from any and all dangers, Kiyohira-sensei and Jihei-san know that the dangers are unavoidable –and so plan accordingly for them.
Or something to that extent, probably.
The next year on Shiki's eleventh birthday, she receives not a single weapon as a present. Things remain much the same the year afterwards, too.
… She can't say that she's entirely surprised, although it's an idle thought that occurs to her with exasperated fondness for her uncle, and how hard he's trying for her.
.
.
Megumi-san receives his first mission in the autumn.
… Well, no, that's a bit of an exaggeration. Megumi-san gets his first taste of a sorcerer's mission as an accompanying junior, to be precise. Satoru-niichan had finally declared the little boy ready to start getting some practical experience on his hands, and so he'd decided to bring Megumi-san along on one of Shiki's missions involving a tricky Grade Two curse.
This actually turns out to be a good thing, for both Shiki herself and Megumi-san. Shiki is good at fighting and killing things, not so much at tracking them down. In direct contrast, the Divine Dogs summoned from Megumi-san's Ten Shadows technique are excellent at tracking.
"Found it," Megumi-san says, brows furrowed in concentration. "The cursed spirit is hidden away in some weird… pocket… doorway? Like, right under the archway, there's a strange–"
"I see it," Shiki responds. The large white dog that Megumi-san summoned as a guide had suddenly disappeared into thin air –seemingly, at least, but Shiki could see it.
Her eyes aren't like Satoru-niichan's. Shiki's eyes are incapable of observing the ever-present ebb and flow of cursed energy in the world around her. However, she hadn't missed the strange distortion in the space where the dog shikigami had stood mere moments prior. Some sort of cursed technique? No, that wasn't quite right. It looked more like a barrier.
Which explained how the local police couldn't find any trace of the missing children who'd disappeared over the better part of the last year. Also, it meant that this particular curse was most emphatically not a Grade Two curse as originally categorized. Semi-Grade One, at the very least.
Still, it won't be a problem for Shiki.
The air ripples, as Megumi-san's shikigami returns from its brief venture into the cursed spirit's barrier. Shiki catches the clear flash of shimmering lines before it slowly fades away again, and–
Wait.
"Is that a girl?" There's a small slip of a girl stumbling along behind the white-furred dog shikigami. One of the missing children, perhaps? … That was good. It meant that there was a chance that the others were still alive, too, and hadn't yet been murdered by the cursed spirit that they were hunting.
"Looks like it," Satoru-niichan squints, then shrugs and reaches for his cell phone. "Hi, the mission isn't concluded yet, but do we have any child services workers hanging out around here? Yes? … Great. Yeah, there's a kid who just wandered out on her own after Megumi's shikigami went in…"
"I'll be going ahead now," Shiki says. If the cursed spirit's control over the barrier was as good as it looked, it would know that the illusionary veil had been breached, and that would mean greater danger for its remaining occupants. Best to hurry things up, then, if that was really the case.
The assisting staff working in tandem with them moves swiftly. Almost immediately after Satoru-niichan's phone call, there is already someone on the scene collecting the dazed, scruffy little girl who'd followed Megumi-san's shikigami to escape.
She was a lucky one. Few people were able to escape after being trapped by cursed spirits –aided by shikigami or not.
"Ojou-sama," one of the men bows to Shiki as she draws close, and the white-haired girl blinks in recognition.
"Hello, Choki," she greets. Suzurigi Choki, of the Suzurigi Clan, one of the Gojo Clan's vassals and serving families. "I will be entering and exorcising the curse now. There may be other survivors, so I would appreciate it if you could remain on standby at a safe distance."
"Certainly, ojou-sama. Please be careful."
Shiki nods, and steps into the barrier.
The cursed spirit itself is a grotesque thing. It's a monstrosity possessing two stocky legs and six giant arms, all attached to a body that's composed of one distended head devouring another, shrinking into a narrow tip at the top. There are indeed other children scattered about inside –both alive and dead, and others that resemble walking corpses– which is both a relief and faintly concerning.
It's good that there are other survivors. But they'll only be a liability in a fight.
The cursed spirit notices Shiki immediately, the moment she steps across the barrier's threshold. It roars, a wordless, guttural sound that sends the children around it scattering like flies. One of the younger girls lets out a choked sob that turns into a sharp scream–
Before abruptly cutting off into silence.
… Because the cursed spirit had slammed its arms down in order to haul itself up, and in doing so, had crushed the child into a bloody smear on the ground. Its hand slowly lifts, dripping blood. The gory mess that's left behind isn't even recognizably human anymore.
Shiki sighs.
"Intimidation? How very dull." Her hand drops to the hilt of the blade at her side –the Kotetsu wakizashi that Kiyohira-sensei had gifted her on her tenth birthday, which ended up being a better fit length-wise for Shiki in comparison to Kuji.
The curse responds by swinging its arms out around it in a wide arc, directly towards the other bedraggled children caught in the nearby debris–
Shiki knows what it's trying to do. Some curses have sharper instincts than others, and she hasn't exactly been suppressing her cursed energy, so evidently it recognizes her as a danger. This one is also clever, and clearly knows how to make opportunities for itself by utilizing its advantages –such as threatening human hostages. Because sorcerers are only human, and their mission is to save others.
Right?
(That's perfectly true. A sorcerer's mission is to save others… just as it is to kill curses.
It's almost a little funny, how cursed spirits always seem to overlook that latter bit in her experience.)
Shiki isn't capable of teleportation. In the six seconds that it takes for her to cross the distance between them, the cursed spirit kills another two children, before lifting another one in front of itself, directly in the path of Shiki's blade–
The white-haired girl instantly flips gracefully overhead and swings her sword, slicing off the hand entirely. There's a sharp scream from the child when they plummet downwards, but Shiki had made sure to leave enough of the cursed spirit's body to cushion their fall. They'll live. And as for Shiki herself…
The cursed spirit grabs at her while she's still unbalanced midair–
And screams, when its arms never make it to her.
