"Tsukasa... Hatayama?"
The sultry voice paused between his names, sounding over the patter of rain.
Tsukasa Hatayama, who had been waiting beneath an umbrella, turned at the sound. A beautiful woman with a ponytail stood there elegantly, one hand on her hip and her chin lifted.
"Senior Mei Mei."
Tsukasa Hatayama was quite surprised, but he still bowed slightly to the woman before him out of respect.
Before he had joined Jujutsu High, Senior Mei Mei had been the school's standout sorcerer. Yuki Tsukumo was another matter; she spent all year fooling around overseas.
Perhaps she would come back if Jujutsu High blew up someday.
With an axe and her masterful martial arts, Mei Mei had exorcised countless cursed spirits for Jujutsu High, so it was hard not to respect her.
Even Satoru and Geto would sincerely call her Miss Mei if they were here.
Mei Mei's red lips curved slightly as she said, "Call me Miss Mei. And you don't have to be so respectful. Your grade is higher than mine."
Tsukasa Hatayama shook his head and said earnestly, "This has nothing to do with grades. I admire and respect you from the bottom of my heart."
"Pfft."
Mei Mei lightly covered her lips and teased him elegantly, "My dear junior Hatayama, if you respect me for exorcising cursed spirits, there's really no need."
"I'm a woman who follows the money. Jujutsu High pays, and I do the work. That's all, so you don't need to hold me in such high regard."
"Of course, Senior Mei Mei."
Tsukasa Hatayama continued using respectful language, doing things his own way.
Mei Mei shook her head helplessly. She had only accepted this temporary partnership because she wanted to use Tsukasa Hatayama as a cash cow for exorcising cursed spirits.
Who would have thought he would respect her so much? It made her feel a little guilty about exploiting him, yet she still had to give him half the payment...
That hurts.
"Since you respect me, carry my case for me." Mei Mei took the case off her back and held it out to Tsukasa Hatayama with a beaming smile.
Without a word, Tsukasa Hatayama shouldered the heavy case. His willingness to work without complaint left Mei Mei thoroughly satisfied.
A special grade sorcerer carrying things for a grade 2 jujutsu sorcerer like me without a single complaint. Wouldn't everyone be green with envy if word got around Jujutsu Society?
Tsukasa Hatayama adjusted the straps and asked curiously, "Senior Mei Mei, are we going to Jujutsu Headquarters to pick up a mission now, or waiting until tomorrow?"
"I picked one up on my way out. Just follow me." Freed of the case, Mei Mei walked ahead with a spring in her step.
Tsukasa Hatayama had never liked asking endless questions. Even if Senior Mei Mei had accepted a special grade mission, he had more than enough strength to complete it.
That afternoon.
After changing trains repeatedly, the two arrived from Tokyo at a desolate village somewhere in Kanagawa.
Under the assistant supervisor's guidance, they reached a dry well in the village center. Exorcism talismans covered its opening, some stained with blood.
Tsukasa Hatayama surveyed his surroundings. Shrouded in drizzle, the village looked more than desolate-it almost resembled a haunted village from a horror film.
Beneath the umbrella, Mei Mei gazed at the dry well and frowned slightly. "Can you sense the cursed presence down there, my dear junior?"
"I can."
Tsukasa Hatayama drew his gaze back from the village and peered into the seemingly bottomless well. "This cursed spirit is clever. It knew to hide fifty meters down a well."
"But the moment I entered the village, both my cursed technique and my cursed energy told me it was hiding inside."
Mei Mei parted her red lips. "You can sense it even fifty meters down. The world of a genius really is different from that of us ordinary people."
She had stared into the well for quite a while without sensing a damn thing. All she had picked up was the foul stench wafting from inside.
If she had not been mindful of her standing as his senior, she would have used her cursed technique to send a black crow down to investigate.
Tsukasa Hatayama said little in response to her praise. Holding the umbrella over Mei Mei with one hand, he formed a seal with the other and murmured:
"Emerge from darkness, blacker than darkness; purify all that is impure."
A pitch-black curtain slowly descended from the sky, enveloping the entire deserted village.
This barrier technique was a minor skill he had learned at Jujutsu High. It could partition a battlefield, restrict movement, and deceive the senses.
It was essential for exorcising cursed spirits.
