Good food has a way of soothing the soul. A hot meal late at night feels like the perfect reward for a long, hard day. The stack of clean plates in front of Kenmei and Geto was proof enough that they were satisfied.
"So, Geto," Kenmei joked, seeing the contented look on Geto's face. "Think you can handle the taste of Cursed Spirits after this?"
"Don't tease me." Geto's expression was complicated. He hadn't felt this full in... who knew how long. He wiped his mouth and sighed. "I used to not care what I ate, as long as it filled my stomach. But now..."
He left the rest unsaid, ending with a sigh. It's easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but hard to go back. To tolerate the taste of Cursed Spirits, he usually stuck to bland food. Tonight, he'd completely broken that rule.
"Whatever. If you can stomach them, eat them. If not, don't," Kenmei said. He found Geto weird—maybe a masochist? Who voluntarily eats something that disgusting? "No one's forcing you, Geto. And even if they were, with your strength, couldn't you just make them shut up?"
Geto was stunned. All his life, adults had preached "righteousness" to him. He'd never heard such "rebellious" talk. "It's not that simple," he said after a pause, then smiled and shook his head. "And that's not how power should be used. But... you really are an incredible guy."
"By the way," Geto continued, "can I call you Kenmei? You can just call me Suguru."
Today felt surreal to Geto. He was usually the one taking money from others, not the other way around. Yet, he wasn't even mad. Stranger still, he had shared his feelings about swallowing Cursed Spirits—a secret he hadn't even told Gojo, Shoko, or his teachers. But with Kenmei, the answer had just slipped out. Pity was for the weak, and Geto considered himself strong; he didn't need it.
"Sure, whatever," Kenmei replied, changing his address instantly. No need for drama between two guys; one sentence was enough. "Suguru... weird name."
Reminds me of 'Brother Jie', Kenmei mumbled to himself as he grabbed two cold drinks from the fridge, tossing one to Geto.
Crack-fizz.
He popped the tab and took a swig, letting out a satisfied "Ahhh" like an old man after a beer.
"Isn't this beer?" Geto asked hesitantly, looking at the logo on the can. "We're still students, right?"
"Suguru, we're eighteen. Why are you such a stiff?" Kenmei downed his drink in one go, crushed the can, and melted it into a small metal ball with psychic fire. He held it up between his thumb and index finger. "See? Who's gonna know?"
"But..."
"If you don't want it, give it back."
Geto stopped protesting and downed his drink in one gulp. He didn't say anything, just stared wide-eyed at Kenmei. When he finished, instead of melting the can, a pitch-black rift opened in the air beside him, radiating terrifying Cursed Energy.
A massive, golden, ringed eye blocked the opening, staring intently at Kenmei. It was a Cursed Spirit of unknown grade.
Geto tossed the empty can into the rift. The eye shifted up, revealing a mouth full of fangs that instantly shredded the metal before the creature vanished.
"What was that, Suguru?"
"Rainbow Dragon," Geto said, giving a thumbs-up toward the closing rift. "The hardest Cursed Spirit I've absorbed."
Talk about eco-friendly recycling.
"All the spirits I've absorbed are in there," Geto added, a hint of pride in his voice. This was his true power, the reason he could stand on equal footing with his friend who possessed the Limitless and Six Eyes.
He widened the rift slightly so Kenmei could see inside. Countless grotesque spirits drifted in the void, surrounded by a thick miasma of evil energy. Just one look would make a normal person faint.
"Hey! Kenmei, what are you doing?!"
Geto had expected praise, but instead, he saw Kenmei looking at the spirits with "green, hungry eyes," like a wolf eyeing a flock of sheep. He grabbed Kenmei just as he looked ready to jump in.
"Sorry, lost my composure," Kenmei said after Geto closed the rift. "Seeing so many... I couldn't help it."
It was like a greedy man walking into a bank vault. Each spirit was worth thousands of Points. Just converting half of Geto's collection would probably fund Kenmei's first C-Rank simulation.
"Suguru," Kenmei said seriously, "don't ever release all those spirits at once. Or I really... might not be able to control myself."
"Uh, okay," Geto nodded, looking a bit disturbed. "I won't."
Whether he truly understood or not, the warning was delivered.
"Suguru, I'm really interested in your technique," Kenmei said. "Tell me the details. What are the flaws? What kind of spirits can't you absorb? And most importantly... I'm curious how exactly you turn a Cursed Spirit into absorbable energy."
"That's a lot of questions," Geto sighed, facing Kenmei's intense curiosity. "You really don't hold back, do you?"