(Third Person POV)
The three figures in their identical office wear stood perfectly still at the end of the hallway. Their sudden, silent appearance was more unnerving than any shambling curse.
The brown-haired girl, her face pale, scrambled backwards until she was hiding behind the trio of sorcerers. "Who are they?!" She whispered, her voice trembling. "They're creepy!"
Mai's grip on her kusarigama tightened, her eyes narrowed. "They're not human," she stated flatly, her cursed energy senses confirming what her instincts already screamed.
The lead figure spoke, its voice a monotone devoid of inflection. "We are the Serpo. From the planet Serpo. Do not be afraid. We come in peace."
The quartet, Mai, Saeko, Zaimozuka, and the girl, stared in disbelief.
They looked at each other, then back at the impassive aliens.
Zaimozuka was the first to break the stunned silence, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"I don't know about aliens" Saeko commented, her heightened senses analysing them. "But they are not human, at least. Their heartbeats are weird... too slow, too synchronized."
Then the lead Serpo delivered its next line, shattering any possibility of a peaceful resolution. "Do not resist. We only want sex."
Mai, Saeko, Zaimozuka, and the brown-haired girl stared in stunned silence.
The sheer, robotic absurdity of the statement was more confusing than frightening.
"...Huh?" The brown-haired girl finally managed, voicing the collective sentiment.
Another one spoke, its tone flat and explanatory. "Our species is exclusively male. Therefore, we reproduce through cloning."
A third continued seamlessly "However, biological evolution does not occur among identical individuals. Competition and emotion have been eradicated from our race."
The first one finished the thought. "Therefore, in order to regain reproductive functions like those of humans, we want your kind's bananas..."
Understanding dawned on Zaimozuka's face, followed by pure horror. He instinctively crossed his hands over his crotch, sweat beading on his forehead. "No way...!"
"Humans, do not resist. Your contribution will help our species," the lead Serpo stated, and with that, all three began to advance with unnerving, synchronized steps.
"Okay, that's our cue!" Mai snapped, her grip tightening on her kusarigama.
Saeko was already moving. A blur of purple hair and motion, she closed the distance to the lead Serpo in an instant. Her wooden sword, wielded with two hands, slammed into the side of its head with a sickening thwack that would have shattered a human's skull.
The alien's head snapped to the side, and it staggered back several steps.
But it didn't fall. Instead, it slowly righted itself, its blank face turning back to her. The two Serpo beside it raised a hand, fingers forming a 'T' shape. "This female human is strong. My Serpo Gauge will not be able to hold her for long."
A visible wave of distorted air, a psychic pressure, shot from its hand and slammed into Saeko.
She grunted, her muscles locking up as she was pinned violently against the hallway wall, unable to move. But with her strength, she was resisting easily while the pair of Serpo holding her were struggling
"Saeko!" Mai yelled. Seeing an opening, she flicked her wrist. The shadow-thin chain of her kusarigama snaked through the air, wrapping around one of the Serpo's upraised arms. With a sharp pull, she yanked it off balance. "Got you!"
In the same motion, she used the chain's tension to launch herself forward, the razor-sharp kunai end slashing across the alien's chest.
The blade scored a line in its strange fabric-like skin, but it was shallow, barely more than a scratch.
Mai landed gracefully, scowling. "Their skin is thick!"
The free Serpo lunged at her from the side, but Zaimozuka intervened with a battle cry. "Have at thee, extraterrestrial fiend!" He launched into a flying, double-footed kick that connected squarely with the alien's face. The impact sent it stumbling back into its companion.
Saeko broke free from the psychic hold, her wooden sword a whirlwind of blunt force.
The Serpo looked at each other. "Tactical update required. Standard humanoid form: inefficient for combat." In unison, their bodies began they grabbed their faces and tore apart their skin.
Showing their true forms, they had angular, slug-like heads with large, prominent lips and broad teeth.
Their bodies were broad and sharply angled around the shoulders and torso.
