Saturday morning dawned, the day after the "Shikigami Showdown" that had been held in place of the Goodwill Event.
Thanks to the consideration of the principals of both schools, the students from Kyoto and Tokyo had been granted the weekend off. Currently, they had all gathered at the family restaurant, Big Boy.
There was a specific reason for this.
"Ah, do you accept Jeff Gourmet Cards here?"
"Yes, we do!"
As Suguru Geto confirmed with the staff, the "Extra Prize" they had received for the previous day's battle was, in fact, restaurant gift certificates.
"I wish they'd just given us a ten-thousand yen bill instead of gift cards," Satoru Gojo grumbled.
"Don't say that, Satoru. It's nothing new that the Principal likes being roundabout despite being a meathead. He just wanted us 'promising youths' to get along and share a meal together."
"Is that right? With my allowance, I could come to a family restaurant with eleven people ten thousand times over."
"Reflexively offering to treat everyone... you've really changed, Satoru," Geto noted.
"Hmm? Well, lately it feels more like a jungle than a flower garden. Thanks to that, I've graduated from being a loner."
"I see."
"You guys are still trash, though," Shoko Ieiri chimed in. "Don't complain after taking the money... Oh, excuse me! We'll start with eleven Big Boy Buffet orders, please!"
"Did you hear that, Suguru? Shoko's voice just now."
"It sounded like that sweet, 'answering-the-phone-for-Mom' voice."
"I can hear you, you pieces of trash," Shoko snapped.
The second-year trio from Tokyo sat side-by-side on a long bench, engaging in their usual comedic banter. In stark contrast to their relaxed demeanor, the two male students sitting across from them were stiff as boards.
"What's up? Got a stomach ache or something?" Satoru asked.
"NO, NOTHING LIKE THAT," they replied in unison.
"What's that, some kind of incantation?"
"Stop teasing people you've barely met, Satoru. They're just nervous," Suguru said. "Being at Tokyo High makes you go numb to it, but we are Special Grade. They probably want to ask Shoko—the only non-Special Grade girl—for help, but since she talks to two Special Grades like they're nothing and puts on that weird sweet voice, she's actually the hardest to talk to."
"Geto, your ears sound tired. Should I use Reversed Cursed Technique on them along with everything inside your womb later?" Shoko asked flatly.
"Whoa, easy, that was just a witty joke to lighten the mood! ...Anyway, as you can see, we're just students a year or so older than you. No need to be so tense. Shoko and I are from non-sorcerer families, so you 'sorcerer lineage' kids actually have higher standing in the industry than us."
As Suguru smiled reassuringly, Shoko began kneading positive cursed energy, firing tiny bullets of it from her fingers like a toy gun. Seeing this childish display from a supposedly elite group caused the Kyoto boys to finally relax, though they offered awkward smiles.
"No way... that's not how it works," one of them said. "The moment you bring up lineage against a Reversed Cursed Technique user and a Special Grade, we've already lost."
"Oh, a Kansai accent. Isn't this the first time we've heard one besides Naoya's?" Suguru remarked. "Satoru is from the Gojo clan in Kyoto, but he speaks standard Japanese."
"What's the matter, Suguru? If you want to hear it that badly, I can do it for you," Satoru joked.
"Ugh, gross! That sounds so wrong! It's like a bug type!"
"Who are you calling a Pokémon? ...In the Big Three families, the women come from all over the place. Everyone ends up speaking standard Japanese, so the kids pick it up. Naoya is the rarity. His mother was probably a hardcore local."
"That makes sense, but it feels like a world away. To Shoko and me, that sounds like something out of a TV show," Suguru said.
"The Gojo family is high-society nobility on the surface and one of the Big Three sorcerer families underneath—the ultimate pedigree," Usui noted. "To Urabe and me, we have nothing in common besides being from sorcerer families. My home is a normal monogamous household."
"Wait, is the Big Three like a harem, Usui-senpai?" Urabe asked.
"Oh, you didn't know? Sakata-senpai mentioned it when she saw Noritsugu Kamo. The Kamo family practices polygamy."
"Seriously, Gojo? Are you actually popular like that? Even though you're beyond trash—beyond ultra-trash—like a Blangonga? Or is it because you're a Blangonga that you have a harem?" Shoko teased.
