It's only been a scant few moments since Shiki and Kinji have arrived on the scene. Still, even from what little she has witnessed so far, Shiki thinks that she has a grasp on the unfolding situation.
Kirara is supposed to be in the middle of a sparring assessment for his promotion. However, instead of the assessor himself being the one to take his measure, it's Zenin Maki who's sparring against him.
In terms of assessing a Grade Four sorcerer's skill for an advancement to Grade Three, this spar doesn't make any sense at all.
However—
There are a few other perspectives from which this spar would make sense, regrettably. Hatanaka's offhand remark after Kirara lost the spar makes it clear that he isn't in favor of promoting him. So, assuming that Hatanaka intended not to promote Kirara from the start, then making him fight an opponent who was not Grade Three allowed more leeway for arguing against an advancement. If Kirara won, then that didn't necessarily prove his strength in a sufficient manner, and if he lost, then obviously he wasn't ready to rise to a higher rank.
The question that Shiki had just asked Hatanaka-san, What's going on here, is less an actual question asking him to recount the events and more of… a way of exerting pressure on the man, instead. A tacit warning to this chosen representative of the higher ups here in the Tokyo school.
It would be in Hatanaka-san's best interest to give a sensible response. Or at the very least, answer her truthfully.
"I… It is as you see here, Gojo-sama." To the man's credit, his voice only wavers for a single moment before smoothing out again. His eyes, however, drift to the side instead of holding Shiki's gaze, which is rather telling. "I was assigned to assess Hoshi Kirara and determine whether or not his skill level meets the standards of a Grade Three sorcerer."
… If that's the case, then why was the Zenin first year student the one who had been sparring with Kirara, instead of the man himself? Does he take her for a fool?
Shiki arches an unimpressed eyebrow at the sorcerer.
Hatanaka coughs slightly, only faintly awkward. "I assure you that I'm telling the truth, Gojo-sama. As a Grade Two sorcerer, I am well-qualified to perform the Grade Three promotion assessment according to my own judgment."
"I dunno about that. Seems to me like Zenin here was doing your job for you," Kinji doesn't buy a single word of what the man is saying. "Are you sure that you're even qualified?"
"My ability is not in question." Briefly, the older sorcerer's gaze cuts towards Kinji in annoyance. "And… it's convenient, is it not? Hoshi Kirara sparring with Zenin Maki serves as both a cursory assessment of a potential Grade Three sorcerer's abilities, and an examination of whether or not such a lacking candidate even deserves to stand here in a jujutsu school."
"You–!"
"That's not something for you to decide, Hatanaka Tadao."
Shiki glances over her shoulder at the sound of a curt, displeased voice making its way into the conversation.
"Yaga-gakucho," Hatanaka greets the new arrival evenly. "… Is that really what you think? You know full well that I am here as both an official sent from headquarters, and an established educator who was requested for their extensive experience. My every action falls perfectly in line with what my duties require of me."
These words are a very transparent reminder by Hatanaka that his presence and actions are sanctioned by the higher ups. If the Tokyo school decides to make things difficult for him, then it's something that he will also be reporting once he returns to the Jujutsu Headquarters. Never mind the fact that he seemed to genuinely believe that his actions were completely justified.
Shiki doesn't know how much of an 'established educator' this man really is. But she would not be surprised if the man's role as educator here came secondary to whatever orders the higher ups had given to him.
Such as: Ensuring that Shiki's classmate isn't promoted. Or, observing the abrupt mutated corpse doll that had been enrolled as a student in the Tokyo school. Making contact with Okkotsu Yuta, perhaps, and secretly extending an offer for the boy to transfer to the Kyoto school.
There are several different possibilities. Shiki can't say that she would be impressed by any of them. Neither is she impressed that the higher ups are quite transparently taking advantage of Satoru-niichan's temporary absence from the Tokyo school like this.
Beside her, Yaga-gakucho is similarly unimpressed. "You are only here to assess Hoshi Kirara for a Grade Three promotion. Not to assess prospective new students to the Tokyo school."
