Two sets of guardians refuses their kids to touch the Sorcery Society. One is only marginally better at communication.

Meanwhile, a fox lurks.

The aftermath of the practice game was followed by a lot of nodding heads from his teammates, as well as what they will now dub as the bread incident. Taiga himself as well, he had woken up sore all over- the kind that always happen after a good game- but that doesn't mean he didn't get to call his father. He'd called him, after school the say of the bread incident. But the man had completely shut him down before he could even elaborate, even going as far as to forbid him from looking any further into the matter.

"There are some things you shouldn't know, Taiga, and this is one of them."

"But I'm her son, right? I have a right to-"

"Taiga! You don't understand, you won't understand! You're still young-"

"Dad, If you're letting me live alone out here then I'm not a kid anymore! You don't have to-"

"-and I forbid you from looking into it anymore, Taiga. SSRA isn't something you can just walk away from."

The card now sits somewhere on the coffee table, atop a stack of sports magazines, silent- Taiga is almost tempted to call and lie, but he's not stupid. Not even the media in the States has ever managed to wrangle anything out of SSRA, any information in them are air tight. He sucks with words, there's no way Taiga would ever manage to lie his way into any information at all. So he distracts himself with basketball. Throwing himself into training- as well as the on coming tournaments.

Shuutoku. Taiga muses as he stares at the end of the bracket. Where one of the Generation of Miracles awaits. He glances towards the blue-haired boy by his side, "Kuroko, you know what kind of guy he is, correct?" He asks.

Lately, Kuroko has been spacing out a lot in class- even outside of the naps he's taken hiding behind him, (speaking of, this guy better be grateful- Taiga took all the heat from the teachers alone) but after what happened that day Taiga really doesn't blame him. The whole conversation and situation just seemed... a lot. Heeding his question, the teen lowers his eyes.

"I doubt you would believe me even if I told you," he replies after a moment's notice, "but like what Kise-kun said, the other four are on another level. And if they've gotten even better since middle school," he lifts his gaze, staring at some imaginary point in the air, "I cannot imagine how good they are."

The Interhigh preliminaries are only three weeks away, on May 16th- staring at the bracket in his hand he knows they're supposed to be focusing on their next opponents, but right now Taiga find himself unable to do so Shuutoku awaits in the finals of the preliminaries- one of the strongest schools, and a Generation of Miracles awaits. And Taiga cannot wait to rise to the challenge.

On top of that, he's also Kuroko's light- and him his shadow. And he plan to honour their promise, and beat the generation of miracles together. He's not blind- by now he knows that something went deeply wrong with that team, he's heard enough that day to guess, not to mention the appearant timing of his parents' death and Kise's reaction to it. It would take a blockhead to not notice.

Tetsuya walks home alone.

It's not a particular situation he's always done that. Sometimes, since their paths align he would end up walking with Kagami-kun, but more often than not, due to his duties as a part of the library committee, his and Kagami-kun's schedules doesn't match. Moreover, he's not really in the mood for chatting.

The day they won against Kaijou- after his aunt told him that she suspected he has Echo, he had wanted to ask more. Why is his situation complicated? Outside of the few colleagues he's heard of or the occasional visit from Anthea-Sensei, Tetsuya rather belatedly realises that he's never met another person from the Sorcery Society. They call it a society, he's heard about the boundary areas and they talk about it like it's a city- he's been to Pyrite, the building where they work, once- but his guardians has ushered him right into the hallways and he never got a good look at anything- the only thing he saw was the inside of what looks like an office building and the walls of train tunnels.

His uncle returns home just as his aunt contemplates, he says something he couldn't hear and they rush off without explanation after.

Sometimes he wonder if his guardians are deliberately keeping him away from something, or just paranoid- but then he recalls the horrific scars that line his aunt's back and the line of thought stops. He doesn't even know much about their work- or what they do at all. Who are they, outside of being his aunt and uncle, who are these two people which his mother spoke so fondly of, who are their friends? What are they like? Sometimes, Tetsuya realises he knows frighteningly little about his own family, and he would begin listing the facts.

Hotaru-san grew up in a cafe. She has a sister, and her mother was a police detective. She likes video games- and cusses like a sailor whenever she plays. Her cooking is amazing, and she has a collection of floklore and fairytales... she's also SSRA. High ranked, maybe, Tetsuya doesn't know. A teacher. Respected. Strong- probably, but he has no idea what classifies as strong.

