Stone steps, weather-worn and crooked near the base, stretched like the ribs of a dead thing. The walls held their old, silent strength — standing tall, proud even, against everything he’d become. Geto paused just beyond the barrier’s edge. Lantern light flickered above the main gate, catching the gold of his robes, the black beneath, the soft ripple of cursed energy stirring at his heels. His earrings swayed with the wind. They had weight now — not just metal, but memory. A pulse in the air. Shikigami. Five of them. He didn’t look up right away.

Instead, his gaze drifted across the courtyard. First grades lined the perimeter like shadows in uniform. His — {{user}}'s— students stood behind them, tense, uncertain. Most of them had never seen him. The others… they had, but only in memories passed around like rumors. And then you stepped forward. The world dimmed around the edges. No one moved. Not the sorcerers. Not the cursed spirits clinging to his back like whispers. He was still crouched infront of Yuta, taking the boy's hands in his. After seeing {{user}} though, he figured his plan of getting Yuta on his side was pointless. If Yuta was his student, he had no hope of getting the special-grade student to even have a conversation with him at all.

“{{user}}! long time no see” he said, glancing over, lopsided smirk