zenith of stars
"108: class trip"
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"Soooo what's that you're holding?"
A shadow falls over her from where she's sitting on the edge of the wooden walkway surrounding the school building. Shiki glances up to see Kirara peering down over her.
Her classmate blinks. "Is that senbei?"
Shiki nods, making a soft hum of agreement from around the rice cracker that she has just bitten down into.
"Ooh, senbei?" Kinji's voice sounds from her left. "Haven't seen these around in a while, although these look kinda weirdly-shaped, don't they? Where did you –ow, hey, what gives?!"
The boy shakes his reddening hand from where Shiki had unceremoniously batted it away from stealing any of the snacks in her box.
"Aw, c'mon," Kinji complains. "Sharing is caring, ojou-sama."
Shiki turns away from the boy and bites into her rice cracker with an audible crunch, allowing her actions to speak for themselves.
"Seriously?"
"Wait, hang on, I think I recognize this box," Kirara snaps his fingers. "Tsumiki-chan uses these! Did you get your rice crackers from her?"
"Yes." These are homemade senbei from Tsumiki, in fact. In particular, Shiki had received this box of senbei from her friend because, "I won a bet."
"A bet?" Kinji instantly perks up in interest. "Ooh, spill, spill. What kind of bet did you make with her?"
"A bet to make friends." It seems like forever ago when Tsumiki had challenged Shiki to make new friends in the Tokyo school. "She promised to make senbei if I made at least three new friends last year."
"Oh?" A slow grin begins spreading across Kinji's face. "So that's me, Kirara, and… Okkotsu Yuta?"
"Yes." To be honest, so far Shiki's relationship with Okkotsu Yuta seems to be closer to one of senpai and kohai more than anything else. But there's no denying that Okkotsu-san is a fairly friendly person, especially now that he seems to be growing more settled as a sorcerer.
Shiki would consider Okkotsu-san a friend, even if he's not quite a friend in the same way that Kinji and Kirara are to her.
"Aww, glad to hear that you consider us all friends." Kinji gives Shiki a friendly bump on the shoulder, and also takes the opportunity to try and steal another senbei. Unfortunately for him, it's yet another futile attempt. "Hey, if we're the ones who won you the bet, don't you think we deserve to get a share of the spoils?!"
Shiki pauses. There is a certain point to what he's saying…
The boy grins, and swiftly snatches a rice cracker before she can change her mind. "Senbei, nice."
"Thanks for the senbei." Kirara is markedly more polite about it, but there's also a playful grin on his face as well when he picks out a rice cracker from the box. Shiki's classmates are both terrible people, stealing Tsumiki's homemade snacks from her like this. "Tell Tsumiki-chan that we appreciate it!"
"You should tell her that yourself." Despite the near-misunderstanding when Kinji had arranged an impromptu visit to a pachinko parlor, Tsumiki's impression of Shiki's classmates had remained positive overall. She would be glad if they came around for another visit sometime.
"Y'know what, maybe we will," Kinji crunches down on his rice cracker. "How's she doing these days, by the way? With the whole…"
The boy makes a gesture towards his eyes, silently conveying his concern over the situation with Tsumiki's newfound status as a sighted individual.
"She's doing better." Tsumiki was no longer prone to startling at the drop of a hat whenever a cursed spirit showed up in the corner of her vision, which was a good thing. Clearly, Satoru-niichan's strategy of hiding harmless little curses inside the house was a very effective method of desensitization training. Not that Tsumiki seemed to have appreciated it very much.
"Concise as always." Kinji reaches over and fishes for another rice cracker. "Is she thinking of getting involved with any sorcery stuff from here on out, then?"
"In terms of ability, It wouldn't be impossible for her to look into a Window's or an assistant manager's work," Shiki picks out a rice cracker of her own as well. She bites into it with another satisfying crunch, and the cracker is delightfully crisp and salty upon her tongue. "But I don't believe Tsumiki is interested in pursuing something like that."
