DISCLAIMER:

I do NOT own the Oregairu and Jujutsu Kaisen series as they are respectfully owned by the creators and studios.

Also, this chapter has over 28k words


8:00 PM, somewhere in a dimly lit room.

"We can't make our move tonight." The curse user with the bald shaved head spoke. "We don't know when those jujutsu sorcerers knew about our job, so we don't know when they arrived here, either. We have to assume they knew long before we accepted the client's offer, and so they must have set up traps and surveillance around and inside the resort. My guess is that puppet sorcerer set those up. Going to that resort would be like infiltrating a fortress. Also, K-9 right now is still recovering. We have to do this tomorrow or the next day after."

"It has to be tomorrow." A woman suggested. She had long black hair tied into a ponytail and wore a brown, long-sleeved Henley shirt, black pants, and white sneakers. "Their security will probably get even more intense to make sure the target goes back home safely in the morning after tomorrow."

"Right. The main problem is the puppet sorcerer. We need to get rid of him or the barrier if we need our blades to reach Yukinoshita Haruno's neck."

"We need K-9 to track him. How is he?"

"The doctor already healed him. He'll be fine by tomorrow. Once he wakes up, we'll move."

"So what's the plan, Reef?"

"Our target's plans for tomorrow involve relaxing in the resort and going to its spa. She'll be staying inside until the sun goes down, so the perfect opportunity is when she will go out and meet a friend of hers. This could be the only chance we get. Our first step is to take care of the puppet sorcerer's barrier."

"How did you know about her schedule?"

"I placed a wiretap on that blonde friend of hers. It was really easy when she was so preoccupied picking clothes in the mall. Now, about the barrier..."

"It's gonna be hard to beat that puppet, and I doubt we could break the barrier. We don't even know where the sorcerer even is."

"The other question is whether or not he's alone." The shaved, skinny curse user named Reef shrugged his own shoulders. "We have to say he isn't if our job is leaked to them. That includes our numbers... We don't have much time to find the sorcerer, Mèngyáo. We'll have to go for removing the barrier itself and that is already a huge problem."

"I knew getting that guy to join us is bad news." The woman named Mèngyáo placed a palm on her head. "How did he get caught so easily?"

"It doesn't matter. We just need to finish the job."

"Maybe we should just give up on it and tell the client to hire ordinary assassins?" She asked while leaning forward on the table. "It's not like jujutsu sorcerers would interfere with non-curse related business, right?... Wait a minute."

"What?"

"What if it's because we used a curse attack? If we go by that, then what would happen if you just throw the knife normally? No cursed energy, no cursed technique?"

"It's... possible."

"Plus, we saw that barrier isn't a sustainable type. The puppet sorcerer needs to cast it again if there is a threat coming to her way. If we just kill her without cursed energy, he wouldn't be able to notice."

"These are all speculations in the end... but I'm willing to experiment until we succeed. Basically, our plan is just to keep assassinating her in different ways, whether by using curses or ordinary means. We'll narrow down our options by doing that until we find the light at the end of this damn tunnel."


Okinawa Incident Finale:

The Pulled Strings Of Influence

10:00 PM, Manza Resort.

"Sorry that happened to you." Atsuya said while pouring a glass of water. He and Hachiman were in Atsuya's room discussing the events that took place in that morning. "Just don't take it out on them. They're just doing their mission and were tricked."

"I know that." Hachiman said with a sigh. "It's just I feel like I drew the shortest straw right now for my third year of high school... along with my entire future."

"Oi, oi, don't get too gloomy now." Atsuya gave him a glass of water, and they both sat on their chairs across from each other at the table. "Jujutsu sorcery is never an easy job. Before Gojo became the strongest, curse users were still working in broad daylight and we had to deal with them at the same time as exorcising cursed spirits. We're like police officers during that time."

"Is Gojo really that strong?" Hachiman asked with an arched eyebrow while drinking the glass of water.

"His Limitless is literally the most broken cursed technique in the world, and with his Six Eyes, he can use the technique to its full potential."

"Just the name already sounds broken." Hachiman said in a deadpan tone.

"So, How are your injuries?" Atsuya asked.

"All healed."

"I was surprised when I heard about a foreign sorcerer who can use reversed curse energy. I only know two people who can do that... Wait, I heard that second-year kid can do it too..."

"It's really that rare, huh?" Hachiman said while leaning back in his seat. "Do you know how it works?"

"Something about turning negative energy into positive energy." Atsuya answered while scratching his own head. "I don't get it much. And asking Shoko-san didn't help either, because her explanations were too confusing. "

"Are there books or some instruction manual?"

"Nope. Just don't bother."

"Well, that's a shame. Who knows, maybe that could solve a lot of issues in the world like cancer or the poor treatment in this country's workforce."

"I don't think Shoko-san can do that, but if there is a way that easy, I would do anything to take it."

"Anything, huh?"

"Well, not 'anything'. As long as it's as easy as it sounds, I'll do it." Atsuya shrugged his own shoulders. "So, how's your vacation so far? You know, before the whole thing happened..."

"Yesterday wasn't so bad." Hachiman answered, staring at his own glass. "Playing in the sand, sea walking... we did a lot of things that tired me so much."

"But you did see your girlfriend in a bikini, right?" Atsuya teased with a smirk.

"Yes, and she was gorgeous."

"Don't you feel embarrassed saying that?"

"Why would I be embarrassed about stating the facts? In reality, she can be beautiful in any outfit or whatever appearance she would have."

"Heh, teen love is something else." Atsuya commented while chuckling, and Hachiman smiled for a moment until he frowned again.

"Kusakabe-sensei, about my girlfriend..." the boy said hesitantly.

"What is it?"

"I told her everything..." Hachiman admitted and there was a moment of silence.

"By 'everything', you mean..."

"I told her about curses and jujutsu sorcery. About how I got into this."

"Shit..."

"I'm in trouble, huh?"

"Jujutsu Article No. 8: always keep our work confidential. You'll be in a lot of trouble if you get her involved any further."

"It's that bad..."

"Just don't let anyone know, alright? And try not to get her even deeper in our world."

"I understand."

"Also, tell Gojo about this so he will help you."

"Okay." After Hachiman's response, the boy checked the time through his phone and stood up. "It's getting late. Haruno-san has plans for us early morning so..."

"Mhm, take care." And with that, the young sorcerer stood and went for the door, only for Atsuya to call out to him while emptying his own glass of water. "By the way... About that fight you had with those Kyoto girls."

"Hm? What about it?"

"I just want to know right now, what were you feeling during that whole fight?"

"Uh, why do you want to know that? Besides, you can guess a few emotions running in me at that time."

"You're emotionally shaken, huh?"

"I was... just so mad... and frustrated. I just solved the issue with Yukino and then suddenly I got shot, cut up, and bled so much blood in front of her." Hachiman caressed the left side of his head where there was a scar, but his hair was long enough to hide it. "Even now, I'm so mad that I want to kill those sorcerers, even if they were given false information. I just want to vent..."

"So that's how you lost." Atsuya sighed. "I thought it was strange for you to lose against those two."

"I got grazed in the head, too."

"Pfft, that injury should be nothing for you. I remember you falling from the third floor of a building and still stood up, got beaten up by cursed spirits, and then got fisted in the stomach by Gojo."

"That last one sounds weird."

"And you held out long against a grade 1 cursed spirit that could do an incomplete Domain Expansion on your very first mission. Now that was impressive, or maybe it was Nanami who's impressive."

"I was basically a decoy while Nanami-san did all the work."

"Anyway, you could still fight by reinforcing your body with cursed energy. You know how to do that, right? And yet, you somehow lost to those Kyoto students."

"That's because I was so overwhelmed by my own emotions, I couldn't control my cursed energy as well as I used to, right?"

"You're really quick to catch on."

"That's because it's like a common theme in powers from manga and other activities. Well, it's not really just a cliche in any media. That's just how life is." Hachiman thought with a deadpanned expression.

"Having overwhelming emotion will deplete your cursed energy faster and wasting it in the process. From the start, you might be on equal footing with them, but the longer it went on, the more your cursed energy depleted. There are professional sorcerers... like yours truly, can control cursed energy perfectly even while we're flipping out. Looks like you still need a lot of training."

"Right, thank you very much, Kusakabe-sensei." The young sorcerer bowed in gratitude and left the room.

"Sensei, huh? I'll never get tired of hearing that." Atsuya mumbled with a grin, but then frowned. "The curse users are at the strength of second grade to third grade... Maybe I should help?... Or I could just relax. I'm on vacation. The kid understands that. Besides, the Kyoto kids seem good enough to handle it."


As he went back into his room and sat on the bed, Hachiman stared at his hands for a moment. He closed his eyes to remember all that happened in that fight. All the frustration, pain, and anxiety were still a memory etched deeply in his mind since it was all recent. The more he replayed the fight, the angrier he became. Then, his mind wandered back to his argument with Yukino and how close they were to ending their relationship and then it went further to his first mission on that bridge. Finally, he came back to that now abandoned middle school building where it all began.

"It's really funny... My life spiraled down deeper at that middle school, and now my life is going down again starting from that same place." He mumbled to himself with a smirked. When he opened his eyes, he saw his cursed energy flaring out of his hands. "Seriously? I thought I did my training well with Gojo. Maybe I need that cursed corpse again?... No, I think this is a problem I need to solve myself."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, going back to his memories.


Next Day 7:00 AM

"Good morning, boys!" Haruno and the girls approached the boys sitting at a table. Hachiman and Yukino made eye contact only for them to avert their gazes a split second after. Yukino sat on a chair further away from him, which caused him to sigh as the others engaged in a conversation.

"What's the plan for the day?" Ooka asked while drinking a glass.

"For now, a whole lot of... nothing." Haruno answered in the most anticlimactic way while raising her arms to stretch.

"... Wait, really?" Hayato blinked along with the others, and Haruno only nodded in response.

"Then why did you tell us to wake up this early?" Hachiman asked with a twitching eyebrow.

"Well, this is the last day, so you gotta wake up early and do things as much as you can here."

"How considerate... then, I think I'll go back to my room." Hachiman stood up. "I'm still kinda sleepy."

"Eeeeh~? Why don't you go outside to get some fresh air? That'll make your eyes at least look more alive by a quarter." Haruno said with a pout.

"Sorry, I'm still the great introvert you know and love, so the only way I can recharge is indoors." Hachiman walked away and rode the elevator.

"How can he say something like that with a straight face?" Yumiko asked with a scowl. "Did he think he looked cool? The cringe."

"He's sociable in a different way." Hayato said while shrugging his own shoulder. "Now then, I'm gonna buy some souvenir for my parents... and also for Tobe."

"Oh, right. We gotta rub it on his face with that to make him jealous." Ooka said with an evil grin.

"If you do that, Tobe's gonna kill you." Yamato warned with a sigh.

"What kind of souvenir I should buy?" Yui asked to herself.

"We'll find one when we get there." Yumiko said while standing up. "Let's go?"

"What about you, Nee-san?" Yukino asked as she joined the rest.

"Oh, I'll be staying here for a while. You guys go on ahead." Haruno answered with a smile.

"I see... Well, we'll be on our way."

"Okay! You guys take care! Make sure you come back by 3 o'clock." Haruno said enthusiastically while waving at them goodbye. As soon as they were out of her sight, she finally stood from her chair. "Now what is wrong with my cute brother-in-law."


"How am I supposed to do this?" Hachiman thought as he stood on the balcony, staring at the sea. "I can just constantly imbue my cursed energy in objects while getting myself distracted. That's just the same training Gojo gave me, but it really is the ideal method to improve my control of cursed energy. But, I feel like I need more than that. What is it? Could it be something simpler that I can't even figure out?"

A knock from the door interrupted his thoughts. He approached the door and looked through the peeping hole to see Haruno standing with a smile.

"Hi~kigaya~kuuun~? Can I come in?" She asked, and he complied. He opened the door and stepped back for her to enter the room. After closing the door, he sat on a chair while Haruno just lied on his bed. "Comfy."

"What do you want?"

"Hmm~ Take a guess!"

"Don't tell me she suspects something between me and Yukino? Who am I kidding? She definitely does. How did we give it away?" Hachiman wondered in his mind with his eye twitching. "Do you come here to check on me?"

"Of course! As your older sister, it's my responsibility. So, tell me what's wrong."

"Lying might not work on her. It always doesn't. Let's see..." He scratched the back of his head. "Well, let's just say I've been changing myself recently."

"Wow, I never noticed that till now." Haruno said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. "So, what about changes? It's mostly just you working out and a new sense of fashion. Nothing too big."

"There's... more than just those." Hachiman prepared glasses of water for both of them.

"Hmm~... care to tell me?"

"It's not something I could tell to just anybody."

"I'm not 'just anybody', I'm your dear older sister." She pouted.

"So anyway, that happened, and it kinda bothered Yukinoshita." He said while ignoring her pout.

"I don't get it. I won't be able to help you because I literally don't know the full context."

"I don't even need your help. I can handle it."

"You sure?"

"Yes. It's nothing major. I'll just have to talk to her and see where it goes." He drank his glass of water. "Where's everyone, by the way?"

"They're going to buy souvenirs." Haruno stretched her arms while rolling to lie on her front. "I already bought mine and I'm thinking of giving them to your parents."

"I actually forgot about that." He looked at the sea through the balcony glass door. "After we were let go yesterday, we didn't talk to each other much and just went straight back to the resort. It was awkward as hell. Yukinoshita texted Haruno-san an excuse so they wouldn't worry about us."

"Wait, why my parents?" Hachiman asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, they have to know how nice the family of their son's girlfriend is."

"You're treating this as if we're getting married."

"Oh~? Are you actually thinking of marrying Yukino-chan?"

"What? No! We're not going that far... yet."

"Yet, huh?" Haruno covered her mouth with her right hand as if she was shocked. "Or are you thinking about marrying me!? Nooo~, you're meant to be with Yukino-chan. You kinda have good looks and getting leaned, but I'm sorry you're not my type and couldn't actually imagine being your wife. But I'm thankful you look at me that way. I'm sorry for rejecting you."

"Oh, god. I already had enough of Isshiki's 'rejections'. I don't need another person taking her place, not by you of all people." Hachiman sighed and stood up. "Well, I guess I need to buy souvenirs or else I might forget."

"Is that so? There is a lot of good stuff to buy at Motobu, but you two just left and you didn't even see the aquarium."

"Sorry, I wasn't feeling well yesterday."

"It's fine. I took pictures of fishes that look just like you."

"There are?"

"Yup! Here." She pulled out her phone from her pocket and showed him the pictures. "Don't they look just like you?"

"No, they're not." He answered in a deadpan tone.

"Hmm... I guess it's because they aren't dead yet." She said while sliding the screen to show more pictures.

"How very original." He said sarcastically, with a slightly disturbed look. "And dark. From what I can gather in this picture, I didn't seem to miss out a lot."

"You didn't see this one though." She showed him a picture of a whale shark.

"Oh, I read it in the brochure. That's one on the list of regrets then."

"And these other fishes- Oh! Here we tried that one restaurant I talked about."

"How dare you show me a picture of food."

"Your one weakness." She chuckled with a grin. "It was all on me, by the way."

"Critical hit! Yesterday really was the worst day." Hachiman flinched. He wanted to retort, but froze for a moment after remembering the reason he left that town. He spoke once again. "I really need to take care of myself more."

"Are you alright now?" Haruno asked.

"Yeah, I don't feel sick anymore, but I just need a little rest."

"Great, but don't sleep through the entire day or else you'll miss out on our plan for today."

"And it involves?"

"Not telling~."

"I'm getting less and less excited."

"Why? Aren't you feeling the suspense?"

"That suspense produced fear instead of excitement, considering it's you. I'd rather avoid it."

"Even after the things we did yesterday?"

"I always keep my guard up when it comes to your schemes."

"You're overthinking it. You're sounding dumber than being smart."

"I blame my overcautiousness on you. Anyway, I'm going out now so you need to get out of my room."

"That's rude. Well, before you leave. There's one thing I want to say." She stood from the bed and approached him slowly. Suddenly, her voice became low and sinister, which made her smile terrifying. "Hikigaya-kun. I don't know what you're hiding from me, but if you hurt Yukino-chan, consider that a bad ending."

"Wha-"

"Why do you think little of me? Do you think the same about Yukino? Because I bet she knows something too as well as Mother. Whether it's serious or just something trivial, don't you hurt her."

