Please Read : Please support me by finding akadaka on patre0n. And sorry for the grammatical errors because I am not a native speaker. I'll try to improve it with all my might.

A big thanks to:

- Alexis Chagoya

- Psymedic

- DPD

- Deadlock TV

- Sengoku's Apprentice

- Rust

- Hodunk

- Kuro

- Brandon Mannella, and

- Mazekenn Morning Star

Thank you so much for supporting me, guys.

—OoOoO—

Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami

Oregairu by Wataru Watari & Ponkan8

Genre: Supernatural, Action, Friendship, Slice of Life, and Little Bit Romance

Summary: He did not experience the romantic comedy of youth, nor did he experience the quiet and normal life of youth. He never missed his day-to-day cursing his strange and annoying life. He is Hikigaya Hachiman, and these are all his complaints about being a jujutsu sorcerer.

Chapter 35: Cursed Train 2.

—OoOoO—

Three people gathered in a particular room in one of the buildings at Tokyo Jujutsu High. The room had a traditional vibe and a modern touch. Several expensive paintings adorn the walls, showing the class of the room's owner. However, there was only one single sofa and a table. The room that didn't seem to pamper guests belonged to Gojo Satoru.

Gojo Satoru sat on the single sofa with his right leg crossed over his left leg. His left hand supported his chin, with his body leaning slightly to the left. With his usual annoying smile, the white-haired man showed he was the only one with power over everything.

"Stop acting like you're the boss," said one of Satoru's guests.

It was Maki, the bespectacled girl who was often annoyed by Satoru's uniqueness.

"Am I not the boss?" replied the man with a mocking smile.

Maki rolled her eyes, tired of Satoru's narcissism. Seeing Maki didn't respond as expected, the white-haired man turned his attention to the other guest.

"What about you, Yukinoshita? You seem much quieter than the last time we met. When is it? about a year ago, right?"

Technically, Haruno had only joined the association for a few days. However, as the heiress of the Yukinoshita family, she attended several high society parties to represent her family. The same thing also applied to Satoru. In the darkest side of the world, the Gojo Clan was famous as one of the three major clans in Japanese jujutsu society. However, on the surface, the Gojo clan was a group that had many large business sectors, especially in the financial sector.

Basically, it wasn't like Satoru had known Haruno personally. They had, in fact, only met twice before and only spoken in person once. In fact, that was just making small talk. However, from their brief interactions in the past, Satoru could clearly see that Haruno was the type of person who was active and always dominated the audience.

"Are you still having trouble adapting? Is this all that I got from Yukinoshita Haruno, who's expected to be one of Japan's leaders in the future?" added Satoru.

"Unfortunately, I didn't come here to meet your expectations," Haruno replied unprovokedly.

"Cut the small talk. Why did you call us here?" Maki asked.

Satoru looked at Maki through his blindfold. His broad, mischievous smile disappeared and was replaced with a flat expression. That made Maki frown because she felt nervous. She had known Satoru for over a year, which was enough to memorise Satoru's antiques, although not too deeply. And from what the girl saw, she knew that the strongest sorcerer was holding back his anger.

"You got a mission, straight from the association," Satoru said flatly.

Maki had a bad feeling about that. The person in charge of the second year was her homeroom teacher, Kusakabe Atsuya. Satoru was in charge of the first years and wasn't one to jump through red tape without a good reason. Plus, a teacher would generally gather his students in the classroom when they want to give a mission. However, the fact that Satoru himself had summoned them to his room meant only one thing.

"That's not something good, is it?" Maki asked.

"Is the association going to send me on a suicide mission?" Haruno added.

Haruno was sharp. She could read the room perfectly even though she had just joined a new place. Technically, the association had agreed to postpone Haruno's execution under certain conditions. However, they still fundamentally believe that eliminating all possibility of a disaster was the best way to mitigate it.

Hence, even if there was agreement, it didn't prevent the higher-ups from carrying out schemes to kill what they believed to be a potential source of destruction.

"I'm afraid it's not just you, but also Maki," Satoru replied.

"Eh? Maki-chan too?"

Haruno didn't understand why the association also wanted to kill Maki. Haruno understood that they wanted to kill herself, but she never thought that Maki was one of their targets. So far, Haruno knew that many people believed that Maki was a failure of the Zen'in clan, but she never thought they would go that far.

