WARNING : I am not native speaker. One of my reasons to re-write this fict is because I want to practice my English even just a little. So, read it with a grain of salt and please enjoy yourself.
—OoOoO—
Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami
Oregairu by Wataru Watari & Ponkan8
Genre : Supernatural, Action, Freindship, Slice of Life, and Little Bit Romance
Summary : Not the romantic comedy of youth that he experienced, not the quiet and normal life of youth he had. He never missed his day-to-day cursing his strange and annoying life. He is Hikigaya Hachiman and this is all his complaints as a jujutsu sorcerer.
Chapter 3 : The Strongest Coward.
—OoOoO—
"You want me to take care of this brat, Gojou-san?"
"Yes. his mother wanted him not to go on the dangerous missions the association gave him through the jujutsu school, but on the other hand, she also didn't want her son's career as a jujutsu sorcerer to be stalled because of her selfishness. So, I recommend sending Hikigaya to you, Hiratsuka."
"She didn't want her son to be too deeply involved with the jujutsu school, but still wanted her son's career to be maintained? Very wishy-washy."
Hiratsuka, who complained about how selfish that was, finished her full glass of beer greedily. Then, she placed the empty glass on the table roughly enough to make a "duk" sound when the table surface hit the base of the large glass.
"Haaahhh… even if you say that, there is nothing I can do, you know? Even though I am a teacher in high school, that doesn't mean I am also good at teaching jujutsu," Hiratsuka continued.
Meanwhile, Gojou Satoru only watched his junior at the jujutsu school eating ramen accompanied by two beers, one of which was empty.
"You don't need to mentor him if you don't want to, but at the very least, I want you to be his supervisor. With that said, I hope you will give your recommendation to Hikigaya later."
While Gojou was explaining, Hiratsuka, sitting opposite him, was busy sipping her ramen. Showing no sign that she was listening to the words of the Strongest Sorcerer.
"This annoys me a bit, but you really are not your usual self, Gojou-san. I mean, you didn't even get to this point when that brat Hakari was kicked out of Tokyo Jujutsu High."
Gojou was silent for a moment and then replied, "There is a specific reason behind it and I will tell you the details later. What is clear, Hikigaya might at first look like a mediocre sorcerer. However, he will definitely become a great jujutsu sorcerer later, I am sure of that."
"You mean, like a Magikarp that later evolved into a Gyarados?" Hiratsuka asked after drinking the ramen soup.
"That is an interesting analogy. However, Hikigaya's potential doesn't just stop at Gyarados level, but he could even reach Mega Gyarados," Gojou replied with a confident smile, "After all, he can do something that even other jujutsu sorcerers, myself included, cannot do. ."
"YEEESSS! I managed to get Mewtwo. Who would have thought, there would be a legendary pokemon in a place like this," said a smiling Hiratsuka while looking at her cellphone's screen.
Hiratsuka shouted at the owner of the ramen shop, where she and Gojou were eating with happy feelings.
"Old man, I will be stopping by your shop often from now on!"
Meanwhile, Gojou could only stare at the woman with his stupid expression.
"Hey, have you been playing Pokemon GO? Did you hear what I said?"
And just like that, their night progressed with Hiratsuka more focused on her game than the words Gojou spoke.
—OoOoO—
"So, that was how our meeting that night."
"Just like that? I mean, you didn't even tell me what Gojou-sensei told you," I replied, hearing the story of how Gojou-sensei asked her to be my supervisor.
Unfortunately, from what Hiratsuka-sensei told, mostly only about Gojou-sensei's request, and somehow, suddenly, the story turned into a story about Pokemon and Digimon.
Monday night at 9:15pm. Right now, I am in the 2018 Honda HR-V SUV driven by Hiratsuka-sensei. According to the Line message she sent this afternoon, we are going to the location to exorcise the cursed spirit.
She said it was in Choushi City, a city located on the east side of Chiba Prefecture and directly facing the Pacific Ocean. The details of the mission have not yet been discussed. However, since this was a mission carried out by Hiratsuka-sensei, who was a first grade jujutsu sorcerer, it wouldn't be an exaggeration if the cursed spirit that appeared was also the first grade cursed spirit.
