The Kid I Used to Know

Surprising Power and Its Consequences

Kei's suspicion that Naobito would send for them at some way too goddamn early hour of the morning turned out to be correct. Asami came for them an hour before sunrise, at 4:30 in the morning. It was cruel, but they'd suffered worse so both teenagers dragged themselves out of their beds and followed after Asami once they changed into the light robes she provided to each of them, informing them that one of the clan elders, as well as Naobito and a teacher from one of the schools would assess them today after a sunrise meditation.

Absentmindedly, Kei noted that Asami was calling Yuji by his first name Yuji 1; Zen'in clan stupidity 0.

They both ignored the clan elder sent to supervise them, automatically standing under the waterfall the elder pointed them towards without hesitation or regard for the freezing morning temperatures.

Gojo had been a cruel teacher who took joy in his students' suffering.

Sunrise meditation lasted well past sunrise, but neither teen protested. Kei acknowledged that this was probably some form of Zen'in clan hazing, but he was unphased. He'd warned Yuji to expect this yesterday.

After meditation, they were allowed a small breakfast in their rooms after they bathed and dressed for the day. Immediately following breakfast, she led them into the training fields, where Naobito and the same clan elder from before were waiting, as well as another man which they both immediately recognized as Yaga-sensei.

Seeing the younger version of their principal threw them both as neither had expected to see the man quite yet, but after sharing a glance, they gathered themselves and approached the men waiting for them.

They halted a few steps away, waiting for instruction.

Naobito stepped forward.

"Ah, Masamichi-san, here are the two we'll be sending to your school in two weeks time," Naobito began.

"This is our new potential heir, Zen'in Kei," he introduced, prompting Kei to bow respectfully to Yaga.

"And his bodyguard, Kasuga Yuji," he finished, letting Yuji bow as well before moving on.

"Boys, this is Yaga Masamichi, the current third year instructor at the Tokyo school. He's here to help us begin our assessment, though we won't have any finalized results until after you both complete an exorcism against a curse of whatever grade we deem appropriate," Naobito explained unnecessarily, "We'll start with a thorough explanation of your current skills and abilities. Kei, you first."

It was abrupt, but no one expected gentleness from Naobito.

Without hesitation, Kei stepped forward, keeping his eyes focused on Yaga as he was undoubtedly the one least familiar with his technique.

"I hold the Ten Shadows technique of the Zen'in clan," he began, "I summon shikigami to fight and perform various other tasks for me. I have subjugated six of the ten shikigami my technique gift me with including Divine Dogs, Nue, the Great Serpent, Toad, Max Elephant, and Rabbit Swarm. I can summon up to three shikigami at once as well as use combined versions of my shikigami such as Divine Dog: Totality, which combines the power of both of my Divine Dogs into one. If I combine Nue with Toad, I can summon numerous winged toads to assist me.

"Each shikigami has their own strengths. Divine Dogs have high offensive abilities using their teeth and claws and can also be used to track. Nue is a winged shikigami used both for escape and offensive as she specializes in attacks using her wings, claws, and electricity. Toad is shikigami mainly used for defense as it can carry and protect a sorcerer within its body. It can also carry out mildly offensive attacks with its tongue. Rabbit Swarm is a swarm of rabbits that can be summoned to aid in escape, distract, or hide from opponents. Their kicks and bite have very mild offensive capabilities. Max Elephant is my newest shikigami which can summon a massive amount of water to use as an offensive weapon as well as aid in distraction and escape. Its weight can also be used offensively to crush opponents. The Great Serpent was destroyed in a fight and I have yet to confirm which of my shikigami inherited its strength.