บท 51: NO. 51 - Day to Day
"What's that?"
"That's a penguin."
"Ahh… what about that one?"
"That would be a Sea Otter."
[+15 SP]
Eri smiled at the playful otter from her spot on my shoulders as I stepped closer to the enclosure. She held onto my hair and pulled me to the right towards the next zoo animal. Eri's newly appointed guardian jellyfish Shikigami, Jello, floated above her like a sentinel.
"Look at that! A panda!" Himiko said as she grabbed my hand and pulled both me and my passenger to the next exhibit." Oh! Oh! Let's take a picture!"
"I'll do it! I'm an excellent photographer!" Jin raised his Canon camera from over his chest and began snapping several shots of us three. Zaiko grunted from his spot around Jin's shoulders as the unmasked man moved around to get different angles. From beside him, Kaina smiled softly from behind her thick glasses and newly dyed shoulder-length black hair. "Kaina! Get in there!" Jin said, turning to the woman.
"I don't know…"
"Please, Oneechan?" Eri said with a small smile. Causing Kaina's weak defenses to crumble.
"…okay."
After counting down, Jin took a picture of us four with a thumbs up.
"Jello. If you would." I said as I looked over to the jellyfish.
Jello floated over to Jin and took his camera. Dashing over, Jin joined the four of us as Jello took our picture. At the sight of the floating camera, several other of the Zoo visitors paused and stared in confusion. It didn't take long for them to get over the odd sight, chalking it up to some sort of camera or levitation Quirk one of us had.
Over the next two hours or so, the five of us continued exploring the Kanazawa Zoo, going from exhibit to exhibit as Eri wanted to see all the different kinds of animals with a childish curiosity.
The reason we were here was because Jin wanted us all to celebrate Himiko's and my acceptance letters to UA. I didn't particularly care to celebrate, but Himiko suggested we all go to the Zoo. After hearing what a zoo was and what it entailed, Eri was super excited to go.
"That was a blast!" Himiko exclaimed as we strolled out of the Zoo. She glanced down at Eri from beside her, their hands intertwined. "Did you have a good time, Eri-chan?"
"Mhm!" Eri nodded with a smile as she held up her bag of cotton candy. "I had a lot of fun!"
"I'm happy to hear that!"
As we grew closer to the parking lot where Kaina parked our recently bought Hoda SUV, we heard a loud bang off down the road. Kaina, Jin, and I stepped in front of Eri and Himiko as we watched an ongoing battle between a pro hero and a villain.
The battle seemed to be in the villain's favor before some backup arrived for the hero. Now outnumbered and overpowered, the heroes quickly took down the villain with minimal environmental damage.
"Not bad," I muttered as I helped Eri inside the car. "These Kamakura heroes are pretty efficient."
"True." Jin nodded as he sat down on Eri's left. "But what can you expect when it's a four versus one fight? It was a super unfair fight!"
"Who cares?" Himiko said as she sat on Eri's right. I got into the passenger seat, and Kaina got behind the wheel. "At least they kept their fight off the street. I hate the traffic the heroes cause with their little fights."
"From what I remember," Kaina turned on the engine and began driving us out of the parking lot. "This section of Kamakura has some UA graduates from a few years back. Makes sense that they're so effective."
"UA?" Eri looked up from her sweet treat with curious eyes. "Isn't that the school Souta-Oniisan and Himiko-Oneechan are going to?"
"That's the one." I looked back at Eri and gave her a small smile. She nodded and took another bite of her cotton candy. "Enough about this. Let's go grab some lunch."
"Let's get some Ramen/Sushi!" Himiko and Jin said excitedly before turning to each other with challenging looks.
"Not again…" Kaina muttered as she removed her shades.
Bringing out a notepad, I flipped through the pages before I arrived at a page with a scoreboard. It was split between Himiko and Jin, with Jin in the lead.
"My money is on Jin this time around. You?" I asked Kaina as I raised a small bundle of bills.
