Haruka Itadori's perspective
What was a big, fast vehicle made of iron?
A train?
Too bad. It was the Shinkansen.
Riding that enormous, speeding Shinkansen, I had completely ignored the need for permission and left the basement on my own. I would probably worry people and make them angry, but acting as soon as an idea struck was just my nature. Nothing I could do about it.
Despite hating hassle, I had practically become a new person: I got out of bed myself, changed clothes, and stuffed my wallet and his phone into my pockets. Then I casually muttered something.
"Oh, right. Let's go to Kyoto."
Like something out of an ad.
But those offhand words had set my feet and body in motion.
And this was the result.
Since Kyoto wasn't the Shinkansen's last stop, I asked someone to wake me up.
A kind-looking older woman happened to be sitting by the window in a row of three seats. I sat down beside her and tried asking:
"Could you please wake me when we get to Kyoto?"
The woman slowly turned toward me, wearing a strangely familiar smile.
"Of course. My son happens to be about your age, so I feel quite fond of you already."
But this lady was chatty.
Even though I was drowsy, she talked with a persistence that rivaled Yuji's, and I ended up having to listen properly.
"My son is a little taller than you, and probably a bit more muscular too. He's quite introverted, though."
"I see."
"He's a little distant even with us. He's been that way since he was little. There's nothing wrong with letting your own parents spoil you."
"I see."
"Hehe, but he has a strong sense of justice too. Every so often, he says he wants to go help people.
"He seems to be attending a religious school in Kyoto now. I always thought he would become a policeman."
"...I see."
"Honestly, that's all you've said this whole time. Don't just say 'I see.' Ask me something too."
"...Then, one question.
"What brought you to Tokyo, ma'am?"
Maybe trying to change the subject a little had been a mistake. Her eyes widened slightly before she spoke.
"Actually, I heard my son was coming to Tokyo for an off-campus training session, so I came to cheer him on! Though I didn't get to see him."
As she spoke, she slowly reached into her bag and rummaged around. Apparently finding what she wanted, her face suddenly lit up.
"Look, this! He told me he'd made a friend, and I was so happy I brought it along."
It was a cookie tin. Opening the flat, pentagonal lid decorated with characters from a certain mouse-themed amusement park, she showed me what was inside.
"...Letters?"
It was packed with stationery. No, not just stationery. There was everything from sticky notes to pages torn out of notebooks.
She proudly showed me the contents filling the tin.
"Amazing, right? They're letters my son wrote to his future friend."
At those words, I blinked.
"Future...?"
"Yes. You see, he never had any friends growing up.
"But for some reason, he was always so confident about it. He'd always say, 'Someday, I'm going to make the best friend ever.'"
My throat suddenly tightened.
"So these are letters he wrote to the wonderful friend he would someday make. Isn't that adorable?"
"...Yeah."
I picked up one of the letters in the tin.
And...sure enough, familiar handwriting danced across the page.
"Hey, my best friend. Are you reading this?
"Guess you didn't show up today, even after I asked the gods. I don't mind taking my time waiting, though.
"Oh, right. I heard a new game had come out, so I went to buy it, but the guy next to me snatched the last copy. Man, that drove me nuts. I beat him to a pulp in my head and turned him into something out of The Inugami Family.
"If I manage to get it next time, I really want to play it with you. Whether you like games or not, I'll definitely make sure you have fun. Seriously, games with cola and chips would make anyone happy.
"Come meet me soon, my friend."
It wasn't anything special. Just an ordinary letter. He hadn't written anything tear-jerking, but I could tell how full of life he had been then.
...My chest tightened.
"...Ngh, uh..."
Before I knew it, tears were pattering down.
Don't cry. I can't cry. But despite those thoughts, the tears spilled mercilessly onto the paper.
Seeing this, the woman stroked my head, murmuring, "Oh, dear. There, there."
"You must have something sad weighing on you too. It's all right to cry. Don't push yourself too hard."
The hand gently stroking me was warm.
But what I did back then was cold.
I thought back to what had happened a month ago, but I couldn't tell her anything.
Sobbing, I kept apologizing. On and on...until we reached Kyoto Station.
