"Ridiculous," Kenjaku declared in a low voice after recovering from the absurdity of Jin's words.
Yet she did not pull away from him.
"Oh really? And why is that?" Jin replied, drawing her closer.
Unlike a few minutes earlier, it was now Kenjaku who was physically led by Jin.
She could have easily resisted his hold, but the idea didn't cross her mind for a single second, for reasons unknown.
However, she lifted her head toward him. The eyes once inhabited by perpetual emptiness now seemed to boil with complex emotions that Jin could not understand.
The weight of millennia was simply crushing in the gaze of the woman he held in his arms.
"I am not your Kaori," she said calmly, staring at Jin in search of the shadow of a lie.
"I don't care anymore," Jin simply replied.
"I am potentially older than your mother," Kenjaku added in an embarrassed voice.
"Age is just a number. The time spent together is far more precious than that," Jin countered, recalling TikTok sayings from his previous life.
"You could die because of my whims," Kenjaku insisted without looking away.
"Then I simply wouldn't have recognized Mount Tai standing before me, nor been strong enough to protect my partner a second time," he replied, almost gritting his teeth at the xianxia absurdity that had just escaped his mouth.
Fortunately, that sentence was enough to touch—even just a little—the calculating being in front of him.
After all, who would be mentally unbalanced enough to declare they wanted to protect Kenjaku in the jujutsu world?
Even if someone did, no one would do so while knowing her true identity or the extent of her power.
Thus, Jin's words were not wasted.
"I-I…" Kenjaku did not finish her apology, because Jin grabbed her chin to initiate a kiss.
Claud was no expert in this kind of thing, so he relied entirely on Jin's knowledge to lead the dance.
The man knew his wife's body like the back of his hand and soon guided his hands to seek out her sensitive spots.
"Ah…" Kenjaku let out a soft moan when Jin released her lips to savor the softness of her skin at the nape of her neck.
Just as Jin was about to go further:
"No… n-not here," Kenjaku declared after Jin had begun caressing her hips.
It had taken him an enormous amount of effort not to give in to temptation since his reincarnation; so how could he hold back at that moment?
If Kenjaku hadn't stopped him, Yuji would have heard some rather unholy sounds coming from the next room.
"I… I'll contact you to begin your training," she said while straightening her clothes, avoiding her husband's gaze.
An astonishingly cute attitude that a Jujutsu Kaisen fan like Claud would never have believed possible.
'I should have put a camera in the room,' he thought, swearing to himself not to repeat the mistake of forgetting to place a hidden camera.
"You won't stay with me and Yuji?" Jin asked reflexively. Yet he already knew the answer.
Even if Kenjaku had a soft spot for him, it was largely due to the influence of Kaori's body.
Jin didn't believe his talent alone would have been enough to push Kenjaku to work with him toward her goals.
The sorcerer had a plan prepared for centuries, perhaps millennia.
She surely wouldn't throw all that away for a few decades of family life—even if she liked Jin.
"No… I won't come home with you," Kenjaku replied, confirming Jin's fears.
"Hm… too bad, then I'll wait for the training," Jin replied, turning his back to his wife to leave.
Just as he was about to walk away, he heard a faint voice echo behind him.
"Kenjaku."
"Sorry?!"
"My name is Kenjaku, not Kaori."
Kenjaku sketched a mischievous smile before speaking again:
"I hope you'll take good care of me, 'darling,'" she said, emphasizing the word "darling" while winking at him.
At that moment, Jin could only think one thing: where had the shy woman he had held in his arms gone? Had he been manipulated right to the end again?
"Sigh… whatever," he muttered while going to fetch Wasuke.
Jin had decided to live fully, not just to survive all the upcoming catastrophes. For that, he had to be honest with his desires.
As for whether Kenjaku only wanted his potential, Jin no longer cared. Sooner or later, he would become the strongest—provided he had enough time.
Thus, any trick would fall before absolute power.
"Indeed, your plan will mean nothing in the face of overwhelming strength," he thought while walking.
…
"Well, she didn't go easy on you," Jin declared while observing Rasputin's swollen face.
The undertaker coughed awkwardly at his client's remark but decided to explain the reason for his urgent call.
"Your creation trashed my warehouse and cold room," he said, pointing to bodies stuck to the ceiling.
Jin had also noticed all the floating debris upon arrival, but he wanted to get an explanation from Rasputin first.
"I understand, sorry," he simply replied.
"Do you plan to pay back when?" Rasputin asked, but Jin immediately looked away at the mention of money.
"I hadn't noticed you kept your corpses in such good condition," he said, in an obvious attempt to change the subject.
Seeing this abrupt change of conversation, Rasputin felt slightly uneasy for some unknown reason.
Unfortunately for him, his instinct was right: Jin was broke.
In a very short time, he had mortgaged his house and had to repay his debt with absurd interest.
After this mini-adventure that had nearly risked his marriage, Jin had also had to invest in his equipment and pay the hospital.
He didn't have a penny left.
"Why are you looking away!!" Rasputin yelled in annoyance, but Jin continued talking about various topics without paying attention to what his interlocutor was saying.
Rasputin let out a sigh.
"Fine, I'll let it slide for now," he said after ten minutes of fruitless back-and-forth.
"Thanks, I'll bring you a few corpses on my next request," Jin replied without hiding his relief.
Rasputin ignored his client's shameless behavior before addressing the most concerning topic.
"Are you going to take her with you?" he said, pointing to a little girl taped to the wall.
(Image)
"Not yet—" Jin didn't finish his sentence, and the tea on the table floated until it reached Rasputin's face.
A short silence settled between the two men after this mini incident.
"When are you taking her?" Rasputin asked again, ignoring Jin's later words.
The message was clear to Jin: either he took this artificial cursed corpse with him, or there would be trouble.
Child or not.
"Right now," Jin replied, holding back from cursing little Nayuta.
He had never imagined he would live such a crazy day.
First Kenjaku recruiting him to sow chaos in the jujutsu world; then an angry call from a self-proclaimed girl; and finally, another debt to manage.
The poor man had had a headache since leaving his bed. Unconsciously, he wished he had never left it.
"Okay, little one, you've got a good explanation to give about all this mess," Jin declared while removing the tape from the cursed corpse's mouth.
"Daddy!!" Nayuta shouted joyfully after her mouth was freed.
"Sorry, wrong person," Jin replied reflexively
...
Author's note: this is yesterday's bonus
Another piece of information: yes, Jin is now with Kenjaku, but their relationship is currently in a toxic phase.
You can see it as a kind of power struggle, similar to Leon and Ada Wong in Resident Evil. Neither of them is willing to give up who they are for the other, yet they are genuinely interested in each other and also trying to use one another to their own advantage.