She has a lot of scars she doesn't talk about.

She makes coins.

And she's married to Mafuyu-san, his mother's brother.

Mafuyu-san is from a rich, big family, one that his mum ran away from, and he doesn't get along with them. He's... Head of house? Tetsuya doesn't know if he has any other siblings. He enjoys reading, and has a sweet tooth. He's SSRA, and he fights... well? Tetsuya runs out of words by then, strange, that the one he shares blood with is the one he knows even less about.

"Kuroko Tetsuya?"

He blinks, startling from his thoughts. Looking up he meets with a pair of eyes startlingly like his own- the exact same shade, the exact same shape. Tetsuya's eyes widen, the person who called his name, standing only several paces away, dressed in a tomesode and a parasol in hand, her face is almost exactly like his mother's.

He recognises her from the funeral, due to the resemblance. But unlike his mother, who wore her hair unkempt and wild, every bit as free as her personality was, Nanakasa Nadeshiko wore her hers looped away from her face in loose curves. The locks are silver, streaked with brown, curled to the back of her head into a traditional updo.

His mouth goes dry for a moment- she looks young enough he could've mistaken her as his mother, if not for the stark difference in the way they held themselves, Tetsuya might've thought his mother turned into a ghost. "Grandmother," he says at last, and the woman smiles, poised and elegant.

"You remember me," she says with something like relief in her voice, "If you don't mind- Tetsuya-kun," she pauses, looking towards him as if waiting for permission to say his name, so he nods, "I want to speak with you. Is that alright?"

Tetsuya opens his mouth numbly, still reeling from the resemblance, "what do you want to talk about?"

"My son, and your mother," she says, shifting her grip on her parasol, "there are many things you should know about your family which they didn't tell you."

And as she shifts her grip, Tetsuya catches sight of a flash of silver, glinting from beneath the handle of the umbrella the unmistakable razor edge of a blade.

This is... more complicated than you might think, Tetsuya.'

He recalls his aunt's expression, and he swallows.

So Tetsuya nods. "Where do you want to talk?"

She tries to get him into the car, but Tetsuya took one look at the blacked out windows of the limousine and finds an excuse out of it- afterwards they end up walking to a near by, small but expensive-looking restaurant with the elderly woman promising to pay. Intimidated by the prices on the menu, however, Tetsuya asks for a drink and nothing else- though the woman insists, and orders him a dessert either way.

"Your mother used to love the mocha pastries our chef made," she says wistfully, "this is different, but I think it'll do." The waiter sets down the green-dusted cake in front of him, and Tetsuya finds that he can't find it in him to protest.

He finishes his dessert in silence, his grandmother gazing across the table towards him with a strange, unseeing gaze, her smile not quite reaching her eyes, like she's not looking at him at all, Tetsuya shifts, starting to feel uncomfortable.

"What about mum? And... Mafuyu-san?" Tetsuya begins, picking up his fork to poke at his plate. It tastes expensive, somehow. Across the table, his grandmother dips her head.

After a momentary silence, she looks up, "what do you know, about the Nanakasa family?"

Tetsuya pauses, "you're rich?" After a moment, he tries. The woman blinks in slight surprise, then a short laugh escapes her, and she shakes her head.

"The Nanakasa family are indeed quite wealthy," she confirms, still smiling, "but that's not all- The Nanakasas are one of the largest supporting families to the Karasuma Community, right after the Tatsuakes." She pauses, "you are aware of connunities, correct?"

Tetsuya nods, he's read it in one of the books his guardians gave him. "Outsourcing, right?" He pauses, hesitant, "aren't the Karasuma community... patrimonial?"

"Yes, I see you do know about us," the woman takes a sip of her tea, "the Karasuma community does not equate to the Karasuma family, however. They have, though, indeed been head family for over 2 centries now, and have a myriad of supporting families, all offering their talents." She smiles, and it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "The Nanakasas being one of them."

"So... you all traditionally work with the SSRA?" Tetsuya frowns, his grandmother shakes his head.

"The Karasuma have their own business, which is operated by us." She says, "we do occasionally offer our services to the SSRA, and we are, due to the Karasuma, allies. But on a technicality, the Nanakasas does not reside beneath the Sorcery Society Response Association's command." There's an odd sort of pride in the way she says it, which Tetsuya detects.

