DISCLAIMER:
I do NOT own the Oregairu and Jujutsu Kaisen series as they are respectfully owned by the creators and studios.
July 4:15 AM. The morning after the haunted middle school incident.
"No! We will not accept your terms this time!" An old man shouted angrily behind a door that stood on its own. In a dimly lit room, several men sat behind standing doors and were gathered in a circle. In the center was a man with white hair wearing a black long-sleeve T-shirt, white pants, and black sneakers with blue-colored design. He also sported dark sunglasses.
"Eeeeh~? Why not~?" The man asked in a playful voice. "This isn't anything different from the last two students I took in. One more weird and adorable student enrolling here wouldn't hurt~."
"Of course there's a difference! All of them are different!" Another old man shouted. "And this boy turned the entire prefecture into a hotspot of curses! That deserves immediate execution!"
"Now, now. We don't know that," The man with the dark sunglasses said while shrugging his shoulders. "What would happen if we did kill him, but then cursed spirits aren't declining in Chiba? I'm sure even deep in your old decaying hearts, you would feel guilty for killing an innocent boy and nothing happened. You guys need to think more with old brain cells that are still working~!"
"Damn brat!"
"Gojo Satoru," An old man with a deeper voice called his name and spoke calmly. "For years, we've tolerated your opposing decisions because of the merits you gave from the beginning of your birth. We accepted Okkotsu Yuta to Jujutsu Tech because of his ability as a special-grade sorcerer and that he is a very distant relative of yours. But, we cannot ignore the possibility of him turning against us. The same goes for Sukuna's vessel. We only let him live to aid us in collecting the remaining fingers, and once he ate all the fingers, his execution will be inevitable. But before that could happen, Sukuna might cause chaos. And then there is the boy-"
"Who we still know nothing about and you're all just paranoid in borrowed time."
"The boy who possesses tremendous cursed energy yet leaks as if he is only a normal human. Something like that is unheard of. How come you have never encountered him before? With your prowess and Six Eyes, he should be easy to discover."
"Like I said, I don't know. We ALL don't know what's the deal with that kid," The man named Satoru said and then yawned. "It's so early in the morning, and you guys just gathered here and called me at this time. You geezers need some sleep, or do you guys like, need hearing aids or something?"
"What is the boy's name again? Hikigaya Hachiman?" Another old man spoke with a carefree attitude. "This could be the work of his cursed technique. There are too many uncertainties revolving around that boy. The longer he lives, more and more cursed spirits will appear. And so-"
"And so, your solution is execution and blah blah blah~," Satoru finished the sentence for him while mocking them. "You guys must've watched too many medieval movies, haven't you? Execution this, execution that, can you think of something else for once?"
"Gojo, we are doing this to free the prefecture from curses." The old man with the deep voice spoke. "As much as we respected Okkotsu and Sukuna's vessel for their usefulness-"
"Now, I'm pressing X to doubt on that one. (1)" Satoru said with a deadpan expression.
"We cannot allow another anomaly joining us."
"You guys really haven't learned from Yuta-kun's case, huh?" Satoru pointed his thumb at himself. "I'm a curious guy, alright? You can compare me to a mad scientist who likes Dr. Pepper drink except I don't have a chuunibyou and delusional tendencies like him (2). I won't make rash decisions when I know nothing. I refuse. Just wait and see you old geezers. Maybe seeing more of my teaching skills will make you reconsider your parenting choices."
"Gojo!" The old man shouted as the strongest sorcerer exited the room, leaving the elders full of anger and irritation.
"This has gone long enough."
"Gojo must learn even someone such as he has no control over everything."
"Our top priority now is executing his three 'special students'. All the downsides outweighs the benefits that he spoke of."
"Okkotsu Yuta is out of the question. He is more useful than the other two. And Hikigaya Hachiman will be out of our reach once he sets him free."
"What do you mean 'out of the question'. Okkotsu must be killed as well."
"We must start with Sukuna's vessel, Itadori Yuji. The easiest out of the trio."
The Unseen World Of Curses Part 2
Training
5:00 AM
"Aaaaand, that's how it happened~!" Satoru said with a playful grin. His attire changed to an all-black high-necked jacket with matching pants, dark dress boots, and his eyes covered with a black blindfold. He was sitting on a chair in an isolation chamber with walls entirely covered in talismans. In front of him was the dead fish-eyed teenager who had his hands tied in the back of the chair and only wore a white T-shirt and shorts.
"Uh, I need more details than just that..." Hachiman said with a weary expression.
"What part you don't understand?"
"The only thing you said in your explanation is that: You're arguing with elders; made an anime and a... meme reference?; Mocking the elders; and talked about my execution... There's a lot of missing context for me to understand my situation."
"Hmmm~... So, what do you wanna know?"
"Pretty much everything like... where am I? And why am I here all tied up and all?" Hachiman asked while looking around.
"You're in an isolation chamber that holds special people like you who are sentenced for execution. You're in the secret organization called the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College. Jujutsu Tech for short."
"Tokyo? I'm in Tokyo?"
"Yup! And the reason you're here is that you're under the suspicion of being the source of curses popping up in Chiba."
"Curses? I don't know anything about curses. I have nothing to do with them."
"Really? You didn't see at least one cursed spirit?"
"Is that what you call them? The first time I saw them was... a week ago? Wait, how long was I out?"
"Oh, not really long. About five hours, I think. It's surprising how quickly you woke up from such injuries."
"Oh yeah, I feel... fine. I swore that monster broke a rib or two." Hachiman said while looking down at his own body.
"Our doctor is that good at healing, or maybe..." Satoru stood up and approached him while smiling. He leaned forward to close the distance of their faces by mere inches. "You're not human at all?"
"First, get off. You're too close. Second, I don't know what you're talking about." Hachiman denied Satoru's claim while moving his face away. "Just tell me what these 'curses' are."
"Heheheh," Satoru chuckled and went back in his seat. "Fine, let's start with me and others. We are Jujutsu sorcerers, professionals that deal with exorcising curses. And this here is our main base."
"So, you're an exorcist?"
"Mhm!"
"You said 'jujutsu'. I get the feeling you're not referring to the Japanese martial arts."
"Heh! You're pretty smart. Yeah, when we say jujutsu, we're talking about the spells and skills sorcerers can use through the manipulation of our own cursed energy. Now listen carefully, because this part is explains why you're labelled as an anomaly. Cursed energy is a supernatural energy born from negative emotions like grief and anger. These negative feelings are common in human society, so everyone possesses cursed energy. If a person's cursed energy is high enough, it grants that person the ability to see curses, which is very rare."
"Negative emotions, huh?" Hachiman said and sighed. "Are you implying that I have strong cursed energy?"
"Ding! Ding! Ding! That's right!"
"So what's my cursed energy got to do with those monsters appearing?"
