Your Misery Keeps My Heartburn Away
"Found it."
In the residential area, Ijichi and Itadori sat in the car, intently watching Junpei Yoshino not far ahead.
"Strange, he's wearing casual clothes. Isn't today a workday?" Itadori asked, sounding puzzled.
"He doesn't seem to be going to school lately," Ijichi replied.
"I see," Itadori continued, "So, what should we do next?"
"Use this." Ijichi patted the iron cage covered with talismans that was placed on the passenger seat.
Looking at the two rather unusual-looking creatures locked in the iron cage, Itadori was slightly surprised. "Huh? Are these Cursed Spirit?"
"It's a low-level curse, below Grade 4, with many variations; we generally refer to them all as 'Fly Head'."
Ijichi, "Once we reach a secluded spot, we'll release the Fly Head to ambush Junpei Yoshino."
"If he's just an ordinary person who can't see the curse, then please have Itadori rescue him, and then we can retreat."
"If he can see it but doesn't know how to react, ask Itadori to rescue him as well, and then ask him what he saw on the day of the incident."
"If he used Jujutsu to exorcise it..." Ijichi adjusted his glasses, "... arrest him on the spot and bring him back to the Jujutsu High for interrogation."
"Should we forcibly arrest him?" Itadori hesitated.
"That's right, forced arrest."
Ijichi said firmly, "If we've arrested the wrong person, we can apologize afterwards."
"Finally, if he possesses the strength of Grade 2 Sorcerer or higher, we will temporarily retreat and reunite with Mr. Nanami and Senior Shiratori."
"Grade 2... I could barely handle that," Itadori said, stroking his chin.
"That's the case with Cursed Spirit," Ijichi explained. "Jujutsu Sorcerer of the same level as Cursed Spirit often possesses the ability to exorcise the corresponding Cursed Spirit."
"Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer's strength is generally close to that of Grade 1 Cursed Spirit."
Upon hearing this, Itadori's lips twitched. "Why didn't I know about something so important?"
Ijichi sighed, his face full of helplessness, and said:
"Because Mr. Gojo and Senior Shiratori are too casual. They usually focus on developing your abilities during training, while basically ignoring the theoretical foundation."
Seeing that it was about time, he parked the car on the side of the road and called out, "Alright, let's get out here and get ready to start."
Itadori stretched his muscles and bones:
"Phew... okay, although I still don't feel really motivated to direct or act in this myself..."
On the other side, in the sewers.
Blood dripped onto the ground from Nanami's blunt, Cursed Tool.
He straightened his tie, shifting his gaze from the Transfigured Human's corpse to the deeper darkness.
"If you're going to come out, then come out quickly. Although I know it's 'too late,' killing still makes me feel uneasy."
There was no response.
'Not here...' Nanami thought to herself, 'That means she's probably with Shiratori- senpai.'
Just as this thought popped into his head, an explosion rang out in the distance, confirming his guess.
He immediately started walking in the direction of the sound.
A few minutes ago.
Shiratori Gotsu sat atop the Mahito torso, cradling its head in its hands, surrounded by disassembled parts scattered across the ground.
"Sorry, I'm actually quite vengeful."
"I was really annoyed when you tried to mess with my soul last time. I wouldn't have left like that if Junpei hadn't been there."
"So how are you feeling now, Mahito?" Shiratori Gotsu with a delighted expression.
The Mahito in question is feeling extremely aggrieved.
When facing Shiratori Gotsu, he had almost no ability to resist; his body and soul were torn apart together.
The opponent is far superior to me in both spiritual attainment and combat skills.
However, he remained unfazed. "Hey... didn't you make Binding Vow with Geto that you couldn't interfere with his plans?"
"By attacking me, aren't you violating the Binding Vow?"
"Oh?" Shiratori Gotsu raised an eyebrow. "Mahito, I see you completely misunderstand."
"Even if only a head remains, the Cursed Spirit will not die."
"As long as Immortality, you can recover."
"In other words, as long as I leave you alive and don't actually eliminate you, I can do whatever I want with you."
A kind and gentle smile appeared on his face:
"After all, the Mahito said before that life itself has no meaning, it's just a continuous cycle, so you can do whatever you want."
"I completely agree with your point of view, so it's okay for me to play around with you and do a super disassembly, right?"
"Tch..." The Mahito curled their lip.
Then, his mind started working again. "Aren't you afraid I'll tell your companions about the Binding Vow?"
Upon hearing this, Shiratori Gotsu almost couldn't help but laugh.
"What is this? A threat?" he said sarcastically. "Then just say it, I don't care."
"We'll see then whether they believe me or you, this Cursed Spirit who has harmed countless people."
"However, I advise you to behave yourself, or I might just make your teeth explode in your mouth or something."
"... I'll remember this. I'll definitely kill you next time," the Mahito said through gritted teeth.
"Hey~ then you'd better work hard to become stronger."
'Striving to become the most crucial part of my perfect fun~' Shiratori Gotsu added in her mind.
Judging that it was about time, he got up from the Mahito torso cushion and pieced the head back together. "Can it be put back together?"
"Nonsense, I just didn't choose to reconnect myself because I didn't want you to break me up again."
The Mahito's head quickly connected to the torso.
"That's good." Shiratori Gotsu nodded in satisfaction, then picked up the surrounding fragments of Mahito one by one and casually crumpled them together:
"Okay, this is the best I can put it together. You can put it back together yourself."
The Mahito suppressed the urge to curse and gradually adjusted their misplaced soul back to its correct position.
Seeing this, the Shiratori Gotsu stretched, then stuck out its little finger and casually tossed it aside.
"[Corpse Attraction Shock Blast • First Bomb]."
Boom!
"Huh?" The Mahito was slightly taken aback.
Immediately afterward, Shiratori Gotsu quickly formed hand seals: "[Ten Shadows Technique]--"
"Feathered Thunder!"
"Hey... what are you doing?" Looking at the enormous snake -Shikigami before him, the Mahito involuntarily took two steps back.
"The explosion just now was a signal I sent to my comrade; he should be here soon."
Shiratori Gotsu smirked. "So, in order to survive, Mahito -san, please run for your life from now on~"
"Don't worry, I'll let the water flow."
As soon as he finished speaking, a bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket shot out from the mouth of the Feathered Thunder, striking the Mahito directly.
"... You bastard!" The Mahito scrambled away in a sorry state, "Aren't you afraid of really messing things up and getting the consequences of being Binding Vow?"
'Of course I'm not afraid. What's there to be afraid of if it doesn't exist?' Shiratori Gotsu thought to herself.
Then, with a grin, he said, "I'm afraid, but I'm even more afraid that you're living too comfortably."
"Only when you're in pain can I stop having heartburn."
As he spoke, he formed a hand seal again. "Divine Dogs • Hun!"
Mahito face contorted with rage, but he was truly helpless and could only curse inwardly:
'Damn Shiratori Gotsu... I'll definitely kill you!'
However, he is still developing and clearly does not have that ability.
They could only struggle to move through the gaps between the attacks of Feathered Thunder and Divine Dogs, constantly looking for an opportunity to escape.
Just then, Nanami arrived at the scene.
He glanced at his watch—5:50 PM.
He started working at 10 a. m.
'No matter what, I must leave work at 6 PM sharp.'
He immediately straightened his tie and then joined the fray.