I Sealed Sukuna’s Finger#431+432: Sitting with Senpai, Kouhai, Will You Accept Someone as Twisted as Me?

When the family head is absent, the acting head is equivalent to the family head.

This was a rule any major family had to observe.

So for the entire Keikain family, Bokue Keikain's decision in the council hall just now was equivalent to the old family head's decision—irrevocable and unchangeable.

Even after the meeting adjourned, the council hall remained filled with mixed emotions.

At least for the main family members, Bokue's decision to defend the main estate was undoubtedly their greatest guarantee.

But for the three remaining branch families, they now faced the very real possibility of Hagoromo-Gitsune's large-scale assault at any moment.

And this was a Hagoromo-Gitsune who'd already reclaimed most of her power and forces.

❁❁❁❁

Scene shift.

Having left the council hall, Bokue had already brought Yura and Saeko back to the entrance of the family head's residence.

"By the way, Busujima-senpai, where are you staying in Kyoto right now..."

Only after pushing open the residence's main entrance did Bokue suddenly realize he still hadn't asked whether Saeko even had accommodations in Kyoto. He'd just brought her along without thinking about it.

"Yes, I checked into a hotel in Kyoto around noon today."

Saeko responded with a smile.

Well then...

Bokue mentally face-palmed.

He then turned toward the young Onmyōji girl beside him.

"Yura, you head inside first. I'll take Busujima-senpai back to her hotel and be right back."

Take her back?

Yura looked at her older brother somewhat skeptically, then glanced at the calmly smiling swordswoman beside him.

She wanted to question whether her brother was using "taking Senpai back" as an excuse to get handsy with her, but she had no proof.

"I understand."

The young Onmyōji girl nodded lightly, her voice carrying a slight Kyoto accent. She then turned and pushed open the front courtyard gate, walking straight inside.

Outside the front gate, Bokue turned his gaze to scan the dark red bloodstains still remaining on both sleeves of Saeko's yukata.

"Walking back like this would definitely get you spotted and reported to the police. So if it's alright with you, I'd prefer if you just told me your hotel name and room number directly."

"Of course, that's fine..."

Without the slightest hesitation, Saeko nodded with a smile.

The scene switched, just as it had when they'd returned from Kiyomizu-dera to the Keikain estate.

Accompanied by a flash of golden light, Bokue and Saeko had already appeared inside a certain guest room at a Kyoto hotel.

Because Saeko had removed her room key from the card reader before leaving, the room was pitch black. Only the city's nightscape outside the window—mixed with moonlight and starlight—faintly illuminated the interior.

"Wait, let me turn on the lights first..."

As Saeko spoke, she fumbled for her room key inside her yukata while her voice gradually moved away.

After about five or six seconds of groping through the faint light from the window, the swordswoman finally found the hotel room's entrance.

Click.

With the soft sound of the key card sliding into the reader, bright light instantly flooded the entire room.

"This is definitely it. Your teleportation technique is incredibly precise, Bokue."

After surveying the familiar layout of the room, Saeko let out a light breath of relief.

"Well, since you're back safely, that's settled."

Bokue shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'll head back then..."

As he spoke, the familiar golden glow of his magnetic field began illuminating around him once more.

But Saeko stopped him just in time.

"Please wait."

"...What's up?"

Bokue canceled his teleportation technique and looked at her questioningly.

"Um... since you're already here, why not sit for a bit?"

The swordswoman—who usually gave off such a calm, elegant, composed impression—uncharacteristically showed a somewhat awkward expression.

"You just fought Tsuchigumo earlier, then sat through that long meeting. At least have some tea before you go?"

Bokue: "..."

The whole "sit for a bit and have some tea" thing was obviously just an excuse. If Saeko was saying this, she definitely had something she wanted to tell him.

With that thought, Bokue nodded.

"Sure."

"Alright, I'll boil some water."

Seeing the young man sit down by the tea table near the window, Saeko's expression softened into a faint smile. She retrieved the hotel's sanitized electric kettle from the entrance cabinet.

The tea-making process wasn't worth describing. In less than ten minutes, two steaming cups of hot tea had been placed on the tea table by the window.

The two sat down facing each other across the small round table.

"I actually wanted to make proper tea using professional tea ceremony equipment, but unfortunately this hotel doesn't seem to have any."