The distance between Chiba City and Choushi City is quite far. At least, it takes two hours to travel by car. In other words, we will arrive at the location around eleven. If you looked at it from another perspective, this mission was really shit and would be mentally exhausting. Because according to estimates, we will only return to Chiba City after the mission is over. It will be two o'clock in the morning. Not to mention added that I still have to go to school the next day.
If it was still at Tokyo Jujutsu High, I would have been given a day or two of rest after doing the gruelling mission. However, at a public high school like Sobu High, I couldn't possibly get a day off like that.
"Why are we leaving at this hour? Isn't it too late?" I asked.
"I also have teacher stuff that I still have to finish, you know? I just finished taking care of my business as a teacher at seven o'clock. Then take two hours break and well…, this is my free time that I can use to carry out missions."
"Are you a robot?" I commented, a little distrustful of the working hours.
Hiratsuka-sensei laughed softly and replied, "I know, this looks tiring and I seem like a workaholic. However, let's say this is my way of balancing my life as a social and a jujutsu sorcerer."
"Honestly, you look like a corporate slave to my eyes. No, maybe more than that."
"Well, you can think of it that way too," Hiratsuka-sensei commented, "Besides, it is not like I always work and take the missions like this every day."
"Still, it is a little weird to me. Isn't there an assistant manager accompanying you?"
Assistant managers basically can also be categorized as jujutsu sorcerers. However, instead of being the fighter who stands on the front lines, the assistant manager only stands on the rear. Just like assistants in general, assistant managers are assigned to assisting sorcerers' activities, such as being a driver who escorts to the exorcism location and installing barriers that prevent outsiders from seeing and entering the exorcism area.
Those who become assistant managers generally consist of fourth grade jujutsu sorcerers, although some are third grade. Assistant managers typically do not have curse techniques but still want to work directly under association. Despite no cursed techniques, the assistant manager still mastered simple spells, which anyone could use even without the curse techniques. For example, the tobari spell or barrier which used every time there is an exorcism. In fact, some assistant managers have simple shikigami. As for fighting matters, at least they can fight hand-to-hand combat, which is quite good for non-combatant types.
Well, after all, they—the assistant managers—had studied at jujutsu school. So, basic things like fighting, of course, they can do, although their abilities are different from third grade jujutsu sorcerers above.
"Of course, there is an assistant manager accompanying me," Hiratsuka-sensei replied, "However, due to the massive search missions these days, the number of assistant managers available is very limited."
"Massive search?"
"You did not know? Didn't any of your friends tell you?" asked Hiratsuka-sensei, and I replied with a low shook of my head.
"Could it be that the students still haven't been informed, huh?" Hiratsuka-sensei asked herself.
"If indeed the students have not been informed, please don't tell me either. I don't want to take responsibility for information that sounds like troublesome," I replied.
Silence fell over us for a few seconds until Hiratsuka-sensei heard a soft gasp.
"Well, okay."
She then opened both sides of the car windows on the front and rear passenger seats. Almost simultaneously, she turned off the car's air conditioner too. I was a little confused until finally, she took a cigarette from her pocket. Using the lighter in her car, Hiratsuka-sensei started to light her cigarette.
"You don't mind if I smoke while driving, do you?"
"If you do intend to ask, wouldn't it make more sense if you asked before smoking?" I commented with a slightly cynical tone.
Well, whatever. Driving alone from Chiba to Choushi must have been quite tiring, especially after she had worked all day since early in the morning. So, if it is just smoking in a car like this, I think I can tolerate it.
I saw a cigarette that she had tucked into her lips and sucked until there was a red spark at the end. Then, turning her head slightly towards the window, Hiratsuka-sensei immediately blew out the smoke.
"Sorry, I forgot you were here, Hikigaya," Hiratsuka-sensei replied with a light laugh.
Seriously? Haven't we already talked earlier? I mean, how could she forget I was here if she'd been talking to me since we departed from Chiba City?
"By the way, Hikigaya, why did you become a jujutsu sorcerer?" asked Hiratsuka-sensei suddenly.
I was a little surprised because she suddenly asked like that. Then, spontaneously, I looked at the beautiful teacher's face.