"I just didn't expect Yukino to find out. Now that she did, it was more of a question of 'when' than an 'if' for you to find out, too. But, I don't intend to hurt her in any way." He responded with determination. Haruno released a sigh at that and lied on the bed. "Why are you lying back in my bed?"

"Oh, please. I bought this room for you so that technically means this is my bed too." She said while sitting up with legs crossed. "I trust you can solve whatever issue you're currently having with Yukino-chan because ending things so prematurely is not my taste. After the times you've been through, I refuse to see all that you and the others built together end in such a half-baked way."

"You... trust me that much?" Hachiman wondered in bewilderment.

"Your secrets bother me, but I can't just say 'break up with my sister' when I don't fully understand everything. I watched and handled you guys for about a year now and you all have grown so much."

"You sound like you're our grandmother, which is weird."

"Surprised to hear my wiser side?" Haruno asked with a smirk.

"It's not that you're not wise. You just do it in a more annoying, scary, and unpredictable way."

"That is true."

"And 'handled'?"

"It's an older sister's duty, right?"

"I doubt a good, sweet older sister uses the word 'handle' when taking care of younger siblings."

"Oh, please. Even older siblings would have problems with the younger ones. There are times for you too, right? I doubt Komachi is all good and you just smile every time you see her."

"Don't describe Komachi as a devilish girl like you... But you do have a point."

"Riiiight~?" Haruno said in a playful tone while Hachiman sat back down.

"Did you ask Yukino about this before you came here?" He asked.

"Nope, I haven't. Though, I doubt I'll get answers from her either after talking to you. You two think alike after all."

"A long period of bickering and flirting culminates our odd and romantic bond."

"Wow, don't you feel embarrassed saying that?"

"So much that I think the cells in my body will tear apart from the intense shaking. It's still worth it, though."

"Hmmm, now I'm jealous. I want to date someone too~."

"What about Gojo? Weren't you serious about him?"

"How did you know that?"

"Yukino told me."

"What? Conversations in girls' night always stay between girls. I can't believe she broke that rule."

"Well, I guess a romantic endeavor between two threats of the human psyche is a matter that should be discussed by several people."

"You know, you're getting out of hand with those remarks." Haruno said with a pout. "As for your question: yes, I'm interested in him, but I don't see myself dating him."

"Why?" He asked while drinking his glass.

"He's hiding something, I can tell. Even after weeks of conversing through texts and calls, I couldn't get a single crack on him. He's kinda like you, but with more self-confidence, not really gloomy, and as good as lying as I am."

"She really is scary. How far can she see through people's lies?" Hachiman thought. "Also, he's like me? I don't see a single resemblance."

"... And not to mention you are friends with him." Haruno looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Who? Gojo? Of all the people I want to be friends with, he's not on the list. I think I remember considering on befriending him, but he immediately reminded me about the nightmares of normies. However, in his case, it's different. VERY different. He has the mind of a kid who's a sociopath yet still popular because of his looks."

"Geez, that's some hatred you have there. I guess it's understandable. He really is something when it comes to messing with other people."

"Well, it's not like he's that bad, per se. He did help me a lot back at the fitness camp."

"Like how he forced you to exercise while holding a plushy?"

"Yeah, his guidance helped me in those workou- wait, how did you...?!"

"He sent me these." Haruno grinned when his face was full of dread as he stared at the pictures of his training.

"You didn't show this to anyone, did you?" He asked with his skin becoming pale.

"Nah, I decided to keep it to myself. But, I sometimes got the urge to show these to Yukino-chan." Haruno chuckled.

"I swear I'll find a way to kill him myself." He thought in anger while gritting his teeth.

"So yeah, zero chance of any romantic developments." She said while finishing her drink. "Right now, I'm contemplating whether I should just block and forget him."

"It would honestly be better if you block him, but I won't say that to her." Hachiman placed the two empty glasses on the sink. "Maybe you could just confess and see how it plays out?"

"It's already obvious I would get rejected. I don't see the point."

"It's not the rejection you should be looking, but the aftermath of it. If there is at least a 0.01% chance of still being friends or just mutual to each other after the confession, then there is still a sliver of hope. At least, that's what naïve romance fanatics say. In truth, the purpose of the aftermath is a test of bond. To see if the memories you had with your partner as friendsstill have value. If the past friendship was tainted and forgotten, buried under the table-turning of relationship called 'love confession', then he's not your friend. Just a guy who hangs out with you or being nice to you. That is where you should really cut off from him."

"Why do you sound like you haven't gotten over with your own issue?"

"I did get over with it. But, we're talking about you, not me, so the chance of failure is a 50/50 at best."

"Oh, so you're giving me relationship advice? Is the world ending?"

"It might as well be. The course of the world is taking a chaotic turn. I'm probably one of its effects."

"That sounds nerdy and too real. I guess I'll give it a shot." Haruno stood once more. "Welp, I won't take too much of your time. I'll be just on Bar Wavy chatting with some friends I recently made here."

"Take care." Hachiman said as she approached the door while he walked towards the balcony. Before opening the door, Haruno spoke.

"Remember what I said, Hikigaya. Be good to her." And with that, she left. The boy just sat on the chair outside of the balcony and stared at the scenery.

"Weird, I somehow don't feel stressed anymore." He mumbled. "Did taking to Haruno-san help me? That's even weirder... I think too much. Maybe I need to relax and have a peace of mind for a while. Souvenirs can wait."


Meanwhile

"Are you in position yet?" Mechamaru asked on the phone.

"Working on it." Mai answered with a click of her tongue.

"What's taking you so long?"

"How about you try sneaking to the rooftop without letting them know you're carrying a gun. Ugh, there, I made it."

"Good, find the angle and stand by for unusual occurrence." Mechamaru ended the call and sat near the edge of the resort's rooftop. "The places Mai could use as sniping posts are limited here, surveillance is narrow, and it'll be a problem if civilians in here are involved. If the curse users chose to attack here, it'll be at our disadvantage. It would be a miracle if they don't use this opportunity."

Mechamaru looked to his right and saw a certain boy sitting outside of the balcony with eyes closed.

"Hikigaya Hachiman, a drop-out in Tokyo Jujutsu Tech. I've never seen him before. He wasn't there in last year's Goodwill Event. Is there some sort of special circumstances of him? He's a mystery for sure." After staring at Hachiman for a full minute, Mechamaru noticed something from how he breathe and the cursed energy enveloping him. "He's not sleeping. Is he meditating? He has more cursed energy than Miwa and Mai, so how did he lose to them? You could say it was because of his lack of action for a long period of time, but how is his cursed energy growing stronger?... Or maybe... it's more like he's finally realizing his true potential."

Hachiman slowly opened his eyes and let out a sigh while sinking into his seat. His eyes widened when he saw a strange figure above the roof, which was Mechamaru. After looking at his surroundings for just a quick two seconds, he jumped high, landing on the rooftop, and ran towards Mechamaru. The puppet sorcerer just sat still and watched him approach.

"It's nice to meet you, Hikigaya Hachiman." Mechamaru spoke calmly. "I'm not your enemy. I'm also a sorcerer from Kyoto. Call me Mechamaru."

"You're... a robot?" Hachiman mumbled with an arched eyebrow while looking at his appearance.

"This is a puppet. The real me is just hidden somewhere. My cursed technique involves controlling puppets."

"You're here to protect Haruno-san. Sorry for mistaking you as a curse user."

"It's fine. Your reaction is quick, but your caution is lacking. Keep your guard up."

"I know that, but I'm just too mentally exhausted to focus."

"Do you not care for that woman?"

"Of course I do. I just don't have the guts to deal with this Jujutsu sorcery business anymore. Pretty pathetic, right?"

"Very. Those who are weak-minded aren't fit to be Jujutsu sorcerers."

"Exhibit A: a high school teenager who couldn't take the missions anymore and dropped out." Hachiman said while pointing at himself with a thumb maintaining the lie that he was a drop-out.

"Yes, which is why you should leave this issue to us." Mechamaru stood as Hachiman only looked at the ocean scenery and shifted his gaze to the puppet sorcerer. The two stared at each other for a moment in silence until Mechamaru spoke. "You're now out of the world of sorcery. This is our job, not yours. There's nothing to be ashamed of in pursuing a different course of life. You have eyes to bury this scenery into your mind, not just through a screen, and arms and legs that you can hold to things and move on your own. You can feel the breeze here and hear the waves in peace. Your life may be in danger, but it's not you who will have to solve it. All you have to do for us is nothing."

"But this power..." Hachiman stared at his own palms. "It's like I have this for a reason."

"That's up to you whether or not that power has meaning." Mechamaru argued. "How you interpret it will be the meaning of that power. If it's just meaningless, then don't use it."

Hachiman opened his mouth to speak, but the vibrating sound from his phone interrupted him. He looked at the message and put it back in his pocket.

"A text from a friend. I gotta go." Hachiman said and ran. He jumped down to his balcony and went back into the room. Mechamaru just stood still and stared at the ocean view. He raised his right hand forward as if he was reaching for the scenery.


Somewhere in a dimly lit room filled with tubes.

A man fully wrapped in bandages sat in a bathtub full of water. His appearance was slim, had black hair tied into a knot above his head, and his right forearm was missing entirely. His body was scarred with grotesquely thin, wrinkled skin. He raised his only hand towards the screen.

The image displayed on the screen looked so far from him.

Or rather, it felt impossible for him to even close a foot of distance.

He curled the hand in to a fist and gritted his teeth in frustration until he calmed down.

"Someday..."


8 hours later, 3:10 PM

"Okay, who's missing?" Hayato asked.

"Ooka and Totsuka haven't come back yet." Yamato answered.

"What's taking them so long?" Yumiko asked in frustration.

"Totsuka said he needed to check something out before going back here. Ooka just joined him out of curiosity."

"We're back!" Ooka loudly announced their return. He and Saika were carrying shopping bags as they approached them.

"Sorry, I just saw things I really need to buy." Saika apologized with a bow.

"It's fine. It's fine." Haruno appeared in front of them. "You're all just in time. Feeling tired?"

"Definitely~." Yui answered as she sat on a couch. "It feels like we went through all the stores in Kuginami District."

"For real, and the heat definitely didn't help." Yumiko spoke.

"Well, get ready because we're about to go... in a spa!" Haruno announced excitedly, and Yui, Yumiko, and Komachi beamed with excitement. Yukino also felt excited about the spa, but not as much as the other two, since she didn't bother showing such emotion. Saki just thought in curiosity about what the experience would be like since she had never been in a spa before, as well as the boys.

"Massages, manicures, aromatherapy?!" Yumiko voiced out her expectations.

"Facial and a sauna?!" Yui did the same.

"Heaven on Earth?" Komachi jumped in and they laughed.

"A relaxing treatment. I'm down for that." Hayato accepted, and the rest followed. Hachiman wanted to be in as well, but he almost forgot about the scars he had from yesterday and unconsciously stroke the scar on his head with a left hand.

"Yukinon, have you been to a spa before?" Yui asked.

"No, this could be my first time. But, I'm sorry I won't be joining." Yukino apologized.

"Seriously? You're missing out Heaven on Earth?" Ooka asked.

"Hachiman and I have other plans. It's extremely important." Yukino grabbed her boyfriend's right arm and pulled him away from the group.

"And there they go again." Ooka folded his arms. "Did something happen to them yesterday?"

"Well, as long as they're having fun, we don't have the right to put our noses on their business. Come on, those masseuses are waiting for us." Haruno said and walked forward.


Meanwhile, in Hachiman's room.

Hachiman sat on the bed while Yukino stood in front of him and brushed back the hair on his left temple to reveal the scar.

"A scar... so that's why..." Yukino caressed the scar until she sat next to him.

"Was I obvious?" He asked.

"You've been rubbing your temple ever since you joined us in shopping. Are there more?"

"All my healed injuries left scars. Thanks for helping me back there."

"It's fine. I don't want you to have more problems." And an awkward silence filled the room. They didn't look at each other, and just gazing at anything interesting. Hachiman's hand curled into a fist, steeling himself to say a word.

"Listen... about yesterday..." He spoke.

"It was... unbelievable at most." Yukino interrupted. "But even now, I'm still thinking that was all a dream."

"I can't blame you. It wasn't a good day."

It really wasn't. The most terrible part is you being so weak."

"Huh?"

"You lost in a battle against those two women."

Now, wait a minute. I fought with everything I had yesterday."

"To be honest, it was difficult to watch you losing. The worst part was the comfort you gave me before the fight was a lie. I imagined you cutting trees in half with only one swing and make the ground tremble. But no, you were just swinging the hiking pole like an embarrassment and commit assault on women as if you were an abusive father, only to be ridiculed by said women."

"That's one hell of a comparison. If you didn't notice, I barely dodged bullets like any action shonen protagonist and managed to get a few hits on her here and there, so it's not entirely terrible. Also, don't put your expectations too high. It's not that I can't do what you said just now, I'm just saying have doubts about your boyfriend."

"Doubts? What happened to 'faith'?"

"There is a huge effect in doubting someone you care about. You see, everyone has doubts about their partners. When they do, guilt would sometimes sink in and after their partners' exceeded expectations and clearing those doubts, that guilt would grow. When various other emotions mix in their minds, that was when the partners strike at their hearts."

"Oh? Is it the same as your confession to me months ago? When I was unsure of our futures together as well as doubting my own abilities, you struck me with a terrible confession?"

"Exactly." His answer earned a pinch on the cheek from Yukino.

"It sounds as if you exploited my psychological state." She said in a low, angry tone. "And since when have you become an expert on how to win one's affection?"

"The psyche of a normie was my first lesson in social studies. The teacher was an annoying wrench that goes by the name of 'Life'." He answered jokingly and she let go of his cheek.

"And who taught you those awful jokes?"

"Self-taught."

"That explains everything."

"Explain what? My humor is something that has been developed throughout media while adding my own taste."

"Your taste concerns me."

"You're doubting my comedic sense?"

"I doubt so many things about you from the very first time we interacted."

"Hoooh~? That means you fell for me from the very beginning?"

"If we go by that logic, then it is safe to assume so. You always somehow subvert my expectations whether it was on your charming side... or that disgusting, twisted, pessimistic side."

"I impress you in both opposite ways. That's an achievement. So you find me being a socially inept loser attractive, huh? All the people confessed to you must've wondered why you rejected them, but I doubt they'd figure out it was because they were normies."

"I can sense your ego inflating. Where did I say I was attracted to your latter side?"

"You're not? But, that is a half of Hikigaya Hachiman's identity. You would date me and reject a part of my core self?"

"Of course I'm attracted to it, but I don't want to admit because your ego is quite irritating to deal with."

"Please, give me more praises."

"You have enough."

"Heh... So back to the topic. I'm sorry about yesterday."

"How many times do you have to apologize? I said everything is fine."

"I don't know. It always feels like saying sorry a hundred times is not enough."

"Goodness, even your feeling of guilt is irritating." Yukino shook her head with a smile. "Do I have to prove myself that I accept your apology?"

"Prove?" Hachiman was confused for a moment and answered. "You don't have to do that. This is just me carrying a really heavy weight so I couldn't help thinking the consequences and atonement would be just as, if not, heavier."

"True, but that doesn't mean you should suffer and push yourself to atone when others say they'd still be with you. It's almost the same as your second-year self. You sacrificed yourself for our sake when we said you don't have to or you just shouldn't given the methods you would use."

"Feels like I haven't changed much, huh?"

"You have. Instead of thinking you're just a scapegoat, you now do it out of fear of rejection. You value your place with us, and you fear you would be cast out again or seeing it crumble. Valuing yourself is a better reason than thinking you have no value at all."

"That's true."

"Besides, I also have an apology to make."

"For what?"

"During that entire battle and interrogation, fear overwhelmed me. I was so afraid I wanted to escape and run far away from such madness. It almost didn't occur to me that you're in trouble, and so I selfishly prayed for you to get me out. So much twisted thoughts came to my mind to the point I blamed you for it. It disgusted me to no end. I thought I could still hold your hand firmly even if I would be in danger of the supernatural, but that was naïve of me."

"You're feeling guilty over something so pointless. It's natural for anyone to have that kind of anxious thoughts."

"That doesn't mean it should be justified. Which is why the next time that happens to us again, I won't leave you."

"Just don't stand there while I fight."

