I Sealed Sukuna’s Finger#419+420: Abe no Seimei Plans, You Managed to Clog the Bath Drain?

The moment Bokue Keikain's hand landed on the black-stocking-clad Hagoromo-Gitsune's leg, the air in the bedroom froze solid.

It was like playing Resident Evil 8 and encountering Lady Dimitrescu—novice players would panic and flee in terror, skilled players would calmly use the environment to their advantage.

But only meme-modding players had a completely different approach. They'd pull a flyswatter from their fourth-dimensional crotch pocket and smack it right on the Lady's massive rear.

It was... completely illogical, and precisely because of that, it was particularly trollish and shocking.

Even Yasaka, currently lying in the youth's arms—let alone Hagoromo-Gitsune—hadn't expected him to suddenly pull something like this.

"What... are you doing?"

The faint, mocking smile that had been playing at Hagoromo-Gitsune's lips completely vanished. She withdrew her expression, looking down coldly at the youth below—one arm holding her sister, the other still touching her leg. Icy killing intent gathered frantically in her pure black eyes.

"Nothing much, just checking if someone's tampered with your soul."

Bokue released his hand.

"But it seems Yasaka's guess was right. That Abe no Seimei placed deep control techniques on your soul, so deep they've continued functioning through a thousand years of reincarnations."

"Tampered? Control techniques?"

Though the sensation of fingers on her leg had gradually faded, the killing intent in Hagoromo-Gitsune's eyes hadn't diminished one bit.

"Seimei is my child. How could he possibly do something like that to me? And for mere Keikain bloodline to insult my child like this—I'll cut out your tongue—"

"Alright, alright, enough with the threats. You can't actually do it."

Bokue directly cut her off.

Then the youth did something even more audacious.

Bokue reached out again, but this time he didn't touch Hagoromo-Gitsune's thigh. Instead, he directly grasped her slightly cool hand beneath the sailor uniform sleeve.

Then pulled gently.

"What—?!"

Hagoromo-Gitsune instinctively startled.

The youth's pulling force wasn't strong, yet to her it felt completely irresistible. Her balance broke easily, her entire body toppling toward the youth's embrace, caught by the shoulders and pulled in.

Then Bokue's arm wrapped around Hagoromo-Gitsune's neck from behind, his hand threading through her smooth black hair, fingertips gently scratching the nearly translucent pale cheek of the black-stocking girl in his arms.

"Mmm~ Much more obedient-looking this way."

"You—!"

As the former lord of demons who once ruled all of Kansai's yokai world from Kyoto, such humiliating treatment completely ignited Hagoromo-Gitsune's fury.

"Filthy Keikain bloodline, don't push me too far!!!"

BOOM!

The peak great yokai's aura exploded at full force. Nine white fox tails emerged from beneath Hagoromo-Gitsune's skirt, instantly occupying half the room's space.

She condensed yokai power to control her tails. Under the surge of tremendous yokai energy, the seemingly soft fox tails instantly hardened into spear-like weapons, driving straight toward the youth's heart from behind.

Four hundred years ago, she'd used this exact move while severely wounded and nearly depleted of yokai power to pierce straight through the heart of the Nura clan's general, Nurarihyon. Now, facing a mere onmyoji was like using a cannon to swat a mosquito.

After all, onmyoji derived most of their combat power from shikigami and onmyoji techniques. Shikigami required holding talismans and chanting to command, as did onmyoji techniques.

But Bokue currently had his left arm around her and his right arm around her sister Yasaka—there was no way he could pull out talismans for defense.

"Die—!"

Before she could finish the word, those spear-sharp fox tails were about to pierce the youth's body.

But just then, Bokue suddenly changed his movements.

He stopped playing with Hagoromo-Gitsune's cheek, instead moving his hand directly under her chin, gently scratching with fingertips lightly infused with spiritual power.

Like... petting a cat.

"Guh!"

As if her fate's scruff had been grabbed, Hagoromo-Gitsune's body instantly tensed. An ambiguous flush appeared on her nearly translucent pale face, and her tails stopped as well, quickly returning to their soft state, dropping and spreading across the floor.

On the other side, Yasaka—who'd been preparing to intervene—couldn't help but pause slightly at this sight.

"Bokue, what... what did you do?"

"Nothing really, just petting a cat... oh wait, petting a fox."

Bokue shifted slightly to the side so the golden-haired beauty on his right could see his actions clearly.

"Y-you're talking nonsense..."

Hagoromo-Gitsune gritted her teeth, struggling not to make strange sounds, difficultly turning her head bit by bit to glare at the youth holding her.

