"You did a great job, Megumi-kun. So impressive."
"You think so...?"
"Exterminating a cursed spirit in your first solo battle. And without a single scratch, no less. Like Naoya said, it's an excellent start."
"I guess so!"
"Hey, Naoya. What are you going to do with this kid?"
"Well, she seems to be able to see cursed spirits..."
"You are not allowed to take her in, Naoya!"
"What's wrong? Mai-chan, you're suddenly snapping at me."
"She's a woman in her own right, isn't she? Your precious little fiancée."
"I'm really not into kids, I'm telling you, it's impossible... besides, I've had my eyes on no one but Megumi-kun since I saw this girl."
"...Is Megumi starting to take after me?"
"Toji-kun, you've always been popular with the ladies."
"If she's Megumi's girlfriend, does that make her my sister!?"
"Tsumiki, don't be stupid."
"Don't call me stupid, Megumi!"
Such was the conversation exchanged by the Fushiguro family party. Following the incident last month where the group 'Q' attacked the Jujutsu High—an event that led to Megumi Fushiguro being designated 'Special Grade' alongside Suguru Geto—Megumi had faced his first solo curse extermination on this very day.
Well, while Geto was a Special Grade Sorcerer, Megumi was technically a 'Special Special Grade Sorcerer.' Since he hadn't actually enrolled in Jujutsu High yet, he wasn't officially receiving missions; he was provisionally treated as a sorcerer belonging to the Zen'in clan, meaning this particular matter wasn't actually a formal Jujutsu High mission.
The target they had exterminated this time was a Grade 2 cursed spirit that had been gathering orphans and putting on a pretense of caring for them. It was a bizarre curse with unclear motives, likely born from the grief of children who had lost their parents.
Naturally, a cursed spirit cannot raise a human. The orphans, fed what amounted to literal garbage, were in terrible condition. The non-sorcerers in critical condition were quickly whisked away in an auxiliary director's car to a general hospital under the school's influence. Only one girl, whose body was sturdier than an average person's because she possessed 'cursed energy,' remained with the Fushiguro family as they headed toward Jujutsu High.
Admittedly, her smell, cleanliness, and clothing were in a rough state, so the car driven by Toji was currently aiming for a public bathhouse and a 'Shimamura' clothing store.
"Megumi-kun, aftercare is also part of a sorcerer's etiquette. Listen to what she has to say and tell me about it later, okay?"
Naoya's true intention in pushing the girl's care onto Megumi was: 'Dealing with Mai-chan is a pain in the ass enough as it is, there's no way I'm looking after another brat, you idiot.' However, thanks to his Binding Vow, his words remained mild and proper as usual, and Megumi didn't seem to find anything odd about the request.
"...Understood, Brother Naoya. ...Hey, you. What's your name?"
"..."
"I see. ...I'm Megumi Fushiguro. ...Are you hungry?"
"...Yeah."
"Oh, that's vital intel, Megumi. Naoya, let's get food at the bathhouse!"
"Don't you just want to eat, Maki-chan? Well, I don't mind grabbing a meal."
"Nice. A man is supposed to treat his fiancée to dinner, right?"
"Where did you get that information from?"
"I saw it on TV with Shoko. Right, Mai? Tsumiki?"
"Yeah. They had it on TV."
"It was some Korean... thing..."
"That's a drama. Be careful not to take those literally or you'll struggle when you get married, okay?"
"? We're marrying Naoya, so we won't have any problems."
"...Don't tell me, an affair...?"
"Mai-chan, you really need to fix that habit of jumping to nasty conclusions. Seriously."
The Zen'in group, including Naoya, engaged in bickering that sounded almost like lovers' quarrels, while Hana Kurusu let out a faint smile at their comedy-routine-like interactions.
Once their work was done, they bought clothes for Hana at Shimamura and then successfully refreshed both body and soul at the public bathhouse before finally returning to Jujutsu High.
---
"But man, Japan really is full of ghosts."
