DISCLAIMER:

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


My dream was to be a mangaka...

I used to read manga all night, during school lunch breaks, and when I went home after finishing homework.

I tried drawing a short manga when I was in middle school, and it was terrible.

A complete mess that made me laugh every time I remembered it.

The shape of the face wasn't right. The eyes weren't aligned properly, and it failed to convey the character's movements. I chose to write an action manga because it was my favorite genre, and would make a good excuse for the lack of dialogue. I didn't know how to write characters speak naturally nor make a conversation natural too...

It was really weird. I'm pretty good at Japanese literature so I didn't get why I wrote dialogue so horribly.

In my entire first year of middle school, I spent my time practicing to draw a face right, then the entire body. The face was always the hardest part for me.

I joined the Arts club to improve and with the help of the members, I finally got it right. In the third semester, I tried drawing manga panels with my characters. A club member of mine was a manga addict, so I let him review my work. His name was Hisashi. After reading my panels, he said...

"Not bad, but they're all... how should I put this? While it's easy to follow the characters, the closeups and size of the frames don't feel right."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at this panel. This one is just a character throwing a punch. This is the climax, right?"

"Not really, just him throwing his special move... whatever it is."

"And this is the special move's first debut. Instead of drawing frames of him preparing for that punch with all the unnecessary shots of facial expressions, draw him throwing it in the first panel and THEN show the impact on the next page. In my opinion, the strength in emotion would be ten times better if it's a full body shot than just frames of his angry face and the villain's angry face getting deformed by a fist in only one page. It would be too much to digest for the readers, so one at a time should do the trick."

"You think that would work better?"

"That's just my opinion. I've read too much manga with good illustrations and art styles. You just do you."

His advice always helped me to draw it better. He was also good at literature so he helped me how to write dialogue... or just write the dialogue for me. At the end of my first year of middle school, I already felt like I could make a decent manga. Of course I had to wait till I'm old enough to send my work to a Manga Award. All that practice took effort, time, some good help from friends.

.

.

.

And slaps in the face from my parents.

"What are these?" My strict father spoke to me with a distant look in his eyes. I still remembered that time as clear as a water pond.

"Drawings..."

"You wasted your academics on pieces of paper?!"

"But my grades aren't bad! I didn't fail a single subject, did I?"

"You talk back to your own father?!"

"Dear, that's enough." My mother intervened, but that didn't mean she was on my side for once. "Your grades became average at best, Shina. We expected you to do better than that. What happened? You used to get 90 to perfect scores during elementary and your first semester."

"I'm just busy with other things-"

"You mean this?!" Then my father just slapped me with the manga pages I drew. They were all crumpled up because he held it so tightly in anger. "You think this will help us after we retire?! Help YOU in the future?!"

As you can tell, they were the typical strict and conservative parents. I heard us Asians have parents like these, while the westerners were a lot more carefree for their children. How I envy those westerners.

I had to throw all my work in the trash... which then I hid it at Hisashi's house. I was glad he was nice enough to store my papers in his room. He and I were really that close.

.

.

Weeks had passed, and I met a couple.

"Um, hello?" As I went out of the house and closed the door, a lady I never met before greeted me. She was a new neighbor in the district living with his lover, who was apparently a French man. They were engaged, and the foreigner wanted to stay with her in the country she was born in. When I turned to face her, she spoke with a cheerful smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Chisa Porcher."

She was very kind to me, and the French man was really good at cooking. It was a good thing I studied English hard enough to understand what he said, though it was hard for me to speak to him because I wasn't that fluent back then. Days went by and the couple finished unpacking their luggage. I was one of the firsts to enter their home and there wasn't really anything to brag about. It was just as ordinary as any other. At that time, I thought they should be happy by now and start living peacefully, but something was strange... The French man was avoiding me for some reason. I tried talking to him as I got better at English, but our conversation was short... too short. Then it led to a point where our only exchange was nothing but a greeting and then we'd be off on our own business.

I didn't understand what I did wrong. After practicing my English speaking, I thought I did well in communicating with him. We were just getting along so I couldn't figure it out... until my mother made it clear to me.

"Shina, stay away from that man." She said to me while washing the dishes.

"But why?"

"He's a Gaijin. Who knows what kind of strange things he would show you. They could be dangerous."

"Not really. He's just-"

"Just don't go even a meter close to him, understand?"

The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered Down.

It's a phrase not uncommon to us.

I realized the nice French man wasn't really treated well by the people. Simple discrimination and xenophobic behavior. There wasn't harassment, they were just avoiding him and whispering bad things about him. When he rode a train and took a seat, the people next to him just scooted away or stood up and walked away. There was one time when he wasn't allowed at that restaurant owned by an elderly couple. When he even entered a restaurant, there were eyes focusing on him.

It was subtle, but very painful for him.

Of course, it wasn't that EVERYONE was against him.

Weeks passed, and his surroundings changed little by little. There were people who still avoided him. The worst by far was the graffiti painted on their walls with horrible messages such as "STOP INVADING OUR COUNTRY" or "DON'T INFECT OUR LAND", and whatever hateful things they wrote in it. Then there were his Japanese friends who stood up for him, but as days passed, that circle shrank. They were most likely just as afraid as the people who didn't hate him, but didn't have the will to be by his side.

There were others who treated him kindly, but it wasn't like he couldn't fully ignore those who didn't.

As for me?... I just... followed my mother's words.

I wasn't afraid of my friends ignoring me. A lot of them liked him. What scared me was my parents. It was easy for me to imagine them throwing me out of the house or downright disowning me if I disobeyed them. That was an exaggeration.

I was afraid of them hurting me any more than what they did after finding out about my passion.

.

.

"Shina-chan?" It was Sunday at that time when the 40-year-old lady spoke to me with a small rectangular inside a plastic bag on her hands. I was on my way to buy groceries since my mother had a fever and my father was at work.

"How are you doing today?" She asked with a smile.

"I'm fine. Mother got sick, so I have to do the groceries for her."

"That's sweet. Do you mind if I could borrow your time for a moment?"

"I'm not really in a rush. Sure, what do you need?"

"There's something I want you to try for me." Chisa-san pulled down the plastic to reveal a container with food inside it.

"Takoyaki?"