"Ugh, that is not what I meant. Why is your mind regressing?"

"I'm just saying to avoid confusion."

"It's easy to understand the message."

"True, but this is me being cautious. You might have said something with a double meaning or tricked me with wordplay. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me, so whatever promises we make here, one of them will not be 'let me fight as well' or something."

"As much as I want to-"

"Trust me, you don't."

"-I don't have the ability to help you in terms of curses and whatnot. I can't fight nor provide support there. However, I can support you here, the place you desperately want to protect. In this normal side of the world, I can support you in any way."

"Does that include free food?"

"Whatever you need."

"Thank you for the endless hospitali-"

"You were supposed to say I don't need to do that and instead accept my love for you as enough treatment." She said as she tried to pinch him again, only for him to catch her hand in time.

"First, that sounds way too cheesy. Second, this goes beyond playing hard to get. Lastly, I was joking."

"Once again, you show me your tasteless sense of humor." Yukino let out a sigh and leaned her head on his shoulder. "You said people fall for their partners more after the latter cleared their doubts. Now that I cleared yours, how do you feel?"

"Overjoyed."

"Then I want to hear those three words."

"Well, it's..."

"The answer I'm looking for is not 'Well' or 'it's', Hachiman."

"Uh..."

"You know you rarely ever say that phrase. It honestly amazes me how you can say other embarrassing lines, but not that."

"The times you wanted me to say that you were in your most aggressive nature. It's uh... hard to interact." He said while averting his gaze.

"I don't know why I'm like this, nor when it all started. Perhaps this is mere instincts."

"What a way to call yourself an animal."

"And what a way to insult your girlfriend." She glared, but it didn't affect him.

"So what are your supposed 'instincts' telling you now?" He asked while scratching his cheek, having hundreds of imaginations in his mind while she had a shy expression.

"Well, one of them wants to hear those three words from you."

"And the others?"

"I'll tell you if you say the phrase." Yukino said with a teasing smile.

"Nevermind, I'll figure it out later."

"There is no later." She sat straight and Hachiman just leaned back from her aggressiveness and took deep breaths.

"Give me a sec..." He said while massaging the bridge of his nose.

"It's just three words..." She mumbled with an eye twitching. Hachiman then looked at her with determination and red cheeks.

"I love you..." After saying the phrase, Hachiman placed a palm on his own face. "Can I kill myself?"

"Say it again five more times." She demanded with a chuckle.

"I'm already suicidal by saying it once."

"You are exaggerating the term 'love hurts'."

"I think in this current era, it's very accurate. The concept of love makes me see death in different ways now."

"I didn't know I'm dating a boyfriend so weak, he would be damaged by mere words."

"No, no. I was hit by cruel words in the past and I pushed through it, but they were an offensive attack using harassment. This is completely different because this one is an offensive maneuver using intimacy. I have no defensive options against it."

"If you're my boyfriend, something such as this should be nothing to you."

"Didn't I say not to put high expectations on me?"

"Oh, excuse me. Of course you would be weak enough to say a simple phrase. Your wish to show your feelings clashing with your wish to not say such a phrase is the most foolish contradiction I've ever heard. I don't know what is the right word to describe it. Pitiful? Imbecile? Waste of oxygen and existence? Whatever it is, it is aligned well with 'trash'." Yukino said with arms folded. "Now, I believe this is the part where you 'clear my doubts'?"

"That was too brutal. I didn't expect you to use 40% of your full ranting power."

"I recommend not attempting to gauge my capabilities because I've always been using 100%"

"Oh, beautiful Ice Queen. I beg you to spare me."

"Request denied."

"How cruel of you, tyrant."

"Now say 'I love you' again five more times."

"The balcony sure looks nice. Makes me want to jump off."

"We'll commit a lovers' suicide on another time."

"And you said I have a twisted mind." He said while rolling his eyes. "I can only say it once. That is all you get."

"Is this what the term tsundere means?"

"Oh please, as if you didn't have a tsundere behavior for the past year."

"I can't deny that, but..." Unexpectedly, Yukino kissed Hachiman on the right cheek. He froze with his mouth open, not even letting out a single word. She smiled at his reactions and spoke. "It doesn't stop me from trying to be honest."

"She always takes a step ahead of me in terms of intimacy. If this keeps up, I would fail as a man to not take the initiative for once." He set his back straight and returned the favor by also kissing her cheek. This caught her off-guard, which caused her to freeze as well while blushing. She looked down, appeared to be embarrassed and shocked. Hachiman just watched her motionless state for a moment and turned his head away while thinking. "I guess she can be as shy about this as I am. Who knew all it takes to defeat her is one swift surprise attack of my own. Why didn't I think of this soone-"

Suddenly, his girlfriend hugged him while attacking him with kisses on both of his cheeks.

"H-Hey!" He called out to her, which she stopped. The couple just stared at each other until Yukino giggled.

"I couldn't help it." She said while cuddling him, rubbing her face on his chest.

"The phrase 'Men are beast' should be updated because this woman right in front of me is proof. I may have awakened something in her and I'm scared at what it might cause. It's as if a beautiful maiden being tempted by a wicked man, and became the black sheep of the family. Wait, that almost sounds the same as what's happening now. This obvious display of corruption is the biggest sin I've ever committed, yet it actually excites me. No! I shouldn't! Stop tainting the beautiful image of Yukino with pervertedness! These thoughts of lust are like a curse from her feminity. A rose that hid its thorns well in the bushes." Hachiman then relaxed himself and closed his eyes. "Well, at least I took care of my relationship for real this time. Now... as for my last issue..."


Two hours later, 5:00 PM

"Phew... Heaven on Earth, all right." Ooka said.

"I never felt so light before." Hayama commented while twirling his arms to stretch. "Our daily club practices really screwed us by a lot, huh?"

"I feel like I've matured ten years in a span of two hours." Komachi said with enthusiasm. "It makes me want to try alcoholic beverages!"

"You didn't mature age-wise." Saki caressed her own neck.

"I wonder where Hikki and Yukinon went." Yui said while texting her phone. They sat at the tables in the Ocean Cafe and engaged in conversations until a certain pair arrived. Yui was the first to spot them and her reaction was a mix of confusion and amazement. She saw Yukino and Hachiman walking towards them, with Yukino embracing his left arm, and closed the gap between them. She noticed how... radiant Yukino's expression was while Hachiman appeared to be embarrassed. He changed his attire into a white T-shirt, brown dropped-gusset sweat shorts, and black sneakers. A few seconds later, the others noticed the couple as well.

"Well, well, well... Look at you two." Ooka said with a grin and held his chin.

"I guess we don't need to ask how you lovebirds doing, huh?" Hayato with a chuckle.

"Yukino-chaaaan~? What did you do?" Haruno asked her sister.

"Why do you assume I'm the one who did something, Nee-san?" Yukino asked in a joyful and soothing tone. "Well... you are not wrong."

"Heeeh~? Give us the juicy details, will you?" Yumiko asked them with a smirk.

"I refuse." Hachiman answered immediately. "This is something that's not for immature children like you people."

"Hah? You always sound so high and mighty, but this one takes the cake." Ooka said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Yes, it's only a matter that is for just the two of us." Yukino rubbed her cheeks against his arm. Hachiman scratched the back of his head while smirking at Ooka, who became more annoyed.

"You damn couples should just get heatstroke from the summer heat." Ooka said with a vein popped on his head.

"Heheheh." His sister's giggle and wore a smug expression. "A... B... C..."

"Eh?" Yui heard Komachi's soft voice. "T-they did... did THAT already? But, we're still in high school! And they did it in the afternoon instead of nighttime?! Their first time while the sun is still up? Is it a new trend for couples?"

"Whatever thoughts you're having, it's not that." Hachiman said while lightly pinching both Yui and Komachi's cheek after getting a hint of expression from them about what they were thinking about.

"Was it at least better than having a spa?" Hayato teased while Yamato whistled and Ooka booed.

"Yes." The couple answered at the same time.

"I hope the scorching heat burns your damn skins, you normies." Ooka jokingly said with slight envy.

"Oi, that's my trademark." Hachiman said as he and his girlfriend sat next to each other.

"What, I'm gonna get copyright?"

"Most likely."

"Aaanywaaay~, at 8:30, there's gonna be fireworks and barbecue, but we'll be at the beach by... 7:45." Haruno explained while checking her phone. "There are some things we need to prepare."

"And what is that?" Hachiman asked with skepticism.

"Didn't I tell you early morning it's a surprise?"

"I'm really getting less excited."

"Your secrecy is concerning, Nee-san." Yukino agreed with him.

"Oh, shut up. You'll see. Tonight, we'll end this trip with a bang!"


Two hours later, 7:12 PM

"Get ready to move. Yukinoshita Haruno will leave in two minutes." Mechamaru notified the team.

"Roger." They responded at the same time on the phone. After waiting for 90 seconds, he saw Haruno going out of the resort.

"Here she comes, move!" He ordered as he jumped off the rooftop and landed safely under the trees with jet boosters on his elbows. He ran as fast as he could without losing his sight on the target. "My best bet is they'll move once she's at a certain distance away from the resort. If I'm right, their objective is still the same: to remove the barrier by either killing me, which won't do anything, or detach the charm from her undetected. I have to go find specific rooftops so when a battle starts, Mai would have a bird's-eye view of everything."

He saw Haruno riding a bus and so; he followed by flying from rooftop to rooftop until the bus stopped.

"Are you guys keeping up?" Mechamaru asked on the phone.

"We already arrived. Mai is finding a sniping post right now." Miwa answered.

"Good, now-" Before he could speak any further, a knife suddenly flew behind him in which he dodged quickly by bending forward. The twirling knife ricochet off a wall, to the roof of a blue car, and twirled back to Mechamaru, who tilted his head to evade. The knife instead hit a water tank and got stuck. "A knife that can ricochet? Its speed and momentum should've at least left a scratch on the wall and car roof. No, the motion of that knife is..."

Two more knives twirled towards him from both sides. Mechamaru simply ducked once again to evade, but another knife appeared from under his chin. He didn't notice it, or rather... he couldn't see it coming. He wanted to wonder how it happened, but there was no time. Fortunately, a bullet came out of nowhere and knocked the third knife away.

"Mai..."


"You're welcome." Mai said with a smug. She was lying prone on the edge of a seven-storey building while holding a sniper rifle, which was a SAKO TRG 42 A1. "Where's Miwa?"

"She's following Yukinoshita Haruno." Fujin answered while adjusting a standing specialized telescope. "Mechamaru said if an enemy shows up, she'll act as a bodyguard. There is a higher chance the curse users will focus only on Mechamaru, but at the slight chance they split their objectives, switch to supporting Miwa."

"Got it."

"Oh, speak of the devil... On Miwa, now." Fujin instructed as he saw the back of a person with shaved bald head through the telescope.

"Range?" Mai asked as she shifted her focus to Miwa.

"905 yards." He answered."Let's go to that building to get close."

"Contact." Mai responded while adjusting her scope.

"But-"

"I said contact."

"The maximum range of her sniper rifle is over 870 yards. Can she do it?" After thinking for a second, he decided. "From Miwa, go 9 o'clock."

"Contact."

"Go to glass." As he said that, Mai shifted her position.

"Target is walking with the crowd to Miwa's right, approaching the victim. Male, skinny, has a blue large backpack, wears a long-sleeve shirt, and grey cargo shorts." Mai described the target she saw with the residuals.

"That's him." He answered, and she adjusted the scope.

"... 1.03."

"Check level. Holdover: 3.05"

"Ready."

"Send it." He ordered, and she pulled the trigger, specifically aiming for the target's head. However, she only hit the back near his left shoulder. Mai clicked her tongue and quickly pulled the ejection port to remove the case. While the target was limping away, she shot once more and this time, she successfully shot the head. "Nice shot."

"Oh, poor guy behind him. He got blood splattered all over him." Mai chuckled while pulling the ejection port. "I guess being in the military isn't a complete waste, huh?"

"Just because I did little in the British Armed Forces doesn't mean I wasn't trained properly. The Middle East isn't an easy place to relax normally." Fujin responded and thought for a moment. "Impressive. To kill the target above the sniper rifle's maximum range... "

"Mechamaru looks to be standing still... I don't see any curse user."

"... I suddenly have a bad feeling about this." Fujin mumbled. He heard a door behind them opening and there was a green smudge above the sky. Out of pure instinct, he went behind her to block an invisible attack.

"Onishi-san?" Mai was shocked when he fell next to her. She turned around and stood to see a woman with long black hair tied into a ponytail and wore a brown cloak.

"You really took the bait." The woman spoke.

"What are you talking about?" Mai asked in anger while aiming the rifle at the enemy. Mèngyáo didn't answer as a knife appeared above her head, twirling towards the sorcerer. Mai shot the knife first, which gave the curse user the opportunity. The curse user pulled out a crossbow from a blue bag and fired an arrow. At the same time, Mai pulled the ejection port and fired as she quickly aimed at her head. The bullet and arrow collided, both imbued with cursed energy. Unfortunately for the sorcerer, the arrow shattered the bullet through and hit Mai's right upper arm.

"That was supposed to sever her arm completely. I guess despite the difference in our cursed energy, her weapon makes up for it." Mèngyáo thought. She then heard the sound of a rocket and saw Mechamaru flew towards them.

"That man we killed was a decoy." Mechamaru said while raising his hands forward, preparing to fire Ultra Cannon at her. "You coat an innocent non-sorcerer in your friend's residual and used him to bait us and reveal our positions. As expected of curse users, nothing but inhuman trash."

"Your name-calling won't get you anywhere, puppet." Mèngyáo smirked and another curse user appeared out of thin air behind her. It was none other than the curse user wearing the hollowed-out dog mask named K-9.

"Mai, Onishi-san." Mechamaru mumbled their name, which they heard. "I'll open a way for you to escape. Once you do, find a post and support Miwa."

"Okay." They agreed. Both sides were at a standoff for a few seconds until the curse users moved first. K-9 ran towards the sorcerers while Mèngyáo pushed and pull the crossbow's lever to reload. In this one second, Mechamaru created an opportunity as he fired his Ultra Cannon on the floor. The floor exploded and shattered to pieces and they all fell down to the floor under. Through the cloud of smoke, K-9 ran towards the person by sensing his strong curse energy. He threw a punch, and it collided with Mechamaru's still-damaged Ultra Shield.

"They used this moment for the two to escape." The woman found out and went down the stairs. Mechamaru tried to stop her by rushing towards her. He couldn't fire another cannon yet because of heat emission. K-9 saw his intent and intercepted him with a kick. As Mechamaru about to face the curse user, another thought crossed his mind.

"Where's the other curse user with the knives?"


Two minutes later

"OH MY GOD!"

"HE'S DEAD!"

"I KNEW THOSE SOUNDS WERE GUNSHOTS!"

"L-LOOK UP THERE! AN EXPLOSION!"

"RUN!"

The crowd panicked as they ran away from the dead body lying in the middle of the road, as well as the explosion occurred on top of the tall building. The man who was splattered in the victim's blood stood frozen in fear, traumatized by the terrifying event. There were some people who stayed and took pictures and videos to post on social media. The police were quick to arrive and controlled the citizens while investigating the scene. Haruno was as shocked as everyone else and ran away. Miwa followed her quickly from behind while carrying her brown guitar case. She then saw a knife twirling towards Haruno's, and so Miwa used her cursed energy to run faster and blocked the incoming knife with the case.

"There's no cursed energy in the knife. They're trying to assassinate without letting us notice." Miwa thought and continued to follow Haruno. Despite the disorder from the crowd, she figured it wouldn't be difficult to find the curse user because of how he left residuals. After looking around, she found the residuals on the road and traced it to a skinny man with a shaved head, and wearing a black kimono and grey hakama. Miwa approached the culprit and suddenly the world started spinning around her. "W-What's happening? Why am I spinning? Or is it the world that's spinning? This is... too nauseating..."

She held her mouth to resist the urge to vomit. A knife came towards her and she blocked it again with the guitar case imbued with her cursed energy.

"Make it... stop." She fell to her knees. Even the ground was spinning. She closed her eyes, stood, and ran to see if something would happen. Three knives came towards her back and she turned around just in time to block them with the guitar case once again. While it happened, the world started spinning faster as the force of the knives being blocked pushed her back. The first two knives pierced the guitar case, being stuck and creating cracks. The last knife completely shattered the case as Miwa tumbled away. In one swift motion while tumbling back, she grabbed her sheathed katana and stood back up, wobbling. The spinning stopped, which made her release a sigh until she noticed something on the ground. "Wait, are these?"