"I'm sorry."
Those words seeped into me, branded me, clung to me.
Blaming myself wasn't nearly enough. I even wished I could disappear.
All the while, I clutched a small scrap of paper.
One month earlier-inside the inn-
"Huh...really? This is a world where Yuji's the protagonist?"
According to Sagami, a hugely popular manga called Jujutsu Kaisen had apparently existed in our previous lives. Yuji was this world's protagonist, Gojo was the strongest, and my big brother Sukuna was the final boss.
No wonder I kept getting dragged into so much trouble.
"Haruka, it's a miracle you've survived this long. You fell asleep the moment you met me. You have no sense of danger at all."
Still looking amazed, he poured me some tea.
"Hmm, who knows? Gojo said my Heavenly Restriction apparently makes me lethargic, and my Cursed Technique has something to do with speed."
"So that lethargy was a Heavenly Restriction."
"I'm always sleepy and never motivated...but, well, I quite like being able to relax and take life easy."
I took the teacup, blew on it, and had a sip.
The tea slipping down my throat tasted very much like what I'd had back home not long ago.
"This tea's good..." "Yeah."
We both murmured the same thing. Then we looked at each other and pointed.
"You're one of those people who appreciates green tea?"
"So you know your stuff too?"
Once we confirmed that we were both green tea connoisseurs, we laughed.
"Hehe, nothing soothes you quite like green tea."
"Yeah."
I picked up a couple of tea snacks from the table and handed them to Sagami.
"My fellow green tea lover, open these for me."
Even opening individual wrappers had become too much trouble. Leaving every step to him, I turned into a fully automated eating machine. Though all I did was open my mouth.
His eyes widened a little in surprise, and he picked up a snack with a wry smile.
"You really are Yuji Itadori's little brother."
He unwrapped a sweet bean bun and tossed it into my mouth. All that remained was the simple task of catching it with my tongue, moving it into my mouth, chewing, and swallowing. As I munched on the sweet bean filling, I saw Sagami diligently opening the second snack and waiting.
When I noticed, I gulped down what was in my mouth. Then I stopped his hand as he offered me the second snack.
"Wait. Since we're here, let's share.
"If you don't share good food, you can't share the whatever-it-is, right?"
"Hm? You mean sharing the happiness?"
"Ah, right...so let's share."
"...You got it."
For some reason, he smiled a little bashfully and popped in a honey castella bun with only half of it left. I discovered that even just the outer layer of a honey castella bun tasted good.
"...You've really settled into this world, Haruka."
He spoke as he crunched on a shrimp cracker.
Huh, what did he mean by settled in? Was he saying that weird religious school had already assimilated me?
I tilted my head while nibbling the half-eaten shrimp cracker he had left, which had no shrimp in it...Sagami explained, "I mean you've completely become a resident of this world."
Oh, I see. He's saying I've become a resident of this world...huh.
That was true. Honestly, I wasn't especially attached to my previous life.
Sure, I had thoughts like, "After all that studying I worked so hard at," or, "I finally put in some effort for once." But I didn't feel anything particularly strong toward my family or friends, and I didn't care much about those things myself.
"Yeah, I guess...it's probably because I love Yuji and Grandpa."
"You mean, because they're family?"
"Yeah."
I stopped opening my mouth like a baby bird and leaned my upper body onto the table. I flopped against it, and the cool wood felt good against my warm body.
"Those two won't abandon me, no matter how lazy I am. They genuinely love me.
"...People like them are the reason I've made it this far. They really don't feel like strangers to me."
As I pieced together an answer, his shoulders trembled slightly, and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. Then he closed it again.
"...I never set out to fit in, but I like this world now. Can't you fit in, Sagami?"
His lips, which had almost closed, trembled again, releasing a faint breath.
"...Yeah."
His hands, clasped beneath the table, rubbed together two or three times.
"I still can't let go of my previous life."
Muttering, he aimlessly reached his fingertips toward his lukewarm teacup. They gently traced the cup's rim, then dropped...and he too slumped his entire upper body onto the table.
His face looked a little softer pressed against the cool tabletop.
"But hearing what you said makes me want to see my mom too."
He had let his true feelings slip.