"Well. Not explicitly as such, perhaps," Hatanaka dips his head towards Yaga-gakucho in seeming apology. "But given the impudent attempt of an unqualified candidate forcing her way in as a new student, I could not possibly stand by in idleness. The Tokyo school is a school that teaches sorcery to its students. There is no need to entertain the insolence of those who are incapable and do not even meet the minimum standards. A waste of resources, wouldn't you say?"
At this, the Zenin girl is unable to remain silent. The dark-haired girl stomps forward agitatedly, scowling. "Ha? I won that spar like you demanded, and now you're going back on your words? 'Waste of resources' my–"
Hatanaka snaps his fingers; the Zenin girl instantly stutters, forcibly instantly silenced as her entire body locks up with the man's motion.
"It seems that you have yet to be instilled with any proper manners, despite your upbringing." For a moment, the gaze that Hatanaka levels upon is contemplative and forbidding.
He instantly loses the threatening edge to his expression when the edge of a sharp blade grazes his throat.
"… Gojo-san, please don't go around killing officials sent from headquarters," Yaga-gakucho pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily. "And Hatanaka, you have no business using your cursed technique on a student like this. Cease and desist, the both of you."
There is a brief pause, and then the Zenin girl stumbles forward as she is released from the paralyzing hold of the other sorcerer's cursed technique.
Hatanaka's lips thin. "Yaga-gakucho. You intend to accept the Zenins' shame as a student, truly? Have you gone mad?"
"She passed the interview," the principal shrugs.
"Interview? You mean your utter farce of a–" Hatanaka jerks forward in agitation, then freezes and thinks the better of it when Shiki's knife does not follow his motion. A faint trickle of blood trails down from the freshly-opened cut on his throat. "… G-Gojo-sama, if you would… please remove your blade…?"
Why?
Raising a blade to the man's neck was a threat, and one that should be taken as such. How effective would it be if she immediately withdrew her blade just because he asked her to?
Granted, the goal is not to kill but to intimidate, in this particular instance. A threat nonetheless. Hatanaka might be here on behalf of the higher ups, but there is only so much that Shiki is willing to entertain from him. It seems that the man is rather slow on the pickup, however.
… Sorcerer sent from headquarters or not, Hatanaka has no business using his cursed technique on students or even prospective students. If the man feels comfortable flaunting his self-perceived authority and throwing around his weight without care for the consequences… then perhaps all he needs is a clear visual reminder of what consequences his own actions might bear.
Has Hatanaka finally realized his misconceptions about his current position, though?
Yaga-gakucho coughs from the side, pointedly clearing his throat.
After another beat, Shiki withdraws her blade, considering her point made as the man begins trembling. The other sorcerer visibly relaxes, shakily raising a hand to brush over the papercut-thin injury on his neck.
"I believe," Hatanaka carefully takes a hurried step away from Shiki, a move that is not nearly as casual as he intends it to be since the haste almost makes it seem like he's running away. "That there may be a misunderstanding. I am not attempting to –to sabotage or work against the interests of the Tokyo school."
Perhaps he isn't. Though it's clear that Hatanaka is very much someone whose beliefs align with the higher ups and the traditionalists, Shiki doesn't get the sense that he's actively malicious. Still, what Hatanaka defines as being in the best interests of the Tokyo school must be markedly different from what Yaga-gakucho makes of it, if Hatanaka's derision and Yaga-gakucho's defense of the Zenin girl is anything to go by.
"That can be debated," is the principal's response.
Hatanaka gives Yaga-gakucho an incredulous look. "Debated? How? I have done nothing to warrant such –such unreasonable accusations being leveled upon me!"
"Whether or not a student is admitted as a student is something that ultimately falls under the discretion of those staffing the school," Yaga-gakucho tells him. "You might be of the opinion that Zenin Maki does not deserve to be a student in the Tokyo school. Even so, that doesn't give you the right to attempt to sabotage her and Hoshi Kirara like this."
"Sabotage? I'm not sabotaging anyone!" Hatanaka swiftly denies.
"You're really going to try and argue your way out of this?" Yaga-gakucho shakes his head. "None of us here are idiots, Hatanaka. You set up a fight between Hoshi and Zenin in a way that benefits neither of them, no matter what the outcome of the spar might be. Hoshi's promotion shouldn't have anything to do with an unranked sorcerer. Zenin's admission to the Tokyo school shouldn't hinge on proving herself against a second year student."
