Yuji Itadori POV
"Did you seriously think I wouldn't notice the dent on my glove compartment?" Nanami said the moment he came back into the car.
"It was an accident," I tried explaining.
"Mm."
"I was practicing with my blood even though you told me not to and then I might have accidentally fired it off," I again tried to explain but somehow got the impression that I made it worse.
"Is that right?"
"It's actually pretty small if you look at it from the right angle."
"Itadori," Nanami interrupted.
"Yeah?"
"Stop talking,"
"Right I'll stop talking now zip," I made a zipping gesture over my mouth.
For the next forty-five seconds it was quiet before I decided to speak again "I'll fix it somehow," and Nanami quickly retorted "you absolutely will not touch it again," and that was the end of that conversation.
.
.
.
Miyama Town was a lot different compared to the Shinto district.
The residential streets were wide, there were also old trees lining the pavements in neat rows, houses with proper gates and gardens that someone was clearly tending to.
It was overall the kind of neighborhood where people probably knew each other's names and brought each other food while planning picnics or something.
"This place is kind of nice," I observed, watching it pass through the window.
"Yes."
"But I still prefer the Shinto district."
"I am sure you'll get used to this place once you get adjusted," Nanami retorted as he made a turn towards a simple looking home "we're here," he said turning off his car and unbuckling his seat belt.
The house was narrow and had two stories. A spacious outside area in the back with what I could only guess has flowers or something. The windows were really clean with not even a smudge in sight.
Lastly was a doormat that was perfectly centered.
I took off my shoes and placed them on shoe rack before walking after Nanami.
Inside was more of the same.
There were books neatly arranged with their spines aligned, a decent sized kitchen with no dirty dish in sight, and the wooden floors beneath me didn't creak at all.
I stood in the entryway for a while "woah this is surprisingly a very clean place you got Nanamin," I said.
"Well, I find disorder in my home to be very distracting and irritating," Nanami replied.
"But it's also hella empty I means there's nothing even on the walls," I pointed out.
Nanami paused halfway out of his jacket "there's a print in the hallway."
I glanced over into the hallway.
There was indeed a small, framed print "yeah but that's like only one thing," I deadpanned.
"One well-chosen thing," he replied, hanging his jacket on the hook, "is worth twenty poorly-chosen things."
I thought about my grandfather's house which had had approximately nine hundred things on every surface and had been the most comfortable place I'd ever been in my life.
"Well, it's not too bad all things considering," I said sitting down on one of the couches.
Something in Nanami's posture acknowledged this without commenting on it. He rolled up his sleeves and moved toward the kitchen.
"I'll make us something to eat" he said "then I'll start teaching you."
"What are you going to make?" I asked.
"Something," was the simple response back.
"Uh that's not really an answer-"
"Just give me a couple of minutes, Itadori and you'll see what I'll be making."
.
.
.
It turned out to be a sandwich using baguette bread.
Which actually tasted pretty good.
I ate it at a decent pace really savoring it before downing the meal with a cup of water.
Afterwards Nanami cleared the table, washed the dishes, and dried them before putting them.
Then he went somewhere briefly and came back and set two things on the table in front of me.
A pen and plain notebook.
He sat down across from me and folded his hands on the table and looked at me with the expression I was now beginning to recognize as his paying attention is now mandatory face.
"Today I'm going to explain the foundations of the world you've stepped into Itadori," he said.
"These are not suggestions or interesting facts. These are things you need to memorize, because knowing them could determine whether you survive an encounter or don't," a pause, "do you understand the difference between memorizing something and just hearing it?"
"Yeah," I said.
Nope absolutely not, but he didn't need to know that.
"Good now write down anything you want to remember as I begin explaining. The act of writing helps retention," he glanced at the notebook, "and I expect you to actually use it rather than draw in the margins as most kids your age probably do."
"What I don't draw in the margins..." I lied.
"Itadori."
"Ok fine..I'll use it properly."
"Good," he straightened slightly and I got the impression he was organizing something internally, sorting through a large amount of information, and deciding on the correct order to hand it to a seven-year-old who had known none of this existed until this morning.
"First," he said, "the world you grew up in and the world that actually exists are not the same world. The one you knew is real. The one underneath it is also real. Most people live their whole lives in the first one without ever encountering the second," his eyes met mine, "you are no longer in that category and you never will be again. Are you following?"
I had the pen in my hand and the notebook open.
'The world underneath is real,' I wrote.
Can't go back to not knowing.
"Yeah I got it," I said.
Something in his expression shifted by a fraction "good. Second-"
"Wait," I interrupted with a hand raised.
Nanami stopped.
"Does it have a name? The world underneath?"
He considered this "different organizations call it different things. The Clocktower refers to it as the hidden world. The Church uses its own terminology. However, most magecraft practitioners simply call it the moonlit world," a slight pause, "the logic in it being that magi and by extension anything else falling under the category of the supernatural exists in the spaces ordinary life cannot catch glimpse of."
"Seriously the Moonlit World? I'd say whoever came up with that must have been some old guy. Doesn't even sound cool in the slightest bit," I complained while twirling the pen around on my finger.
"The name," he said, "is functional. Not everything requires a dramatic title."
"Everything important does though," I argued, "the Moonlit World? It sounds like a theme park. Or the title of one of those shoujo manga where the main girl discovers magic and falls in love with a mysterious transfer student."
"The notebook, Itadori," Nanami repeats clearly getting exhausted.
"I'm just saying whoever named it could have tried harder."
"Write it down."
I wrote it down 'the Moonlit World (stupid name btw)'.
Then, after a moment's consideration I drew a small crescent moon next to it because it helped me remember things visually and I had told Nanami I wouldn't draw in the margins.
So technically speaking this was in the notes section which was completely different.