"Mafuyu is the current head of house. 10 years ago, due to pressure from the SSRA, Azuma stepped down from the position and he took over." Her expression turns troubled, "but not only was Mafuyu not favoured- as he only became heir since he was the last available option- his wife also became a point of debate." Her eyes lowered, "and the first thing he did upon ascension, was to shut down the business."

Tetsuya blinks, looking up with a frown. There's a quiet look in her eyes- but if his grandmother is bitter with the fact, then she must have a very good poker face. "Mafuyu never liked the family business," she sighs, "a lot of people are dissatisfied with his actions since, even though the business have since been revolutionised and family thrives today, a lot of elders are not in his favour. He doesn't even live at the house."

"...And Hotaru-san?" Tetsuya asks, he never knew that, "what about her?"

"Your aunt was the one, and only disciple of an important figure within the Sorcery Society- not only. She was important within the entire magical population." She took a deep breath, "who she is doesn't matter, what matters is, the woman used to be a rival of the Karasumas' business, who later, created the community, Constella."

Constella, that's the community his aunt is in- he recalls the star badge she wears, "so... the family doesn't like her." He states.

"More than that, Tetsuya-kun, its more than that." His grandmother shakes his head, "the feeling which most of the Nanakasa elders hold for Lysandra-chan is hate." Tetsuya looks up towards his grandmother, whose smile doesn't reach her eyes and irises are darkened. He swallows. "They hate her because she was Shinsha's disciple, and now she's lady of the house, they hate her because they owe her a dept they cannot repay from a mistake they never made. And they hate her because she should hate us, but she doesn't. And they don't understand," She pauses, and softly, says, "the Nanakasa were never known for forgiveness, after all."

"So they attack her, they want her out of the house, and there is one thing that make it so she has no grounds in the house." Setting her cup down, his grandmother lifts her head, tilting it, "she cannot produce a heir."

Tetsuya feel something in him go ice cold. Not just from dread, or worry, but also anger. Maybe its the way she says the words like its a disappointment instead of something horrible, the almost dismissive tone- the ice snakes through his veins like a flash freeze, and he sits so, so still.

"And we all know its a problem on her side- so the elders have been urging Mafuyu to take a new wife. That was, untill you showed up," His grandmother continued, like she didn't notice his reaction, "Nanakasa Haruka ran away from home and married a non-sorcerer. She was, however, never removed from the family tree." Her eyes raise to meet his. "As her son, y-"

She stops abruptly, and over his disbelief of her words Tetsuya almost doesn't notice at first. And by the time he realises and looks up, he sees that his grandmother had frozen in place, wide-eyes locked onto the table top and breathing rapidly, shallowly. He blinks, before he realises why.

There's a fan tapped against the side of her neck, pressing just slightly into her skin, where it makes a gentle indent. It is held by a pale hand, just loosely, from someone whose back is facing Tetsuya. He looks up towards them, startled, and his breath stops.

It's the kitsune. The same deep blue qipao, draped in a wine red haori. A braid over his shoulder, and from what little of his profile Tetsuya can see, the glint of golden-framed glasses.

"A word," he says, and Tetsuya finds it absurd that the first thought in his head is that of course, of course this is how a fox would sound like, "Nadeshiko-chan?"

His grandmother swallows, the fear on her face visible. Perhaps Tetsuya should feel vindictive, for what she said earlier, but his heart just sinks. She must be a much more experienced sorcerer, and her fear at this yokai right now is not good news. The woman's eyes dart towards the window, and the fox just tsks.

"Oh don't bother looking for them," the fox says with a sigh sickly sweet, Tetsuya can just catch the edge of a mockingly sympathetic smile, and curved crescent eyes. "They're taking a very nice nap, and if you want them to wake up, I advice you come along. No one will blame you." He laughs, tilting his head, and keeping the fan firmly at her throat. Tetsuya feels like he should say something, but his voice vanishes before anything leaves him.

"Shhhhh, Tetsuya-kun," the kitsune tilts his head, and Tetsuya can just about see a flash of his sharp, fanged grin as he raises a finger to his lips. Faintly, Tetsuya catches sight of wine red eyes, "now, hush and run along home to your auntie, yeah?"