"Or maybe Satoru has twelve sisters who are incredibly cute, honest, and lonely, and they all, every single one of them, absolutely love their big brother...?" Suguru added.
"I don't have siblings or a girlfriend! And Suguru, that's literally Sister Princess! Shoko, you're going too far—who's a Snow Lion? Only my hair color matches! If anything, I'm closer to a Plesioth because I use Infinity!"
"Suguru, new info: apparently Plesioth's hip check is actually Infinity," Shoko deadpanned.
"Satoru's just being desperate because he's being teased so much, Shoko. Though it does kind of fit," Suguru laughed.
"You guys play Monster Hunter... well, it's normal to focus on the child with the most potential. Most sorcerers with extreme power from lineages tend to be only children or the youngest. My family just keeps things going modestly, so I have a younger brother for the sake of the bloodline. How about you, Urabe?"
"I actually have twelve sisters... for pretty much the same reason Usui-senpai said," Urabe admitted.
"YOU ACTUALLY ARE SISTER PRINCESS!" the four of them shouted.
---
While that table had turned from tense to chaotic, the table occupied by the Tokyo first-years and the Kyoto girls had been lively from the start.
With a 1:1 gender ratio, the setting felt somewhat like a group date—a situation that had turned into a bed of needles for Naoya from the moment he sat down.
"Wow! It's the real Nao-sama!"
"Now, Aki-chan. Don't shout. You're startling Nao-sama. Besides, we saw him yesterday."
"Yeah, but yesterday was from a distance and we were opponents. I couldn't talk to him. Besides, Mayo-senpai, you're all dressed up too."
"We all are. Senpai has been working hard since yesterday to 'push and lift' what she's got," another girl added.
"Wait, Mayo-chan, why did you just stab me like that?!"
With the three girls making no effort to hide their high spirits, the atmosphere was already at a boiling point.
While Naoya looked utterly drained, Haibara was fully leaning into the girls' energy, and Nanami, surprisingly, seemed to be enjoying himself. Pinched between the two of them, Naoya was completely surrounded.
"Still, considering how often you're called for emergency deployments, it might not be so strange that a fan club exists, Naoya," Nanami remarked.
"During the summer it was every day, and even now, you go to help out somewhere during lunch or after school at least once a week," Haibara added.
"Why are you lot... more okay with this than me? I still... haven't wrapped my head around it," Naoya muttered.
"Is it because you're the subject? We're just spectators heckling from the sidelines, so it's easy for us," Nanami said.
"I actually had a fan club back in middle school!" Haibara chirped.
"With your personality and looks, I can see that," Nanami agreed.
"I bet you had one too, Nanami. You look like a Western ikemen," Naoya said.
"There was... something similar, I suppose."
Naoya sighed. "I can understand... a fan club being made. The problem is... the fact that it existed was never told to me."
Zen'in Naoya's face clearly read: What on earth are the people in the Zen'in house doing? Azuki Sakata, his self-proclaimed fan girl, looked puzzled.
"Oh? You didn't know about this, Nao-sama? There are plenty of Zen'in family members in the fan club. I heard the President and Vice-President are Zen'ins too... though I've never met them."
"Maki and Mai are just figureheads. The real boss is Mei Mei. ...Well, whatever, she's an acquaintance. Money-grubbing is her life's work, like breathing. I'm sure she's keeping a strict ledger and setting aside my share. She's good at drawing those lines... But because of that, I lost. It's a pathetic excuse, but if I'd known, I wouldn't have let my guard down."
"Naoya, you really hate losing. But even if you'd known, it wouldn't have mattered. We were all laughing. Even Nanami was laughing," Haibara said.
"Haibara, even I laugh when something is funny," Nanami replied.
"But you never laugh when we watch variety shows in the dorm."
"I see him watching Shouten sometimes. Maybe it's just a difference in sense of humor," Naoya noted.
"I also enjoy Rahmens and other dry comedy troupes," Nanami added.
"Ah, the kind of stuff that isn't funny unless you're smart...!"
The three boys began to drift into their own conversation, a total "red card" move if this had actually been a group date.
However, the three girls were just as busy squealing and chatting among themselves while watching the boys, so everyone was failing the "date" anyway. Not that it was one.
Still, such idle talk and lightheartedness were the privileges of being a student.
The students from Kyoto and Tokyo spent a pleasant afternoon at the restaurant, eventually exchanging contact information before returning to their respective schools.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]