"Look out!" A voice of a young man shouted. Miwa turned around and was met with a tackle.

"Who the- Hikigaya-san?!" Miwa expressed her shock when she saw Hachiman.

"Uh, hi." He greeted, and they both stood.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Helping you. You were about to get killed by those." Hachiman pointed at the two knives planted on the road. "While you were recovering from... whatever you got yourself into, that curse user took that chance to kill Haruno-san. I came just in time to save her."

"Where is she?"

"I bumped into Onishi-san and Zenin-san. Onishi-san is taking her away while Mai is finding a place to shoot."


"A veil that traps sorcerers from the inside." Fujin mumbled while touching the veil. "Such a complex barrier..."

"Are you gonna tell me what's going on?" Haruno asked with a glare. "Because my patience is running thin. Also, why are you miming?"

"Yukinoshita Haruno, who is a non-sorcerer, is not affected by the veil's effects. It seems this time they changed the veil's condition to get Haruno trapped in here." He thought. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you're safe."

"I don't care about safety, you idiot! I want answers!"

"There are people who are after you. It seems whoever is the client that hired those hitmen has a grudge against your family business. We are basically your bodyguards hired by a friend of your mother." Fujin lied and omitted anything related to curses. He was lucky Haruno panicked so much that she ran away without seeing anything such as the two sorcerers spinning as if they were standing on a spinning platform, but he didn't know that. It was a gamble for him where it was unknowingly in his favor, but that favor was quite slim.

"Let me see your ID." She demanded, and he gave her a fake ID. In case something such as this would ever happen, Fujin and the three students were given fake IDs as security guards. Haruno analyzed it from front to back. She then stared at him with an unreadable expression and spoke. "I'm going to ask you some questions about whether or not this ID is real."

"Ask away..." Fujin complied with her request. "She is far scarier than I thought."


"You should be the one taking her to safety." Miwa argued.

"Yeah, but I think you need my help, too. So I'm staying with you instead." Hachiman rebutted.

"Yukinoshita-san would be far safer when you're with her. Also, you should've done that and then come back here, so why?"

"I guess... I just don't want to see her being scared of me." He answered while looking down until he raised his head up. "Besides, it seems there are no people around."

"No people?" Miwa looked around as well and noticed how the streets were empty. "Could this be-?"

"The veil..." He finished her sentence.

"He's over there." Miwa mumbled, but her words reached his ears. She looked at a restaurant with tables and seats outside for customers.

"These sorcerers are becoming a pain in the ass, but at least I confirmed that non-cursed energy attacks work. Now then..." Reef took a deep breath and pulled out knives from the sleeves of his yukata. He was hiding behind a wooden fence at the outdoor of said restaurant until he sensed something approaching him fast. He rolled away before the fence behind him shattered from a kick. When he crouch with one knee, he turned his head to his left and saw a blade coming down towards his face. With a knife, Reef parried and attempted to stab Miwa in the middle of her chest. She blocked it with her left forearm, which she stepped back in pain. As blood came out of her stabbed forearm, Hachiman charged at Reef and tried to kick his left side, but the latter stepped back to evade and threw a left jab at Hachiman's face. The young sorcerer deflected it with his left hand and threw his own left jab at his face. He broke his nose, which caused it to bleed, and the knife wielder became annoyed. He then noticed Miwa sheathing her blade and running towards him.

"New Shadow Style: Quick Draw!" She drew her sword so fast, it was almost nothing but a blur. The curse user failed to dodge or block as he received a large cut that extended from the stomach to his upper left chest. The two knives he used to defend were shattered. However, it didn't seem to slow the enemy as he quickly kicked her in the stomach and ducked to avoid an incoming right haymaker from Hachiman. While Reef was still in the ducking position, Hachiman swung an upper kick to his chin, punched his face, and tackled him. The young sorcerer attempted a forearm choke, but the curse user was quick to counter the move. As soon as Hachiman placed his right forearm to his throat, Reef crossed his legs behind Hachiman, lifted his own hips while turning his head to the side, and held the back of Hachiman's neck. He grabbed Hachiman's tricep and lifted his hips higher to pop the sorcerer's arm off his throat. He grabbed the sorcerer on a cable grip, escaped being under him, and did a guillotine chokehold.

"Ggh!" Hachiman struggled to breathe. The curse user released his own left arm, raised it to take out a knife from his sleeve. Before he could attempt to stab Hachiman's back, Miwa sliced off his left hand, which created an opportunity for Hachiman to break free from the grapple. Miwa tried to attack, but the curse user jumped away. "For someone so skinny, you're a lot stronger than you look."

"Fuck!" Reef tore his own sleeve to wrap it in his injury. The two sorcerers were about to move, but the world around them started spinning.

"What's happening?" Hachiman asked in confusion and remained cautious.

"It's his cursed technique!" Miwa answered. The curse user threw three knives each at them. Miwa blocked three coming at her left side, while Hachiman only dodged one as the two other knives pierced his upper left chest and forearm.

"We made it in time before the veil came down." Meanwhile, Mai hid in the dark alley and aimed the revolver at the knife wielder from afar. However, she saw an arrow coming from the roof of the restaurant. Mai moved slightly, and the arrow grazed her right arm. "GAH! Do you have something against my right arm?! Sorry for having prettier limbs than yours!"

Mai spotted Mèngyáo's location and fired the revolver. A second before that, Mèngyáo saw how Mai aimed her gun, and so the only quick action was to raise the crossbow in front to block the bullet. She crouched, moved to another spot, and fired an arrow at Hachiman. The latter sensed it and jumped to the side to evade. The woman pushed and pull the lever to reload, then fired another arrow, only for him to dodge. A split second after that, she lied on her back to take cover behind the parapet. It proved to be the correct move as two bullets pierced through the parapet above her head the second she fell on the floor. She then stood with a bent knee to fire arrows at Mai.

Mai took cover behind a wall while crouching. The moment the arrow shot through the wall and shattered the concrete, she jumped out of the alley, fell to her right side, and fired two shots. The crossbow wielder took cover and one bullet shot through the parapet and grazed her left ear. Mai stood while resisting the pain in her right arm and ran back into the dark alley. She watched the fight between the skinny curse user and the two sorcerers.

Hachiman was slowly overpowering the curse user in close combat. He moved even faster and his attacks became heavier. Despite the loss of his left hand, Reef could still fight, though he tried his best to keep up as he tilted his head to evade a right jab. Hachiman swung a left kick to the curse user's shin, followed up by a right hook aiming at his face. Unfortunately, Reef blocked it in time and went for a counterattack. Hachiman saw him wielding a knife with his only remaining hand and deflected a thrust attack that was about to go for his stomach. After that, he quickly countered with two left jabs to his face and a right kick. The curse user blocked the kick and threw the knife to his left foot. While Hachiman flinched, the curse user threw a jab, followed with a hook to his face. Despite the heavy hits, the young sorcerer didn't stop as he tried to grab the knife stuck on his foot. His enemy saw this as an opportunity, but that was a bait.

Hachiman blocked a right kick, grabbed the leg, and stabbed it with the knife he pulled out of his foot. With a knife in hand, he attempted to slit the enemy's throat, but changed the course of his thrust to block an arrow coming towards his face. That was the opening the skinny curse user needed as he punched Hachiman's liver with a right backhand. Hachiman tried to stab him, but the curse user dodged and did a one-handed shoulder throw. Mèngyáo fired an arrow at him, but Hachiman caught it in time.

"His senses are getting sharper? How is it possible? Was it instincts out of fear of death? No, his cursed energy output is growing. Was he holding back this whole time?" Mèngyáo thought, bewildered by the sorcerer's quick reactions.

"But that doesn't mean he can best me in hand-to-hand. His movements are clumsy. I'll kill you right now." The skinny curse user want to break his arm, but Miwa intervened by swinging her katana at his neck, which he dodged. Miwa swung her katana to his left, and he simply tilted his body sideways to evade. He evaded another swing down at his head and went for the offensive, but Hachiman intervened by tackling him. The curse user kicked his gut before Hachiman could even sit on top of him. Suddenly, the world started spinning again.

"Not again..." Hachiman mumbled in annoyance as the spinning became even faster. Mèngyáo fired an arrow and Miwa ran to his aid by grazing the ground with her katana. The spinning stopped as Hachiman tried to maintain his balance. When looking up, he noticed something flying, but he had no time to contemplate. After a split second of losing the dizziness, he ran away along with the light blue-haired girl. Mèngyáo tried her best to shoot them with arrows, but their senses were sharp enough to dodge. Miwa was a little less fortunate as an arrow cut her right thigh and shoulder, but the injuries didn't slow her at all despite how deep those cut injuries were. Hachiman looked back up and saw a raven flying.

"So she figured it out." Reef mumbled. "We need to go after them."

"They couldn't have gone far since the veil only covered a small area." Mèngyáo spoke. "I doubt they would lead us to our target."

"Then we'll search for Yukinoshita, then."


A minute later,

"His cursed technique spins an area?" Hachiman asked while running in an alley.

"Yes, he draws a circle and spins anyone and any object inside it. Just a minute ago when you were caught in it, I could see the circle on the road." Miwa answered while tearing her own black jacket in half to treat her wounds while giving the other half to Hachiman. "You could say the spinning is a vortex, but it works more like a rotating disk since you didn't get sucked in or launched out, though the latter might happen once he releases the technique."

"So basically, avoiding the circles means avoiding his cursed technique." Hachiman commented. "The two real issues right now are how many circles he drew in preparation, and that woman with the crossbow."

"Do you have a cursed technique that works long range?"

"Not really a projectile-type."

"Hmmm... Mai was injured so we might have to-"

"Don't count me out just yet." A voice of a tired girl came from an alley. Miwa and Hachiman stopped and saw Mai leaning on a wall while holding her right arm because she couldn't move it anymore from the pain and loss of blood. Mai's injured arm was wrapped with a cloth torn from her long black skirt. "I still have more bullets for their heads."

"Are you okay?" Miwa rushed towards her.

"I'm fine. I can shoot with my left hand." Mai answered. "I tried contacting Mechamaru, but he wouldn't respond. The creep wearing a dog mask is sure keeping him busy. Any of you have bright ideas for this?"

"Well..." Miwa didn't have an answer. They stood still in the dark alley to think of a plan to defeat the curse users. Hachiman held his chin until he had an idea.

"I know how to beat them..." He declared in front of the two girls.

"What is it?" Miwa asked, but he hesitated to answer.

"Well? Tell us already. Just be sure it isn't stupid." Mai said in annoyance.

"Look, I don't know if I can do it, but if I can, it should give us the perfect chance." Hachiman explained.

"Ugh, you have to. That woman's life is on the line, you know?" Mai scolded him. "It's not like I'm enjoying this. I hate the fact I have to do a mission in one of the Top 10 best places for summer vacation. What kind of idiot in their right mind would be fine with that? Probably some psychopath who enjoys killing. Sorcerers really suck! And no matter how much I hate this, I don't have a choice. You know what? Screw it. I just have to kill those guys so I can really enjoy Okinawa as a vacation. Hey, you came back because you want to keep that woman safe and then go back to your boring and probably creepy life, right? If you want that to happen, then just do me a favor and kill and exorcise."

"Amazing~," Hachiman said in the lowest lifeless tone. "I feel so encouraged right now. No hard feelings if I fail and we all die, alright? Because we hate this job."

"What kind of dry humor is that?" Mai asked while slowly stepping back from him. "Has anyone told you how creepy you are?"

"Why? This results from your 'inspirational' speech. Scratch that, it wasn't a speech. It's more like you're filing a complaint to me."

"Of course it's a complaint! I'm complaining about this whole mission since yesterday! You just don't understand what girls need, so don't judge!"

"You've got to be kidding me. Are you seriously the Fire Queen-type? The type who wears make-up, loud as hell, and couldn't take a hint that you're a bitch?"

"I'm sorry, what did you just call me?" Mai said in a threatening voice as veins popped in her head. "I dare you to say that again."

"I don't remember being a bitch correlates to being deaf."

"You little- Alright, listen here-"

"Okay, okay. That's enough~." Miwa stopped them from arguing further with a smile and lifeless eyes. "This feels like just another day in Jujutsu Tech, except we have people to kill. What a summer this has been. At least it's not dull, but this is just the worst."

"Anyway, the first thing we have to do is find them. You two keep them busy while I set up my cursed technique." Hachiman explained the plan. "On my signal, don't look at me or the things I put down."

"That sounds simple enough." Miwa said with optimism.

"This better work." Mai said with her left hand on the waist.

"No hard feelings if we die." Hachiman shrugged his shoulders.

"If we do die, I'll drag you to hell."


"Where are they?" Reef mumbled while looking around the street. Mèngyáo was on a rooftop, looking for anything suspicious from her angle. After searching for the sorcerers for a couple of minutes, Mèngyáo shouted at her partner.

"Over there!" She pointed at a dark alley as she saw the light blue hair sticking out of a wall. Reef pulled out a knife and stood in a stance while Mèngyáo aimed her crossbow at the sorcerer. Miwa slowly came out of the alley with a determined look and held the hilt of her katana, ready to draw it. She and Reef slowly approached each other with weapons ready to be clashed.

"I'm running low on knives. Once I approach her, there could be a trap. Fine, I'll take on whatever you throw at me." Reef and Miwa were a few meters close, and the latter stopped. The curse user stopped as well and suddenly jumped back. However, he was a second too late, as she drew the blade faster than her previous draw minutes ago and she cut from his right upper chest to his left shoulder blade. "It's faster than usual!"

"What is their plan? Where's the other two?" Meanwhile, Mèngyáo held her aim while thinking. As the girl shifted her eyes slightly to look to her side, she saw Mai hiding behind a car with her revolver aiming at her. Mèngyáo was quick enough to take cover behind the parapet and rolled as bullets shot through the concrete. She then stood and fired an arrow at the car window. The glass shattered into pieces and scattered towards Mai, which she ducked behind the vehicle. It was a distraction. In a second, Mèngyáo readied another arrow and fired it through the car doors and almost grazed Mai's head.

Meanwhile, Miwa and Reef battled with their blades, the latter gaining the upper hand. Because of her injuries, Reef overpowered her in a matter of minutes as her attacks became slower and weaker. The skinny curse user parried a sword swing coming at his left with his knife and kicked her right thigh where the injury was. She stepped back and saw a circle drawing around her.

"It's not as thin as the previous ones, so I can see it clearly. Does drawing it quicker mean the line becomes thicker?" She thought while trying to get out of the circle. However, Reef activated his cursed technique, and the moment she started spinning, she jumped forward to escape, but not without receiving three knives in her entire right side.

Meanwhile, the two markswomen continued shooting until one killed the other. Mai sneaked behind one vehicle to another while shooting, and Mèngyáo only moved from one spot to another, where the parapet wasn't full of holes until she jumped to another rooftop. Hearing Mai's footsteps until they stopped, Mèngyáo peeked and saw a black fabric of clothing out in the open at the back of a car. Mèngyáo calculated and imagined Mai's figure behind the vehicle, and fired an arrow through the car doors. The moment the sound of the crossbow firing echoed, Mai stood up behind the front of the car and shot the revolver at Mèngyáo's right arm and grazed the left side of her neck before the latter took cover. The fabric of clothing sticking out behind the back of the car was just a piece torn from her long skirt placed on the ground. She did that as bait, so the moment the crossbow markswoman took it, that was Mai's opportunity.

"Hah! Now you know how it feels!" Mai ducked down and tried to reload the revolver with a grin. As she took out the speedloader, a person appeared right in front of her. It was K-9 with the head of Mechamaru in his right hand. There was nothing the girl could do. Her gun was out of ammo, her cursed technique was practically useless in this situation, and she had no close combat skills. "Anytime now, idiot!"

"HEY!" Someone shouted. The three curse users turned to see Hachiman standing in the middle of the road while carrying...

"Tables?" Both Reef and Mèngyáo thought while K-9 tilted his head in confusion. Hachiman carried a stack of eight small tables with his right hand and gently placed it one by one on the road. What the curse users noticed was the furniture was imbued with cursed energy, and one table somehow stood out the most for them as it emitted a golden aura and had one leg missing. They couldn't help but just stare at it for a while.