"I see," Kirara nods. "Might be for the best, actually, given how dangerous sorcery can get."
And Tsumiki wasn't someone who turned sharp-eyed in face of a harsh challenge as Kirara did, or actively enjoyed the thrill of a good fight like Kinji. In fact, Tsumiki was actively uninterested in fighting. Kiyohira-sensei had asked whether Tsumiki was interested in hand-to-hand lessons before, on multiple occasions, and the girl had never really ended up accepting any of his offers.
Tsumiki was someone who preferred to avoid conflict where possible. It was simply part of her nature, which wasn't exactly anything that a person could be faulted for.
"Guess you're right," Kinji scratches his head. "I wasn't really thinking about that, I just thought it would be cool if she also ended up being a student here with us, y'know?"
Being classmates with Tsumiki does sound nice. However, given what the implications of Tsumiki joining a class of sorcerers would mean, Shiki is of the opinion that it would be for the best that this scenario remains a purely hypothetical one.
"Anyways, though," Kirara nibbles delicately at his own cracker. "If Tsumiki can see cursed spirits now, then does that mean–"
His words are suddenly interrupted by a bell-like ringtone, the sound of Shiki's cell phone interjecting into their conversation with a very inopportune sort of timing.
"You gonna get that?" Kinji seizes the chance to nab another rice cracker.
Yes. It's a call from Choki, and the young man never calls Shiki for matters of little import. She'd received a set of clan reports from him just earlier today –that had also been when he'd delivered Tsumiki's senbei into her hands– so was this some new situation that had just arisen? Otherwise, it would've made more sense for him to speak of it to her in person, rather than through a phone call like this.
"Hello?" Shiki raises her phone to her ear.
"Greetings, ojou-sama," Choki's voice rings through the other end. "I apologize for being the bearer of concerning news: I've received an emergency call from Ijichi-san."
'Ijichi-san' is Ijichi Kiyotaka, one of the assistant managers working in the Tokyo school. More to the point, he is currently the assistant manager who has been assigned to work with Satoru-niichan and the first year students.
And currently, Satoru-niichan is out on an overseas mission in a different country again.
It seems that it was the right choice to reschedule her own assignments so that she's not with any missions at the same time as when the first years are out on their own mission. Even though it's still too early to say for certain whether this 'emergency' had been deliberately and intentionally engineered by one of the higher ups, Shiki would not be surprised if that turned out to be the case.
Ordinarily, students are required to be supervised by their teacher for their missions, or at the very least be accompanied by a higher-ranked sorcerer. However, certain exceptions are made for sorcerers Grade Two and upwards in ranking.
Inumaki Toge is a Grade Two sorcerer, which means that he is permitted to take on solo assignments by himself. For missions involving Grade Four cursed spirits, he is also allowed to act as the supervising sorcerer for his classmates. This might sound rather odd considering that Okkotsu Yuta is currently the highest-ranked first year student as a Semi Grade One sorcerer, but Okkotsu-san is still quite inexperienced as a sorcerer despite his high ranking. Inumaki-san, on the other hand, has a documented record of being brought along as an observer on other sorcerers' missions, and is far more knowledgeable than Okkotsu-san when it comes to jujutsu-related matters.
All of which is to say:
It's not strange for the first years, nominally led by Inumaki-san, to be taking Grade Four missions on their own even with Satoru-niichan being absent.
Still, even despite his absence, Satoru-niichan isn't the type to leave his students behind on their own without taking any precautionary measures. In this case, Shiki would be one of his precautions.
"Explain the situation," she says into her cell phone.
"Roughly twenty-seven minutes after the first year students entered the designated mission area, the ambient cursed energy drastically increased," Choki starts briskly. "Ijichi-san determined that something akin to a pseudo-domain appears to have formed within the building, and immediately contacted me after confirming this."
A pseudo-domain?