Black markings cover most of their bodies. They had two fingers and two thumbs in each hand, and their feet are clefted at the ends
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Mai muttered.
A Serpo charged Mai, its claw swiping down with enough force to tear through steel.
Mai barely dodged, the claw gouging a chunk out of the floor.
She retaliated by whipping her chain around its leg, trying to trip it, but the creature was immensely heavy and stable.
Zaimozuka found himself facing the second brute. "Face the fury of my... uh...!" He threw a punch, which the alien caught effortlessly in its claw. It lifted him off the ground and prepared to throw him down the hallway.
"Hey!" Saeko's voice rang out. She had managed to get one arm free. With a tremendous strain of muscle, she pried herself a few inches from the wall, just enough to swing her wooden sword.
She couldn't reach the psychic Serpo, but she could hit the brute holding Zaimozuka.
The sword cracked against its shoulder, causing it to roar a sound like grinding stones and drop Zaimozuka.
"Thanks!" Zaimozuka yelled, rolling to his feet.
Seeing an opening, Mai abandoned her direct assault on her own opponent. She vaulted over a desk, her chain lashing out not at the brute, but at the last Serpo holding Saeko in place.
The kunai grazed its elongated arm, breaking its concentration for a split second.
That was all Saeko needed.
With the psychic pressure gone, she dropped to the floor, landed in a crouch, and exploded forward.
She moved with her new, blessed speed, a series of devastating blows from her wooden sword hammering the psychic Serpo's torso, driving it back towards the windows.
"Now! All together!" Mai commanded.
With a coordinated effort, Mai and Zaimozuka shoved the two brutes, while Saeko delivered a final, powerful roundhouse kick to the third one. The three transformed Serpo crashed through the large windows in a shower of glass and twisted metal, tumbling out into the open air.
Zaimozuka struck a triumphant pose amidst the debris. "Behold! The might of humanity prevails against the cosmic menace!"
His celebration was cut short by the brown-haired girl's terrified shriek. "LOOK!"
Outside the shattered window, hovering silently in the air, was a classic, saucer-shaped UFO, its metallic hull gleaming ominously.
The three Serpo they had just thrown out were now being beamed up into the ship by a tractor beam.
And then, a hatch on its underside slid open, revealing a glowing barrel.
"Get down!" Mai shouted.
A searing red laser beam sliced through the air where Zaimozuka had been standing, scorching the wall behind him. The group scrambled for cover behind overturned desks and crumbling drywall as more beams peppered the room.
"Now we're getting shot at by a UFO!" Mai yelled over the noise of disintegrating concrete.
"Actually, the correct term is UAP! Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon!" Zaimozuka corrected from behind his cover, ever the pedant.
"Shut up and do something!" Mai snapped back.
A wide, confident grin spread across Zaimozuka's face. "Alright! It is my moment to shine!" He stood up, boldly ignoring the laser fire, and thrust his palm toward the ship. "Burn! The shadow flame of oblivion!"
A sphere of flickering, pure black fire erupted into existence above his hand.
It didn't give off light, it seemed to absorb it, a hole of nothingness burning in the air.
Mai stared at it "Is that your Cursed Technique? Really?"
"Indeed!" Zaimozuka proclaimed. "This is my Innate Technique: 'The Black Oblivion Flames of the Dark Kingdom'! With this, the world itself will burn! Lance Formation!"
The sphere of black fire elongated, sharpening into a spear of absolute darkness.
With a final, dramatic shout, he hurled it at the UFO.
The lance of oblivion flew true, striking the centre of the ship.
Then the flame grouped itself, and detonated. Exploding the ship, and burned
The burning ship tumbled and tumbled in the air, before failing down into the empty courtyard beside building.
The Black fire still consuming it.
Silence returned to the ravaged building.
The brown-haired girl slowly peeked out from her cover, her eyes wide as dinner plates. She looked from the hole in the wall to the spot where the UFO had been, then to the three super-powered teenagers.
"Okay," she said, her voice shaky but direct. "Can any of you... supernatural Sentai... help me get to Occult-boy? I'm really worried about him."