"Mhm. They're special. Try one."

"I... guess. I don't see why not." I took one and toss the whole takoyaki into my mouth. The taste wasn't really anything mind-blowing. It was savory and salty, with a hint of kelp flavor on the batter. The octopus meat was chewy and tasty. The takoyaki just tasted normal. I could easily find this at any other food stands and the streets.

"How is it?"

"It's great..."

"You're wondering what's special about these takoyaki, right? They really taste the same as any takoyaki in food stands."

"What exactly makes these special?"

"My fiancèe made these."

"Oh, uhm, that's good. These are special."

"Thank you. He's planning on starting a restaurant in the city."

"With takoyaki?"

"Not really takoyaki. He just wants to make a few Japanese dishes and find which is the right one for him. But to be honest..." She leaned closer to me and I turned my head to let her whisper in my left ear. "I think he's going to start an Izakaya."

"He does hang out a lot in pubs."

"He always said 'All we need is some food and alcohol for a classic bonding.' Well that is true since that's how I met him."

"Was it love at first sight?" While I asked, we walked towards a bench and sat on it.

"No, he was incredibly rude. I was just minding my own business, drinking with my French pals until I noticed him mocking me and squinting his eyes."

"Oh..."

"I know. Then I walked up to him and had a friendly chat."

"By 'chat', you mean...?"

"Oh, I really mean 'friendly chat'. A little more 'adult style, if I add." She chuckled while caressing her... thigh in a weird manner and lifting her skirt. Besides her last sentence, I perfectly understood what she meant by that. My cheeks became red at the thought and averted my gaze from her.

"B-but why?"

"Men can be easy to seduce as long as you have what they want. Obviously, my intention wasn't as nice as my action. I was planning to steal whatever he had in his wallet and bail. But he was soooo energetic~..." The more I listened to her story of their first night, the larger my blush grew to the point that my face was completely red. "He just wouldn't stop and kept touching me. Well, I couldn't blame him. If memory serves right, I kept swaying my hips whenever I move around, tempting him to just eat m-"

"I-I understand. You don't need to put more details."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Chisa-san chuckled with both hands on her cheeks. I cleared my throat and calmed myself.

"So after... that, you two became a couple?"

"Not much of a normal start, huh? But that's how we got together."

"I didn't know it could be that easy."

"Neither did I. That didn't mean our time together was just as easy. Both in France and here."

"I'm... sorry, Chisa-san. I didn't help you two when it all happened."

"Hm? On what?"

"The way they treated you, all the scornful eyes they gave... I wasn't there for you."

"Why would you be? Adult business is for adults only. Kids should just run wild whenever you want." After saying that, she checked the time on her wristwatch and stood up. "Well, I gotta go now. I need to taste test these to other people before going to my dental appointment."

"Oh, okay. Why did you choose me first to test it?"

"Why not?" She answered with a question while tilting her head. Why did I ask that? I didn't know. Maybe I thought there was a deeper reason to why she approached me first with this. I read too much manga to the point I imagined myself as some smart protagonist who suspected a person's hidden intention just by looking. It made me think it was a sign of my chuunibyou phase. We waved each other goodbye as she walked away until I lost sight of her in the crowd. I stood up as well, did the groceries, and went back home just in time for lunch.

The day before the end of September, I heard Chisa-san and her husband's wedding occurring in two days. My parents and I were invited... but my father ripped the invitation paper into pieces. He still didn't see them in a pleasant light. Meanwhile, my mother was just silent every time the couple was mentioned. She was supportive of his opinion, but this time, she became indifferent.

A change of heart? I wasn't sure, but it was better than hearing her talk badly about them.

.

.

.

My first year of high school started. As always, I entered the Arts and Crafts club so I could make more manga. Progress was actually great. I drew better now, and I even came up with dialogue while drawing the panels. Hisashi became my classmate again, which was nice. What changed in high school was that I focused a little more on studying than my manga works. If my grades were as bad or worse than middle school, my curfew would be ugly.

"Are you free after school?" Hisashi, who helped me in my manga asked. "I already finished on the climax. I just need you to draw the scenes."

"Sure thing. I just hope it won't take long." I answered while stretching my arms and standing up from my chair.

"You got plans?"

"Not really. Just curfew... again."

"Ouch, are you sure it's okay?"

"Yeah, as long as I draw manga behind their backs"

"If you say so. Straight to my house, then?"

"Can we at least buy some takoyaki?"

"You really love takoyaki, huh?"

"Who doesn't?"

"Probably weirdos who don't have our native taste buds."

.

.

.

"Not gonna lie. This isn't the climax I was expecting." I said while reading the manuscript he wrote. We were in his bedroom with two glasses of iced tea and chips on the small table. "With all the action and conflict going on in the second act, I thought this would be a final clash."

"It is though." He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Not in a huge debate about which side should the protagonist choose."

"Is it anti-climatic?"

"Hmm... Not really, I can feel the emotions of these characters just through dialogue. All I need to do is draw their expressions and body movements and it'll be finished by probably today."

"Nice... Do you think this will be good enough?"

"For what?"

"To be mangakas?"

"We're practicing almost everyday. Once we get good enough-"

"No. I mean, showing this to a publisher now."

"... Do you think this will make it?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you." After his answer, I lied down on the floor on my back and stared at the ceiling for a moment.

"Hmm... What makes you think this is the right time, anyway?"

"Just a feeling. Wouldn't it be cool to start at a young age?" He said with a smug while holding his chin. It made me chuckle.

"That would sound nice.. but I can't."

"Your parents?"

"... Yeah." I turned my back on him with a sigh.

"Geez, just how strict are your parents?" He asked with an obvious disappointed tone in his voice. I couldn't see his face, but it was easy for me to imagine what expression he was having. I then heard footsteps, and from the sound, he probably lied down on the floor as well. I turned to face upward and stared at the ceiling again. He noticed me and kept silent until he spoke. "Anything interesting on my ceiling?"

"The drywall never looked so pretty until now."

"How can you tell?"

"When you have nothing else to look at, you just see something pretty on the most ordinary things."

"Nothing to look?" Hisashi went all-fours and stared down at my face. "What about me?"

"Pfft! Gross." I said while turning to the side away from his face and smirked.