"Didn't Gojou-sensei already tell you?"
"True, but I want to hear from you myself."
The main reason I got into this profession, huh? When was the last time I discussed this with someone else? Two years ago? I do not quite remember. What is clear, although I never mention it again, does not mean I have forgotten about my goal.
At least two reasons made me become a jujutsu sorcerer. First, the Gojou Clan was the only clan that gave Komachi protection. However, how long can the Gojou clan protect Komachi? Basically, Gojou-sensei was the only pedestal the Gojou Clan had. So, if the era of Gojou Satoru had ended, it would definitely affect my family, especially on Komachi.
Even though Gojou-sensei was the strongest being on earth, that didn't mean the era he was currently guarding would never end. His era could end when he died, and it could also be ended prematurely due to certain events. Obviously, to anticipate the worst, I need to become first grade as soon as possible to protect my family.
My second reason is that Komachi is a child who is very passionate about becoming a jujutsu sorcerer. Becoming a jujutsu sorcerer and protecting others was my little sister's goal. Sounds naive, but that is the way it is. Even so, an older brother must ensure that his little sister gets the future she wants.
Become a jujutsu sorcerer and help as many people as possible. Komachi must become a powerful jujutsu sorcerer for her wish to come true. Unfortunately, the way to become a powerful sorcerer was something very sketchy. In the jujutsu society, you cannot easily pass a particular skill or method to someone else. All sorcerers want to monopolize it for themselves or those closest to them.
If you put your hope in Gojou-sensei, Okkotsu, and Nanami-san, you cannot rely on them entirely. The methods and knowledge that Gojou-sensei could provide were limited because most of what he had were the secrets of the Gojou Clan. Nanami-san is a strong person, but he does not have any particular method. Moreover, Okkotsu, you cannot rely on him because he is a natural genius, who can even become special grade only with his almost unlimited cursed energy.
While from our family lineage, our grandmother and great-grandmother were only third grade jujutsu sorcerers, a village shaman who exorcise weak cursed spirits. So, there is not much you can learn from them.
Because of that, as an older brother, I will grasp all the knowledge of the jujutsu and leave my mark on becoming strong so that Komachi can emulate my way and learn from it. So even if I turn out wrecked myself and cannot become a great jujutsu sorcerer one day, Komachi just needs to avoid my path of destruction. Meanwhile, suppose I was battered just to be strong one day. In that case, Komachi could follow my path from behind and study all the evaluations I left so that she could become a great sorcerer without having to be battered like me.
To put it simply, that is what being a big brother means to me.
I turned my gaze to the outside of the window and enjoyed the night view. The wind flowed into the car, hit my face, and gave a tingling sensation on the surface of my skin.
"The reason I became a jujutsu sorcerer… is more or less what you heard from Gojou-sensei," I replied to Hiratsuka-sensei's question.
"You do not want to tell me, huh?"
I exhaled slightly and looked back at my high school teacher and supervisor regarding the jujutsu.
"It is not about whether you want to or not. It is just … don't you think that it is quite embarrassing to tell someone else about yourself, when the other person already knows it?"
Seriously, is Hiratsuka-sensei purposely forcing me to tell a story so she can enjoy the sight of me holding back embarrassment?
Suddenly, Hiratsuka-sensei laughed quite loudly, and her left hand grabbed my hair and ruffled it.
"You are not cute at all, Hikigaya," she said.
"Really? More importantly, please put your hands away. It smells of cigarettes, you know."
Hearing my protest, she pulled back her hand while laughing lightly.
That is how our tonight's journey goes. The small talk helped fill the silence between the two of us. But, in reality, it is more like Hiratsuka-sensei dominating the conversation with her stories and questions to me.
—OoOoO—
At 11:20 p.m. local time, Hachiman and Hiratsuka finally arrived at their destination. Unfortunately, due to some things that happened during the trip, the two were a little late, five minutes from the estimated time. However, here they were now, at an old train station on the Northside of Choushi City.
After getting out of his female teacher's SUV, Hachiman did a little stretching to relax his slightly stiff muscles during the trip. The sound of 'kretek' was heard from several joints of the rotten-eyed teenager.