Hatanaka's face colors, turning blotchy. Rage, or embarrassment at being called out like this? "T-that's not the case, Yaga-gakucho."
"Isn't it?" Yaga-gakucho's expression doesn't change. "Then explain to me why you set up Hoshi's promotion test the way you did."
The other sorcerer almost seems to choke on his own words for a moment. "… It's for the best. You know as well as I do that the vast majority of sorcerers are all ranked Grade Three or Semi Grade Two. And yes, Grade Three would be considered a normal rank for a student to attain, but… every increase in rank is always accompanied by riskier missions. I can't, in good conscience, promote a student who I'm not certain will be able to handle the harder and more dangerous assignments."
His words are almost convincing. Yet, "What does that have to do with making Kirara and Zenin spar with each other?"
Hatanaka glances towards Shiki, then nervously drops his gaze to the ground. "I… I admit to wishing to bar Hoshi from promotion, and Zenin from entering the school as a new student. But it's solely for their own good! A well-intentioned teacher wanting their student to be promoted too early will ruin them; a child without any talent for sorcery will only die if they stubbornly pursue impossible dreams. Don't you see where I'm coming from?"
To the side, Hoshi's expression indicates that no, he does not see where the man is coming from. Zenin Maki's reaction, on the other hand, is far less restrained.
"I don't need anyone making decisions for me for my own good!" the girl hisses angrily.
Hatanaka inhales deeply, and shakes his head pityingly. "You'll understand one day, child, when you're still alive to do so."
Zenin bristles, "You condescending old codger–"
"Hatanaka Tadao," Yaga-gakucho breaks in, "Can you honestly and sincerely say that Hoshi Kirara is unfit to be a Grade Three sorcerer? That Zenin Maki doesn't even deserve a chance to prove herself, even with her outstanding athleticism?"
Hatanaka shakes his head, frowning. "What use is pure athleticism against cursed spirits? One cannot exorcise a cursed spirit without using cursed energy. This girl can't even see cursed spirits without the aid of a spell-imbued tool!"
True, the ability to see cursed spirits is considered to be the minimum requirement for learning sorcery. Which neatly explains the root of why Hatanaka would be derisive of the Zenin girl's goal of being a sorcerer, even aside from his self-professed noble intention of wanting to prevent her from committing herself to a suicidal career path.
However…
"Zenin Toji."
"What?" Caught unawares by Shiki's sudden interruption, both men turn towards her. Hatanaka in incomprehension, and Yaga-gakucho with dawning realization.
"Zenin Toji," Shiki repeats herself. "You do remember who the Sorcerer Killer was, don't you?"
… Hatanaka is around Yaga-gakucho's age. He would've been around during the years when the Sorcerer Killer was active. Shiki's classmates might not know the Sorcerer Killer, but the older generation should be very familiar with the name.
And Zenin Toji didn't have any cursed energy at all.
It hadn't stopped him from earning the epithet 'Sorcerer Killer,' a title that had been well-deserved in the man's hands.
"I… of course I remember that criminal," Hatanaka admits. "But Gojo-sama, the Sorcerer Killer was a vile murderer for hire. A brute who was exiled from his clan for engaging in criminal activities, for murdering sorcerers. Sorcerers can be harmed physically through mundane means, but such tactics are ineffective towards cursed spirits. The only way to combat curses is by using other curses!"
Shiki is well aware that cursed spirits can only be exorcised using cursed energy. But, "If you're implying that the Sorcerer Killer could only kill sorcerers and not cursed spirits, then you're wrong."
"You're mistaken, Gojo-sama," Hatanaka immediately shakes his head, "With all due respect, I think that I would be more familiar with the Sorcerer Killer's abilities than you. You were but a young child when you briefly encountered that criminal, were you not?"
… Technically, Shiki's last encounter with the Sorcerer Killer would be very recently. That's not something that she has gone around advertising, though. The number of people who knew about Shiki's second encounter with a pseudo-resurrected Zenin Toji were few and far between, mostly those who were high-ranked or well-connected in the jujutsu world. Even in the Gojo Clan, there were a fair number of people who were laboring under the impression that Shiki had apprehended Ogami Shiho only because the unlucky curse user had the ill fortune to stumble into her path while she'd been searching for Geto Suguru.
