Chapter 47: Preparation
"A humanoid Cursed Spirit that can talk and communicate?"
Kamihara Hajime shifted his gaze from the steaming hotpot on the table to Gojo Satoru across from him, then nodded affirmingly.
"I chatted with him for several minutes. He's like someone with mental issues, calling himself 'Mahito.' His Technique is related to the soul, and most of my attacks had little effect on him, which is why he got away."
Gojo Satoru stroked his chin. An unrecorded Special Grade Cursed Spirit, and such a peculiar one. Was it newly born, or… there was no information from the "Window" either.
"Gojo-sensei, do you know of any cursed tools or methods that can attack the soul?"
Gojo Satoru snapped back to attention, thought for a moment, and said, "Such things are extremely rare. I've seen similar cursed tools before, but I don't know where they are now."
Kamihara Hajime nodded and then asked, "What about Yuan Naiyin? Is she still unconscious at Ieiri Shoko's place?"
Gojo Satoru slumped back in his chair, sighing helplessly, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Matters of the soul are far more complex than we imagine, and the Gojo Family hasn't researched much in that area."
Gojo Satoru paused, then continued, "The Kamo Family in Kyoto, along with some higher-ups, proposed a condition. They will provide us with some information on the soul for our research until she is awakened."
Kamihara Hajime raised an eyebrow, "And the demands? They wouldn't be the type to do good deeds anonymously, would they?"
Gojo Satoru chuckled lightly, "The demand is for Yuan Naiyin to enroll in Kyoto Jujutsu High."
Kamihara Hajime didn't say anything immediately, pondering in his mind. This request seemed simple enough—just attending school elsewhere. But would they really offer such valuable information just for Yuan Naiyin to enroll in Kyoto Jujutsu High?
After a while, Kamihara Hajime finally spoke, "Is it to make Yuan Naiyin, or rather, the Minamoto Family behind her, join their faction?"
Gojo Satoru clapped his hands and laughed, "You guessed it!"
Gojo Satoru's smile faded as he continued, "They've taken a liking to Yuan Naiyin's talent, and the Minamoto Family main branch that has been paying attention to her. Both in terms of Jujutsu and social standing, it's a considerable asset."
"So the Minamoto Family had no choice but to agree."
Gojo Satoru sighed, "Yes, I was hoping the next batch of first-years would be a bit livelier…"
Kamihara Hajime said indifferently, "Who knows what the future holds? It's a good thing if we can wake Yuan Naiyin. Let's eat first; the beef will get tough soon."
The two chatted about other topics while enjoying the hot sukiyaki.
"Are you planning to reveal your Technique to the higher-ups and apply to become a Special Grade Sorcerer?"
Kamihara Hajime ate the tender beef and fish balls, replying, "Pretty much. I can now maintain Technique Reversal all day without actively controlling it, and I'll have access to more resources once I'm Special Grade, right?"
"The Jujutsu World isn't just made up of those traditionalists among the higher-ups. A Special Grade title should boost your reputation a bit, sensei."
Gojo Satoru laughed, scolding, "You brat, what nonsense are you thinking about all day? I'll arrange things. They'll probably just send someone to record your Technique, and your future missions will get heavier, unless you don't want any authority."
Seeing Gojo Satoru's gloating expression, Kamihara Hajime ignored him and focused on eating. Gojo Satoru soon joined him in devouring the food.
Upon returning to Jujutsu High, Kamihara Hajime saw a weary Megumi Fushiguro. Taking the hot drink Kamihara Hajime tossed him, he sat on the steps, catching his breath and replenishing his sugar and water levels.
"How was training?"
Kamihara Hajime asked, sitting beside him. Megumi Fushiguro's expression showed no discernible change as he calmly said, "It was good. Maki-senpai is very strong with weapons, and I learned a lot. At this rate, I'll soon be able to subjugate another Shikigami."
"Why don't I see Yuta Okkotsu and Inumaki?"
Only Panda and Maki were sparring on the training ground. Megumi Fushiguro looked over there and said, "Yuta Okkotsu-senpai is preparing to go abroad, and Inumaki-senpai seems to be on a mission and isn't at Jujutsu High."
Maki saw the two sitting on the steps, then stopped beating Panda, raising her wooden spear and pointing it at them: "You two, what are you slacking off for? Come over here!"
Kamihara Hajime patted Megumi Fushiguro's shoulder with a smile: "Shall we have a spar?"
Megumi Fushiguro's expression shifted slightly: "Okay."
Then the two walked onto the training ground. Hearing they were going to spar, Maki raised an eyebrow, looking ready for a show. Panda, who was on the ground, sprang up.
"Hand-to-hand combat spar, no Techniques, no Cursed Energy, just a contest of skill. Stop before anyone gets seriously hurt."
Maki stood in the middle and announced. Then both sides took up their wooden swords and assumed stances. Panda cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted loudly, "The loser buys dinner!"
Kamihara Hajime waved his hand without looking back: "No problem! Megumi will treat everyone to dinner."
His trash talk didn't distract Megumi Fushiguro in the slightest. Kamihara Hajime twirled the wooden sword in his hand, then paced around Megumi Fushiguro with a smile, his magatama earrings swaying with his movements.
Megumi Fushiguro remained perfectly defensive, facing Kamihara Hajime squarely, even though the latter was only two or three steps away.
Looking at the tightly guarded Megumi Fushiguro, Kamihara Hajime smiled: "Then I'll attack first!"
Megumi Fushiguro saw the figure in his vision suddenly blur, and he instinctively raised his sword to block the fierce gust of wind coming towards his chest.