For some reason, I felt close to him. People who loved their families were mostly like that.
"My mom totally dotes on her gloomy, good-for-nothing son. Even if I get bad grades, suck at sports, never win any certificates...even if I don't have friends, she still praises me, loves me, and cooks for me. Says just being born is an amazing achievement or something."
He was probably embarrassed. He toyed with his empty teacup, rolling it around in his hands.
I copied him and poked my teacup with a finger.
"My Yuji totally dotes on me too. He wakes me up in the morning, stuffs food into my mouth, and carries me to school. He's always taking care of me even though all I do is laze around. He doesn't abandon me, and he even praises me. In the end, he just says, 'What am I going to do with you?' and handles everything."
"Aren't you just bragging about how lazy you are?"
"No, I'm bragging about Yuji."
I gave him an offended look and glared sideways at him, only to get laughed at. That annoyed me a little.
"If you don't believe me, I'll let you meet Yuji when we get back. You'll get to witness his radiant maternal love."
I raised my voice as if throwing down a challenge, and he gave me a startled "Huh?"
"H-huh...meet the protagonist?"
While he was still saying that, I reached out and flicked his forehead.
"He's not the protagonist. He's my twin brother. Look, just think of it as meeting your friend's brother."
"Uh, f-friend...brother...ah, whoa, whoa, whoa.
"W-wait! That's way too hard!"
Watching him turn red and flail around, I frowned.
"...What's so hard about it?"
"Y-you and I being friends..."
His voice was barely audible, and this time it was my turn to smile wryly.
"Aren't we friends?
"This is the first time I've met someone I get along with so well, who takes such good care of me."
His face turned even redder.
"H-huh...friends."
"Yeah, friends."
His teacup settled upright with a clack.
"I'm a gloomy loner, you know...?"
"Yeah."
"I'm way weaker than the people around you, you know?"
"Friends don't need to be strong."
"...You won't regret it?"
"Of course I won't. What are you talking about?"
His eyes wandered from side to side for a while before he finally looked away slightly.
"Then... Haruka."
"Yeah."
"From now on, we're friends... uh, well."
He was stammering again, tightly clenching the hand he had reached toward his teacup.
"Looking forward to it, Kai."
Kai's shoulders gave an exaggerated twitch, and he scratched his cheek shyly.
"But meeting the protagonist is still a little too much for my heart, so I'd like you to come to my house first."
And just like that, we made plans for the future.
After that, we spent a week having fun. Our mission was over anyway, and there were plenty of hot springs, mountains, and other sights around.
Before we knew it, the mission deadline Gojo had given us had turned into a weeklong tour of Chiba Prefecture.
Kai liked taking care of people just as much as Yuji did. He mostly found routes by train or bus so I wouldn't have to walk; our tastes in food matched, too. Whether we were chatting or sitting in silence, being beside him felt comfortable. He seemed to like games, and when he spotted some local-themed charms in a souvenir shop, his eyes lit up and he rushed over.
"Ah! Local Pokémon charms!"
The way he pattered over to the display rack as he said that felt rather novel to me.
"Is Pokémon a game?"
I suddenly poked my head out beside him while he was seriously comparing two of them. He let out an exaggerated "Whoa!" and dropped the one he was holding. I hurriedly caught it.
"Ah, ah, you-personal space!!"
Tilting my head at Kai's stammered shout, I repeated my question. He nodded with a frown.
"You don't know it? It was a pretty famous game and anime in our previous world."
I looked down at the otherworldly animal character rolling around in my hand and tilted my head.
"Hmm, probably. In my previous life, my only worth was studying and getting good grades, so maybe my parents wouldn't let me play."
"Whoa, seriously!? Talk about toxic parents!"
"I don't remember~."
I giggled. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then chose two characters and headed to the register. He paid quickly and hurried back.
"...Here."
He held out his fist, and I obediently spread my palm beneath it. A pink character dropped into it with a little plop.
I pinched it between my fingertips and examined it closely.
"Kai, this thing... is pretty ugly, isn't it?"
"Isn't it cute?"
As he said that, he dangled a matching charm in his own hand.
