Shun refused without hesitation. "Yeah, no. Let's not."
Kissing a cursed spirit? Even if Shun could ignore almost every kind of curse, he still did not dare test that so casually.
Wait.
Had he not already been kissed once before?
It was just that the kiss happened through another, completely ordinary person, Kurumi.
So it should... be fine, right?
Still, Shun felt like he needed to thoroughly check his body later.
"What a shame."
Kurumi said it with genuine regret, as if she truly found it unfortunate.
"It's getting late. A lady should go to sleep now. Good night, Shun."
As she spoke, a vast patch of shadow bloomed beneath her feet as well.
Her expression practically screamed: You really are a buzzkill.
Shun did not stop her. Or rather, he could not. His attention was entirely fixed on the shadow under her.
What was inside it?
Were her clones stored in there?
Or was her true body hidden inside?
Was the space created by the shadow an extension of her technique?
...
Questions flooded Shun's mind all at once.
At the same time, he rapidly began assembling possibilities, one after another, like a puzzle being forced into shape.
The system performed a forced recording.
But because the move had not been displayed completely...
Noticing Shun's intense focus, Kurumi only smiled, refusing to explain a single thing.
She even displayed it openly, as if inviting him to look as much as he wanted.
Just as she was about to vanish completely, the girl spoke again, her voice light and teasing.
"If you want it, you can just come and take it."
After that, Kurumi disappeared entirely.
Only lingering cursed energy remained in the space, thin and faint, like the aftertaste of something dangerous.
Shun stood on the high platform, sweeping his gaze across the surroundings.
Other than him, there truly was no one left. No people, no cursed spirits.
"I hate people who talk in riddles."
Shun could not understand what Kurumi meant by that last sentence.
If he wanted it, he could just go and take it?
Take what?
How was he supposed to take it?
By sacrificing his looks and begging her for it?
Shun shook his head, pushing the absurd thought away.
The secrets on that cursed spirit only kept piling up.
And then there was that girl who shared the same name as Nightmare.
What kind of relationship did those two have?
And why did Nightmare act like she knew him so well?
Shun did not believe he was some anime protagonist who had conveniently lost a chunk of childhood memories.
As a jujutsu sorcerer, he understood his body too clearly.
Something like that could not happen.
His memories had no gaps at all.
Not a single break.
"So it's because of her technique, then?"
Shun rubbed his jaw, settling on that guess.
"Then what's her objective?"
Right now, the information he could obtain was still far too little.
But there was no rush.
He had not even been here for a full day. There would be plenty of chances later to investigate everything.
Besides, the "ordinary" Kurumi was still by his side.
He had a feeling that she was the key.
The breakthrough point that would crack all of this open.
"wee-oo, wee-oo…"
At that moment, the alarm began to ring.
"The police are, as always, a few minutes late."
Shun shook his head, then cast one last glance at the battlefield.
Cratered ground. Scorched marks. Buildings half-collapsed. And the earlier explosion, loud enough to shake the night.
The police of Sendai City would probably assume there had been some kind of terrorist attack here.
"I'm out."
What came next was not his problem. Shun expanded his technique and vanished at high speed.
When the police arrived, there was nothing.
No clues. No suspects. No trace of anything living.
...
Apartment.
After returning, Shun opened the door to his room.
The moment he stepped inside, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
Kurumi was sitting on the bed in a duck-sit, hair hanging loose and messy. A blanket covered her, and she stared at him without blinking.
Those crimson eyes, lit by faint moonlight, made his chest tighten with instinctive unease.
If there had been any cursed energy reaction on her at all, Shun would have thought the cursed spirit Kurumi had possessed her again.
For some reason, he suddenly felt guilty.
"Uh... you're awake."
Shun forced a laugh, trying to sound casual. "I saw you were asleep, so I thought I'd go buy something to eat. I didn't expect that when I came back..."
"Gojo San."
Kurumi's tone was flat. Too flat.
So calm it was terrifying.
"You're not very good at lying."
Shun scratched his cheek, letting out a helpless sigh. "Alright. I went to the explosion site just now."
"Mm."
Kurumi nodded.
"I understand. That's why you came here in the first place, isn't it?"
Her voice still carried almost no emotion.
Shun's head started to ache.
Should he just go out and find somewhere else to stay now?
And why did she wake up so fast?!
This girl really was not ordinary, was she?!
Kurumi extended her hand toward him.
Under the moonlight, her arm looked pale and luminous, like polished jade.
"Can you come here for a moment?"
"Uh... okay."
Shun hesitated, then nodded, walking toward her slowly.
When he reached her, he finally noticed faint tear tracks on her face.
She was probably... frightened.
Shun's heart sank.
This felt bad.
"Pff!"
The girl suddenly threw both arms around him, gripping his waist tightly.
It's over...
Shun's face turned into a resigned, "Of course this is what happens" expression.