"... You know, you are weirdly calm about this. Most people would freak out and wouldn't listen to anything."
"That won't help me at all. And let me correct you one thing: I am not calm. If you can use cursed energy to read minds, then you know I am screaming in my head."
"Hahaha! Sorry, I don't have that kind of power," Satoru said while waving his hand nonchalantly. He noticed how much Hachiman was sweating, even though the room wasn't as hot as outside. "He really is scared, and yet he talks so calmly. Not to mention, his cursed energy is leaking out more and more. Heh, interesting."
"So what's wrong with my cursed energy?" Hachiman asked again.
"The monster you encountered last night is called a cursed spirit or a curse. Curses are apparitions manifested entirely from cursed energy. Even their bodies are composed of cursed energy, making them invisible to non-sorcerers, humans with little cursed energy."
"So, I'm the main cause of unintentionally creating them because of my cursed energy?"
"Yes and no. Yes, you are sort of the primary suspect. No, you're not the only one contributing to the increase of curse activity. Curses are created when cursed energy leaks from humans because of their human emotion. Cursed energy builds up like sediment until a cursed spirit takes form."
"So, basically, while everyone, including me, is going about their day walking around in our ordinary lives, we are littering cursed energy everywhere?"
"That's right, but curses don't appear just everywhere. Populated locations such as schools and hospitals are common places for bearing curses because many negative emotions are associated with memories of those places. We can say the same for humanity's collective fear and hatred. An image of fear shared by the masses can create a powerful curse, even if it's not real."
"Like, if they heard rumors about a monster lurking at night and a lot of people believed and become scared of that, the monster will eventually exist because of the cursed energy gathered from those people. Does that sound right?"
"Really quick to understand. I like that!" Satoru complimented with a thumbs-up.
"So, curses can either be born from the negative emotions within a pile of memories, or towards images of fear like monsters from folklore." Hachiman said while staring up at the ceiling.
"Uhuh."
"Wait, you said everyone has cursed energy, then that means you jujutsu sorcerers have one too. Wouldn't that mean you guys are also to blame for this?"
"Nope! Our cursed energy flows differently from non-sorcerers!"
"Figures." Hachiman sighed.
"Unlike non-sorcerers, we are trained to control our cursed energy. We jujutsu sorcerers have our cursed energy to flow from the inside than letting it leak out of our bodies."
"Why didn't you make the school public then? If you guys have the methods to control cursed energy, then teaching that to everyone would put an end to curses."
"Didn't I said it's rare to find a person with high enough cursed energy to see curses?"
"Yeah. Are you saying that only that kind of person can learn to control cursed energy?"
"Yup! That's the minimum requirement in becoming a jujutsu sorcerer. Now then, here is where we find YOU a weird one," Satoru's tone shifted into a serious one. He smiled at Hachiman, who gulped from being nervous. "Most non-sorcerers only have such small amounts of cursed energy in him. Not enough to see curses. but there are some rare occasions that a person will see one when their life is in danger. That is probably because their negative emotion is at their peak. But you... Whenever you feel scared, annoyed, or whatever negative emotions you're feeling, your cursed energy is raised to such an insane degree, it's as if those emotions are always at their peak. Why is that?"
"I... don't know." Hachiman answered with his calm facade falling apart.
"You really don't know? Or are you pulling my leg here?" Satoru asked with the seriousness of his voice piercing the boy's soul.
"I really don't." Hachiman answered again while giving all his strength to remain calm.
"Okay, I believe you, for now," Satoru said with his playful demeanor returned as he stood up and undid the restraints on Hachiman. "Let's get to work."
"What? Wait, that's it? Just like that?" Hachiman asked in bewilderment as he felt he could move his hands freely.
"Yup! We seriously don't know about you, so we sent an investigation team to look at your background, school, just anything really to get a hint about what you are. So until then, I'm gonna teach you how to control your cursed energy."
"R-Really?" Hachiman looked with a gleam in his eyes at the blindfolded sorcerer, but immediately realized something and so he glared. "What's the catch?"
"Heheh," Satoru laughed, leaned closer to his face once again, and pointed a finger at him. "The catch is you'll join us and become a jujutsu sorcerer."
"... WHAT?!" Hachiman shouted while standing up. "Are you telling me to work under you and kill those... things?!"
"Yeah, pretty much." Satoru answered without hesitation and in a carefree tone. "But if you don't want to, it's fiiinnee~! You can go back to your home and act like nothing happened except your leaking cursed energy will get you AND those close to you into trouble. Your choice, not mine."
"... Can I still see my friends?"
"Of course. But, you won't go back to your normal life. You'll be staying and studying here in Jujutsu Tech, and see all kinds of hell. What's your choice?" Satoru asked, and he made Hachiman thought about his options.
"The first option sounds... acceptable, and yet he said I won't go back to my normal life. If I stay here, there will be less time for me to be with them. No, it's much more than that. I... don't want that, especially when I just feel like my world started spinning again. But, if I don't accept his offer, my cursed energy will make things worse. Hahah, it's really funny. After everyone kept telling me about not hurting myself and said I should value myself more, this shit just came out of nowhere. I'm like a walking disaster by throwing wastes to damage the environment. Oh, no. I'm depreciating myself again... My mind's going back to its twisted self."
"You alright?" Satoru asked as he watched him sat back in his seat.
"I'm fine. Let me think," He answered while clutching his own head with both hands and slouched. After having a few seconds of thinking in tranquility, he took a deep breath and raised his head to face the blindfolded sorcerer. "I want you to teach me."
"I'm sensing a 'but' coming." Satoru said with a frown.
"... But I'm not going to become a jujutsu sorcerer."
"Eeeeh? Why not? You can do a lot of cool things like an anime protagonist. Don't you want to have powers and get girls?"
"I already have my sight set on one girl and that's it."
"Hoooh~? I didn't expect you to be in a relationship. And I thought you're the loner type who gets bullied in school."
"That's exactly what I am, but I pulled my life together and continued moving forward."
"Well, that's a touching story. So, what happens if I get rid of that?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"What if I destroy everything you have?" Satoru threatened him with a menacing grin.
"Y-You're bluffing." Hachiman argued in fear.
"Am I? What makes you think that?"
"You said you jujutsu sorcerers' main goal is to exorcise curses-"
"But that doesn't mean we're good guys, now are we?"
"I..."
"Hikigaya Hachiman-kun, if you don't agree with my terms, it'll end badly for you."
"Then you can just lock me in here or kill me. There's no way in hell I'm going to fight those things."
"Oi, oi, oi. Isn't that a little extreme? What about your family and friends?"
"They'll grief for sure. I don't want that, but I have no choice."
"Yeah, you do. Two choices given by me."