If there had ever been any doubt, then this confirmed it. That was most definitely not a Grade Four-level threat that the first years were facing. If a pseudo-domain was in play here, then at the very least it was a Grade One cursed spirit that they were looking at.
The chance of Ijichi-san misreading what he was seeing was minimal. Ijichi Kiyotaka was someone that Satoru-niichan trusted and worked with on a regular basis, after all. The man might not be the most skilled or the most powerful, but he wouldn't be incompetent.
The thoughts flash through her mind like quicksand, and Shiki instantly comes to a decision. "I will see to this situation in person."
Anything that is capable of creating a barrier that can break through a skilled assistant manager's handiwork is not something to be overlooked lightly.
"I understand, ojou-sama. I shall await you at the school's entrance."
Knowing Choki, he was probably already standing in front of the entrance at this very moment. Best not to keep him waiting for long, then.
"Wait, you're heading out again? I thought you were finally going to take a break?" Kinji asks from around a mouthful of rice cracker. "So what went wrong this time?"
"It's the first year students."
Kinji chokes on the senbei, coughing. "Whoa, what?"
Kirara reaches over and claps the other boy on the back a few times. "The first years? What happened? Are they alright?"
"A pseudo-domain suddenly appeared where they're carrying out a Grade Four mission." Whether this was a complete coincidence or something that had been planned was something to follow up on after Shiki had ascertained the students' safeties. "The situation remains unclear, so I will be heading over to resolve the issue."
"Is there anything that we can do to help?" Kirara asks immediately.
"Yeah, how about we go along with you?" Kinji suggests. "More hands on deck, and all that."
The situation is still unknown. Kinji and Kirara are both strong for students, but if this is the handiwork of Satoru-niichan's enemies, then that meant things had the potential to become a little messy. It might not be entirely safe for Shiki to bring her classmates along with her.
… Then again, no one ever said that being a sorcerer was a safe occupation to begin with. Wouldn't Shiki be doing her classmates a disservice if she actively tried to keep them away from dangerous situations all the time? They're no longer complete novices to sorcery, unfamiliar and unknowing of everything in the jujutsu world. Shiki might still be the strongest among them by a significant margin, but her strength shouldn't become something that prevents her from trusting her classmates to be able to overcome adversity on their own.
Strength-wise, Kinji is already at the level of a Grade One sorcerer; he only lacks the experience for the rank. The boy is someone who's been steadily working towards mastering his Domain Expansion, after all, which is a feat that few sorcerers could lay claim to. Kirara had recently received a Grade Three promotion, which might not seem like much in comparison to Shiki and Kinji, but it's undeniable that he is doing quite well. Especially when one considers that Kirara had no prior combat experience at all when he'd first arrived as a first year student in the Tokyo school.
"Shiki?"
This isn't the time to be standing around and deliberating, not when it was likely that the new first year students were likely trapped and in danger.
"Alright. Both of you can come along," Shiki decides. At the very least, Kinji's Domain Expansion makes him far sturdier than the average sorcerer. Kirara isn't as personally powerful, but he knows how to make himself scarce when outmatched. He'd survived the initial hostile encounter with the Special Grade cursed spirit haunting Okkotsu-san, hadn't he? And that had been last year, when he'd officially only still been a Grade Four sorcerer.
Having more people with her would also make it easier to actually carry out the search for the first year students, once they reached the mission site. Even if Shiki is stronger than both of her classmates added together, there's a limit to how fast she is able to comb through an area on her own. Kinji isn't wrong that more hands would make for lighter work, at least in this respect.
"Is that a 'Yes' I'm hearing?" Kinji perks up, a slow grin beginning to spread over his face. He smacks a fist into an open palm in an eager motion. "Nice. So we finally get to act like proper senpais bailing their kohais outta trouble, eh?"
Satoru-niichan had expressed his wish for Shiki to familiarize herself with the first year students. The same should hold true for her classmates too, right?
