Chapter Text
The morning was cool, but not unpleasant. The sun was rising and casting gentle warm rays onto the streets and buildings.
The streets were still half empty, only a few people with tired faces and quick steps were on their way to work or other activities.
You carefully balanced the box with the coffee cups in both hands as the door of the small café closed behind you.
“Three, right?” the barista had asked.
You had only nodded.
One for you, one for Higuruma, one for the assistant. A small morning ritual, because the days at the law firm could be long. It happened often.
The way to the office was not far. Two streets down, and on the upper floor was the office with the green sign.
There were no curses here.
No missions.
No students who were too young to die. At least not most of the time.
When you pushed open the door of the office, the small bell above the entrance rang.
“Good morning,” you said stepping into the warm.
Shimizu looked up from her screen.
“Good morning! You’re already here.”
You carefully placed the box with the coffee on the reception desk. She leaned over the counter and smiled at you as she took out a coffee and rolled her eyes in satisfaction.
“Is Higuruma already here?”
She hesitated briefly. It was only a small moment, barely longer than a breath. But you noticed it anyway.
“Yes,” she finally said.
“He came in early.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” you said with a sigh.
You nodded and picked up the remaining cups again. As you walked down the hallway, you felt it. That change in the air, the atmosphere of the room. It tugged slightly at your skin and at the edge of your thoughts. For a few days now, something heavy had been lingering in the air, something that couldn’t be explained with words. For other people, maybe just stress or fatigue. For you, it felt different. Emotions had a shape. A temperature. A weight.
And Higuruma was carrying more of it at the moment than a person should.
You knocked lightly on his office door.
“Coffee.”
“Come in.”
He was already sitting at his desk, sleeves rolled up, a file spread out in front of him.
When he looked up, his gaze was as calm as ever, but you could feel the tension behind it.
You placed the cup in front of him.
“You were here earlier than me again.”
“Habit.”
“Or insomnia.”
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
“Maybe both.”
The workday passed like many others. Files. Conversations. Phone calls. And that strange feeling beneath the surface that you couldn’t quite grasp. Only when you left the office together in the evening it became clearer again. Shimizu had already left earlier. The air outside had grown colder. You and Higuruma walked silently next to each other toward the station. He put his hands into his coat pockets.
“You’re unusually quiet today.”
“Am I?”
“You’re observing.”
You smiled faintly.
“I always do that.”
He wanted to reply, but at that moment the train arrived.
You got on. It was not particularly full. You were just about to sit down when you saw him.
At first, it was only a familiar presence. Calm and stable, something heavy beneath the surface. Like a stone in the water that remained unmoved even when the current grew stronger.
His blond hair was shorter than back in school, shaved at his neck. It was longer on top. Some strands falling into his face. He was also wearing a coat, and the collar of a blue shirt peeked out from under his scarf.
Then he lifted his gaze. And your eyes met. Nanami.
For a moment, everything went still. Time slowed as you looked into each other’s eyes. You hadn’t seen him in years. And yet you had recognized him immediately. He seemed just as surprised as you were.
“…I didn’t expect to see you here,” he finally said.
His voice was as calm as ever. You couldn’t help but smile.
“I didn’t expect to see you here either.”
A brief moment of silence followed, filled with all the years in between. Then his gaze fell next to you on Higuruma. And for a fraction of a second, his posture changed. He became more attentive. Nanami looked back at you.
“Who is that?”
You turned slightly toward Higuruma.
“Higuruma. We work together.”
Higuruma studied Nanami calmly.
Then he gave a slight nod.
“And you are…?”
“Nanami Kento.” Nanami answered briefly.
The name seemed to linger in the air for a moment.
You felt the tension shift slightly. Nanami looked at Higuruma again. This time longer and then his gaze returned to you.
“Do you know what he is?”
You didn’t answer immediately.
But Higuruma was faster.
“I assume this is not a conversation for a train.”
He briefly looked back and forth between the two of you.
Then he said calmly:
“We could go get something to eat.”
You blinked in surprise.
Nanami as well.