"What makes you think I trust every word you say?" Hachiman stood up and approached him, even if his legs were shaking from fear. Hachiman's fear grew with each trembling step closer to the sorcerer in front of him. When he finally stood one foot close to him, Hachiman forced a smile and pretended to be confident. His expression was full of hysteria. He knew this was a pointless attempt at intimidation, but he'd rather do something in opposition to the idea of entering the supernatural world. "If I was still in my chuunibyou phase, I would've agreed to this without batting an eye, but I escaped that dark world. Even if my buried chuunibyou desires rises again, it's still a no. After finding understand the thing I hate the most isn't full of lies. The social norms can be separated from what to enjoy in youth, but the norms can't be so bad if there is something genuine in that area. I can't afford to leave them. Not after everything we've done for each other. And after seeing THAT last night... No, never. I refuse to die."
"Now that I think about it, how should I know you don't have any ulterior motive? What if YOU are the one pulling my leg here?"
"Fair point. I'm still a stranger to you, huh?" Satoru raised his own right hand for a handshake. "Gojo Satoru. Nice to meet ya!"
"Yeah, that's not enough to earn my trust." Hachiman said with crossed arms together and a twitching eye.
"Well, you haven't earned my trust too, so we're in a stalemate. What now?"
"Nothing's gonna happen unless you do something," Hachiman walked back and sat in his chair with hands behind it, pretending to be restrained. "Because I'm not doing anything."
"So, it's kill all your loved ones, huh?"
"Not like it'll solve your problem."
"'A' for effort, at least." Satoru said while shrugging his shoulders. The two just stared at each other, waiting to see which of them would falter first, but it was obvious that Hachiman was the one losing. After approximately thirty seconds of silence, Satoru sighed and shrugged his shoulders again as a sign of surrender. "Okay, okay. I was just kidding about the whole catch, alright?"
"Right..." Hachiman said with doubt in his voice.
"Believe me, I'm not that type of guy who would use underhanded tactics on innocent youths like you. I was just testing your mentality and now I understand."
"Understand... what?" Hachiman asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That you're not right in the head. You're a lot crazy for someone 'ordinary'. No one is that sane to bluff his way out of this mess, especially if it involves those closest to them. That's good, that's good."
"How is being crazy a good thing?"
"It's a requirement in being a jujutsu sorcerer." The blindfolded sorcerer grinned.
"I told you I'm not going to be one."
"I know, I know. I'm just saying. We need someone like that, but is also willing to be a sorcerer. We don't need someone who can't take on hell. You're a real crazy. No matter how you look at it, becoming a sorcerer is the best option than just risking everything to bluff your way out. What are you gonna do if I was serious about those threats?"
"If we kept the staring contest a little longer, I would've died from holding my breath. If you went to the door, I would've prostrated and beg."
"Yeah, I can imagine that. Why did you go for that? It'll save you a lot of trouble if you just went along." Satoru asked while going to the door.
"You wouldn't understand..." Hachiman mumbled, but reached the sorcerer's ears.
"Well, whatever. Come on, follow me,"
"To where?"
"Well, first we need to tell your family. I bet they're worried you were missing."
"... Oh, right."
An hour later.
6:00 AM. In the Hikigaya Household.
"So, there you have it," Satoru said with a playful grin. He changed his attire back to the black long-sleeve T-shirt, white pants, black sneakers with blue-colored design, and sunglasses. Meanwhile, Hachiman wore a white hoodie and black pants. "Your son, Hikigaya-kun, joined our 'Super Hot Summer Training Camp' for an entire week. I apologize for not letting you know sooner."
"No! No! It's fine! Our stupid son is really that lazy, he didn't even tell us about your association with you," A woman said while chuckling and staring at him with a blush. She had short black hair and sported a pair of glasses. "And the camp is just perfect for him! He really needs to move his muscles more."
"Yeah! Onii-chan needs to be healthy. Mhm!" Komachi said in the same state as her mother.
"Ahahaha! Don't worry, the professionals and trainers are one of the best in Tokyo! The training camp not only helps participants to physical exercise but also helps them understand the joy of energetic movement under the hot sun! You see, our statistics show that many adolescents at the age between 13 to 18 aren't going outside and do physical activities because of the excessive use of phones and video games. Reasons for such behavior may vary from being anti-social to lack of motivation. Regardless, the fitness class will both get their bodies fired up and appreciate the outside world, no matter the seasons. We do this every season!"
"I see! I accept this, Hachiman. This is really helpful for you. Right, dear?" The mother asked the father who was glaring at Satoru since the beginning he appeared at the door next to his son. The reason was quite simple: His daughter and even his own wife were smiling at Satoru as if he was a celebrity, but his wife's behavior appeared to be more... affectionate. He turned to his son, who was also glaring at the man with white hair sitting next to him. Hachiman became overprotective when Komachi fangirling over Satoru.
"I guess. It doesn't sound bad," The father spoke. "But, I have to ask. Why the sudden idea to partake in something like that? You always reject the idea of tiring yourself in relaxing days."
"Well, let's just say I need to... learn self-control." Hachiman answered while scratching his cheek.
"What do you mean? You're always calm about almost everything."
"If by calm, you mean 'being stoic at almost any conversations and situations'."
"Ah! Oh, I get it." Komachi had this strange giggle.
"What is it?" Their mother asked, wanting to know what her daughter understood.
"I'm sorry, Mom. This is personal "boys' stuff". Let's not invade that." Komachi said while patting her mother's shoulder. She then looked at her brother and gave him a thumbs-up with tongue sticking out and a wink. "Tee-hee!"
"She's having weird ideas again." Hachiman thought.
"I can't believe you managed to convince them." Hachiman said with a hand on his forehead. He and Satoru was riding in a taxi.
"I'm good at that part of the job." Satoru said with a chuckle.
"... You didn't use some kind of power, did you?" Hachiman asked in a whisper.
"Nope, I'm just that good, I guess."
"Once again, society has shown me the inequality in women's standards. Of course, they'd fawn over the good-looking guys. It's common knowledge at this point." Hachiman sighed. "Have you used that cover story before?"
"We do a lot to hide things that involve curses." Satoru answered. "By the way, your mom is really pretty, and your sister is damn cute."
"Don't do anything to them."
"I won't. I won't." After a few minutes, the taxi arrived at their destination. A hospital. They climbed upstairs, escorted by a nurse, and stopped at a door leading to a room.
"They're resting here." The nurse said, and Hachiman slid the door open to see the people he wanted to visit. Yukino was there, sleeping on her bed. The other three girls were also sleeping on their beds, all of them were unconscious with their heads wrapped around in bandages. "They only have back and head injuries. Shards of glass were stuck on their heads, but they weren't that deep enough to be serious. Overall, just a concussion and bruises on their backs. They should recover for seven to ten days."
"Thank you." Hachiman expressed his gratitude with a bow, and the nurse left the room to give them privacy.
"So, which one of them is your girlfriend? Hey, Hey~..." Satoru asked while tapping Hachiman's cheek with a finger. "Oh! Is this... a harem! You damn playboy!"