The next moment, a huge force made his hand go numb. Megumi Fushiguro didn't even have time to breathe; the experience he had gained from Maki's training these past few days allowed him to quickly block another roundhouse kick.
"Is Genichi this fast even without using his Technique?"
Megumi Fushiguro thought, his wooden sword naturally sweeping towards the smiling figure in front of him, but the successive slashes were all dodged and parried.
Hearing a whistling sound, he turned his head and dodged, and a wooden blade passed before his eyes. Megumi Fushiguro, making a quick decision, let go of his wooden sword, then collided with Kamihara Hajime, simultaneously wrapping his hands around Kamihara Hajime's sword-wielding hand like a hunting python. With a wrap and a twist, he disarmed him.
"Oh…"
Kamihara Hajime watched Megumi Fushiguro use his unarmed combat to seize his opening, disarm him, and throw the wooden sword away. Then he hooked his foot and steadily picked up the wooden sword he had dropped on the ground.
"Now this is getting interesting."
Even without a weapon, Kamihara Hajime still initiated the attack, constantly dodging Megumi Fushiguro's sword strokes with his superior speed, then counter-attacking Megumi Fushiguro's offensives with a fluid combination of punches, kicks, finger strikes, and elbow strikes.
"I can do unarmed combat too!"
Once, seizing Megumi Fushiguro's opening and controlling his blade, Kamihara Hajime also successfully disarmed him by leveraging the limitations of his joints. But he didn't use the sword, casually tossing it aside instead.
Clenching his fists, Kamihara Hajime grinned mischievously, "Megumi, surrendering only means losing half! By the way, you've never beaten me in a fight since we were kids, have you? If you don't surrender, today I'm going to have a long-overdue bare-knuckle brawl."
Megumi Fushiguro's face darkened. How childish! Since childhood, Kamihara Hajime had suppressed all the delinquents at their school with his unknown wealth of fighting experience and a physique far stronger than his peers.
Whenever they argued, Kamihara Hajime would often get entangled with Megumi Fushiguro in a rolling-on-the-ground type of fight. But often, with Kamihara Hajime pinning Megumi Fushiguro down, and the two exchanging "Do you give up?" and "I don't give up" lines, Tsumiki would arrive and stop them, then gently persuade them until they grudgingly shook hands and apologized to each other.
Thinking of Tsumiki, Megumi Fushiguro's thoughts drifted for a moment. And in that moment of distraction, Megumi Fushiguro felt his hand being locked, and the figure close by filled his vision.
"Oh no…"
Megumi Fushiguro, tightly restrained, could only struggle in vain. The world before his eyes inverted, and then he saw Kamihara Hajime smiling upside down below his field of vision.
"Woohoo, I won!"
Lying on the ground, looking at the clouds drifting leisurely across the sky, Megumi Fushiguro showed no sign of defeat. Then he propped himself up on the sand with both hands, ready to get up.
He looked up and saw a hand extended in front of him. Following it upwards, he saw that smiling face looking at him. After a moment, he grabbed Kamihara Hajime's hand and stood up, then heard him talking to Panda.
"Let's go for sushi, that Fujiwara place…"
Megumi Fushiguro's face darkened. If he remembered correctly, that brand of sushi was super expensive. Really…
Despite his thoughts, as he watched Panda shout "Yay!" and Maki, whose eyebrows were raised in anger, ready to swing her wooden spear and chase Kamihara Hajime after whatever he said, a warm current quietly flowed through Megumi Fushiguro's heart.
"Sister, I will work hard to become stronger and wake you up…"
Afterward, the group didn't go for sushi. Instead, they got ingredients and cooked in the dorm, with Kamihara Hajime as the chef.
"What do you call this? Hotpot… isn't it just sukiyaki?"
After explaining the differences between Chinese and Japanese styles, the group could distinguish the two just by their appearance.
"Are you trying to kill us with spice?"
Maki looked at the bubbling, fiery red soup base, feeling a bit intimidated. The spicy aroma seemed to waft over with the steam.
Kamihara Hajime confidently declared, "Don't worry, it's not spicy!"
The enticing aroma still made everyone unable to resist starting. Indeed, it wasn't very spicy on the first bite. Multiple layers of flavor, wrapped with just the right amount of spiciness, exploded on their taste buds. The fresh scent of the ingredients mixed with different seasonings made it impossible for everyone to stop eating.
But it wasn't long before the situation changed. Maki's face was flushed, and she had taken off her glasses due to the steam. She exhaled and twisted open a carton of milk, taking a long drink, while glaring at Kamihara Hajime: "Didn't you say it wasn't spicy?"
Megumi Fushiguro next to her was also silently drinking milk. Panda, on the other hand, didn't react much and was happily eating, even commenting on Maki's delicate taste buds afterward.
"Uh… maybe everyone ate too fast? Or… Maki, why don't you take a break?"
Maki watched Panda finish the pot and start adding new ingredients, then silently took another sip of milk: "No need. This much… is nothing."
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Kamihara Hajime, stifling his laughter for fear of being hit, got up to grab a few cans of iced cola from the fridge. Yes, even in winter, he enjoyed iced drinks, especially at times like this; it was simply the most refreshing.
"Hmm? What are you doing in the dorm? I smelled something as I passed by."
Yaga Masamichi pushed open the door and saw the group gathered around the steaming food. Kamihara Hajime then enthusiastically greeted him: "Principal Yaga, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Come join us, I made a lot of dishes."
"Uh… I don't think so, I still have some things to do…"
"Masamichi, come eat! Genichi's cooking is too delicious!"