Chapter 18

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The regional qualifiers were hardly entertaining—one might even call them dull. After attending once, Tsukikage found an excuse not to go again; after all, his presence wasn’t strictly necessary.

Um, was there anything in the tennis club that absolutely required his attendance?

No, no, no—he was still important. For instance, right now was a perfect opportunity to assert his presence.

“At the end of the month, we can hold the training camp at my family’s shrine.”

Though the upcoming prefectural tournament wasn’t a major concern, they still needed to prepare for the Kanto competition. This meant organizing a training camp filled with laughter and sweat.

However, since the school year had just added a batch of new training equipment, the tennis club’s budget was tight; even suitable lodging was rather expensive, so nothing had been decided yet.

Seiichi Yukimura’s light tap on the table made them pause. “Your family’s shrine?”

Indeed. After a series of examinations, Yukimura left the hospital to much amazement from the doctors and joy from his family, returning to school for regular classes.

Still, he needed regular hospital checkups for doctors to monitor his recovery and adjust his rehabilitation plan.

His body wasn’t yet strong enough to endure the tennis club’s somewhat heavy training regimen. Sanada and others kept a close eye on him daily, worried he might push himself too hard.

But to Tsukikage, Yukimura seemed to be teasing them; he had even said in front of him, “Everyone’s really cute, it’s fun to play with them,” a comment dripping with irony.

The manager of Rikkai University’s tennis team didn’t find anything amiss and even wholeheartedly agreed, happily watching the spectacle every day, wishing he had some sunflower seeds to snack on.

Of course, some exercise was beneficial for recovery.

During this time, every member of the tennis club enjoyed the care of their captain, engaging in a tennis match that numbed their senses.

The “Child of God’s” radiance once again shone upon Rikkai University, nearly moving the young players to tears.

Snapping back from his memories, Tsukikage still bore a trace of emotion on his face but quickly responded, “Yes.”

“The shrine grounds are flat and, with some simple arrangements, can serve as training fields. The mountain won’t be too hot; only the lodging conditions might be a bit rough.”

There was only one bedroom and a living room, but both were covered with tatami mats, so it wasn’t a big issue.

A training camp for athletic youths naturally involved sleeping together in one large room; otherwise, what would it be called?

But whenever this topic arose, Tsukikage always cursed the Jujutsu Headquarters silently. A Grade 1 Cursed Spirit incident, the reward slashed down—how did they even come up with 3,000 yen?

Who were they insulting?!

Cursing and grumbling.jpg

Despite this, they dared to call and scold him. Could a hot-blooded middle schooler take that? Tsukikage hung up immediately and flatly refused the Jujutsu world’s demand to hand over Gulu.

Gulu was a yokai and Tsukikage’s shikigami; even if the Jujutsu world had a legitimate reason, it was improper to forcibly take him away.

Though the lineage of onmyoji and shrine maidens had declined, it was not to the point of being bullied, especially since the two sides maintained a superficially friendly agreement.

In times like these, Tsukikage’s status was quite useful, freeing him from interference by the Jujutsu high-ups.

Thus, those rotten jerks really had no way to deal with him and could only hide behind the scenes, muttering curses.

Thinking of this, Tsukikage felt rather amused.

“That’s not a problem,” Yukimura clapped his hands. “Tsukikage-kun, you’re a great help!”

Tsukikage replied, “I’m part of the tennis club too, so it’s only right I pitch in.”

See! He had said he was indispensable!

Yukimura made the decision: “Then it’s settled. Next week’s training camp will be at Tsukikage Shrine.”

Aka Akaya seemed very excited about this decision. “Yay!”

Tsukikage remembered his promise: “Aka, we’ll go get mint chocolate taiyaki together then.”

What kind of wicked thing was that?

Yukimura smiled softly: “Sounds interesting.”

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“The taste is really good,” Tsukikage gave a thumbs-up. “Highly recommended!”

Yukimura showed interest: “Then we definitely have to try it.”

Renji Yanagi remained silent.

*

That evening, at Tsukikage Shrine.

Tsukikage and Renji sat at a low table doing homework, while Gulu peeked around the doorway.

Wearing a blue puppy T-shirt and black shorts kindly provided by Renji, despite his green skin and obviously pointed snout, he really looked like a child—a sneaky, mischievous child.

Gulu tentatively stretched out a foot, trying to sneak into the room.

Tsukikage suddenly looked up sharply, barking, “Stop right there!”

The green kappa froze mid-step, not daring to move.

Tsukikage frowned, “Have you been hanging out with Daiki again? Look at those filthy feet! You want to come inside? Go wash up first!”

“Waa… waa waa…”

“Your whining won’t work.”

Gulu hung his head and slouched away.

Daiki squatted in the hallway, turning his feline head to glance over, his fluffy big tail lazily swishing back and forth.

