I Sealed Sukuna’s Finger#395+396: Building the Communal Bed, Catching Gasper

Twenty minutes later, in the "Customs" hall connecting Itogami Island to the Underworld, Bokue Keikain and his group of four—having finished breakfast at Asagi's place—sat in the public seating area watching the bustling crowd.

Many were humans, but even more were demons coming from the Underworld.

Asagi sat beside Bokue, with Kuroka on his other side. She crossed her legs, propped her cheek on her hand, and sighed helplessly.

"This place is always so lively no matter when you come."

"Indeed~"

Liala agreed with a smile.

"When I came yesterday afternoon, the hall had just as many people—maybe even more."

"That's why~"

Just as the blonde finished, Kuroka casually chimed in with her complaint:

"Now you understand why I teleported directly over, right? Taking that train back and forth through here every time—it's as noisy as a marketplace, absolutely deafening."

"But you still have to come here now anyway..."

Bokue didn't quite follow her logic.

They were here to pick up Rias and the others. In other words, whether Kuroka had teleported ahead or not, they'd still end up at customs.

The only difference was arriving early meant waiting here, while coming with Rias meant going through the normal process.

"But at least I got to see you sooner, Bokue~"

The kind of killer line that would be etched on any pure-hearted youth's tombstone just casually slipped from Kuroka's lips.

"Besides, I originally planned to come early and have a quickie with you, Bokue—make up for not seeing each other these past days. But who knew there'd be strangers around..."

"That's my house—you're the stranger!"

Asagi was furious.

This was absolutely intolerable—appearing in her home without permission and calling her a stranger? What next, would she be called unwelcome?

You're the one who's unwelcome!

Bokue couldn't help his side-eye.

"Kuroka, is your 'quickie' one hour or two? By that time, Rias and the others would've already arrived. Should we make them wait here at customs?"

"They wouldn't~"

Kuroka was completely unconcerned.

"Rias and the others aren't idiots. They wouldn't just stupidly wait here forever. They already discussed their action plan before coming—if no one's here, they'd just go do what needs doing..."

"That won't do."

Before she could finish, a familiar voice came from nearby.

The next second, the previously bustling crowd ahead inexplicably stopped, then parted like the sea split by a divine sword, rapidly pushing to both sides.

A girl group that looked like a idol troupe emerged, led by a blazing crimson like hellfire.

Rias—whom they hadn't seen for days—approached with Akeno, Koneko, Mio Naruse, Asia, and a whole crowd behind her. She stood before Bokue still sitting on the public bench, fair arms crossed over her chest. Her gaze swept meaningfully over Asagi and Liala beside him. Without showing surprise, she just looked down and said flatly:

"No wonder you haven't even returned to the Underworld these days. Seems you've been quite busy on Itogami Island? But that's fine—you'll be even busier next, Bokue. There's lots to do... uh..."

Before she could finish, as Bokue stood from his seat, Rias's previously steady tone suddenly rose slightly.

Before the red-haired girl could react, Bokue had already pulled her into an embrace.

"It's fine, I know. But once we settle on Itogami Island, we can be together every day."

"Wait... I know that too, but don't be so sudden... this is the customs hall, lots of people are watching..."

The sudden intimate contact made Rias—who'd been forcing composure a second ago—suddenly flustered. Her fair cheeks quickly colored with a light blush, and her speech became somewhat stuttering.

Worse, her friend's characteristically leisurely teasing came from behind:

"Ara ara~ I thought President could hold firm a bit longer. Didn't expect one hug from Bokue to win her over."

"What do you mean 'win over'..."

Rias's pretty face turned even redder.

Her cheeks burning as if on fire, the red-haired girl could no longer hold back and patted the youth's chest as if pleading:

"Alright, alright, save the hugging for when we get back. We have lots to do today."

"I know. So what's first?"

"Uh... eh? Kuroka didn't tell you?"

"Just the general idea, not the details."

"Huh?"

Though still in the youth's embrace, Rias twisted to look at a certain black-haired cat-eared girl.

"You came to find Bokue ages ago. Why didn't you just tell him?"

"Forgot."

Kuroka lifted her face, utterly shameless despite being in the wrong.

"It's just something that takes three sentences to summarize anyway. Isn't it the same if you tell him after arriving, Rias?"

"How can you forget that..."

