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The scene shifts back home.
Outside, twilight slowly darkens the sky, while inside, the air fills with a delicious, mouth-watering aroma from the dining table.
Sitting comfortably in her designated seat, Kuroka sways her head lightly in anticipation of dinner, two sleek black tails flicking mischievously behind her, playfully brushing across the young man's nose.
Teasing? Provoking?
"Kuroka…"
Bokue gently taps her tail, indicating he has something to say.
"Hmm? What's up, nya?"
Kuroka obediently lowers her tails but swiftly spins around from her back-facing position to face him directly.
At such a close distance, Bokue could easily kiss her forehead with the slightest tilt of his head.
Their breaths mingle softly, and Kuroka licks her lips, flashing him an alluring, mischievous grin.
"Ahh~ I see. Did having me sit on you just now get you excited, Bokue? Although it'd be a shame to let such delicious food go cold, big sis finds Bokue's warmth far more appetizing… If that's the case, why don't we skip straight ahead? You can do anything you want to me, nya~"
"Snap out of it. Is your mind seriously stuck on either eating or lewd things every waking moment?"
Helplessly, Bokue lightly flicks the forehead of the cat-eared girl whose brain contained nothing but food and flirting.
"Listen carefully. Something happened today at school. Koneko showed symptoms similar to yours and Rias's."
"Shirone had the same symptoms as me and that red-haired brat? What symptoms…?"
Kuroka is puzzled for a brief moment. But after a couple of seconds, she quickly realizes what he means, softly gasping in surprise.
"Wait—Shirone? Are you serious?"
"Pretty sure."
Recalling how the petite white-haired girl collapsed against him earlier, Bokue also finds himself somewhat puzzled.
Whether Rias and the others had noticed or not, in his eyes, there was no doubt that Koneko's reaction mirrored Kuroka's whenever she entered her "special state."
Initially, he hadn't understood why this occurred. But recently, after his intimate relationship with Rias, she had also displayed similar reactions during close interactions afterward. Thus, Bokue originally assumed it was something that occurred after intimate relations.
After all, even though he and Akeno shared considerable close interactions in the Underworld recently, Akeno hadn't shown similar symptoms.
Yet today, Koneko's reaction completely contradicted his earlier assumption.
"Hmm…"
Kuroka thoughtfully rubs her delicate chin for a moment before suddenly standing up from her seat, gently placing her hands on his shoulders as she rises and moves away from the table.
Confused, Bokue watches curiously.
Kuroka steps back two paces into the middle of the living room, stretching out a delicate hand from beneath her kimono's wide sleeves, palm open toward the ceiling.
Then, a sphere of concentrated, potent yōki materializes above her palm. The ball of energy hovers silently, radiating an incredibly terrifying aura despite its calm exterior.
"This is…"
Bokue raises an eyebrow, intrigued.
Usually, yokai in this world fall into two categories—physical types and spellcasters. Classic examples of physical yokai are Tsuchigumo and Aotabō.
(PS : Both those are characters from Nurarihyon no Mago)
Tsuchigumo, for instance, possess gigantic bodies as large as small hills. Their immense physical strength allows them to crush rocks and mountains effortlessly, though they hardly perform any spellcasting.
While Nekoshou, despite being the strongest subspecies among Nekomata, couldn't rival the raw physical prowess of top-tier physical yokai, they compensated by mastering various senjutsu spells.
For instance, during their recent trip to the Underworld, Kuroka used senjutsu to disguise herself as an ordinary cat and concealed her aura and scent, avoiding detection by Koneko.
And another example… is this very yokai energy orb she currently holds, powerful enough to obliterate an entire building easily.
Yokai orbs—common attacks for spellcasting yokai—vary greatly in strength, from punches matching heavyweight boxers to power sufficient for leveling Mountains.
However, even Bokue hadn't seen a yokai orb of Kuroka's current caliber before.
This was nearly on par with Legendary Great Yokai from myths.
After a brief silence, Bokue scratches his temple in confusion.
"When exactly did you become this powerful, Kuroka?"
"Nyaha~ Beats me, nya."
The catgirl pouts slightly, casually closing her fingers to extinguish the orb of yokai energy.
She genuinely didn't know. Ever since meeting Bokue, she'd hardly used her powers in real combat—because there simply wasn't any need.
Only recently, on a whim at home, had she casually tested herself, suddenly realizing her power had skyrocketed to that of legendary yokai.
"Honestly, I thought of many possibilities. But the most convincing reason I could come up with is… you, Bokue."
"Huh?"
Question marks appear in Bokue's head.
How had this suddenly become about him? He wasn't some GTA Online CEO, generating experience and money passively by simply standing next to his teammates.
"Geez, Bokue, haven't you figured it out yet?"
Seeing his confused expression, Kuroka sighs, steps back beside him, bends forward with hands on her knees, and softly kisses his lips.
"It's your body fluids, silly. Just like that game you played before, Fate or something? Mana transfer through… body fluid exchange. You understand now, nya?"
"…That's actually possible?"
Bokue's eyes widen in astonishment.
He had honestly never considered such a possibility. That whole "Mana Transfer via bodily fluids" thing always felt like some author's quirky excuse, forcibly giving characters a reason to engage in… intimate acts.
He never expected his own fluids to actually possess such power.
"Come on, silly Bokue. Don't you realize how rich the Spiritual Energy in your blood is?"
Kuroka returns to her original position, straddling Bokue comfortably, arms draped around his neck.
Bokue silently contemplates her words, realizing he'd never seriously looked into this. After all, since the age of seven, he'd rarely ever bled or sustained any injury. No one had ever been able to hurt him, and he never found himself bored enough to draw his blood for fun experiments.
"In short, what we've been calling 'getting heated up' or 'entering that special state' is actually our bodies instinctively preparing for a mana transfer. Our bodies are literally craving your powerful spiritual energy."
Kuroka straightens slightly, leaning toward Bokue's ear and gently nibbling at his earlobe.
"It's a bit like… a God and his priestess joining together, isn't it?"
"…Interesting theory. But how does that explain Koneko's situation?"
Bokue playfully pats her thigh.
"About Shirone~ I'm not really sure."
Her petite frame shivers slightly under his touch, and she starts speaking more bashfully.
"Could it be… you secretly showed Shirone the 'Elephant' during your lunch break at school, nya?"
"Of course not…"
Bokue rolls his eyes. Before he can suggest letting it go for now and focusing on dinner, the phone on the nearby table vibrates gently.
Ding~
Checking the message, Bokue sighs softly.
"Looks like this weekend is going to be busy again."
"Hmm? What's going on?"
"The Jujutsu Association previously scheduled a meeting with me regarding the handling of Sukuna's fingers. They suggested meeting during the Sister-School Goodwill Event between Tokyo and Kyoto, which happens to fall this weekend."
"Can you finish everything in one day on Saturday?"
"Not sure. Why?"
"Mana Transfer~~❤"
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~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
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