"Here."

You say, taiko floating at waist level. Okkotsu lets his eyes wander; the three of you are in a completely different part of the market. The boy gulps, noticing how cold it had gotten.

"Are we in the right place, Hokori-san?" Okkotsu ask. Inumaki only places a hand on the boy's shoulder, shaking his head when Okkotsu turns to him. It seems like the boy is warning him about something.

"I'm sure." you reply, "Mind if you two step back? You'll get caught in the crossfire."

Like what you said, the both of them took a few steps away from you. Okkotsu is still confused, but Inumaki's already used to the way you exorcise.

'Should i do it?' you ask yourself, eyes already catching sight of cursed energy. It was hiding in one of the alleyways in front of you.

'I can see you through that, y'know..' you furrow your brows, getting ready to play a few beats on your taiko.

The spirits were getting closer. You waited, wanting your classmates to see the effects of your technique since you have to admit that you are a show off.

Finally, the two curses you were supposed to exorcise immediately has shown themselves. Okkotsu feels a chill run down his spine and Inumaki only stood there, used to seeing grotesque curses.

'Having a technique similar to a god's boring.'

You smirk, hitting your drum twice.

Okkotsu's eyes widen as a bright light flashes in front of him. The moment you hit your taiko, he swore he felt electricity shock him. He looks over to Inumaki who already has an arm covering his eyes due to the light.

'And having too much power at birth isn't a talent until you know how to utilize it.'

People have often told you that bearing the technique Raijin is both a curse and a blessing. That seems to be the only thing your family had gotten right.

Though growing up, this seems to be more of a curse than it is a blessing. People have brushed away all your hard work and achievements, always saying that it's because of Raijin that you've become a wonderful sorcerer. That it's because of the power you hold that you're a semi-first grade sorcerer.

This is what pushed you to leave your clan and study at Tokyo instead. Almost everyone, with the exception of a few decent family members, had been underestimating what you can do just because you inherited Raijin.

You tried to convince them that this isn't a talent given at birth, and that you had to put in a lot of effort to even control this technique.

'But of of course, those fools with tiny fucking brains can't understand simple Japanese.'

This technique may have already ruined your life, but who are you to complain about it? You're given the power, so you might as well put it to good use. Suck it up and stop being bitter.

'I'm not the strongest Hokori because of my technique. It's because of all the hard work i put into mastering it.'

On the other hand..

"Who," Okkotsu stammers, "Whoa!"

The two curses drop to the floor, bodies fading soon enough. You don't say anything as you turn to look at your classmates, the smallest smile on your face.

"You're amazing, Hokori!" Okkotsu compliments, unknowingly feeding your ego which you like.

You nod, "I'm the best. What'd you expect?"

You turn to Inumaki hoping that he, too, is impressed. Your heart flutters when he shows you a thumbs up, the corners of his cheek rising as if he's smiling under his collar.

"Thanks, Toge." you say, "Anyways, the curtain's up. Let's go–i'm hungry."

You say, walking ahead. You place your drumsticks inside a pocket and the taiko floating near your waist began to disappear.

'They must've worked hard.. To reach where they are now.'

Okkotsu thought.

"Up! And down!"

"Good doggie!"

Kamei giggles as her shikigami jumps at her, nuzzling their faces close to her. She pats the dog with a smile.

'At last. Finally leaving this shit hole.'

She thought, eyes, looking around her room. Nothing was left of the decorations she hung- it looked so plain and boring. This is for the best though.

"And i'm taking you." she says, eyes now moving to her dog. It barks.

user of ; a technique that enables her to summon a shikigami. They deal damage by using lighting, similar to Y/N's technique.

Her technique needed a lot of concentration, patience, and control. Since the hound was said to be a former pet of the god of thunder, it's picky when it chooses who can use it's powers. Fortunately, Kamei is able to meet their expectations.

Kamei thought of it like this; it was like building trust with a guard dog. In exchange for protection, she gives it a home, food, and a lot of pats!

'But..' she sweatdrops, 'Getting them wet is a whole different story.'

"Mei?"

The girl looks over to her door, seeing the tatami sliding open. Her mother peaks in, a relieved smile on the adults face.

"You ready to go?" she ask her daughter, to which Kamei stands up and takes her luggage she placed on her bed.

"Yep. Just giving the dog some love." she says, her mother watching as the hound turns to dust and disappear; Kamei had switched her technique off.

"Good thing you changed your mind. Did Y/N do anything? I'll have to thank them." her mother chuckles, waiting for Kamei to exit her room before sliding the tatami doors shut.

Another child, who is shamed for not having the technique Raijin, leaving the house. Though it hurts seeing her daughter move away, it had to be done.

"Yeah. They did most of the convincing." Kamei says, hand holding her mothers.

She sighs.

"I don't know if i could fit in as well as Y/N did, but i hope i get along with the students at Kyoto. I wouldn't want to come back here." Kamei rants, her mother listening closely.

The two ignores the stares they got from other members and servants in the house as they continue to walk. The mother gently squeezes Kamei's hand, as if to reassure her.

"Mama, is it hard to be supportive?" Kamei ask as they rounded a corner, "Is it hard telling a child 'i'm proud of you' instead of pushing them to work harder because what they did is 'still not enough'?"

smiles.

"It's not hard for me," she starts, "Nor for Y/N's own parents. We love the two of you."

Mikami and Kamei both step out the house, a black car already waiting outside. Mikami grabs her daughters shoulder before making Kamei face her.

"But it's hard for those who envy both you and your cousin. People will always find a way to show how low they'll stoop just to ridicule you and make you give up." Mikami kisses Kamei's forehead as a goodbye,

"Their words won't affect you if you don't let it, okay?"

Kamei nods before asking, "See you at the Kyoto college?"

Mikami scoffs playfully, "You better not cause any trouble! I'll be visiting."

The two of them share a warm hug. Mikami doesn't comment on how Kamei started to tighten the embrace. The woman cracks a smile.

'Ha.. So Kamei only needed a bit of convincing. Thank you, Y/N, I owe you one.'

you may be wondering what hole did i

pull out both MC and kamei's

technique..

feel free to look up what and

is in Japanese mythology, but here's a

short description of both! hope this helps!

it was fun figuring out how to turn both

into cursed techniques!

Raijin (雷神) is the Japanese god of storms, a chaotic being born of death who brings the world vital rains as well as chaos and destruction. He flies across the sky on dark clouds and throws lightning onto unsuspecting denizens below.

He also appears with a drum, with which he creates thunder. He is always in the company of Fujin, the god of winds; his son, Raitaro; and occasionally the thunder beast, Raiju.

source ;

Raijū ( "thunder animal" or "thunder beast") is a legendary creature from Japanese mythology .

Its body is composed of lightning and with the form of a white and blue wolf or dog (or even a wolf or dog wrapped in lightning) being the most common, although it can be represented with other forms.

Raiju is the companion of the Raijin, the Shinto god of lightning. While the beast is generally calm and harmless, during thunderstorms it becomes agitated, and leaps about in trees, fields, and even buildings

source ;