"Is it really okay to put the TV here?"

"Yes. I don't mind. I can always use the coffee table or bed to do my schoolwork and reports."

In his casual wear of a black shirt and blue pants, Yuuji sets down the TV, taken from the warehouse where he had been living in hiding. The television took up a majority of space on top of Ciel's study desk at the corner of the room, barely stopping at the edge.

"I kind of feel bad though," he said. "I didn't think how big it was until I brought it here."

He hovered his hands near the TV with a tense expression, worried that it might fall over. He probably should have looked for a smaller one.

"It's really no trouble," Ciel answered, bringing in a box full of Yuuji's things, with more on the way from downstairs. She was out of her nun outfit and instead wore her school uniform without the overcoat, exposing her white sleeves with her yellow vest on. She wore her glasses as well, as if essential to her school uniform, regardless of her ever needing it to see.

"Since you use it to train yourself, then that desk is being put to good use." Ciel knelt down and picked up a random movie case. "Although, I'm still wondering how these movies could help you control your cursed energy."

"Sensei said that, since cursed energy is based on emotions, I have to concentrate the flow of it while watching these movies. So even if a jump scare happens, or a tragic scene, I won't lose my focus. I might even use those negative emotions to help me get stronger."

"I see…" Ciel comprehended the logic behind it. "Hm. It's certainly a creative way to train you. I would have thought that Gojo was too lazy to teach you directly, but I know how busy that man can be."

Man, she sure likes to diss at sensei a lot… Yuuji noted as he watched the girl pull out more movies, seemingly intrigued by one that was a romantic-comedy, and another that was a monster hunting film. She even called him without any honorifics.

He would have thought they were close friends with how familiar they talked about one another, even if Ciel didn't treat Gojo like one. It's clear that they knew each other for a long time, yet she hadn't aged at all according to Gojo. Was she a vampire? No, that wouldn't make sense. She can walk out during the day, and she's even working for the Church who hunted vampires. Then again, Yuuji is carrying an ancient living curse, which made him a half-curse, and he's still a sorcerer. The concept does sound like it'd make a cool manga series, though.

Yuuji remembered with a hollow feeling her death at the hands of the cursed womb, only for moments later, she came back completely restored. Her survival of that fatal attack. Her recovery from Sukuna's onslaught of slashes that could carve through stone and steel, and how she came out of that scathed, but never scarred. She really was immortal, in every sense of the word.

He wished his teacher would have mentioned that before. It would have spared Yuuji the heartache and trauma when he saw her get killed right before his eyes.

"Oh. You saw that huh?" He remembered Gojo's lackluster response upon hearing Yuuji's account of that night at the detention center. They were doing hand-to-hand combat, with Gojo easily besting Yuuji no matter how much of a brawler the teen was. He was sitting defeated on the ground while Gojo remained standing, giving his apology to the boy.

"My bad. I should have told you before. The Church is a little stingy in keeping their cards close to their chest, and Ciel's one of them. The truth is, no matter what happens to her, Ciel can't die."

"She… can't die?" Yuuji had asked, stunned by the statement.

"That's right. Impaled. Shot. Even a slice through the neck won't kill her – trust me, she showed that to me herself. Our meeting outside of Japan was 'interesting' to say the least. Anything she bleeds out will just come back to her body. Though, it probably still hurts, no matter how much she tries to act tough. I would have kept her in Japan if I had known sooner."

The man sat down in front of Yuuji then and stared up at the ceiling through his black-rounded glasses. "She's a one-of-a-kind find. Talent aside, her immortality is unlike anything I've ever come across. It's a curse, but not any technique I or other sorcerers know."

"Huh… Now that I think about it. Sukuna was also kind of stumped about her when they fought." Yuuji barely kept himself composed at the memory of Sukuna cutting Ciel's cheek. Like it was some kind of science experiment the bastard was willing to torture her for.

"Really? So even that guy doesn't know." Gojo sounded his surprise, looking back down at the boy. "…I see."

Coming to a complete understanding at the teen's avoiding gaze, the man added. "It's possible that it's not any kind of sorcery or magecraft. The only people who might know is the Church. Well, there's also Ciel, but there's no way she'll tell us – and I've tried."