All six dismembered arms drop down to the ground with heavy thuds, and Shiki lands lightly on its shoulder, raising her sword.
Red lines gleam in front of her, and she fluidly cuts through them all without a second thought.
There is a horrendous, ghastly cry that lingers in the air when the cursed spirit finally dies, its body crumbling away and dissipating in a cloud of black smoke. The world around them ripples as the barrier is finally broken upon the caster's death, and Shiki swiftly takes stock of her surroundings.
Aside from the curse's rampage in its immediate surroundings, all the other children are safe. Of the ones who had been unlucky enough to be caught in the brief fight… three casualties. There are three casualties, total.
… She'll do better next time.
Still, for some reason, she can't help but have the nagging suspicion that this particular cursed spirit seemed to be a little weak for a Semi-Grade One. Maybe because most of its strength went into maintaining its barrier? Had Shiki killed it too quickly, before it could think of dropping the barrier that was consuming so much of its cursed energy to maintain?
She'll have to double-check with Satoru-niichan later, just to make sure.
Shiki straightens, flicking her blade to rid it of the last few specks of dust before smoothly returning it to its sheath. She also takes a moment to check her kimono, and frowns when she notices another dark splatter to the side. Tsumiki-san doesn't like seeing blood. Sure, the kimono that she's wearing is dyed a dark red color so it's not immediately obvious… but it's the principle of the matter here!
"See that, Megumi?" Satoru-niichan ruffles the younger boy's hair as Shiki makes her way back to them, leaving the cleanup to reliable Suzurigi Choki. The man had smiled briefly upon seeing Shiki unharmed, before diving straight into his work. "That's going to be you next time!"
Megumi-san gives Satoru-niichan an incredulous, wild-eyed look. Who, me?
"He's joking," Shiki says dryly. Then pauses, as she catches sight of Satoru-niichan's bright, happy smile in response to her words. "Or… maybe not. But don't worry about it, Megumi-san, you'll probably be starting off by fighting Grade Four curses in a controlled environment. That was how things were like for me, at least, back when I first started."
The little boy nods once, determinedly, now that it becomes apparent that Satoru-niichan isn't about to haphazardly throw him off the deep end. It seems to be a common reaction that people keep having around Satoru-niichan, which Shiki finds difficult to understand –Satoru-niichan is whimsical, yes, but not irresponsibly whimsical.
Iori Utahime was another sorcerer who happened to be of a similar opinion to Megumi-san. Shiki wonders if there's anything that she can do to correct this misunderstanding. The last time she'd tried, Iori-sensei had given her a pitying look and said something along the lines of, 'Don't turn out like your cousin,' which was really quite baffling. Because by this point, Shiki is pretty sure that Satoru-niichan is the person whom she shares the most similarities to –and not just in terms of their physical appearances.
Iori-sensei is a joy to learn from, but oftentimes Shiki really doesn't understand what's going on in the woman's head, especially outside of their lessons. As much as Shiki is fond of her teacher, there's no denying that Iori-sensei always seems to consistently keep missing some pretty obvious things.
… Maybe Shiki should ask Jihei-san for advice? Despite the near-argument with Ken-jichan that time on her tenth birthday, the two of them shared a friendly relationship with each other nowadays. Jihei-san was good at explaining things in a way Ken-jichan could understand and accept, so maybe he could pull off something similar for Iori-sensei–
"We're heading to the Kamo Clan," Kiyohira-sensei says in a clipped voice, apropos of nothing, the very instant Shiki steps through the doorway when they return to the Gojo compound.
The girl falters, confused. Kiyohira-sensei is dressed formally in dark robes, complete with a sword slung at his hip –which is indicative of him taking a trip out, except that still doesn't clarify anything about his previous words, which pretty much came out of nowhere.
… The Kamo Clan? Why? Shiki holds no fondness for the Kamo Clan, and she doesn't recall any arrangements that require visiting the Kamo Clan. Aside from Jihei-san being in contact with Araya Souren, the Kamo's hojutsu expert, but so far there hadn't been anything particularly notable on that end.
Did something happen?
Satoru-niichan pokes his head through the open doorway behind her. Megumi-san mimics his movements, peeking in from around his knees. "Care to explain, Kiyohira? I thought Jihei had things well in hand on the Kamo side?"
Kiyohira-sensei's expression is… stormy, agitated. When he speaks again, Shiki picks up on an undercurrent of something angry threaded through the imperceptible tremble in his words.
"Jihei is dead."
.
.
…
.
Author's Notes:
Shiki's birthday is in early May, for anyone who's curious (the Japanese school year starts in April).
Anyways, on with the plot we go! This time we covered Shiki's birthday party, and a short snippet with Fushiguro's first mission that some people may or may not find to be a little bit familiar.
There's actually a little bit of timeline discrepancy going on here that I'll be chalking up to AU: In canon, Fushiguro was most likely a year or two younger when one of his Divine Dogs led a lost child out of a cursed spirit's barrier. In zenith of stars, Gojo isn't in so much of a rush to introduce Fushiguro to a sorcerer's missions –he's seen the way Nanami reacted to Shiki being sent out on missions at such a young age, and reached the (correct) conclusion that children probably aren't supposed to be pushed into exorcising curses as soon as possible. So, Fushiguro gets a bit of extra training before he finally receives his first taste of a sorcerer's mission.
Jihei noooo. D:
… Next chapter we'll be looking at another visit to the Kamo Clan!
AU snippets, update notifications, writing status, etc. are on my Tumblr! Link is on my profile.
-XxZuiliu