"My girlfriend's right there." Hachiman answered while pointing at Yukino.
"... Well, that's a lie."
"It's unbelievable, huh? Me having a girlfriend like her."
"Yup, yup. So, which one is REALLY your girlfriend? Or maybe you're actually single?"
"Nope, that girl right there really is my girlfriend."
"... Damn," Satoru said while holding his own chin. "That girl has some poor taste in men, huh?"
"Shut up." Hachiman approached the unconscious Yukino and cradled her hand. "I'm sorry. Apparently, this is my fault, though I don't know if that's true or not. But, one thing is for sure, it won't happen again. I promise."
"Ready to go? If you wanna fulfill your promise, it's best if we do it sooner." Satoru said with hands in his pockets.
"Yeah... let's-" Before Hachiman could finish his answer, the door slid open and saw Yukinoshita Haruno breathing heavily because she ran when she entered the hospital. She wore a yellow off-the-shoulder shirt, a pair of jeans, and purple heels.
"Hikigaya-kun?" Haruno said his name, but her attention immediately shifted to her dear little sister. "Yukino-chan! Is she alright?"
"Yeah, the nurse said it's a concussion."
"Yukino..." This time, Yukino's mother entered the room and ran towards her unconscious daughter.
"What happened?" Haruno asked Hachiman.
"I don't know. We had a party, then we went to this abandoned school building that's apparently haunted, and then that's it. What's weird is that I'm the only one unscathed."
"Nice deception," Satoru thought. "Telling them the truth while twisting it a little, along with a certain strange element in the story, would make you sound believable."
"That is strange, indeed." The mother commented. "You shouldn't have put them, especially my daughter, to such a place in the middle of the night."
"I'm sorry, I promise it won't happen again." Hachiman apologized with a bow.
"Mother, you shouldn't blame Hikigaya-kun for this," Haruno said with a hint of anger in her voice. "One of Hayato's friends, Tobe, is responsible for this since he was the one who-"
"You're wrong," Hachiman quickly interrupted her. "This is all on us. We were having fun and got ahead of ourselves. Please, don't put the blame on Tobe."
"... Very well," The mother accepted his apology. "I fully trust you. After all, you are quite bold enough to make such a declaration during that dinner we had."
"T-That was just a spur of the moment..." Hachiman tried to retort, but he felt embarrassed at that memory.
"It's fine. Just don't put my daughter in danger, again. Understood?"
"Yes."
"Well, if mother says so, I guess we'll let it slide." Haruno said while shrugging her shoulder, and just noticed the white-haired individual. "So, who's he?"
"Oh, he's... uhh-"
"I'm his trainer and friend, Gojo Satoru. Nice to meet you." Satoru introduced himself.
"Trainer?" The mother and Haruno were confused and then looked back at Hachiman.
"Yeah, I actually signed up for a one-week fitness camp in Tokyo."
"... You?" Haruno asked, couldn't believe what she just heard.
"Yeah, me."
"You. Are going to work out?"
"... Yes."
"Heeeh~?"
"Oh, no. She went back to full on 'Nagatoro Mode'! (3)" Hachiman thought while preparing to embrace the inevitable.
"What's the sudden change of plans? Are you trying to get in shape to impress Yukino-chan?" Haruno repeatedly poked his cheek with a smug. "You're really giving it your all, huh?! If you showed this side of you to other women, they would fall for you, y'knooow~? I might fall for you, too!"
"Heeeh~? So she's actually your girlfriend, huh?" Satoru came in with a grin. "You really hit the jackpot, of course you would try your best. Don't worry, Hachiman-kun~! I'll make sure the fitness camp will give you one hell of a body!"
"I'm not aiming for that." Hachiman said with his cheeks red from embarrassment.
"That's right! My sister doesn't prefer that type of guys, anyway!" Haruno argued. "She likes him because of his eyes. Look, they look like a dead fish."
"Hoh, so is she into like, the bad boys type?"
"Might as well think of that. Hikigaya-kun is literally the opposite of a proper man."
"What's that supposed to-" Before Hachiman could finish his question, Satoru laughed.
"Heheh! I can see that. This is totally like that one popular high school drama show I started watching. It really got all the cliches in there along with the 'good girls like bad boys' trope."
"Ah! You're talking about THAT series, right? The main character reminds me a lot of Hikigaya-kun and-"
"Hikigaya-kun," While the two were engaged in a conversation, the mother talked to Hachiman. "You truly don't know what happened?"
"Yes, the last thing I remember was entering a dusty old classroom. That's it." Hachiman answered with a lie.
"I see... the police should look into this. Can you come with us to the department and tell them the incident?"
"Yeah, I will."
"The sooner, the better... especially since these two are getting along." Hachiman and Yukino's mother looked at Haruno and Satoru, who were getting along. "I feel like things will be more troublesome if this goes on..."
"Uuhh... Yeah..." He mumbled. "Shit, now that I'm watching closely, these two are the same. They almost share the same personality. If this goes on, it's like we're going to have to deal with TWO Harunos..."
Four hours later.
10:15 AM
"Well, that ended nicely, huh?" Satoru said while texting on his phone. He and Hachiman were riding a train to Tokyo with several passengers, especially women, couldn't help but stare at the sorcerer with a gleam and red cheeks as they held back their chuckle and secretly took pictures of him using their phones. It took fairly quickly to file a police report on last night's incident. After the police searched the building for clues, they found none and then let Hachiman go to the fitness camp with Satoru thanks to the sorcerers... "negotiation" skills.
"I guess, not a single footprint or any trace. Did you guys have some sort of sneaky ability?"
"Nah, the moment that woman said something about reporting the police, I asked someone to clean any dust of clues there."
"Oh, that's quick."
"I know right."
"U-Uhm." One female passenger approached the pair with a phone raised in front. "D-Do you mind if we take a selfie together?"
"Sure!" Satoru accepted as he stood up to take a selfie with her.
"M-Me too!" Another girl approached him, followed by other women.
"Now, now. Take your turns."
"What am I looking at? Is this his way of mocking me? Showing me the difference between us as men? Well, jokes on you. I already encountered your kind. And he's still my classmate in third year. Obviously, women's surface-level preferences of men are so stereotypical with only a pinch of personality and/or specific traits. Such preferences will make them picky, and if they manage to get into a relationship, it requires luck to make it a happy and healthy one. Which is why I am a man among men, and Yukinoshita's a woman among women. Take notes from us, fools." Hachiman thought to himself while waiting for the train to reach Tokyo, as Satoru was still busy taking pictures with women. However, Hachiman noticed a woman sitting further away near the door to another passenger cart. There were three small creatures with two on her shoulders and one sitting on top of her head.