He spoke with a soft smile, "I can tell that she's been through a lot of pain in her life, but despite all that, she was still willing to stick by you to your last breath, and made sure you would get the proper burial you deserved. Whatever happened between her and Sukuna, she won't hold it against you."

Even after hearing that, Yuuji still couldn't forgive himself. He just couldn't. It was his job to keep Sukuna in check and he failed. He caused so much suffering that he honestly didn't think he deserved to be treated kindly by Ciel.

But seeing as the girl had now gone out of her way to help him move in. Providing food, a bed, and company however brief it was. He really didn't know what to feel about it all, except…

Damn, I'm really lonely.

On days when he just sat alone at the warehouse with nothing but a cursed doll to keep him company, and all that doll does was sleep or punch should Yuuji's cursed energy fluctuate in the slightest. Visits from his teacher that lasted about a day. Nanami and Ijichi occupied with sorcerer business. And Megumi and Nobara believing Yuuji was dead.

It really cemented how lonely 'being dead' was. He missed his classmates. He missed people in general, but he was willing to endure it all if it meant not repeating the same incident that happened at the detention center. To get stronger, and to protect his friends.

Then you best be sure to work your hardest as a sorcerer.

Ciel's words echoed once more in his head. Yuuji stepped back from the TV and moved to take out the rest of his stuff, sitting by the blue-haired girl as she stacked the movie cases together in one pile. He had a lot going through his mind, but he was certain about one thing.

I'm really glad she's alive.

They had a few rough moments together, but despite that, Yuuji knew Ciel was a good person. Someone who tried to save him and protect Megumi. Someone who didn't have to go the extra mile to welcome Yuuji into her home, and have dinner cook on the stove for the two of them to eat. Even if all this was just to keep a better eye on Yuuji, she was being really hospitable about it.

Although, she was definitely scary when she was in her executioner mode. On the other hand, she really did look good in that blue dress.

I'll get stronger, and make sure you don't get killed again.

After experiencing it for himself, he found that dying really did hurt. Even if she can't die, he won't let her go through that pain again.

"This is the last box," entering through the open door, Ijichi carried the box and brought it over to the teens. "Would you like for me to help you unpack?"

"No, I got it from here, but thanks," Yuuji said as he opened the box full of his clothes. "Are you going to be staying, Ijichi-san?"

"Unfortunately, there are some paperwork I need to get through," Ijichi informed as he looked over to Ciel, "It hasn't been easy trying to find a believable excuse for my absence, though having Gojo-san involved is enough to turn some heads away. If anything happens, though, please give me a call."

"Understood. Please take some stew with you. I've already prepared a container on the side," Ciel said. She stood up and approached the kitchen where the warm waft of beef stew could be smelled from.

Ijichi thanked the girl, a small smile at the offer. His nervousness around the executor had died down considerably. While she may have killed vampires for a living - and possibly sorcerers as well, she hadn't acted as hardened as he heard stories of executors being, and was nothing but polite towards him. He'll commend Yuuji for having a good eye on women.

After receiving his container of food. With baked French breads that Ijichi anticipated on eating soon, the man bid the two teens a goodnight, and left the home of Ciel. Yuuji paused his unpacking when Ciel brought two bowls of stew and breads to the coffee table, their delicious smell enough to make his stomach growl.

"Here you go. Feel free to have a second serving," Ciel handed the bowl and spoon over to Yuuji, "I'll help you unpack the rest of your things after we eat."

"Thanks!" Yuuji gave his respects for the food. Ciel sat down beside him, and after giving her respect as well, they began to eat.

"Do you like movies, Senpai?" Yuuji asked as he took a piece of bread, pulling it apart to dip the stew with.

"Hmm. I think they're alright. I'm not so much of a movie enthusiast, but whenever I move into a new city or country, I always make time to watch all the available movies in the area so that I can fit in with the people better. There is this one movie I saw that left an impression on me, though-"

For about an hour, the two of them talked as they ate. Their conversation centering around the sort of movies Ciel had seen over the years and her opinions over them, even able to pick them out from the movie selection Yuuji had, though careful not to spoil the endings he had yet to see. She eventually mentioned her personal favorite, one which she rented on a whim several years back, and they discussed their views over the Blade movie and its compelling action scenes, even having a fun movie-quote banter.

"'Some motherfuckers are always trying to ice-skate uphill'." They shared a laugh after that.