"...When we get back to Jujutsu High, I'll bring you the game. Want to play together? Missing out on a game everyone knows means you've missed half your life."
He turned his face away awkwardly as he spoke, his ears red. I couldn't help laughing.
"Yeah, let's play together. I'll be counting on Professor Kai to teach me how."
We lightly shoved each other as we walked out of the shop.
...His phone rang.
"Huh?" "Oh?"
We both made strange noises and looked at each other. Then he turned on his phone screen.
Next, he let out an "Ugh," his disgust plain on his face.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
I glanced at the screen too and couldn't help exclaiming, "Wow."
"A cursed spirit has been confirmed on Mount Akagi in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture. Kai Sagami and Haruka Itadori, please proceed to the location immediately after completing your Grade 3 cursed spirit mission in Chiba Prefecture."
"Another mission."
Mount Akagi, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture.
"This feels more like a hike than a mission."
"Yeah. A pretty brutal one, too."
We hadn't brought any hiking gear, so we had to climb to the summit on foot.
Climbing a mountain was exhausting. It drained a lot of stamina, and for someone who didn't normally exercise, it was a serious workout.
Naturally, chronically inactive as I was, I barely made it to the summit, utterly exhausted. Usually, I would have Yuji carry me, but I felt too embarrassed to ask Kai to do that, so I had used my cursed technique to make it up as well.
"...Ugh, cough, cough."
The oxygen was thin at the summit. My lungs felt as though they were crying out for air, and I kept coughing while an exhausted-looking Kai patted my back.
"You okay?"
"I'm dying, but I'm fine..."
I propped myself up and leaned against his shoulder. Planting both feet firmly on the uneven rocks, I steadied myself.
Then I saw the view.
"...A shrine?"
A torii gate and shrine hall stood alone amid the sunset-red scenery. Looking relatively new, they seemed to be facing off against us.
"What's going on? A shrine on a mountaintop isn't unusual, but this feels..."
As he spoke, the sunset shone fiercely through.
The orange light turned blood-red, illuminating the torii gate, while purple encroached on the sky behind the shrine hall. The wind that had been pushing hard against our backs stopped, and our ragged breathing stirred the air around us.
"Really unpleasant."
The torii gate's shadow lengthened, creeping toward us with a creaking sound.
Overcome with revulsion, I pushed Kai away and jumped backward myself.
...At that instant.
Squelch.
A sharp pain shot through my arm.
Before my eyes, a shadow jutted up from the ground in solid form and pierced my arm like a spearpoint. Blood sprayed, staining the shadow red.
"50% release!"
I called out the release of my cursed technique and slashed at the shadow with the weapon tucked at my waist.
But I felt no resistance. The blade merely swished through empty air.
"Haruka!!"
At Kai's shout, I focused and sensed a presence stretching out behind me. I dodged at the last possible moment and escaped into the air.
With nowhere to plant my feet, being airborne actually left me wide open.
Long, sharp shadows shot out in three dimensions. The instant I said, "Crap," countless needlelike shadows rushed at me. They were about to pierce my body one after another... when, at that very moment-
"Raaagh!!"
With that shout, Kai charged in and sliced through the shadows with a cursed tool gleaming dull silver. The shadows split with a wet sound and hissed back into the shrine hall farther in.
Seizing that opening, he grabbed me around the waist and retreated deeper toward the shrine hall.
"...Haruka, are you okay!?"
After lowering me from his arm, he asked that one question, and I answered, "More or less." Blood from my arm kept dripping onto the ground, with no sign of stopping. The wound seemed fairly deep.
"Whoa, that's bad. We need to treat it right away!!"
But more than that, I felt afraid of the mass of shadows that had attacked me.
Until now, I had been able to deal with the people-Gojo-and cursed spirits I fought using speed and cursed tools. But not this one. Since it attacked without using a cursed technique, my cursed tool was completely useless, and the sharp spikes flying out of its shadows would keep attacking me endlessly.
Retreat was our only option. That was my conclusion.
"...Forget that, we need to run-ugh!?"
But just as I was about to shout, my body abruptly crumpled.
"Haruka!"
It had nothing to do with my will. It was as though my body was acting on its own.
