Chapter Text
"It's actually a name for a group of obligate hemiparasitic plants in the Viscaceae, typically Viscum album and others in genus Viscum, though the Phoradendrons of the Americas are also commonly referred to as mistletoe. They're small, woody evergreens with leathery leaves that grow by rooting into other plants and stealing their nutrients and water. They're toxic to mammals. In the Prose Edda the god Baldur was killed by Loki using mistletoe, the only thing on earth that hadn't sworn an oath to protect him, but it was used by the Romans both as a protective talisman and as a way to reach the underworld, and in England it's left up throughout the year as a protective charm. It's..."
Yukio stops mid-sentence. He's lecturing and this isn't his cram school classroom. This is his regular high school classroom, and he distractedly started on an anti-demon pharmaceuticals lecture without really being aware of what he was doing, and his classmate is listening with an expression that makes him think he absolutely should have paid more attention to her question before answering it.
"So, no." He says, with an awkward laugh. "I'm not interested in doing any uh, partnered research about mistletoe."