"He started small and actually grew. ...I think he grew, maybe principal Yaga just transferred his cores to new bigger bodies, I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference. And yes."

“Wow. Okay. He just. Made a person. I mean I guess humans make new people all of the time, just. You know what I mean.”

"Yeah. I think... he made Panda the regular way? I, I mean, not, uh," and here's the blush again, "I mean he didn't choose what Panda would turn out to be like, um, it was mostly, um, random and, and upbringing and all."

Akiho stifles a giggle. Help! He’s so cute! Adorable cinnamon roll who shuts down the minute he thinks about one topic in particular!

She will save him, but it’s still very cute.

“Right. It’d be creepy if he directly chose what sort of person Panda would be.”

Nodnodnod he's hiding behind the book reader again.

Cute. She spends a few seconds looking at this very cute spectacle before her, then decides that actually that’s kind of weird, so. She’ll go back to her phone now.

Is it weird if he enjoys it nope nope he was NOT spying and he did NOT notice her looking from the periphery of his vision and he did NOT get ANY fluttering feelings in his stomach about it he has no idea WHAT you're talking about.

Akiho has gone back to her phone, so she is completely unaware of all the feelings that are NOT happening over there. She’s still smiling, though.

No feelings whatsoever no sir.

Eventually, she gives a little yawn.

“Oh, hell. I should probably go get ready for bed. An eight AM meeting. For training. Are you sure Maki-senpai isn’t a sadist?”

"I never said that once in my life and today is not the day I'll say it."

Akiho gives an amused little snort.

“Fair enough, I suppose. I guess I was just hoping.” She sits up, stretching a little. “Good night, Inori-san. See you in the morning.”

"Sleep well, Akiho-chan."

Gosh, personal names.

"You too!"

And then away she goes.

And then the next morning, at 8 AM: it is time for training!

Panda and Inumaki are kind and patient teachers. Maki is... enthusiastic, and very competent at all things martial, and wants both of them to get better. Akiho gets a baton that is apparently close in shape, size, and weight to what her new fan will be like when it's done, and Inori has lots of weaponry options to experiment against, or with, if he decides that he wants to branch out from just punching things. There are a set of brass knuckles if he would like to resume punching things, though. Maki doesn't judge. Well, she does, but she doesn't judge by weapon choices, just skill and passion.

"Where do you store your weapons anyway?" he asks Maki.

"Oh, if I'm bringing more than a couple, I make Panda carry them. And these are the schools' weapons, all of mine are cursed and accordingly not good for training."

"I don't have a contract with a cursed spirit like he does," he sighs, frowning.

"Then there's not much either of us can do besides pick weapons that are easy to carry. Some people have a cursed technique that'll let them store weapons places, but it's the luck of the draw for that one."

"Salmon."

"Hmm." Fushiguro looks down at his shadow with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"You think you might be able to pull something off?"

"Maybe," he says, crouching down close to the ground and staring at it.

It should be doable. It should, right? The shadows are just an interface, a window his shikigami use to come through. They're not made of shadows, and they're not in the shadows. They're—elsewhere. And Fushiguro calls them here from that elsewhere but that's not really what his bloodline's cursed technique is, exactly, is it? Not all of it. It's the shadow interface. And he's not sure why he never thought of it before, but... he didn't. And it's not obvious that he can do it, not every iteration of people from his bloodline with his cursed technique can do it, but he could try...

He presses his palm against the ground.

And it slips through.

"...yes, I think I can."

"Lettuce," says Inumaki to Panda and Hayashi, pointing at Fushiguro.