Something settles over him, and Tetsuya stands up before he realises, packs his things, then as though in a trance, walks out of the restaurant. When he walks by the window again, he spots the man sauntering into his seat, crossing his legs as he converses with a waitress, who flushes red and splutters at whatever he's saying she sees him.

But how?

He walks down the street, still vaguely out of it, bumping into several people without stopping at all. They must've given him disapproving looks, but Tetsuya doesn't know- he just keeps walking, his legs taking him wherever they're taking him.

It's almost dark by the time he manages to recognise his surroundings again- and he's walked several station's length of distance. His legs are sore, and his throat is parched. He's still, a ways away from home, however, and Tetsuya-

"Kurokocchi?"

Something snaps, and his mind returns to full clarity all at once. He almost gasps, but subdues it enough to be a deep intake of breath. His head snaps up, and just several paces away is a familiar head of blonde hair. Kise stands, half leaning against the fences of a park under a street light, peering at him with wide eyes.

Something weighing upon his chest, Tetsuya wants to cry.

He schools his expression, and walks up towards his ex-teammate, stepping into the streetlight where he can see him properly- a little faster than necessary, maybe. But Tetsuya allows himself this much- he doesn't even know how long he's been walking under... whatever that was. "Kise-kun," he says, his voice a little hoarse due to the dryness of his throat, "what are you doing here?"

"My phone died," the blonde says, a helpless expression on his face, "I didn't bring my wallet and my bus card ran out of funds." He flashes the clearly very expensive device. "Kurokocchi, do you have any coins? I just need to use the phone booth."

The kicked-puppy look on Kise-kun's face sends a flash of familiar, exasperated fondness from Tetsuya, he fishes out his phone to look at the time, only to see a chain of unread messages from his aunt. He winces. "how long have you been stuck here?" He asks, and just as Kise-kun's about to answer, his stomach growls so loud it echoes.

They both stare at it. And maybe its the absurdity of the situation, or perhaps just the stress. A snort of laughter tears itself from Tetsuya, and he starts shaking, trying not to laugh.

"Kurokocchi!" Kise-kun's wail of betrayal only makes him shake even harder with half-suppressed laughter. "So mean!"

"Sorry, Kise-kun," he schools his expression, straightening as he looks towards the direction of the apartment building, "I don't have any coins, but I live close by?" Tetsuya offers, not really wanting to be alone after all that. And when he looks back down to meet Kise-kun's eyes, he looked so touched, they're shining like diamonds.

"Wait, but your house is a little far away, isn't it?" Ryota realises, he's been to where Kurokocchi lives before, Haruka-baa-san opens a small convenience store, it's just a station away from Teikou, where they used to get popsicles. It's not too far away, but there aren't any buses or stations that connects, and walking distance is a little too far. "Isn't that a bit too long of a walk?" He realises almost immediately after he finished his sentence what was wrong with it, and clams his mouth shut. Kurokocchi doesn't seem to react, however, and just taps into his phone and starts typing.

"I moved in February," he replies, his face betrays nothing, "I live just down several crossings, near the station."

"Oh, okay." Ryota scratches the back of his head and straightens. To be honest, he feels like the luckiest guy alive right now, he watching Kurokocchi text his aunt. He thought he'd hallucinated from waiting too long when he first saw him standing in the shade, just a silhouette of a stumbling figure, but the Seirin colours are unmistakable, so he called out. Ryota was surprised, when he saw Kurokocchi- actually Kurokocchi but not a fragment of his imagination because he hasn't eaten since noon- walk into the light.

He looked a little off, then, but Ryota couldn't quite put his finger on it. He observes his ex-teammate with a little more as he read something on his phone before pocketing it, "my aunt said its okay." He confirms.

"Thank you, Kurokocchi!" Ryota cheers tearfully, attempting to hug the boy, who dodges it, but Ryota is used to that, so he just leaves it be. A silence settle over the two of them as they begin walking towards Kurokocchi's home. At some point, it was is starting to get to Ryota, and he wants to start conversation but getting the odd feeling that Kurokocchi likely doesn't want to talk, and after the experience of putting his foot in his mouth just now, he keeps quiet.