Mei Mei glanced at it, then summoned a black crow and sent it down through the well's opening to investigate, lest they fall victim to an unexpected mishap.
She gently closed her beautiful eyes, clearing her thoughts to share the crow's vision. Tsukasa Hatayama silently held the umbrella over her, admiring her exquisite beauty.
A short while later.
Mei Mei opened her eyes and looked up at Tsukasa Hatayama, her expression serious. "The black crow was eaten. It seems the curse inside doesn't welcome us."
"It's fine. Wait here, Senior Mei Mei. I'll be back up soon."
Tsukasa Hatayama handed the umbrella to Mei Mei, then boldly jumped down the well without a moment's hesitation, looking utterly at ease.
With wind howling through the well, Tsukasa Hatayama plunged down the shaft. Just as he was about to land, countless spikes suddenly formed on the ground.
Tsukasa Hatayama frowned slightly, otherwise unruffled. He used Dark Gravity to suspend his body just before it struck the spikes, then lightly touched down on their tips.
Red cursed energy immediately burst from beneath his feet, pulverizing the spikes before he landed on the ground with exceptional grace.
Tsukasa Hatayama looked ahead. The well concealed a whole other world; the cursed spirit had excavated the surrounding earth into a spacious cavern.
Countless bones lay piled along both sides of the cavern. At its far end stood a throne fashioned from bones, with a humanoid skeletal cursed spirit seated upon it...
Though the cursed spirit had no flesh, a hint of amusement seemed to show on its skeletal face, like a tiger spotting an animal it was about to devour.
"Cold Bones in the Withered Well, kneel!"
Irritated, Tsukasa Hatayama unleashed his cursed energy. An almost abyssal force of gravity bore down on the skeletal cursed spirit, forcing it to bend and prostrate itself.
Tsukasa Hatayama looked down at it impassively and walked toward the bone throne, settling calmly into the seat while the skeletal cursed spirit bowed before him.
The scene looked entirely natural, as though someone as noble as him had been born to sit on a throne.
The prostrating skeletal cursed spirit gnashed its teeth in fury. A human had dared to claim its throne. This was an utter disgrace for all cursed spirits.
It struggled incessantly in its rage, but the cursed energy weighing on its body remained immovable as a mountain, grinding its spine against the ground.
Tsukasa Hatayama rested his elbow on the throne's armrest and propped up his face, watching the skeletal cursed spirit's every movement with mockery in his red eyes, as though enjoying a clown's performance.
I have an entire Nine-Tails' worth of cursed energy. A puny grade 1 cursed spirit like you wants to break free? You think far too highly of yourself.
That special grade cursed spirit in the park knelt before me for a whole hour.
A minute gradually passed. Waiting above, Mei Mei grew frantic with worry. With a grave expression, she jumped down as well.
The sight of the cursed spirit prostrating itself before Tsukasa Hatayama nearly short-circuited Mei Mei's brain.
Even without approaching, Mei Mei could feel the immense cursed energy pinning the cursed spirit down, its pressure suffocating.
Tsukasa Hatayama dropped his mocking gaze and raised a hand, enveloping the skeletal cursed spirit in Dark Matter and turning it into a small, round ball.
Darkness could contain everything in the world. Inside this simple sphere was a confinement space, just like the Poké Balls from his previous life.
This space was unaffected by the Tengen Barrier, allowing him to bring it freely into Jujutsu High.
Tsukasa Hatayama tucked the ball into his pocket, rose, and walked over to Mei Mei, who had yet to recover.
"Senior Mei Mei?"
His gentle call slowly brought Mei Mei back to her senses. She gazed deeply at Tsukasa Hatayama, then smiled faintly without asking any questions.
Just as her personal maxim went.
Nothing besides money interested her.
"Let's go. There are still plenty of places in Kanagawa with curses. We need to head to the next battlefield. The sooner we exorcise them, the sooner we can take a break."
Mei Mei turned around, leaving Tsukasa Hatayama to admire her slender, alluring figure from behind.
Yet when she gathered her strength to leap out of the well, she realized its bottom was fifty meters below the surface.
She looked at Tsukasa Hatayama with a wry smile and asked, somewhat troubled, "Do you have a way to jump back up? If not, we might be stuck here."
Before you continue