Regardless, if Hatanaka knows that Shiki has personally encountered the Sorcerer Killer in the past before, then one must wonder where his confidence comes from to question her like this. Simply on account of her young age? The even younger age she'd been when she'd had her first encounter with the Sorcerer Killer?
Shiki wonders if she should be insulted by how vastly the man is underestimating her.
"I've seen the Sorcerer Killer kill cursed spirits before," she states bluntly, keeping her words direct in a way that leaves no room for any misinterpretation. "He killed Geto-san's cursed spirits at the time using cursed tools."
Hatanaka falls silent, brows furrowed.
"That… perhaps," he finally admits, albeit reluctantly. "I will trust that you would not find it necessary to lie about such things. But even then, Gojo-sama, the Sorcerer Killer is an outlier. His strength was only as monstrous as it was because of the Heavenly Restriction that he was born with. That was what granted him such outstanding physical prowess, enough to challenge sorcerers… and cursed spirits alike, I suppose. But Zenin Maki still falls far short of the Sorcerer Killer's example. She is not a second coming of the Sorcerer Killer."
If that had been the case, then it was highly likely that Zenin Maki would've been murdered as a child.
The Zenin Clan, like other sorcery clans, exalt strength –in sorcery. The traditionalists in the Zenin Clan would've eagerly welcomed a child with a powerful cursed technique like Megumi, but they would not have been so eager to welcome a second Sorcerer Killer.
Of course, there was also the faint possibility of Zenin Maki being trained as a personal assassin for her clan if more practical minds won out. But something like had a very, very low chance of occuring in a place such as the Zenin Clan.
Hatanaka clears his throat. "The girl doesn't even begin to compare to the Sorcerer Killer, so we can set aside this unequal comparison–"
"Even though their circumstances differ," Shiki interrupts calmly. "You do not deny that it's possible to kill cursed spirits without actively using cursed energy. Cursed tools can compensate for an individual's lack of cursed energy in this case, assuming that one's physical capabilities are enough for them to challenge cursed spirits."
"B-but there are still other factors that must be considered—"
"If you genuinely wanted to test whether or not Zenin Maki was prepared to enroll in the jujutsu school as a sorcerer," Shiki continues, "Then you would've asked her to prove her mettle by having her exorcise a cursed spirit in front of you."
Something like that would've been an appropriate 'entrance exam' for Zenin Maki. Not that Hatanaka's approval was something that the girl needed in order to enroll as a student, especially when Yaga-gakucho had already approved of it to begin with. But it would've been a clear-cut test that left no room for any doubt, nor any opportunity for the higher ups to accuse Yaga-gakucho of things like favoritism, or allowing his own selfishness to color his decisions and damage both the strength and integrity of the Tokyo school. He'd been getting enough of that over single-handedly enrolling Panda as a student this year already.
"If you wanted to test whether or not Hoshi Kirara was ready to advance as a Grade Three sorcerer, then you would've either sparred with him yourself, or made him exorcise a Grade Three cursed spirit to display his abilities."
Sparring with Zenin Maki meant nothing for Kirara, win or lose. Either outcome would've left room for Hatanaka to spin it as Kirara not being properly prepared to take on the heavier responsibilities of a higher rank.
Hatanaka sucks in a deep breath, hands gripping in onto themselves. "I… I admit that I arranged for Hoshi Kirara to spar with Zenin Maki in order to prove to both of them that they were not prepared. Admittedly, I didn't expect for Hoshi-san to lose against a non-sorcerer like this, but… even so, it's clear that neither of them are ready."
Suddenly seeming to regain his confidence, the man immediately turns and gestures towards both students standing in the middle of the sparring floor.
"Losing against a non-sorcerer girl who has nothing aside from slightly greater brute strength. How could someone like that possibly be qualified to become a Grade Three sorcerer?" Hatanaka's finger moves from singling out Kirara to pointing at Zenin. "So you've defeated a student in hand to hand combat, girl. What of it? Sorcerers are human, and can be hurt through physical means. Cursed spirits can't. Are you really planning to rely on cursed tools for everything? How well do you expect that to work? What happens when you accidentally lose hold of it, or if a cursed spirit breaks your cursed tool in combat? What will you do then, foolish child?"
