"A magician, huh..." Although he was more accustomed to being called a Jujutsu Sorcerer, in a sense, the two roles shared similarities.
After all, wasn't the process of exorcising Curses a spectacular performance in its own right?
The only difference was that tickets for a magician could be bought with money, whereas tickets for a Jujutsu Sorcerer often cost the lives and safety of ordinary people.
Fortunately, this world had no Curses... though if one had to say, certain detectives who left a trail of bodies wherever they went seemed more like the incarnations of Curses themselves.
Meanwhile, nine-year-old Shinichi Kudo suddenly felt a chill: Why do I feel like someone is gossiping about me behind my back?
Satoru Gojo rested his chin on his hand and lied through his teeth: "That's right, I'm a magician too. My best magic trick is..."
"What is it? A cutting act?"
Satoru made a shushing sound, his tone turning profound and mysterious: "No, of course not... it's the 'Heart-Stealing Act' that conquers the audience through pure charm! ♡～"
Aoko, viewing him through the rose-tinted filters of their first meeting, didn't find it flamboyant at all. Instead, she began to clap.
"Brother Gojo is so amazing after all!"
Beside them, Kaito suppressed the urge to complain. He finally understood how Aoko felt on a daily basis when she watched him handing out roses to everyone in sight.
Don't call just anything magic, hey! You gigolo uncle!
"Well, it's alright, I guess." Satoru waved a hand dismissively, acting modest. "I'm probably just about on the same level as Kaito's father."
"Then you're super strong!" The girl with the slightly messy hair tilted her fair face upward. "Kaito's dad is a famous genius magician, he's very well-respected!"
"Kaito used to always admire him, saying he was the world's most—" In her excitement, Aoko suddenly realized she had stepped on a sensitive topic, and her voice trailed off.
"...the most amazing magician."
Toichi Kuroba had been missing for several months with his whereabouts unknown, and her childhood friend had only recently lost his father... she shouldn't have brought this up now.
Just as Aoko feared, Kaito's expression underwent a subtle change.
He was no longer the optimistic boy she usually saw; instead, a trace of loneliness flickered across his face.
"The most amazing... magician?" He seemed to recall a vivid memory. He slowly lowered his head, clenching his fists before gradually relaxing them.
After a long silence, Kaito spoke with a self-deprecating tone: "If he was really that amazing, why would he disappear from his own stage?"
"If he were truly the best magician in the world, Dad... should have been able to make himself reappear."
"..."
Aoko looked at Kaito with concern. She wanted to ask if he was okay, but she feared her words would only make him sadder.
After dozens of seconds of silence, it was Daifuku who broke the deadlock.
"Meow~"
The snow-white Ragdoll cat had been perched on Satoru's shoulder licking its fur, indifferent to its surroundings. Seeing the dark-haired boy in low spirits, it let out two empathetic meows, leaped down from its master, and padded over to Kaito, nuzzling its head against his chest.
Furry little animals are always the best at healing the soul. Kaito and Aoko exchanged surprised glances and couldn't help but laugh.
Satoru Gojo was about to say something to Kaito, but he hadn't expected the "Cat Squad" to secure the win!
As they say, like master like cat. As expected of his pet—just as kind and thoughtful as he was.
He'd have to give it an extra treat later.
"Brother Gojo, what's its name?" Aoko asked.
"Daifuku. What do you think?"
"So cute! It's such a perfect name for a kitty!"
"Right? Little Aoko has great taste." Unlike some people.
Kaito stroked the soft fur on the back of Daifuku's neck, his eyes squinting with happiness.
Actually, he quite liked cats. Their bodies were warm, their ears and tails were incredibly expressive... and they loved eating fish. He wanted to raise a cat too—it would be best if it could just eat up all the fish in the world.
However, noticing the young girl beside him watching with longing eyes, Kaito handed Daifuku over without a second thought: "Aoko, you play with it first."
Having known her for so long, he knew that cats were her favorite animal.
Aoko nodded happily, taking Daifuku and playing with it, quickly forgetting the gloom from a few minutes prior.
Kaito silently took a bite of the chocolate Satoru had left on the table. As soon as it hit his tongue, his eyes lit up.
This flavor suited his palate perfectly.
It was incredibly rich yet perfectly sweet—arguably the most delicious candy he had ever eaten.
Could it be... that my great-uncle knew I liked this, so he carries it around?
Satoru Gojo had no idea what kind of backstory Kaito was inventing for him, but he suddenly received 200 impression points.
Whatever—he wasn't one to turn down free points.
"Oh no, kitties can't eat chocolate!"
Aoko held the wriggling Daifuku to keep it away from the table. Eventually, she seemed to annoy it; it managed to jump out of her arms and ran off toward the other side of the pavilion.
"Brother Gojo, I'm going to go find Daifuku!" She jumped up as well, chasing after the cat's direction.
Kaito wanted to go with her, but Aoko said it wasn't necessary and that she'd be right back.
Watching the figures of the girl and the cat fade into the distance, Satoru Gojo couldn't help but sigh.
"Little Aoko sure is energetic."
"She's been like that since we were kids." Kaito sighed, though his eyes remained soft. "She looks quiet, but she's actually very bold. Of course, sometimes she's a total coward too..."
He stopped himself. Once Aoko left, he realized he was now alone with this "cheap uncle" he had "zero interest in bonding with," making him scratch his head in awkwardness.
He hadn't been to the Gojo estate many times, and he hadn't spent much time with Satoru. As the head of the family, Satoru was always surrounded by clansmen, which made Kaito feel out of place, leading him to make excuses to slip away. Why did he feel this way?
Perhaps it was the way Satoru would pop his head out of Kaito's window and wave casually with a grin... or the way he always intentionally played ghosts to scare him when he was off-guard, showing no sense of distance or the dignity of a "temporary guardian."
So what if he looked young? He was clearly just a... weird white-haired old guy.
Satoru Gojo noticed his nephew inconspicuously shifting 0.5 millimeters in the opposite direction and chuckled. "You little sprout, you're not actually afraid of your uncle, are you?"
"That's not it." Kaito shook his head and murmured, "It's just... I'm not used to being around you yet."
That wasn't true.
He knew exactly why he was acting out.
He couldn't accept it—his father had only been missing for a few months, and his mother had already "thrown" him to a relative he had never met, without even appearing particularly sad.
Did they really expect him to trust this man so easily?
...He didn't even trust his own judgment regarding his father's life or death.
"Are you still thinking about your dad?"
Kaito was dazed, thrown off balance by Satoru Gojo's direct "fastball."
The man in the haori rested his cheek on his hand, those beautiful Eyes of Heaven seeming as though they could see right through one's soul.
"I..." Kaito opened his mouth and had no choice but to admit it: "I can't help it."
He decided to lay all his thoughts on the table: "I don't know if Dad is still alive, and I don't know if Mom knows something but is hiding it from me on purpose... and I don't know if you, Uncle, are just like her."
"I don't know anything... I feel so powerless."