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While Bokue Keikain was making one of his rare trips home to spend time with his little sister, elsewhere—after spending thirty minutes on a bus ride—Saeko Busujima arrived at her destination.
Standing at the base of the crowded stone steps leading up to Kiyomizu-dera Temple's main entrance, Gojo Satoru and his three students were already waiting.
"Yo! Busujima-san, your timing's perfect!"
Perhaps thanks to his ridiculously powerful Six Eyes vision, Gojo spotted the swordswoman emerging from a street corner through the dense crowd almost instantly. Completely disregarding any semblance of dignity, he raised his arm high and waved enthusiastically.
This overgrown man-child—pushing thirty yet still acting like an oversized teenager—looked exactly the same as he had a few months ago.
"...Good morning, Gojo-sensei."
Saeko hesitated briefly before walking over and offering a polite greeting.
"Though, didn't you message me earlier saying you'd already arrived at Kiyomizu-dera? Have you been waiting out here this whole time?"
As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward the three students standing nearby—Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugisaki—all of whom looked completely burnt out. She mentally face-palmed.
Honestly, she wasn't the type who liked owing people favors. When Gojo had messaged her earlier saying they were at Kiyomizu-dera and asking her to meet them, Saeko had assumed they'd already gone inside to explore. She'd figured she'd call them when she arrived, and they'd finish up and come out, conveniently handing over the boat ticket then.
But looking at them now, they'd clearly been roasting under the blazing sun waiting for her, practically on the verge of heatstroke!
"Ah, no no no, it's not like that at all."
Gojo waved his hands dismissively with a grin.
"We actually just finished exploring all the shopping streets around here. Man, just wandering the outer shopping district alone made this trip worth it!"
Shopping streets?
Saeko raised an eyebrow in surprise.
She'd walked through those same outer shopping streets on her way here. Like most tourist destinations around the world, both sides of the street were lined with local specialty goods, souvenirs, and food vendors.
And because Kyoto was famous for its confections, nearly ninety-nine percent of the food stalls around Kiyomizu-dera sold sweets—matcha desserts, wagashi, yatsuhashi, and the like. Walking through felt like the very air itself was saturated with sugary sweetness.
At that moment, Nobara—who'd been on the verge of losing consciousness alongside Yuji and Megumi—seemed to have a keyword triggered. She barely managed to regain a sliver of awareness, trembling as she raised one shaky finger to point at the still-energetic Gojo.
"Next time you buy sweets... just get them for yourself, Gojo-sensei. I'll pass."
"Same here..."
"Me too..."
Like a chain reaction, the moment Nobara finished speaking, the two boys collapsed beside her echoed her sentiment.
"Huh? What, the sweets weren't good?"
Faced with his students' protests, Gojo scratched his face in confusion.
"They should've been pretty tasty though. I even paid extra to have the shopkeepers triple the sugar content."
Triple... sugar content.
Saeko suddenly understood why all three of them were sprawled on the ground.
After all, sweet things naturally created a sense of fullness. And to sample every single shop along the entire commercial street, with triple the sweetness no less—
Yeah, no human being could handle that.
Actually, scratch that—even a cursed spirit would probably tap out.
"Oh right, here you go, Busujima-san."
After chatting for a bit, as if suddenly remembering why he'd called the swordswoman here in the first place, Gojo smacked his forehead and pulled a paper boat ticket from his clothes.
"Here. The departure's in a week. Good thing we bought the tickets last night, otherwise if we'd waited until today it would've been delayed another day."
"...Thank you."
Though she still couldn't wrap her head around why Itogami Island had mysteriously moved next to Kyoto, at least he'd helped her buy the ticket. Saeko sincerely expressed her gratitude.
"But Gojo-sensei, why did you all come to Kyoto anyway?"
The swordswoman looked somewhat puzzled.
The Jujutsu Association wasn't hurting for money, after all. Tokyo Jujutsu High, which had been blown up during that cursed spirit invasion, had been fully renovated ages ago.
She'd come to Kyoto because the Jujutsu Association had specifically assigned her to continue monitoring Bokue Keikain. But Gojo and his students had no reason to go to Itogami Island.
So what were they here for?
Was it simply because they wanted to visit the legendary Demon District before summer vacation ended?
"Well, explaining that's a bit complicated. Long story short, it's about Itadori-kun's situation."
Gojo pulled out a pair of sunglasses from somewhere and slipped them on.
"Anyway, forget about that for now. It's almost lunchtime, and we still haven't explored inside Kiyomizu-dera yet. Busujima-san, want to come with us?"
"I'll... have to pass."
Saeko shook her head, declining politely.
Gojo looked genuinely surprised. "Huh? Don't tell me you're not into temples, Busujima-san? I would've thought someone with your elegant vibe would love classic sites like this."
"It's not that..."
Saeko smiled somewhat helplessly, stepping aside to gesture at the suitcase behind her.
"I'm actually quite interested in these kinds of attractions. It's just that I came here straight from getting off the bullet train, so I'd like to drop my luggage off at the hotel first. Even I'd find it exhausting to tour a whole site while dragging all this stuff around."
"Ah, that makes sense."
Gojo's mouth formed an exaggerated O-shape.
"In that case, you should head to your hotel first, Busujima-san. Itadori-kun and I will go ahead inside. If there's time tomorrow or the day after, we can explore together."
"Sounds good. I'll be going then."
After exchanging polite farewells once more, Saeko nodded with a smile, turned, and left while pulling her suitcase behind her.
Once she'd gotten a bit farther away, she glanced back at Kiyomizu-dera Temple one more time.
The crowds really are massive right now. I'll come back later when it's quieter.
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Meanwhile, at the Keikain family estate in Kyoto.
Inside the family head's residence, Yura had just finished bathing and emerged from the bathroom. Seeing her older brother still sitting in the outer living room, tilting his head as he watched her, her face flushed slightly. She quickly raised a hand to fix her slightly disheveled hair, damp from the bath.
"Brother, you're still here."
"Hmm? Why do you say it like that? Don't you want to see me?"
"...It's not that. It's just... every time you come home, you usually only stay for a little while before leaving again."
The young Onmyōji girl's voice grew quieter as she continued.
"So I'm a bit... surprised, that's all."
"What's so surprising about it?"
Sitting at the table in the living room, Bokue Keikain shrugged.
"I came here today specifically to spend time with you, Yura. I don't have anything else planned. Hey, want to go out together this afternoon? I don't think we've hung out in forever."
"This afternoon... I can't. Because of our partnership with the Jujutsu Association, I've got a ton of things to handle every day lately."
Yura thought for a moment, then quickly added:
"But tonight works."
"Tonight it is, then."
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