"I won't lose my grip on my weapon," Zenin retorts hotly, confidently. "I've never–"
"Then what happens when a cursed spirit cuts off your hands? How will you hold your weapon then?" Hatanaka shakes his head in disappointment. "Ieiri-sensei's reverse cursed technique is less effective on non-sorcerers. There's no guarantee that you would be able to recover from any injuries you incur in your doomed quest to go against your own nature. You're a child of the Zenin Clan, you shouldn't need me to tell you this."
"Even so, that's not something for you to decide!"
"I am your senior in age, skill, and experience," the man states. "You would do well to heed my words. In fact, you should've listened to the teachings of your clan, Zenin Maki. What did you hope to achieve by running away to Tokyo? Did you think that this would somehow magically make you a sorcerer, if you somehow successfully convinced Yaga-gakucho to take pity on you?"
… This is getting nowhere.
Hatanaka is quite transparently stubborn in his belief that he is doing a good thing by stalling Kirara's promotion and vehemently arguing against Zenin's enrollment. That he's protecting them, and they should be thankful for it. This is something that's more obvious in his attitude towards Zenin than Kirara, because he sees Kirara as a sorcerer who still has room for improvement; Zenin does not.
Because she's not a sorcerer.
And it seems that Hatanaka simply refuses to see past that fact.
Shiki doesn't know Zenin Maki very well. She doesn't know if Zenin Maki would truly be well-suited for a sorcerer's work, or if she's truly anything like the Sorcerer Killer. What Shiki does know, however, is that somehow Hatanaka has entangled Kirara's promotion with Zenin's admission, and it would be good for neither of them if this situation was allowed to continue endlessly without any conclusion.
It's possible that Hatanaka's desire to protect them is real, just as it's possible that he's saying all of this as part of whatever obstructive orders he received from the higher ups before being sent here. Perhaps even both things are simultaneously true.
But in the end, it doesn't matter what the man's intentions are.
Shiki claps her hands together, mimicking the same motion that she's seen Satoru-niichan do before. The clear sound cuts through the ongoing verbal sparring, drawing everyone's attention towards her.
"This argument is a complete waste of time," she says. If Yaga-gakucho is wary of aggravating the higher ups, then she'll do it; it's not as if Shiki is on good terms with the higher ups right now, anyways. "Hatanaka, leave."
"I… What?" The man stares at her uncomprehendingly.
"Leave," Shiki repeats evenly. Is she not being clear enough?
For a moment, silence reigns in the room.
"… Gojo, Hatanaka was sent here in an official capacity by the higher ups," Yaga-gakucho doesn't sound happy about it. But even so, it doesn't stop him from saying, "You can't just tell him to leave."
"Why not?" Shiki tilts her head. "He's not doing his job. I will ask for a different assessor to be sent in his place."
"You can't do that!" Hatanaka jolts, shock and anger coloring the exclamation that tears from his throat. "Just because you don't agree with me, Gojo-sama, doesn't give you the right to replace me. You cannot–"
"I can." Because, when things come down to it… "Your only assignment here is to test Kirara's skills, and you haven't done that properly. In fact, you refuse to do it properly. So answer me, why shouldn't you be replaced?"
The man draws back, affronted. "You believe that Hoshi Kirara deserves to be promoted? He lost against a non-sorcerer girl!"
"In a test of pure swordsmanship, I'd lose against Gojo Kiyohira," Shiki tells him. "Do you believe me to be unfit as a Grade One sorcerer?"
Hatanaka stutters, nearly choking on his own words for a moment. "… This and that are different."
"You're just making excuses to justify your own agenda at this point. A sorcerer's skill set can't be judged solely based on how well they perform in a spar against another human." … Really, why is Shiki saying all of this? Hatanaka is stubborn enough that it's going to take more than a few words to change his deep-seated beliefs, and Shiki doesn't have the time nor inclination to devote her efforts towards such a thing.
"Even if that's the case, you can't deny that sorcery is dangerous!" Hatanaka bursts out agitatedly. "If I see that an individual is unprepared, I won't allow it. I will not stand by idly and watch children die meaninglessly, thrown into situations beyond their ability to handle! Not now, and not ever!"