-------------------------------------
The world had narrowed to the monstrous crab and the flow of energy around it
Now, standing protectively over her friends, Yotsuya Miko felt a clarity she had never known.
The Black Flash hadn't just hurt the curse
It had unlocked something in her mind.
She always knew her ability was a sensory one, but she had misunderstood its depth.
It wasn't just about detecting cursed energy. It was about understanding it.
She could feel the crab's intent as clearly as if it were shouting its moves.
She felt the surge of malice in its core a fraction of a second before its massive pincer shot forward.
She didn't need to see it
She felt the violent shift in its energy.
With a graceful, almost casual leap, she flipped backwards, the pincer smashing harmlessly into the ground where she had been standing.
Her cursed technique was painting a picture in her mind, a map of flowing, hostile energy.
She could feel how the crab planned to move, where it was concentrating its power. And right now, with her potential amplified to 120% by the resonance of the Black Flash, reading that map was as simple as breathing.
She was a leaf on the wind, utterly untouchable.
She was now unstoppable.
Hana, who had just managed to heal herself enough to crawl over and begin mending Yuria's injuries, watched in awe.
Miko wasn't just fighting; she was dancing.
Each dodge was a fluid, pre-emptive motion.
She moved with an impossible economy of effort, her face a mask of serene focus.
'Miko-chan... you're amazing...' Hana thought, her hands glowing over Yuria's ribs.
But Miko's senses reached even further.
She could feel the shift in the very atmosphere. The humidity clinging to the crab's cold shell, the minute tremors in the earth from its weight, the collective, panicked energy of her friends, it all fed into her perception.
She was reading the entire battlefield, not just the enemy. She saw the perfect opportunity. She saw, when to use it
The crab, enraged by its misses, reared up to slam its body down in a crushing attack.
It was a powerful move, but it left its underside completely exposed for a critical moment.
Miko didn't hesitate. As the crab rose, she dove forward, sliding through the dirt directly beneath its bulk.
Her bo-staff was already blazing with concentrated white energy.
She planted the end of the staff against the ground for leverage and thrust upwards with all her might into the crab's soft underbelly.
"Black Flash!"
The familiar distortion of reality erupted around her point of impact.
The crab was launched upwards and backwards with a deafening crack, a massive fracture spider-webbing across its underside.
It landed with a ground-shaking thud, disoriented and shrieking.
Miko didn't let the momentum die.
Without even looking, she knew Mamoru was already responding to her will.
The enlarged, more powerful Shikigami appeared beneath her, and she landed smoothly on its back.
"Go!" She commanded.
Mamoru bounded forward, closing the distance to the staggering curse in two powerful leaps.
As they neared, Miko jumped again, soaring high into the air.
Below her, the crab was struggling to right itself, its focus entirely on the glowing, golden-eyed girl who had become its nightmare.
Her staff shone like a star, charged with another devastating blow.
She zeroed in on the fractured spot on its carapace, the epicentre of its pain.
Every fibre of her being was aligned.
She saw every twitch, felt every desperate pulse of the curse's energy.
She descended like a meteor
"BLACK FLASH!"
The third consecutive Black Flash was cataclysmic.
The sound wasn't a crack, but a deep, final THOOM that signalled utter annihilation. The crab's carapace didn't just break; it vaporized.
The force of the blow travelled through its entire body, which then burst apart from the inside out, dissolving into a shower of black blood and dissipating specks of cursed energy.
Miko landed lightly on her feet, her back to the expanding cloud of nothingness.
She placed her staff casually on her shoulder. Mamoru padded up beside her, its form radiating satisfaction.
Without a single glance backward, Miko walked towards her stunned friends and the unconscious boy.
"Sensei better pay us good for this mission" She stated, her voice tired but firm, cutting through the stunned silence.
------------------------------------
On a ridge overlooking the scene, two figures stood silhouetted against the sky. One, exceptionally tall with white hair and a black blindfold, whistled softly. The other, a man in a neat suit and tie, adjusted his glasses with a sigh.