He figured they were black cursed spirits with bodies of a baby. Their heads were perfectly spherical, which meant they had no chin, and their arms were terrifyingly longer than a normal baby. The two curses on her shoulders seemed to be whispering close to her ears and inappropriately caressing her body while the one on top of her head was caressing her forehead. The woman looked in pain and had eye bags, meaning she lacked sleep.
"Is that a cursed spirit? No one seems to notice or even bother whispering to each other about it." He thought and then saw Satoru walked past the crowd of women to approach the cursed victim. She looked up to see him in front of her, smiling and greeting her.
"Are you alright?" Satoru asked.
"I-I'm fine," She answered while averting her gaze from him. "Please... leave me alone."
"That won't do. You're really pretty, y'know? You gotta learn things like posture."
"Mind your own business." The women said angrily.
"Like this," Satoru lightly hit through the cursed spirits through her shoulders with a karate chop and then grabbed the last one on top of her head and squished it till it was gone. He caressed her head to her right cheek. "See? If you take care of yourself more, you'd get the guys drooling over you."
"Eh?" The woman moved her shoulders as if she noticed they weren't aching anymore and looked back at him. "D-Did you-"
"Alright! Who else wants a selfie!" Satoru shouted, and the crowd of women screamed in delight. Hachiman saw everything the sorcerer just did to help her. It was just that quick and easy, but of course, he knew it was because those curses were weak. Compared to that humongous curse that tortured him last night, they were nothing but ants, especially to someone who specialized in exorcising curses such as Satoru.
thirty minutes later.
10:45 AM. Arakawa River Trail, Tokyo.
"Our first lesson is to learn how to release your cursed energy. To do that, you need to focus and use your emotion to produce it." Satoru explained to Hachiman, who was wearing the blue two-tone track suit.
"So... I have to be angry or sad to do that?" Hachiman asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Not really. Jujutsu sorcerers produce cursed energy from even a tiny spark of emotion. Although, you already did use cursed energy before."
"Really? Since when?"
"Last night. You hit that giant cursed spirit, right?"
"I did?" Hachiman held his own chin in an effort to remember the events that occurred at that time. Because of his overwhelming desire for survival and his near-unconscious state, he forgot some fragments of memories. After thinking in silence, he finally remembered. "I remembered. I just uppercut that thing on the chin... One of its chin."
"Mhm. But that's because you were brimming with anger and fear, so I doubt you can do that again at that exact same power output. Now, I'm gonna train you to concentrate and use a small spark of emotion to produce cursed energy, and I have the perfect hellish training for you." Satoru gave him a small kangaroo plushy wearing boxing gloves.
"And... this is...?" Hachiman asked while shaking and touching the plushy everywhere to probe its true nature. After a few seconds, the plushy's eyes shot up and threw a right uppercut to his chin. As he fell to the ground, the kangaroo toy landed on its feet and hopped around him.
"Ta-da! Introducing the cursed corpse created by our one and only principal in Jujutsu Tech!"
"Cursed... corpse?"
"Basically inanimate objects becoming alive through a curse. This cursed corpse sleeps when you constantly imbued it with cursed energy, but if you don't give it enough, it'll wake up and punch you so hard, all colors are gone and the scene turns an animated manga!"
"But, I don't know how." Hachiman said while standing up.
"Just remember the sensation moments before you hit that cursed spirit last night. What did you do before clenching your fist and threw that uppercut at it? What did it feel like?"
"What it felt like..." Hachiman thought while staring at the palm of his own right hand and grabbed the cursed kangaroo plushy. "I can't remember the feeling when cursed energy flowed in my fist. All I remember was that I didn't want to die. I refused to believe that was the dead end of my life. And so, I struggled, even if I thought it may be futile. I just poured everything into that one I thought was a 'meaningless' act of struggle. My regrets, anger, hatred, disappointment; just every emotion that built up at that time."
"Mhm, there you go," Satoru commented with a grin. Hachiman was so lost in thought, he didn't notice the cursed corpse went back to sleep. "Now the real challenge starts here. You are gonna do a three-kilometer run here while pouring cursed energy in the plushy. You can't use too little or too much."
"Training both mind and body, huh?" Hachiman said, and the cursed corpse started shaking, which meant he didn't give enough cursed energy. He was quick to focus and poured his energy with enough amount for the plushy to sleep. "Of all things I imagined, this is not what I had in mind about training."
"Well, you want to control it as quickly as possible, right? This training is enough. It serves as a way for you to make it as part of your morning. After doing this for a week, you can go home and continue doing it there as a daily routine until you finally get the hang of it. Fast and simple. Also, I don't want to COMPLETELY lie to your family about exercising. But, it all depends on your effort and skill. Can you do it?"
"Yeah... I have to." Hachiman said while clutching the plushy.
"Okay! Now... run!" Satoru shouted, and Hachiman ran as fast as he could while holding the cursed corpse. Despite the hot weather, the breeze and scenery were pleasant. He thought this was one of the best places to run or bike on a daily basis. The cursed corpse shook once again and punched him in the gut. While he stopped and clench his stomach, Satoru approached him. "Ooiiii~! you're not even far from the starting line. Get going!"
"I know!" Hachiman stood up, grabbed the kangaroo plushy, and ran. He passed by a female biker and he heard her laughed. He also passed by two male joggers and one of them chuckled and the other just stared at Hachiman as if he was strange. What was the reason for their laughter? Hachiman realized he was running with a plushy in his hands, as if he was holding a basketball and running towards the hoop. Basically, he looked ridiculous.
"Pfft! Hahahaha! Gotta send this to my pals!" Satoru said while laughing. He was riding a one-wheel electric skateboard to follow Hachiman and recorded him running using his phone. "You look so lame right now!"
"Don't take a video of this!" Hachiman shouted in embarrassment.
"You look like you stole that toy from a kid and then being chased by his parents! HAHAHAHA!"
As his embarrassment grew, the cursed corpse punched him in the left cheek. He lost his balance and fell on the ground.
"Oi, oi! You better focus now. This is just the start of your training, y'know?"
"I know..." Hachiman stood up while caressing his cheek to ease the pain. He continued running despite the embarrassment and the dizziness from receiving the cursed corpse's punches.
It took him an entire hour to complete the three-kilometer run because the plushy punched him in the stomach for the second time, right cheek, and right side during the run.
11:45 AM Back in Jujutsu Tech Campus
"Next session: The Holy Ups Trinity!" Satoru shouted. They were in a vast room with wooden pillars and lit lanterns in the middle of those pillars.
"The... what?" Hachiman said with a confused expression.
"The Holy Ups Trinity. You're gonna do some sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups."
"Oh,"
"... While giving cursed energy to Kangaroo-san over here!"
"Of course."
"You'll do all this thirty times each. Oh, and some squats too. Now get to it!" Satoru said while clapping twice, and Hachiman followed his instructions. He first started with sit-ups with the cursed corpse in his hands while the sorcerer held both of his knees together to do the sit-ups correctly. The cursed corpse woke up once and punched him in the left side of his chest, and he managed to put it to sleep quickly. His cheeks were red, but not just because of exhaustion.
