High in the clear sky, Rainbow Dragon carried the four of them through the clouds.
Sakurada Niji had promised Masamichi Yaga that he would handle the Curtain and, together with Shoko, keep an eye on Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto. Only then had he secured this airborne trip without an Assistant Supervisor accompanying them.
"Whoa! Geto! This is amazing!" Shoko was unusually happy, showing the emotions of an ordinary girl for once. Over the past year or so, she had rarely played around, spending most of her time reading medical books. Recently, in particular, she had begun studying for her medical license.
"Pfft, what's so great about this? I can take you flying too, Shoko!" Satoru Gojo sidled over and picked Shoko up, demonstrating how he could fly while carrying someone.
"Scumbag... put me down." Shoko did not panic. She simply spoke flatly, looking at Satoru Gojo as though he were trash.
Suguru Geto stood on Rainbow Dragon's head, pleased that his friends liked his mount.
Sakurada Niji sat beside Suguru Geto, pretending to look down at the scenery, but his face was full of anxiety. It was not a fear of heights. He simply knew that the mission was about to begin. Once they rescued Mei Mei and Utahime, they would return and receive the assignment to escort the Star Plasma Vessel.
He had thought about it a great deal, but he still had no plausible explanation for where his information came from. He also feared that speaking carelessly would disrupt the original plot, making the ending even more chaotic and hopeless.
Even with Satoru Gojo, the strongest fighter, things originally ended so disastrously. Now, all that's changed is the addition of me. I can't obtain power that transcends this world. Without the Six Eyes, I can't control my Cursed Technique with greater precision. In my lifetime, I'll never surpass Satoru in controlling a Cursed Technique.
But the Administrator said I could change fate. Then let's give it a try...
Arriving early on Rainbow Dragon counts as disrupting the original course of fate too.
Sakurada Niji considered many things. He planned to follow the original plot for now and try changing a few inconsequential details to see what happened.
Rainbow Dragon was much faster than a car, and the four of them reached the mission site well ahead of schedule.
Three of them jumped down from Rainbow Dragon, while Satoru Gojo set down Shoko, whom he had been carrying.
Shoko seemed used to it already. She said nothing, her calm expression tinged with resignation.
Holding the information the Assistant Supervisor had given him, Sakurada Niji explained the residence before them to the other three.
"A company owner and his family originally lived here. His company ran a local chain of barbecue restaurants."
"But starting last July, mad cow disease dealt a devastating blow to his restaurants. Afterward, unable to pay off their debts, the entire family committed suicide."
"This residence then became the most famous haunted location in the area. Local middle and high school students, university students from out of town, and freelancers all came here for tests of courage. They went missing one after another."
They were really asking for it... Sakurada Niji silently griped, then continued his explanation.
"After that, the rumors grew worse and worse, and the incidents spread further and further."
"Well, Utahime's weak, sure, but with Miss Mei Mei's abilities, if they still haven't come out, it's probably some kind of barrier," Satoru Gojo said casually.
Suguru Geto said indifferently, "Satoru, why don't you take off your glasses and look with your Six Eyes? Let's finish early and head back to play basketball."
Suguru Geto felt that he no longer had any particular feelings toward humans. He simply considered them foolish and ignorant. An incident like this showed just how far human ignorance could go.
"I wonder how Utahime's doing. She scares easily..." Shoko murmured beside them, a little worried about Utahime.
"Ugh..." Satoru Gojo sighed, removed his sunglasses, and examined the residence with his Six Eyes. A moment later, he put them back on.
"A Barrier Technique. There's an irregular looping space stitched together inside. Normally, Mei Mei would've broken out ages ago. Utahime must be too weak and dragging her down!" Satoru Gojo's tongue was as vicious as ever.
"Well, I'll just use Blue to break them out from the outside!" Before Satoru Gojo had even finished speaking, Blue had already appeared.
"Emerge from darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure." Sakurada Niji hurriedly lowered the Curtain.
...So you attack first and call out the move afterward, huh.
Under Blue's pull, the entire residence twisted into a mangled spiral. Watching it happen, Sakurada Niji gained a profound appreciation for Utahime's luck in surviving-and for her hatred of Satoru Gojo.
All the debris fell to the ground. Once the dust cleared, Utahime's panting could be heard as she struggled to climb out of the rubble.
Satoru Gojo stood atop the ruins, looking as though he considered himself above heaven itself. He cast a flippant glance at Utahime in the rubble and said brightly, "I came to rescue you, Utahime!"
Satoru Gojo jumped down from the rubble and stood beside Utahime, who had just crawled out. Bending over, he asked, "Aww, did you cry?"