They arrive at a rather expensive apartment complex, shortly after. And Ryota observes the place in surprise- he's been in the modelling industry for a while, and sometimes that means you get connections to places you don't normally get to, like concerts or luxury apartments. And while he's no expert, Ryota can tell that this place isn't cheap. "Ehhh..." he turns around, looking towards the club house and park in a short distance, "this is a nice place, your aunt and uncle live here? It's close by where you used to live, too. Must be nice being close to family."

He recalls Haruka-baa-san's humble convenience store, and frowns. If they live this close by, the financial difference seems a little odd, isn't it? But Kurokocchi just shakes his head. "They bought this place so I wouldn't have to leave." He explains, and Ryota whistles.

Buying an apartment at such short notice can't be cheap, let alone a place of this calibre. He looks around again, "they're really nice to you, aren't they?" Ryota says softly as they enter the lift. And after a momentary silence, as the doors close, Kurokocchi nods.

"Mmh."

The apartment is on one of the higher floors, they step out into the hallways and Ryota mentally notes the few numbers of doors around and instantly knows he guessed right. Kurokocchi's aunt and uncle are definitely loaded. They make their way past a corner, and Kurokocchi presses the bell, a clatter could be heard, then some scrambling, and then Kurokocchi opens the door.

"お邪魔しまっす〜" he calls, stepping into the entry way. It's a little dim in here.

(A/N: 'sorry for intruding~' but with Kise's accent thing)

"ただいま."

(A/N: I'm home, or, tadaima)

They slip their shoes off, Ryota observing the apartment with some curiosity. The furnishings are warmly coloured, rural palette, he recalls one of the designers at the shooting saying, and the lights are a comfortable pale yellow. At the mouth of the short hallway, a woman peeks out from behind a shelf.

"Hi!" She waves with a smile, she has expressive, bright blue eyes. Blueish raven hair frame her face. Ryota has seen her before Kurokocchi's aunt rounds the corner to welcome them as the two of them step into the living area- ah, she was in the kitchen- dressed in a sweater that almost drowns her. Her smile is mild but bright, and she's very petite, her frame doll like. The image contradicts his memory so much he almost didn't recognise her. She tilts her head at him, "Kise-kun," she greets, "we've met."

With the memory in mind, he belated realises that not only has he not properly introduced himself the last time they met, he doesn't even know her name. "Ah," he makes a noise, embarrassed, "Kise Ryota, it's nice to meet you!" He bows.

The woman just chuckles warmly, "Nanakasa Lysandra," she introduces, shifting into English for her first name, "just Lysandra would be alright. Nice to officially be introduced to you too."

Perhaps it's the more relaxed air, or the lack of the official-looking garb she was wearing before, Ryota stares at the woman for a few moments, the gears in his brain slowly turning to figure out what is it, outside of the fact that they met at the park, is making her look familiar.

And then it clicks.

"Ah," he blurts, "Kurokocchi! Your aunt is Aominecchi-coloured!"

The woman blinks at him, and the look on Kurokocchi's face slowly shifts into one of quiet, dawning horror. "Hotaru-san is not that dark," he insists, 'Hotaru' likely referring to his aunt. But the woman in question suddenly gains a mischievous glint in her eyes, and smirks a little.

"I have been taking more nightshifts since I got here," she says, musingly, tapping a finger to her chin, Kurokocchi just stares at her with disbelief and betrayal in his eyes.

"You don't even look alike," he tries again. And Ryota agrees, aside from her colour scheme she's every bit the opposite of-

"Who doesn't look like who?" A deep voice sounds, and Ryota startles a little, looking up just in time to see a man in a turtleneck around his own height walking out from another hallway, hair a little unkempt. He's built like, and Ryota isn't kidding, a martini glass, has choppy black hair and bangs covering one side of his face, sporting sharp, angular eyes the same colour as Kurokocchi's- and a jawline some of his co models would kill for. The man spots him, turns his gaze towards Ryota. "You're Tetsuya's friend," he states, and nods in greeting, "Nanakasa Mafuyu."

Ryota falls silent for a moment, staring. And the first though that comes to mind, is how does this work?! Kurokocchi's aunt is at most 155! She's so tiny! This guy's shoulder's like twice her width, and he's Aominecchi's height! And the second thought, he blurts.

"Kurokocchi, I think you and Aominecchi might be long lost cousins."

