“Chapter 4: “Hello, I’m Emperor Qin Shi Huang.”
Beep beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep…
As the irritating sound of the alarm clock echoed through the bedroom, morning had arrived once again.
Bright sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, falling onto the wooden floor. The room bore traces of last night's activity everywhere.
A black cat ear perked up from under the blanket near the headboard. With a faint rustling under the covers, a girl's lazy, drowsy voice sounded.
"So noisy... What's that?"
"It's the sound of an alarm."
A corner of the blanket lifted as Fukuki yawned and sat up steadily.
Ignoring Kuroka, who was still half-asleep and meowing softly in a bid to keep him in bed, he got up, walked to the desk facing the window, and silenced the alarm clock that had been incessantly ringing on the corner of the desk.
When the noise ceased, Kuroka, still curled up in bed, finally opened her bleary eyes. One of her cat ears drooped lazily.
"Off to that school thing again? I swear, alarms are the worst human invention ever, hands down... Ahhh~" She yawned, her speech slowing. "Hey, wasn't your alarm a different sound before?"
"I had to switch to a new one."
Fukuki withdrew his hand from the clock and turned to look at the cat-eared girl on the bed, half-propped up with her body in a relaxed sprawl.
"The last one was on the nightstand, and you smashed it with a single punch."
"T-That's because it went off so loudly while I was half-asleep! It scared me half to death..."
Her gaze darted nervously, her voice lacking confidence.
The boy shrugged. "That's why I put the new one on the desk this time—out of reach when you're lying in bed."
"Ugh..."
Kuroka puffed up her cheeks, ready to retort, but when her eyes landed back on him, the words caught in her throat.
The sunlight, which had previously been streaming onto the floor, now illuminated the boy's figure, highlighting his lean yet strong musculature in striking detail.
"...What's wrong?"
Seeing the girl mumbling incoherently and falling silent, a question mark seemed to rise above Fukuki's head.
Kuroka continued staring at him blankly, her alluring red lips moving slightly.
"You're... irresistible…"
"Doesn't matter. We don't have time in the morning. I'll deal with you tonight."
Fukuki shook his head, bending down to pick up the scattered clothes from the floor. After some thought, he added:
"Besides, you passed out last night from overexertion. Even if you're a yokai with a sturdy body, you can't keep pushing yourself like this."
"Every time I hear you, a human, say things like that to a yokai, I get this weird sense of dissonance…"
Watching him gather the clothes one by one, Kuroka pouted slightly and sat up from under the blanket.
Then, without a care for her unclothed state, she jumped nimbly off the bed and lunged at the boy as he was about to leave the room, clinging to his back like an octopus.
The boy didn't even flinch, as if he had expected her to do so. Their skin pressed together, each feeling the warmth and texture of the other. Fukuki turned his head, brushing his nose against her cheek.
"At least put some clothes on first..."
"Sis doesn't wanna~ We're at home anyway. No one else will see, so what's the big deal~?"
Kuroka swayed her head and hummed mischievously.
Her thoughts were simple. Since she was already "aroused," she could easily use her magic to "clear the negative status," but she figured a better solution would be to entice Fukuki into the same state. That way, he wouldn't have to go to school, and the two of them could enjoy an uninterrupted, intimate day at home.
A win-win situation, joyful and worth celebrating.
Unfortunately… it didn't work
.....
Twenty minutes later, freshly washed and dressed, Fukuki sat down at the dining table in the living room. Sitting beside him, wearing a reluctantly donned kimono and sporting a sullen expression, was Kuroka.
Breakfast consisted of sandwiches and milk. Fukuki's sandwich featured bacon and fried eggs, while Kuroka, being a nekomata, had hers filled with sardines and bacon—because cats love fish.
"By the way, did anyone reply to that post you made last night?" Kuroka asked, taking a bite of her sandwich. Despite being forced to wear clothing to preserve decorum, her behavior remained far from proper. Her legs dangled under the table, her toes playfully brushing against Fukuki's calves.
"Let me check…"
Fukuki put down his glass of warm milk and gave her a sharp tap on the hem of her kimono, forcing her into an upright posture. Only then did he retrieve his phone and log into the forum.
Returning to the post he'd made last night, he found—unsurprisingly—a flood of replies. Some comments were straightforward "6/10" reactions, others were sarcastic "Who asked?" retorts, while the majority questioned whether the item was real or some kind of prank prop.
"That's odd…" Fukuki murmured, scrolling through the thread and leisurely biting into his sandwich.
By now, Kuroka had mostly recovered from her earlier shiver-inducing correction. Slightly flushed, she leaned closer to him.
"...What's wrong? Something unusual?"
"Well, not exactly a problem…" Fukuki said, shaking his head hesitantly.
The forum in question was managed by Tokyo Jujutsu High, but it was open to public access. For enthusiasts of the supernatural, it served as a hub for like-minded individuals to share experiences. The institution's main goal for setting up the site was to leverage the internet's convenience to monitor supernatural incidents across Japan.
Simply put: early detection, early intervention.
Even the Keikain clan, with its centuries-old onmyōji tradition, could only respond to requests for aid after receiving them, let alone the less experienced sorcerers. It was unrealistic to expect jujutsu sorcerers to conduct 24/7 exhaustive sweeps for supernatural activity across Japan. No matter how many people they had, it wouldn't suffice.
Thus, relying on enthusiasts to post about strange occurrences improved efficiency.
That didn't mean, however, that jujutsu sorcerers only lurked on the forums. Occasionally, they would respond to certain posts, especially those involving cries for help or peculiar phenomena.
Take the finger he'd picked up last night, for example. Its sealing talisman was unmistakably the work of a jujutsu sorcerer, yet no "professional" had contacted him about it.
That wasn't particularly… jujutsu-like.
Unless—
Like a bolt of lightning, an idea struck him. The question marks hovering above his head transformed into a figurative lightbulb. Fukuki exited his post and navigated to his private messages. Sure enough, there it was: a single unread message.
The message had been sent shortly after he'd made his post, within a few minutes at most. But at the time, he'd been... preoccupied with Kuroka, so he hadn't noticed it.
The sender's ID was "Still Waters Run Deep." Judging by the username, it was likely an alias, but the opening line of the message revealed the sender's identity.
"Hello, I'm Saeko Busujima, a third-year student at Tokyo Jujutsu High. Based on our analysis, the sealed object in your post is a Special Grade cursed object belonging to Tokyo Jujutsu High. It is extremely dangerous. Upon seeing this message, please distance yourself from the object immediately and contact me!"
...
The tone was polite but firm, with a phone number appended at the end.
On the surface, everything seemed fine, but Fukuki couldn't help but feel slightly irritated as he read the message.
What do you mean it belongs to Tokyo Jujutsu High? he thought. I'm the one who picked it up, so how does that make it your property?
And as for "dangerous"?
Fukuki glanced at the suitcase he'd stored by the table. The temporary sealing talisman he'd added last night was still working perfectly. He opened the case to check: the cursed finger remained exactly where it had been, lying docile in its groove without so much as a twitch.
If the finger dared to move, he'd already be prepared to unleash a devastating Great Heavenly Dragon Palm.
Just try me.
After a moment of thought, Fukuki typed up a reply.
"Hello, I'm Emperor Qin Shi Huang."