"Turn that camera off!" Hachiman said as he saw Satoru's phone attached to a small adjustable phone stand.
"Hachiman-kun, you don't get it, do you?"
"Get what?"
"It is part of human life to grasp the opportunity."
"So you have a habit of recording anything that is hilarious for you?"
"Pretty much, yeah. Hahahaha!" Satoru laughed, which Hachiman became irritated by that. This distracted him, which resulted in being punched in the face by the small kangaroo plushy. "Oooiii~, you still have five more sit-ups to go."
"I... know..." Hachiman stayed lying on the floor, grunting and holding his nose until he stretched for the cursed corpse that was hopping still. After finishing the sit-ups, his next exercise was thirty squats. With all his willpower, he resisted the urge to just stop and go back home. The humiliation was killing him. Each passing second of doing this exercise felt like it cost a year of his lifespan. Satoru was still recording him, which added to even more of the torture. "Just suck it up, Hachiman. This is for you and everyone. I can make it to one week. I never thought this is possible, but there is actually a more playful, cruel, and annoying adult than Yukinoshita's older sister. How can that be?! Is it because he uses cursed energy? Did he get his brain screwed from using it too much? Oh, no, is it going to happen to me too? Oh, the kangaroo is shaking. Just concentrate. Concentrate."
After thirty squats, he stood with hands on his knees to rest. He felt that if he sat down, his legs would give out. Satoru only gave him fifteen minutes of rest, so Hachiman had to savor each breath and ease. It was both mentally and physically exhausting for him, mostly because of his trainer's constant mocking. Gojo Satoru was still a mystery to him. Hachiman could just tell the sorcerer still intended to turn him into a jujutsu sorcerer.
After the fifteen-minute break, Satoru instructed him to do push-ups using a pair of push up handles and imbue them with cursed energy. The same thing with the pull-ups. Hachiman had to imbue the pull-up bar with cursed energy until he finished the reps.
"Pour it too much, and they'll be destroyed. Infuse them with small amounts. Just slow and steady." Hachiman repeated this thought while doing the exercises.
The results were the right push-up handle shattered after the twentieth rep and the pull-up bar after only fourteen reps.
"Hmm~... Not bad for doing it on the first try." Satoru said while holding his own chin. "Right, take a break for thirty minutes and then do them all over again, but this time add another ten reps."
"Okay..."
Two hours later.
1:45 PM
"Okay! That's enough!" Satoru said cheerfully loud and Hachiman let go of the pull-up bar before it disintegrated. He breathe heavily and lied down on the floor. "Get some rest and take a shower. You're about to run out of cursed energy so take the time to replenish. I'll go get you clothes and then some lunch while you enjoy the water."
"Replenish... how?"
"Just rest, that's all. It's kinda like MP in video games."
"Right..." Hachiman slowly stood up and went to the showers. As the hot water drizzled on his naked body, the bruises he received from the cursed corpse's punch stung. Suddenly, the memories of his terrifying encounter with the giant cursed spirit flashed in his mind. His heart beat faster and he clutched his head until he shook the memories off. He let the water ran down to his body, savoring the feeling to forget the nightmare. After a hot shower in the shower room, he opened the curtain and saw his phone on top of the clothes on the wooden bench. The phone rang, and the screen lit up to reveal whose number was calling him. He didn't know who the number belonged to, but he answered it anyway to find out who. "Hello?"
"SEENNPAIIII~!" Iroha's voice came out loud through the phone.
"Isshiki? I don't remember giving you my number."
"Rice-chan gave it to me."
"Komachi, huh?" Hachiman thought with a sigh. "So, what do you want?"
"What do you mean 'what do I want'?! I just heard from Rice-chan about it! What happened last ni-" Suddenly, his phone rang once again, and he saw Komachi's number.
"Hold on, I need to answer this," He answered the call and the first thing he heard was another shout.
"ONII-CHAN! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?!" Komachi shouted and somehow, his ears rang from that. It took him an entire hour to convince her and Iroha by telling them the same lies and truths. There was something odd welling up inside of Hachiman. The longer they talked, the bigger that feeling grew. He was confused about what it was. It was a complete mystery until he figured out what the feeling inside of him was. He felt relief.
"Throughout the whole morning, I wasn't able to calm down. I'm scared. It's like being in a foreign country with little to no prior knowledge of anything. But this place... I just can't trust anyone or anything here. Not even Gojo-san or this peaceful moment. As long as I'm here... In this side of the world full of curses, this sense of danger will always crawl into my spine. This fear of death. All these things happening to me, to those around me. It's all too unreal. And yet, here I am being suspected of causing curses. These voices... These voices brought me back to the ignorant bliss of the troublesome normal life."
"Just one week. I need to hold out just one week."
5:00 PM
After eating a good lunch (which surprised Hachiman) and a good three and a half-hour of rest, he and the sorcerer went downstairs that led to a room with only a couch, a television in front, and a table full of movie dvds. Right next to it was the dreadful cursed corpse in all of its weird and fluffy terror.
"What's with all the dvds?" Hachiman asked. "We're not gonna watch movies till night, are we?"
"Not 'we', but YOU," Satoru answered while sorting the dvds. "Watch movies while giving Kangaroo-san your sweet cursed energy."
"I wish you could've let me do this first before everything else." Hachiman said with a sigh.
"Yeah, I guess so. All that workout was just so I could show it to your family."
"I see... wait, WHAT?!" Hachiman shouted at him with his skin turning pale.
"I mean, isn't it obvious we should do that so they wouldn't be suspicious?"
"But that's..."
"Just kidding!" Satoru teased with his tongue out.
"If there is such an opportunity, I want to punch him in the face so hard." He thought with his hand clenched into a fist, and released a sigh to calm down. "How is watching movies help?"
"We have all kinds of movies available here. Heart throbbers, thrillers, drama, comedy. All kinds of movies that'll make you feel all kinds of emotions. Your goal here is to watch an entire movie from start to finish without waking the cursed corpse. Maintain a steady output of cursed energy, no matter what emotions you feel."
"Is that why you're letting me feel embarrass earlier?"
"Oh, I just really want to take a video off it. It's too hilarious to not capture it. I said so, didn't I?"
"God, please bring divine punishment to this annoying sorcerer." Hachiman thought with his eye twitched in annoyance. He sat on the couch and checked the dvds to see what kind of movies he was expecting to watch. There were also western films with Japanese subtitles.
"So, which one do you wanna watch first?" Satoru asked and shoed him one dvd. "This one is pretty good, but heartbreaking since the main character's girlfriend cheated on him."