"Ah." The pale haired boy gets a weird look in his eyes, meanwhile a series of expressions flash through Lysandra-san's eyes. "That's not..." The woman shakes her head. "Hey, who knows, he might be my other nephew."

Kurokocchi's uncle snorts into his fist, and Ryota shares a look with Tetsuya, who shrugs. Good, so he's not the only one who doesn't get the joke.

"Anyways, you can go charge your phone at the TV table- the chargers are next to the Switch- it's not Tetsuya's, it's mine, don't touch it, don't unplug it. If you don't have a charging cord I'll nab one from upstairs." She says, jabbing a finger at the television as they make their way into the living area, and she slides back into the open kitchen. "It's late, so I'm going to make dinner right now. If you want, you can stay for the meal?" She asks him, but her eyes slide over towards Kurokocchi, and Ryota too looks towards his ex-teammate.

"I'd like to," Ryota says. Kurokocchi stares back between the two of them, and shrugs.

Ryota will count that as a win- so he makes a beeline for the charging pods, and gets ready to text his sister.

The rest of his time at apartment passes quickly. Almost too quickly. Ryota spots the shinai hanging on the walls and asks after them, prompting a discussion about kendo with Mafuyu-san. Turns out the man learned almost all of them growing up, and with occasional quits coming from the kitchen where Lysandra-san worked and Kurokocchi's own questions and input as well, the atmosphere lightens up quickly. It wasn't long, however, before the delicious smell of what Ryota recognises, unmistakably, as caramelising onions, wafts over and drops the topic all together in favour for food.

Turns out Kurokocchi's aunt grew up in a cafe, so she's used to cooking. Ryota finds it impressive, the way she just swings around the kitchen managing multiple tasks at once while chatting with them as well. Ryota has seen his mom doing the same thing, but if he ever dares distract her while she's doing that, she'd have his head. And when the woman casually rolls up her sleeves and lifts a full pot of water a a third her height off a counter like it weighed nothing- Ryota's eyes almost bugged out. He takes everything back, this woman can probably kick his ass.

At some point, the topic rounds back to basketball, "I heard you're Tetsuya's ex teammate?" Mafuyu-san asks, stone faced as ever. He's come to learn this man has an incurable resting bitch face. Which is a bit of a shame because Ryota has seen plenty of models and this man could be one of them. "And you played eachother just a while ago."

"Yep!"

Ryota nods, just as Kurokocchi replies, "he is, and he's a friend."

Ryota stops, and turns around to look at Kurokocchi, who avoids his gaze. Ryota tears up, "Kurokocchi" he turns back towards Mafuyu-san, and declares, too touched by the gesture, "Mn! Kurokocchi and I are friends!" He declares. The man gives them a look he can't read, but his wife stares across the distance and calls.

"Don't get intimidated, he's just confused," she says, "that's his confused look." Which is exactly the same as how he looked almost half the night, understandable. "Anyways, food's ready!"

Ryota has one important announcement to make: Kurokocchi's aunt makes delicious ribs.

No, seriously, these are restaurant-quality. Ryota can feel his own eyes sparkling as he holds back the urge to just start wolfing down everything. In his opinion the glazed onion sauce is the best part about it, but that's just him liking onions. Everything is great. Everything smells great.

And as Kurokocchi and him descend into their old banter once more, even though it's selfish, Ryota finds it in him to forgive himself, just a little.

Kise-kun leaves shortly after dinner, waving his goodbye at the doorway and vanishing down the hall, and Tetsuya feels better than he has in a while. Having dinner with Kise-kun is very different from just the three of them, as none of them are particularly talkative, Mafuyu-san is a social recluse, and his aunt is a passive introvert who is very good at pretending to be social while she internally screams. It's fun, and Tetsuya finds that he's thinking about maybe...

"You wanna have him over again?" His aunt's voice startles him out of his thoughts, and Tetsuya blinks down at her. "You seemed more relaxed," she elaborates.

Tetsuya lowers his gaze, "I'd like to," he admits, though he would never be caught dead admitting that to Kise-kun, lest he smothers him with tears and hugs, "Kise-kun is a good friend."

His aunt nods, and something in her smile turns warm. Something in Tetsuya's heart clenches when he recalls what happened just this afternoon, Nanakasa Nadeshiko's words and what she said.

