Gojo finished his call with Yaga and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Toji glanced at him.
"What did he say?"
"Lord Tengen said to indulge the kid in whatever she wants until the assimilation."
Gojo muttered under his breath, clearly unimpressed with the carefree attitude.
Toji frowned, not pleased with the directive.
"Purely considering assimilation, it would be most straightforward to take Riko straight to the jujutsu high's barrier and keep her there until the full moon, when the assimilation with Tengen is scheduled."
But with the spiritual leader of the sorcery world giving such a directive, there was no choice. Toji tousled his hair, showing his frustration.
"No choice then. I'll handle the close protection."
"No, you will not! It will look strange to my friends!"
Amanai exclaimed, causing Gojo to chuckle.
"With that way of speaking, your friends are going to think you're the strange one."
"How rude! I speak normally in front of my friends!"
"And why do you not speak normally in front of us?"
Geto, trying to calm the situation, gently tapped Gojo's shoulder and then spoke soothingly.
"Riko-chan, that man is an incredibly strong goril—ah, I mean, teacher, so you're safe."
"…Did you just say 'gorilla'?"
Geto's momentary slip made the tension in the room spike.
"If you're hidden well, no one will detect your presence, right?"
Amanai looked at Toji, questioning if Geto's statement was accurate. Toji, glaring at Geto, reluctantly answered.
"Well, except for those two."
"Wow, someone managed to detect you? Who were they, who were they?"
Toji narrowed his eyes at the two, one of whom was cluelessly looking around, unaware that he was one of the "two."
Toji sighed and then patted Zoro's head as a word of advice.
"Zoro, you must never grow up to be like him."
"What? What did I do?"
...
After Riko and Toji entered the school, Geto, Zoro, Gojo, and Kuroi waited outside.
As Geto sent curses to monitor around the school, Gojo grumbled.
"It's boring just to be outside. Can't we go in? Maybe in disguise."
"…Your height won't match, Satoru."
"Yeah."
Even if they could disguise their appearance or makeup to look like girls, their height couldn't be changed without using a spell. Zoro, although tall for a six-year-old, was still far too short compared to middle school girls, and Gojo and Geto were significantly taller than even adult women.
"Having four of us come here and three of us can't even enter. Maybe it was unreasonable to go to the school?"
"Don't say that, Satoru. After the assimilation, she has to live as part of Lord Tengen, confined within the deepest barriers of the academy for life. She won't see her loved ones again. We should at least give her time to say goodbye."
Kuroi bowed deeply to them.
"Thank you for indulging Riko's wishes..."
"No, I was just following Lord Tengen's orders," Geto waved dismissively.
"Koh..."
Zoro was using his arm as a pillow, sleeping on the ground.
"Riko has no family. Her parents passed away in a car accident when she was four, and I've been taking care of her ever since. As a growth entity, she's not allowed to go out freely except for school, so she really wants to go to school," Kuroi explained.
Hearing this, Geto smiled gently.
"Then, you're her family."
"Excuse me?"
"Family doesn't have to be by blood only."
Geto glanced at Zoro, who was sound asleep.
It was well-known in the academy that Tsumiki was not Toji's biological daughter. Initially, because of their resemblance, Zoro was also suspected of not being Toji's child, but that rumor died down quickly because of how closely Toji protected him.
Blood relation or not, Zoro and Megumi deeply cared for Tsumiki. Although Megumi might not know, Zoro was certainly aware that Tsumiki wasn't his biological sibling.
Toji never showed his...temperament to Tsumiki. In fact, it seemed Tsumiki was more comfortable with him than Zoro at times.
Toji, when looking at Zoro, sometimes appeared desperate and anxious.
"!"
Suddenly, Zoro's eyes snapped open, and he jumped up from his resting spot.
"What's wrong?"
"There's something."
No, it was there all along.
Not one, but something infused with energy.
—Beep, beep, beep.
Is that a...
"Bomb?"
"Hey!"
"Zoro!"
"There's a bomb in the school!"
"What?!"
"Oh!"
"We need to deal with it before it explodes!"
Saying this, Zoro started running, and Geto quickly followed him. As they ran, Geto shouted back to Gojo.
"Satoru, find Amanai, just in case!"
Although Toji was closely guarding her, it was better to be safe. Gojo wasted no time and entered the school.
Kuroi stood up abruptly.
"I'm coming too!"
"Kuroi..."
"I know the school layout."
As Geto watched Zoro's distant figure, he realized there was no time for arguments and hurried after Zoro, with Kuroi alongside.
...
The place they arrived at was a storeroom filled with art supplies.
A teacher organizing supplies was startled by Zoro's presence and asked, "Hey, how did you get in here? You don't look like a student from here, being a boy and all."