'Be careful, Yuji. The cursed spirits in the city during the day are basically weaklings, but they are still monsters.'
"Yeah. I got it, Brother Choso. ...But even if I couldn't see them, they've been here all along, right? It's a little scary now that I think about it..."
'There is no need to be so frightened, Yuji, though you mustn't let your guard down. We are with you. As Brother said, the cursed spirits around here are fundamentally weak.'
"Is that so...?"
'I bet the current Yuji could beat them easily! Right, Brother?'
'Now, Kechizu. I also think Yuji's talent would make it easy, but don't encourage him to do anything dangerous. Yuji is still a local kindergartener. Unlike us, he is completely human.'
'Fine. But you know, if he's finally able to use cursed energy, it's only natural for a boy to want to try it out!'
"True, I might want to try using it a little..."
'Handling cursed energy requires practice, Yuji.'
'Yuji, Nuran is right. I will teach you how to use it in your dreams tonight, so can you be patient for now?'
"Okay!"
'Yuji, good boy, good boy.'
"Hehe, you think so, Brother Osho?"
A young boy stood there, engaging in bits of conversation. To a normal person, he looked like he was just mumbling to himself in a small voice, but fortunately, this was a preschool classroom. Since he was whispering with a picture book in hand, the teachers only thought, "I guess Yuji-kun has really taken a liking to picture books lately."
It had been about two weeks since Yuji's encounter and fusion with the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings. Having spent every day together and meeting in his dreams every night, the highly social Yuji Itadori had completely accepted the existence of his mysterious brothers and was spending his peaceful daily life with his eccentric siblings.
Meanwhile, back at the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, where the Death Paintings had once been sealed—
"Theft of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, huh... Is that 'Q' bunch planning on making another one of those brats they threw at us at the end?"
"The monster that regenerates infinitely and gave Satoru and the others a hard time... Sensei, did you find any trace of 'Q'?"
"No... based on info provided by Special Grade Tsukumo and Mei, we found a few abandoned bases, but their current whereabouts are unknown."
"Eh~ if even Mei-san can't find them, maybe they fled the country?"
"Well, what Shoko suggests is entirely possible, but we can't afford not to be on alert or stop the search. It's a headache for the school. ...However, I have another important matter to discuss with you all besides 'Q'."
Masamichi Yaga paused, cleared his throat, and announced the business to the second-year trio of Gojo and the others.
"The time for the Goodwill Event is approaching again this year."
"Wait. Are we doing it? Even though the school building got blown up?"
"It's hosted by the Kyoto sister school this time. However... regarding this, Kyoto has sent a plea for help."
"A plea?"
"Yes. A naturally logical argument that there is no way the Kyoto school, whose upper limit is Grade 1, can win against a Tokyo school that boasts three Special Grades."
"That's hilarious. Do they say that to cursed spirits too?"
"No, it's not like that. They argued: 'Is there any training value for the Kyoto students if they are simply slaughtered unilaterally at speeds they cannot even perceive?' Both principals have reached the consensus that 'Well, that's a fair point.'"
"...Well, I guess between Gojo's warping, Geto's domains, and Naoya's supersonic speed, it does feel like we'd just insta-kill them."
"Therefore, this time, the Goodwill Event will be held in a manner more fitting of a 'Technical College'."
"You're acting all mysterious. What do you mean by 'fitting'?"
"The Jujutsu High East-West Contest! Each school will create a shikigami from scratch for this event, and the winner will be decided by a serious showdown between those shikigami! This will have the educational effect of teaching you to work diligently and steadily, so I have high expectations!"
"Let's just put a cardboard box on one of Geto's curses."
"We should write GUNDAM on the chest."
"Then we have to draw Naoya's face on the box we put on its head."
"Naturally, such cheating—or rather, the direct use of innate techniques—is prohibited this time. Do this seriously."
"WHAT!?"
As their cries echoed through the new school building, the trio continued to complain to Yaga. Having fully returned to their daily lives after the fierce battles of the past, they were enjoying their status as students to the fullest.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]