"Now hold on a second. My face is one of the best-looking you've seen in your entire life."

"Haha! That's a huge self-confidence you have there."

"You don't think I'm even passable?"

"I wouldn't be trying my best not to see your face if you are."

"Oh, come oooonnnn~." I heard him grunted and fell down the floor, dejected by my answer. My only response was a laugh before silence took over the room again. Our right hands were inches close to each other. It was unintentional, but deep inside me I had a weird feeling swelling up. Before I realized, my hand moved closer to his and just like that, I held it gently and he responded by doing the same. We stayed still, letting the silence and the warmth of each other's hands comfort us until he coughed nervously. "So... what does this mean?"

"You tell me." I said, knowing he was emphasizing our hand holding.

"Do you wanna try it? Dating, I mean?"

"... Sure."

And that was how we started dating. It was nothing grand or anything you'd see from typical romance shows and books. That was the day I understood Chisa-san's experience with her fiancèe. It just happened. I didn't want to tell anyone yet until we were sure our chemistry worked. Well, the answer was a definitive yes after three weeks of dating. It was natural progress since we were friends since middle school.

.

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"KYAAAAAAH!" Chisa-san shrieked with joy and clenched my hands. She was the only person I could trust to tell this. As for my parents... Well... you know how they were. "So, how far did you go? Did you kiss?"

"J-just on the cheek and forehead." I answered while fiddling my fingers.

"Then it should be a matter of time."

"I guess..." And I regretted telling her about my relationship because she was teasing and encouraging me to make a move on my boyfriend.

"Did you tell your parents?"

"You know how they are."

"They'll come around, eventually. Just push your wishes into their skulls. So, how is high school?"

"A nightmare, but it's nothing. My grades are up to their standards, so I won't be getting scolded anytime soon."

"I hope you didn't spend most of your time just studying. Summer is just around the corner, so don't miss out a lot while you're still young."

"I do hang out with my friends rarely. The time I have left after school is spent with Hisashi."

"Heeeeh~!"

"Please stop it."

"You two better go to a beach and get into more dates. Oh, and-" She kept going on about how I should progress my relationship with him. It was embarrassing listening to her aggressive suggestions, but I fully enjoyed our conversation. I was happy that she was my neighbour because I wouldn't know how to handle everything without disappointing my parents. The pressure they gave me would be too much, even with Hisashi supporting me.

If only I knew this would be the last time I would feel this calm, this comfortable, just enjoying what I have... Then I should've savoured the moment longer.

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.


The Four Stories Of The Tower: Part 2

What Was It All For Again?

"And then what happened?" Hachiman asked the boy he was carrying on his back named Yoshimi. They were wandering the hallway for a while, and so far they found nothing.

"I just went back up and kept running. That guy was way too slow, so I caught him in no time." As Hachiman walked with him on his back, Yoshimi answered excitedly and grinned. "He moves like a turtle! What a weirdo."

"At least he did his best, right?"

"Is being slow mean doing his best?"

"Now, now, don't be so hard on him."

"But you should've seen him. He moves really weird!"

"Weird how?"

"Well... he moves slow and his fingers were shaking sometimes. He was absent sometimes too and leave school while the class was still going."

"It sounds like he has some medical condition. Or maybe some personal matters. Regardless..." After thinking, Hachiman spoke to the boy. "Yoshimi, do you know why he's like that?"

"Because he's weird?" Yoshimi guessed with his head tilted, wandering if that was the right answer.

"Because he's unlucky." The young sorcerer said while looking at the floor. "There are people who just can't do what normal people can. Some can't see, write, or even talk as well. It's not that they don't want to have those things. They just couldn't because something bad happened to them either from when they were born or something else. Do me a favor: Close your eyes."

"Eh?" Yoshimi was confused.

"Just do it. Trust me." Hachiman reassured him, and the boy complied. They continued to wander the hallway until he suddenly stopped. "Now what's this?"

"What is-" Yoshimi wondered and tried opening his eyes.

"You better keep your eyes closed." But Hachiman stopped him. He only said that to make sure the boy was really honest. For Yoshimi, all he could hear was Hachiman humming and felt he was bending sideways as if the young sorcerer checked on something from different angles. "This is one strange-looking box."

"A-a box?"

"Yeah. Hey can you hear knocking?"

"No."

"Well, I'm knocking on the box, but it didn't let out a sound. Let's see... oh, the back of it is even weirder..." The longer Hachiman described the box, the larger Yoshimi's frustration grew. At that point, the boy was trying his best to prevent his eyes from even flinching. He couldn't take it anymore and so, he opened them only to see nothing in the hallway. Yoshimi looked around and saw the same walls and lit torches.

"YOU LIAR!"

"Shhhh! You don't want monsters coming, so don't shout."

"S-sorry, but you lied!" Yoshimi whispered angrily.

"Yes. Yes, I did." Hachiman said with a nod. "And you wouldn't know that I was lying if you didn't open your eyes, right?"

"Right..."

"Sadly for blind people, even if they open their eyes, they can't see what's in front of them."

"Blind?"

"Being blind means not being able to see anything."

"Even with their eyes open?"

"I just said that before, didn't I?" Hachiman chuckled. "So imagine what we did just now: you closing your eyes while I lie about seeing something interesting in front of us. Now imagine being blind and opening your eyes."

"... That's sad..." Yoshimi wore a sorrowful expression, finally understanding the young sorcerer's lecture. "How do they go outside, then?"

"They use their hearing to know where and what they're going towards." Hachiman answered while removing the sheathed katana from his belt to mimic a blind person using a probing cane. "They have a long stick called a probing cane and just do this to hear what's near them."

"That's really cool!"

"Yeah, but it's not easy. What I'm trying to teach you is that people like them and that boy you played tag with has to work ten times harder than the rest. And so we shouldn't talk badly about them for struggling with their own problems that can never be solved."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm glad you understand. You're smart for someone who doesn't enjoy reading."

"Does that mea-!?"

"No, you still need to read to get good grades." Hachiman immediately interrupted the boy because he predicted what the next question would be.