Zoro ignored the teacher. There was no time for that. His face was furrowed in concentration.
'I didn't plan to come here first.'
But fortunately, Zoro found what he was looking for here as well.
—Beep, beep.
There was a faint sound of a stopwatch emanating from this room too.
The teacher, frustrated, approached Zoro.
"Kid, can't you hear me? I don't know how you got in here, but—"
Swish, clang!
Zoro drew his sword and with a gust of wind, swept all the art supplies out of the classroom through the window. The boxes clanged as they were ejected outside.
Thud.
A mechanical device popped out from one of the boxes. And then,
Boom!
Several of the boxes exploded mid-air.
"Kyaaaaa!"
Startled by the sudden explosion, the teacher dove to the floor.
Geto, who had followed late, cried out in alarm, "Zoro!"
"I'm not hurt. No one is."
Zoro muttered, hardly believing there were bombs hidden in the school.
Geto approached the fallen teacher, helping her to her feet. He asked in a kind voice, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, yes... What was that just now? A terrorist attack?"
"It's complicated to explain right now. You should inform the students and faculty to evacuate."
"You and... the boy, aren't you evacuating with us?"
"We're sort of the clean-up crew. Don't worry."
The teacher nodded and staggered out of the art room hurriedly. Geto turned to Zoro and asked, "Who placed the bomb here?"
"Don't know. They must have escaped by now. This bomb, it was planted a long time ago."
There was no trace of recent activity, and considering Gojo hadn't noticed it, it likely wasn't the work of a sorcerer. Perhaps even the person who left it here didn't know it was a bomb.
—Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep...
Damn. Zoro muttered a curse as he heard numerous ticking sounds in his ears.
"There's still a long way to go. They need to be torn apart."
"A long way? Then aren't we short on hands?"
"The bombs near dad must have been taken care of by him."
It was unthinkable that Toji hadn't heard the bomb sounds that Zoro did. They just needed to handle the bombs installed in places where Toji hadn't been or couldn't reach.
Zoro closed his eyes and focused his Observation Haki. Then his eyes flashed open.
"One in the second staff room, one in the third-floor corridor."
Geto nodded.
"I'll take the second staff room. You go to the third-floor corridor with Ms. Kuroi. Ms. Kuroi, he's bad with directions, so please guide him well."
"Hey?!"
"Yes, I understand, Mr. Geto. This way, Zoro!"
Zoro had no time to get angry, so he glared at Geto once and followed Kuroi.
Just as Zoro set foot on the third-floor corridor, a man's voice reciting a poem echoed.
"Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr. (He who has no house now, will not build one anymore.)"
"...!"
From the ceiling, a huge abandoned house dropped down. Zoro saw a man holding a large spear inside the house and pushed Kuroi aside.
Crash!
The house shattered as it hit the ground. Kuroi cried out in shock.
"Mr. Zoro!"
Creak.
Behind the debris, the man, feeling the rebound through his spear, chuckled.
"[You have some guts.]"
Clang!
As the man's spear lashed out, Zoro sprang up from the debris with swords in both hands and shielded Kuroi.
"Mr. Zoro, you're safe."
"Yeah."
"That man is…"
"A foreign sorcerer."
Probably hired by the Time Vessel Association.
The Western man, with a long beard and holding a spear, frowned briefly.
"[It would have been easier if you had died in one go—]"
Swish!
Before the man could finish his sentence, Zoro had swiftly approached and swung his two swords. The man hastily raised his spear to defend.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Bang!
Zoro's two swords rushed at the man. The man's face hardened as he saw his spear being gradually pushed back by Zoro's swords. He thought Zoro was no ordinary kid, but this was not the kind of strength a 'kid' should have.
He needed to recast his spell immediately. In desperation, the man began to speak rapidly.
"[My spell manifests phenomena described in the poem I recite. Normally, once I cast a spell, it takes five minutes to use it again. However, by disclosing information about my spell, I can enhance it—]"
"[—and reduce the time it takes to recast it.]"
The man's face went blank as Zoro suddenly spoke in English.
Zoro hadn't just been on missions while attending the Jujutsu High. He had also learned the basic knowledge of the sorcery world.
For example, bindings.
Among them, the basic binding that enhances one's spells or physical abilities by revealing information to the opponent was something even Toji used frequently.
Zoro grinned.
"[Predictable.]"
Your spell and your spear.
"Two Sword Style, Cyclone!"
Clang! Clang! Clatter!
The circular sword strike shattered the windows in succession, pushing both the man and the bomb out through the broken windows. Blood spurted from the man's mouth, and the bomb's clock raced towards zero.
Beep, beep.