Yuuji grinned at Ciel, "You want to watch it with me tonight? Sensei even gave me the whole trilogy."

"Huh?! Trilogy?! There are sequels?" Ciel genuinely looked taken aback by the information. As a busy executor, she hadn't given thought about there being continuations, let alone finding out on her supposed free-time.

"Yeah! Want to see all three of them?"

Ciel seemed to hesitate, deeply considering as she took a glance at the clock on the wall. "Well… I think I can stay up late, maybe for a little while."

She gave her answer with a smile, "Okay. Let's do it!"

Feeling eager, Yuuji downed the bowl of stew like it was a drinking cup and offered to get seconds for the both of them. After finishing their meals, they resumed unpacking Yuuji's things, his clothes sharing her closet, and the stacks of movies finding their place beside the study desk. Yuuji sets up the DVD player and puts in the first Blade movie, then found his spot next to Ciel behind the coffee table after she turned off the lights.

"Ready?" Yuuji asked.

Ciel nodded, looking a bit abashed as she brought her praying hands close to her lips, "Sorry, I'm a little excited. I don't usually get this much downtime."

"That's fine," Yuuji took hold of the remote, "Let's enjoy it then before you have to go out tonight. Oh! I almost forgot!"

He stood up and went to the closet. Ciel watched him curiously, and at his return, became confused when she saw what appeared to be a living, sleeping doll in his arms, sensing its carry of cursed energy. "A cursed doll?"

"It's part of my training. I have to stay focus or else this guy punches me. It really hurts too."

"Huh… Perhaps I didn't give Gojo-san enough credit then," Ciel said, wondering how the sight of Yuuji getting punched by a cute, slumbering doll would appear.

As she drew her face closer to the doll to examine it, the doll suddenly awoke, and threw its fist at her face with a yell. Ciel instantly backed away as Yuuji thrusted the doll into the air. "Holy sh-! Sorry!"

Yuuji apologized to the girl who was completely caught off-guard, but otherwise unharmed. Yuuji stared confused at the awoken and angry doll in his hands, "Why did it attack? I swear I have my cursed energy handled."

Ciel observed the feisty doll swinging his fists for her. She held her chin in thought, "It's responding to me only...?"

If the doll was responding to an untrained flow of energy, then it shouldn't have reacted to Ciel. Despite her intolerance to use her own magic, she had its flow completely controlled so not to disturb any magically sensitive people around her. Unless... was it responding to her cursed energy?

In comparison to her magecraft, her ability to use cursed energy was there but not as refined. She never used it except when it's to sense other cursed energy, and had thought it was enough to barricade it by the rest of her magical knowledge, yet it seemed the doll could still sense its unpolished state. Not even Roa used cursed energy that often, despite making the time and effort to learn it after he left the Church. It can only be taken that he preferred magecraft and the prana usage of it, regardless of himself being amongst the rare individuals capable of utilizing both opposing energies.

Ah. So that's how it is... With a slight huff, Ciel held an unamused look. "Hmph. It looks like you're not the only one your teacher is trying to teach."

She imagined that dastardly Gojo and his sunshine expression after having taped a "kick-me" sign behind her back. "I swear, that man..."

That must be why he was more than willing to have Yuuji live with Ciel, or at least one of the reasons. Gojo really did mean what he said before. One way or another, he intended to make Ciel his student.

"Huh? Sensei?" Still confused, Yuuji continued to strong-hold the doll as it flailed around to reach Ciel.

With a sigh, Ciel closed her eyes. "I'd rather not do this, but I'd also rather not get pummeled in the face by that doll. I'm also very determined to see my favorite movie with you, Yuuji-kun. So, it seems I have no choice..."

With her hands hovered by her hips, she tapped into her innate magic. Like blowing off dirt from an old CD she hadn't even touched once, she felt the shroud of cursed energy slowly emerge, swarming her body as she ignored her internal disgust feeling it. Although she never used it outwardly, it still left a terrible sensation within her.

In the dark, with only the light of the menu screen from the TV shining on Yuuji and Ciel, Yuuji was surprised by the sight of her bright blue and black cursed energy. His skin felt the air of her magical power's weight. Immense, like he was near an open lake with her floating at the center of it, her face comparable to a sleeping nymph. It felt like the pool could stretch farther if she allowed it. His eyes glossed in amazement as Ciel concentrated the flow of her cursed energy and pulled it back into herself, letting out another deep breath.

