After parting ways with Satoru, I went straight to my room, grabbed a change of clothes, and headed for the showers. I knew Satoru was waiting, but the chance to zone out under the spray of water was something I couldn't pass up.
"Thinking back, Satoru's been acting quite sweet lately. Though she's still a handful, like some spoiled golden child."
Humming a random tune, I washed up, changed into comfortable lounge clothes, and made my way to Satoru's room.
"Touya! What took you so long? I've been waiting!"
Satoru spoke with her arms crossed, looking distinctly pouted. I gave a sheepish laugh as I replied.
"Sorry about that. I had to crawl through the dirt on my mission, so I had to shower and get my clothes in the wash. I kept you waiting, didn't I?"
"Ugh... fine. You went through all that trouble alone, so I can't really complain. Just get in here."
Satoru grabbed my arm and practically dragged me inside. As I followed her, I scanned her room.
'I expected her to be a complete slob, but this is actually decent. Her clothes are even folded—well, not perfectly, but they're put away.'
"What is it? What are you staring so intently at, Touya?"
"Nothing, really. I was just thinking you keep your room fairly tidy. Back at the Gojo estate, wouldn't the attendants have done everything for you?"
"Hmph. Obviously. If I don't organize it, it gets filthy. I absolutely loathe filth."
"Oh? Impressive, Satoru~ I'll give you credit for that. It's clean."
"Forget that and just sit down. I've got the strawberry cake ready."
On a small side desk in the room sat the strawberry cake along with a couple of disposable forks.
"We don't really need plates, do we? We can just dig in."
I nodded at Satoru's suggestion.
"Of course. Getting plates would mean walking all the way to the cafeteria. Too much work."
"In that case... Hup!"
Satoru carved out a massive chunk of the strawberry cake with her fork and stuffed it into her mouth. Seeing her vibrate with happiness and grin mid-chew made a laugh escape my lips naturally.
"Haha. It's rewarding to buy things for you. You waited to eat with me, and you're enjoying it so much."
"Mmmph... hurry up 'nd eat. Touya bought 'it, afder all."
Smiling at Satoru, whose cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel, I nodded and took a small bite of the cake.
"Wow! This place is good. It's incredibly light."
"Right? Let's buy from here again next time and eat together. We can bring the others then, too. What was the name... Strawberry Forest? It definitely lives up to the name."
"I'll say. And to think I just picked it up at a random spot near the airport in town."
Meanwhile, Satoru shoved another huge bite into her mouth and gestured for me to keep pace.
"You want me to hurry up? Alright, alright. I bought it for you to enjoy anyway, so have as much as you want."
Satoru chewed rapidly, swallowed hard, and spoke up.
"Really? Then I'm eating the whole thing, okay? Hurry and get yours."
"Well, maybe not the whole thing... let me have a bit more too."
Yielding to Satoru's playful pressure, I nibbled on my side of the cake. Satoru, however, cleared her portion so fast that she ended up catching a crumb in her throat and began coughing.
"Sigh... I knew that would happen. Where's the fridge?"
While still coughing, Satoru pointed toward the corner. I pulled a carton of milk from the fridge and brought it to her. She didn't even bother with a cup, chugging it straight from the carton.
"Phew... I thought I was a goner. Thanks, Touya."
"That would've been a sight. 'The Strongest Satoru Gojo dies while eating strawberry cake too fast.' It would've made the front page for sure."
As Satoru glared at me, I raised my hands in mock surrender and looked away.
"I take it back. Happy?"
Satoru kept glaring for a moment before failing to hold back a snort and bursting into laughter.
"Hahaha... Ah, doing this really brings back memories. Doesn't it, Touya?"
"Memories, huh... back then, I actually thought you were a boy."
"Gah! That... I already told you why!"
"I know. I'm just saying. You really went through a lot to hide it, didn't you? You even fooled everyone in my house."
'To be fair, even Naoya and Father were fooled. Heck, even Toji didn't notice.'