My knees had no strength, and I couldn't support myself.
I fell to the ground with a thud, and Kai hurriedly reached for me. Unfortunately, his hand caught my hood, making me let out a "Gurk" like a squashed frog.
I still had enough strength to make that noise, yet I couldn't lift my knees. All I could do was move my fingertips a little.
"Wh... why?"
I bit my lip in frustration, but the strength kept draining from my body, and even drowsiness began getting in my way. I reached out my fingers as if to brush away the haze over my consciousness.
"Hey, you can't fall asleep here!?"
He caught my fingertips, then slid down to grip my palm firmly... a solid touch. Kai's hand.
"...Yeah, ugh. Run."
Clinging only to the feeling of our joined hands, I roused my consciousness.
I lifted my drooping head just in time to see the shadow writhing in my field of vision. It reflected the blood-red sunset as if mocking me, and I narrowed my eyes in frustration and disgust.
"Let's run."
He seemed to understand. His grip tightened again, and his other hand slid around my back. The gentle touch soothed my agitation, and we turned our backs on the cursed spirit.
After that, we scrambled and stumbled away from the relentlessly pursuing shadows and finally made it down the mountain. Half-dead, we dragged ourselves into an inn right at its foot. The moment we were shown to our room, we both collapsed onto the tatami with a thud.
"What the hell was that thing? That cursed spirit was way too much of a cheat..."
Kai sprawled out without a care for manners, tossing his cursed tool and uniform jacket aside. Beside him, I threw down my own useless cursed tool.
"...Aah~."
I let out a sound that mingled a sigh, exhaustion, and all sorts of emotions.
Then I pressed my cheek hard against the tatami, leaving marks on it.
"..."
"..."
A comfortable silence spread between us.
The air conditioner drove the muggy air out of the room, while a rather pointless electric fan made its distinctive noise. Perhaps because we were near the mountains... waves of cicada calls came through the window, along with the cries of a stray cat somewhere.
I listened to those ambient sounds for a while.
"Haruka, can we talk for a bit?"
Hearing the voice beside me, I raised my head.
Kai spoke while gazing at the ceiling's distinct wood grain.
"Hmm?"
I answered with my chin propped on my hand. The arm that wasn't supporting my head still throbbed with pain.
My companion rolled over beside me and looked at me.
His gaze shifted to my arm with sympathy.
"Does it hurt?"
"...Well, quite a bit."
My murmur vanished with the air into the depths of the ventilation fan. Following it with his eyes, Kai spoke again.
"Haruka, are you getting impatient?"
"..."
That question really hit the mark.
"...Why do you say that?"
I first asked what had prompted his question. His eyes shifted quietly... and he looked away from me, a little awkwardly.
"...Uh, well."
Seeing him hesitate, I gently held out my hand. "Go on."
Then he slowly turned his wandering gaze toward me and took my hand.
"I just thought we were a little alike, so that was my guess."
His words made my eyes widen.
"...You and me?"
"Ah, sorry, I shouldn't have said that! You must hate being compared to someone like me! It must make you sick enough to puke!!"
He instantly descended into self-loathing and started shouting, and I hurried to stop him.
"No, that's not it. I wasn't thinking that."
I stared blankly at our joined hands.
"It just felt strange.
All I've done so far is fall asleep in front of you and get looked after... I haven't done anything." "Alike" and all that-wasn't that a bad thing for him?
That was right. Maybe I could make Gojo sweat a little. Maybe I could land a slash on a monster called a cursed spirit and shut it up.
But even that lasted only an instant.
I wasn't strong. It was only my weapon, "speed," that was strong.
The real me couldn't survive without other people's help. Outside those brief moments of combat, I was a burden who went limp, unable to muster any strength.
"...That's exactly what I mean."
Kai's voice interrupted my thoughts. His grip on my hand tightened a little.
"Neither you nor I are strong. All we do is cause trouble for the people around us."
When I came back to myself, his eyes were fixed firmly on me. I involuntarily held my breath.
"I'm only Grade 3, too. I'm really weak.
...And I didn't get Grade 3 through my own strength. It was because of this cursed tool."