The doll suddenly stiffened in Yuuji's arms, then instantly fell back to sleep at the sensation of her calm, genius-level control.

"There, that should satiate it," Ciel said, giving off a satisfactory look before opening her eyes again, wearing her bright smile. "I'm going to give Gojo-san a piece of my mind when he gets back, but now we can enjoy the movie together."

Yuuji blinked at the girl, looking back down at the slumbering doll in his arms. "Just now. That was your cursed energy?"

"That's right. I've only ever use it to sense other curses, so I'm glad it didn't take too long before I was able to control its flow."

"EH?!" Yuuji outright shouted. "Really?! That was your first time?!"

For him, it took longer than that to control his cursed energy, and there had been a lot of punches and tears during that time. "Awesome! That was super quick too!"

"Ah. Well, it wasn't a lot of trouble. I had prior studies about it, just without practice, so it's not too big of a deal," Ciel said, a little embarrassed by the starry-eyed look on Yuuji as she intertwined her fingers.

"No way! That was seriously cool!" Yuuji continued to express, his eyes full of wonder towards the girl. "You're really strong, huh senpai?"

Unable to handle his compliments, Ciel lets out a soft giggle, grasping both sides of her face as she slightly blushed. "Hehe. Really? I'm not sure how I should feel about that. Honestly, all I got going on for me is that I'm strong."

"That's not true," Yuuji stated, sounding offended by her self-given presumption. "You're really nice too, and..."

And really pretty, like in all the right places. Of course, no matter how dumb he is, Yuuji knows better than to say certain things out loud. Though, seeing Ciel flush so easily, bouncing on her feet as if unsure if she should take his words or flee from them, it reminded Yuuji of his first impression of her when they met on the train.

Seriously, like, seriously. Why the hell did the church had to send someone this cute to kill him? Were they hoping he just takes it? This is so unfair. He almost wanted to pinch her cheeks right now.

"Ah, maybe, but I think I'm only ever nicest towards you and Megumi-kun," Ciel said, calming down a bit, wrapping her arms behind her back, "And also maybe Nobara-san. Which reminds me, I've met her just recently."

"Really? How is she?" Yuuji asked excitedly, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. "Did you meet with Fushiguro-san too?"

"Sadly no, and I can't really visit him at his school - me being with the church and all," Ciel explained as she walked back to Yuuji, taking a seat beside him and the now placate cursed doll. "As for Nobara-san, she was trying to find her way around Tokyo when I just so happened to come across her. She's doing well now and had since recovered from the incident at the detention center."

"That's great! I'm really glad she's doing okay," Yuuji said as he looked down at the sleeping doll, rubbing his fingers around its thin arm. "Gojo-san told me too. I was really worried what happened to her. I'm glad that Fushiguro-san was able to get her out."

"Ah, that's right..." Ciel said with a changed expression, from recalling her nice outing with Nobara, to a displeasure look at what she remembered Megumi told her. "You told him to leave you behind and save the rest of us."

Yuuji nodded. Not an ounce of regret in his expression, as if his own life really hadn't been considered for a moment. Regardless of how little it made sense, since this boy was going to die in the future anyway, Ciel was honestly a little angry to see such a face.

"It was a good call for you to tell Fushiguro-kun to find Kugisaki-san and make a run for it," Ciel at first commended, then her tone turned to scolding, "But you never should have told him to look for me as well. I've said it before that I could take care of myself. But I suppose I can't really blame you, since you didn't know about my… hidden ability."

Hiding her discomfort, Ciel added, "It was my fault for allowing that curse to surprise me like that. I didn't consider it could regenerate, and so quickly too. Because of my carelessness, Sukuna was able to take advantage of your distressed state."

"It's not your fault," Yuuji immediately responded, meeting her in the eyes to show his sincerity. "I wasn't strong enough to help you. I…"

Saddened, he lowered his eyes to where the cursed womb had punctured through her chest, and he glanced away. "I realized how weak I really am. I was kind of being pathetic about it too, I figured I needed to be that way so I could try to use cursed energy. It hardly did anything to that curse though."