"Did you see that, Nanami?" Gojo Satoru asked, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"It was difficult not to," Kento Nanami replied dryly. "Her skills were... significant."
"Those girls" Gojo mused, tapping his chin. "They're trained, that's for sure. But they don't belong to Kyoto. And they're definitely not from Tokyo Jujutsu High."
"Obviously. I would have been informed," Nanami said.
"Of course you would have!" Gojo chuckled. "But that girl with the staff... three consecutive Black Flashes. That's got to be a record"
"Hm" Nanami grunted in acknowledgment. The feat was undeniably impressive. "What do you plan to do?"
"Well," Gojo said, his grin turning sly. "How about you do me a little favor?"
Nanami already looked weary. "A favor?"
"Yeah. Can you find out where those girls go to school? What high school they attend? If they're even enrolled in one around here."
Nanami frowned. "And why would I do that?"
Gojo turned his blindfolded gaze back towards where the girls were gathering their things, his voice losing its playful edge and gaining a note of genuine, predatory interest.
"Because I have a hunch. A very, very good one"
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As the group began to stagger away from the battleground, Miko supporting a woozy Hana, and Mamoru gently carrying the still-unconscious boy, Yuria lingered for a moment, her eyes scanning the scorched and churned earth.
The fight had been a whirlwind, but her own senses, though less refined than Miko's, were sharp enough to pick up on lingering traces of energy.
Something glinted dully amidst the dirt and fragments of crab shell. She knelt down, wincing as her freshly-healed ribs protested the movement.
There, half-buried, were two perfectly spherical golden orbs, each about the size of a large marble.
They were warm to the touch and hummed with a faint, condensed energy that felt strangely... pure, unlike the malevolent residue of the curse.
'A drop? Part of its core?' she wondered, her curiosity piqued. They didn't feel dangerous. In fact, they felt useful.
Without a word, and with a quick glance to ensure the others weren't watching, she scooped them up and slipped them into the pocket of her jacket. They clicked together softly.
Whatever they were, they were a trophy. A reminder that she had survived. And maybe, just maybe, they could be something more.
She hurried to catch up with the other
------------------------------------
The abandoned factory felt like a sanctuary after the day's chaos.
Mai's group arrived first, dusting themselves off from their alien encounter.
A few minutes later, the tunnel group stumbled in, looking far worse for wear.
Miko leaned heavily on her staff, her clothes torn and stained with dirt and faint smudges of dark blood. Hana was supporting a limping Yuria, whose face was a mask of exhaustion.
Mai raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on her lips. "Well, well. You look like shit. Miko-chan. Was your mission that difficult?"
Hana let out a weak, dramatic groan. "Mai-san, you don't know the half of it."
It was then that Mai noticed the fourth member of their party. Mamoru, in its larger, more powerful form, was gently carrying an unconscious boy with a bowl-cut.
"Who's that?" Mai asked, nodding towards the boy.
Yuria sighed, rubbing her temple. "Some idiot who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Got himself possessed."
Before anyone could say more, the brown-haired girl from the office building gasped. She rushed forward, her eyes wide with worry. "Occult boy! Oh my god, what happened to him?!"
Miko looked at the new girl, then at Mai. "Who is she?"
"That's Ayase Momo" Mai explained with a tired wave of her hand. "She was at our site. Got caught up in... our thing."
Ayase was gently shaking the boy. "Occult boy? Can you hear me?"
The boy stirred, his eyes fluttering open. He looked dazed. "Ayase-san...? I... I believe in ghosts now" He mumbled weakly. "I was possessed by one."
Ayase let out a shaky laugh of relief. "Well, I believe in aliens now. I was attacked by them"
Hana's head whipped around to stare at Mai. "Wait, really?!"
Mai nodded, exasperatedly rubbing her forehead. "Yeah, I know it sounds insane. But it's the truth"
Saeko, who had been quietly observing, chimed in with her usual blunt practicality. "Well, I just discovered there's a hidden world with spirits and ghosts. Are aliens really that much more incredible?"