Through the rising white steam, Saeko gestured at the glass cup of scalding tea in front of her.

"Tea ceremony? Don't worry about it. I don't know anything about tea ceremony anyway."

Bokue picked up his cup and symbolically blew on it a bit before taking a small sip.

"I can't even tell the difference between tea types or quality. At most, I can tell whether something's black tea or green tea."

"That's really..."

Hearing that, Saeko couldn't help but smile wryly.

After all, generally speaking, according to common stereotypes, heirs to major families like this were usually raised from childhood to know astronomy above and geography below, appreciating tea and flowers while cultivating themselves—basically refined and cultured.

Yet everything Bokue had shown so far suggested he completely didn't care about such formalities. It was very... well, unexpected, she supposed.

But neither of them was the type who enjoyed excessive pleasantries. After exchanging a few simple words, Saeko fell silent once more.

"About tonight... how should I put this? Bokue, there's something I want to ask you. And please... answer honestly."

"Oh, sure."

Bokue took another sip of tea.

"Go ahead and ask."

"Then I won't hold back..."

In stark contrast to the young man's frank attitude, Saeko became increasingly hesitant. The words were clearly on the tip of her tongue, yet for some reason she couldn't quite get them out.

Like she was constipated.

"It's just... about my technique. Bokue, you saw it today at Kiyomizu-dera, so... so I wanted to ask what you... think about it?"

A simple sentence was forcibly broken into six segments. The swordswoman right now bore no resemblance to her usual calm composure. Instead, she was like a child who'd made a mistake and been scolded by a teacher—head slightly lowered, staring through the transparent tea table at her tightly clenched fists resting on her knees, speaking haltingly.

Domain Expansion represented the most fundamental analysis of a sorcerer's soul. Saeko had known for a long time that someone with a Domain like hers was, at their core, an extremely vicious battle maniac who reveled in the thrill of slaughtering enemies.

That's why she never displayed her Domain in front of others. There wasn't even any record of it in the Jujutsu Association's files.

But this secret she'd kept hidden until now had finally been discovered by someone.

And of all people, it had to be Bokue...

For Saeko, the students at Jujutsu High were less like classmates and more like coworkers at a company—specifically the kind you shared a workplace with but had zero actual interaction with otherwise. As for Gojo Satoru, that went without saying.

Because of this, only when Bokue Keikain called her "Busujima-senpai" did Saeko feel like she actually had friends her own age.

So if possible, she didn't want to lose her only "friend her own age" like this.

But there was nothing she could do. The secret had been discovered. No matter how much she wanted to continue hiding it, it was pointless now.

In that case, at least...

Like a criminal awaiting judgment, Saeko resignedly closed her eyes.

Then the next second, she heard the young man's voice.

"I think it's pretty good, actually."

Bokue said.

"Very practical."

...Huh?

<><><><><><><><>

In the quiet hotel room, the atmosphere at the tea table by the window was somewhat subdued.

After making his assessment, Bokue said nothing further, simply picking up his teacup, blowing on it, and taking another small sip.

He hadn't realized what Saeko's question actually meant, treating it purely as a technical inquiry about Jujutsu techniques.

After all, even though Bokue himself wasn't a Jujutsu Sorcerer, to him there was no fundamental difference between spiritual power, cursed energy, or magical energy—they only varied in strength and application.

And if judging purely on the strength of Saeko's Domain Expansion, it was undeniably excellent.

Judging by its performance, Saeko's Domain directly boosted her attack power from initially being unable to even break through Tsuchigumo's surface defense to being able to sever an entire arm in one strike.

And if she'd aimed for the neck instead of the arm, it would've been a clean decapitation.

Simply put, if that kind of power increase wasn't considered impressive, then probably no Domain Expansion was worth anything.

Moreover, Saeko's Domain came with incredibly strong healing effects. Even a severe open fracture in her arm could heal instantly—that level of regeneration could practically be called "immortality."

If there was one potential weakness, it would be cursed energy sustainability at most.

But even so, it was still incredibly powerful—basically like treating her as a walking tactical nuke.

Especially for Jujutsu Sorcerers, who typically operated in three-person teams on missions. Even if Saeko encountered two Special Grade Curses simultaneously during a mission, she'd only need her two teammates to stall for a few seconds while she eliminated one of them first.