"Is that a request from my father?" Maki asked.

Haruno was stunned by the question of the girl with flat bangs. More precisely, she didn't believe the question's subject.

"Wait, your… what?"

"My father," Maki answered while looking at Haruno hesitantly, "Well, I'll tell you… later."

Maki didn't believe she told Haruno about it. If it had been her in the past, she wouldn't have promised to tell someone she had just met about her household situation like that. In fact, she only told Yuta her secret after several months when he joined Tokyo Jujutsu High. However, the annoying faces of Satoru, Yuta, Hachiman, Panda, Inumaki, and even Hakari flashed through her mind.

'Guess hanging out too much with those idiots also changed me in many aspects.'

Not only that, Haruno's presence and the responsibility she took on this woman also made Maki soften when it came to her.

"I'm not sure, but that's how it is," Satoru replied.

Maki sighed and closed her eyes to clear her mind.

"So, what's the mission?" said the girl.

"It was a Cursed Train case. Over the last two days, 61 people have been missing. The location is in Saitama. It's estimated to be a semi-first-grade cursed spirit, with the worst possibility being a first-grade cursed spirit."

Satoru took a deep breath and exhaled roughly.

"At least, that's what was written in the report Principal Yaga received. But I don't want to miss out a second time and lose one of you. So, I considered it could be a special grade cursed spirit."

Maki nodded in agreement with crossed arms.

"Yeah, that makes sense considering the number of victims over two days."

"So, what do you think, Gojo?" Haruno asked.

This question made Satoru smile broadly.

"What about you guys? Like I said, I believe it would be a special grade cursed spirit. I've no problem if you refuse to participate and I've already prepared the reasons for the higher-ups."

Maki frowned. She didn't like how Satoru said it. Because to her ears, it sounded like she didn't have the guts to take up the challenge. However, someone was ahead of her when she was about to give her answer.

"Of course, we accept it. Right, Maki-chan?"

"Yeah. If they want to kill us, come. It's not like we're just going to die."

That might sound like a bold declaration from Maki. However, she was pretty confident in this squad.

Maki knew very well that she could handle a first-grade cursed spirit even if it took some effort, even without using Playful Cloud, her special-grade cursed tool. And if it turned out her opponent was a special-grade cursed spirit, Maki would use that weapon. She was confident she could do much as long as it wasn't a battle within the domain.

However, Haruno's presence boosted Maki's confidence. Technically, Haruno was still lacking in many ways. However, her mastery of positive energy, her main reserve, increased rapidly. Her power was naturally the best counter to deal with cursed spirits.

That was why, during her mission to exorcise cursed spirits, Maki felt that Haruno had a high chance of surviving as long as she wasn't alone.

"Besides, I also want to try something. So, I think this is the best opportunity to do it," added Haruno.

Satoru smiled with satisfaction at that answer. He even felt excited when he heard Haruno wanted to try something. That meant there was a development within Haruno, and Satoru knew it wasn't something simple. After all, that woman's cursed technique was unique, perhaps even the first in history.

The cursed technique was a shikigami that could think and act independently. At first glance, it sounded like Mahoraga, one of the shikigami of Ten Shadows. However, if Mahoraga and the other shikigami of the Ten Shadows required conditions to use it, the "Alter" inhabiting Haruno didn't need such resistance conditions.

'But that's precisely what backfired. In Ten Shadows, you only need to defeat them if you want to use them freely. That may sound like a lot of work, but the conditions are very clear from the start. Meanwhile, there was no information whatsoever to create a connection for Haruno to summon Alter freely.'

Whatever it was, Satoru was satisfied with the progress. If Haruno thought there was something she wanted to try, it would already be something good regardless of how it turned out.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I think this shouldn't be a problem. But I don't want what happened to Itadori to happen to you. That's why, just in case, I'll send someone to watch over you."

"Someone to watch over us?" Maki chirped.

Satoru nodded slowly and replied, "It's not much. You'll still execute everything while the person in question is only collateral."

Maki understood Satoru's concerns, and she couldn't deny them.

"Well, fair enough with me. As long as he doesn't take our credit."

"Nah, don't worry about that," Satoru replied briefly, smiling meaningfully.