The man's face is red with emotion, and his chest is heaving. His voice is raised in a near-shout towards Shiki by the end of his words, all veneer of respect and any vestigial fear completely forgotten in this moment.
"You will," Shiki says, unaffected.
"I will not–"
"You will." Shiki is getting very tired of this endless back-and-forth with a man who appears to believe himself to be so very just and righteous. "If you cared so much about the wellbeing of children, then how would you explain Kinoshita Hansuke's death?"
"Who?" Hatanaka stops midway through his words, thrown off by the abrupt mention of a name that he clearly does not recognize.
A brief beat. Then the man grimaces, realizing that he's just proving Shiki right with his lack of knowledge here.
Kinoshita Hansuke is the name of the boy who would've been one of Shiki's upperclassmen, had he lived. Takagi-sensei's late student, and Aikawa Ruri's classmate. Who had died on a mission gone wrong, which had most likely been assigned to them on purpose to begin with. Because these were clanless students who'd run afoul of Zenin Naoya, and there were those who were only all too eager to ingratiate themselves with the Zenin heir.
What were two weak, clanless students in face of that?
Hatanaka painting himself as someone who cares about children dying due to being forced into situations beyond their abilities to handle is laughable, if he doesn't even know how a Tokyo student died last year.
… Or rather, the year prior to last year. Shiki herself is a second year student now, and Aikawa Ruri is currently a third year student. If Kinoshita were alive, he'd also be a third year.
But Hatanaka's care and regard seems to only extend to students who are noteworthy. Zenin Maki hails from the Zenin Clan, and Kirara is Shiki's classmate.
"Gojo-sama, please explain."
Shiki is done with this conversation. She does not intend to continue entertaining the man's hypocrisy any longer. If Hatanaka was really genuine about his desire to protect students from the dangers of sorcery, then Kinoshita-san's name shouldn't be new to him.
"Go find out on your own," she tells him. "This assessment is over."
.
.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the conversation in the sparring hall doesn't last long after Hatanaka is blindsided by the mention of 'Kinoshita Hansuke.' The man makes his excuses and departs in a swift hurry, seemingly subdued.
"I didn't realize you knew about Kinoshita Hansuke," Kusakabe-sensei remarks to her later. Kirara and Zenin have both been sent to Shoko-san's office to clean up their scrapes and bruises, and most of the spectators had gone along with them. Kusakabe-sensei, however, had stayed behind to approach Shiki instead. "Did Takagi-sensei tell you about him?"
"Not really." Takagi-sensei had mentioned his deceased student before, but very sparingly. Shiki and her classmates had actually learned more about the deceased student from Ichinose-senpai than Takagi-sensei or Aikawa-senpai. "I received a general report about the incident from Choki."
"A report on the incident?" Kusakabe-sensei blinks, then nods slowly. "That… checks out. Suzurigi-san is very meticulous when it comes to details, I'm not surprised."
Shiki agrees. Choki is someone who she can trust to pick up on details that others might overlook or miss. "Was there something that you needed, Kusakabe-sensei?"
"Hoshi Kirara's promotion," Kusakabe-sensei says. "To be honest, I expected that the higher ups might try to throw a wrench or two into things to complicate the process. But I didn't think that they'd try to stonewall the promotion completely."
"I didn't think they'd try to do something like that, either." Shiki is betting that whoever had assigned Hatanaka to perform Kirara's assessment knew exactly what kind of stubborn person Hatanaka was.
"At a loose guess, the higher ups are playing politics again." Kusakabe-sensei sighs, a sound that speaks of faint frustration. "Hakari Kinji is definitely getting promoted, since he has a Domain Expansion in his arsenal and they've been sitting on his rank for long enough already. He'll probably be a Grade One by the end of the year. Hoshi Kirara isn't quite at the same level of strength, but he's also decently talented. Keeping him as a Grade Four is an absolute travesty."
Not that the higher ups would see things that way. Grade Four was a normal rank for students to have, after all. And since Kirara was closely associated with both Shiki and Kinji, neither of whom were exactly in the higher ups' good graces…
The unnecessary difficulties that Kirara was currently facing in regards to his promotion are most likely at least partially her fault.
