Disney Princess Megumi Fushiguro

Akesato returned to Jujutsu High the next day.

Although they had captured two of the Q Organization's key figures, there was still cleanup work to be done.

There were some things Jitako Ijichi could handle, such as cleaning up the battlefield and retrieving the "Curtain," but other matters had to be dealt with by Jujutsu Sorcerers.

Don't forget, the Q Organization had three bases in Tokyo. They had only taken down two so far.

Even if the third base was most likely empty, with only a small chance of having two or three stray cats left behind, they still had to make the trip.

Beyond that, there was a full investigation into the Q Organization, mainly outside Tokyo.

Tokyo was the territory of the Reformist faction represented by Satoru Gojo. The conservatives and most of the Jujutsu Alliance's upper ranks were actually based in Kyoto, and they couldn't keep defending passively.

After some discussion, they decided that Akesato would handle the cleanup within Tokyo, while Kento Nanami, whose relationship with the higher-ups was less strained, would deal with Kyoto.

Leave as much room for maneuver as possible, and don't offend people beyond repair. Kento Nanami had always been good at the social philosophy of adults.

What he did even better was maintaining a regular schedule.

The moment the mission ended, he went straight home to shower and sleep. Akesato couldn't even try to strike while the iron was hot before Nanami dragged him back to drink milk and go to bed on schedule.

How did someone like me, who seeks immortality and joy equal to heaven, end up living such a healthy routine? The key was that it actually felt great.

As for the two Curse Users they had captured alive, they had been handed over to Satoru Gojo immediately, to serve as leverage against the conservative faction. Of course, to prevent history from repeating itself, Akesato had kept something in reserve as well.

It was Darkrai's exclusive ability—not counted as a Skill, yet its most terrifying trait, and the origin of the title "Nightmare God"—Endless Nightmare.

The name alone made its effect obvious: it could trap someone in an endless nightmare. Not killing you didn't mean letting the tiger return to the mountains. You could spend the rest of your lives in the company of nightmares.

He got up early the next morning and made a round of the Q Organization's remaining base. As expected, he found nothing. Before noon, Akesato was already standing at the gates of Jujutsu High, baring his teeth.

"Taking taxis in Japan is fucking expensive."

Before and after a battle were usually the busiest times for an Assistant Supervisor. This incident had been no small matter, so Akesato had felt too embarrassed to trouble Jitako Ijichi. After contacting him by phone, he had taken a taxi back himself.

The fare had nearly emptied his wallet. When he left, he had stuffed quite a few Fukuzawa Yukichi bills—ten-thousand-yen notes—inside.

Although Akesato was no longer short on money, spending it like water still made his heart ache.

China did this much better. Fares weren't expensive, and mobile payments crushed the rest of the world. Back then, Akesato had put in quite a bit of effort just to get himself used to carrying a wallet again.

Besides nostalgia, another idea came to him.

"When will I get a Flying-type Pokémon? It'd save me all this trouble traveling around."

Gardevoir could fly with Psychic Power, that was true, but her speed and altitude couldn't compare to a dedicated Flying type. Darkrai's size also made him unsuitable for carrying people.

Which Pokémon with the ability to carry a rider and fly would be best?

Fearow was pretty good—fast and stable in the air.

Fatty—pfft, Dragonite was good too. It was called Dragonite, after all. As long as it didn't run into a Dragon-type killer, it was a pseudo-legendary.

Then there were Aerodactyl and Charizard, both highly popular choices. They could carry people and fight.

If he didn't limit himself to ordinary Pokémon, there would be far too many options, especially Legendary Pokémon. Nearly all of them could fly, and they were large enough to ride comfortably—right, Groudon?

With a precedent like Darkrai, Akesato dared to dream about Legendary Pokémon—the ones commonly called divine beasts.

Still, Mythical Pokémon and Legendary Pokémon were different. Legendary Pokémon themselves were embodiments of the rules of the Pokémon world, and there were enormous restrictions on capturing and using them. He didn't know whether he would ever get the chance.

Lost in his thoughts, he passed through the school gates with practiced familiarity and headed deeper into Jujutsu High.

Before he even reached the training grounds, he heard someone shouting in the distance, "Don't run! Stop right there!"

That voice—Megumi Fushiguro?

Right, it was the weekend. It was only normal for him to be at Jujutsu High.

Was he chasing something?