"Aaaahhh … this is a tiring journey," said Hiratsuka from the other side of the car.
Hearing complaints from the teacher at his new high school and his supervisor as jujutsu sorcerer, Hachiman turned his gaze towards the woman. But, instead, he found Hiratsuka, who was walking towards the back of the car. Watching the Japanese literature teacher open the trunk door and take something inside.
From inside the car trunk, Hiratsuka pulled out a staff. Since it was too late, Hachiman was quite reluctant to look at the trunk during his trip earlier. Therefore, he did not know that his female teacher was carrying a staff in her car trunk.
'Maybe a weapon that supports the use of her curse technique?' thought the teenager.
It was only when Hiratsuka walked towards him that Hachiman could clearly see the shape of the staff. In simple terms, it was a staff with a length that reached the height of an adult's body. The staff is black and has three circles arranged like a triangle at the top. While at the top circle, there is a pointed tip that can be used to stab.
In simple terms, it is a staff often used by monks in general.
Carrying a monk's staff like that actually seemed quite a contrast to Hachiman. The reason is the suit used by Hiratsuka is still her work suit, only minus the laboratory coat. So, if one could say, seeing people wearing formal suits while carrying a monk's staff was a pretty strange sight for the young man.
"Are you ready?" asked Hiratsuka, and Hachiman nodded as the reply.
Hachiman himself was wearing a Tokyo Jujutsu High uniform for clothes. As for the weapon, this might not be very visible because it was covered by his clothes, but at the back of his belt, he put a knife pouch containing a jagdkommando-style military knife inside.
Of course, the weapons both Hachiman and Hiratsuka were carrying were cursed tools that had been imbued with cursed energy.
After confirming their preparations, the two began to stroll towards the train station that looked like it had been elevated for a long time.
"This place is much more unkempt than I imagined," Hachiman said.
"Since the train accident that derailed and hit several people around it 15 years ago, this station has slowly been abandoned and has finally become a sacred place to this day," replied Hiratsuka.
"Does that mean the cursed spirit here is a vengeful spirit?"
Hiratsuka shook her head slowly and replied, "I don't think so. If that accident turned its victims into vengeful cursed spirits, the association would have sent jujutsu sorcerers here long ago."
"In that case, could it be imaginary vengeful spirit?" asked Hachiman again and replied with a nod by Hiratsuka.
Vengeful spirits and imaginary vengeful spirits are two of the four classifications of cursed spirits. The two sound quite similar but are actually very different.
Vengeful spirit is a cursed spirit that is created after people die. Basically, those who die carrying the greatest vengeance will naturally curse their own death, which is what makes them vengeful spirits. In addition to dying due to having full of vengeance, a vengeful spirit can also be created through a powerful jujutsu sorcerer—equivalent to first grade level—who dies without being killed using cursed energy.
Meanwhile, imaginary vengeful spirits are cursed spirits born from legends or folklore. Although it has been continuously exorcised, those imaginary vengeful spirits will never completely disappear from the face of the earth because the source of their life comes from existing legends and folklore. In other words, even if this type of cursed spirit is exorcised, sooner or later, this cursed spirit will definitely reappear. As long as the existence of legend still exists, the existence of the cursed spirit will never disappear. It could also be said that the more famous the legend, the stronger the cursed spirit created.
Kyuubi no Kitsune, Yamata no Orochi, and Tamamo no Mae are examples of super-powerful cursed spirits born from very famous legends. Meanwhile, Kuchisake Onna and Teketeke are special grades cursed spirits created from popular folk tales.
To be honest, neither Hachiman nor Hiratsuka know what kind of folklore is spreading among the local people to the point of giving birth to an imaginary vengeful spirit. However, one thing the two sorcerers were sure of, imaginary vengeful spirits, would be more and more troublesome every time they were reborn.
"This place is sacred and its folklore is only talked about by local residents. In order not to be reborn later, the association must bury this folklore while the tale is still not popular."
With a sceptical tone, Hachiman replied, "Like hell they want to do it."
The more they walked into the abandoned station, the tenser the atmosphere became. The two jujutsu sorcerers knew that many creatures were watching the two of them.