Considering the lack of manpower when it came to sorcerers, one would think that meaningless power plays would take a backseat when it came to filling out their ranks. Kirara doesn't have Domain Expansion like Kinji, nor does he possess cursed eyes like Shiki, but he plays well to his own strengths. Shiki would consider him to be more than prepared as a Grade Three sorcerer.
"Hatanaka-san is useless." There's being rightfully concerned, and then there's willful ignorance. If Hatanaka can't see past his own preconceptions and realize that Kirara is prepared as a Grade Three, then so be it. Shiki has recently had enough of entertaining old men who both think they know what's best, and are exceedingly heavy-handed in getting their way. "I will request for a different official to be sent for Kirara's promotion assessment."
"And if the same situation with Hatanaka-san repeats itself?" Kusakabe-sensei asks.
"Then I may have to go and see for myself what the standard of Grade Three sorcerers in Kyoto is like." Shiki wouldn't enjoy it, but she'll do it if she has to.
Kusakabe-sensei makes a strange sound that's somewhere between a startled laugh and hasty coughing. "I don't imagine the higher ups would like that very much."
Shiki shrugs. "I don't like them abusing their authority either, but that hasn't stopped them from doing so anyways."
"They might actually argue that you're the one abusing your authority in this case, demanding a different assessor for your classmate," the teacher mutters, and sighs. "What a mess. This would all be so much simpler if they didn't pull unnecessary stunts."
It would, wouldn't it?
But reality painted a different picture, unfortunately for them all.
"What was the reasoning that Hatanaka-san gave for making Kirara spar with Zenin Maki?"
"That was the result of a conversation getting out of control," Kusakabe-sensei lets out another heavy sigh. "He didn't think that Zenin-san was 'worthy' of being a student, Zenin-san disagreed, Hoshi-san was still waiting to be tested… Next thing you know, Zenin-san has to prove her mettle against a student, and Kirara has to show that he's capable of handling himself."
In all likelihood, Hatanaka had expected Kirara to defeat Zenin-san and humiliate the girl enough that she would voluntarily withdraw from the Tokyo school. If that had happened, then it wouldn't matter that Yaga-gakucho had already agreed to her enrollment, if the girl herself was too ashamed to stay.
"I think," Kusakabe-sensei starts slowly, thoughtfully, "That Hatanaka-san saw an opportunity, and got greedy. The higher ups probably told him to fail Hoshi-san, and I'm betting that the Zenin Clan told him to stop Zenin Maki from formally enrolling as a student."
"You don't think that Hatanaka-san arranged all of this to 'protect' them?" Shiki asks idly.
"Maybe in part, but that's definitely not the only reason," the older man huffs. "Gojo Satoru has more of a reputation for caring about what happens to kids than Hatanaka Tadao does. And at the end of the day, Hatanaka-san is a Grade Two sorcerer. He wouldn't have been so confident acting the way he did in the Tokyo school if there hadn't been other forces supporting his actions from behind."
Shiki nods. She's more or less of the same opinion as Kusakabe-sensei on this. There was also a fair chance that the obstruction towards Zenin Maki's enrollment was from the higher ups who didn't want to see a non-sorcerer 'playing' at being a sorcerer, rather than the Zenin Clan themselves. If the Zenin Clan had truly been opposed to the girl making her way to a jujutsu school, then it was unlikely that she would've been able to make it to Tokyo to begin with. 'Indifferent' would probably be a better word to describe the Zenin Clan's attitude, if this actually turned out to be the case.
"I'll leave you here, then." Kusakabe-sensei draws to a stop along the wooden walkway. Ahead of them, Shiki can see that Panda is standing in the not-so-far distance, with Okkotsu-san and another boy beside him. A new student, perhaps? "Looks like your friends are waiting for you."
She nods, and politely bids the teacher farewell.
"Oh, and by the way." Shiki has only taken a few steps forward before suddenly being addressed again. She turns back around, only to see Kusakabe-sensei hesitating for a brief moment, before seeming to finally make up his mind.
"Dunno if you've already heard it, but… welcome back, Gojo-san."
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…
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