"Spoilers." Hachiman sat on the couch, grabbed the cursed corpse, and picked the first movie to watch. A horror flick. He didn't know why he picked that type of movie, but he wished he didn't as while watching it from start to finish, he was scared which resulted in the cursed corpse waking up four times and punched him in the abdomen. The next two movies were a mix of drama and action, and he performed better than watching the horror movie. The cursed corpse only woke up and punched him once.
Overall, the results were decent.
Next Day
Day 2 of Training
5:45 AM
It was a surprisingly peaceful sleep for him, mostly because he had succumbed to fatigue and the injuries from the cursed corpse. He initially thought he would have trouble sleeping, but the moment he lied on his bed, consciousness quickly faded as he embraced the comfortable texture of the pillow. He was glad Satoru was still kind enough to treat the bruises as both his cheeks and left temple were covered in bandage patches. He needed the rest he could get. A full eight hours of sleep was necessary. If possible, half a day of sleep. However, the comfortable rest ended in the worst way possible by the white-haired sorcerer himself.
"WAKEY! WAKEY! HIKKIIII~!" Satoru shouted and pressed the air horn near Hachiman's ear. The latter screamed and after realizing what was going on, he covered his ears with the pillow and turned to the side away from Satoru. "It's time for day two! Come on! Come on! You got plenty of rest!"
"I wish I didn't agree to this." Hachiman thought and slowly sat up, scratching his eye and looked at the sorcerer with a tired expression.
"Looking good!"
"How does this face say that I look good?"
"Get some breakfast and then the training starts." Satoru said and walked to the door. Hachiman stood up from the bed and stretched his arms before noticing scratches on the wall and some parts of the wooden floor cracked.
"What happened while I was asleep?" Hachiman asked.
"Oh, some idiots tried to kill you in your sleep, so I took care of it." Satoru answered nonchalantly while opening the door. Hachiman just stared at the scratched on the wall, imagining people sneaking into the room with knives in their hands, preparing to slit his throat. "Ooooi~! Let's go."
"Right..."
...
6:30 AM - five-kilometer run at the Imperial Palace while Satoru once again recorded with his phone and continuously mocks him.
- Results: Cursed corpse woke up and punched him three times.
7:15 AM - sixty sit-ups, squats, push-ups, and pull-ups while Satoru mocks him.
- Results: Cursed corpse woke up and punched him twelve times. Two pairs of push-up handles and one pull-up bar shattered.
12:00 PM - Lunch
Satoru bought a takeout from a restaurant. The food included a salmon nigiri, pork cutlets, salad, and rice.
...
"Hey, Hikki." Satoru called him. They were eating in the outer garden of the Imperial Palace and set a picnic.
"Don't call me that." Hachiman said while grabbing a salmon nigiri with the chopsticks, dipped it in soy sauce and ate it.
"Why not? It's a cute nickname."
"Someone already gave me that."
"Sooo~, what? Did that person formed rightfully ownership or something? Am I gonna get arrested for copyright?"
"You could say that. She's the only person who kept calling me that."
"Oh? She? Your girlfriend gave you that?"
"No."
"Yeah, she doesn't look to be the type who gives cute nicknames. I'm guessing she's that cold and intelligent type who likes to talk shit to others."
"That's almost accurate," Hachiman thought while taking a bite of the pork cutlets. "Though, she doesn't berate others THAT much anymore... I think."
"So it's gotta be the girl with the peach-colored hair, am I right?" Satoru guessed before drinking miso soup using the lid of the isothermal bottle. "I mean, she looks like the bubbly type."
"Have you learned the phrase 'never judge a book by its cover'?"
"I did, what of it? All of us give first impressions, starting with appearances. No matter what, it's in our instinct to see people based on what they wear or what they have in their bodies."
"Well, you're not wrong." The two ate peacefully as they enjoyed the fresh air and sunlight. The weather wasn't as hot as yesterday, so Hachiman was able to enjoy the outdoors more than tolerating the temperature. After finishing their lunch, Hachiman couldn't help but ask. "Gojo-san, am I really the cause of those curses in Chiba?"
"You're the only anomaly we could find in the city," Satoru answered. "It's still a stretch. We don't have much proof, but it's best to solve your issue as quickly as possible to see what will happen. Though, I don't think curses will decline that fast."
"Why?"
"I explained to you already how cursed spirits are born, right?"
"You said non-sorcerers are constantly leaking cursed energy. That leaked cursed energy will hang around in the air or some place until it's big enough to form into a cursed spirit," Hachiman said, trying to remember the words Satoru explained to him yesterday while holding his chin. "Cursed energy builds up like sediment... which means there's a chance my cursed energy is still hanging in the air for a long time now."
"That's right. We still don't know whether you have that cursed energy from birth, a few years after, or at the end of your middle school. It's odd not a single jujutsu sorcerer found you sooner, not even me. It could be there is a cursed object inside you. Maybe something... or someone is at play here. Whatever the case is, it's a good thing to not keep that misfortune any longer, right?"
"Right..." Hachiman answered in a softer tone. "I get the feeling it won't be as simple as that. This is just a gut feeling, but I think he has something for me in store, whether I want it or not."
"Hachiman-kun, I want to ask something," Satoru said while looking up to the sky. "Do you hate Chiba?"
"What? Oh..." Hachiman looked down, realizing what the sorcerer was thinking. As they discussed earlier, cursed energy gather and bore into curses in places. It wouldn't be outside of logic to think that his hatred or whatever negative emotions he bore towards Chiba brought curses. "There's a lot of things I hate about it, but recently, there's a lot of good things to enjoy too."
"'Recently', huh? You have some complicated past? Something that made you hate the city so much, you kept cursing it."
"Yeah, a very unpleasant one. But, it's all over now. I learned that being a stoic loner isn't the right way. I'm still getting used to a lot of things, but I'm getting there."
"Is that so? That's good. It's nice to enjoy your youth."
"You think it's possible for one person to curse an entire city?"
"It's hard to imagine... but, it's not exactly impossible. I told you, you being the cause is a 'yes and no' answer. You did sort of created a lot of cursed spirits, but it didn't happen because of your OWN cursed energy."
"I'm just adding the pile of cursed energy that everyone else is littering, is that right?"
"Yeah... Welp, break is over. Before we head back to the campus, how about you go for an extra 3k run here?"
"Come on..." Hachiman sighed.
"I don't wanna hear any complaining~. Don't forget Kangaroo-san."
"Alright, alright..."
...
12:45 PM- Three-kilometer run
- Results: Cursed corpse woke up and punched him once, Hachiman became too exhausted and injured to even stand up.
4:00 PM-10:30 PM - Watching three movies. One drama, comedy, and thriller.
- Results: Cursed corpse woke up and punched him four times, Hachiman accidentally broke the television remote.
Next Day
Day 3 of training
7:00 AM
Hachiman woke up and slowly opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling for a short moment. He looked at his phone to check the time and then stood up to stretch. The bruises all over his body stung, and so he sat on the bed to wait for the pain to ease.
