Higashitsu.
The beating heart of Japan, a global metropolis.
Now, though, it was scarred and battered—all thanks to Kenjaku's Culling Game.
Luckily, Gaio didn't want to see his little sun dimmed.
The bloody free-for-all meant to last twenty days? It was over in ten minutes flat once he stepped in.
Every cursed spirit and curse user that popped up during the Culling Game across Japan? Under the Enma Blade, all were equal. Cleared out in ten minutes.
He single-handedly minimized the destruction of that chaotic game.
Even crazier was the rebuilding speed.
It was almost unbelievable!
Skyscrapers reduced to rubble, streets cracked open, public facilities collapsed…
It was like someone hit the fast-forward button, and everything snapped back into place with a click-click-click.
The whole of Japan turned into a construction juggernaut.
No idea if they consulted Tokyo University's engineering department or if this world had some Ultraman-level rebuilding experience before Gaio arrived. Either way, within a week of the Culling Game's end, Higashitsu was already back to eighty percent of its former glory.
And Gaio?
He and his little sun—Marin Kitagawa—were planning to hop on a bullet train back to Higashitsu.
No teleportation portal this time. A week earlier, Marin had decided that since school was starting soon, they should take the scenic route back and have some fun along the way.
So, a random-ticket, no-destination, blind-box adventure began.
"Next stop—Hakodate!" Marin bounced on her toes, tapping the ticket machine screen, her golden hair brushing Gaio's nose. "No peeking at the destination!"
Gaio smiled and nodded, letting her snatch up two random tickets.
Had this silly girl forgotten she just shouted the destination out loud?
As the platform announcement blared, Marin folded a map into a paper airplane, launching it in a perfect arc into a trash bin. "From now on, we're leaving it to fate!"
At five in the morning on Hakodate's Mount Observation Deck, Marin, wrapped in Gaio's jacket, munched on creamed corn and tugged his scarf. "Look!"
Dawn broke through the clouds, gilding the bay's outline. Frost clung to her lashes, but her smile shone brighter than ever.
Gaio snapped a photo—her radiance outshining the million-dollar night view in the lens.
That afternoon at the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses, she tried squid ink ice cream from twenty shops before stealing Gaio's plain vanilla cone. "Dummy boyfriend, you only get to eat it after I've tried it~"
After a day in Hakodate, Marin dragged Gaio back to the station.
She bought random tickets again, then turned to him with a scrunched nose and a playful grin.
With a wave of her hand, she led the way, her face beaming with smug satisfaction.
"Next stop, let's go."
They soon arrived at their new destination—Aomori.
Stepping off the train, Marin's eyes lit up at a station billboard advertising a hot spring.
"Apple hot springs?" She stared at the inn's signature feature, practically sparkling.
That night, in a milky pool with red apples floating on the surface, she suddenly pinned Gaio against the edge. "Don't move!"
Her fingertip traced his collarbone. "This is where I bit you in Zaha… huh? Where'd it go?" Steam blurred her suddenly red ear tips.
The next morning, she ran through an apple orchard in a yukata, her skirt scattering white blossoms.
An elderly farming couple handed them fresh-pressed apple juice, chuckling, "Youth is wonderful."
Gaio, eyeing the lip marks on the cup's rim, quietly ordered ten crates of apples to be shipped back to Higashitsu.
At the bullet train platform, Marin stood on her toes, peering at the ticket machine. "Let's get tickets to Sendai! I heard their beef tongue is amazing!"
Gaio stuffed a strawberry daifuku into her mouth. "Didn't you say yesterday you wanted to go to Kanazawa?"
"Mmph…" Marin chewed, cheeks puffed out, then her eyes lit up. "Let's flip a coin!" She fished a 500-yen coin from her shorts pocket, gleaming in the sunlight.
The coin arced through the air. Heads for Kanazawa, tails for Sendai.
It landed in a drainage grate.
"Hahaha!" Marin doubled over, clinging to Gaio's arm. "Guess we're going to the next platform's stop!"
So, Sendai's beef tongue became Kanazawa's gold leaf ice cream.
Marin held up her glittering cone for a selfie, with Gaio's reflection perfectly framed in a shop window.
On day four in Nagoya, Marin insisted on tackling the legendary "Spicy Chicken Wing Challenge"—ten insanely spicy wings in ten minutes.
She ended up teary-eyed, diving into Gaio's arms for a kiss to cool the burn.
On day five, at a Kyoto guesthouse, the owner mistook them for newlyweds and gifted them matching couple's yukata.
Marin refused to take hers off, declaring, "I'm wearing this to school to show those girls eyeing you who's boss, hmph~"
With that, she happily clacked off in geta sandals to feed the koi in the courtyard.
By the evening of the seventh day, when the silhouette of Higashitsu Tower appeared on the horizon, Marin suddenly pulled out all their train tickets from the week, tying them into a small bundle with a rubber band.
"These are going in our memory box!" She tucked the bundle into Gaio's chest pocket, poking his heart with a grin.
Gaio looked at her adorable expression, chuckling as he ruffled her golden hair. "Alright, whatever you say."
Marin wrinkled her nose cutely, then whipped out her phone, fingers flying.
Over the week, she'd carefully curated every photo and sweet moment—snuggling at Hakodate's sunrise, splashing in Aomori's hot springs, their reflections in Kanazawa's shop window—and posted them all over social media.