"NOW!" Hachiman shouted and Mai aimed her reloaded revolver at K-9's chest. She shot him and then stood to face Mèngyáo, who shook her head. Mai didn't hesitate and shot the crossbow wielder in the head, killing her in the process. Reef was next, but before Mai could even aim, someone grabbed her left wrist. She turned around to see K-9 still standing tall and squished the revolver with his bare hand. He was about to break her arm next until Hachiman kicked him in the head. K-9 tumbled and stood back up, ready to fight. Meanwhile, Reef shook his head and joined the fray with a sharp knife. Hachiman was in a two-against-one situation, but he had more trouble dealing with the curse user with the dog mask, as the latter was stronger than anyone here. Mai lost her revolver while Miwa seemed to be unconscious.

He was on his own.

K-9 threw a one-two punch with his left jab so fast, Hachiman couldn't react in time and a right cross so heavy, guarding against it was useless. The force of the right cross sent Hachiman flying as he crashed into a white van. He recovered quickly and rushed towards them.

"All that and we only got one person..." Hachiman thought in slight frustration, and his fists clashed with the two curse users. Reef swung the knife at his throat while K-9 threw a left jab at his liver. The young sorcerer responded by catching Reef's wrist and blocked K-9's punch. Hachiman kicked the knife wielder's shin, which fractured the bones inside it. He then blocked a right hook and then a left roundhouse kick from the curse user wearing the dog mask. Hachiman grabbed his left leg and threw him into the same white van Hachiman crashed into. Reef jumped back and threw two knives at the sorcerer, only for the latter to dodge, and rushed towards him. The knife wielder tried his best to block his attacks, but a left hook hit his liver and then the left cheek.

Reef jumped away even further from him and a circle was being drawn around Hachiman. The sorcerer looked up and saw the raven flying in circles. He tried to escape the circle, but K-9 intercepted him with a right kick in the face. After he completed the circle, Reef activated his cursed technique, and the sorcerer started spinning around in circles. Reef threw three knives at the circle and they curved because of being dragged by the rotational force. Hachiman was surrounded by knives while spinning around, and the only option he could think of was stomping the ground with his feet imbued with cursed energy. It destroyed the drawn circle, stopping the cursed technique. He casually dodged one knife, caught the other two, and threw one at Reef while the other at the raven in the sky. The knife-wielding curse user dodged, but the raven wasn't so lucky as the knife hit its neck.

"He discovered my shikigami. Now I can't draw large circles and trick them. I also ran out of knives." Reef thought and the young sorcerer charged towards him. Hachiman was about to throw a right punch, but that was a fake as he threw a left cross to his face. He followed up with a kick to the stomach and then tried to grapple him. However, Reef caught his arm and did a standing arm lock, despite having only one hand. They both struggled as they spun around until the curse user let go of him. Hachiman tilted his head to dodge an incoming right cross from K-9 and kicked him away. Reef rushed towards the sorcerer and tried to kick his temple, but the latter dodged and punched his gut. This was a mistake on his part as Reef grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from them, followed with a kick in the stomach. Hachiman quickly recovered, but the world started spinning in a faster motion.

"When did he-?" Hachiman wanted to wonder how there was a circle.

Reef's cursed technique has three important requirements: a perfect circle that is drawn by the user; said circle is thirty seconds old; and the radius must not be less than 75 cm.

The means of drawing a circle may vary. Whether it is the material used for drawing such as a pen, a knife, or even a shikigami. As long as there is a circle that meets the requirements, he can cast his cursed technique on it.

By that logic, Reef used a blade hidden within the back of his left shoe to draw a circle while struggling to arm lock Hachiman.

While Hachiman was spinning, the two curse users took advantage of it quickly by punching him in a way the cursed technique's rotational force would support the limb movement. With the mix of confusion of where the punches would come, the dizziness from the spinning, and the injuries he received in this fight, Hachiman could do nothing but reinforce his body with cursed energy to withstand their assault. K-9's attacks were stronger while Reef's still posed as a problem. The knife-wielding curse user decided to end it by hitting his head with a roundhouse kick using the blade in his shoe. However, an arrow punctured the line of the circle, leaving cracks and caused the cursed technique to stop. In that instant, Hachiman caught Reef's foot in time.

"You really like spinning, huh?" Hachiman grinned menacingly and spun him around, which lifted him until he sent the curse user flying towards the barber shop's glass door. "I bet you will love reading Steel Ball Run." (1)

K-9 rushed towards him, and despite the injuries and poor state, Hachiman was able to keep up with him. They exchanged and evaded each other's blows. Mai tried to support Hachiman, but the two combatants moved so quick, and the dog mask-wearing curse user intentionally hid behind Hachiman while fighting to avoid her mark. This caused the markswoman to click her tongue in frustration, but still aimed at them in case she saw an opportunity.

"This is it... I get it now." Hachiman thought while blocking an incoming punch from K-9 and countered with a right kick to his temple. "These frustrations and suffering are nothing but fuel. Just piles of wood that make the fire burn bigger. Don't express my emotions through cursed energy. They are just several switches to turn on a single light. Let the curse flow and make its way to the bulb. Just keep doing it..."

"THAT'S IT!" Reef came out of the ruined barber shop with blood dripping from his head. With anger in his expression, he struggled to walk, and watched the fight between his companion and the young sorcerer. He was surprised and irritated how the latter was able to still keep fighting for this long in such a poor state. Mai noticed the knife-wielding curse user and fired an arrow at his head. Reef casually dodged and drew a large circle on the road with a metal rod. Afterwards, he activated the cursed technique the moment he threw whatever objects he could find such as a debris, scissors, shards of glass, and planks of wood very high in the circle. As he dodged another arrow from Mai, and caught another one aiming for the line of the circle, the rotation of the cursed technique became faster. After releasing the technique, all the objects flew everywhere with the momentum. Several windows, concrete, and furniture broke into pieces. Mai took cover behind the parapet while Hachiman dodged. K-9 just took the launched objects as if they were nothing and continued attacking Hachiman.

"I know I'm hitting him with everything I've got, yet it feels like my punches didn't have an impact at all." Hachiman thought. "It's like my punches loses all of its force and just bounces back."

According to Newton's Third Law of Motion, when two bodies interact, they apply forces to one another that are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. It is known as the "Law of Action and Reaction." For example, when a person jumps, his/her legs apply force to the ground, and the ground applies an equal and opposite reaction force that propels the person into the air. Another example is swimming: the swimmer pushes against the water to move and the water pushes back at the swimmer. Air resistance and friction are examples as well.

K-9's cursed technique is the ability to manipulate the action and reaction by delaying the force.

For example, when a car hits a brick wall. The car creates an action force by pushing the wall with motion, and the wall creates a reaction force right back at the car, bringing it to a quick stop. If K-9 chooses to delay action force, the car will bounce back from the wall's reaction force and suffer damage. If it's the reaction force, the car will simply break through the brick wall without taking damage. In his previous fight with Mechamaru, he delayed the action force of the Ultra-Spin the moment it came in contact with him, though he miscalculated the amount of force he needed to delay.

In the present, he is delaying the action force of some of Hachiman's punches that he couldn't defend against or evade. K-9's punches also delays the reaction force of Hachiman's flesh, so instead of his fists bouncing back, they just sank deeper in his body.

The biggest weakness of this technique is that K-9 can only maintain it depending on how much cursed energy he wants to deplete it and how much force he has to delay. The longer he maintains the technique, the faster his cursed energy depletes.

With such a weakness, the obvious tactic should be continuing to attack him until he deactivated it. However, Hachiman couldn't figure out his cursed technique, and so the sorcerer's only best option he could think of was to retreat. He raised his hand and pointed his thumb down as a signal while running away.

"Retreating. That's for the best." Mai thought as she ran away. "You better get Miwa or else..."

"Don't let him get away!" Reef shouted and K-9 chased him quickly. The knife-wielding curse user wanted to chase as well, but his injuries caught up to him. Hachiman ran towards a nearby restaurant and touched an outdoor chair. In that instant, cursed energy enveloped the furniture, and then he touched two more on that single table. Hachiman felt his back being pushed intensely, and so he turned around. He saw K-9 striking the air forward with his palms. The curse user utilized his cursed technique to delay the reaction force of air resistance, so instead of the air pushing against his palm, it pushed the air forward along with his strikes, since the air's reaction force was gone for a moment. It didn't hurt for Hachiman, it was more like he was being pushed hard. That didn't mean it wasn't a problem. The young sorcerer evaded a wind attack from the curse user and touched two chairs. He jumped over the table and rushed towards K-9, which caught the latter off-guard. Instead of attacking K-9, Hachiman just touched the two chairs next to him. He then grabbed K-9's arm and threw him out of the outdoor area before touching the eighth chair and broke one of its legs in half.

As the dog mask-wearing curse user was about to rush towards him, K-9 just stopped and stared at the one chair emitting a golden aura. His focus completely shifted to that specific chair until he looked around and saw no one besides Reef. The three young sorcerers escaped while he was distracted.

"Hey, what happened?" Reef asked after seeing his companion just stood frozen. K-9 used sign language to communicate with him. "What do you mean you were distracted by a chair?!"

Reef walked angrily towards the chair that lost its golden aura and inspected it.

"... There are residuals." The knife-wielding curse user mumbled. "That would explain what happened earlier. Though, I doubt he can do it repeatedly on the same object."

K-9 communicated while tilting his head.

"Because if he CAN use his cursed technique repeatedly on the same objects, he would've done so earlier with those tables to keep us distracted. But, he didn't." Reef explained to his companion while caressing the chair that was once used for Hachiman's cursed technique. "Can you track those kids?"

K-9 responded with a nod, but he communicated with sign language in worry.

"Why?" Reef asked and noticed something in K-9. "Oh, you need to deactivate your cursed technique since you're running low. Damn, I'm also at my limit... We can't chase them, huh?"

K-9 bowed.

"No need to apologize, just released your technique and I'll carry you back." Reef said while sitting on a chair. K-9 appeared to have a deep breath before releasing his cursed technique. With a short flash on his body, all the force he delayed from Hachiman's attacks finally came. K-9 flinched and bent his knees to resist all the pain throughout his body. There were also small explosions of wind around them, which were the reaction force of air resistance releasing.

"That kid really did it to you." Reef said while kneeling. K-9 responded by weaving more hand signs. "The fight with that puppet did more? You're seriously amazing... for you to keep up this long... Wait, how come the veil hasn't come down yet?"

K-9 looked up and noticed it as well. He weaved more hand signs to the knife-wielding curse user in a state of confusion.

"Yeah, Mèngyáo's the one who cast it. I didn't know she had it in her to make one this complex. Then again, she is a specialist in creating veils. Did she not tell us this veil can go on even after her death?"


Meanwhile

Mai leaned on the wall for support as she walked into the empty street. She breathed heavily while struggling to take more steps. She looked down and just stared at the crossbow she took from the deceased curse user named Mèngyáo. There were no thoughts in her mind when she stared at the weapon. She just wanted to find something to distract her so she could ignore the pain and fatigue as she took another step. Mai ran for a minute until she was exhausted, and so she just walked. She kept looking around the empty street with fear creeping up her spine. She imagined her enemies appearing from the dark corners, alleys, and empty establishments. The more this isolation lingered, the larger her fear grew. With gritted teeth, Mai took another step, trying her best to remove such thoughts, and instead wondered about Miwa's and Hachiman's predicament.

"Where are they...? This is really pissing me off in the worst way. This is really the worst." Mai thought as tears swelled, but before they could fall, two figures jumped out of the dark alley in front of her. It was Hachiman carrying Miwa on his back until he just fell on the ground. "H-hey!"

"Oh... Zenin." Hachiman said in an exhausted voice. "Sorry, I can't move anymore. And it looks like she's unconscious."

"Are you serious? Do you think I can carry both of you?"

"You could at least carry Kasumi-san."

"And you...?"

"A short rest would... do the trick. After that, I'll get back on my feet again..." He coughed blood after stating that. Mai was conflicted for a moment, scratching her head with the crossbow's limb, and sat on the ground to think. After a few seconds, she stood back up and simply grabbed his arm.

"Hey, make sure you hold her tightly on your back." Mai said as she pulled him. "Why are you two so heavy!"

"What do you expect...?"

"I expect you not to be so fat."

"You know... Being heavy doesn't mean being fat. And you're pulling two people here."

"Just shut up already..." Mai said, while struggling to drag the two immobile sorcerers. "Not bad, by the way... I thought without a weapon, you're as useless as Miwa."

"Well... I was still taught about martial arts." He responded. "Though Nanami-san taught me more with the sword than hand-to-hand. And most of my moves earlier were just from memories of what Itadori and Gojo did when they sparred each other."

"Don't get cocky." Mai said with a smirk, but just when they thought it was peaceful, a chill suddenly ran down Hachiman's spine.

"What is this cursed energy? It's kinda familiar, but there's this creepiness mixed in." He thought with fear in his expression. He looked up and saw Mai just struggling to pull them, as if she didn't sense any danger. "Zenin-san."

"What? If you're gonna complain about your arm being pulled, should I pull your messy and weird hair instead?"

"You need to run."

"What?" Mai stopped and stared at him in confusion.

"Something's coming. Normally, this threat doesn't bother me much, but because I'm in this state. We're in trouble."

"Hey, don't skip a few contexts here. What are you talking about?"

"sHOoT!" The distorted voice echoed through the empty street. Above them was a blue cursed spirit floating while looking down at them. It had one eye, long messy hair, a skinny right arm, and its other arm was behind his back. Its legs were twisted backwards, and a bone stuck out at the back of each leg. In terms of height, it appeared to be a couple of feet shorter than Mai and Hachiman. The cursed spirit slowly descended and landed in front of Mai. She just took a small step back as the curse slowly walked closer to her. She fired an arrow, but the cursed spirit just slapped it away.

"Just run!" Hachiman shouted while trying to stand up with his body reinforced using cursed energy. "Come on. Just get up! The pain all over my body is just too much- NO! This is what I need. This pain... I still got cursed energy left in me. With these emotions, just keep it blazing. This poor state I'm in is just fuel, nothing more."

"HaAHAa!" The curse user then took the crossbow away from Mai, and the flesh of its right hand stretched, enveloping the weapon with it. It aimed the weapon at Mai and just as it was about to shoot, Hachiman cut its hand with the katana he took from Miwa. However, the crossbow immediately attached itself back to the cursed spirit's decapitated limb that was slowly regenerating. He held his knee to keep standing and breathe heavily while glaring at the cursed spirit.

"This is it. It's almost the same as my past self about a year ago. I just keep going no matter how hurt I'll get in the process. When I see something that matters, a goal or objective worth accomplishing, I'll go with it, even with all the consequences and misery. I understand now." He stood straight and grinned menacingly. "That's my curse!"

"ShOOt!" The cursed spirit fired three arrows simultaneously at him while flying back. Hachiman just ducked the arrow coming towards his head, and at the same time, sliced the other two with the blade. He sheathed the katana, took a deep breath and built up cursed energy in his legs, right arm, and the sheathed blade.

"New Shadow Style: Obscuring Stream Of Malice!" In one blinding motion, he was already behind the cursed spirit, but instead of the cursed spirit being cut to pieces, the blade of the katana chipped slightly. He was bewildered at first and saw the cursed spirit enveloped in... "A barrier? It looks like some miniature veil."

"HeHEhEHehe!" The cursed spirit chuckled as the small veil disappeared and the first thing Hachiman saw was the flesh-covered crossbow aiming at him. He jumped to the side and ran to avoid the barrage of arrows. After dodging a few more, he rushed towards the spirit while blocking all incoming arrows with the katana. Just as when he was about to get close, a smudge of green appeared meters on top of the cursed spirit's head. The spirit disappeared in front of his eyes, which caused him to stop.

"Where did he-?" Sensing danger, he blocked and evaded another barrage coming from the corner of his right eye. He also saw the green dome disappeared before it was even complete, and then the cursed spirit reappeared on his right. A veil that already came down before the visual effect? Wait... now that I think about it. Has there been a cursed spirit who can cast veils? Well, higher grades such as first grades and above can cast Domain Expansion from my experience. And Domain Expansion is a barrier technique, at least that's what Nanami-san told me."

"It's that curse user." Mai mumbled, but it reached Hachiman's ears, which caused him to turn around.

"What did you say?"