Though more likely, Busujima-senpai would tell her teammates to evacuate while she activated her Domain and wiped out both Special Grades herself.

Who wouldn't want a teammate like that?

Absolutely reliable.

While Bokue sat here drinking tea and mentally analyzing the swordswoman's skill applications, for Saeko on the other side, this was an entirely different matter.

It took her a full ten seconds to process the young man's answer. When she finally raised her head, her gaze was filled with utter disbelief.

"Prac...tical?"

Saeko's head hung low as she practically choked out those two dry syllables from her throat.

Though she fell into a completely unconscious state after activating Eight Thousand Styles: All Things' End, her consciousness immediately returned once the battle ended.

If Saeko remembered correctly, when she'd regained awareness on Kiyomizu Stage at Kiyomizu-dera, she'd clearly seen her blade pressed against Bokue's finger.

There was only one possible explanation for that situation—during the time she'd lost consciousness after Domain Expansion, she had attacked Bokue.

That's right. She had personally swung her blade at him.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Senpai? Your complexion doesn't look too good. Everything alright? Is there somewhere you're still feeling discomfort from the earlier battle?"

Glancing over and noticing her unusual state, Bokue turned slightly to ask.

The next second, he vanished from his seat and appeared behind the swordswoman. Forming his fingers into a blade shape, he gently placed them against the right side of Saeko's fair, slender neck like an old Chinese medicine doctor checking a pulse.

Pulse steady, doesn't seem like anything's wrong... hmm?

Bokue suddenly felt someone grasp his two fingers.

Looking down, he saw that Saeko—who'd been silent just moments ago—had raised her head at some point. In her deep blue eyes, shallow tears glistened under the warm lighting of the room. She bit her lower lip as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

"Kouhai... why are you lying to me?"

"Lying? I'm not."

Bokue was even more confused.

"I genuinely think it's very practical..."

"That's absolutely impossible!!"

As if provoked by the young man's reaffirmation, Saeko's voice rose several octaves.

"Earlier on Kiyomizu Stage, when I regained consciousness, I clearly saw my blade cutting into your finger! I attacked you while in an unconscious state! How could anyone possibly praise someone's Domain after being attacked like that?!"

"About that..."

Bokue made a sound of understanding.

"While you did attack me, Senpai, well..."

"Well what?"

Completely abandoning her earlier hesitant demeanor, now that the topic was out in the open, Saeko seemed to have activated full self-destruct mode. No longer beating around the bush, she stared directly at the young man, pressing him for answers with every statement.

Bokue found himself somewhat unaccustomed to her sudden transformation.

"Do I have to say it?"

"Of course!"

The swordswoman's attitude was resolute.

Alright then~

Bokue had no choice now. He could only spread his hands.

"Honestly, because you're still pretty weak compared to me, Senpai, I don't really care about that."

"..."

"..."

That simple sentence instantly silenced the room's atmosphere, even though Bokue had specifically emphasized the key phrase "compared to me."

Saeko looked up blankly at this young man who was actually a year younger than her.

From her eighteen years of life experience, Bokue's words were undoubtedly completely sincere.

It was like a teacher writing end-of-term evaluations. If the comments said things like "has great potential, hope you work harder next semester," those were mostly high-EQ pleasantries.

But if the teacher wrote "too mischievous, needs to improve discipline," then without exception they were genuinely dissatisfied.

Bokue's situation was similar.

You asked why I don't care, so I'm directly answering: because you're too weak. As long as you don't get upset after I say it, we're good.

"I see... so that's how it is."

As if suddenly relieved of some heavy burden, Saeko let out a deep breath.

Then she grabbed Bokue's hand resting against her neck, half-forcefully pressing it against her own face. Simultaneously, she stood up from beside the tea table, turned around, and looked up slightly at the young man now practically chest-to-chest with her.

"So when you said earlier that you thought my Domain Expansion was very practical, you were serious?"

"Of course."

Bokue shrugged.

Saeko took another step forward and continued questioning.

"Then you don't hate me?"

"Why would you even think that, Senpai?"

"Then..."

Ignoring the young man's counter-question, Saeko took yet another step forward, raising her flushed face. Her eyes were filled with heartbreaking vulnerability.

"Will Kouhai accept someone as twisted as me?"

"I... mmph?"

Before Bokue could get his words out, something soft pressed against his lips, cutting off the rest of his response.