Rias had no choice but to repeat:

"First, we need to resolve Itogami Island's ownership issue. Second, merge Kuoh Academy and Saikai Academy. And finally, build the new house... The latter two can only proceed after solving the first."

"Ownership issue, huh... Got it. Leave that to me."

Bokue took on the task without hesitation.

As the acting head of the Keikain family—a thousand-year-old Onmyoji clan—they had extensive experience negotiating with the powerful.

Mainly because over these thousand years, the Onmyoji families and the imperial family, including today's Japanese cabinet, had something like a symbiotic father-son relationship.

If the Onmyoji family was extremely powerful in that generation, the head could pound the table before the Emperor.

—Listen here, Emperor, do you think gold and silver will fly into my treasury by themselves? Or would you prefer your useless samurai to protect you?

But conversely, if the Onmyoji family was weaker that generation, the head could only show as much loyalty as possible in exchange for funds to keep the family running stably.

This was why the Japanese government had worked hard to establish their own jujutsu school.

After all, most who entered were still immature kids—a little brainwashing made them somewhat easier to control than those hard-headed Onmyoji.

Especially since the latter usually needed to be coaxed with real money, and some couldn't be appeased no matter how much you paid...

But that was beside the point.

At least for Bokue, even notifying the Japanese Emperor and those cabinet geezers was already being quite "benevolent."

"Then I'll leave negotiating with the Japanese cabinet to you, Bokue."

Rias pursed her lips, smiling with flushed cheeks.

"Akeno and I will go to Tokyo first. We have some things to handle at the old school building. Come join us after you're done. If it's just us... it might be a bit troublesome."

"Troublesome? What needs handling?"

A giant question mark appeared over Bokue's head.

Rias hummed softly: "Since we're moving, lots of things need to be taken first. Then there's that sealed storage room I mentioned before..."

"Oh—"

Bokue remembered now—there was indeed such a place in the old school building.

A room sealed with talismans.

"Got it. I'll find you after I'm done here..."

Before he could finish, a teleportation magic circle suddenly appeared overhead. A small girl's figure rushed out, diving straight into the youth's embrace.

"Where? Where? Nagisa wants to come too!"

<><><><><><><><>

"Nagisa?!"

Bokue Keikain truly hadn't expected Nagisa Akatsuki to suddenly appear at this moment.

Mainly because he was still holding Rias in his arms and had to free up one hand, turning sideways to catch the falling Nagisa.

He caught her alright, but this created a new problem—he was now in a state of embracing both girls, one on each side.

Sure enough, the second after Bokue caught Nagisa, the red-haired girl beside him spoke in a seemingly calm voice:

"Bokue, who exactly is this girl calling you 'Big Brother'?"

Uh...

While Bokue was still thinking about how to explain, Nagisa had already taken the initiative to speak up first.

"Oh, hello, red-haired big sister! I'm Nagisa Akatsuki, and I'm Big Brother's... hmm..."

Nagisa paused here, pondering for a moment before tilting her head tentatively:

"Would 'ward' be more appropriate?"

"Ward?"

Rias raised an eyebrow slightly.

Generally, guardian and ward relationships usually existed between parents and children, but this girl definitely couldn't be Bokue's daughter.

As for a sister, that was also unlikely. Bokue had mentioned before that his sister still lived in Kyoto, and he'd described her personality as "cool and distant"—she definitely wouldn't be this familiar and casual.

That left only one possibility.

"After all, I am the Fourth Progenitor."

Under the red-haired girl's already perceptive gaze, Nagisa tilted her head with a smile, stating the identity she'd never actively admitted to outsiders before.

"...I see."

Rias nodded slightly to show she understood.

So this girl was the legendary vampire Progenitor. But looking at this energetic girl's appearance and her still-underdeveloped figure, hmm... she probably wasn't Bokue's type, right?

After all, this child looked even younger than Koneko.

Rias's gaze quickly swept across her own, Akeno's, Mio's, and the others' chests, then relaxed her guard somewhat, switching to a more friendly tone:

"Nagisa... may I call you that? Big Sister and the others need to go out with Big Brother to handle some matters. We might have to leave Itogami Island for a bit..."

"Then I'm coming too!"

Nagisa immediately wrapped her arms tightly around the youth's neck.

Rias: "..."

So she'd relaxed her guard a bit too early, huh? While Bokue was unlikely to be interested in such a young girl, it now seemed it wasn't the pig going after the cabbage, but the cabbage charging at the pig!