"It's that bitch who owns that crossbow. I killed her with a headshot, didn't you see?" Mai answered.

"Wait, so humans can turn into cursed spirits?"

"Of course they do! Have you forgotten your lectures when you were still in Jujutsu Tech?! Humans have a chance to turn into cursed spirits after death, and sorcerers have chances higher than others."

"So how do you prevent that?"

"Obviously, kill the sorcerer with cursed energy... So that's it."

"What, you didn't kill her with cursed energy?"

"I-I think so. When you activated your cursed technique, I could see it from the corner of my eye while I aimed my gun at her. Did it make me forget to imbue my bullet with cursed energy?!"

"SHo0T!" The cursed spirit continued firing its barrage of arrows. The windows were damaged and the walls of several buildings were full of holes. Hachiman grabbed both girls and ran to avoid the arrows. He jumped from wall to wall in an alley to reach a rooftop and gently put them down.

"H-hey, wait a-" Mai wanted to say something, but he interrupted her.

"I'll be back in a sec." Hachiman jumped down towards the cursed spirit and swung a right side whip kick to its head. The cursed spirit cast a barrier to defend against it. He followed up with two more left side kicks against the barrier, but it did nothing. The moment the two landed on the road, Hachiman rushed towards the cursed spirit and threw a punch. Surprisingly, the spirit responded by dodging and then flew up. "It hasn't even been five seconds since that thing cast the barrier. Is there some sort of limit?"

The cursed spirit fired a barrage of arrows at Hachiman, and he just dodged while running forward. He grabbed a sewer hole cover and threw it at the cursed spirit. Hachiman looked closely as the cursed spirit dodged sideways, and then he jumped high towards it. The cursed spirit gasped and the only maneuver it could do was to fly backwards. He sheathed the blade, used Quick Draw and cut the cursed spirit's legs. When he landed, the young sorcerer ran forward as fast as he could to grab the sewer hole cover midair to throw it again. This time, the sewer hole cover completely cut the arm on its spirit's back. The cursed spirit disappeared as a green smudge appeared on top of it and came down as if it was a liquid pouring into a dome.

"That was ten seconds after the cursed spirit cast that protective barrier. Is that the limit of the curse placed on itself?" Hachiman thought as another barrage of arrows came towards him. As usual, he dodged them until he bumped into something like an invisible wall. Hachiman wondered what it was, but he didn't have time because of the arrows falling towards him. He jumped back and blocked four arrows with the katana and suddenly he felt his back bumping into another invisible wall. The cursed spirit shot his upper left chest exactly where the injury was, left forearm, and his right shoulder. He blocked five more arrows with the katana and jumped in the direction where he traced their trajectory. His surroundings suddenly changed as the light was green and it illuminated the street. Hachiman saw the cursed spirit, who appeared to be in shock. With one deep breath, he swung the katana at its neck, but the cursed spirit blocked it with the crossbow as the latter was being pushed by his strong attack. The veil vanished along with the green light. "So a ten second delay between casting two different barriers, the miniature veil only stays as long as the cursed spirit didn't move. The protective barrier's weakness is probably the amount of attacks it's allowed to defend before it disappears. As for the two invisible barriers... I'll figure it out soon enough!"

Meanwhile, Mai just watched the sorcerer fight despite all the injuries. She couldn't help but be impressed at his tenacity and be slightly disturbed at his appearance.

"M-Mai..." The faint voice from Miwa caused Mai to turn around and check on her.

"Hey, better not talk. Just rest." Mai said while looking closely at her classmate's condition. "Hurry and exorcise that thing already."

Hachiman started struggling to evade the arrows as the fatigue and injuries caught up to him once again. He breathe heavily and his grip on the katana shook. The cursed spirit was also injured, as there were multiple large cuts all over its body. Its right arm was cut off three times, only for the crossbow to keep reattaching itself back to the limb. The cursed spirit raised its right foot, and the toenails grew longer while aiming the crossbow at him. It fired arrows one by one instead of a huge barrage. However, the arrows were more powerful as Hachiman received a huge cut on his left side, just from barely dodging one.

"It sacrificed numbers for power and speed." Hachiman realized and saw another arrow coming towards him too fast. His only option was to block using the katana. The arrow pushed him back, and as he realized he couldn't stop it, he deflected it away instead. The defense caused the blade to chip again with more noticeable cracks. He jumped to his right to evade an arrow, but then he bumped into an invisible barrier once again. The cursed spirit fired a split second later, and he blocked it in time to deflect it. However, after a successful defense, the blade shattered and Hachiman just stared at the pieces of iron in bewilderment. He dodged an arrow, and then the cursed spirit fired a barrage once again. "Shit, is this really it?"

"HIKIGAYA!" Mai shouted from above. She threw a katana at him before falling on the floor with a nosebleed. Hachiman ran to get the katana, but the problem was it was falling behind the cursed spirit, so he needed to run past it and jump to get the weapon. And so he ran, and the cursed spirit's response was firing a barrage with its foot up. He noticed the nails on its pinky toes and thumb were growing as if it shrank back.

"So that's it." He continued running slightly to the right while paying close attention to its foot and dodging the arrows. The two toenails launched and flew towards his left and right, then disappeared after being stuck on the ground for a while. Hachiman just shift slightly to the left and ran straight. The cursed spirit gasped and continued firing more arrows while shooting two more toenails. Seeing the toenails going to the ground in front of him and from behind, he ran to the left as the cursed spirit flew above his head to shoot more arrows below. The young sorcerer saw two toenails from his left and right, and so he jumped from barrier to barrier until he was high enough to reach the katana. After grabbing it, he sheathed the blade and the moment he landed on the road, he ran back to the cursed spirit.

After dodging another barrage of arrows for the umpteenth time, Hachiman jumped and swung a right kick. As he predicted, the cursed spirit cast a barrier to protect itself, and so he kicked two more times until the cursed spirit flew back. The cursed spirit disappeared when there was a green smudge in the air on top of it. That was his opportunity. After landing on the road, he built up cursed energy once again to his legs and right arm, then he jumped below the cursed spirit.

"ShOOoOOTtT!" The cursed spirit fired another barrage in panic and it shot Hachiman's body but didn't hit the head because of his head tilts. The instance he drew the blade, the cursed spirit was cut into pieces with crescent-shaped cursed energy scattered everywhere. Some of those crescent-shaped cursed energies cut a light pole in half and left scratches on the wall of a building.

"... Fireworks?" Mai said in a soft tone before losing consciousness.


"And it's over." A man spoke while standing up on top of a water tank. He wore a black jacket with a hood, matching pants, and shoes. His hair was long, black, and partially tied up behind his head while the rest draped down his back. The most noticeable trait in his appearance was the large horizontal stitch on his forehead.

"Why are we here?" A large tan cursed spirit asked in a female tone. He had black lines running across his body, a helmet-like head that didn't cover his teeth, branches for where the eyes were supposed to be, and two black lines that zigzag down his face. His attire consisted of a black baggy pants that were held up with a white sash, and a white cloth that covered his left arm.

"To observe and capture." The human answered. "You see, the Chinese girl was from a family that were quite prominent sorcerers during the reign of Qing Dynasty's Third Emperor. They specialized in creating barriers. For example, that invisible veil that she threw used her own toenails as catalyst. Can you believe that? I could argue those toenails were better than the commissioned veils I have. And, she didn't use them to trap him but to block his movements as if they were terrains. However, their ancestor's misfortune came when they traveled around the world. Their first destination? Europe. More specifically, in Salem and during that time in the village is where the monkeys are at their peak of stupidity."

"What happened?" The cursed spirit asked.

"There was this event called 'witch hunts', and when they arrived there... well, let's just say it didn't end on a cheerful note." The man chuckled. "The family erased the story from the history records because it brought shame upon them, thinking those unlucky relatives were killed by weaklings. Their contempt for foreigners started there, along with an even larger misfortune. In the last few eras and to the present, the family has been on a decline of descendants, but the reason is unknown. I believe the girl was the only one remaining on her bloodline."

"And in her last moments, she worked as a curse user like a criminal and ended her family's legacy. A fate fitting for a foolish human who wasted nature's essence."

"Agreed, though I don't know if it's true or not, so don't take my word for it. The family is superb at hiding."

"So her legacy and abilities caught your interest?"

"Yes, she has the abilities that can be utilized for a defense mechanism against Gojo Satoru. Also, I read in a scroll about her family's secret barrier technique called the 'Domain Of Tormenting Reincarnate'. It's a barrier that sucks up the cursed energy in the air leaked from non-sorcerers and the residuals the sorcerers left behind, and makes it flow inside the barrier. It activates around the users after they die, so when the barrier comes up, they'll immediately become cursed spirits far quicker than a normal manifestation. This is used by the family's elders when they had regrets or had grudges unfulfilled before dying of old age or any misfortune."

"I see, so human or not, she would be useful to you. But why didn't you save her?"

"Well... There's been a change of plans." The man answered with a serious look as he looked at the unconscious Hachiman from a distance. "That explains the strange feeling I had two years ago. Shani, you woke up too early from the contract we made. Then again, it's not like I didn't expect you to defy the binding vow. Your power can essentially defy anything depending how you judge your 'victim'. Is this my 'Karma' that you spoke of? No matter, the real problem will start once you choose to interfere with my plans, whether you are that boy or the 'Disciplinarian'. If I attack the boy now, there is a good chance you would awaken, so I will use the time I have left before your incoming interference to execute my plans. Shani and Neelima... I refuse to have my goal ruined by the likes of you. "


His eyes opened with clouded vision. The first thing he saw was a white ceiling, and then his head ached. He looked around and realised he was lying on a bed under a blanket. The room was familiar to him and it made him release a sigh of relief.

"Back here, huh? And it's morning?" Hachiman mumbled, and suddenly his left ear started ringing. "Again? I thought Dr. Rahul healed me."

"Oh, you're finally awake." Someone opened the door to reveal Rahul and saw the young sorcerer awake. "Just don't move too much. Your injuries aren't fully healed yet."

"Is this still Okinawa?" Hachiman asked.

"Yes, and this is the same room you were interrogated while resting three days ago."

"I see... wait, did you say three days ago?"

"Oh, sorry. Hahaha..." The doctor apologized with a nervous chuckle. "You've been unconscious for three days. Those injuries were incredibly severe. Broken bones, deformed organs and muscles, stab wounds and other puncture wounds. I can't believe you could even wake up this early. My guess was two weeks and a full month of recovery, but you prove me wrong. Either you're not a normal sorcerer, or maybe I'm getting good at healing!"

"Doctor..." Hachiman scratched his left temple while tapping his ear. "The ringing came back. Make it... stop!"

"Okay, stop doing that!" Rahul's expression changed from a happy and carefree attitude to a serious one. He healed the young sorcerer with reversed cursed energy and other treatments for a couple of hours. He then performed a test on him such as letting Hachiman sit in the middle of a soundproof room and made him wear earphones, asked him to move his eyes, jaw, neck, and limbs. After giving more tests, Hachiman returned to his room and waited for thirty minutes until Rahul entered the room. "So I was right."

"What is it?" Hachiman asked nervously.

"You have tinnitus in your left ear..." Rahul revealed to him of his condition. "The head injury you received four days ago caused your skull to shatter. Those skull fragments slightly damaged your auditory cortex. Even though I healed you back then, the brain is very delicate."

"My brain..." Hachiman caressed the scar on the left side of his head.

"I'm sorry. My inexperience with healing abilities led to this misfortune. I wasn't sure if you have-"

"It's not your fault, nor is it hers... So what's the treatment for this?"

"There is no cure for tinnitus, but there are ways to minimize the noise. It also often gets better on its own with time, but I'll get you a hearing aid to cancel the ambient sounds to hear things better."

"Thank you." Hachiman expressed his gratitude while scratching his ear with his left eye twitching. He started to pull the left side of his hair and there was a slight irritation in his expression. Rahul grabbed his hand to stop him from doing that.

"Stop. Don't let it get to you. Just be glad that ringing in the ears is the only thing the tinnitus gave you. You've already been through hell, so something like this shouldn't bother you. Don't worry, you won't even remember you have tinnitus once you get treatment." Rahul reassured him with a smile.

"Right, I know that. It's just this constant ringing is-"

"I know. It's a typical complication of tinnitus, along with anxiety, mood swings, and depression. It won't go away by pulling your hair out or poking your eardrums. Just leave it to me and follow my instructions."

"Okay..." Hachiman took a deep breath to relax and laid his head on the soft pillow.

"Now, you might have to stay here for a week since you need to grow accustomed to your first hearing aid for a few days. This is to make sure you won't act weird in front of your friends."

"It's fine, I'll get used to it quickly. If they find out, I'll take care of it."

"If that's what you want. Now, let's go. The hearing aid fitting will take little time." Outside of the room, Mai eavesdropped their conversation with her arms folded. She closed her eyes for a moment in thought until she opened them while walking down the hallway. She passed by two girls with one of them glaring at her menacingly. It caused a slight chill down her spine. Mai scratched her head in frustration with gritted teeth and walked faster with a look of determination.


Two hours later,

"Yukino?! And... what are you doing here?!" Hachiman asked as he saw not only Yukino entering the room but also Haruno, who was smiling. The older sister's smile may seem bright, but for Hachiman, he swore he could see the sinister aura emanating from her.

"Why? I'm worried about you! Isn't it obvious~?" Haruno answered in a false, gleeful tone. Meanwhile, Yukino appeared to be shaking and suddenly, she rushed towards him for a hug. Hachiman was shocked at first, but then relaxed as he caressed her back.

"How much did you know?"

"Your friend, Onishi-san, told me about the whole assassination thing along with this curse stuff he was babbling." Haruno answered while playing with a strand of her own hair. "But he didn't give me the full context about you. I didn't ask Yukino because I want to hear it from you."

"So even Onishi-san couldn't keep it from her." He sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you everything but not here."

"It has to be here and now."

"No, what I'm about to tell you has to be between the three of us and no one else."

"... Is that so?" Haruno and Hachiman stared at each other for a moment. None of them had any intention of backing down. After realising this, the older sister sighed. "Fine, we'll talk after you're fully recovered."

"Thanks." Hachiman spoke and suddenly, a thought came to his mind. "Wait, how come you two are here? What about the others?"

"They left." Yukino answered while wiping the tears from her eye. "Nee-san and I decided to stay here until you recovered. We already came up with an excuse for them, so don't worry."

"I see. That's great." Hachiman stood from the bed. "Anyway, I think I can move now, so let's talk somewhere private."

"Are you sure?" Haruno asked with uncertainty. "You looked pretty bad three days ago. I thought you're already dead."

"I don't know if that's a joke or not, but I don't have the mental capacity to indulge you in a banter." Hachiman responded. "I'm fine. Besides, the sooner, the better."

After wearing his attire, which consisted of a black hoodie, yellow shorts, and sandals, they left the building and Haruno led them to a van. The road trip was long and quiet. Neither Hachiman nor the Yukinoshita sisters said a word throughout the journey. However, it wasn't awkward for them because of the situation they were in now. They needed the tranquility to contemplate on various things. The only person who find the silence awkward was the driver since he didn't understand the context of their issues. A couple hours had passed, and they went out of the vehicle to go on foot. A problem occurred when Hachiman felt aches in some parts of his body, which meant his injuries weren't fully healed. He didn't tell the girls and continued walking until they reached their destination.

"The Nakagusuke Castle?" Both Hachiman and Yukino said in sync. In front of them was a castle that was in ruins. Nature spread through the walls and ancient concrete, which brought a majestic appearance to the ruins.

"Hikigaya-kun~!" Haruno called his name in a playful tone. "Give us a tour!"

"Me?"

"You're good at Japanese history, right? Then educate us about these pretty ruins!"

"I guess I'll play along before the serious matter comes up. Better to enjoy the calm before the storm." Hachiman thought, and so he gave the Yukinoshita sisters a history lesson of the Nakagusuke Ruins. From the origin by the first generation of Ryukyuan lords, to the events of every era involving the castle from the Muromachi period to Heisei period. After reaching the top where they could see the scenery of the ocean, the village and the castle itself, Hachiman ended the lecture and told Haruno everything. The older sister was silent throughout his explanation, and after a few minutes passed, she just stretched her arms in the air and spoke in a cheerful tone.

"Hey, did you study when you heard we were going to Okinawa?" Haruno teased.

"No, I already read about it during middle school." Hachiman answered immediately.