At some point, Kai had picked up his cursed tool with the hand that wasn't holding mine. Wrapped in old cloth covered with Chinese characters I couldn't read, it felt somehow ominous.
"This is a cursed tool I received from a god... the Futsu-no-Mitama Sword. I don't know why it became a cursed tool, but apparently it holds tremendous power. I've never drawn it."
He looked down at the cursed tool in frustration, then gave a small smile.
"Ah."
It wasn't a finger, but the Cursed Tool pointing this way.
"Haruka too."
Even though the tip of the sword pointed straight at me, strangely enough, I felt neither fear nor aversion.
"We're just given amazing weapons; in truth, we're both just weak, ordinary people."
Those words struck wonderfully straight to the core of my heart. Should I call it agreement, or understanding?
The scenery wobbled in an instant, and the sounds of the world vanished. The buzzing of the electric fan that had seemed noisy just moments before, the hum of insects, the mewing of a cat... I could hear none of it. The light on the ceiling swayed, faintly illuminating the orange surface of the tatami mats.
"Ah~, so, um...
You've worked hard enough!!"
Only those words, and only that face. They were branded into my eyes and ears.
A sharp, stinging pain. Something that penetrated deep into the bottom of my heart was beyond description.
I could only blankly look up at my friend's face.
"When Big Brother was about to be taken away, didn't you fight the strongest human while covered in wounds? I heard that when Big Brother was killed, even though you vented your resentment, you also suppressed the strongest human, right? And then you go out on missions like this, striving to exorcise Cursed Spirits for whoever knows who... You're kind enough, and you try way too hard."
Kai loosened his grip on the Cursed Tool, wrapping his hand more tightly around the one I was holding.
"Hey, Haruka.
There's no need to rush. You don't need to have such low self-esteem.
You and I are both trying much harder than we think. We have each other right here who can understand that."
That smile was somewhat stiff, lacking the sense of security Yuji gave people. But even so, it was a smile that felt overwhelmingly reliable.
"Once Haruka's injuries heal, we can just challenge it again in two weeks."
"...Nn,...nn."
I had no confidence.
I had no chance of winning either.
I simply felt that I could keep trying.
Two weeks. I healed my wounds, made plans to defeat that troublesome-as-hell Cursed Spirit, and studied how to play to each other's weaknesses and strengths. I even had Kai join me for physical training, which I normally could never manage.
The operation was set for late at night. We planned to ambush that Cursed Spirit on a moonless new moon night, dodging the attacks of its shadows. I took the rear guard, but Kai was the one responsible for guarding my eyes and acting as my shield. Kai, who had good night vision, defended against the Cursed Spirit's location and attacks while letting me deliver the decisive blow through the opening.
We held a strategy meeting from the morning of that day, and fell asleep before the sun had fully risen.
Before I knew it, I woke up.
The cause might have been a sound, or perhaps the emotional fluctuations strongly radiating from somewhere.
At any rate, I got out of bed when night was drawing close, during the deep indigo sky where purple and blue blended together. Kai's usual presence was missing from my side, and only his cold, untended futon lay discarded in a mess.
"...Kai?"
I called out that name and looked around, finally finding him.
The dim living room on the other side of the sliding screen door. The faint light of a smartphone and the streetlamp light leaking in from the window illuminated his face.
And even though I was still half asleep, I clearly saw that expression, and I rushed out of the bedding with unprecedented momentum to charge at my friend.
"Kai!"
With a heavy thud! I crashed straight into him, and he staggered, nearly letting out a shout.
"Whoa, you scared me."
He said that while supporting my body with his hands. Those hands were trembling slightly, and his startled voice carried stiffness as well.
Furthermore, his other hand was holding a smartphone. Reflected on it was our appearance right now.
Could this be...
"Ah! I forgot!!"
Kai operated the smartphone with one hand while saying that. With a beep, the image of us on the screen froze.
The us on this side were still fooling around, saying, 'What are you doing, Kai~. Don't play by yourself, include me too.' and 'It's too embarrassing, it's a secret, a secret!', but what kind of expression the us in the frozen image wore, I didn't know at the time.