[+15 SP]
"Please stop gambling in front of Eri-chan…"
As we left the Zoo, the heated debate on where we would eat commenced between both blonds.
x x x
[General POV]
"Yes, I have just arrived."
Walking through the Narita International Airport, a tall, well-built man with brown hair held a black disposable phone next to his ear. As he walked, he made no attempt to walk around or avoid all those who crossed his path.
Those who were shoved away were quick to anger, but one look into the brown-haired man's dead grey eyes caused them to freeze in their curses. Quickly, everyone who stood in his path moved out of the way.
"Excellent." On the other line, the HPSC Chairman nodded as he stared out at Tokyo Bay from the end of a boardwalk. "You have full access to all of the HPSC's resources. I want this done as soon as possible."
"Yes... Understood." The brown-haired man said in a thick accent with German tones. "Worry not, I will find this King of Curses and bring his head to you."
"Make sure you do. Remember, you're not the only one who was given this contract." The Chairman said as he hung up the call.
The head of the HPSC continued to watch the rolling waves of water before throwing his phone into the sea. Turning around, he walked down the boardwalk in the direction of his awaiting driver and car.
x x x
[Shimizu Souta POV]
Himiko flipped through her textbook with a bored expression. "Okay, so can you explain this concept again? I'm still having trouble with the periodic table trends," she asked, tapping her pencil against her chin.
I nodded and sat up from the oversized pink bean bag chair while placing down my manuscript for Order of the Phoenix. After stretching, I walked over to her desk and peered down at her work.
Currently, the two of us are located in Himiko's room. It was full of bright colors and full to the brim with girly knickknacks, and a large makeup table sat along the wall. "Sure. Think of it like a map. As you move down the groups, the atoms get bigger because of the added electron shells. And as you go across a period, the nucleus gets stronger, pulling those electrons closer," I explained, drawing a quick diagram on one of Himiko's notebooks. "Get it?"
Himko held her chin and nodded. "I see... I don't get it," she replied, smiling.
"Is that so..."
[+15 SP]
"...sorry," Himiko muttered with a small bow. "It's only thanks to all those nights of cramming we did that I was able to pass the UA entrance exam."
Sighing, I rubbed the top of her head. Thanks to her hair being down, as it usually was at home, I was able to pet her unimpeded. "It's fine. We just gotta get you to the point where you won't struggle in class. After we start school, I'll help you study some more."
[+20 SP]
"Sukuna-kun..." Himiko faked, cried, and jumped into my arms. Much to my chagrin. "you're so kind!"
"Uh-huh. Now, get back to work. I told you no television if you don't finish this set of problems." I grabbed her head and pushed her back.
"So mean! It's been thirty minutes! I've studied enough!" Himiko whined and gave me her best puppy dog eyes. "Please! No more!"
"Fine." I reached down and grabbed her pencil from her hand. Unknown to me, Himiko's thumb traced my own as I plucked her writing utensil away.
Flipping to a new page, I scribbled down a graph drawing alongside some numbers. "Only if you can answer this question."
"...I'll continue studying." Himiko cried as she flipped open her textbook.
"You do that."
"Is Souta-Oniisan being mean to Himiko-Oneechan?" Eri asked from the cracked door. Behind her, Jin nodded as he watched as I explained several problems to a sulking Himiko. "She's crying..."
"Nah. Souta is just trying to help Toga-chan," Jin whispered as he and Eri continued to watch the study session. At some point, Himiko tried to sneak away, but I placed my hands on her shoulders to keep her in place. "...I think."
x x x
"So you're saying that what you did back in the Florrum Ward was only half of the size it could have been?" Jin asked as he, Kaina, and I all sat out on the back porch as we watched the starry night sky. Off in the background, Himiko and Eri were watching television.
"Yup." Nodding, I took a sip of my coffee as puffs of steam flew out my mouth from the chilly air. "I had to limit the size of my Domain. Otherwise, the scale of destruction would have reached out another 100 meters."
[+25 SP]
[+25 SP]
Kaina and Jin blinked at the revelation and thought back to the images of the Florrum ward from the news. The scale of destruction was already quite wide and horrifying, but to hear that it could have been three times worse than that was eye-opening.