"Eeeeeh~?!" And it left Yoshimi in disappointment and annoyance. Their conversation let time pass by only 5 minutes and still there was no sign of Nanami, the other survivors, or even anything besides the golden torches. The only thing that was keeping Hachiman's sanity intact was talking to the boy he was carrying. He dragged out a conversation that he thought should be a lot shorter for the child to understand better. However, Hachiman wanted to keep himself distracted or else the feeling of dread would take over once again.

The encounter with the special-grade curse gave a feeling of despair to the young sorcerer because of the tremendous gap between their strengths. He struggled to imagine them exorcising such a spirit. Avoiding it would be futile, since escaping the Domain meant fighting the special grade. However, he hoped for the smallest chance of discovering an exit so there wouldn't be casualties and death. A completely unrealistic scenario, but he would still stretch to grasp for anything.

"So, you're together with your mom, right?" Hachiman asked.

"Yeah! Today is my birthday, so I know she has so many things for me!" Yoshimi answered excitedly.

"Really? Happy birthday, then."

"Thanks!"

"What do you think your mom's birthday gift is?"

"I don't know, but it's going to be a lot! I think we're going somewhere far away and fun because I saw her taking out bags and putting her clothes in."

"Traveling, huh? Maybe you're going to the beach? It's still summer, after all."

"There's like-" Before Yoshimi could speak further, the fire of all the torches died, leaving the two people in the hallway in complete darkness. "I can't see!"

"It's okay. I'm here. Just stay quiet, understand?" Hachiman whispered with a serious expression.

"Yes." The boy answered with a whisper as well. Hachiman walked forward slowly, with pure caution in every movement. He wanted to just shout out to anyone to check if there was actually someone, but he knew it would be a terrible idea to give away their location.

"... Unless that special grade does know where we are and it's just playing us around. Not the type I like, but honestly, I prefer that more than a special grade that only kills without hesitation." After that thought, the torches were lit once again, and he already noticed the difference in their surroundings.

The hallway appeared to be larger than usual... Large enough for a certain monster to walk comfortably in.

"... You gotta be kidding me..." The young sorcerer gulped and took a step back. Meanwhile, the boy saw what was in front of them and tears began swelling up in his eyes out of fear.

It was the blue, two-headed special-grade curse.

The only choice was to run, which was what Hachiman chose. However, behind them was a wall of concrete, and so he kicked it to break through. It only cracked and immediately repaired itself. Hachiman drew the katana and tried to cut a hole, but a second after each slice, it quickly repaired itself once again. One hole appeared, and it was small enough to fit a child in. He turned around and saw the special-grade curse a few feet closer to him without even sensing its approach. It pointed at the child and then at the hole while waving its lowest right hand in a shooing gesture.

Hachiman understood the message, but the question was: Should he trust it?

"That sounds like the dumbest question I have ever asked myself. Some curses are cunning. This one could obviously be no differen-" Hachiman's thoughts were interrupted by the cursed spirit's swift movements. It lightly punched his stomach, grabbed the back collar of Yoshimi's shirt, and threw the boy into the small hole in the wall. Hachiman immediately recovered and tried to cut its arm, but the blade only managed to sink into its flesh by an inch. The cursed spirit laughed at his ineffective attack and just casually pushed the blade off its limb before floating back away from him.

"What did you do to him?" The young sorcerer asked, but the curse didn't respond as it formed blades of raw cursed energy in its hands. "Where did you take him?"

The cursed spirit posed a fighting stance, pointing its blades of cursed energy at him. He did the same, but his grip on the weapon trembled along with it. After swallowing his saliva and taking one deep breath, he ran forward. The curse did the same, but much faster than him. So fast that it became a blur in his perception. However, his reaction was quick enough to duck under a massive horizontal swing. The problem was the air produced by the curse's sword swing was so strong, it sent him flying and tumbling towards a wall. In fact, the powerful gust of wind caused a wave that damaged the hallway entirely, cracking the floor, ceiling, and walls while debris flew and collided everywhere. Some debris hit Hachiman's right side and left shoulder.

He stood up while wobbling back and forth because of the injuries he received along with the dizziness. Fortunately, the dizziness slowly started fading just enough for him to dodge another swing from the cursed spirit. Once again, the shockwave it produced sent him flying and crashed into another wall with his back. The adrenaline spread throughout his body, which caused him to stand quicker and prepare for another attack. The cursed spirit didn't even waste a millisecond and rushed towards him at blinding speed. Hachiman used Maleficent Wind's Rhythm to evade and counterattack. While the gust of wind from the curse's swing sent him flying for the third time, he managed to injure the curse. Just a scratch on one of its wrists, though.

"And that's literally my all-out attack." The young sorcerer smirked, accepting the inevitable result of this battle, but still wanted to fight until the end. He used Maleficent Wind's Rhythm and slowly approached the cursed spirit as the latter slowly leaned forward until it disappeared. One blink later, the curse was already on Hachiman's right side, going for a downward swing with the blade in its upper left hand. Hachiman disappeared before the blade even reached down to its stomach, and suddenly there was a cut in the wrist the moment the blade collided with the ground. The cursed spirit looked around while the concrete ruptured, with debris flying everywhere. It saw Hachiman a distance away with his sword sheathed and grip held tightly. The curse rushed towards him once again, and the results were the same except for the part where the young sorcerer was lying prone on the ground. Also, the cut was much deeper and larger than the previous ones.

How was it possible? That was the expression the special grade displayed when seeing its injury that was already regenerated.

Hachiman just used the curse's momentum of its swing to his advantage. Combining it with his own force, he let the blade go past the fast moving limb and let it hurt itself. If it wasn't for the New Shadow Style technique, performing such a feat would be impossible, and he would be dead from the first two attacks. Despite injuring the curse, that didn't mean he could still defeat it because of its regeneration and overwhelming power.

It was still a loss for him.

His plan was to basically stay alive as long as possible until Nanami came to his rescue, or if any miracles would come to his aid. And so began an endurance game for the young sorcerer as he just kept evading its attacks for as much as he could. Seconds felt longer while his breathing became more erratic. Bruises were all over his body and some pebbles from the flying debris were stuck in his flesh. Yet for him, that wasn't his biggest concern out of all the injuries.

What made him froze for only a second was that his left earlobe was gone, along with the recently most important device shattered.

The hearing aid.

