Half an hour later.
Feeling much more relaxed, Renji emerged from the bathroom.
In the living room, Satoru sat on the sofa holding a bottle of iced cola, dressed in a loose, navy-blue kimono. As soon as he saw Renji, Satoru immediately broke into a smile and patted the sofa.
"Come quick. Oh right, the kimono on the table is a master-crafted handmade piece I specially had someone buy from abroad. It's for you." Satoru said with a laugh.
Renji blinked, then sat down on the sofa, asking, "Gojo, what are you doing here? Didn't you say you weren't coming?"
Satoru glanced towards the staircase, then answered seriously, "Because there's a bunch of bastards trying to target my friend. Okkotsu, you dealt with a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, right?"
Renji nodded.
"That Cursed Spirit didn't just appear out of thin air, it was released by someone. That's what the Gojo Clan's scouts found out." Satoru said, taking a sip of his iced cola.
The fizzing sound of the bubbles echoed inside the aluminum can.
"If I had to guess, it's the Sakurai Clan, right?"
Renji casually picked up another can of iced cola from the table, pulling the tab with a soft *pssht*.
Satoru nodded. "They want anyone connected to your clan to disappear. Even other branches of the Okkotsu Clan in other regions have been affected. The Gojo Clan is doing its utmost to protect the other Okkotsu clansmen."
"The guys who came to Iwate Prefecture and the ones in the nearby towns have all been handled by the Gojo Clan. So, at least for this holiday, nothing major should happen. But as long as you're alive, they absolutely won't give up."
Satoru dropped his serious expression and became playful again. "Anyway, the Gojo Clan will spare no effort to stop the Sakurai Clan's goals. I can't just watch a friend die before my eyes."
Renji thought, 'The Sakurai Clan... I really need to pay them a visit when I have the time.'
Then, Shoko's voice sounded from upstairs. "Renji! Satoru! We're about to head out! Which one of you is carrying Suguru?"
"Shoko! I'm not that badly off!"
...
Night fell.
The bustling streets were decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers and wide roads were lined with many stalls. The warm, orange glow of the lanterns, combined with the city lights, formed a seemingly endless dragon of illumination.
The crowd flowed like a river, with laughter, conversation, and excited voices rising and falling all around.
"The last one to reach the front to buy fireworks is gay."
Shoko, wearing a light blue kimono with lace trim and holding a cigarette between her fingers, looked mischievously at the three men behind her.
"Huh?" Satoru clicked his tongue.
His kimono tonight was the same navy-blue outer robe with a black inner layer he wore in the afternoon.
"Geto, you're the undisputed gay here." Renji shrugged.
He wore a pure black, loose-fitting kimono, a style Satoru had specially commissioned for him.
Speaking of Suguru, his posture was a bit odd. If any other Jujutsu Sorcerers were around, they'd probably be instantly on edge. Suguru was being supported forward by a pair of Grade Two hand-shaped Cursed Spirits.
"Such bad taste." Suguru sighed helplessly.
He knew his friends all too well, especially Satoru.
Racing against a cripple, comparing intelligence with an idiot, seeing who can see farther against a blind person, arguing with a deaf-mute person...
In short, doing whatever is the most unscrupulous.
The three of them bantered as they moved forward. Soon, the surging crowd separated the four of them.
Renji and Shoko were swept to the east side, while Suguru and Satoru were swept to the west side. Since they couldn't regroup immediately, the four decided to meet at the exit.
Renji and Shoko walked side by side. For some reason, a faint blush appeared on Shoko's cheeks.
"Shoko-san, want to try some cotton candy?" Renji took Shoko's hand.
Shoko initially thought about pulling her hand away, but a voice in her heart kept echoing: It's just holding hands, right? What's the big deal? Don't siblings hug often too? It's fine, it's okay to be a little bolder.
"Okay." Shoko nodded.
At this moment, she was no longer the expressionless doctor who remained unmoved by anything, but an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl.
Receiving the cotton candy, Shoko held the cotton candy in one hand and Renji's hand in the other, the blush on her face tinged with a hint of shyness.
She had thought she might be single forever. After all, she was a Jujutsu Sorcerer. The corpses and Cursed Spirits she had seen had gradually eroded her sense of being 'human.' Only cigarettes and alcohol could pull her thoughts back in this delicate balance. But now, she was having second thoughts.
The crowd on the long embankment surged forward.
The crisp clack of geta on stone, the sounds of conversation, playful laughter, sweet nothings, or idle chatter became the only sounds between them.
A little boy accidentally bumped into Shoko's leg.
"Sorry, big sister." The little boy looked up.
"It's okay. Be careful, alright? Where are your parents? There are too many people here. If you're not careful, you might get lost," Shoko placed the cotton candy in Renji's other hand and gently ruffled the little boy's hair.
"I..." The little boy pouted.
"Did you get lost?" Renji blinked.
"Mister, have you been watching too many anime? I just walked ahead a few steps. Where do you get all these cliché plots about a little boy randomly appearing and losing his parents?" The little boy's lips twitched.
Renji was a bit speechless, feeling a bit looked down upon.
The little boy suddenly looked down at his smartwatch. "Ah! Those guys promised to wait for me to go treasure hunting in that forest over there. How mean."
The little boy angrily pushed through the crowd.
"Oh, right, big sister and Mr. 2G, you two really make a great couple!" The little boy ran a few steps, then suddenly remembered something, turned around, and shouted.
"Pfft... Mr. 2G, huh." Shoko gently took the cotton candy back, wearing a wicked, amused smile.
"That little brat... my fist is getting a bit itchy." Renji's lips twitched.
He felt that kid was deliberately targeting him.
Then, the cotton candy, with a bite taken out of it, was offered by Shoko to Renji's lips.
"It's strawberry flavor."
Renji tore off a piece from where Shoko had bitten. The strawberry sugar flavor was mixed with a faint hint of cigarette smoke.
"Marlboro flavor, right?"
Shoko's cheeks instantly flushed bright red. "Really... such an early developer. You're only eleven but as mature as other sixteen-year-olds. Sometimes it's really hard to tell if you're our peer or just a precocious kid."
Shoko hmphed, then pulled the cotton candy back and silently lowered her head.
(End of Chapter)
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