Looking up, Akesato saw a group of adorable, fluffy little creatures.

Rabbits?

That was right. They were rabbits, no matter how he looked at them.

Those pairs of long ears would make perfect spicy rabbit heads.

But when Akesato sensed the cursed energy emanating from the rabbits, his hopes for spicy rabbit heads were dashed.

Seeing Megumi Fushiguro in such a panic, with a Divine Dog on his left and the Great Serpent on his right, Akesato knew these rabbits were Shikigami too—and Shikigami that hadn't been subdued.

Their name was probably "Leaping Rabbit."

Leaping Rabbit, as in swift as a rabbit in flight. The name suited them perfectly.

Even with the Great Serpent's size and the Divine Dogs' mobility, they hadn't managed to catch them.

The group of Leaping Rabbits feared only Megumi Fushiguro. They had no fear of Akesato at all, and they all crashed toward him in a swarm.

Darkness surged, and shadows spread. Darkrai emerged, extending his claws toward the Leaping Rabbits.

It wasn't because he was hungry and wanted to eat rabbits. He had been born late and didn't know what was happening, so he mistook the rabbits for enemies and appeared on his own initiative to protect his master.

Thanks to the traits of a Dark-type Pokémon, Darkrai could hide within Akesato's cursed energy or shadow, truly following him like a shadow.

This made Gardevoir, who was closest to her master, a little unhappy. But seeing that Darkrai was young, honest, and loyal, she decided magnanimously not to hold it against him.

Akesato couldn't help but laugh to himself. Little Sa was getting jealous—though he wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

With Darkrai guarding him, Akesato's defenses would become even more comprehensive, without a single blind spot. Of course, there was no need for that to be triggered this time.

Recklessly intervening in the Taming Ritual for Leaping Rabbit might cause the taming to fail, and Megumi Fushiguro was still far from being at the end of his rope.

However, just as Akesato reached out to press a hand on Darkrai's shoulder, he heard a whoosh. A wooden barrier fell from the sky and planted itself not far to the left.

Then came two more whooshes, and another two wooden barriers dropped down.

Taking a closer look, he saw that Maki Zenin, Panda, Toge Inumaki, and Yuta Okkotsu had all come out. Each of them was carrying barriers, wooden poles, and similar items.

Akesato asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

"Helping Megumi catch rabbits," Maki replied.

It turned out that taming did not necessarily mean defeating the target. Other conditions could also be met.

Leaping Rabbit was one such case. Its individual strength was lacking, but it made up for it in sheer numbers. It was mainly used for scouting and disruption, and the requirement for taming it was to catch every single one. Megumi Fushiguro had been stuck on this step for quite some time.

"Aren't you afraid this will count as outside interference and cause the taming to fail?" Akesato asked again.

"Relax, relax. We've already tested it. As long as you don't enter the area when the ritual begins, and don't actively attack the taming target after it starts, it's fine."

With that explanation, Akesato understood. Maki and the others were merely creating obstacles, which did not count as actively attacking, so they would not be included in the assessment.

"If that's the case, I'll help too."

Akesato removed his hand from Darkrai's shoulder, allowing him to fully reveal himself.

The Nightmare God's innate sense of oppression worked wonders once again. He merely stood there without moving, yet the Leaping Rabbits, which had been charging straight ahead, suddenly changed direction rather than approach that terrifying being who embodied nightmares.

And that turn gave the pursuing team behind them a chance to close the distance.

The throwing team continued hurling obstacles while Megumi Fushiguro focused on catching rabbits with his shikigami.

Dogs grabbed them, snakes bit them, and hammers smashed them—somehow, Megumi Fushiguro had gotten hold of a huge wooden mallet and was whacking rabbits like he was playing whack-a-mole.

Before long, every rabbit had been dealt with.

The Taming Ritual ended successfully.

Megumi Fushiguro had obtained his fifth type of shikigami.

He was one step closer to his goal of becoming a zoo director—or a Disney princess.

A cause for celebration.

PS: Thanks to reader Midnight Swamp Mud and reader 20190422223503892 for the tips. While I'm at it, please keep supporting with the triple combo—let's try to push the favorites to ten thousand this week. Oh yeah.

PS2: Some readers asked about the reader group, so here's the group number: 1·3·2·6·4·8·0·9·1. Exclusive reader group for Jian Shao.