It was bad, especially since his tinnitus was in his left ear. The ringing sound already occurred because of the explosive swings from the cursed spirit, but he ignored it and kept fighting. Minutes passed and his cuts became deeper and larger until finally, he decapitated the curse's lowermost right hand. But that took everything in him as he kneeled down from exhaustion, with the injuries finally taking its toll on him. The tinnitus made it even worse to the point he couldn't hear a thing in his left ear anymore and caused him more dizziness. Still, he held the katana firmly and his eyes at the cursed spirit never averted. The special grade was about to approach until it saw something glowing in the distance. Eight golden torches in the wall were coated in cursed energy, with one at the far left being the only one lit and illuminating a golden aura. A second later, Hachiman appeared above its right shoulder and cut that side of its neck with Obscuring Stream Of Malice. But during that one second, the cursed spirit reacted by bending to the opposite side and just hit him away with a cursed energy blade. Hachiman was sent flying and crashed into the ceiling before falling to the ground.

"The cut was too shallow... My cursed technique only managed to distract it by one second." Just as when he felt it was the end for him, he heard the sound of concrete shattering and sensed a familiar cursed energy. He smirked while standing up, and as if he read the person's mind, he coordinated his actions with him. Hachiman used Obscuring Stream of Malice to at least injure one of the cursed spirit's mantis legs while the person hit its head with a blunt, cloth-covered sword. The cursed spirit fell, and the professional sorcerer landed next to Hachiman.

"A fine coordination." It was Nanami, and he had the weapon on his right hand while the tie wrapped in his other. He used the Ratio Technique: Collapse to shatter a massive hole in the wall and was quick enough to go through it. "What's the situation?"

"..." Hachiman didn't respond as he was focused on the cursed spirit standing up. Nanami wanted to repeat, but immediately realized the gist of the young sorcerer's current state. He was standing next to Hachiman on the left side, which was where he lost his hearing. That, along with the multitude of injuries and the poor state of his attire, Nanami already knew his partner struggled and managed to survive. As the cursed spirit stood with the blades of raw cursed energy pointing at them, the two sorcerers readied themselves. They didn't need to communicate with each other because the plan and roles given were very simple for them to understand without explanation.

Nanami rushed towards the cursed spirit while Hachiman ran away towards the piles of rubble. The cursed spirit responded to their actions by readying its two upper arms for the young sorcerer and the rest of the four lower ones for the other. It swung the two blades to fire a cross-like projectile of cursed energy at Hachiman. As always, he dodged it with the New Shadow Style technique and avoided the explosion as well. Nanami dodged two sword swings and created the 7:3 ratio spot on the wrist of the curse's middle left hand. The moment it used that same hand to swing a cursed energy blade, He jumped forward to hit the ratio spot, which caused the left hand to blast off its arm. The cursed spirit flinched in shock, but that didn't stop itself from attacking. That was until it noticed eight glowing piles of rubble with one in the middle had a golden glow. Hachiman used his Isolation Effect once again to distract the curse even if it was only two second.

Fortunately, that tiniest amount of time was all the professional sorcerer needed. Nanami jumped from one of its arms, moving to swing at him, to reach the two faces of the cursed spirit. With the left fist wrapped with his tie, he threw a punch right in the middle where its chins were. That sent the cursed spirit flying and crashed into a wall. Its chins, along with the entire mouths and noses of both faces, exploded into pieces as a splash of purple blood stained the walls and ceilings. Despite dealing such severe damage, the cursed spirit still wasn't exorcised. Nanami and Hachiman didn't waste a second, and took action before it could respond. The young sorcerer prepared more piles of rubble for his cursed technique while Nanami rushed towards the special grade. It stood up and swung all six of its cursed energy blades to the ground. A massive shockwave approached the two sorcerers and Nanami's response was to retreat and protect the injured young sorcerer. Hachiman braced himself for the worst, unaware that Nanami came in front of him to block the blast.

"Hikigaya-kun, are you alright?" Nanami asked and the young sorcerer noticed him.

"Yes.. but you..." Hachiman wanted to speak about his current state. Nanami's clothes were in tatters, with the sleeves damaged and sunglasses cracked. His body ached, but that wasn't enough for him to stop.

"I'm fine." Nanami reassured him while throwing away the sunglasses. "We didn't exorcise the curse, but we managed to weaken it. Keep using your cursed technique while I finish it."

"Okay." The two sorcerers prepared themselves as the cursed spirit stood up with the injury that Nanami inflicted still regenerating. Nanami started running, but the pain was a hindrance to him. Still, he kept moving until the adrenaline spread through his body. Meanwhile, Hachiman set up the piles of rubble to make the Isolation Effect more efficient.

"I need to make it bigger and more noticeably different to catch its attention." The young sorcerer thought while staring at the rubble, picking up one large rock and dropped it to the ground. "I don't have much cursed energy left, so I have to count on my technique's conditions to make it more effective. Nanami-san can't deal a fatal blow to that monster if I don't give him the opening he needs."


Meanwhile...

"Hello?" The young man, who was with Nanami a while ago, was aimlessly walking around the hallway. For one brief moment, the sorcerer was with him, then when darkness engulfed the area and the torches were lit again, he disappeared without making a sound. Anxiety grew as he walked back and forth to calm himself while analyzing his current predicament. "Okay... okay... the only person who can protect me is gone. I'm all alone, and this hallway is beyond creepy. Maybe I should've stayed in place back there. He's probably finding me right now, and I probably made it harder for him. What's ne-"

"WeLCoMe..." A distorted, inhuman voice interrupted his thoughts, and he ran as fast as he could without even bother looking what was behind him. He then heard footsteps echoing from behind, which caused his fear rising and ran faster with tears. "Mister! Anyone! Help me!"

"HahAhAHAHa!" The creature behind him laughed as he heard the footsteps getting faster. After turning to the right, he saw a little boy walking while wiping the tears from his eyes. The young man remembered that boy was the one with his mother, but instead of being concerned with a child's well-being, the laughter that sounded like it was getting louder and closer made his survival instincts to go haywire.

"MOVE IT!" The young man just pulled the boy and threw him from behind and just left, unconcerned about what he had done as his thoughts only filled with surviving. The child stood up while holding his own head to ease the pain, and what he saw next was...


