Shikigami Academy 1-10

"You are a body that cannot live alone."

Vice Principal Kujo said so.

Without hesitation. As if stating something obvious. The students look a bit surprised.

"Huh?"

Koharu tilts her head.

"But Kujo-sensei, you're strong, right?"

"That's true."

Taga also nods.

"You look like you could take down a bear."

"I have taken one down."

"You have!?"

Laughter erupts in the classroom. But Kujo remains serious.

"However, that is a different matter."

He says quietly.

"People cannot live alone."

"That has nothing to do with strength."

He looks out the window. The distant mountains. The flow of the clouds.

"I have seen someone who was stranded in the mountains."

"They were a person of strength."

"They also had knowledge."

"But they died."

The classroom goes quiet.

"Why do you think that is?"

No one answers.

"Because they didn't call for help."

Kujo says indifferently.

"They thought they could handle it all on their own."

"That is why they died."

The students gasp.

"Nature shows no mercy."

"God-eaters show no mercy."

"And humans, too, can be merciless."

"That is why we help each other."

"That is why we learn."

"That is why we make allies."

Kujo looks out over the students.

"Do not misunderstand."

"The strong are not those who can fight alone."

"They are those who can rely on others."

At those words,
Shiramine quietly widens her eyes.
Akira watches her profile.

Vice Principal Kujo is the strongest in the academy.
Even among the teachers.
And as a shikigami user.
Everyone acknowledges this.
That Kujo.
Said that one cannot live alone.
That is why those words carry weight.

Akira thinks.
Ren would surely give a different answer.
People are weak.

That is why they waver.
That is why they suffer.
But Kujo.

People are weak.
That is why they said we support each other.

That also aligns with the philosophy of the Hiei Group.
And Akira feels a little relieved.
That in this academy, there are still words left to pass on to the children.

Also, there was someone who received those words in a different way. Kanata Mido.
Kanata had a gifted physique even within the Hiei Group.

He is fast when he runs.
He is strong.
His grades in shikigami studies are not bad either.
He has the deep trust of his teachers.
To anyone, he was an excellent student.

That is precisely why.
He had noticed the recent changes.
In the training hall.
In the wooden sword sparring.
In the hand-to-hand combat.
In all of them.

The gap with Makoto Hiiragi is closing.
No, it is not just closing.
He is starting to be overtaken.

Makoto himself does not realize it.
Those around him do not realize it either.
Makoto still lacks confidence, and

"It was just a fluke"

He would likely laugh and say.
Only Kanata knew.
The weight of the strikes.
The speed of the steps.
The reading of the distance.

These were things the old Makoto did not have.
And above all, Makoto makes an effort.
Even during the times when no one is watching.
More earnestly than anyone else.
More steadily than anyone else.

Because he knows that side of him.
Deep in Kanata's chest, a small impatience was sprouting.

"Because you cannot live alone"

Mr. Kujo's words come back to him.
Rely on your companions.
Support each other.
That should be correct.

However.
What if you are overtaken by those companions?

Would I be able to be happy for them in that moment as well?

Kanata stared at his own box.
A black wooden box.
The wolf crest.
The box does not answer.

But.

For just a fleeting moment, I felt as if someone had whispered right into my ear.

"You're frustrated, aren't you?"

Kanata turns around.
There is no one there.
Outside the window, the sunset.

A flock of birds heading home.
And the laughter of his friends.

"You want to become stronger, don't you?"

It was just my imagination.
That's what I thought.
And yet.

Strangely enough, those words didn't bother me.

In fact, it felt as if someone had finally noticed a feeling I hadn't even wanted to admit to myself.