The kicker? Every post tagged Kaguya Shinomiya and a few others: "Ice Queen," "Random Extra," and "Manga Sis."
Her smug grin glowed under the phone's screen light.
She opened a post with the most likes, and there it was: a reply from "Miss High-and-Mighty" in the Shinomiya family's signature elegant tone, dripping with sarcasm. "Enjoy your trip. Some people seem to have a lot of free time."
Another comment, from a user with a 2D avatar labeled "Manga Sis," was blunt: "Material acquired √."
Below that, a string of passive-aggressive lemon emojis.
"Hmph~" Marin giggled at the comments, not annoyed but delighted, curling into Gaio's arms like a cat who'd stolen a treat, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
"Look at them, so jealous!"
Gaio glanced at the screen, then at his little sun, clearly staking her claim, and laughed. "Little jealousy jar."
"No way!" Marin shot back, but her grin widened as she furiously tapped the screen, probably liking another salty comment.
They dragged their luggage through the bullet train station's gate, blending into the bustling crowd.
Marin tapped her lips with her finger, her face scrunching in thought. "Hmm, where should we stay tonight? That place with the starry ceiling? Or the one with the full view of Higashitsu Tower? Ugh, so hard to choose…"
Gaio didn't interrupt, just smiled at her adorable dilemma, quietly pushing the luggage beside her.
Bzz-bzz.
His phone vibrated, an "unknown number" flashing on the screen.
He answered casually. "Hello?"
"Yo, Nero bro!" Satoru Gojo's exaggerated, teasing voice burst through the receiver. "You're back?"
Gaio raised an eyebrow, staying silent.
"Don't play mute!" Gojo laughed. "Surprise! Come out the south exit—I'm here to pick you up! And I brought—"
Beep.
Gaio hung up without hesitation, the screen going dark.
He glanced at Marin, still counting hotel options on her fingers, and softened his voice. "Dreamy, decided yet? Where are we staying tonight?"
Marin pouted, looking like a deflated pufferfish. "Ugh, it's so hard to pick!"
She suddenly spun around, hugging his arm and rubbing against it. "No matter which hotel we choose, it's not as cozy as our own place~"
Her face tilted up, red contact lenses sparkling with a hint of playfulness and expectation. "How about… we go home?"
At the word "home," Gaio's lips curved into a wry smile.
Ever since his house in Suginami Ward was obliterated in the earlier chaos, he hadn't checked on it—no calls about rebuilding or clearing the rubble had come through.
That place was probably still a wreck.
Marin caught his wry smile and realized—she'd forgotten about that!
Her face fell for a second, and she stuck out her pink tongue in embarrassment. "Oh! Right…"
But the next moment, she hugged his arm tighter, bouncing like a fully charged sun. "Whatever! Tian-kun, I've decided! Let's go to the taxi stand!"
Her radiant smile erased the brief hiccup, her boundless energy chasing away any gloom. "I'm leading the way!"
Gaio watched her vibrant energy, his own hint of frustration melting into warmth.
He nodded with a smile. "Alright."
They reached the taxi waiting area, only to stop short.
Ahead, a glaringly obvious white-haired figure was perched on a metal railing, exuding a "gotcha" grin despite his black blindfold.
Satoru Gojo.
Beside him on the sidewalk stood his three students:
Yuji Itadori, all sunshine and smiles, waved enthusiastically. "Nero! Over here!"
Nobara Kugisaki cupped her face, eyes sparkling with stars. "It's really Nero! Nero!!"
Megumi Fushiguro was the quietest, offering a slight nod. "Senior Nero."
Gojo hopped off the railing, his long legs carrying him to them in a few strides, his tone drawn out and teasing. "Well, well, well~ I told you I was coming to pick you up, and you just hung up on me."
Ignoring Gaio's slight frown, Gojo slung an arm around his shoulders. "What, nowhere to crash?"
His lips curved into a mischievous grin beneath the blindfold. "I mean, your little house got demolished, right? Not even a single tatami mat left intact, I bet."
Gaio flicked Gojo's arm off with ease. "Didn't Nanami tell you guys? Don't bother me."
"Oh, no way—" Gojo clutched his chest dramatically, feigning heartbreak, his voice dripping with mock sorrow. "Nero-kun, you're so cold! My heart's in pieces!"
Gaio ignored the theatrics, scanning the surroundings. Sure enough, Yuji's loud "Nero" had rippled through the crowd, drawing curious whispers:
"Huh? Nero?"
"That white-haired guy with the shades and mask?"
"Looks like it's really him!"
"Where's Nero?"
"Is that blonde next to him Kitagawa?"
As curious onlookers started to close in, some bold fans even edging closer, Gaio let out a barely audible sigh and looked at the still-"heartbroken" Gojo. "Alright, Gojo, what do you want?"
His tone carried a hint of exasperation but mostly a "spit it out and let's go" urgency.
Gojo dropped the wounded act instantly, his "I won" smugness practically oozing despite the blindfold. "Heh, surprise!"
He snapped his fingers, finally sounding a bit serious. "Just come with me, and I promise you'll be happy!"
With the crowd starting to gather, Gaio didn't hesitate. He grabbed Marin's hand—she was still curiously scanning the scene—and said simply, "Let's go."
Gojo let out a cheerful whistle, turning to lead the way.
Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi followed, the group quickly weaving through the crowd toward the parking lot, leaving behind a small buzz of excited chatter.