After that, we prepared for our night operation. Knowing my Cursed Tool wouldn't be of any use, I tucked it into my waist as a blunt weapon. Kai's could still be used, so he carried it normally.
Just as we were about to leave the inn, the female innkeeper called out to us.
"You two guests, could you perhaps be spirit mediums or something?"
She asked timidly, wearing an anxious expression, and I smiled faintly just like Yuji as I answered.
"Yeah, something like that."
As a result, her face turned even paler.
"...Are you going to the top of Mount Akagi? To that shrine."
She asked. Her expression clearly conveyed that she "knew something."
I drew closer to the female innkeeper.
"You know something."
When I asked, the answer came back immediately.
"The deity of that shrine is indispensable to us. I'm begging you, it's not a bad thing-please don't exorcise it."
"Um... is it a deity?"
"Yes, it's a deity we all summoned together. Please."
The question I'd held all along was answered. Because it was a deity, my Cursed Tool hadn't worked.
The trait of the Heavenly Spear of Reversal was the forced cancellation of a Cursed Technique. But how could a deity possibly have a Cursed Technique? Because deities were not born from curses.
I let out a soft sigh and shook my head at the female innkeeper.
"Sorry, no. If we don't exorcise it, something major will happen. It might be a deity to you, but to everyone else, it could be a calamity."
I only said that much, and tried to brush past the female innkeeper who was blocking my way. But my wrist was grabbed.
"Innkeeper, that's enough...-!?"
The moment I was about to raise my voice, something was handed out right in front of my eyes.
It was... tea swirling with a jade-green liquid.
"...Because you're good guests. Here, at least drink this before you go."
I looked up at the female innkeeper with a hint of surprise, and after a brief pause, I took it and drank it down in one gulp. Somehow, I felt it would be a shame to spurn her good intentions.
Then I pushed the empty teacup back toward her.
"Thanks, innkeeper."
Confirming that she had caught it securely, I ran over to where my friend was waiting. I had this feeling that I had "become more capable of gentleness" than usual.
Climbs up mountains were tiring as always. Taking a lesson from last time, we rode a motorcycle halfway up, but where the road was broken we had to walk on our own.
Puffing and panting for breath, when we finally reached the summit, it was pitch dark all around. Neither the shrine hall nor the torii could be seen.
"As expected of a new moon... even shadows are invisible."
Being led by the hand by Kai as we walked toward the shrine hall, I wasn't attacked by those eerie shadows this time. Carrying a thread of relief, I stepped firmly onto the ground.
Both Kai and I were tense all over, treating it like a major battle as we gripped our Cursed Tools.
10 meters left. 5 meters left.
The sticky summer night air clung to our skin. The beast-like, suppressed breathing felt somewhat agonizing.
2 meters left.
At that moment, a chill swept across my back in a flash.
That's right. That was the so-called deity.
Instinctively grasping what it was, I parried the attack with my own Cursed Tool, rolling away to the side to dodge. Physical attacks seemed blockable with this tool as well. That gave me a slight sense of relief.
"Behind!"
Kai's voice tightened my relaxed nerves once more, and I batted away the attack coming from behind.
It was fine. This would work.
Wielding the Cursed Tool with absolute confidence, the very moment I opened my mouth to chant the release of my Cursed Technique-
With a pop, lights flickered on in several places.
They were stone lanterns surrounding the shrine hall and the torii. Standing beside them were several familiar faces.
The female innkeeper, the guide from the foot of the mountain, the old man from the nearby fields, the clerk at the souvenir shop, and the old man who had lent us his motorcycle.
"...You, what are you doing!?"
I widened my eyes and glared at them, but the other side only returned cold gazes.
"Get out of the way!"
The attacks didn't stop. Guided by the shadows formed as the lights illuminated the area, they mercilessly rushed at us.
Rolling away, I barely managed to dodge, and frantically scrambled behind Kai. At this point, I was completely out of options against this deity.
Although Kai repeatedly blocked and defended against the attacks of the shadows, there was no telling how long he could hold out.
And then-
"It's useless."
That voice rang out calmly and cruelly across the summit.
The owner of the voice... was naturally the female innkeeper. She walked a few steps closer to our side and bowed slightly toward the shadows.