Miko considered this, then gave a small shrug. "When you say it like that, it sounds kinda credible"
A new voice cut through the factory's gloom "Well, well. It looks like a party in here."
They turned to see Shindou Rom strolling in, a confident smirk on his face.
Beside him was an elderly woman with a stern expression and an air of authority.
Yuria's eyes widened. "Wait... The Godmother?!"
The old woman's sharp eyes landed on Yuria. "Aren't you the girl who came to ask to be my apprentice?"
Yuria's face flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment. "That was a scam! You didn't teach me anything! The bracelet you gave me broke against the first cursed spirit I saw!"
The old woman, Takeda Mitsue, regarded Yuria for a long moment.
Then, to everyone's surprise, she bowed deeply "You are right. I owe you an apology. I thought you were just another self-entitled brat thinking they had any amount of power. I see now that I was wrong. I am glad you found someone who could truly teach you what I was too old to offer."
Yuria was taken aback. She crossed her arms and looked away, her cheeks still red. "Tch. There's... there's nothing to apologize for" She muttered, though the anger had left her voice.
Takeda straightened up and addressed the whole group. "Nice to meet you all. My name is Takeda Mitsue. It's nice to meet so many young people with such potential." Her eyes scanned each of them, lingering for a moment on Miko "Rom told me about you. But I don't see your teacher."
"I am here."
Yoshioka Akira's calm voice came from behind surprised everyone
He walked in, and beside him was a teenager none of them immediately recognized. He was slightly taller, with a more defined jawline and a head of surprisingly stylish, spiky black hair
Mai was the first to recover. "Good afternoon, Sensei" Her eyes then flicked to the handsome boy beside him. "And who is this?"
The boy looked slightly embarrassed. "Sakurajima-senpai? It's me. Shigeo."
A wave of shock and disbelief rippled through the group.
"Kageyama-san?!" Miko gasped.
"Shigeo?!" Zaimozuka exclaimed.
Hana circled him, her eyes wide. "You look taller now!"
Miko added, "And more handsome! I'm surprised!"
Yuria nodded in agreement. "Your hair... it actually looks good on you."
Kageyama blushed deeply under the sudden attention.
Shindou whistled, looking from the old photos on his phone to the new Kageyama. "Is that the bowl-cut from yesterday? He looks completely different!"
Yoshioka-sensei gave his usual flat explanation. "I simply helped his body adapt to the immense energy it contains. His physical growth was stunted by the imbalance. The procedure I gave him corrected it."
Shindou shook his head in amazement. "You really did a number on him."
Takeda then turned her attention fully to Yoshioka. "You must be Yoshioka-sensei. Rom told me what you did at the shrine." She bowed again, deeper this time. "I thank you. Thanks to you, my teacher's soul is finally free."
He dismissed her thanks with a slight wave. "I was there for a teaching exercise. Nothing more"
"But you freed her nonetheless" She insisted, straightening up.
He simply nodded.
She continued, "You know, when Rom told me about a white-haired man who dealt with a Special Grade curse so easily, I thought you might be the famous Gojo Satoru. But seeing you lack the Six Eyes, I supposed not."
He nodded again.
She then gestured to him. "And your lack of Cursed Energy... are you like the once-famous Sorcerer Killer?"
"It is a facet of my technique that my body appears devoid of it" He stated. Then, he thumbed over his shoulder towards Saeko. "But we do have a genuine Heavenly Restriction user in this group."
Takeda's sharp eyes settled on Saeko. "I see. Yes, I can feel the void where her energy should be. How curious. To see another anomaly like the famous Zen'in Toji."
Yoshioka merely hummed in response.
Shindou stepped forward, slinging an arm around Takeda's shoulders. "Well, now that we're all best friends, we wanted to ask if we can join your little sorcerer club."
Yoshioka looked at Shindou, then at Takeda. "Are you with him?"