—OoOoO—

After the short briefing, Maki and Haruno left Satoru's room. Satoru didn't explain essential details to them, especially Haruno, who was still green. He left that task to Maki, and it annoyed her.

They went to Maki's private room, which was still in the jujutsu school complex. During the trip, she explained several things to Haruno. And it was also new knowledge for the woman that a cursed spirit born from a concept would continue to be reborn over a certain period.

Cursed spirits born from the human fear of volcanoes, oceans, darkness, plagues, and folklore would continue to be reborn. In that case, the Cursed Train was born from the Japanese people's negative view of the number of suicide cases involving trains, the instances of which had not decreased. Even in 2017, a new record was recorded.

After a few minutes of walking along the corridors and buildings at Tokyo Jujutsu High, they arrived at a small building still connected to the dormitory. The building had few rooms, and most were just empty, unused rooms. However, they were in front of the room at the very end of the building.

Maki reached into the pocket of her skirt and took out a key. She inserted it into the lock and turned it until she heard a 'clack' sound. With a slightly rough movement, the bespectacled girl pushed open the door to the room.

The two women entered the room with Maki leading the way. Even with no lighting, she could easily reach the switch, and the light illuminated the entire room.

Haruno, who was watching from the side, was stunned by what she saw. It was the first time she had seen such a variety of weapons lined up so neatly. Maki really had all types of weapons except firearms. She had multiple kinds of swords, spears, naginatas, clubs, hammers, karambits, daggers, shields, bows, and even baseball bats.

"Maki-chan, are these all cursed tools?" Haruno asked.

"Yeah."

"Is everything yours?"

"That's how it is."

"Wow, I didn't expect you to collect all this," said Haruno, still not letting go of her admiration.

"Well, most of this collection is compensation for when I left my clan, though."

Haruno was silent for a while after hearing the heavy answer. Honestly, Haruno really respected the girl. She didn't know Maki's past, but she could see Maki had gone through a lot to get to this point. Moreover, she was a girl the same age as Yukino, and she had been forced to make a big decision and left her clan.

And even though Maki's mouth never said it, her sturdy back showed that the world had dealt her with all kinds of injustice.

Haruno continued to watch Maki's activities from behind. The bespectacled girl was busy scanning her weapons, making sure which ones were most suitable for her to bring. She had no hesitation in making her choice because she knew what she had to bring. Unzipping her weaponry bag, Maki put a jet-black katana and a red three-section staff inside.

"Eh? You didn't bring your naginata?" Haruno asked.

"No. Our target is a cursed train. Based on information about how people disappeared as soon as they boarded the train, it's likely that the creature was operating in the carriage. And as you know, carriages have very narrow spaces, so using the naginata won't work optimally."

No matter how smart or sharp Haruno was, she had no experience in firsthand jujutsu combat. Although she had indeed accompanied Maki's team on a mission a few days ago, she was nothing more than an observer.

"You should also take this into account, Haruno-san. Jujutsu sorcerers and cursed spirits with intelligence mostly fight by exploiting the terrain and surrounding conditions and often even play with our emotions."

"Got it."

Haruno couldn't see Maki's response because the girl was crouched with her back facing her. However, she could see a slight movement as her head nodded.

When she felt that all her equipment was ready, Maki stood up and turned to look at Haruno.

"Take a weapon you like, Haruno-san."

"You gave it to me? For free?" asked the heiress Yukinoshita.

"What? No. I lent it to you. I'm sorry, but I don't run a charity to the point of giving away free stuff to rich people like you."

Haruno was silent for a while and blinked her eyes.

"Then, what if I buy it?"

Maki tilted her head back slightly, surprised by Haruno's sudden offer.

"Well, that can be discussed. For now, choose the weapon you'll carry later."

Haruno nodded and began to look at the weapons stored in Maki's personal warehouse one by one. Her right hand pinched her chin, and her eyes narrowed to ascertain the quality of the neatly displayed items. However, no matter how long it took, Haruno couldn't find an answer. After all, choosing a weapon was not as simple as choosing clothes in a store.

"Any suggestion?" asked the woman.

However, before Maki could reply, Haruno preceded her.

"No, wait. I will make my choice first. Please leave a comment if it turns out I chose something that sucks."