Nanami watched me do this without comment, but I did see his eyes brows twitch a bit.
"Second," he continued, "the primary governing bodies you need to be aware of are two. The Mage's Association, specifically its main institution called the Clocktower based in London. And the Holy Church which you've already encountered the outer edge of today," he paused, "they are not allies nor are they enemies. They exist in a state of mutual tolerance that neither party particularly enjoys."
"Like two guys who hate each other but have to sit next to each other on a long field trip," I said.
Nanami blinked "...that is," he said carefully, "a reductive but not entirely inaccurate analogy."
I wrote down 'Clocktower (London 'Wizards') + Holy Church = bus trip kids'.
"The Clocktower governs the study and practice of magecraft. It establishes what research is permissible, maintains records of magi lineages, and acts as the primary authority on most matters relating to thaumaturgy," a pause, "think of it as a very old university or school that also has significant political power and occasionally has people killed."
I looked up eyes narrowing "wait they have people killed?"
Nanami sighs "yes but that's a subject we'll get back to later on."
"Right..." I murmured still a bit put off by his words.
I quickly jotted down the note 'Clocktower = old school + murders and the Church guys?'
"The Church concerns itself primarily with supernatural threats that fall outside the domain of magecraft. Primarily the Dead Apostles-"
"What are those?" I asked.
"I'll get to that."
"But-"
"I'll get to that," Nanami calmly repeated,"the Church also serves as the overseer of certain events, including an event called the Holy Grail War. Which before you ask will also be covered later," my hand lowers down as I let him continue, "the Church's enforcers are called Executors. They are very good at their jobs. I would recommend you never give them a reason to ever notice you."
I wrote all of this down including a small note that said 'don't get noticed by Church guys' with two underlines.
"Now," Nanami said, "Dead Apostles."
"Finally."
He gave me a look.
"Sorry go ahead," I sheepishly apologized.
"Dead Apostles are humans who have undergone a fundamental inversion of their life force. Which in turns results in an inhuman abomination that sustains its life and powers through the blood of other humans-"
"So basically, they're vampires," I said.
Nanami stopped.
"That's a vampire," I said, "you're describing a vampire."
"The terminology preferred by practitioners and the Church is Dead Apostle."
"Sure, but it's a vampire," I argued.
"The mechanics are considerably more complex than popular fiction-"
"Nanamin," I leaned forward "is it a vampire?"
A pause that lasted exactly long enough to be extremely telling "...again the popular conception is a significant oversimplification."
"So the answer is yes," I said and wrote vampires in the notebook.
Something in Nanami's jaw shifted slightly.
He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose while staring up at the ceiling before he took a deep breath and adjusted his glasses with one finger and glanced back at me.
"Moving on," he grumbled.
"How many of these things are there? Like category wise?" I questioned.
"More than we'll be able to cover today."
"Like ten? Fifty? A hundred?"
"Itadori."
"No seriously-"
"The notebook," he interrupted with great finality "use it."
I sighed and wrote down 'ask about categories later (he won't say now)'.
Nanami watched me write this and said nothing.
"Third," he said after watching me finish, "and this is the part I need you to pay close attention to," he folded his hands on the table again and his tone shifted by a degree that wasn't dramatic but was noticeable, the way a change in wind is noticeable before rain.
"The first rule of existing in the moonlit world is concealment. The general population does not know this world exists. Every major organization works to keep it that way. This is called the masquerade by some, the seal by others. The terminology varies but the principle does not."
I had stopped twirling my pen.
"If you use your abilities in public, if you expose the existence of the supernatural to ordinary people, you become a liability," he said, "organizations like the Clocktower deal with these kinds of liabilities. Do you understand what I mean by that."
"Yeah...I think," I said while scrunching up my brows.
"Good," he held eye contact for a moment longer to make sure, then leaned back slightly, "this doesn't mean you cannot act. It just means you act with awareness. You think before you use your abilities. You consider who might be watching," a pause, "something you perhaps could have applied earlier today regarding my glove compartment."
"What? But that was indoors," I said, "no one was watching."
"Some could have been watching from the window or with a familiar."
"What's a familiar?" I asked.
"First write down what I told you earlier then I'll answer the question."
I hurriedly wrote in the notebook 'concealment rule - don't use Wizard powers where normies can see'.
Nanami looked at what I wrote and for approximately half a second the corner of his mouth did something.
It was extremely brief.
I didn't comment on it because I had the instinct that commenting on it would probably make him go all tsundere or something.
"Alright now a familiar is basically like a mage's pet but with the ability to watch people anywhere and are capable of performing other supernatural powers," he explained back in his neutral expression.
"A familiar huh..." I unwillingly trailed off as I think back to those things that Giles used on my friends and the other kids.
I can feel my stomach twist and throat burn as vomit threatened to escape from my mouth but I thankfully managed to hold it down.
"Itadori are you alright?" Nanami asked with concealed concern.
I shake my head "y-yeah I am fine."
Nanami stares not looking convinced at all "if you say so."
"I am fine really Nanamin," I said not wanting to think about it again, "actually I've got another question for you. Where do I fit in all of this am I like a Wizard to?" I questioned.
"That is something we will hopefully have answered today," he replied.
"Huh?"
-end of chapter five-
Alright I am going to end chapter five here and begin the next chapter with Nanami scanning Yuji or doing some sort of made-up spell to find out what Yuji is.
Since Yuji is a Oni...he does have a mana core.
Also just saw the clip of Strange Fake where Alcides, Ishtar, and Berserker all jumped my boi Gilgamesh, that shit left me crying fr.
They massacred him like they did with Gojo. Fucking Ishtar is offically on my shit list right below Makima.
...I may consider doing Strange Fake if I ever make it past Stay Night.