"The Karasuma have their own business, which is operated by us." She said with pride, "we do not reside beneath the Sorcery Society Response Association's command."

"The first thing he did upon ascension, was to shut down the business." Her eyes were quiet.

"She should hate us."

"She cannot produce a heir." She said, dismissive and disappointed.

"She was, however, never removed from the family tree."

"As her son, you-"

The glint of her sword in the parasol.

Tetsuya thinks he knows what she was going to say- and maybe, the reason why his aunt and uncle are so apprehensive.

It's not fear that stops him from speaking, not was it distrust. He doesn't know much, about his aunt and uncle, but he know they're the ones that treated him with kindness. He recalls the yokai's figure, the glint of the edge of his grin. The way his legs just started moving, taking him along the road.

"Tetsuya?" His aunt frowns, then something in her expression soften. "Is this about what happened after school? You said you ran into someone."

"I-" Tetsuya pauses, not meeting his aunt and uncle's eyes, "I ran into grandmother."

The look in his aunt's eyes turned from encouraging to sharp in an instant. She straightens, shoulders tensing. "Did she do anything?" She asks, stern. His uncle, who heard them from where he's sitting in the living room, looks up towards them with alarm in his eyes.

"We just talked," Tetsuya hesitates, "she told me somethings, about... heirs." He briefly looks towards his aunt before turning away, catching the beginning of a flinch. His aunt lowers her head, her eyes turning pained. "You said it was complicated, but I think I want to know."

"What did she tell you?" Hotaru-san asks, she sounds tired, and resigned. "About my mentor? Aniki? Or my aunt?" She meets his eyes, "did she tell you that I should hate them? Or that I can't-" she pauses then, squeezing her eyes into a sort of conflicted expression.

It is then that Mafuyu-san approaches from behind her, a hand closing around his wife's shoulder with a soft squeeze. "I think," he says, "we should all sit down."

In the dim lights of the living room, Tetsuya begins recounting what Nanakasa Nadeshiko had told him. From how he ran into her on the street and tried to get him in the car, to when the talk began in the restaurant. What she explained about the Nanakasa family, the business, that the... elders, don't like Hotaru-san... and where they stopped, with his mom running away.

A quiet blankets them afterwards, and no one spoke for several moments, all processing the words. And then- "Of course she didn't mention what the family business is." Mafuyu-san breaks the silence, his voice low and just a little bitter, he meets his eyes, the same colour as Tetsuya's own, somber, "do you know, what the Nanakasa's are?"

"The business?"

His uncle nods, looking away, "my mother neglected to mention two things," He says darkly, "first, over two centuries ago, the Nanakasas were not a supporting family, but a co leader of the current Karasuma Community. The only reason they fell off into obscurity was because of Lysandra's mentor."

Tetsuya blinks, "but, two centuries?" He frowns, trying the math in his head, he suppose most of the sorcerers he's met so far looks younger than they probably are, but... "that's..."

"My mentor was a... unique, ghost. She's been dead since before that incident." His aunt interjects, shaking her head, her eyes are melancholic when she says, "and she moved on 15 years ago, she's gone now."

"Second," Tetsuya turns back towards his uncle, who had started again with a more forceful voice as though to catch his attention, "the family business that she spoke so proudly of, is that we are mercenaries."

Mercenaries?

"It's a common job, for sorcerers, with a long history." Hotaru-san says, and its then that Tetsuya realises he'd spoken out loud. "Most of them are more like... hired jack of all trades, but the Nanakasas are... different." His aunt hesitates, "the Nanakasa offers more specialised talents, often body guards, or high security positions. Because of the long history, they have colabations with many companies, other families, and is fairly well known in high society." Her hand comes up to hug her sides. "They have a way to make it so that the hired mercenary would be recognised as a 'tool', in the eyes of the law, and very strict contracts, but still, loopholes exist. So... its not uncommon to hear the Nanakasas... used, as tools in crimes, and hear the name as a equivalent to a hired hitman."

That's- Tetsuya swallows, recalling the edge of the blade he'd seen in his grandmother's hand, and her fear towards the kitsune seems to mean something more now. He recalls what his uncle said, in conversation with Kise-kun, the amount of training he grew up with. His uncle meets his eyes, exhales, and speaks, "I disbanded the old group for a reason," he says darkly, "someone had to do it. Father is of course, not pleased with me. He spent 20 years working with the SSRA to further the extent of the business, only for me to scrap it and toss all of our talents back to SSRA."