"Looking at those who are just hiding from us and seem hesitant to attack, it looks like those cursed spirits are only second grade level," Hiratsuka commented.
Although cursed spirits with intelligence were rare, they are still creatures like wild animals. Therefore, for semi-first grade cursed spirits and below, the presence of a first grade jujutsu sorcerer was a great threat to them. That is why the cursed spirits were scared when they saw Hiratsuka, who was officially a first grade jujutsu sorcerer.
Hachiman and Hiratsuka started walking off the train tracks and entering the tree area where many cursed spirits were hiding from them.
"Hikigaya, how many cursed spirits do you think are here?" Hiratsuka asked after they started to dive into the trees.
Since Hachiman had been concentrating his cursed energy on tracking down the residual energy, it didn't take him long to answer the mature woman's question.
"There are 20, consisting of second grade and semi-first grade. Besides, there is one who is the strongest there," Hachiman replied while pointing into the trees with his eyes, "It looks like that is first grade cursed spirit and maybe he is the imaginary vengeful spirits. So, a total of 21 cursed spirits."
"Good observation," Hiratsuka replied with a big smile.
At the same time, Hiratsuka raised her right hand forward, which was not holding a staff. With her right fist aligned a few inches in front of her neck, Hiratsuka started to stick out her index and middle fingers. It is a hand seal commonly used when jujutsu sorcerers begin to activate their technique.
On her right index and middle fingers, which are pressed together, a small transparent square appears around the two fingers.
"Ketsu."
Shiing … shiing … shiing … shiing … shiing.
Not until a second after Hiratsuka uttered what Hachiman guessed was her cursed technique spell, there was a whirring sound around the two of them. At the same time as the sound appeared, there were many transparent blue cubes at several points around them.
'This is … crazy.'
Hachiman couldn't help but be amazed when he saw the 20 cursed spirits, each confined into 20 different transparent blue cubes.
After confirming that the 20 beings were confined, Hiratsuka resumed her spell.
"Metsu."
Then, the 20 cubes simultaneously shrunk rapidly and forced everything inside to be compressed by the cube walls.
Boom … boom … booom … boom.
The explosive sound of the cursed spirits being forcefully suppressed by the cube walls was heard in unison. Hiratsuka's cursed technique left only the remnants of the cursed spirits, which began to evaporate quite quickly.
'Even though those are only second grade and semi-first grade cursed spirits, being able to finish off 20 cursed spirits of that level in less than five seconds is truly extraordinary," thought Hachiman.
"Jutsukekkai, that is my technique," said Hiratsuka, who revealed the technique and managed to surprise Hachiman.
"Wait, isn't that a barrier technique, the same technique as Tengen-sama?"
Hiratsuka nodded slowly at the question from the student of her high school.
Hachiman's surprise was not without reason. The reason is the technique possessed by the Hiratsuka is the same technique as someone who can be said to be the founder of the jujutsu society in Japan, Tengen. Although it is said that he is not a fighting-type sorcerer, Tengen's barrier technique—later called the Tengen's Barrier—is a unique technique that protects the jujutsu schools in Tokyo and Kyoto from outside intruders.
Even though not categorized as a fighter, many think that Tengen is a creature who has crossed the boundaries of the special grade itself. With a life of more than 1000 years that he has passed, he is known as the wisest person and has the strongest barrier in the whole world.
As if she knew what the teenager next to her was thinking, Hiratsuka responded.
"Just so you know, even though it is the same technique as Tengen-sama, I have no intention of developing it in the same direction as him. After all, who wants to live to be 1000 years old?" said Hiratsuka in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Wait. If you can fight like that, then, why do you carry a monk's staff? Then, why did you leave a first grade cursed spirit there?" asked Hachiman.
"You mean this?" she replied by waving her staff, "Well, I didn't bring it for any special reason, anyway. I mean, it would look pretty cool wouldn't it, if a jujutsu sorcerer carried a staff like this?"
Ignoring Hachiman, who was looking at her, Hiratsuka continued.
"For the cursed spirit I left behind, you must exorcise it."
"For some reason, I already expected that answer."
Hiratsuka laughed lightly at that, "Gojou-san said, you can do something that no other jujutsu sorcerers, including him, can do. So, show me, Hikigaya."