"Gojo-san said he's busy today so i have to do this alone... Hm?" Hachiman saw a note in his desk and read it.
"Hachiman-kun, make sure you do your training. Just do it in your bedroom. Don't go outside! I put your breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the room, so you don't have to worry about getting hungry. Here are the things you need to do!
1) 30 sit-ups
2) 30 squats
3) 30 push-ups
4) 30 pull-ups
6) watch movies until midnight.
See ya tomorrow!"
"He's toning it down a little, but it still looks like a bit much for me," Hachiman thought while twirling his arm around to ease the ache in his muscles. "My whole body is still aching and I'm getting more and more bruises just when the previous ones are slowly healing. I could just ignore this and just practice my cursed energy by watching movies. But, what will happen if I did ignore it?... I guess I got no choice."
...
After eating breakfast
8:00 AM - thirty sit-ups.
- Results: Cursed corpse woke up two times and punched him.
8:15 AM - thirty squats
- Results: Cursed corpse slept throughout.
8:45 AM - thirty push ups
- Results: Only one push-up handle shattered.
9:00 AM - Break for thirty minutes. His injured and still exhausted body couldn't handle it. Changing plans to watch one horror movie online with his phone while feeding cursed energy to the kangaroo plushy.
- Results: Cursed corpse fell asleep throughout the movie watch. Mostly because the horror movie he watched wasn't interesting nor scary.
11:00 AM - Forty pull-ups. He thought not following the plan was unacceptable, and so he added another ten reps.
- Results: The pull-up handle didn't shatter throughout the reps.
12:00 PM - lunch
3:00 PM - Two-hour nap
5:00 PM - Movie marathon. One drama, comedy, and horror.
- Results: Cursed corpse woke up once and punched his left arm.
12:30 AM - Sleep
Next day
Day 4 of training
6:00 AM
Hachiman was woken up by a knock on the door. He checked the time through his phone and sighed. After a few more knocks on the door, he stood up and opened it to reveal a woman with long brown hair and wore a white lab coat over a blue shirt and navy blue pants with cream colored high-heels shoes. Her eyes looked tired with a mole under the right eye. Hachiman didn't know who this person was. Satoru never mentioned visitors would come to his room... unless her intention was hostile.
"Ummm... Can I help you?" Hachiman asked while hiding his right fist behind his back as he channeled cursed energy into it. He learned how to do this by remembering that same sensation during that night at the abandoned middle school and used everything he had practiced from the training Satoru gave him. He didn't have the experience to do it discreetly, and so he tried to channel it slowly in hopes the woman in front of him wouldn't notice it.
"I'm a doctor and here to heal you, so stop doing that," The woman claiming to be a doctor said while looking down at the hand he was hiding behind his back.
"A doctor?"
"Yeah, Gojo called me to heal your bruises since he's busy."
"Right..." Hachiman looked at her with doubt in which she noticed that.
"Didn't you receive some kind of message from Gojo? Not even a letter?"
"No, sorry."
"This guy, I swear." The woman said with a sigh and pulled out her phone, dialing a call. After a few more rings, the person answered the call. "Hello?... Yeah, tell your student about this."
"Hm?" Hachiman looked at the phone she raised to his face and spoke. "Uuhh... hello?"
"I, Gojo Satoru, hereby honor the ever-so beautiful Ieri Shoko to heal the proud and strong warrio-"
"There you have it," The doctor named Ieiri Shoko said and put the phone to her own ear and said her goodbye to the call before ending it. "So, where does it hurt?"
"Pretty much everywhere." Hachiman answered.
"A lot of these bruises are swollen. Leave it any longer while you're training would get even worse." Shoko said while healing him as he was enveloped in an aura while lying in bed.
"You're... not using cursed energy, are you?" Hachiman asked.
"In a way, yes. Curious?"
"Yeah, it's weird to heal someone using a curse. It sounds contradicting to what curses are."
"I know," After that brief conversation, the aura enveloping him disappeared, and she stood up. "All done."
"Wait, there's still some bruises left, and some of them aren't completely healed."
"Gojo told me to partially heal you. Sorry, kid." Shoko said before leaving the room. Hachiman sighed, thinking for a moment until he stood up as well and stretched. His body was still aching and the bruises still painful, but not as much as before. He covered his bruises in bandage patches and once again, he did the training by himself.
7:30 AM - 40 sit-ups
- Results: Cursed corpse remained asleep
7:45 AM - 40 squats
- Results: Cursed corpse remained asleep
7:47 AM - 40 push-ups
- Results: No handles shattered.
8:05 AM - 40 pull-ups
- Results: The pull-up bar remained intact.
"Huh, I finished it a lot faster than I thought..." Hachiman said while holding his chin. "Maybe I should add more reps."
And so, he repeated the training all over again, but only by twenty reps each. The results were almost the same, except for the pull-ups as two bars disintegrated and his body aching more. In his mind, it was worth it, yet he felt that it wasn't enough. Regardless, he didn't want to overdo it to prevent any consequences. After hours of waiting and texting his little sister and junior, it was time for the movie marathon. Hachiman sighed for the umpteenth time and changed his attire consisted of a white hoodie and black pants. When he opened the door, Satoru was already here outside.
"What the-?!"
"Yo! No time to explain. Get Kangaroo-san and let's go!"
"Uhh... Right!" Hachiman complied, and the sorcerer grabbed his wrist and they disappeared in the bedroom.
5:00 PM
The teacher and student went downstairs to the room where the latter would watch movies. What Hachiman saw was a guy with spiky pinky undercut hair and wore a dark blue hoodie, grey jogging pants and red sneakers. The pink spiky-haired boy was watching a movie while holding a teddy bear with blue boxing gloves.
"Is he also training?" Hachiman thought while approaching the couch. The stranger must've heard his footsteps since he turned around to see him eye-to-eye. They stared at each other for a few seconds until the pink spiky-haired boy spoke.
"Yo!" He greeted.
"Y-Yo..." Hachiman greeted in return, though with less energy. Suddenly, both of their cursed corpses woke up and punched them in the face. They grunted and held their cheeks to ease the pain.
"Hachiman-kun, meet Itadori Yuuji. Yuuji, meet Hikigaya Hachiman."
"N-Nice to meet you..." The spiky pink-haired boy named Itadori Yuuji said while standing up and offered a hand to Hachiman.
"Yeah..." The latter accepted his offer and stood up.
1) LA Noir reference
2) Stein; gate reference
3) Nagatoro reference
New chapter done! So this is basically a training arc for 8man, but I'm planning on making it as quick as possible to get to the good stuff. Some of you asked what cursed technique is he going to have.
My answer: well, it's nothing flashy or epic, but good enough nonetheless.
Thank you for reading this fanfic. Please leave a review as your opinions will be helpful for making this story better.