She nodded. "There are strong winds of change blowing through the jujutsu world. It would be unwise for a woman my age to face them alone. So, I ask if you would accept me and this... rebellious student of mine."
He stared at her for a moment, then gave a single, curt nod. "Very well then."
"Thank you" She said, a genuine smile touching her lips.
Their attention was drawn to Momo, who was now hoisting a groggy Takakura onto her back. When Yoshioka saw her, he raised an eyebrow but returned instantly to his normal expression "Well, thanks for saving us, everyone! I should get this guy home"
"Wait, Ayase-san," Mai said, stopping her.
Takeda's head tilted. "Wait, Ayase?" She scrutinized Momo's face. "You look very familiar. Are you related to Ayase Seiko?"
Momo's eyes widened. "You know my grandma?"
Takeda smiled. "We were colleagues, once upon a time. We still communicate, though infrequently."
Mai's eyes lit up with interest. "Wait, so your grandmother is a jujutsu sorcerer too?"
Momo shook her head. "I knew she was a spirit medium, but I didn't know anything about 'jujutsu'. I'll have to ask her now!"
"Let's keep in touch" Mai quickly exchanged numbers with the fascinated girl, who then left with her friend
While Momo was leaving she asked the boy on her back "By the way, occult boy. What was your name again? I'm not good at putting names to faces"
With that settled, Yoshioka addressed his students. "You all performed adequately on your missions." From his pockets, he produced a stack of manila envelopes, handing one to each student. "Your payment"
Shindou jokingly extended his hand. "Hey, where's mine?"
Yoshioka ignored him completely. "Everyone did well. Especially Miko. She surpassed her previous threshold and has attained the rank of Special Grade. Congratulations."
The group erupted in cheers and pats on the back for a blushing Miko.
He then turned to Shindou and Takeda, producing a simple business card with a phone number. "Contact me here. We will arrange further communication"
Shindou gave a playful salute. "Aye aye, captain!"
Takeda took the card with a respectful nod. "We will."
Yoshioka's final words were delivered to his students. "Rest well. Do not be late for tomorrow's class. Sakurajima, Yotsuya, I need both of you to send me by text the details of your missions, there is some things I will be checking" And with that, he turned and left as silently as he had arrived.
Saeko seemed to want to talk to him, but decided to do it on another occasion
The group lingered for a moment, the shared exhaustion and triumph binding them together, before saying their goodbyes and heading their separate ways into the evening
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(Kageyama Shigeo's POV)
The hot water was a blessing, soaking away the deep-seated ache in muscles he didn't even know he had.
Shigeo sank deeper into the tub, letting the steam cloud his vision.
He closed his eyes, then opened them, focusing on his hands resting on his knees.
They were the same hands, yet they felt different. Stronger.
More solid. The bones seemed denser, the muscles more defined.
It was a constant, quiet reminder of the crucible he had endured at Sensei's apartment.
The memory was a blur of consuming impossible amounts of food, drinking that sickly-sweet fructose water, and then the world dissolving into a pain so profound it felt like his very cells were being torn apart and reformed.
He had woken up feeling… new.
His mother's reaction played in his mind. The shock on her face when he walked through the door, taller, his posture different. 'Shigeo! What happened to you?'
He'd repeated the excuse Sensei had drilled into him, his voice thankfully steady. 'I've… I've been doing some intense exercise routines after school. And when I stayed at Yoshiteru's house, his family is really into health food. I guess I just had a growth spurt.'
She'd bought it, just as Sensei said she would.
She'd fussed over him, worried he was pushing himself too hard, but there was a hint of pride in her eyes.
The lie sat heavy in his stomach, a dull guilt that the warm water couldn't wash away.
But Sensei's words were heavier, their weight purposeful and grounding.
'The jujutsu world will inevitably take notice of you,' Sensei had said, his crimson eyes holding no judgment, only fact. 'Your power is too significant to remain hidden forever. When that happens, you will be thrust into a role you did not ask for.'