Hachiman, who had only been staring lazily at Hiratsuka, finally turned his gaze to the cursed spirit that had finally come over to them.
He understood what Hiratsuka meant. After all, he was the one who could use something that even the Gojou couldn't. They are not talking about the cursed technique. Hiratsuka meant something that all jujutsu sorcerers could potentially activate but couldn't use continuously at will.
And for Hachiman, he can use it as long as he wants and as long as he still has the cursed energy in his body. However, Hachiman was not the type of person who would just obey when someone told him to.
"I will only do it if it is really necessary. After all, overdoing something is quite tiring, you know," said Hachiman in response to Hiratsuka's request.
The first grade cursed spirit approaching them had now arrived and was standing right in front of them at a distance of about ten meters. The wrath of the cursed spirit was felt from its aura, which danced horribly and attempted to intimidate. However, the two sorcerers looked completely indifferent. They remained motionless where they stood as if that powerful presence was not a threat they should be afraid of.
The cursed spirit had a humanoid shape nearly three meters tall and was corrode in blood red. He has a fat body but also looks tough. The legs have a horse-like structure full of muscles and have three pointed toes on the soles of his wide feet. He also has three pairs of arms, with four pointed forward like a human arm, while the other two are facing backward.
The creature had a bald head and a flat chin with ears pointed downwards. While on the face, the cursed spirit has three pairs of eyes arranged downwards and one large eye on its forehead. So, the total eye he has is seven eyes.
Don't forget the canines that stick out irregularly, which adds to the terrifying impression of the cursed spirit.
"I might not do what you ask, but I will make sure, you will see an unusual way of fighting," said Hachiman while looking straight at Hiratsuka.
Right after he finished saying those words, suddenly, a loud crashing sound was heard from the cursed spirit.
Hiratsuka, who had previously looked into Hachiman's eyes, suddenly shifted her gaze back to the front. She found that the cursed spirit had bounced seven meters to the West. However, what surprised Hiratsuka the most was the person responsible for the incident.
'I didn't see it wrong, did I? The one who attacked that thing was… Hikigaya?' Hiratsuka thought with a bit of hesitation.
Turning her gaze to her side, Hiratsuka saw that the presence of Hachiman, who had been beside her just now, turned into blue mist and evaporated.
A memory of Gojou's words began to flash through Hiratsuka's mind.
'Hikigaya's cursed technique is an illusion. The technique might sound trivial, but his creativity using the technique was at a very, very high level. He always has a unique way of overcoming his own shortcomings. He is cowardly and lazy, but that is what brought him to this level. I will say it again, Hikigaya is a jujutsu sorcerer who's his attacks are totally unpredictable.'
At first, Hiratsuka didn't take Gojou's words seriously. However, witnessing how Hachiman was able to bring herself, Hiratsuka Shizuka, under an illusion that made her unconscious that the figure standing beside her all along was just a projection of Hikigaya Hachiman's illusion.
Meanwhile, Hachiman, who managed to land a perfect blow to the cursed spirit's head, just stood casually and looked at the creature with his usual lazy gaze. On the fist that he uses to strike, there is a very thin sheath of blue aura that he uses to amplify the power of his punch.
"You may have many eyes that you can use to monitor many things at once," said Hachiman to the cursed spirit which was now trying to stand up, "However, eyes are eyes, a sense that is the easiest to deceive and affected by an illusion. That means, the better and sensitive your eyes are, the easier it will be for me to play with them."
"YoU BaSTaRd …," grumbled that creature with anger.
As soon as he could stand firmly again, the cursed spirit shot straight at full speed towards Hachiman. In just a short amount of time, the six-armed creature could easily cut the distance from the young sorcerer.
Using the two hands on his right side, the cursed spirit mercilessly dealt the best blow to Hachiman's body. Hachiman's body was hit by a strong blow from his opponent with a difficult speed for normal eyes to follow.
However, instead of bouncing far away, several cracks appeared from Hachiman's body which was hit by the cursed spirit's massive fist. The cracks spread rapidly, causing Hachiman's body to disintegrate and turn into dozens of bats flying around the cursed spirit.