His aunt, quiet, turns away. "Your grandmother is right, though, you've probably guessed, too." she admits, "as Haruka's son, you're technically an available heir, the only one right now, and probably the only one ever. They wouldn't let us adopt a heir, and..." she shakes her head, the edge of a snarl creeping onto her face as she spits, "I wouldn't wish any of this whole Nanakasa bullshit on a child."

"So they want me as heir?" Tetsuya asks faintly, but he's not particularly athletic, far from it. "But why?"

His aunt glances up at him, "you inherited your mother's 'lack of presence'," she says, looking a little tired, "while there's no direct connection, its often recognised as an indicator for a talent for 'ghosting'." She raises her hand, and waves it over a cup on the coffee table, it seems to shimmer, before the edges seems to... blur, and it becomes a little harder to focus on. "Ghosting is the process of making something ghost-like, so people without Sight can't see or touch them. Its commonly used to conceal weapons, and why airports hire a lot of sorcerers." A pause, "Haruka could ghost a person even a place, to the point where it's difficult for people even with enhanced senses to notice. It was highly valued, but she hated the house, and she ran away."

"And you're young," Mafuyu-san murmurs, "so to them, that means you're probably gullible. If you're at the house, they can push you up to be heir, and get you to listen to them. Not that you would," his uncle glances at him before Tetsuya can interject, "but they will try to train you, and trust me, you don't want that."

"Due to shortage of hands, the legal working age in the sorcery society is a lot younger." His aunt murmurs, "a lot kids your age are in patrol units- they're just glorified citizen reports, since... our population is unevenly distributed we don't get reports if things happen, which is why we have people assigned to just... walk around and be a civilian in a certain area for a few hours, and they get paid."

She looks out the window, "this is why I work night shifts, that's the only time where large areas have to covered quickly. The policy is also quite strict and has a requirement of minimal years spent as a sorcerer, things like that. But given what the Nanakasa usually can get away with, I don't doubt they'll try and throw you straight into the fray. I mean," she glances up at her husband, "Mafuyu has been in active combat for Pyrite since he was 17, his brothers who were in the business... even earlier."

Tetsuya falls silent at that. 17. He's 16 now, does that mean they're going to try and have him fight? Tetsuya recalls the last time he came face to face with a ghost, and swallows, his aunt really is right, this is more complicated than he thought. And, he doesn't. He doesn't want to be what heir, he doesn't want to fight. He recalls the scars that marred his guardian's bodies and he feels a deep respect for it, but he also feels fear. All Tetsuya wants to do is play basketball, make Seirin and Kagami the best in Japan, and suddenly it feels so much more complicated to do what he wants. He probably can't do any of that if he starts working.

"They can't get their hands on you for now, if that's what you're worried about." His uncle reassures, quiet, "their hands are tied- like mother said, the elders hate Lysandra, but they can't do anything about her- if they did anything, they would end up in a public scandal. 'Esmeray', is too important." Faintly to the side, his aunt makes a face and murmurs something along the lines of 'not really,' but his uncle just huffs, "mother wasn't kidding when she said Lysandra's mentor was important. And Lysandra inherited everything from her." He nods upstairs, "most of the books upstairs were hers. And the vinyls." He adds.

"Mafuyu." His aunt hisses, looking half disapproving, half exasperated before she turns towards him. "We... don't want you to have too much contact with the society, since it would mean they get more influence. Not that lessening contact would stop them. But it would certainly annoy them." She murmurs bitterly, but then her expression soften. "I'm glad you got away from her," She says, changing the topic, "you said that was all she managed to say? How did you leave? You didn't answer your phone for a while after that."

"I-" Tetsuya opens him mouth, ready to tell them about the kitsune, when his mouth continued for him. "-left when she got a call and half to walk away." The trance is back, this time fainter, and Tetsuya recalls what the kitsune said, when he told him to leave, feeling his mind fog and intents change.

"I saw the car parked nearby, and left." He continues, and he belated realises he did that himself- and not the trance. "I was thinking, and just kept walking until I ran into Kise-kun."

Shhhhh, Tetsuya-kun, now, hush and run along home to your auntie, yeah?

The fox grins.