Then, just before Shigeo had left his apartment that evening, Sensei had given him his first, true mission.
The words were simple, but they felt more important than any other
'Protect your friends. That will be your first priority.'
Shigeo clenched his fist underwater, watching the tendons flex.
A quiet resolution solidified within him. He wasn't just doing this for control anymore. He was doing it for them.
For all of them. He would get stronger.
He would master this power. He would protect them.
He allowed himself a small, weary chuckle, leaning his head back against the tub.
The day's absurdity washed over him.
Yoshiteru had spent the entire walk home dramatically recounting their battle against the Serpo. Aliens. Actual, real aliens.
'Who would have thought?' he mused to the steamy air. The world, or rather, the worlds, were so much bigger and stranger than he had ever imagined.
His moment of quiet reflection was shattered in the most bizarre way possible.
The water between his legs began to bubble. Not a gentle simmer, but a violent, churning boil. Shigeo stared, his mind struggling to process what was happening.
Then, the water exploded upwards.
Sitting directly in front of him, where there had been nothing but bathwater a second before, was a girl.
She was completely naked, with a head of vibrant, shocking pink hair plastered to her skin. She blinked, wiping water from her eyes with a casual hand, and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Mmm, escape successful," She murmured to herself
Shigeo's brain short-circuited. His entire body froze.
Every thought vanished except for one screaming, primal fact: There is a naked girl in my bathtub.
The pink-haired girl seemed to finally notice him. She tilted her head to the side, a look of pure, uncomprehending curiosity on her face. Her eyes, a striking shade of green, scanned his stunned, scarlet face.
"Hmm?" she uttered, a soft, questioning sound.
Shigeo could only stare, his mouth agape, his world having once again tilted completely off its axis.
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(Third Person POV)
The quiet of Yoshioka Akira's apartment was a tangible thing, a silence he cultivated and preferred. He had just finished the mundane domestic tasks of changing his bedsheets, damp with Shigeo's bodily fluids and hauling the futon, still faintly damp with Saeko's sweat from her painful transformation, to the laundry area. The orderliness of the process was satisfying.
He sat in his spartan living room, a cup of tea steaming on the low table before him.
In his hand, his phone displayed the messages from his students.
Miko's was a detailed, slightly breathless account of the Turbo Granny, the giant crab, and her breakthrough to Special Grade.
Mai's was more terse, a bullet-point list that essentially read: Aliens. Wanted our "bananas." Zaimozuka blew up their ship with black fire. Mission accomplished.
He will have to teach her how to do a proper field report next time. Maybe that's what she wanted….
Akira took a slow sip of his tea.
The liquid was perfectly steeped, the temperature ideal.
'How curious' He thought, his internal monologue as calm as his exterior. 'This universe's crossover seems to be even more complex than what initial thoughts indicated.'
He instantly thought when he saw Ayase Momo and Takakura Ken, the plots were expanding.
It wasn't just a world with cursed spirits and jujutsu sorcerers. It was a nexus, a point where multiple layers of reality, the occult, the extra-terrestrial, the romantic comedy...
They were all superimposed onto one another.
He had encountered such amalgamation worlds a handful of times before in his long journey.
They were, without exception, chaotic, unpredictable, and... interesting.
They broke the monotonous patterns of simpler realities.
He wondered, staring into the middle distance 'What else this particular world had to offer'
For the first time, in a long, long time, you could say he was actually expectating.
His musings were interrupted by the soft chime of his phone. The caller ID displayed: Kageyama Shigeo.
He accepted the call and held the phone to his ear.
There was no greeting. Only the sound of ragged, panicked breathing.
Then, Shigeo's voice, high-pitched and trembling with pure, unadulterated distress, burst forth
{Sensei! I need your help! There's a naked pink-haired alien girl in my bathtub!}
Akira's crimson eyes, usually as still as deep pools, blinked once.
He processed the statement.
After a beat of perfect silence, he replied, his voice flat and devoid of any inflection that might betray surprise.
"...What?"