Unlike what the cursed spirit had hoped for, the phenomena he saw in front of him made his seven eyes widen. He felt very annoyed because he had been fooled by Hachiman again. Not to mention, the bats flying around him really made him feel uncomfortable.
Sensing the presence of Hachiman appearing behind him and wanting to stab him in the back, the cursed spirit immediately hit Hachiman with his arm that facing behind. However, Hachiman's body turned into dozens of bats flying around him like before. In this way, the number of bats surrounding it also doubled.
When the cursed spirit was trying to destroy Hachiman's illusory bats, he suddenly saw a blue mist not far in front of him. The thin mist quickly began to coalesce to form Hachiman's body.
"My cursed technique basically is an illusion," Hachiman said, "If I can hide and create a condition that you don't know where I am, I can make myself completely disappear from your eyes. Likewise, if you think that I am in front of you, I can project the illusion that the person in front of you is really me. meanwhile, the real me could be hiding somewhere."
Hachiman continued, "Since you don't know where my real body is, you would also think that I could be hiding behind, beside, above, in front of, or even under you. That way, I can project the illusion of myself wherever I want."
"YoU dAMn bAsTArD," grumbled that cursed spirit.
The binding vow is a trick that Hachiman likes the most. The binding vow is a vow based on cause-effect and give-take. You can apply a binding vow to yourself and agreements with other people.
Meanwhile, the binding vow used by Hachiman is a Showing One's Card. This type of binding vow will work on the condition if you leak information about your cursed technique, you will get an increased amount of cursed energy in return.
Of course, as a note that Hachiman always kept in mind, he had to kill or exorcise his opponent right away when he used this binding vow. Because if he didn't, information about his cursed technique would spread, and it would cost him a lot.
In response to the binding vow requirements that had begun to be fulfilled, a large amount of cursed energy overflowed from Hachiman's body. With his extraordinary control, he concentrates the energy into his body to minimize even wasted energy.
"And not only that. If I can project what you are thinking into an illusion, that means I can project what I am thinking too, right?" explained Hachiman further, "Well, since it is just an illusion, what I projected from my mind would be very fragile, anyway. Like if I insisted on making a gun, it would just be an ordinary shell that couldn't be used for shooting. Well, an illusion is still an illusion after all. It will not be able to do anything like the real thing."
After explaining, Hachiman raised his right hand and raised his index and middle fingers upwards to form a hand seal. The hundreds of bats surrounding the cursed spirit simultaneously flew into the sky, following Hachiman's thought.
"Fall."
Under his instructions, the bats began to glide rapidly towards the cursed spirit. The bats turned into shurikens that rotated quickly and rained down on the cursed spirit when about to hit the creature.
"GgAaaAaArGhH …," screams of pain mixed with annoyance were heard from the cursed spirit who was rained on by shurikens from various directions.
Hachiman did say that he couldn't make something like a gun. If he did, it was just a gun-like shape. He might be able to project it with a very similar shape. However, if it was a gun that had a performance like the original, Hachiman couldn't make it even though his brain had imagined the object. The gun has a complicated manufacturing process, which must combine chemistry and physics. When talking about gunpowder, which has a specific structure of constituent atoms to make it work well.
That was the absolute limit of his technique. His imagination and knowledge cannot touch the smallest structure of matter, the atom. Whatever Hachiman created would never resemble the original if he couldn't arrange it atom by atom properly.
However, if it is only limited to projecting the form of a knife, sword, or shuriken, Hachiman can do it to a level of sharpness that resembles the original. Even though once it was used, the embodiment of those things would instantly disappear. Hachiman was able to do this because he didn't need to arrange atom by atom to make sharp objects work according to their function.
Seeing the concentration of the cursed spirit was breaking, Hachiman quietly reactivated his technique.
"Jutsushiki Junten : Touei."
With that spell, a monster that has an appearance very similar to a cursed spirit appeared in front of him, to the point of making the cursed spirit dumbfounded for a moment when he saw it.
With a fairly fast speed and a high concentration of cursed energy in the monster illusion's right hand, the monster smacked its two right hands against the cursed spirit. However, the creature can block the attack by crossing its four arms forward.