Maki just nodded at Haruno's attempt to evaluate herself first. Apart from that, Maki was also interested in the woman's choice.

A few moments passed, and it took quite a long time for Haruno to solidify her choice.

"How about this one?" Haruno asked while showing her choice.

Haruno chose a tanto with a dark red hilt. A tanto is a short, single-edged sword with a blade only 30 centimetres long. From the Heian to Edo period, the tanto was known as a special weapon carried only by samurai, so it was inevitable that no commoner owned it unless it was a booty.

In terms of function, the tanto was quite popular because of its light weight, but it didn't reduce the sharpness aspect. However, because of its short size, the tanto was often used as a secondary weapon or by children to practice swordsmanship.

"Tanto, huh? It's interesting, but why did you choose it?" Maki asked.

Honestly, Maki didn't expect much from Haruno's choice. She expected the woman to choose a popular weapon such as a katana or European-style sword. Well, it wouldn't be a problem for Maki if that was the case. She also wouldn't blame Haruno for her choice. If anything, the experience would teach her a lesson if her choice was wrong.

However, seeing Haruno choose a tanto, which incidentally wasn't very sexy in the newbie's eyes, was enough to pique Maki's curiosity.

"Well, I actually want to take a katana. But for a moment, I thought it wouldn't suit me, especially for tonight's mission. Apart from the fact that I've never used a katana, and as you said, it's too long for me if we fight in a narrow place like a carriage."

Maki nodded in understanding. Preparations had been made. However, there were still several hours left before they departed. During that time, the two of them continued to make all the preparations to increase their chances of success, even if it was only one percent.

—OoOoO—

Switch to the other side of Japan, a city hundreds of kilometres from Tokyo. Kyoto was a beautiful city with classic romance wafting around every corner. The atmosphere in Kyoto was really different from that in Tokyo. Even though both were metropolitan areas, the lifestyle and culture differed.

However, a metropolis was still a place where all activities ran quickly—a jungle where the slow were left behind and the agile dominated.

Putting aside the hustle and bustle of urban society. Two women were seen facing each other in a private field in the mountains.

"C'mon, Mai, take it more seriously," said a woman.

The woman had shoulder-length black hair with an eye patch covering her right eye. She wore a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows and black trousers without shoes.

"Just so you know, this is my maximum limit, Himeno-san. More than this, I can't take it anymore."

The girl named Mai fell down with her knees and hands supporting her body. Sweat covered her body, and her pupils constricted. Her shoulders seemed to expand and contract, indicating abnormal air circulation in her body. All in all, the girl named Zen'in Mai found it difficult to maintain her consciousness.

"I'll give you 20 minutes to rest, but after that, we'll continue."

Mai wanted to glare at the woman who was two years older than her. However, her strength was almost gone just to breathe. As such, she just collapsed and immediately turned over and was on her back.

"That's too much, Himeno-san. We've been doing this for three hours without a break."

"We've only been at it for three hours, young lady," Himeno corrected, "This is the minimum if you want to get stronger."

"But I don't wanna be strong," Mai said.

The girl's gaze turned sad and frustrated. She moved her left hand to cover her eyes.

"I just wanna live a normal life. Is that too luxurious for me to have?" she added in a trembling voice.

Himeno looked at her with a flat look. Not a single colour of expression was written on her face. However, the woman exhaled a long breath while scratching the back of her head,

"But not everyone is born with that privilege. Some people hafta fight first to get the life they want."

Himeno sat next to Mai, looked at the girl for a few seconds with a gentle gaze, and then turned to look at the sky.

"If you wanna live, fight it, Mai. You don't wanna hide under Maki's shadow forever, do you?"

Mai removed her left hand, which she used to cover her eyes, and traces of tears showed in those beautiful eyes.

"I know, you must think that I'm just a burden to Maki, right?"

"It's not like that, dummy. Instead of demanding that Maki should stay in the clan even if she's just a maid, why don'tcha stand up and fight?"

"You know that I'm nothing special, Himeno-san," Mai said softly.

"If the logic is like that, do you think Maki is special? She can't even use jujutsu," replied Himeno, who was still trying to ignite the fire of enthusiasm within Mai.