"What exactly... did you do to me? Hurry up and... let... go... of... your... hand..."

As if the strange sensation grew increasingly intense, toward the end she had to pause after each word to prevent losing control of her voice.

"I refuse."

Bokue's refusal was completely justified.

But he wasn't just teasing Hagoromo-Gitsune. Like when he'd touched her black-stocking-clad legs earlier, Bokue was still exploring the onmyoji technique carved into Hagoromo-Gitsune's soul.

"This technique... hmm, pretty creative actually, but this strength won't work. The ancestor of onmyoji from a thousand years ago being this weak is pretty pathetic. And how could something this weak last a thousand years... oh~ I see..."

After maybe ten seconds, when Bokue released his hand, understanding had appeared in his eyes.

"So that's how it is. I thought it would be more complicated."

"How is it, Bokue? Do you have a solution?"

The moment he finished speaking, Yasaka asked urgently from his right.

After all, in her eyes, her sister was still under someone's control. If possible, she naturally wanted to remove the technique controlling her sister's soul as soon as possible.

"There's a solution. If I wanted, I could destroy that Abe no Seimei's spawn point right now, though there might be lingering problems."

Bokue shrugged.

Yasaka blinked. "Lingering problems?"

"Right. That Abe no Seimei seems to be permanently residing in the underworld now. He watches for each reincarnation opportunity to re-brand the technique onto Hagoromo-Gitsune's soul. That's the only way his technique could keep functioning for these thousand years."

"So for now, the best approach is still letting Abe no Seimei win his resurrection match first, then leave the rest to me for a permanent solution."

Permanent solution...

Yasaka mentally chewed over those four words.

So they still had to let Abe no Seimei resurrect first, then completely destroy him body and soul?

Meanwhile, Bokue had already turned to the flushed, panting black-stocking Hagoromo-Gitsune on his other side.

"In short, I support you helping your 'son' win his resurrection match. If you need to reclaim the power sealed four hundred years ago, those seals are currently in the Keikain branch families' shrines. You still remember the locations, right? Or do you need me to draw you a map?"

"..."

Completely unprepared for the youth's sudden one-hundred-eighty-degree attitude change, Hagoromo-Gitsune fell into brief silence.

"The Keikain branch families' shrines... you realize once I go there, none of your Keikain branch families will survive?"

"I don't care. They never got along with me anyway."

Bokue shrugged.

Now Hagoromo-Gitsune had nothing to say.

After another two or three seconds, she snorted coldly and stood up abruptly. After straightening her clothes, she strode away quickly.

And on the tatami mat where she'd been sitting, a small puddle of glistening liquid remained, giving off subtle warmth.

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

Under the same starry sky—far away in Tokyo.

Inside a dimly lit kendo dojo, the low hum of a phone’s vibration shattered the silence. Seated in the middle of the polished floor, Busujima Saeko, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, slowly opened them.

Reaching down, she felt for the phone beside her, unlocked it, and glanced at the message on-screen. Her brows furrowed slightly as she murmured aloud.

“Kuoh Academy and Saikai Academy on Itogami Island are merging? Starting next semester, we’ll have to attend classes on Itogami? And we’re supposed to first report to Kyoto before taking a ship there?”

A sigh escaped her lips. “Seriously... why make it so complicated?”

Shaking her head, she straightened up, slipped the phone into her palm, and walked toward the exit.

“Whatever. I’ll head to Kyoto tomorrow.”

❁❁❁❁

By the time Bokue returned to Itogami Island, it was already past nine in the evening.

At the top of the Keystone Gate, the old academy building was filled with laughter and rising steam.

The girls had gathered once again for their nightly bath.

And this time, it wasn’t just Rias, Akeno, and Koneko soaking in the large square bath—even Kuroka had been dragged in to join them.

The walls were lined with pale wooden panels, the air thick with steam. Rias, as usual, occupied the center spot against the far end of the bath, her arms resting lazily along the edge while the surface of the water rose around her like a halo of mist.

Without a towel to hide behind—because everyone here was a girl—she sat comfortably, her legs crossed beneath the water, the proud curves of her body glinting faintly in the light.

Around her were Akeno, Naruse Mio, and Kuroka herself—each in varying states of ease. A few others, like Koneko, Maria, and Asia, looked smaller by comparison... a cruel story of genetics and cup sizes.

In theory, so many girls bathing together should’ve made for a cheerful, noisy atmosphere.

Instead, the entire room was dead silent.