Ciel remained very quiet upon hearing that, able to remain composed as she looked down on her knees, her hands joined on top of them. In truth, she had heard him. While she had been rushing to rescue him, having sensed Megumi, Nobara, and Noel's leave towards the exit, she was able to hear Yuuji's echoes of despair. It bounced off the walls all around her, like it was the cursed womb's attempt to mock her efforts, shake her spirit and become desperate while the distorted hallway was swarming with curses. Make her lose focus and leave herself susceptible to their attacks.

It ended up backfiring for the curse, however, as hearing Yuuji's pain and fear pushed her to kill every single curse in her way, and darted down the hall like a speeding train before finally reaching Yuuji.

"There's nothing pathetic about you wanting to live," Ciel said determinedly, clenching her fingers, "Although you are to be executed, you never needed to die in such a way."

And there are certainly worse ways for someone to die. Herself having experienced every single one of them. Looking over to Yuuji, her own eyes lowered to his chest, where his heart was not only ripped out, but her pile-bunker had punctured through as well.

Yuuji caught her looking at that spot, a flicker of realization in his eyes before Ciel broke her gaze away.

"I'm still against you being a sorcerer," she said, "I know I said for you to work your hardest as one, but you looked so serious at the time, I wanted to make you feel better somehow."

She gave a bright smile that somehow felt empty when Yuuji looked at it, "I'm a liar, after all. It's what being an executor like me is all about."

"Huh…" Yuuji could only say, looking down at the Blade movie case, "I don't think you lied about everything though. You obviously cared about Fushiguro-san. And if you wanted to make me feel better, that meant you cared about me too."

Yuuji didn't think he deserved that, but he wasn't going to let Ciel believe she was a liar over everything, especially something like that. How obvious it was that she cared about other people, willing to put her own life on the line for them. It was the complete opposite of what someone like Sukuna cared about, that being himself only.

"You're not just nice, you're really selfless too," Yuuji said, smiling at the girl beside him, "Now that I think about it, I owe you my thanks also. Even if you can't die, you still put yourself between me and that cursed womb. I'm honestly really happy you went through all that trouble just for me."

His cheeks brightened as he cheerfully grinned at the girl, "Thanks for trying to save me. I really appreciate it. I'm gonna make sure I pay you back for that somehow."

Ciel stared at Yuuji for a long moment. Despite her years of infiltration and conversationalist to work her way through every sort of environment, whether it comes to associating herself with either the public or a target, she was at a complete total lost with what to say.

Finding her face warmed by Yuuji's words, she looked away for the other side of the room, hoping her hair would be enough to hide her expression. "I… you really shouldn't thank me…"

I'm still going to be the one who kills you someday.

Letting that thought enter her mind, there was a pinch in her heart that made her mouth tightened into a thin line. Yet even with that, she couldn't stop herself from blushing so much after Yuuji's genuinely spoken gratitude. She hated to think what she must look like right now, probably a ripe tomato.

Honestly, this is not the time for me to feel this way.

"Oh! Let's hurry and start the movie," Yuuji suddenly declared, picking back up the remote and pointed at the TV with it, "I want us to finish at least one before you leave. Let me know if you want some popcorn later. I can warm up a few bags for us."

Taking a silent deep breath, Ciel composed herself and looked back at the TV screen, praying that the darkness of the room would be enough to hide her flushed face. "Ah… right. Though, before we should begin."

She pulled her glasses from her face and set them down on the coffee table in front of herself. "I should tell you that, if you're going to be given another sorcerer assignment, please do your best to avoid fighting another Special Grade curse."

She gives off a playful smile, "You might just make a girl who likes you cry with worry."

"…huh?" Yuuji's brain somewhat ceased all functions again, and he was swiftly punched in the face by the cursed doll.

Ciel jumped in her seat in surprise. "Y-Yuuji-kun?! Are you okay?!"

"This-! Little-!" Yuuji expressed his anger with tears in his eyes and a red punch-mark on his face. The doll merely danced on the coffee table in front of him, in sheer victory and disrespect towards the teen.

"I swear I'm throwing him out the window," Yuuji muttered as he pulled the doll back onto his lap. Ciel could only awkwardly laugh as she hovered her hands over his face. He wasn't bleeding, although that punch certainly looked like it'll leave a mark for a while. Nonetheless, she ensured that he wasn't too hurt, with Yuuji assuring that he was fine, albeit annoyed.