Boom—!
"Screams!"
"What's that noise?!"
"Someone fell!"
The bomb exploded near the man, and screams echoed from various parts of the school.
Geto ran up to the third-floor corridor.
"Zoro!"
"Geto, did you deal with your bomb?"
"I took care of it. But I heard someone fell."
"A foreign sorcerer came."
Realizing the situation, Geto nodded.
"...Let's join Toji and Gojo right away. It's not good to stay here any longer."
"I'll lead the way!"
Kuroi took the lead, and the three of them ran out of the school.
...
Riko's school was quickly closed for the day. Naturally, classes couldn't continue after bombs had exploded and a person had fallen from the third floor to the schoolyard.
Fortunately, no one was injured. The school building was somewhat damaged, though.
There had also been bombs near Gojo and Toji, and two foreign sorcerers had appeared. But, as Zoro had guessed, Toji had detected the bombs ahead of time, and Gojo had dealt with the two sorcerers, so there were no issues close to Amanai.
"I didn't expect... them to go to such lengths to try to kill me..."
Amanai seemed quite shocked, losing her usual manner of speaking and muttering blankly in her chair.
Toji, having interrogated the relatively unharmed sorcerer they had captured, clicked his tongue.
"As expected, it was foreign sorcerers hired by the Time Vessel Association... but it seems like they weren't the ones who planted the bombs."
It seemed likely that they had sent a young female follower disguised as a student to plant the bombs at the school.
Geto, appalled, asked,
"Isn't planting bombs considered a serious crime?"
"Well, they might have used juveniles for the actual placement."
Of course, the adult who orchestrated it would be punished, but only if caught. Since the Time Vessel Association was entirely non-magical, sorcerers couldn't get involved in the investigation.
Zoro, seeing Amanai lost in thought, approached her.
"Amanai."
"..."
"Are you going to stay like this? There isn't much time left until the assimilation."
"Zoro!"
Geto called out Zoro's name in an attempt to stop him, but Zoro, unfazed, continued calmly.
"Tell me what you want."
Speak, and it will be heard.
Riko looked into Zoro's gray eyes. They were like a massive mountain range—unwavering and majestic, unshaken by wind, untouched by snow, or lightning. Such strength and dignity resided in the eyes of a child far younger than herself.
"Think about it."
What do you want to do before the assimilation?
Upon hearing Zoro's words, Amanai Riko reflexively pondered, like a soldier following an order. What do I desire? What do I want to do now?
Initially, she just wanted to see her friends' faces one more time, which she had achieved. But returning to school was not an option, as she didn't want to put her friends and teachers at risk again.
'Then, what's left…'
The image that flashed through Amanai Riko's mind was of the blue sea she had only seen through screens and pictures. And from a documentary, the myriad of fish swimming in the sea.
She spoke as if enchanted.
"...the sea."
"The sea?"
"Yes."
She wanted to see the vast nature she had only seen in videos, to witness the fish swimming through it.
"I want to see the sea, the fish swimming there."
Before everything ended.
Zoro quietly observed her.
At least this time, the words were truly her own.
Zoro relaxed his expression and lightly said,
"Then let's go."
"...Really? Is that okay?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Since Tengen had said to grant her any wish she had.
Gojo peeked out and asked curiously,
"What's up?"
"She wants to go to the sea."
"The sea? Where to?"
"Well, we'll have to ask about that."
"Wait a moment! There's no need to go out of your way for me!"
At Riko's outburst, Zoro shrugged.
"It's no trouble. Not for us. Toji, Satoru. Is it a hassle to keep her safe by the sea?"
"Heh, what do you take me for? Of course not."
Gojo adjusted his sunglasses as he responded. Geto smiled warmly and said,
"Riko-chan. We are strong. So feel free to ask anything of us."
Riko looked back and forth between the boastfully grinning Gojo, Geto, and Zoro.
"..."
Toji didn't say anything in particular. Instead, he just silently watched Zoro.
"Let's see which sea we can go to."
"We can't go abroad. It might be hard to return to Japan in time for the assimilation."
"Hmm, maybe somewhere nearby then?"
"Tokyo is too crowded, making it difficult to guard."
Gojo suddenly raised his hand.
"How about Okinawa? We'd have to fly there, so we can check if there are any suspicious people, and Satoru can protect the plane with his sorcery!"
"...You've come up with a good idea for once, Satoru."
"Heh. Just you watch... no wait! What do you mean 'for once', Satoru! What's that supposed to mean?"
Riko, watching the three of them noisily plan the trip, unwittingly let out a slight smile. It was the first genuine smile she had shown in front of them.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
If you want to read 20 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pátreon.com/fumiaki