.

.

.

"Hisashi~, wake up." I stood next to the futon where my boyfriend was sleeping. It was already morning, so he needed to wake up to finish his work. He didn't budge, so I shook him until he groaned.

"... what?" He finally woke up, but with an annoyed expression.

"Good morning, idiot. You have to finish the chapter, remember?"

"Five more minutes..."

"Hey, that lazy behavior isn't gonna fly for the publishers. Come on, and eat your breakfast while you're at it."

"Yes, mooom~"

"You're dating your mom?"

"Kinda feels like it."

"Just get up, already." I said my last words before hitting him in the head with a pillow. After a few seconds, Hisashi stretched his arms and stood from the futon while scratching the back of his head. With a sigh, I went back to my breakfast, which was just toasts with butter and a mug of coffee. Hisashi also had the same one.

We dated for almost four years, and we lived in a small and cheap apartment in Tokyo. I worked at a convenience store while he got a job as a light novel author after winning a contest. Our goal was to work together to make the best manga... though 'best' was stretching a bit. Anyway, that was our initial goal until we got hit by reality. We lost the manga awards, got our works rejected repeatedly by publishers, and we could only get recognition by publishing them by ourselves in Conventions. While the latter did us favors, both financially and in popularity, it wasn't enough for us... at least that was what I thought. A major complain about our mangas was my drawing for some reason.

'My art style was bad.' they said.

'Fight scenes weren't fleshed out.' they said.

At first, I didn't mind it. They were just constructive criticisms... with a few mean comments here and there. I was fine, but two years had passed since we started this life and we achieved nothing to reach the careers we wanted. All because of me... So I thought maybe he should go on ahead without me and become a light novel author, so when his series became a hit, he would recommend me to the editors in making a manga adaptation of it. In a sense, that sounded the same as our initial goal together. But that didn't mean I would do nothing and just laze around in the apartment. I had to gain some attention as well to make easier for him to convince them.

While eating our breakfast, Hisashi was at his laptop writing his next chapter for the light novel that was well-received. Meanwhile, I was drawing a sequel to my most popular manga and sell it at the next Comiket. I was also about to finish another manga that wasn't as popular, but well-received regardless. Dealing with two series at the same time was a huge mistake, but at least it paid off... But still, not doing it again. My hand ached way too often now. Anyway, despite my accomplishments, I wasn't acknowledged by the publishers. They rejected every work I had done, and when I entered another manga award, I lost... for the fifth time. It was frustrating, but I refused to give up.

"Oh yeah, isn't your dad's birthday tomorrow?" Hisashi asked.

"Uhuh, why do you ask?" I asked as if there wasn't anything noteworthy to consider on that topic, which to me back then, it really wasn't.

"No presents this year, too?"

"He kicked me out, remember?"

"Well... At least they didn't disown you." He made a joke, but it wasn't funny to me. After realizing that, he hugged me from behind as I drew a panel. "Sorry."

"It's fine." I said while grabbing his right hand to kiss it. "Disown or not, I don't regret choosing this life."

"If you say so..." He said while I noticed his downcast expression.

"What's wrong?"

"A little upset that those peasants don't recognize your awesomeness."

"Pfft! 'Peasants'? You're a king now?"

"I'm your king."

"Really cheesy. Well, there are many people more talented than me, so all I gotta do is work even harder."

"I refuse to believe that guy won the award last year."

"Meh, it appealed to fans so..."

"But it was the same isekai harem trash we see everywhere."

"Please don't make me feel more frustrated at my loss."

"Uh, right. Sorry... Maybe you should go with the trend, too. Make an isekai manga."

"No."

"It'll gain a lot of attention."

"I'd rather suffer than pleasing anyone else... except you."

"Now, who's the one that sounds cheesy?" We laughed at that and resumed our individual work.

.

.

.

It took us until evening to finish it and we went outside to eat dinner. We often go to a certain pub owned by a couple. As we opened the door, the first person that caught our eye was a lady with shoulder-length hair with a few strands of white, displaying her old age.

"If it isn't the lovebirds." Chisa-san greeted us. "You guys want the usual?"

"Yes, please!" We answered enthusiastically. This was my favorite place to eat dinner for a lot of reasons, mainly being able to talk to Chisa-san and her husband. I was glad Hisashi enjoyed this place too and considered this his favorite. We ordered our food and drinks, then waited while talking about just anything to occupy our time. I realized how there were so few people in the Izakaya compared to the last time we came here. Before I could think about it, the food arrived, and we enjoyed the food until I asked Chisa-san who passed by us after serving a customer.

"Chisa-san."

"Yeah?" She responded.

"There don't seem to be a lot of people right now, huh?"

"Oh, that's because there's a new Izakaya that opened two weeks ago near us."

"You mean that huge one at the corner?" Hisashi asked while chewing karaage. "I heard the food is great or something."

"What do you think?" I asked him.

"Haven't been there, so I have nothing to say except as long as there are drinks, I'm going."

"You sound like an alcoholic. I don't remember my boyfriend being like this."

"As long as there are people who still enjoy our pub, we're happy." Chisa answered with a smile. The problem was that I couldn't figure out whether or not that answer was genuine. They had a business and losing customers would hurt that. I thought about what I would do if I was in their shoes because what I saw inside this Izakaya, there were barely enough people to cover a two-seat table. I wished I have that kind of optimism when things didn't go the way I wanted.

"Chisa-saaaan~." I dragged out the honorifics because of how drunk I already was.

"Yeeeees~?" She dragged out her response to play along.

"Do you know how much I love with you~?"

"Hm? Are you actually a lesbian that's into older women?" Hisashi said a joke before drinking his sake. He was also drunk.

"What if I am?"

"Oh, my! Did you hear that, dear? What should I do?" Chisa-san said in a playful tone while looking at her French husband, who was cooking

"What countries we know that approve polygamy?" The French husband joined in the antics.

"Eh? What about me?" Hisashi said while pretending to be lonely.

"It's polygamy, so you can join as a spouse."

"Sweeet~."

.

.

.