The cursed spirit then counterattacked the monster created by Hachiman by hitting the head against the head of Hachiman's monster. Since it was a monster created from Hachiman's illusion, it immediately disappeared after receiving an attack.
That was also the limit of Hachiman's beings from his mind projection. Just like the bats just now, even though the monster earlier had a body equivalent to that of the cursed spirit, the body toughness was fragile and would disappear as soon as it received an attack.
"You should pay attention to your bottom," said Hachiman, who suddenly appeared from under the cursed spirit.
With a quick reaction, the creature directly punched Hachiman. However, it was an illusion and disappeared into blue mist as soon as it hit.
Unexpectedly, Hachiman reappeared right in front of him. The cursed spirit was not seen when the teenager jumped and reached less than a meter in front of the cursed spirit. As the cursed spirit's mind was frantic and wondering whether what was in front of him was real or fake, he could not react properly to Hachiman's attack.
His jagdkommando-style knife, which he had not used earlier, now pierced deeply into the cursed spirit's eye. With a strong jolt, Hachiman ripped the creature's seven eyes. The attack produced a black flash that flashed and centred on Hachiman's attack.
Those black flashes are a technique that causes space-time distortion. This technique is created when cursed energy is activated exactly 0.000001 seconds before the user's attack hits the target. Basically, the effect of the black flash is an increase the base to the power of about 2.5 . Not like cursed techniques, black flash can be used by anyone as long as they are strong enough and have excellent skills. However, black flash cannot be used continuously, or rather, no method or trick can make black flash be used as the user will.
In other words, it is a technique that is activated based on spontaneity. However, specifically for Hachiman, he is the only person known to use black flash whenever he wants.
'I was thinking of using on more black flash. But, just one black flash I think is enough,' thought Hachiman, who saw that his opponent's head was now hollow and had difficulty regenerating his wound.
Just as Hachiman landed on the ground, he quickly attacked again with his jagdkommando knife. This time, he used the knife to decapitate the cursed spirit.
By utilizing the unique pattern of the jagdkomando's blade, the damage inflicted was so fatal and deep that it ripped the cursed spirit's neck until his head was detached from his body.
"It is easier than I thought. It seems this cursed spirit is indeed just been born," Hachiman muttered as he saw the body of the cursed spirit evaporate into the air.
"Splendid, Hikigaya. Well, I was hoping you'd show me how you use black flashes in a row, anyway. However, overall, you have exceeded my expectations. That is my evaluation for today."
Hachiman, who heard the voice of his high school teacher, turned his head back. He could see Hiratsuka walking towards him with a look that seemed to say, 'you are an amazing bastard'.
That is not an exaggeration of praise. Hachiman's fighting style was completely different from most sorcerers. From Hiratsuka's point of view, who was no longer affected by Hachiman's illusion. She saw a pile of cursed spirit running here and there, hitting this and that, but there was no target at all.
Meanwhile, still from Hiratsuka's point of view, the real Hachiman just stood and leaned against the tree not far from the cursed spirit while yawning several times lazily. From what she witnessed, the teenager was not only able to control a herd of bats and an imaginary monster from where he was standing casually. But Hachiman could also control the entire course of the battle as long as his opponent was not aware of the tricks Hachiman used.
Perhaps, Gojou meant that Hachiman had a unique fighting style, as all his fights were always filled with difficult tricks to break.
"My evaluation of you as a jujutsu sorcerer did exceed my expectations. However, I think I really need to do something about your lazy habits and corrupt nature," said Hiratsuka.
Hachiman, who heard that rolled his eyes sideways awkwardly and wanted to avoid Hiratsuka's sharp gaze.
"Eeee … can we just go home and continue the moral lesson tomorrow?" Hachiman replied, suddenly making Hiratsuka feel irritated.
—To Be Continued—
Author Note : Hello everyone, this chapter
Well, I don't know what I want to say. So, thank you so much for the reviews.
Please review this chapter, such as criticism, suggestions, or just your feedback about this chapter, because your reviews are my encouragement. And please do tell me if you find a grammatical error or typo so I can fix it. Thanks for reading and see you later.
Best regards, Aka Daka