His newly acquired little brother was just too clumsy—no matter how many times he was scolded, he never learned. When would he ever have one-thousandth of his own feline wisdom?

The cat sighed, dived, and kicked his legs!

Gulu opened his arms to catch him. “Meow…-chan…”

Settling into a comfortable angle in the crook of his arm, Daiki looked smug. “Meow-ow~”

Go give the great cat lord a paw wipe!

In the living room, Tsukikage was puzzled: “Is it reasonable for a kappa not to like water?”

Renji put down his pen: “Maybe that part belongs to the cursed spirit.”

“Only that explanation makes sense,” Tsukikage sighed, supporting his chin. “It’s normal for a cursed spirit born from a child’s negative emotions to retain some of a child’s habits.”

“But what to do? I feel like Gulu’s intelligence is even lower than Daiki’s,” the black-haired boy suddenly had an idea. “Renji, what if we start teaching him now?”

Renji: Not a good idea.

Whether it was teaching a yokai or a cursed spirit, it sounded enough to shatter one’s worldview. He was certain no one had ever tried this before.

Of course, he wouldn’t say that out loud.

“It’s possible. Gulu’s intelligence level is about that of a child. First, teach him to recognize characters, then conduct a baseline test and develop a specific learning plan based on the results.”

Renji grew increasingly convinced as he spoke, flipping open his notebook and quickly writing.

Tsukikage glanced at it with admiration—it even included general knowledge and technique practice courses. The curriculum was flexible to accommodate special circumstances.

His childhood friend really took initiative!

A few minutes later, Renji looked at the full page of content, satisfied: “See if there’s anything you want to add.”

Tsukikage was too embarrassed to say that the inspiration had simply flashed through his mind and then was gone.

He took the notebook, read through the entire plan, felt sorry for poor Gulu, but cheerfully said, “Let’s go with this. The meaning of life is learning—same for yokai life. I’m sure Gulu will be happy.”

Well, he was probably apologetic.

After washing up and helping the big brother cat groom his fur and clean his paws, Gulu was finally allowed inside the room.

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Daiki abandoned his idiot little brother, stepping lightly like a cat toward his corner nest, where he promptly curled up and stayed put.

Gulu was quite familiar with Renji but still reluctant to approach him, inching along the wall step by step.

Whenever the brown-haired boy looked over, Gulu froze in place as if frightened—unfortunately, the living room was too brightly lit, and there was no shadow nearby for him to hide in.

Gulu disliked humans and even feared them, except for two people. Yukimura, because he fit Gulu’s definition of “good-looking,” and Tsukikage, who possessed spiritual power; the gentle spiritual energy held an undeniable allure for him.

Because of this, back when he was at Minami-shonan Elementary, he rarely appeared in front of others and, by a fortunate accident, went months without conflict.

“Little Gulu, come here.” Tsukikage beckoned.

Gulu obediently ran over, letting out a puzzled “meow.”

Tsukikage said, “Don’t imitate Daiki. You can speak, right?”

Daiki’s cat ears twitched as he raised his head: “Meow-ow~”

He was the cat lord’s little brother—meowing was just right!

Renji stopped the annoyed cat: “Daiki, don’t cause trouble.”

It seemed everyone had quietly accepted the name Daiki.

Tsukikage coaxed, “You’re not a kid anymore. If you hadn’t been taken by bad people, a yokai your age would have started learning by now.”

Gulu pondered the meaning of those words: “Gulu… hmm…”

Was that so?

He tried to recall memories from his time as a yokai but remembered nothing.

Tsukikage encouraged him, “As my shikigami, you can’t be outdone by other yokai, right?”

Gulu immediately showed determination: “Yes… yes!”

Tsukikage looked like a teacher with a prodigy: “Good. Then from now on, you’ll start studying!”

He grabbed Renji, who was sitting properly, pulling him up by the arm. Renji lost his balance slightly but caught himself on the floor, avoiding falling on his childhood friend.

Unexpectedly told he was a teacher now, Renji remained calm but was unsure whether Tsukikage was cruelly teasing him or just naturally sarcastic.

Either way, the best approach was to pretend not to have heard it.

“Tsukikage, let go of me.”

Tsukikage loosened his grip, narrowing his eyes and muttering softly, “Tch.”

Still no reaction from Renji.

Renji sat up straight: “Confirmed, it was intentional.”

Disappointed that his strange whimsy was unfulfilled, Tsukikage had to settle for tormenting the little kappa.

“Gulu, although you’ll have many more classes to study, you can’t neglect chores either—pulling weeds, removing moss, laundry, cleaning—all must be done properly... Oh, Renji, can you teach him how to cook?”

Renji: “...” Even capitalists wouldn’t exploit workers like this.

“Tsukikage, if he dares cook, will you dare to eat it?”

Tsukikage: “...True enough.”

His tone was full of regret.