“Then since Kagiroi had a connection with Gentetsu, Gensou’s son, maybe we can undo his spell if we have his blood… Oh.”
Masamichi began speaking with enthusiasm and suddenly started hesitating after realizing something.
“Sorry, this is a very basic and rude question, but…do specters…have blood?”
Shino said bitterly, “Not like human blood. But in this case, you can consider some part of the body of the one who cast the spell as sufficient.”
“Some part of the body? Like a strand of hair or nails?”
“Yeah. By obtaining a piece of the person you wish to harm and putting a spell on it, that curse will affect the entire body…”
“I’ve heard of that before! Probably in a movie about that ancient spiritual medium, Abe no Seimei or something.”
“…Your knowledge is hopelessly shallow. But anyway, that’s how it is, and the reverse is also true. With spells, an invisible thread always connects the one who cast it to the one who it was cast on.”
“Like a tin can telephone?”
The way that Masamichi mentioned a tin can telephone with his innocent appearance was cute, but it didn’t seem to resonate with the specter, and Shino’s face became even more sour.
“That isn’t even worth considering, but it’s annoying that it isn’t a bad analogy.”
“S-sorry. And?”
“In this case, it’s fine to interpret the biological tissue of the initiator of the spell as that individual. Breaking the spell using their biological tissue would be the same as the individual breaking it. The curse that Kagiroi put on you probably falls under the same category.”
“I see!”
“You would be in danger if we broke the curse by force, but it wouldn’t be a problem if Kagiroi himself undid it.”
“So if we can get some tissue from Kagiroi’s body… Oh, but he doesn’t have blood, does he? What else is there that we could use?”
“There are other options, though not what you would imagine.”
Masamichi tilted his head inquisitively. He was lying on top of Shino’s torso like a sea otter cub, which made his words seem that much stranger.
He’d been told that the body on which he lay was the vessel that Tokifuyu Tatsumi had created long ago. Although he knew it was true since he couldn’t hear Shino’s heart beating, his own heart couldn’t keep up with the facts.
“Like what?”
Shino thought for a moment without answering.
“If we consider humans as bags filled with liquid, then we specters are bags filled with magical power. Magical power is invisible to the human eye, but you should be able to see it when you open your third eye.”
Masamichi nodded.
“You’re right. It shines like a light.”
“Exactly. It definitely exists, and it will flow if a specter’s body is hurt. In the same way that humans give blood to one another, a specter can also give its magical power to another if they want, as I did when I mended you that time you were on the verge of dying.”
“That’s easy for me to understand! So it’s really like our blood, huh? Will you be able to break Kagiroi’s curse if you can get a sample of his magical power?”
“You may think we can, but neither Hayakawa nor I think that’s a realistic option, and we’re continuing to look into other methods.”
“Why? Oh, I get it. In the legend, the Taoist could turn himself into a mosquito to suck Gensou’s blood…but you can’t turn yourself into a mosquito, right? I certainly can’t.”
“That’s not the point. Since specters don’t have blood, a mosquito wouldn’t go near him in the first place. Besides, we aren’t so slow that we wouldn’t notice a bug on our body.”
Masamichi held his head when he heard Shino’s practical point.
“I see! Then we won’t be able to use the bug method. What else is there…?”
Shino laughed frostily as he watched Masamichi try to think.
“We don’t know where Kagiroi is to begin with. Unlike me, he can change his appearance at will. He can fly or dive in a matter of seconds.”
“Oh…!”
Masamichi was rendered speechless for a moment.
“That’s why you’re saying it isn’t realistic.”
Shino gave him a slight nod and closed his eyes again.
“So you finally understand, do you? Well, you don’t need to try to think about this. Leave it to Hayakawa.”
Masamichi was well aware that Shino was in need of some rest, but he couldn’t stop himself from voicing the concern that continued to smolder inside him.
“But this is about me. You’re totally exhausted, Mr. Hayakawa spends a lot of time and effort for my sake, and yet there isn’t a thing that I can do—when it’s my problem.”
Shino sighed briefly.
“Don’t waste your time. What good would it do for you to sit around feeling sorry for yourself? Will you be able to do something if you keep it up? I don’t think so.”
“I know, but—”
“You behave and sit back. If there’s nothing you can do, then at least refrain from causing any more trouble.”
Shino didn’t mean to hurt him deliberately. After living under the same roof for nine months, Masamichi knew that.
Shino is just stating the facts. But—
Still, he felt a stinging pain in the back of his eyes—like his heart was being cut out with a blade that was too sharp.
I’m the only one who’s supposed to sit back comfortably and wait, hoping other people will help me. I can’t believe how pathetic I am.
Masamichi knew this was a time to endure, but he couldn’t stop growing more and more frustrated each day.
Especially now, the frustration had peaked upon seeing how exhausted Shino was from taking on so much work.
Shino saw Masamichi wiping his eyes with his sleeves and took it a different way.
“Go to sleep if you’re tired. I’m going to catch a little shut-eye myself.”
Masamichi quickly tried to climb off his chest, saying, “You should at least have plenty of room to sleep…”
“That isn’t necessary,” he said curtly, then tapped Masamichi’s back with the palm of his hand.
It meant to stop talking and stop moving.
Truly enough, further complaints about how powerless he was would only irritate Shino and deprive him of his precious time for rest.
The least that Masamichi could do was to quench Shino’s thirst with his chi.
He got on top of Shino again, trying to drive away the feelings of self-loathing that smoldered in his heart since he imagined that his chi might not taste good if he kept worrying.
He would brighten up and give Shino as much good chi as he could.
With that in mind, he closed his eyes but felt a strange sensation in his chest.
Oh.
Because he was lying facedown, the black cat brooch that he always wore on his chest was caught between him and Shino, quietly asserting itself.
Well, not so much that it bothers me, and it probably won’t break from this amount of pressure. I’ll stay still for now so I don’t annoy Shino. Sorry, kitty.
A thought crossed his mind as he silently apologized to the handmade brooch.