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Above them, the sky is murky and dark, covered in a veil of darkness that casts their surroundings into a nighttime lighting. This would be due to the Curtain encapsulating their surroundings –Ijichi-san's handiwork. The man had been greatly relieved upon Shiki and her classmates' arrival, as evidenced in how he'd began bowing profusely the very instant that he caught sight of them.
"Thank you for arriving so swiftly. Please find and help the first year students!"
She will. That is the reason why Shiki is here with her classmates, after all.
"Oh, this place is weird."
"Is that so?" Shiki glances in Kinji's direction. It seems that her classmate has grown more perceptive in the months during her absence, if he can immediately sense–
"Yeah, I dunno how to really say it. Just… something about the general vibe around here seems off?" Kinji scratches his head. "Feels like my hair is frizzing a bit too, bleh."
"… That would be because of the pseudo-domain that you're sensing," Shiki informs him. The boy might be perceptive, but he has a very odd way of expressing it.
"Right, you mentioned that on the way here," the boy nods. "But I still don't really get it. Domains are like… well, either it's a domain or it's not, right?"
"Not necessarily. If you compare them, then a pseudo-domain is severely lacking in various factors, whether it be the strength of the technique itself or even the basic construction of the space within the domain." Shiki pauses. Judging from the blank look that she's getting from her classmate, it doesn't seem like her explanation is of much use to him.
… Which might have something to do with the fact that Kinji's Domain Expansion allows him to expand his own domain naturally as a part of his cursed technique. A feat which is, more or less, accomplished entirely on instinct, rather than through years of careful study. The integrity of one's technique and the imposition of various conditions in order to create a domain are all rudimentary factors of Domain Expansion… that Kinji is most likely unfamiliar with.
"You can think of a pseudo-domain as an incomplete domain," Shiki tries instead.
This time, her classmate makes an enlightened sound of realization. "Incomplete, got it."
Shiki makes a mental note to keep her explanations as concise and simple as possible in the future. Even though details are still important, and not to be dismissed so easily…
"Erm, incomplete how, though?"
In response, Shiki pushes open the silent mansion door.
The boys both make soft exclamations of surprise as they enter behind her. Shiki does not fault them for their reactions.
What greets them is not a reception hallway as one might expect of Western-style manor, but instead a clustered, maze-like structure. There is a fancy stairway before the entrance that gyrates upwards, but the accompanying banister detaches from it part way through, curving wildly off to the left instead. Following the banister's new direction, however, reveals it to merge seamlessly with a different set of stairs that cut horizontally through the space above them.
Looking down reveals a sight that is not entirely dissimilar to what lies in front of them. Twisted stairways seem to veer off towards different rooms within the mansion in a way that is quite unnatural. Almost as if the entire space within the manor has been distorted somehow, suspended in chaos.
"I… think I'm getting dizzy just looking at this," Kirara mutters under his breath. "Never thought I'd see Escher stairs in real life one day. It's almost like we just stepped into a surrealist painting or something!"
Escher stairs? Painting?
Shiki is unfamiliar with those terms, but now is perhaps not the best time to ask for clarification on unimportant things.
"Stay close to me," she says instead. "It doesn't appear that the domain is very well-defined, but if the cursed energy is strong enough to expand the surrounding space, then it's clear that the environment has been heavily affected."
"How can you tell?"
Shiki raises an eyebrow, and gestures towards their surroundings in a self-explanatory manner.
"Not that," Kinji shakes his head impatiently. "Like, what you mentioned about the domain being 'well-defined.'"
Is it because Kinji has his own Domain Expansion that he's curious about this pseudo-domain? But a proper domain is something that's in an entirely different category than a faulty pseudo-domain.
"There's no technique imbued into our surroundings." How to explain this in a way that makes sense? "Satoru-niichan explained to you the components of a Domain Expansion before, yes? Imbuing your technique into a separate space that is constructed and enclosed within a barrier."
"Er, yeah, something like that," Kinji nods promptly.