The tension in the air was thick enough to cut. It was the kind of quiet that usually came right before a volcanic eruption.

Akeno, smiling faintly as always, didn’t seem to mind.

Kuroka, eyes closed, leaned back against the wall, perfectly calm, even as Rias’s crimson gaze bored straight into her.

Rias was the first to speak, her voice slicing through the silence.

“Hey, Kuroka. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you since this morning.”

Kuroka’s golden eyes flicked open, one brow rising lazily. “Oh? You could’ve just asked, nya~. I’m not stopping you.”

“Then I’ll ask.”

Rias’s voice dropped a degree colder. “Did you... and Bokue... do something in here last night after we finished bathing?”

Kuroka blinked. “Hmm? Oh, that? Probably, yeah.”

She twirled a strand of her long black hair around her finger, her tone completely casual. “To be honest, I don’t really remember. I might’ve fallen asleep midway. When I woke up this morning, everything after that was kinda fuzzy.”

“......”

“......”

You’ve got to be kidding me!

Forgot how you fell asleep? Rias almost snapped her own fan in half.

That was as good as a confession!

She took a sharp breath. “If your memory’s that fuzzy, then let me remind you. You two drained the bath last night—or at least you tried to. Because this morning, the entire drainage system was completely clogged!”

“Eh~? Really?” Kuroka replied without a shred of surprise. Twirling her hair again, she hummed innocently. “Then I guess my Bokue really outdid himself, huh? So powerful he managed to clog a whole drain.”

“I’m not asking how strong he is!” Rias’s voice rose an octave. “I’m asking why you didn’t call us!”

It wasn’t just the “crime” of stealing Bokue for herself—it was the arrogance afterwards that burned even more.

Even Koneko, normally neutral when it came to sisterly squabbles, finally muttered in a low voice. “Big Sis... hogging all the fun alone... not good.”

“W-Well...” Kuroka scratched her cheek, ears twitching nervously. She could ignore Rias all she wanted, but her little sister? That was another story.

“Fine, fine. I’ll explain.” She sighed dramatically. “It was already super late when Bokue came back. You guys had already bathed, the lights were off, and you were probably asleep. I didn’t want to wake anyone up.”

She shrugged innocently. “Besides, would you really get up in the middle of the night just because someone asked you to come ‘do that’?”

Every word was technically true.

“......”

Still, that didn’t calm Rias down. Not even a little.

Everyone here knew exactly what Kuroka was really thinking. The “we didn’t want to disturb you” excuse? Please.

She just wanted a private session all to herself!!!

Before the tension could boil over again, a faint golden glow flared inside the steamy bathhouse. The next second, Bokue appeared right there, fully clothed, his sudden arrival breaking the standoff.

“Ah! Bokue~ you’re back!” Kuroka’s expression flipped instantly. In a blink, her calm, bored face was replaced with a radiant grin. Her cat ears perked up, and both tails lifted gleefully, swaying in the air like twin flags.

“Where were you, nya~? You said you were just walking your sister home!”

“I was,” Bokue said, scratching his neck. “Something came up. I’ll tell you all in a bit.”

He looked around, noticing the strange tension hanging in the steamy air. “...So, uh, what exactly did I walk in on?”

Kuroka raised a hand and pointed lazily. “Oh, nothing major. Rias is just mad that you clogged the bath drain last night, that’s all.”

“Ah. Right.” Bokue’s mouth twitched.

Before he could even attempt damage control, Rias stood up, her tone sharp but composed. “Forget it. Since you’re back, we’ll let that slide for now. But tell me this, Bokue—why did you move Itogami Island right next to Kyoto?!”

“When we came back from the Underworld this afternoon, our teleport circle dropped us straight at the academy like always, but my GPS still showed Kyoto! For a second I thought we’d landed in the wrong place!”

“That,” Bokue said calmly, “is actually what I came here to explain.”

He unbuttoned his collar and sighed. “But give me a second. I’m going to take off these clothes first.”

Kuroka immediately raised a paw. “Then hurry, nya~! I’m first!”

Rias’s hand shot up instantly, pushing her down by the shoulder. “Don’t even think about it! You already had your turn last night!”

“Ara~.” Akeno smiled sweetly, touching her cheek. “If we’re going by seniority, I should be the one to go first, don’t you think?”

“Huh?! Akeno, you too?!”

The redhead’s temper flared, and soon the bathhouse turned into a full-on shouting match.

“No way, I’m first!”

“Not happening!”

“You already had him!”

“Shut up!”

The walls rattled with their voices, echoing all the way down the old academy halls.