Another year had passed, and Hisashi's light novel series finally gained popularity. Sales went up during the summer, and I was still not hired by the publishers. He and his editor said they had to wait until the series reached a significant amount of sales for any kind of adaptation. I entered another manga contest, but I lost again. This defeat started to weigh me down because I couldn't climb higher while my boyfriend was about to move forward without me. And so, I just took a break and decided not to go on the next Comiket because I was losing my motivation to draw.

So I was just looking at Twitter while chatting on my Discord server through the laptop, and it was just a normal conversation aside from asking me why I couldn't go to the Comiket. I just made up an excuse about being ill and had to take a break. Some users who I was chatting with were my friends who were still taking college while others were already working full time. My boyfriend and I didn't enroll in college because we wanted to focus more on building our careers early. At first, I thought that was a good idea, but I was reconsidering my options for becoming a better mangaka. My options included learning from a professional and have someone like that teach me about drawing manga. The problem was money for the tuition. We could barely cover our rent, but we were still financially stable enough to get food and other necessities as long as we didn't spend too much. Would a tutoring program be a better alternative? Probably not since I recently heard how expensive tutoring became recently.

Without coming up with a proper conclusion, I decided to wait for Hisashi so we could discuss that. He would understand. So while I waited for him to come back home from groceries, someone pinged me on Discord.

LMAN: Bitoku-Chan did you see the trend on twitter?

-LMAN: Bitoku-Chan did you see the trend on twitter?
Bitoku-Chan: What trend?

-Bitoku-Chan: What trend?
LMAN: It's about that LN author that popped off recently.

The more he or she (the user was anonymous, so I didn't know) explained what happened, the deeper my heart sank. I checked Twitter and saw my boyfriend's author name on the trending page and it read:

"LN Author Faces Controversy After Plagiarizing Manga."

According to Twitter, the light novel he wrote was basically an exact copy of a manga that was released a decade ago. It had the same plot and elements, but the only difference was the characters, especially the names and races. I wanted to argue that what he did was follow cliches and cardboard cutting things... but the comments and threads already rebutted that before I could say my piece.

Why did no one find out about that sooner? It was because Hisashi's series didn't gain that much attention during its first volume until he released the second and third. After having a bigger audience, smarter people saw the similarities between that and the manga that was plagiarized. The outrage was quick and huge. Notifications on my Discord popped up and when I looked at them...

Bitoku-Chan Aren't you a fan of his works?

Bitoku-Chan You even support his shitty ones too. Do you know each other?

- Bitoku-Chan You even support his shitty ones too. Do you know each other?
Bro, what kind of logic is that?

everyone Guys, one of her manga ripped off this really cool series.

- everyone Guys, one of her manga ripped off this really cool series.
She was using tropes. That doesn't mean she plagiarized shit.

It was chaos in my entire server, no matter which channel I went to. I turned off my laptop and just laid on my futon because whatever response I would send, it would add fuel to the fire than extinguish it. All that was left in my mind was the bewilderment of this sudden turn of events. I knew Hisashi since middle school. He was passionate about literature and enjoyed doing the otaku hobbies. I loved him because of that and his other quirks. Out of all the messes he would throw at himself, what happened today wasn't even on the list. I couldn't imagine him committing such an act because I genuinely believed he was an amazing writer, and I spoke with the basis of all the times we spent together both in work mode and in the personal life.

It was nighttime, and Hisashi still hadn't come home. I texted him multiple times, but he hadn't read my messages yet. My calls were ignored, and he hadn't said anything in his twitch account about the controversy. I stood up, deciding to go outside and find him, until I heard the door unlocking. When it opened, I saw my boyfriend wobbling in clearly drunk. After he removed his boots and took a step into the room, I stood in front of him, only staring down at the floor. I was unsure of what expression I should wear.

Anger? Worry? Disgust?

I didn't know if any of those could describe how I felt back then. But, one emotion I was sure of was...

Fear.

His career was already ruined. Our life goals could might as well be in the trash. What was next? What was our future after that total disaster?

I was scared that our dreams were gone... No, my mind back then already thought it was all over.

"Hisashi..."

"Oh, hey!" He greeted me so casually, it was as if he didn't know the outrage on the internet.

"I know what happened."

"About what?"

"Don't play dumb with me. It's all over social media now."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but can you get me some water? I need to... *HIC* sober up a litt-"

"Why did you do it?!" I shouted without caring about the neighbors hearing us through the thin walls. "You always brag about loving novels and literature. Always showing off your damn figurines and merchandises. There's not a day where you don't talk about our dreams, all the otaku things we have, or me! So why!"

"... You know when the light novel was first released, it wasn't well-received."

"... if by 'not well-received', you mean sales were small, then yeah..."

"That was when the editor recommended me to read other light novels as references. Follow their tropes and just put my twist in them. When writing the second volume, the first three chapters were 'satisfactory', he said, but in the last two chapters, he told me to change some things... I went along with it and that was when I realised too late after the volume's release that I basically copied someone else's work. A manga. I told the editor off about it and he said it was just a manga nobody reads anymore..."

"And you went along with him when writing the third volume? Are you fucking kidding me?!" I was so angry at his reason, I threw my laptop at him which he blocked as it fell on the floor with a shattered screen. "You still copied someone's work! And you were too lazy to come up with your own ideas for your series-"

"It's not that I'm lazy, Shina." Hisashi interrupted her while sitting next to the kotatsu. "The company started getting desperate to find the next hit series."

"Is it because that light novel ended last year?"

"Yeah, along with other big series last year. It got them scared of thinking there won't be another one like those for the next few years. So, they hired many authors to write light novels and see which one gets popular in terms of sales."

"It does feel like more light novels are released this year compared to last. I just thought it's because the popular ones ended. The authors took action for an opportunity."

"That's part of the reason, but yeah, it was more like a survival game for us there."

"That is so fucking dumb..." I just sat down in disbelief at what he just said. "So if a series didn't meet the certain amount of sales-"

"-they cancel it for a new author to write a light novel." He finished my sentence while grabbing a glass of water.

"And you... you commited plagiarism just so you could save your own ass?"

"The first volume almost flopped in their eyes. If it was a thousand sales less, they would cancel it. And it's not like I could just quit and applied to another company. You know how many times I've been turned down... I'm sorry."

"And what about that asshole of an editor you have."

"He'll get fired for sure... along with me. We're gonna pay the charges against us obviously."