"Hmm~? Is that so?" Haruno rest her arms on the fence to relax and embrace the fresh air. "This place really is beautiful."

"Nee-san, what do you think about all this?" Yukino asked with a worried look. "Everything may seem to be hard to believe, but I-"

"Hikigaya-kun, I have one question about our history lesson." Haruno interrupted with her hand raised as if she asked a teacher in a classroom.

"What is it?" Hachiman asked with a cautious look.

"It's about the Ryukyuan lord named Gosamaru. You said he killed himself here in this castle, right? Why did he have to do that?"

"Because he didn't want to fight the royal army out of loyalty."

"But he was wrongfully accused by Amawari. Shouldn't he fight back and prove his innocence?"

"I guess it was the only thing he could think of to prove his loyalty to Sho Hashi, the king of an Okinawan kingdom of Chuzan. After he risked his life to conquer the kingdom of Hokuzan to support Sho Hashi and unifying the island to establish the Ryukyu kingdom, Gosamaru pledged his life to the king and his bloodline. Fighting the royal army would be the last thing he wanted because that would be considered treachery towards the king."

"Hmm~. Loyalty, huh? I got another question!" Haruno raised her hand again and approached Hachiman. "Will you do the same as him?"

"What do you mean by that, Nee-san?" Yukino asked with seriousness in her expression.

"I mean, will you commit suicide for us?" Haruno's eyes lost all life, and her voice was low and chilling. Her smile failed to hide the sinister drive she bore. "Just like Gosamaru, to preserve his loyalty to Sho Haishi and then to Sho Taikyu. Will you take your own life?"

"Nee-san, stop this-"

"No, I won't." Before Yukino could try to stop her older sister, Hachiman answered. "The point of this entire struggle I'm having now is to go back to the way it was. Before I was first aware of curses, and before I was involved in them. Killing myself would mean not accomplishing that and just escaping from the problems I possibly created in Chiba."

"Is that what you really think?" Haruno asked with a tilted head. "Hey, do you know there is an alternate theory about Gosamaru and Amawari?"

"It's about the royal government, right?" He answered. "The entire conflict between Gosamaru and Amawari was theorized to be orchestrated by them because they see the two as threats to the succession."

"Yup, if that theory is right, then Amawari and especially Gosamaru were nothing but puppets being used by the royal government without them realising it. They were played. Whether it's true or not doesn't matter. The way I see it, the fallen Aji was manipulated either way by three parties: Amawari; the royal government; and most importantly, his own shackles called loyalty. He couldn't cut any of those strings, which led him to suicide. I think I see you as the same as him. You didn't realise it, but you were tied up in strings, being forced to move without batting an eye. Until this moment, you never wanted any of these curses and sorcery to come into your life. You chose the scenario you hated the most and still went along with it."

"But those choices-"

"-are not from your own mind." Hachiman tried to argue, but Haruno quickly bit back."You didn't consider which option you think will benefit you the most. An option that will reach your objective."

"Yes, I did. And becoming a jujutsu sorcerer is the best option I could see."

"Then you're not looking hard enough. By choosing to struggle more than finding a way out, you moved further away from what you wanted. The people with the strings pulled you away from it."

"Who are those 'people' you're talking about?"

"Oh, please. You know the answer to that. Who are those two parties I'm talking about?"

"... Gojo and all of you?"

"Us?" Yukino wondered what he meant.

"We all blinded you. Gojo messed with your head, saying things about your power and how to use it. We, on the other hand, influenced your actions and you became unconsciously accustomed to them. We pulled your strings without a hint of rebelling."

"So you're saying your influence in me is the reason I took this role?"

"What other reason is there? Is it your resolve? A feeling of guilt and responsibility? If those are the cases, then what is the origin behind those thoughts?"

"From my own?"

"Yes, your own self that's been tainted and changed."

"Out of all the arguments and riddles we had, this is by far the most confusing and illogical argument you have ever given to us... But fine, I'll indulge you with my own argument." Hachiman scratched his neck before speaking. "This isn't the puppet and the puppeteer. It's two or three parties playing the tug of war."

"What?" Haruno was confused.

"In a human connection, there is always the puppet and the puppeteer. But the longer the puppeteer holds those strings, the harder for her to let go. That's when the puppet starts the tug of war. Arguments are their strengths for pulling. This interaction between two individuals is just within everyone's nature. Our brutal tug of war has no center line, no specific distance to end the game. It only ends when one brings out scissors and cuts the strings."

"So in other words, you're not being controlled?"

"Oh, I'm controlled alright. I just know how to pull harder the more you guys pull me back." Hachiman shook his head with a look of confidence. "You view the concept of influence as strings used to pull the puppets. But it's really just strings pulled by both individuals in a tug-of-war game. If we go by that analogy to the idea of the controller and controlled, then the tug of war cancels out the concept of a 'one-sided influence' in human connections."

"You really believe that?" Haruno asked while hiding the discomfort.

"Probably. I think I said all that just to argue with you. But then again, if human interaction is really a 'one-sided influence'. Then it would honestly be easier for me to find something genuine... But it's never simple." He answered while shrugging his shoulders. After seconds of silence, Haruno turned around and released a sigh while staring at the scenery. Hachiman and Yukino couldn't see what expression she wore from behind. They couldn't tell what that sigh meant. Was it a sigh of relief or disappointment? Was her expression a look of satisfaction or discontent? But the one thing that bothered them the most was...

"What is the message behind this entire argument?" The couple shared the same thought. It was mostly intuitive, and a hint based on Haruno's personality. She would sometimes tell them a statement that could have over one meaning. Hachiman thought he could be overthinking, but Yukino figured out her intentions.

"You blame yourself." Yukino declared and the older sister flinched. "This argument was to persuade Hachiman to think it's your fault that he had to go through all that three days ago."

"You're reading it too much, Yukino-chan," Haruno refuted while not bothering to face them. "I said 'us', remember? That includes you, so if what you say is true, then that would mean I was convincing your boyfriend to hate you."

"No, you don't see that possibility ever happening. You use 'us' instead of 'me' to hide your true intention of putting the blame on yourself. You made the argument because you feel responsible for what happened to him." Yukino approached her older sister. "Nee-san, there is nothing to accomplish from this. Someone as intellectual as you should see that logically."

"It's you who didn't see the picture." Haruno clenched the fence that clearly displayed her frustration. "Don't you get it? He's doing it again! Being the scapegoat for all this! I could just watch for entertainment because that's how he became amusing to me, then I laugh and share some wisdom like a good older sister would... but..."

"That's inaccurate, Nee-san. He is doing this to protect his place with us..." Yukino argued and wanted to say more, but she lost the words to say the moment Haruno turned around revealing the tears in her eyes. The older sister faced the boy.

"This time, you'll leave and never come back... you'll die from doing this..." Haruno tried her best wiping the tears dripping on her cheeks. "What are you trying to do, being a hero? Are you showing off at this point? You're a real idiot thinking this is the same thing you've done in the past. And you're an even bigger idiot than I thought, Yukino. He'll keep doing this and you'll live your days trying to get used to your boyfriend looking like a zombie! Or, most of your dates will be at his damn hospital bed or better yet, his grave! Am I really the only one thinking right over here?!"

"Nee-san, I-"

"I'm not fighting just so i could die for you." Hachiman spoke, which caught their full attention. His face remained confident and determined. "I'm fighting so I could live with all of you."

"... What the hell does that supposed to mean?" Haruno covered her eyes with one hand and gritted her teeth. She walked towards him and gave the boy a slap on the cheek while glaring at him with her teary eyes. "You're no different from Gosamaru and the rest of those idiots like him! Fine! Go out there and die for all I care! I hope you still love cursing things when that happens."

"Nee-san, wait!" Yukino wanted to stop her older sister from leaving on such a bitter note, but she hesitated on leaving Hachiman behind.

"Go." Hachiman gave her the push she needed, and so Yukino went after her. He watched as the two sisters arguing with each other, but more focused on Yukino.

...

Three days ago, 7:15 PM

"Yukino..." Hachiman called out to her. While the rest were enjoying conversin with each other, the couple separated from them to talk privately. "There's something I need to do."

"And what's that? What sort of draining activity that made you too lazy to do it?" Yukino asked and he saw how serious his expression became which made her worried.

"Those sorcerers need my help. Well, I don't know if they actually do, to be honest. But, I want to check on them and-"

"Okay, be back in ten minutes." Yukino accepted it very quickly."

...

"Hachiman." His girlfriend called out to him while pinching his other cheek.

"Ouch, where' Haruno-san?" He asked.

"She left. We ended our discussion on a good note at least." She answered with a sigh.

"What did she say?"

"A message for you: 'Don't die'. Even though I told her several times you won't have that intention."

"Her emotional state must be overwhelming her rationality." Hachiman sat on the fence. "This summer break lost the word 'break' in it. I kept getting surprised left and right. There's a chance I might get cardiac arrest. It's honestly hard to imagine her being that genuinely emotional."

"People are born with surprises." His girlfriend commented and suddenly pinched his ear. "By the way, don't you have something to say?"

"How many times have you pinched me this week? It feels like you're going to rip off my flesh."

"You've already suffered worse, so this should be nothing to you."

"It's a little irritating. And what do you mean I have something to say?"

"About your promise?" Yukino glared.

"... Sorry for not making it in ten minutes..."

"And...?"

"And for not telling you, their problem was about Haruno-san's assassination." He apologized, which suddenly earned him a kiss. Not on the cheek, but now on the lips. At that moment, one second felt like a year had passed for him. The sensation of her lips colliding with his brought a new and intense feeling within him, as if it was about to burst. However, the bewilderment of this sudden event caused that feeling to be controlled. When she separated, they only stared at each other for five seconds until Hachiman bumped his head on the fence and stayed that way to hide his embarrassed and frustrated. "Seriously, I can't believe you..."

"It seems my surprise attack is quite effective." Yukino said with a chuckle.

"It was supposed to be me making the moves. My pride as a man is ruined."

"You worry over something so pointless."

"It's not pointless. My pride is part of the core of my soul."

"Your souls is more frail than I thought. If you are that hurt, then take the initiative." She tapped his shoulder to get him to face her. As Hachiman stood straight, she puckered her lips, inviting him for the romantic moment. He gulped and looked away for a second with red cheeks. After a deep breath, he embraced her to close the distance more and kissed her. It only took three seconds for the kiss to end as Hachiman separated first. Yukino looked at him in disappointment. "That was too quick."

"Ggh!" He fell to his knees while hugging himself.

"Did I hurt your silly 'pride' that much? Stop acting like this would cause your death."

"Yes, it hurts, but also..." Hachiman coughed a bit of blood, but managed to smile. "My injuries are starting to hurt too."

"You said you were fine!"

"I said I was fine, but I didn't say anything about my injuries being fully healed."

"You and your... Just give me your arm." Yukino gave up and helped Hachiman. As the two walked their way out of the ruins while passing by other tourists, she spoke. "Hachiman, I agree with most of Nee-san's words earlier. It's not that I don't see the picture. I also don't want you to go through with this."

"Then why didn't you stop me from going three days ago?" He asked.

"It's called 'having faith in my lover'. I'm sure you've heard the word 'faith', correct? It's the opposite of doubt."

"Yes, yes. You don't need to give me vocabulary lessons."


The Next Day, 6:03 AM

After being healed by Rahul once again along with a good night's rest, Hachiman was fully recovered. The only issue that still bothered him was using a hearing aid in his left ear. It might take time for him to adjust a new aspect to his routine, but he accepted it. He told Yukino about his tinnitus and, as he expected; it earned him a slap in the face and the cold silent treatment on their way back. He heard a knock on the door and saw it opened.

"Good morning, Hikigaya-san." Miwa entered the room and greeted him. "How are you feeling?"

"Never been better." He answered while stretching. "I should ask you the same thing. You lost a lot of blood from that fight."

"Perfectly healthy!" Miwa responded enthusiastically while flexing her arm. She then raised a small box covered in a wrapper full of floral designs and gave it to him. "Also, here!"

"What's this?"

"Open it!" That was the only answer Miwa could give, and Hachiman had no choice but to open it. While tearing the wrapper, he wondered if this was perhaps a gift of gratitude for helping them. He opened the box, and the gift appeared to be a small cylinder that read...

"Date Night Bucket List For Couples?" Hachiman read the cylinder and opened it to reveal popsicle sticks inside. He pulled out one and saw words printed on one side. "'Wake up early, watch the sunrise and get breakfast'? 'Visit a museum you haven't been before'... 'Create a piece of art together and put it on display'... Hm, this one sounds interesting."

"If you're having trouble coming up with ideas for your future dates, then you can use the bucket list to make your day with your lover interesting! Never run out of fun and new date night ideas, Date Night Bucket List!" Miwa said in a sort of "sales talk" tone.

"You sound like a seller persuading me to buy this." Hachiman commented. "But thanks. I honestly think I've been running dry on dating ideas."

"Your welcome! Date Night Bucket List: Only Y2407.34." Miwa chuckled. "Oh, and there's also... Eh? Mai, where are you?"

"I don't see her when you came in."

"Mai?" Miwa looked left and right outside of the door only to see the empty hallway. Mai was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe she forgot something?"

"That's weird. She's supposed to... uh, hold on a sec..." Miwa said with a nervous chuckle and went outside, calling Mai's name while running in the hallway. Hachiman scratched the back of his head and just checked at his gift. Today was when he and the Yukinoshita sisters would leave Okinawa and return to Chiba. He didn't know what excuse Yukino used to convince Komachi and the others, but as long as it worked, he didn't need to be concerned about it.


An hour and 17 minutes later, 7:20 Naha Airport

Hachiman, Yukino and Haruno were ready to leave, but before that, the couple talked to the two Kyoto sorcerers and the auxiliary manager. Haruno just sat on a bench reading something on her phone. Ever since what happened yesterday, she hadn't talked to her younger sister or Hachiman, but there was no look of contempt or any negative response when Haruno was near him or when he tried to talk to her. It was just her being silent with stoicism in her expression. Her mind kept coming back to the memory of her forcing Fujin to tell her the truth from the existence of sorcerers to the involvement of Hikigaya Hachiman and the lies Hachiman told him (Which Fujin still believed). After the veil disappeared. Fujin searched for the three sorcerers before the crowd would come back, while Haruno sat in the car's backseat with Rahul driving it. The manager returned and the doctor immediately healed them before taking them back to their headquarters. Haruno saw Hachiman in a horrific state. Bruises all over his face with blood dripping on his mouth and head, stab wounds, and what appeared to be large bumps on his back and front, which were caused by K-9's punches that delayed the reaction force of Hachiman's body.

Staring at his injured appearance for ten seconds, she vomited.

Even at the present, the image of that made her digested contents rise into her throat, but she held it in. Every time she remembered that, her mind then wandered back to what Hachiman said yesterday.

"Fighting to live..."

"You won't at least stay here to rest for a while?" Yukino asked.

"Sadly, we still have to find the other curse users. We think they're not that far, and you don't have to worry about their attempts because once you all return to Chiba, they have no chances."

"Why not?"

"One, they might be on a deadline." Hachiman answered with guesses. "The other is Gojo."

"Chiba is near Tokyo, which means if the curse users follow you, then they would risk themselves into entering the edge of his territory..." Fujin explained. "That could be the most logical explanation for their thought process of doing this... or they're just arrogant. Well, Gojo's influence expands beyond that so the reasoning is pointless... Oh, looks like your flight is here."

"Thank you for saving my sister." Yukino expressed her gratitude with a bow.

"There is no need for that. In fact, the person you should thank is Hikigaya-kun. If it weren't for him, things would become difficult for us."

"Thank you for helping us." Both Miwa and Fujin bowed in gratitude.

"Your welcome, I guess. I just hope that won't happen again at the worst timing... in summer break, no less." Hachiman released a sigh and Mai approached him with a gift in hand.

"Here..." Mai handed the gift to him and he opened it to see a fancy-looking comb. "That's for your messy hair. You look really dumb, especially with that strand of hair standing on top of your head, so use that. Be thankful I went through the trouble."

"Nice recycling material." Hachiman commented, which earned a held laughter from Miwa.

"That's a clever way to call my gift trash, you creepy piece of filth."

"My hair is fine as it is, so I don't need your bitchy opinion on my appearance."

"You don't look in the mirror much, do you? Or maybe you just believed in what your mom tells you that you look great."

