The weekend had arrived, and the long-awaited meeting between Kaede and Miyako was about to begin. They decided to meet at a small, elegant bar in Kyoto. Kaede, in Naoya's body, sat sipping tea as he waited. Shortly after taking his first sip, the bell on the door chimed. Miyako, already knowing where Kaede was seated, made her way to the back of the bar.
Upon arriving, she saw a plate with three yatsuhashi and a cup that seemed to contain hot sake waiting for her. Miyako looked at the sweets and the sake, and Kaede broke the silence with a smile:
"These were your favorites, weren't they?" Kaede continued sipping his tea while Miyako took a yatsuhashi and bit into it. Finally, Miyako spoke, relaxing for the first time all week:
"This really feels like a proper date."
"We're probably both being watched, and I'm already raising suspicions with my slight change in behavior. So we have to act the part," Kaede said, resting his head on his right hand. "Despite being of little importance to your clan, you're still a close relative of Satoru Gojo. With your latest mission, they must be keeping an eye on you. Besides, I owe you some attention after how we parted in our time," he added, laughing slightly.
Miyako smiled at hearing Kaede. He was still the same carefree and calm Kaede she knew, despite everything that had happened.
Suddenly, a waitress interrupted the moment of tranquility. "Excuse me, but isn't the lady too young to be drinking alcohol?" she asked, as Miyako appeared to be around 16 years old.
"Haha, she's actually over a thousand years old," Kaede joked, trying to lighten the situation.
"What? I don't understand, sir..."
"Relax, she's much older than she looks. Do us a favor and bring us some more of the same," Kaede said, looking her directly in the eyes. The waitress, slightly scared, had no choice but to comply, fearing the possible repercussions if she reported this to the authorities.
"Moving on... what were you able to find out?" Kaede changed his tone, showing interest in the purpose of their meeting.
"Six of the remaining 15 fingers are in the Tokyo School of Sorcery, four in the Kyoto School, and the whereabouts of the other five are unknown." Kaede nodded."And what have you been doing in the Zenin clan?"
Sighing and crossing his legs, Kaede seemed exhausted. "It's draining being there. Every second I want to use my ultimate technique to pulverize the place... I almost did it, but not all of them are bad. Mainly the younger ones. Every time I go to the dojo where the children train, at first, they trembled thinking I was going to hit them, hehe. It was amusing. But this Friday, they seemed to be waiting for my arrival... I guess kids will be kids."
Kaede took Miyako's small sake pitcher and drank it. "Ugh... but unfortunately, many innocents will have to suffer for the actions of those at the top."
Miyako pursed her lips and said, "Isn't there another way? Instead of destroying them, you could—" But Kaede interrupted her.
"If I don't do it, someone else will. That clan is in ruins. Apparently, I'm not officially the heir, and my supposed brothers are almost ready to kill each other for the position. Besides, I found out that the much-talked-about Ten Shadows user doesn't belong to the clan, and Naobito wants him to be the leader."
Miyako was shocked. "The Ten Shadows? Wasn't that a joke you made up for your clan? You created an ancient-looking scroll to see your father's face when he saw it when you were a child..."
"Haha, who knows, maybe the joke escalated into reality. Its first user dates back 700 years, I think, and since then, there's been a user every few centuries," Kaede replied nonchalantly.
Miyako became worried, realizing the gravity of the situation. The technique described by Kaede, if it was that, would rival the Limitless of the Gojo clan, the Divine Space of the Kazehaya clan, or Sukuna's Shrine. This was serious.
Suddenly, Kaede noticed the observer getting closer. Kaede leaned in toward her, their noses almost touching, and whispered, "I have an idea."
Miyako, surprised, could only manage to say, "Wh-wha-what?"
Before she could finish, Kaede kissed her. At that moment, a sound of surprise was heard outside the café, and Miyako, furious, punched Kaede in the stomach.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Kaede doubled over, trying to catch his breath. "Ugh, just trying to make the act believable... ugh, I didn't expect that punch."
Miyako, completely enraged, stood up from the table. "You damn pervert! If you're going to do that, at least make it in a real date."
With those words, she left Kaede at the table, utterly furious as she left money to pay. Then she walked out. "Hahaha, she's still the same as always. Ugh," Kaede said as he watched her leave.
With a sigh, Kaede was left alone at the table, reflecting on the unexpected turn of events.
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At the Tokyo School of Sorcery, Gojo was in his office, resting, when his phone started ringing. He looked at it and saw that it was a call from Satoshi. He answered with curiosity:
"Hello, hello, who is this? Oh, Satoshi, what's up? Did something happen? What?! I'm on my way!" Without wasting a second, he hung up the phone and disappeared from the office in a blink, leaving it empty.
Meanwhile, Miyako arrived home, furious. She was muttering to herself as she opened the door. "That damn bastard, not even a kiss on the cheek, and now this... who does he think he is to do that to me?"
"Who is the bastard so I can kill him..."
As she opened the door, she jumped, startled, upon hearing a familiar voice. She quickly turned around and saw none other than Satoru Gojo standing before her. Had she not recognized the voice, Miyako might have launched a Red directly at his face.
"No, no, don't answer. I already know who it is. I just came to confirm something, and you've already done that. I'm heading to the Zenin clan right now," Gojo said, starting to clasp his hands to use his technique.
"Wait, wait! What are you going to do?" Miyako shouted, alarmed.
"What else? I'm going to castrate that idiot Naoya. This time, he stuck his nose where it doesn't belong," Gojo replied, his fury evident.
Miyako, trying to calm the situation and scared by the recklessness of Kaede's actions, attempted to stop Gojo. "He didn't do anything wrong."
"Oh, really? Then why did you hit him? And what the hell were you doing with that bastard in the first place?" Gojo was clearly furious. Miyako, desperate for a quick explanation, improvised:
"It was a date. We've known each other for a while."
Gojo's anger only increased. "You know he's 27 years old, right? And you're barely 18!" Miyako was left speechless, unable to come up with a suitable response.
"I'm going to kill him," Gojo declared with determination.
"I'm an adult! I can decide who to date," Miyako insisted, desperate to prevent the confrontation between the two.
Gojo said nothing more and disappeared in a blink, determined to confront Kaede.
Miyako, worried about the possible consequences of the situation, thought quickly:
"I can't go there instantly. If I reveal Limitless, it'll be a disaster. What do I do?"
Just as she was about to leave, she saw Satoshi crouched at the entrance of the house. "Eh, hello, Aiko, what's going on?" Satoshi asked, visibly confused.
In a state of extreme fury, Miyako didn't hesitate to punch Satoshi in the stomach with almost the power of a Black Flash, leaving him breathless. "You damn snitch! It was you, wasn't it? I should kill you. Grrr! Take me to the Zenin estate quickly before the third clan war breaks out!"
Satoshi, staggering and struggling to breathe, quickly nodded. He knew he had no choice but to comply with Miyako's demand to avoid an even greater conflict.