"Let's just... watch the movie now…" Ciel suggest with an crooked smile. Yuuji nodded in agreement, and he pressed the play button on the remote. They sat back against the wall on top of Ciel's bed as the first scene of the movie began, making themselves comfortable. Their evening becoming peaceful once more.

Junpei can't say which was worse, being ridiculed and physically assaulted by his bullies at school, or being stared at and judged while he stood in the women's underwear isle.

It wouldn't be the first time. He had gone shopping for his mom whenever she would ask him to, or had too much big of a hangover to do it herself, but the embarrassment was always there.

Junpei sighed as he got whatever he could. A pair of white frilly underwear with red linings, bras including, and then hurried to look for the next item on Satsuki's list. He couldn't really blame her for still having some of her human needs intact. He wouldn't want to keep wearing the same clothes for several weeks, even as an undead.

It's been sometime since Junpei stopped going to school. Mahito had been training him to hone his cursed energy, and the teen evolved exceptionally since. He had already summoned his first shikigami, and from what Satsuki told him, she hadn't been craving blood for several days now. She still needed to feed, but each time she does, Mahito would give her a new batch of those pocket-size cursed corpses which - Junpei had been shocked to discover - were in fact human beings.

Apparently, Satsuki had already known, and was worried how Junpei would react. He only assured her though that he still meant what he said before. He didn't care about strangers, and felt nothing but apathy towards the people who probably wouldn't have cared for him anyway. However, Mahito pointed out that that's not apathy, but malice. Vengeance against those who were irredeemable in Junpei's eyes, like those boys that died in the theater.

"Do you think people have a 'heart'?" Mahito had asked both him and Satsuki.

"D-don't they?" Junpei could only respond back. Satsuki looked just as taken aback as she waited for the stitched curse to clarify.

"They don't. They have a 'soul'. I'm the only one who understands the structure of the soul. Because by touching it, I've altered living things many times before."

He laid his eyes on the cursed corpse before them. A massive, fat-belly abomination. An incomprehensible truth that this creature was in fact human as well, before Mahito transformed it to see how big he could transfigure human souls into.

"But the 'dead' don't have souls. They have 'memories', but that alone can't give them life as souls do. That's why they fall apart so easily even when I don't want them to. However, I'm sure about this..."

Mahito looked to Satsuki who remained tensed under the gaze of the curse. "Even though you're a vampire. You do have a 'soul', Satsuki-chan. But you're also at risk of losing it if you don't feed on other people's souls. To preserve yours, you need essences that mimics the same properties as you, and help sustain your body and independence. I'm sure you could feed off of other animals and live, but by doing that, you'd become a wild animal yourself. But that's already a side effect you suffer from, the more your bloodlust takes control of you."

Satsuki held a bitter look at that fact, holding the red bow in front of her chest.

"I'm sure you must have felt ashamed the first time you took a human life, even if doing so rejuvenated you to a point. You have no choice but to enjoy what you could, since the alternative wouldn't have been pretty. You should know, though, that you don't need to feel bad about the lives you've taken."

The girl was surprised by Mahito's considerate, albeit callous words, and the cursed resumed.

"Human emotion is a product of the soul's metabolism. Love. Hatred. Guilt. People think of intangible things as precious. But for me, a person who can see other people's 'souls', it's no different from the body. It's nothing special. It's just there. You understand where I'm going with this?"

Satsuki was conflicted, though an answer rested within her chest, "...You're saying that life itself isn't as special as everyone believes it to be."

"Exactly. Just as water flows around the world. So too does life. That goes for all three of us, it's meaningless and valueless. It's the thought of a 'killer', Satsuki-chan."

The girl looked down to her feet, appearing sullen yet thoughtful, Junpei looked at her worriedly.

"That's why it's fine to do anything," Mahito continued. "Regardless of there being humans who might argue otherwise, people feed off of other living things in order to stay alive. If they actually believe there is value in life, they would have left themselves starve to death - and that in itself would be a contradiction."

Holding out another piece of the small, cursed corpse in his hand, Mahito declared to his two students. "Instead of being a slave to the ideal of 'apathy' or 'survival', you should be free to choose how you live. There's no need for consistency in your attitude towards life. If you hate them, kill them. If you want to live, fight for it. And if you're hungry, then eat."