"You sure? Wasn't the reason you travelled around Japan for almost the past year to find a way to awaken Maki's true potential? Wasn't the reason Gojo-san recruited Maki to Tokyo also because he saw something special about her? People thought Naobito was laughing at Maki when she declared she wanted to be the next head, but wouldn't he eventually agree to the demand if Maki managed to fulfil his expectations? Doesn't that mean that even Naobito has seen Maki's potential?"

That was probably the longest sentence she had ever said in one breath. Mai said all that without giving the slightest brief, as if she was pouring out all of her frustration and inferiority towards Maki. It wasn't like Himeno didn't understand Mai's feelings. After all, Himeno was also a member of the Zen'in clan.

However, it was quite difficult to regain that mentality, especially if she was always compared to Maki, who was much better than her in many ways.

Himeno let out a rough breath. She wanted to smoke, but she couldn't because she didn't want Mai to be exposed to the smoke. Ultimately, Himeno's affection for considering Mai as her sister overcame her selfish desire to smoke.

Himeno formed a hand seal. From her behind appeared a fairly large human skeleton slowly forming. It only took a short time before flesh and skin began to cover the skeleton. Finally, a half-bodied woman with long black hair and pale skin was created.

It was Himeno's cursed technique. A shikigami that had a shape like a woman with a large size. Mai sat up from lying because she was surprised when she saw Himeno suddenly activate her technique. However, Himeno ignored it and gave her shikigami a command through inner contact.

Responding to its master's command, the creature's mouth opened wide, causing the skin on its cheek to tear roughly. And not long after, the beast took out a scroll that looked very shabby from its mouth. Himeno didn't hesitate to take the scroll. And just as it had changed hands, the shikigami disappeared into nothingness.

"This is something I got when I was in Miyagi," Himeno said as she handed the scroll to Mai.

The girl seemed hesitant to accept it. However, she couldn't refuse the gift after seeing Himeno's serious face.

"What's this about exactly?"

"Construction Technique."

Mai spontaneously looked at Himeno, then switched to the scroll again and looked at Himeno for the umpteenth time. Realising the confusion, the woman with an eyepatch added a few words.

"I know your main problem is your curse energy capacity, but it can be improved if you continue to practice and improve your mindset. However, the problem with your cursed technique in general lies in its very poor efficiency."

"I know," Mai replied.

"Yeah. In essence, I found this scroll in Miyagi, and it seemed to have been written by someone named Yorozu. Judging from the paper, it seems to date from the Heian or Kamakura periods. So, I'm sure it will provide more insight into your cursed technique."

Mai still had doubts. However, Himeno couldn't change that. The woman never gave up encouraging the figure she considered her own little sister.

"I know it's hard, but try it, Mai. No need to take hasty steps and walk at your own pace. However, to be sure, please take one first step just for now."

—OoOoO—

Omiya Station, Saitama. July 8, 2018, 21:47 JST.

That night, Omiya Station and several stations directly connected to it were evacuated for investigation purposes. Also, the train on the Ueno-Tokyo Line, which was strongly suspected of missing people, was temporarily closed. Even though it was called an investigation, the task wasn't carried out by the police. In fact, the local police actually received an order to withdraw officers from the scene under the pretext of sending a special team. However, almost no one knew that the special team in question was an organisation that was entirely outside their authority.

Especially at Omiya Station, at least four sorcerers were on standby in that section. Three were first-year students from Tokyo Jujutsu High, and an assistant manager accompanied them. However, the investigation was completed this morning, and the report was sent to the association. So, the team currently stationed was carrying out the information verification process before the sorcerers appointed as the executor arrived.

Fushiguro Megumi, Isshiki Iroha, and Kugisaki Nobara were among the three students who participated in this mission. They were accompanied by an experienced assistant manager, Ijichi Kiyotaka.

"Our job is finished, right?" Iroha asked.

"Yeah, our mission is just to verify information and exorcise some minor cursed spirits," Megumi replied.

Their mission on paper was basically information verification. In the process, verifying information means they had to go directly to the field to ensure that conditions match the existing information. However, the problem was that several cursed spirits also came to the station area because they were carried away by the negative energy from the news of missing people.

An orange-haired girl sat with her back to Iroha and Megumi, then laid on the platform bench.