"We won't let you kill our deity... and besides, you'll make fitting sacrifices, 'Jujutsu Sorcerers'."
The corners of her mouth curved up into a beautiful, grim smile.
I felt an indescribable terror at that, and my body froze.
What was going on? Something was wrong. My body grew cold, and like it was paralyzed, I couldn't move.
"Drinking that tea laced with 'poison'-aren't you glad you did?"
"Ugh...!"
The moment it was declared, my body suddenly grew heavy. Cold sweat poured out, and my fingertips felt as though they were having spasms.
That's right. Before leaving the inn, I had drunk the tea the female innkeeper gave us. That tea must have been poisoned.
A tiny despair and a massive disappointment. Both swirled in my head, accompanied by the scene from earlier.
"Haruka!! Pull yourself together!"
The one who grabbed me was, once again, Kai.
"Forget about those guys, that deity thing looks totally wrong. It feels super like a final boss."
Before I knew it, the deity's attacks had stopped; holding the Cursed Tool in one hand, he grabbed my shoulders and shook me. His sharp gaze pierced right through me.
"When you batted away the shadow just now, it retreated back into the shrine hall, and now it's swelling up while venting super intense Cursed Energy. That thing is pretty bad news."
He said that, then forcefully grabbed my head and twisted it around.
Inside the shrine hall deep past the torii, something wrapped in an ominous aura was crawling out. If you asked what that humanoid thing was, it was probably a "deity," but its overwhelming negative aura was what made you worry more.
"What is that?"
"I don't know. But it's definitely nothing good."
As we glared at it, it slowly turned toward us... or so it seemed.
(This is bad!!)
""Eighty-percent release"!"
Sensing the crisis, I chanted the release of my Cursed Technique, grabbed Kai, and tried to flee from the spot.
A scorching heat and fierce pain I had never felt before surged through my legs. It felt like being scalded by freshly boiled water.
"Ah-ah!!"
I let out a miserable scream and shoved Kai away.
"Ugh, Haruka!"
Seeing his painfully distorted face, my legs were likely completely ruined. The sensation was reduced entirely to scorching heat, taking up the majority of my consciousness.
However, it wasn't enough yet. I couldn't fall here. If I lost consciousness, Kai would be in danger.
My consciousness, eroded by poison and wounds, was forcibly awakened, and I bit my lip hard to maintain my sense of self.
(That deity is staring solely at us two. At least let Kai get away.)
Blood dripped from the corners of my mouth as I chanted the release of my Cursed Technique.
""Ninety-two-percent release"!"
I snatched my friend back from the dozens of ribbon-like shadows attacking us, and played a hand to escape.
(Whether due to the poison or the wounds, my speed isn't sufficient. But at least get him away from those shadows...!)
I couldn't even easily lift a person on my back the way Yuji did. So I used momentum to knock Kai clear of the shadow's attack.
Every time I slammed my friend away I felt guilty, and I myself rolled onto the ground in a pathetic mess after shoving him. On top of that, being grazed by the brushed-past shadows caused me to bleed.
(Even so, as long as I can roll him to a safe place...)
""Ninety-six..."
harboring a burning sense of mission, the very moment I was about to chant the release of my Cursed Technique once more-
A massive black shadow swept over me, Kai, and the people around us.
A sense of overwhelming pressure. A sense of holiness. A sense of ominousness. A sense of agony. Something carrying all of those things was right above our heads.
I accurately grasped it and looked up, but I could no longer say a single word.
A Cursed Spirit as huge as a celestial maiden from an ancient scroll was mocking us as it looked down from the sky. It gazed at us as if looking at tiny bugs, the inorganic corners of its mouth curving upward.
(Ah, it's... no use.)
That was a definitive surrender. It was resignation.
It wasn't a matter of whether we could win or not.
We couldn't run anymore. We couldn't survive. That was the kind of feeling it was.
Neither my hands meant for resistance, nor my weapon, nor my mouth could move. I could only stare upward.
"...It's not over yet."
At that moment, the one who took hold of my hand-the one who grabbed my immobilized hand and pulled me up-
Was Kai Sagami. The only friend I had made in this world.
Before you continue