Utahime was so furious that she shoved aside a piece of debris over her head and immediately shouted back, "I! Did! Not! Cry! Show some respect!"
"Utahime, are you all right?" Sakurada Niji asked.
"Niji! That scumbag Gojo! Thanks to him, I failed my promotion mission! I'd only just figured out how to break through!" Utahime looked so vicious that she seemed ready to bite Satoru Gojo alive.
Well... I feel a little bad...
Satoru Gojo crouched down and looked at Utahime, who was still lying there.
"Liar! You couldn't break it for all that time. There's no way the timing was that convenient!"
Mei Mei, standing in the shade, suddenly spoke. "Would you comfort me if I cried? Then I'm sorry for the trouble."
Satoru Gojo stood and turned around, joking with Mei Mei. "You wouldn't cry, Miss Mei Mei. You're strong, after all."
"Hehehe... is that so?" Mei Mei laughed.
"Gojo! I don't need your hel-"
Utahime shot to her feet amid the rubble. Before she could finish her indignant declaration, a huge orange Cursed Spirit appeared behind her. Just as her expression tightened, an insectlike Cursed Spirit summoned by Suguru Geto burst out of the ground and clamped its jaws around the orange one.
"Don't swallow it. I still need to absorb it later," Suguru Geto instructed his Cursed Spirit.
Suguru Geto smiled faintly and spoke the plain truth. "Satoru, bullying the weak isn't right."
Satoru Gojo waved a hand in protest. "What idiot would bully someone strong?"
"Utahime's support abilities are really powerful," Sakurada Niji said.
"Waaah! An angel!" Utahime was almost moved to tears.
Mei Mei commented from the side, "Sakurada is as polite as ever. Geto, you really do have a natural talent for infuriating people."
"Utahime, are you all right?"
"Shoko!" Utahime beamed, her entire demeanor transforming.
"I was really worried about you. We hadn't heard from you for two days." Shoko's gentle, steady voice soothed Utahime completely.
"Sho-ko!" Calling Shoko's name as she ran, Utahime lunged over and hugged her.
With a slight sob in her voice, she told Shoko, "Shoko, you mustn't turn out like those two! And Niji-he's only fifteen! Keep an eye on him. Don't let those two scumbags lead him astray!"
"As if. Who'd want to become a scumbag like that?"
"The places Utahime stepped on are going to collapse!" Satoru Gojo cupped his hands around his mouth and called to Suguru Geto, who was climbing the stairs Utahime had just run along.
"You're so annoying." Smiling, Suguru Geto walked up along Utahime's route with his hands in his pockets.
"Huh? Two days?!" Utahime suddenly realized something.
"Oh, this Cursed Spirit's barrier affects time. It's rare, but you run into one every so often," Satoru Gojo explained.
"I was wondering how you could've gone missing when Miss Mei Mei was with you."
"That seems to explain it."
"Hmm?" Mei Mei suddenly sounded puzzled.
"What is it?" Satoru Gojo asked.
"Nothing. I just realized that my actual working time was two days. I'll have to charge a higher appearance fee."
"You really know how to make money, Miss Mei Mei," Sakurada Niji remarked.
"You're going to squeeze even more money out of them?" Utahime muttered under her breath.
Sakurada Niji stepped behind the others and lowered his head in thought.
The experiment worked. I really can influence fate. I didn't suddenly forget to lower the Curtain, and no irresistible force stopped me from doing it.
As for the consequences of disrupting fate this time, the indirect effect was Utahime failing her promotion mission. The direct effect was that I handled the Curtain Satoru Gojo forgot to lower, so we won't get beaten up when we return. But I can't be sure whether we'll still receive the Star Plasma Vessel mission at the same time. The mission shouldn't be issued early just because we return early. If it is, that proves Tengen had already picked Satoru and Geto.
Next, can the future I imagine come true? Is Kenjaku behind the Time Vessel Association? Can the fate linking the Six Eyes, the Star Plasma Vessel, and Tengen really only be broken by someone like Toji, who has zero Cursed Energy?
If Toji gives up on killing the Star Plasma Vessel, can Satoru, Geto, and I protect Riko Amanai? If we do, will another Star Plasma Vessel appear beside Tengen? Or can the Six Eyes, another part of that fate, also prevent her from undergoing assimilation?
"Niji? We're leaving!" Suguru Geto summoned Rainbow Dragon.
"Got it! Coming!"
In this game of chess, Tengen might not be the central piece.
Sakurada Niji stopped thinking. The plot might grow more and more chaotic as he interfered with it. From here on out, he could only adapt to whatever came his way.
Before you continue