"Ah, so boring. Even though I was ready if this ended like the case at the detention at that time."

Nobara complained while lying on the bench. She played and twirled her hammer in the air to relieve her boredom. Meanwhile, Megumi glanced behind and looked at Nobara with a flat look.

"You know, most people who joke like that are people who aren't prepared when unexpected conditions arise."

"Shut up, Fushiguro," Nobara snapped.

Sitting next to Megumi, Iroha also looked at Nobara and let out a small breath.

"Stop taking things for granted, Kugisaki. You know that our level isn't that high. We're not ready for that level yet."

Nobara, who heard the chatter, then looked at Iroha. However, because of her current lying position, she could only see the girl's brownish hair. As such, she got up and looked straight into Iroha's eyes.

"Hah? Who do you mean by underestimating the situation? As if you already know me well."

"Even a stranger will immediately know because you always give off overconfident vibes in many things."

Nobara glared at Iroha. She wasn't happy with the statement, which she thought was pretentious.

"You know what? You think I'm overconfident, but it could actually be you who feels jealous and insecure about me."

Nobara didn't stop there nor give Iroha a chance to reply.

"I won't comment on your goal of just being an assistant manager and living an easy life in Chiba. But don't drag others down to your level, you bitch."

Iroha smiled in annoyance and immediately stood up to look at Nobara because of the insult. Her neck veins could clearly be seen tightening.

"See? You even belittled my lifestyle in Chiba even though you knew nothing. Come here, I'll teach you a lesson on everything I got from my easy life in Chiba, you ignorant wretch!"

Iroha grabbed her katana, which she propped on a chair. Seeing that, Nobara was provoked and immediately stood up with her hand tightly gripping her hammer.

"Fight me then."

However, before the situation escalated, Megumi stood up and separated the two girls.

"Stop that, both of you."

Megumi managed to push the two away. He stared at the two alternately with a stern and angry expression.

"Isshiki, stop your habit of provoking others. Remember, you went to Chiba to learn useful things from Hiratsuka-san… and maybe from Hachiman-san too, but don't copy their bad habits."

Megumi's gaze then turned to Nobara.

"Kugisaki, I know Isshiki's words sounded impudent, but she got the point. We can't take things too lightly, or we'll end up like the last time. I don't want to lose any of my friends again."

Grateful for that, both Iroha and Nobara lowered their egos. Iroha returned her sword and sat on the bench, playing with her smartphone to distract herself. Nobara also did the same thing. She put the hammer back in her place and sat in a chair reading a fashion magazine she hadn't finished yet.

Iroha and Nobara basically didn't know each other well. Nobara only joined the jujutsu school around the beginning of June, while Iroha, at that time, had gone to Chiba for an assistant manager training program sponsored by Hiratsuka.

However, unlike Nobara, Megumi had known Iroha even before she went to Chiba. Jujutsu schools had a curriculum calendar that was different from regular schools. While normal schools start their new classes in the first week of March, jujutsu schools start their new classes two weeks earlier. Because of that, Megumi and Iroha had been in the same class and on missions before she moved to Chiba. Even after Iroha came under Hiratsuka's tutelage, she was still allowed to go on missions with Megumi occasionally to fulfil her obligations as a student of the jujutsu school.

For that reason, if anyone had to mediate the fight between the two girls, Megumi, who knew both parties, was the most appropriate choice.

"Yeah, I know…, and sorry," muttered Iroha, "It's just, you know, I don't want something like Itadori-kun to happen again. I've never met him, but I feel sorry because he became a victim of the association's conspiracy."

"What? What are you saying? Who's the victim of the conspiracy?" asked Nobara, who suddenly answered these words.

Megumi and Iroha simultaneously looked at Nobara. There was a pause for a few seconds before the spiky black-haired boy responded.

"Wait, don't tell me you didn't notice?"

Nobara was a village girl before she set foot in Tokyo. Even though many residents of her village could be said to have problems and weren't friendly towards newcomers, life there was stable and could even be called monotonous. The villagers responded openly by bullying them if there was something or someone they didn't like. However, that made Nobara's mindset become what it is now, immediately saying openly in their face if there was something she didn't like.

Hence, Nobara's way of thinking could be quite straightforward.