"That's... rather impressive," Kaina muttered as she took a sip of tea.
"It's one of my most destructive abilities." I closed my eyes and thought back to the moment Malevolent Shrine was slicing and shredding everything apart around me. In the center, Chisaki's body was repeatedly torn to shreds as a look of sheer agony was plastered on his face. As I thought back, an unconscious, sadistic grin grew on my face. "I don't think I'll be able to use that Domain again... at least not within a populated area."
"Yeah, that place looks like a parking lot now. Maybe they'll put a mall there?" Jin nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Still... even after getting as far as we did, we were still able to see that pillar of fire reach the sky. It kinda reminded me of a, well, nuke. Some real scary stuff."
Hearing Jin's comparison made me frown; I wouldn't be surprised if everyone who had laid eyes on the Divine Arrows' effects had mistaken it for a nuclear explosion.
Sorry, Japan.
"How did you do it?" Kaina asked, her eyes curious. "How were you able to get the police to conduct an evacuation drill?"
"I have a guy on the inside. While I wasn't sure I was going to use a Domain Expansion at the time, I was sure that the nearby civilians could have gotten caught up in our attack." I explained as I finished my drink. "I'm glad I did that. Otherwise, as I was at the time, I doubt I would have hesitated using my Domain even if there were people close by."
[+20 SP]
[+15 SP]
"..." Kaina and Jin remained silent at my confession.
From there, the three of us sat in silence as we simmered in what I said.
"I... don't think you would have done it." Kaina turned to me. "Despite what you think and have done, I don't think you'd disregard those around you without a second thought. Otherwise, you would have killed me instead of offering me to join you."
"Kaina-chan is right, Souta." Jin nodded. "I believe you're a lot kinder than you believe yourself to be."
Looking down at the few drops of black liquid in my cup, I wondered if what they said about me was true.
Would I not have used my Domain if there were people still nearby?
Or would I not have cared and used it to erase Chisaki and anyone else who was unlucky to be there from the world? No matter the consequences?
I'm not sure.
"...you two might be right," Forcing a smile on my face, I raised my head and turned to them. Raising my empty cup, I stood up and motioned indoors. "I'm gonna grab another cup. Be right back." They both nodded at me and began a new conversation between themselves.
As I walked inside, I lost my fake smile and grabbed the pot of coffee.
"Yes... I hope you're both right."
"Sukuna-kun?" Himiko said as she walked up behind me. "What's the matter? You alright?"
Turning to her, I blinked in confusion as she was once again able to pick up on my troubled state. Looking back, I saw Eri focused on the childish anime that was on the television.
"I'm fine," I said after filling my mug. "I was just in my head, is all." Turning to her, I saw that she was unconvinced. Walking forward, she walked up to me and brought me into a tight hug with her head on my shoulder. Placing my mug on the counter, I slowly returned the hug.
"Don't forget what I told you that night, okay?"
"...yeah. I know."
[+35 SP]
After a few seconds, she pulled back slightly and reached up to my cheeks. Her fingers brushed against my cheeks, causing me to stare at her with half-lidded eyes.
Closing her eyes, Himiko began to lean in.
"Himiko-Oneechan! You're going to miss the show!" Eri said as she walked into the kitchen, causing Himiko to jump back and turn to her with a flushed face. Tilting her head in confusion, Eri looked back and forth between me and Himiko. "What's the matter? Your faces are all red. Are you two sick?"
[+55 SP]
"A-Ah! No, it's just a little warm here!" Himiko fanned herself as she turned to me with a shy and alarmed expression. "Sukuna-kun here must have the heat on too high! Let's go lower it, okay, Eri-chan?"
"Okay!"
Grabbing her little hand, Himiko pulled Eri along toward where the thermostat was. Before they left the kitchen, Himiko turned back and offered me a little wave with a smile. Not waiting for a response, she turned the corner and left.
Standing still, I blinked several times before rubbing my warm face with my hand.
"...this complicates things."
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