He smiled at them as he crushed the cursed soul piece in his hand, "No matter what you do, I'll validate everything about the both of you."

It was an elated feeling. To be seen and determined as valid, after feeling like outcasts for so long. Junpei and Satsuki were in awe, and from that point on, Junpei's mind was made up.

First, he might consider saying goodbye to his friends at school. He probably wouldn't tell them the whole story or what he planned to do, but it'd be nice to have them hang out one last time, have a good self-sendoff before he should abandon that wretched place. Next, he should make sure his mom will be taken good care of. The neighbors are good friends with her, they'll be able to look out for his mom. It'll be hard, but maybe with his shikigami, he could pull off getting plenty of cash if he wanted to and send them to her, keeping her supported. Since all he needed to survive was blood, he shouldn't have to worry about food or water.

Satsuki still hadn't perfected her turning others into proper vampires yet, but with Mahito helping her, it shouldn't be too long now. He'll make his request to her then, but in the meantime, he'll keep training his cursed energy, just as Satsuki will keep controlling her bloodlust.

I wonder if Sacchin would like something sweet? Junpei thought to himself as he left the store with purchased clothes in bags at hand. She still likes to eat human food. Maybe I'll get something for myself and Mahito-san too. We can all eat together then.

Might as well enjoy a bit of his own humanity while it lasts. For the first time in Junpei's life, he felt hope for his future.

"Is that...? Did he buy that from the woman's section?"

"It seems like it. Perhaps it's for his mother or girlfriend?"

Yuuji and Ijichi were discussing as they spied on the individual whom they were able to track down thanks to the help of the police. They remained hidden in Ijichi's vehicle as the man slowly drove somewhat near but never too close towards the potential witness of the movie theater murders, Junpei Yoshino.

"He's wearing plain clothes," Yuuji noted, checking the time in the car to confirm the current hour.

"Yes. It looks like he hasn't gone to school in some time," Ijichi said as he looked at the boy in rearview mirror.

Several hours earlier, Nanami gave Ijichi and Yuuji the assignment to investigate Junpei while Nanami looked into narrowing down the hideout of the culprit. However, after Yuuji left briefly, Ijichi had correctly assumed that Nanami was already aware of the culprit's hideout, and only lied so to keep Yuuji from joining him.

"Because he is still a child. I won't let him throw himself into danger like what happened with that spider-ghoul. Only adults should have to worry about those younger than themselves." Those were Nanami's words, and as Yuuji returned then to wish Nanami good luck and to stay safe, Ijichi had to agree with Nanami's assessment. Regardless of the malignant curse residing within the boy, the teen himself was a kind soul who needn't put himself into danger so constantly.

"By the way," Ijichi started, adjusting his glasses. "How goes your stay with Ciel so far?"

Yuuji relaxed into his seat, keeping his eye on Junpei as he considered Ijichi's words. "Mm. It's been really fun. We mainly just talk and watch a lot of movies every night."

And thanks to Ciel's newly adjusted wards, Sukuna hadn't been popping out as he pleased now. Of course, the moment Yuuji stepped out of the apartment, the King of Curses wasted no time spouting demeaning insults at Yuuji and making threats towards Ciel. Yuuji never gave the curse the satisfaction of a response, though, and ignored him until the curse grew bored and went away.

"I've been thinking about what to cook for her tonight after she comes home from school," Yuuji rubbed the side of his neck. "I kind of also want to join her on her next patrol, but she said that she already has a partner out there. At least she isn't fighting alone."

Even after knowing about Ciel's immortality, he still worries for her. Ijichi couldn't help but smile. It's so obvious how smitten the boy was. It was really cute.

"It's better that you don't join her," Ijichi said, "After all, no one but myself, Nanami-san, and the others know that you are alive."

"Ah. Right," Yuuji said as if suddenly remembering that, then briefly glanced at his phone. Talking about Ciel, he debated if he should send her a text to see how she's doing at school, and then simply did so, taking a moment to write a few or so sentences.

"This is our stop."

Yuuji flinched when Ijichi suddenly announced. The man steadily drove the car into a parking spot by the sidewalk. "Let's go."

"H-huh?! Right now? What are we doing?" Yuuji asked.

"We're going to be using that," Ijichi said, his gaze pointing at the passenger seat beside him. Yuuji followed the man's sight.