… Kinji is lucky that he's a strong instinctive learner who doesn't necessarily need to understand the technicalities of a technique in order to utilize it himself.
"Currently, there's no technique here, which runs counter to the very first step of creating a proper domain," Shiki continues her explanation.
"But the weird stairs–?"
She shakes her head. "That still doesn't indicate this is a proper domain."
"Really? Even though everything is all topsy-turvy?" Kinji waves at their surroundings emphatically. "I'm just saying, this definitely doesn't look like any normal house to me. Not even the zombie guy's place in Kyoto was this weird."
Perhaps. But even so, the oddity of their surroundings is not due to the effect of a technique. Rather, it's simply because of the influence of strong cursed energy in this space. A rarer phenomenon, but not one that's unheard of.
It's understandable why her classmates are confused. By itself, cursed energy is incapable of significantly altering the surrounding space in any meaningful manner. But there are exceptions to this, under unique circumstances or when certain conditions are met.
In this case…
At a rough guess, Shiki would say that the unnatural stairways are the result of either a failed attempt at creating a Domain, or an accidental occurrence wherein the energies interpreted the physical walls of the building itself to be a 'barrier.' Thus, the interior space within the manor was oddly affected. The environment had been influenced just enough to throw the entire manor's layout into disarray.
If a proper Domain is to be compared to a master painter creating their own scroll and ink to bring forth into reality their own illustration, then what Shiki sees in front of her right now would just be ink haphazardly splattered everywhere, messy and illogical.
… Or perhaps her standards are slightly skewed, with Satoru-niichan as the example that she looks towards. That's also a distinct possibility.
"So, is there a reason why we're searching through the building like this?" Kinji asks. "Can't you just, I dunno, cut apart the 'pseudo-domain' with your sword or something? We've literally seen you cut apart barriers before."
"And what would I be cutting here, exactly?" Shiki starts walking up a set of crooked stairs in the distorted manor. "If it was a proper domain, then perhaps I could cut apart the barrier that it's contained within in order to destroy the technique. Or, if there was an actual technique imbued inside this domain, then I could attempt to dissect the technique and unravel it from there. As it is, it appears that this pseudo-domain is currently using the walls of the manor as its barrier."
"And what's stopping you from just going ahead and destroying the manor?" Kinji arches an eyebrow. "Construction fees?"
Shiki gives her classmate a flat look. "The first years are inside the manor. Destroying the manor means it will collapse on them. Panda's unique constitution is the only one that could safely survive such an event."
Maybe Okkotsu-san, too, if the boy has made enough progress in learning how to use cursed energy to enhance his physical body. But if the boy's life was in danger, then there was also another chance of something else coming out into play, which was something that should best be avoided before the higher ups seized upon the opportunity to raise yet another ruckus.
"… Right," Kinji laughs sheepishly. "Oops, my bad. Err… I've got another question, then."
"Yes?" Shiki peers forward into a darkened corridor, then turns around and heads in the opposite direction.
"Not about Domains this time," Kinji follows along behind her. "I'm just wondering here, how the heck do you know where you're going right now?"
"I'm actually a little curious about that, too," Kirara chimes in. "You're not just following the residuals, are you? I'm not exactly sure if it's because of the manor being messed up like this, but it seems like there are cursed energy residuals from the first years all over the place…?"
He's not wrong about that. If one solely attempts to track the first year students based on the cursed energy residuals that they left behind, then they're going to have an extremely difficult time doing so. The high level of cursed energy in their surroundings also interfering with these traces does not exactly help things any.
"I'm looking for the area where the cursed energy here is most unstable," Shiki informs her classmates.
"Unstable?"
"There's no doubt that what we're seeing in the manor is the work of a cursed spirit." It doesn't seem like this hallway will lead to the right place, either. Shiki climbs up a set of stairs, carefully studying the uneven fluctuations of cursed energy in their volatile surroundings. "Judging by the fact that it has yet to make any appearance before us, it's reasonable to presume that the cursed spirit is currently preoccupied with the first year students."