It wasn't like the orange-haired girl was too innocent to think about conspiratorial things. No, she didn't rule out that option in the first place. However, her lifestyle, which was fairly monotonous and only moved based on black-and-white logic, likes and dislikes, brave and not brave, strong and weak, or else, made her not used to reading something between the lines. That way, Nobara didn't realise they were caught in a conspiracy.

That was different from Iroha and Megumi, who had lived since childhood and had been forged by the harshness of the metropolitan area and were accustomed to the cruelty of jujutsu society.

At that moment, Nobara realised that she also had many holes that made her lag behind her friends. She also began to understand that having determination and strength alone wasn't enough to get her anywhere if her brain wasn't used to processing complicated things.

"Okay, I admit I didn't realise it because I'm not as smart as you two," said Nobara while looking at Iroha, "Isshiki, are you willing to explain to me why this mission is a conspiracy similar to Itadori's death?"

Iroha looked at Nobara for some time before she finally sighed.

"First, don't you think it's strange to see the number of victims of this cursed spirit?"

"What do you mean?" Nobara asked.

"There were 61 victims in two days. On the first day, there were seven victims, while on the following day, there were 54. Isn't that a huge difference? Do you understand the meaning?"

"This cursed spirit has become stronger?"

Iroha nodded, agreeing with Nobara's conclusion. However, the reality wasn't that simple.

"Get stronger? Definitely. But isn't that too significant?"

Nobara still didn't understand what Iroha meant. Iroha intended to continue explaining, but Megumi temporarily took over the task.

"The first victims were only seven people. Judging from the footage, the cursed spirit's ability could only cover one carriage since we can see people on the other carriages were fine. Meanwhile, on the second day, the number of victims rose too high, and the scope of influence could reach the entire train. This level is at least first grade, and it doesn't rule out the possibility of it being a special grade."

Nobara pinched her chin, thinking about the explanation. She was starting to understand what they meant. However, to give the final touch, Iroha added her explanation.

"No one knows why the level could increase so drastically. One thing was certain, the association knew that a first-grade sorcerer should have solved this case. However, instead of sending them, they assigned Maki-senpai and Haruno-san."

All the dots finally connect to a complete conclusion. Even though it was just a conspiracy theory, the pattern was really similar to the case of Itadori Yuuji's death. That was why Nobara couldn't reject the conclusion. Itadori, Sukuna's vessel protected by Gojo Satoru, was plotted to die on a mission given by the association. If she used a similar pattern, only one answer would appear in her head.

"So, they want to kill Haruno nee-san this time?" Nobara muttered.

The short-haired girl had known Haruno for less than a week. It was a short time, but Haruno and Nobara were outgoing, so they got along quickly. Moreover, Nobara, who liked the latest fashion, was very compatible with Haruno, who was also constantly updated regarding the latest trends. That harmony made them get ahead very fast. As such, her anger surged when she heard that Haruno would be killed in an evil conspiracy.

However, what Megumi said shocked her even more.

"Not only Yukinoshita-san, but they also intend to kill Maki-san."

"Eh?" Nobara was surprised by that statement.

Before she was about to ask further, Iroha interrupted her.

"But rest assured. According to Hiratsuka-sensei, Senpai will also come with them. So, everything will definitely be fine."

"Senpai?" asked Nobara, who didn't know what Iorha meant.

However, it wasn't just Iroha but also Megumi, so they answered simultaneously.

"That's Hachiman-san / Fushiguro-kun's big bro."

Megumi immediately glared at Iroha, but the girl just grinned, even though the boy looked annoyed.

Meanwhile, Nobara didn't know the name. She was even more curious about why Iroha called her Megumi's brother. No, maybe Nobara had heard some people mention his name, but that was all.

"Whatever it is, I'll beat up that Hachiman guy if anything happens to Maki-san and Haruno nee-san."

—To Be Continued—

Author Note: Hello, long time no see... This arc won't be that long, and the battle will take only one chapter.

I think that's all I have to say since there's no important point that I want to highlight.

Please support me by subscribing me to "patre0n.-com-/-akadaka" (please replace "0" to "o", and remove the "-".) I won't force you and I'm still continuing the story, although you don't subscribe to me. But it'll help me a lot. Anyway, see you and stay safe.

You can find chapters 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, and 44 on my patre0n.