Kashimo Hisses, Kashimo Guards His Food

"I'll be going on ahead, Gojo... Brother Shinichi."

Zenin Kei looked at the astonished Gojo Shinichi and gave a bitter smile. "You... do your best..."

...Don't die on me...

He didn't say the words that had somehow sprung to mind.

The next instant, the Sword of Extermination pierced Zenin Kei's heart.

A few minutes later.

The taming ritual ended, and Mahoraga's massive body slowly faded away.

"Two Point Fivejo Shin Zero Point Five," cut in half, and "Zenin Sui," his heart shredded, lay sprawled on the arena floor.

Both were completely lifeless.

The atmosphere in the Tombs of the Star Corridor was frozen, so quiet a pin could almost be heard dropping.

"Clan head!"

Someone in the Gojo Clan's seats let out a wail.

Inside the soul passage, Zenin Kei gazed at Gojo Shinichi standing before him, speechless for a long time.

"Well, I didn't expect it to end like this!"

Gojo Shinichi broke the silence first, his tone relaxed and casual.

"Don't you hate me?" Zenin Kei raised his head and looked expressionlessly at the rather carefree Gojo Shinichi.

"Nope." Gojo Shinichi waved a hand and sat down cross-legged. "You must have had reasons that left you no choice."

"Being clan head really is a lot of pressure, after all. And you've been the quiet type since you were a kid, always trying to shoulder everything yourself."

"It makes sense that you'd end up doing something like this."

"Besides..." Gojo Shinichi sighed, then smiled again.

"Honestly, I'd had enough of those old-fashioned higher-ups, those rigid rules, and those old geezers too."

"So, in a way, my death was my own choice."

"I was still too weak to change any of it. So, in a way, I seized the opportunity and took the coward's way out."

"But in the end, I was the one who got you killed... for my own selfish desires."

Zenin Kei lowered his head, unable to meet Gojo Shinichi's eyes.

"Because I didn't want to lose, didn't want to disgrace myself, didn't want to bring shame on the Zenin Clan... it was all because of my selfish desires..."

"That's why I summoned Mahoraga..."

"Does it really matter anymore? It's already happened."

Gojo Shinichi got up, walked over to Zenin Kei, and patted him on the shoulder, a radiant smile on his face.

"Then I'll be going on ahead, Kei. If there's a next life, I probably won't be as cowardly as I was in this one."

"I might even try to change everything I hate."

"See ya!"

With that, he walked toward the depths of the soul passage without looking back.

"I'm sorry... Brother Shinichi..."

Zenin Kei stood where he was and spoke softly.

Then he, too, moved on, hurrying after Gojo Shinichi.

The exhibition before the ruler had to be called off early after the heads of the Gojo and Zenin Clans killed each other.

The spectators in the stands filed out, wearing all manner of expressions.

On the way back, Hajime Kashimo remained silent, his expression serious and grave. It was unclear what he was thinking about.

Seeing how serious he was, Shiratori Gotsu, for once, refrained from messing around and being obnoxious the whole way.

Shiratori Gotsu could more or less guess what Hajime Kashimo was thinking about. After all, he was thinking along the same lines himself.

It was about Zenin Kei and Gojo Shinichi killing each other.

To be honest, he had expected it from the start, so aside from the excitement of watching the show, he hadn't really felt much of anything.

Only after the two of them actually lay there dead, and the excitement of a bloodthirsty spectator gradually faded, did he begin to think more deeply about it...

By the time the two returned to Hajime Kashimo's hut, it was already dusk.

After staying silent the whole way, the first thing Hajime Kashimo said nearly made Shiratori Gotsu lose his composure.

"Have you decided what to eat tonight? If you have, hurry up and cook. I'm a little hungry."

"Huh?" Shiratori Gotsu dug at his ear in disbelief. "Don't tell me that's what you were thinking about with that grim face all the way back?"

Hajime Kashimo raised his lightning staff and tapped Shiratori Gotsu on the forehead. "I was thinking about the exhibition, you idiot."

"As for the details, it's hard to say."

"There's too much, and it's all a mess, so I won't get into it."

"...All right." Shiratori Gotsu said no more and rolled up his sleeves, heading toward the icehouse. "Come to think of it, isn't there anything you particularly want to eat?"

"Nothing you make tastes bad anyway, does it? I'm not picky. The icehouse has all the ingredients you need, so just do whatever you think best."

With that, Hajime Kashimo plopped down leisurely on a stone stool in the courtyard.

"Now hurry up and serve me my dinner. I'm going to enjoy myself!"

"Oh, so you're going to enjoy yourself, are you!"

"You cook so well, why don't you just stay at my place and cook for me all the time?"

Hajime Kashimo's chopsticks flew.

"Koshika, people generally call that getting married and starting a family."

Shiratori Gotsu swallowed the food in his mouth, then gave him a speechless look. "What? You want to marry a grown man like me?"

"..." Hajime Kashimo suddenly choked on his food.

He pounded his chest and gulped down two mouthfuls of water before finally managing to swallow it.

"Hey, Lord Thunder God almost got solo-killed by his own dinner."

Shiratori Gotsu couldn't resist the jab.

"Get lost!"

Just as Hajime Kashimo was about to grab his lightning staff and use Shiratori Gotsu's head as a wooden fish, the courtyard gate was pushed open from outside.

"Oh, you're eating. Smells pretty good!"

Kenjaku, wearing Kichi's skin, strode in as though he belonged there and, under Shiratori Gotsu's and Hajime Kashimo's gazes, sat down at the table without hesitation.

He made himself completely at home, rolling up his sleeves and picking up a salt-grilled Pacific saury between two fingers before taking a bite.

"Mmm, tastes pretty good too!"

Hajime Kashimo: "...?!"

His fists clenched at once.

Shiratori Gotsu: "..."

"You're really rude, Kenjaku."

"Honestly, I preferred you when you acted like the original Chiba Kichi, all refined and gentlemanly."

Kenjaku tossed the picked-clean fish bones into a corner of the courtyard without a care.

"Mmm, thanks for the meal!"

He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the grease from his fingers.

"As for acting like a gentleman, since you already know who I really am, Lord Shiratori, there's no need for me to keep pretending, is there?"

"Now, how about we get straight to the point?"

"No."

Hajime Kashimo immediately raised his lightning staff and pointed it at Kenjaku's nose, arcs of electricity dancing over his body.

"I didn't invite you to eat at my table!"

"If a rude bastard like you doesn't want me to fry him to a crisp, get the hell out and wait until I've finished eating before bringing up that crap."

"I'm only giving you three seconds!"

Hajime Kashimo was furious.

He had even put up with Kenjaku barging into his home without permission.

The point was, that salt-grilled Pacific saury had been meant for him, and that old geezer had snatched it away.

"Three..."

"..."

Hajime Kashimo had barely counted one number before Kenjaku promptly got up, stepped out of the courtyard, and closed the gate behind him.

He was scared.

Seriously, who wouldn't be?

He had intended to make conversation easier by acting familiar.

After all, as he saw it, that was what Shiratori Gotsu was like, so perhaps behaving similarly would win his favor.

But he had never, ever expected Hajime Kashimo to guard his food... though it really was delicious.

In any case, to ensure the conversation would go smoothly afterward, and for the sake of his own safety, Kenjaku wisely did as Hajime Kashimo said.