"So… if it's preoccupied with the first years, you think they might be fighting, or something? And that would 'destabilize' the cursed energy around here?" Kirara guesses.
"Just so," Shiki inclines her head.
The boy nods, then hesitates. "But what if they're trapped instead, or something?"
"Something like being trapped in a set of endless maze-like stairs that don't seem to be leading anywhere?" Kinji nudges Kirara's shoulder.
"Please don't joke about that," Kirara huffs.
"Even if the first years are trapped instead of fighting, it's still best to look for where the cursed energy is most unstable," Shiki ignores the good-natured byplay between her classmates. "Because that will allow us to find the cursed spirit."
"Wait, really?" Kinji blinks.
"Oh!" Kirara smacks a fist into his palm in sudden realization. "Is it like, since you could say that the cursed spirit is the reason why the manor is distorted like this, obviously cursed energy will be more unstable the closer you get to the cursed spirit?"
"More or less."
Shiki comes to an abrupt stop in the dark hall, staring to her left.
"Is this the spot?" Kirara asks, squinting. "I think I can sorta see what you mean by 'destabilized' here…?"
"I don't," Kinji says. "Also, the two of you are looking at a wall, don't tell me that we're actually going to be –whoa!"
Shiki swiftly shoves her classmates aside, just as the wall explodes before their eyes.
"What the fu–"
Whatever expletive Kinji had been about to utter is drowned out beneath the cacophonous din of the building crumbling down around them. Judging by how energetic he seems, though, she takes it that her classmates are both probably fine even in face of this unexpected occurrence.
As for Shiki herself–
There is a sharp clang of something clattering against her sword, but that does not last long. Despite the large size of the vaguely canine-resemblant cursed spirit bearing down upon her, the actual strength behind the creature's impact is far less than its size might otherwise suggest. For comparison: It's nothing compared to what Shiki had experienced in her fight against the reanimated vessel of the Sorcerer Killer. The cursed spirit's attempt to overwhelm her before she can react is one that's poorly executed here.
"You're not a very intelligent one, are you?" Shiki murmurs quietly.
Cycling cursed energy through her body is something that comes as second nature to her by now, and even the faintest inclination is enough to direct the flow in accordance to her desires. In this case, Shiki anchors her feet and crouches, gathering strength as she steadies her grip on her sword.
Down, and up.
The tip of her blade turns deftly in time to her thoughts, and slices through the large cursed spirit effortlessly. There is little physical resistance that meets her, although the same cannot be said for the auditory aspect of it.
Because the very instant that Shiki cuts down the cursed spirit, a pained howl rings through the air. The volume of which is enough to shatter every single glass pane in the nearby vicinity.
Not a very pleasant experience, to say the least.
She eyes the mess in front of her for a moment longer, ears still ringing, then straightens and sheathes her sword.
"… okay?"
Shiki rubs her ears, turning towards her classmates. That was… Kirara's voice, wasn't it? "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that just now."
"It's nothing, I was just asking if you were okay," Kirara runs up to her with a small frown of concern. "That was… kind of weird, wasn't it?"
It was. Because it's not as if Shiki hasn't heard unpleasant death cries before, but… this was still a little unusual. It was almost as if–
"Do you think that maybe it was a warning call, or something?" Kinji follows behind Kirara, also rubbing at his ears. "I know we got kinda caught off guard by this dog curse just now, but it's surprisingly weak. I mean, you just one-shotted it in no time flat… Okay, y'know what? Maybe that's a pretty bad standard to judge by, now that I'm thinking about it."
"Perhaps not." That indeed does not seem like the most accurate method of discerning a cursed spirit's general level of strength. Just because Shiki can easily kill a curse doesn't mean that the average Grade Four sorcerer can fight the same cursed spirit safely.
But then again, none of the first year students in question here were average Grade Four sorcerers now, were they?