Higuruma gave a slight shrug.
“I have the feeling we have quite a lot to discuss.”
Nanami looked at you.
You could see the small, barely visible smile that he only showed when he decided to do something unusual.
“Agreed.”
_____
The restaurant was large and airy, but not ostentatious. There was enough privacy to talk without being overheard.
Warm light, finely crafted wooden tables, and barely any conversation beyond a muted murmur filled the spacious room. The waiter welcomed you inside and offered you a table.
You sat at a table by the window. The railway line ran three streets away, and from time to time you could see a train passing by.
At first, no one spoke.
The waiter brought water and tea.
Nanami calmly placed his glasses on the table, folded his hands together, and looked at you.
“How long has it been?”
You thought for a moment.
“A few years.”
“More.”
You smiled faintly.
“You still have a good memory.”
Nanami did not respond immediately.
His gaze was not cold, but attentive, as if he was checking whether you were really the same person as before. He had become so… grown-up.
“You left,” he finally said.
It was not an accusation. Just a statement.
“Yes.”
The silence between you felt strangely familiar.
Higuruma observed the conversation calmly.
“So you know each other from school?”
Nanami nodded slightly.
“Jujutsu High.”
Higuruma raised an eyebrow.
“Then my assumption was correct.”
“So you noticed.” You glanced at him briefly.
“It was hard to miss.”
He leaned back slightly in his chair.
“The energy on that train was unusual.”
Nanami studied him again.
This time less skeptical, more interested.
“You’ve only had it for a short time.”
“Apparently.” Higuruma replied calmly.
The waiter returned and took your orders.
Only after he had left did Nanami continue speaking.
“Most people don’t just develop a Cursed Technique like that.”
“Most people don’t experience what I’ve experienced either.” His voice remained calm, but something in it sharpened.
You felt it immediately. The emotion beneath it: Not anger, something more complex.
Nanami noticed your look.
“So you explained it to him.”
“Not really.” You lightly clasped your hands around your glass.
“He understood a lot on his own.”
“You underestimate your role.”
Nanami observed both of you.
Then he said dryly:
“That sounds familiar.”
You couldn’t suppress a small smile.
“You weren’t always fond of it either.”
Nanami sighed quietly.
“You felt too much back then.”
“And you too little.”
For a brief moment, a spark of something old lingered between you.
Then Higuruma asked calmly:
“What happened to you?”
Nanami looked at him.
“I worked at a financial company for a while.”
Higuruma blinked.
“I wouldn’t have expected that.”
“Neither would I.”
You looked at him in surprise.
“And now?”
Nanami took a sip of water.
“I returned.”
“To the school?”
“To the profession.”
You immediately knew what that meant. Your gaze drifted briefly to the window as something inside you grew heavy.
“I wouldn’t have thought that,” you said thoughtfully.
Nanami’s voice remained calm.
“The world hasn’t changed.”
Higuruma responded almost immediately:
“Neither has the system.”
Now Nanami truly looked at him. Two men who both knew exactly how unfair the world could be.
“You’re a lawyer,” Nanami finally said.
“Yes.”
“Then you know that better than most.”
Higuruma did not smile.
“That’s why I’m here.”
The tension between them was not hostile, rather respectful and open.
Nanami leaned back slightly in his chair.
“Interesting.”
Higuruma tilted his head slightly.
“In what way?”
“You have the energy of a sorcerer.” Nanami replied calmly.
A brief pause.
“But you speak like someone searching for justice.”
Higuruma looked at him for a long moment.
“And you?”
Nanami answered without hesitation.
“I work.”
That made you laugh.
Both men briefly looked at you.
“You’re more alike than you think.”
Nanami looked at you.
“You used to say that before.”
Higuruma frowned slightly.
“Before?”
You leaned back.
“You remind me of someone.”
Nanami raised an eyebrow.
“That sounds concerning.”
“Maybe it is.”
For a moment, the table fell silent again.
Then Higuruma said calmly:
“I would like to understand what is happening to me.”
Nanami replied:
“Then we should talk.”