"I look at the mirror all the time, and I see no problems in my reflection. Speaking of reflection, you don't seem to know yourself better. There have to be some people pointing out your annoying and overbearing attitude."

"That's some nerve you got there, though they look kinda small. Maybe that fight must've got rid of the last few brain cells you have to know what respect means."

"I have a billion more brain cells in here to know who not to respect."

"Hmph, probably defects. That could explain your ugly face. Is this what they call a deformity? Look at that. I can see abnormal traits everywhere."

"I don't know science but I know there's no such thing as a defect in brain cells."

"AHEM! We have to go now." Yukino interrupted with her left eyebrow twitching. They said their goodbyes and the couple, along with Haruno, walked away.

"I hope we can see each other again!" Miwa said while waving at them goodbye.

"I hope you die in a plane crash." Mai said in a condescending tone.

"The comb will make a nice decoration for my trash bin." Hachiman said with a grin. "I appreciate it, Zenin-san."

"I hope you get burned slowly to death from a plane crash." Mai said with a vein popped in her head. "And also..."

"Hm?"

"Call me Mai. I don't like being called by my surname." After that, the sorcerers and the auxiliary manager walked towards the exit and entered a black car.

"I miss them already." Miwa said with a sad look.

"Don't grow too attached." Fujin spoke while starting the engine.

"Yukino-san is so nice and sounds so graceful. She's so pretty like a princess too!" Miwa continued commenting with a gleam in her eyes.

"I'm glad they're gone. If I look at them any longer, I might pull out my gun in public and just shoot them." Mai said while looking outside through the car window.

"You've grown really close to Hikigaya-kun." Fujin said with a serious look. "I suggest you shouldn't approach any closer."

"Me? Close? You've got to be kidding me."

"You were the one who came up with the idea of giving him presents." Miwa spoke. "You overheard Haruno's conversation with someone on the phone and-"

"Either way, Hikigaya Hachiman is only a citizen in our eyes now." Fujin interrupted. "He only went through the trouble of aiding us because of his kindness. We shouldn't give him anymore struggle for his sake as well as ours."

"I guess, but..." Miwa wanted to argue, but she chose to be silent as Fujin drove the car. Meanwhile, the manager was still thinking about the curse users and their reason for accepting a job from a client. What he said earlier about avoiding Gojo's territory was a lie. In fact, even that speculation contained no logic.

"They took the job at the same time Gojo-san was away. I doubt this could be more than a coincidence... What am I missing here?"


Meanwhile, in the plane.

"Why are you giving me the silent treatment again?" Hachiman asked in a deadpan tone.

"I don't know. Perhaps your simple-minded brain can discover the reason." Yukino said with an angry look.

"... Please tell me you're not jealous of me talking to Mai-san."

"Oh, and you accepted her offer of being in first-name basis with each other. How wonderful." She then attempted to pinch his sides, but he caught her hand.

"You can't be serious. I can't even determine if my relationship with her is friendship."

"Oh? So it's more than friendship, I see. So that's how it is."

"You're being irrational and paranoid."

'My state of mind is perfectly stable. I should be saying that to you, Hikiplayboy-kun."

"Do you honestly think that girls would be attracted to me?"

"As of this moment? Yes."

"You know who I am, right?"

"Yes, my wonderful boyfriend who is attractive, smart, and strong."

"Thank you for those compliments, but that doesn't necessarily mean I can attract women as if I'm a popular normie like Hayama."

"You keep calling people normies when you're becoming a normie yourself."

"Me? Normie? No, I just became more open to some people. That doesn't mean anything."

"Oh, really?-"

While the two were arguing, Haruno watched them for a moment before opening a book for her to read. Although her eyes were on the pages, her ears were more focused on their conversation. It went from a heated argument, to a playful banter, to flirting, and just silence. She took a glance and saw her younger sister resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. Haruno covered her face with the open book and raised her head for contemplation. The conflict within her mind was figuring out whether his decision to work as a sorcerer was the right choice for him or not. All her thoughts were out of concern for him and everyone around his circle. While she had no doubt about his strong relationship with her younger sister, she had no claim for others. There was also the fact that someone close to him would be unintentionally involved in danger in some way.

What was the right call?

Haruno had known him enough to understand most of his thought patterns: How he would act in certain situations, what his first word would be, or even his first move to interact with others. The word 'most' should be noted because as of now, he had changed. His spirit was stronger, and there was this mysterious aura that clashed with his stoic and gloomy core of his character.

"Charisma...? Pfft!" She mumbled and tried her best hold back her laughter. Somehow, all thoughts about the negative possibilities of his decision faded, leaving her in a peaceful state of mind. After two hours of flight, they finally landed in Chiba. They rode a black limousine sent by the Yukinoshita sisters' mother and spent ten minutes of silence in the vehicle.

"... Nee-san, where are we going?" Yukino asked as she noticed through the car window they weren't going toward either of their homes.

"You'll see." That was the only answer Haruno gave, and the couple just looked at each other for a second until they were just in silence, waiting to reach their unknown destination. As five minutes passed, the limousine stopped. The three went out of the vehicle, and the couple looked at a familiar place.

"Why are we here?" Hachiman asked. They were in front of the beachside event building, which the couple once used to hold the second prom. Haruno's response to his question was giving him a blindfold.

"Put that in your eyes."

"What if I say no?"

"What if I gouge your eyes out instead?"

"Fair enough." Hachiman immediately put the blindfond and Haruno guided him inside. After walking blindly, he was forced to stop. There was only silence for a second until he heard whispering. A prank? Some kind of scheme from Haruno? The questions in his mind were answered as Yukino removed the blindfold to reveal...

"HIKIGAYA HACHIMAN!" They all shouted. "HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!"

"... What?" Hachiman could only blink as he saw Komachi, Yui, Iroha, Saki, Yumiko, Hina, Hayama, Tobe, Ooka, Yamato, Saika, and Yoshiteru present in the hall. Behind them were food such as karaage, kushiage, sashimi, and more. The most noticeable one was a chocolate coffee cake in the middle of it.

"The final night of our Okinawa trip was supposed to be a celebration of your birthday," Haruno explained. "but because of other plans, we didn't have time to do it. Soooooo~!"

"Oh... oh..." He wanted to say a word, but he couldn't think of one out of shock until a thought came in his mind. "Wait, did Kasumi-san and Mai-san know about this? There's no way..."

"Hey, what do you have to say after being greeted like this?" Komachi asked with a pout.

"Thank you." Hachiman then looked at Yukino. "Did you know this?"

"No, but I figured it out when we arrived." She answered.

"But does it have to be in a place as big as this?"

"Oh, trust me. We really need a place this big for our activities." Haruno answered a grin.

"I don't like the sound of that." Hachiman said in a deadpan tone.

"Me neither, but at least it won't be boring for us." A familiar female voice commented. He saw a woman with long black hair and wearing a tucked-in, white polo neck T-shirt, a silver necklace, a red high waisted skater skirt, and a pair of black sling-back heels.

"Hiratsuka-sensei?" Both Yukino and Hachiman said in sync.

"In the flesh! Muwahaha!" Hiratsuka Shizuka said with a laugh.

"That's Hiratsuka-sensei? No, that's impossible! The sensei I know wouldn't wear a skirt and heels! Then again, it's been months since we last saw each other... But what is this?!" Hachiman couldn't help but stare at Shizuka's appearance. "How can a change of fashion have such power!? Is it the shirt that hugs her body and outlines her breast?! The skirt that exposed her legs?! Could it be she's a jujutsu sorcerer? What kind of cursed technique is this, a Kamui?!" (2)

"Oi, Hikigaya. Are you okay?" Shizuka interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Yes, I'm fine." Hachiman answered calmly, but he couldn't stop the blushing on his cheeks.

"Hmm~? Charmed by my looks, aren't you?" She teased an approached him. "You don't look too bad yourself. Haha! You and I transformed into a man and woman. Time sure flies."

"Well, at least you sound the same." He said in a deadpan tone.

"It was supposed to be in Okinawa where I'd jump in to surprise you, but because of your family bonding with them, we didn't get to do it."

"Family bonding?" Hachiman tilted his head in confusion and Yukino leaned closer to his ear and whispered.

"Nee-san told them we were going to meet our cousins and uncle for you to bond with them."

"And what are you whispering about? Is it your marriage plans?" Shizuka teased and laughed while repeatedly punching his chest lightly. "But really, look at you. Getting taller, and started working out. You might be turning into a playboy."

"He already has." Yukino mumbled.

"Well, let's not waste time." Haruno declared, and they started the party. Some were eating while others were just talking to each other and doing whatever ridiculous activities given. Hachiman conversed with his former teacher while eating karaage. They were telling each other stories and what they had been doing for the past months since they separated. Shizuka told him she struggled to fit in the new school she was assigned to at first, but she finally got along with some members of the faculty and students.

"And you did that by wearing feminine attire?" Hachiman asked.

"No, this one is from a girl friend of mine. She sorta convinced me to wear these." Shizuka said while scratching her head in slight embarrassment.

"So how high are the chances of you getting hit on?"

"Hnhnhnhn!" Shizuka laughed arrogantly and then declared it proudly. "I have three men's phone numbers and we're still in contact!"

"... contact on the phone?"

"Yup!"

"What about interacting in real life?"

"... Anyway, my chances increased by a lot!"

"Just someone, please marry her! Am I going to cheat on Yukino? Of course not! Then again- No!" He shook his head to stop those thoughts, but left Shizuka confused by his action. "It's her attire. Those fabrics of clothing gave her a power boost in beauty and sexual appeal!"

"Steal!" Shizuka took one karaage from his plate and ate it.

"Oi, there's a lot more on the tray." He said while lifting his plate away from her.

"All is fair in a battle of cuisines!" Then the two fought over each other's plate. The party was chaotic, but overall it was enjoyable for Hachiman.


Meanwhile, in India.

"Thanks for the meal!" Gojo clasped his hands together after putting down the spoon and fork. "That is some tasty lunch! What's it called again?"

"O-oh, it's called the urlai roast and that o-one over there is the Shahi egg curry." The dark-skinned woman, who was the translator, answered nervously while blushing.

"Damn, these are good! Wanna get married?" Gojo asked so casually, it was as if he had proposed several times to different women.

"Meri beti ko haat mat laga!" (Don't you dare lay a hand on my daughter!), The elder said in anger, but Gojo didn't understand his words, but he at least saw his expression.

"Relax, it's just a joke. Come on~" The white-haired sorcerer said in a playful tone.

"Mazak..." The daughter mumbled in a disappointed tone.

"Tum abhi bhi yaha ku ho? Tumai jo chaiya tha vo ham nai tumai bata diya hai!"

"Oh! Um..." The woman cleared her throat and translated. "He asks; 'Why are you still here? We already told you what you wanted to know'."

"Nah, I don't think you told me everything. There's a lot of holes in your story there." Gojo answered with a grin.

"Hamanai tumai vo sab hai bataya jo ham tumai bata saktai hai."

"We told you what you are ALLOWED to hear."

"Allowed? So there's supposed to be some stages for me to complete to get the answers? I didn't come here to play a game." Gojo argued.

"Ye pratha hai. Ham hamarai kajanai kisi ko nahi detai"

"it's tradition. We do not give our treasures to anyone."

"Tradition this, tradition that. I'm starting to get bored with it. Either you tell me everything or say goodbye to your people." Gojo threatened.

"Tum himmat nahin karo ga. Aap sabase takatvar ho, to isaka ye matalab nahin hai ki aapake paas kuchh bhee karnai ki ajadi hai." The elder said with both hands curled into fists. His daughter hesitated to translate until Gojo looked at her.

"Y-You wouldn't dare. Even if you're the strongest, that doesn't mean you have the luxury to do anything you want."

"Well, let's test that out, shall we?" Gojo stood from his chair and cracked his fists. His expression changed into something sinister as he removed the sunglasses.

"Kuy Tum.. Mai praarthana karta hu ki tumai tumara karma mile." The elder said with a look of frustration.

"I pray the day karma will bring your downfall."

"That's the spirit. If you kept being stubborn, I would've started by taking your daughter." Gojo's expression went back to its carefree nature, and his statement caused the woman to gasp.

"Teri himat... theek hai, main aapako ek sahasraabdee pahale kee sachchee kahaanee bataata hoon. Ye kahaanee sambhavatah us shaapit aatma se bhee puraanee hai jise sukuna kaha jaata hai"

"Uh, uhm. Ahem! I will tell you the true story that happened a millennium ago. This tale is possibly even older than that cursed spirit called Sukuna existed."

"As if I wasn't interested enough." Gojo leaned forward and listened.

"ab krypaya meree baaton par vishvaas karen. is... ikaie kai kaye bhag yugon mein kho gaye hain. unake bhakto ne un abhilekhon mein se kuchh ko chhupa diya, jabaki kuch nai unhen jala diya taaki unaka astitv itihaas ke antaheen vikaas ke tahat gaayab ho jae, lekin baad vaala buree tarah se viphal raha. kuchh log kahate hain ki vah svarg se bheje gaye bhagavaan thai, jo ham nashvar aur devataon donon ko anushaasit karane ke liye thai. bahut se logonai ne unaki pooja kee aur usase darate thai. Vastav mein, Shani dec Eka Aindrajālika Ladaku thai aur apanee 100 varshon kee upasthiti mein sabase pramukh thai. Nishchit roop se aapake kabeele ke paas usake astitv ka varnar hoga hi, bhale hee vah chhota maana jaata hai."

"Now, please believe my words. Several records of this... entity have been lost in the ages. His worshippers hid some of those records while others just burn them to let his existence disappear deep under the endless growth of history, but the latter failed miserably. Some say he was a god sent from Heaven to discipline both us mortals and deities. Many both worshipped and feared him. In actuality, Shani Dev was once a sorcerer and among the most prominent in his hundred years of presence. Surely, your clan has a record of his existence, even though it's considered small."

"Yeah, the name Shani was there, but he was only described as a foreigner who fed my ancestor well."

"haahaahaahaaha, Kya jhootha gyaan hai. Shani Dev aapake desh mein keval aapake poorvajon ko khilaane ke lie nahin gaye thai. vah usase ladane aaya tha. aakhir usakee shakti usake baraabar hai, yahaan tak ki chhah aankhon ke saath bhee"

"What false knowledge. Shani Dev didn't travel to your country to simply feed your ancestor. He came to fight him. After all, his power is equal to his, even with the Six Eyes."


To Be Continued.


Hikigaya Hachiman's cursed technique: Isolation Effect

According to a woman named Hedwig von Restorff, when multiple similar objects are present, the one that differs from the rest is most likely remembered and given attention. That phenomenon is known as the Von Restorff effect or the "Isolation effect".

In Hachiman's cursed technique, he uses the isolation effect to a powerful degree that anyone, whether a person, animal or cursed spirit, will give their full attention to the object of his choice to the point they would lower their awareness of the surroundings, time, senses, etc.

Of course, that effect depends on how strong the victims are in terms of cursed energy output.

In order for the cursed technique to work, it requires two things.:

1) 8 similar objects

2) One of said objects has a different, noticeable characteristic.

The more noticeable the characteristic is, the more effective the cursed technique will become.

One weakness is that once he used the 8 objects, he won't use them again until his residuals disappear, which may take long.


TRIVIA

1) JoJo Reference

2) Kill la Kill reference

So I was supposed to post this in August 8, which was 8man's birthday, but again, stuff happened on my side. I'm sorry I took this long.

Shoutout to CivilBrat for the Hindi translations.

Overall, what do you guys think? Was it too long? I guess I condensed at least two chapters into one.

Also, what do you think of 8man's tinnitus? I thought about giving him a permanent scar or something because in JJK, things don't really go back to normal after a big battle (especially after the Shibuya arc). I thought I would emphasize on that to see how every time he would go on a mission, it would affect his normal life in more ways than one.

So I have two arcs I had in mind, but I don't know which one I want to start with:

A. The Lost Peak In The Chiba Port Tower (Original: A short arc that'll roughly have two chapters that ARE NOT AS LONG AS THIS MONSTROSITY)

B. The Awakened Soul And The Sleeping Body (Involves the Junpei arc.)

Arc A is just another arc to develop 8man as a character in jujutsu sorcery while the other progresses the plot even further.

Whichever you guys pick, I'm down.

As always, please leave your opinions in the reviews as they will help me make this story better.