"Rather than edit and make changes, it's almost like he's the one making the shots for your own series instead of you. I can't believe..." I wanted to say more things about it, letting all the frustration out of my chest. But, I decided against it, and just let the silence took over to calm our minds. After a minute, I asked him. "So what now?"

"I don't know... my career is over... And it's only been a year."

.

.

.


"Shina..." The weak voice of the old woman caused Shina's heart to falter. No matter which direction she went, they couldn't find anything or anyone. It was even worse when there were monsters chasing them, but what was strange was those monsters moved quite slowly while laughing. She thought they were mocking her and the efforts of saving Chisa, which made her desperation grew, and bit her lower lip strong enough to injure it and bleed. Carrying Chisa, and the mental torture already took a toll on her body and spirit as her knees shook until she fell on the floor. The old woman's bleeding made a puddle of blood as the pain in her stomach kept getting worse. Despite that, she still caressed the housewife's head to comfort her. "... Are you still hung up on being a mangaka?"

"..." Shina didn't respond as she struggled to stand up because she was more concerned about their safety and Chisa's life than anything.

"I thought... you're fine with what you have now... A husband... a child..." The old woman coughed blood before continuing. "It's okay to regret some choices... But, the problem with us... is we always think about what we should've done... than what we should do next..."

"Chisa-san... please don't talk." Shina was on all fours and looked at Chisa's current condition. The old woman's skin turned pale and her eyes appeared to be tired and half-open. Shina pressed her hands gently on Chisa's injury, even though it was a futile attempt.

"So look for what's next, Shina..." Chisa held the housewife's cheek. "... What's next..."

"No, no, no..." The housewife shook Chisa, and the latter was unresponsive. Chisa died with eyes open and her hand that held Shina's cheek fell. She heard the sound of laughing and grunting of distorted voices, and with a second of hesitation, Shina ran away leaving the corpse of her loved one. "YOSHIMI! YOSHIMI!"


"Just a little longer, Nanami-san." Hachiman thought while dropping down a large rock on the floor. Nanami continued to hold on his own against the special-grade curse quite well as he dodged another swing of a cursed energy blade. After dodging two more, he found the 7:3 ratio on all of its mantis legs and hit them precisely, shattering the legs in half. While the cursed spirit was falling forward, Nanami jumped to strike a blow on its two faces. However, he plummeted to the ground after receiving four downward swings of its blades of cursed energy. Before the curse could continue its attack, it saw seven columns composed of large rubble stacked on top of each other. Then, there was a pile in the middle with also an obviously unstable column on top, making it stand out from the rest. Not to mention it glowed a golden aura, which was Hachiman's cursed technique.

This time, the Isolation Effect distracted the special-grade for five seconds.

And those seconds were all the professional sorcerer needed.

Nanami stood and jumped once more to deal with the exorcising blow.

When he was close enough toward the two faces, he swung a left punch at the middle between its two chins after finding the 7:3 ratio spot. Once it hit, something happened.

A spark of black light flared a second before the cursed spirit's head, along with a portion of its neck and the muscles connecting to it, exploded into pieces until they disappeared into nothing. The special grade fell on its back while Nanami landed on his two feet. Meanwhile, Hachiman just kneeled as exhaustion and the injuries finally came to bite him along with the constant ringing in his left ear.

"Nanami-san!" The young sorcerer shouted at him in worry. He didn't have any strength left to move, and all his cursed energy was nearly depleted after using the Isolation Effect.

"I'm fine. But... something's not right." Nanami reassured him before noticing something strange. Hachiman looked at his partner's direction and also realized the main issue.

The cursed spirit didn't disappear.

Normally, when a jujutsu sorcerer exorcised a cursed spirit, it would disappear into thin air. However, the body of the special grade still remained, and the incomplete domain expansion didn't disappear. Suddenly, the two sorcerers felt shivers on their spines after sensing cursed energy on the special grade. It felt stronger than the last time, and while Nanami readied himself, Hachiman still couldn't move. His body repeatedly told him he was at his limit by the sense of excruciating pain and the loss of blood.

The cursed spirit's body began to float in the air, and after a few seconds, it changed. The pair of arms in the middle turned into dark clouds and covered itself while the mantis legs changed into human-like ones before the clouds enveloped them. After a few seconds, the cursed spirit's appearance transformed:

Its blue skin became darker, turning into navy blue; its upper body was naked, revealing its feminine features; tongue was long and hung loosely out of its mouth; only had four arms and one head; wore a skirt of human arms and a necklace of decapitated heads.

"A binding vow that activates in an instant before death?" Nanami thought that could be the most logical reason for the cursed spirit's revival and sudden change both in appearance and cursed energy. "So was that not its full power, then? What is it trying to accomplish by having such a strict binding vow?"

"Om... Sri... Maha... Kalikayai Namah" The special grade spoke while spreading its four arms wide. A sacrificial sword called a ramdao appeared on its upper right hand and a trident with three prongs on the left hand. Then, the cursed spirit clapped its two lower hands and formed a circle gesture to absorb the room, the hallway, basically the entire incomplete domain expansion until the surroundings turned back into the third floor of the tower, which was a cafe that was full of broken furniture and dead bodies. The two sorcerers sensed cursed energy gathering within the special grade, and after a few seconds of silence, it spoke.

.

.

.

.

"DOMAIN EXPANSION!"


TRIVIA

1) The name "Shina" means "virtue", so her Discord name "Bitoku-Chan" is a pun to her name which a Japanese word that also translates to "virtue" .

A lot of things happened over the past three or so months. And those months made 2021 a not-so-great year for me. I'm sorry for taking so long. I just had to sort some mess both in plans and myself.

And once again, I made this arc longer than I intended. It's always that one thing where you can't stop writing after an idea comes into your head on the fly.

And of course, the most obvious one, I sort of turned this arc (or this particular chapter) focused around an OC you'd probably not care less about.

But I think it turned out well for me, so I'm keeping it as is until I read your reviews.

Don't worry, the next chapter will be the finale of this arc, and it's coming out either tomorrow or the next day. (as long as nothing bad happens to me again).

As always, thank you for reading this fanfic. Please leave a review as your opinions will be helpful for making this story better.