"Heh, exactly. I worked incredibly hard. You're more than welcome to praise me more."
"Fine, fine. You did a great job, our Satoru. Truly impressive."
When I reached out and patted her head, Satoru's shoulders puffed out even more and she held her chin high with pride. Just then, someone knocked on the door.
"Satoru, are you there?"
"Who is it? Suguru? Let's go see."
As I opened the door with Satoru to greet him, Suguru's narrow eyes suddenly widened to their limit.
"Sato...ru?"
Suguru seemed to be processing the scene before he suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs.
"You absolute lunatics!! What do you think you're doing in these sacred school grounds?! I... I won't stand for such impure relationships between the sexes!"
Satoru and I looked at him with sheer pity in our eyes.
"Satoru, what is he even talking about?"
"I have no clue, Touya. Not a single word of that made sense to me."
Seeing us act so nonchalant, Suguru snapped back.
"Why are the two of you coming out of there together?! And look at your outfits! What is that?!"
"My outfit? I'm just wearing normal clothes. A T-shirt and long pants. Satoru is... well, I mean, she's fine, isn't she?"
Satoru was wearing a tight-fitting white crop top and short dolphin shorts. I had told her not to wear that outside, but since we were in her private room, it shouldn't have been a problem, right?
"What? What's the problem? I can wear what I want in my own room."
Suguru wanted to argue, but he seemed unable to find the right words to retort, groaning in frustration.
"Urgh... I mean, fine, but... Touya! You don't feel anything looking at her dressed like that?"
"Me? Well... I don't care when we're just in the room, but I'd prefer if she didn't dress like that when going out. If my younger sister went out like that, I'd probably be pretty annoyed."
"Exactly! See?"
Satoru ignored us, picking at her ear as if bored.
"So, why did you come looking for me anyway? I was right in the middle of relaxing and having a good time with Touya."
Startled by her choice of words, I hurriedly intervened.
"Wait, Satoru! You can't just skip all the context and say it like that."
Suguru massaged his temples as if his head were pounding.
"I was just bored while resting, so I came to see if you wanted to spar."
"Spar? Hmm... I'd rather just rest..."
Instead of Satoru, I took up Suguru's offer.
"Do it with me. How about it? I actually wanted to test out my new shikigami anyway."
"Ah, the one from yesterday? Sounds good. I'll help you gather some data."
With Suguru's cool acceptance, I prepared to head out of the room immediately.
"Wait! Then I'm going too. I was trying to rest with Touya... but you dared to interrupt our precious time. That's unpardonable, so I'll tag along."
I gave a wry smile at Satoru's words.
"Then let's go. Suguru, change your clothes and meet us out there."
He nodded and disappeared. I headed downstairs, changed into a spare set of my uniform, and walked out for the spar. When I reached the training grounds, Suguru and Satoru were already waiting.
"We're ready when you are, Touya."
I nodded and took my position opposite Suguru.
"Crush him, Suguru! Kill that bastard!"
Ignoring Satoru's terrifying cheers with a sweatdrop, I addressed Suguru.
"That one I tamed yesterday—try blasting me with its full power. I have something I need to test."
"I won't hold back then. Here I come!"
Suguru immediately summoned Tamamo-no-Mae. I likewise summoned Kyoraisho behind me and waited for the curse's attack.
"Now. Fire."
"What? You summoned it behind you and told me to fire? Fine, don't blame me. Here!"
Powerful cursed energy converged at the tips of Tamamo-no-Mae's nine tails and blasted forward in a unified beam.
"Touya, what are you doing?! Dodge!"
Satoru screamed urgently, but I didn't move an inch.
'There's no need... because I trust this one.'
Kyoraisho moved with a speed one would never expect from its massive frame. It cut in front of me instantly, blocking my path and absorbing the entirety of the attack. Satoru's jaw dropped in shock.
"What? What is that shikigami? Come to think of it, I've never seen that one before."
'What is it? This...'
"This? It's a total cheat-code shikigami."
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