"-?! Are those cursed spirits?!" Yuuji asked. On the passenger seat was a small cage with two cursed spirits inside. They were as little as puppies, with disturbing features and little wings on their backs, yet otherwise, they didn't look as horrifying as most curses Yuuji had seen before. The teen was shocked that he hadn't even noticed them before, though they did look pretty weak.

"Fly Heads," Ijichi explained, "They're low-grade curses ranked below 4th grade. We'll be using them to attack that boy."

"HUH?!"

Before Yuuji could question the morality of such an action, Ijichi resumed. "If Yoshino-kun is an ordinary person who can't see curses, please rescue him. If he can see curses but cannot deal with them, rescue him likewise and we'll interrogate him about the events of that day."

Ijichi adjusted his glasses as a serious look beheld him, "However, if he is able to exorcise the Fly Heads with sorcery. We'll restrain him immediately."

Yuuji felt the weight of Ijichi's instruction in his heart and stomach. "By force?"

"By force. If it turns out that we misjudged the situation, we'll apologize later. However, if a fourth case scenario were to occur: that Junpei is potentially a sorcerer over second grade, we'll retreat at once and join forces with Nanami-san. What happened at the theater couldn't have been done by just any curse. It's possible that a shaman was involved. We also don't have all the information of the killer's connection with the blood-drained murders. So while he may not be a vampire - after all, it's daytime right now - we don't know what he could be capable of, and we should leave immediately."

"Huh. But if he's second grade, I think we can barely take him on, right?" Yuuji asked as he returned his focus to Junpei. The guy seemed so normal, just about Yuuji's age. It's hard to believe that he could be a murderer.

"That's true if we're dealing with a curse,"Ijichi answered, "but if he is a sorcerer, that's another story. While a second grade sorcerer is put in charge to deal with second grade cursed spirits, it really means that a second grade sorcerer's power is close to that of a first grade cursed spirit."

"...How come I didn't know that before?" Yuuji asked as he thought back to the many lessons Gojo taught him, yet for some reason forgot to mention this part.

Ijichi sighed, as if knowing what Yuuji was thinking about, and then proceeded to grab the handle of the car. "Let's go."

"Ah. Yeah," Yuuji said, opening the door and getting out of the car also. "This is starting to feel like a conspiracy... and for some reason, I'm not all that excited about it."

There was a single ding from his phone and he made a quick look at it, seeing Ciel's response with her signature smiley emojis in the text. Despite the potential danger of the mission he was currently in, he couldn't help but grin.

"Please turn off your phone. We should focus on our assignment."

"O-oh! Right! Sorry!" Yuuji fumbled with his phone, texting a quick thumbs up and sending it before he turned off the device and putting it away.

Ijichi nodded gratefully and turned for the direction of their suspect, though as he looked away, the man smiled as well.

Yuuji: Hey! Hope your day is going good! Let me know what you feel like eating tonight. I'll cook something for the both of us! :) *cooking pot* *chef-hat* *smiley*

Holding her phone, Ciel read the text sent by Yuuji. Seeing how much he's already adjusted to sending emojis, she lets out a little smile. "Let's see..."

After considering for a moment, she sends back her response.

Ciel: Hmmm. I'll leave it up to you. I'm sure whatever you make will be great. I'll be looking forward to it! :DDD *smiley* *yummy-face* *curry rice bowl*

Yuuji: *thumbs-up*

Placing her phone on top of her folded school uniform, she took in a deep breath, smelling the air of murky water. "Alright then. I better finish this up quickly if I want to have another meal with Yuuji-kun tonight."

Arming herself with black keys at hand, Ciel stood up and looked at the large entrance leading into the sewers, ominously existing in front of the flowing river as she felt cursed energy deeper within the dark tunnel. Having traced the curse remnants from the ashes where the recent vampire murders took place, she arrived here in the midst of her classes. Noel remained in school to cover for Ciel, and for someone to keep an eye on Roa's potential host.

Though, it'd be simpler to just erase Ciel's presence from her teachers and students' memories, so not too many would think twice about their 'popular senpai's' sudden disappearance. She really wished they had given her a more mundane impression, but she couldn't control what conclusion her suggestion spell would make for them.

With her black-tinted swords clutched readily, Ciel waltz into the tunnel without pause. She hoped that this would not take as long as the last time she treaded across dirty waters from underground.