Of the four students, only Zenin Maki was ranked as a Grade Four sorcerer. And that was mostly because of the girl's overall lack of skill in any sorcery arts holding her back thus far. From what Shiki has seen of Zenin-san's performance, the girl had extensive combat experience and had likely been trained in proper martial arts by the Zenin Clan prior to her arrival in the Tokyo school.
All of which is to say:
An actual Grade Four sorcerer might've struggled greatly, or perhaps even failed to take down this canine cursed spirit. None of the first year students were average Grade Four sorcerers, and knowing their skill levels, Shiki is skeptical that they would struggle in a fight against this particular cursed spirit. To be honest, Shiki was pretty sure that Okkotsu-san alone was enough to defeat it by himself.
So it didn't make sense that this would be the cursed spirit that had trapped the first year students here with a pseudo-domain.
More to the point, the death of this cursed spirit hadn't changed anything at all about their surroundings. Well, save for the half-destroyed wall that it had crashed in through. But aside from that, the pseudo-domain itself had remained largely unaffected.
Which meant that this cursed spirit was definitely not the one responsible for the pseudo-domain in place here.
"I wonder if there are more of those kinds of cursed spirits in this place." Kinji turns towards the jagged hole in the wall, and leans over to peer inside. "Y'know, like maybe there's a whole nest of them around here? Or pack, whatever, I have no idea what term you'd use here. Anyways, if there's a lot of them, then maybe that's what's giving the first years trouble."
"That's a possibility," Shiki acknowledges, "But that doesn't explain the pseudo-domain."
"Only really strong cursed spirits are capable of making domains, right?" Kirara asks.
"For the most part, yes." There are always exceptions, of course, but by and large one could expect a domain to be the sign of a powerful cursed spirit the way a domain would similarly indicate an accomplished sorcerer. "Weaker curses typically do not have a polished technique to use as a base, nor enough cursed energy to shape and sustain a domain."
"So there's probably a pretty strong cursed spirit here that's responsible for all of this. And we want to find and exorcise it," the boy mutters. "That's the one you were trying to track down earlier by finding where the cursed energy in our surroundings is most 'unstable.'"
"Yeah, she was trying to sense the disturbance in the Force," Kinji says from the side, halfway inside the broken wall.
"The… what?" Shiki blinks.
"The Force. Oh man, you haven't watched Star Wars before?" Kinji takes a moment to glance back over his shoulder towards her with a pitying look. "You've had a really deprived childhood, ojou-sama. Okay, this is definitely going on the movie list. We gotta get you up to snuff on your pop culture."
Shiki blinks again, and looks towards Kirara.
"Maybe we could make it into a weekly thing this year," is what Kirara says instead of actually explaining what Kinji means. "Like a weekend movie night or something? Could also invite the first years."
"Yeah, that sounds like it could be fun," Kinji nods. Clearly, Shiki's two classmates are on the same page as each other. "We could also –woah!"
In an impressive display of flexibility, Kinji suddenly leans backwards, his spine curving back in a bridge that nearly folds his body in half. Above him, a clawed hand tears through the space that the upper half of his body had occupied.
Oddly enough, the hand seems… vaguely familiar, somehow, although Shiki is quite certain that she hasn't–
GIVE YUTA BACK!
The words ring in her ears, although with a different sort of volume than the canine cursed spirit's death cry earlier. Whereas that one had been more just a grating sound to the ears, this one resonates with an overwhelming fury that nearly manifests a physical burning sensation on Shiki's skin, roiling cursed energy spilling everywhere in rage.
And through the broken hole in the wall that Kinji is no longer standing in front of, the clawed hand grips onto the side and pushes against the edge of the building as its full body emerges from the shadows. A vaguely humanoid head comes into sight, though void of any human features, and is followed by a decidedly inhuman sort of serpentine body below its torso.
'Orimoto Rika.'
… It seems that the Special Grade cursed spirit Orimoto Rika had fully manifested here.
"Oh shit," Kinji says.
.
.
…
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