Wait, that seemed a bit harsh talking about her boyfriend that way.

But...

"Alright then."

After a moment's thought, Rias surprisingly agreed immediately.

She didn't explain why, just turned her gaze to the youth beside her.

"Then you take Nagisa with you, Bokue. We'll wait at the school's old building. Come meet up with us after you're done."

"Got it."

❁❁❁❁

Scene shift, about ten minutes later.

Tokyo, Japan, at Kuoh Academy still on summer vacation.

Under the morning sunlight, with a flash of golden light in the air, Bokue and Nagisa appeared in front of the old school building.

"Alright, we're here."

As the solid feeling came from underfoot, Bokue spoke.

Beside him, Nagisa—who'd been counting seconds with her eyes closed while he held her shoulder—hummed and slowly opened her eyes to see a standalone two-story wooden villa that looked somewhat similar to Sakurasou from light novels, similarly old but quite elegant in style.

"Oh~ So this is where Big Brother goes to school! I didn't expect to arrive so quickly."

"Not really, just where club activities happen."

Bokue explained.

"Alright, Rias and the others should be inside already. Let's go in—"

Swoosh—

Before he could finish, the previously closed front door of the old building was suddenly pulled open from inside. Akeno appeared at the door wearing an apron, holding a broom and dustpan in one hand.

She looked up and was slightly surprised to see Bokue and Nagisa outside.

"Ara, you're here so quickly, Bokue? Is the Itogami Island ownership issue already resolved?"

"Of course. I said leave it to me—it wasn't that troublesome."

Bokue shrugged.

"The timing was also convenient today. When Nagisa and I went to the National Diet Building, they happened to be in session, so I had them add an emergency item to their morning agenda. They voted unanimously and passed it directly."

"Under the witness of Mount Fuji's crater."

Nagisa added helpfully beside him.

Akeno imagined that scene for a moment and couldn't help letting out an "aha," raising the broom and dustpan in her hand:

"Wait a moment, Bokue. I'll be right back after dumping this trash."

"Oh... wait, Akeno, are you cleaning?"

Bokue nodded reflexively, then asked curiously.

Akeno had already gone to the public trash bin by the roadside outside the old building. After dumping all the trash from the dustpan, as if afraid she hadn't gotten it all, she tapped it against the edge a couple more times before turning back with an "mm"

"Rias said she's grown attached to the old building after living here so long. She plans to pack up and take the old building with us when we move, so we're cleaning now. We'll need to mop the floors later too."

??

Bokue displayed two question marks.

He vaguely remembered Venelana had said something similar before—about taking his Tokyo apartment along too, assembling it like building blocks as part of the new house.

So the new house would not only have the apartment but also the old school building...

Could these things really be connected together?

Whatever, they'd find out when the time came.

Without dwelling on this issue, after Akeno finished with the trash, Bokue brought Nagisa into the old building.

When they walked down the hallway to the legendary "sealed storage room" at the end of the first-floor corridor, Rias had already removed the seals from the door. Sounds of Kuroka and Shirone cleaning came from the second floor above.

The red-haired girl turned to see Bokue and the others arrive, a smile crossing her face.

"You're here, Bokue. This is it."

"...So what's the issue here?"

Bokue looked up and down at this once-sealed storage room.

Honestly, he didn't know much about the old building. Unlike Rias and the others who'd been living directly in it, he'd barely even been to the second floor.

As for this sealed storage room, though Rias had mentioned it before, he'd never been one to dig into things. If Rias said not to go in, he wouldn't—at worst, it could just remain an urban legend mystery.

"Inside here..."

Rias hesitated, holding her chin.

"Honestly, it's hard to explain in words. When you go in, Bokue, you might encounter something like time displacement, and you'll find some things have suddenly moved position. It's not really dangerous though..."

"Then I'm going in."

Unable to picture it from the description, Bokue simply pushed the door open and entered.

The storage room door opened and closed, leaving Rias and Akeno outside exchanging glances.

"I wonder how long it'll take Bokue to come out..."

Rias sighed softly.

Akeno also shook her head with some concern: "Well, that child's ability is indeed quite troublesome..."

Creak—

Before she could finish, the storage room door opened again.

Bokue, who'd entered just two seconds ago, walked out carrying a very cute golden-haired, elf-eared girl like holding a cat.

"Is this the child you were talking about?"