June 21st to June 22nd marked the Geshi (Summer Solstice), one of the twenty-four solar terms.
As soon as the Geshi arrived, the Kanto region of Japan was struck by a severe drought.
Several cities in the upper reaches of the Tone River had received no rainfall since the beginning of June, causing reservoir levels to steadily decline. The Japanese government was forced to introduce water restrictions. Soon afterward, soaring temperatures drove electricity consumption to unprecedented levels, prompting the government to implement rolling power restrictions. Public frustration mounted even further, giving rise to cursed spirits born from fears and grievances surrounding "drought," "water shortages," and "air conditioners."
Typhoons, earthquakes, droughts...
Natural disasters that the Japanese people had long grown accustomed to struck with unusual frequency that summer, affecting vast numbers of people. Ordinarily, such disasters would have had little to do with the jujutsu world.
The problem was that the resentment they generated created far too many cursed spirits.
From Special Grade sorcerer Getou Suguru and Semi-Special Grade sorcerer Gojo Satoru, all the way down to first-year students Nanami Kento, Haibara Yu, and Zen'in Naoya, everyone had to work. Ieiri Shoko, the jujutsu society's one and only healer, was pushed even harder than the rest, her eyes bloodshot from exhaustion.
Ever since late May, cursed spirits had been erupting across Japan one after another.
By June, the situation had reached a new peak.
The students of Tokyo Jujutsu High had already been working overtime for an entire month.
When Zen'in Naoya learned that the mission load not only hadn't eased but was showing signs of becoming even heavier, he exploded in irritation.
He was the pampered young master of one of the Three Great Clans!
When had he ever been treated like a workhorse?!
"Hey, let's take a leave of absence."
On the drive back from their latest mission, Zen'in Naoya sprawled comfortably in the front passenger seat, convinced he had earned the right to rest after doing most of the fighting.
Asou Akiya pretended not to hear him.
Whenever they worked together to exorcise cursed spirits, Asou Akiya was responsible for clearing out the weaker ones and erecting the Curtain. Only when they encountered a cursed spirit suitable for gaining experience would he ask Zen'in Naoya to hold it in check for him.
Over time, Asou Akiya had come to appreciate just how useful Projection Sorcery truly was.
With the two of them working together, they could even retreat safely if they encountered a particularly formidable Grade 1 cursed spirit.
"Come on, Akiya-kun! Stop playing dumb. I don't want to keep exorcising low-grade cursed spirits anymore," Zen'in Naoya complained, thoroughly dissatisfied with Tokyo Jujutsu High's mission assignments. "They're not improving my strength at all."
Grade 2 and Semi-Grade 2 sorcerers occupied an awkward position.
Above them were missions involving Semi-Grade 1 and Grade 1 cursed spirits. Thanks to the wide variety of cursed techniques, a sorcerer's chances of victory often depended on compatibility—there was no guarantee that their technique would counter the enemy's.
Below them were Grade 2 cursed spirits without innate techniques, along with Grade 3 and Grade 4 cursed spirits.
Nothing but cannon fodder.
Zen'in Naoya had already passed the stage of grinding weak enemies during his training at the Zen'in clan.
"I know you're using these low-grade cursed spirits to gain combat experience," Zen'in Naoya said, his gaze drifting toward the Special Grade cursed tool Split Soul Katana at Asou Akiya's waist.
His teeth practically ached at the sight. Using a Special Grade cursed tool against Grade 2 cursed spirits?
"Doesn't Suguru-kun already have an entire stockpile of cursed spirits? You're close with him, so why not have him train you with those instead?"
Finally worn down by the constant nagging, Asou Akiya replied, "Suguru can train my resistance to cursed spirits, but he can't cultivate my fighting spirit against them. The will to fight can only be forged through real battles on actual missions."
"Then let's only accept missions involving Semi-Grade 1 cursed spirits." Zen'in Naoya spoke as though it were the simplest thing in the world.
"Impossible."
At this stage, no student had the luxury of picking and choosing missions.
Even Gojo Satoru didn't.
From the flood of photos sent to everyone, Asou Akiya could tell that even he spent a great deal of time clearing out cannon fodder.
"Nothing is impossible." Zen'in Naoya smirked. "We're members of the Three Great Clans."
He had always been exceptionally good at using his status to his advantage—especially when it came to exercising privilege.
"If Tokyo Jujutsu High wants to keep me here, they'll have to assign me the missions I want. They'd never willingly let me return to the Zen'in clan."
Asou Akiya knew Naoya was right.
Threatening Tokyo Jujutsu High would be effective.
But the person he'd be threatening would inevitably be the Vice Principal, Yaga Masamichi!
Feeling sorry for Yaga-sensei, Asou Akiya swallowed half of what he wanted to say before answering instead,
"You actually trust the Window's assessments? They've been worked so hard they're practically getting mouth ulcers. They've misjudged cursed spirits' strength more than once or twice already. For all we know, by the time we arrive at the mission site, that Semi-Grade 1 cursed spirit could have turned into a Grade 1—or even a Special Grade."
Asou Akiya tried to reason with him. "If Jujutsu Headquarters really wants to make things difficult for us, then doing that would be the same as jumping into the fire ourselves."
Zen'in Naoya frowned, his finely shaped brows knitting together.
"Those people at Headquarters don't know the first thing about fighting, but they're experts at scheming and making life difficult for others..."
He folded his arms, frustration written all over his face.
"So even you don't have a solution?"
"As things stand, just accept it this year. The only way to take it easy is to accept missions around our own level and avoid long-distance assignments"
Asou Akiya firmly cut off any thoughts Naoya had of shirking his duties, "I can't get out of it, and I'm not letting you get out of it either."
Zen'in Naoya had seen so many cursed spirits that he was sick of looking at them. He desperately needed the sight of beautiful maids to cleanse his eyes. His shoulders slumped in defeat.
"In previous summers, I could just stay home and relax..."
"That was before."
As they talked, they returned to Tokyo Jujutsu High.
The boys' dormitory was eerily quiet. Nanami Kento and Haibara Yu were still out on assignments, while Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru had been running from mission to mission, rarely returning to spend the night.
Zen'in Naoya thought he could finally go back to his room and rest.
Instead, he heard Asou Akiya say, "You've got fifteen minutes. We're heading out afterward."
"What mission is it this time?!" Zen'in Naoya exploded.
Glancing at his phone, Asou Akiya enunciated each word. "We're picking up a kid."
Zen'in Naoya: "..."
Ten minutes later, Asou Akiya had taken a quick shower and changed into clean clothes.
The sound of something boiling in the kitchen made him hurry over. He poured the freshly brewed milk tea into a heat-resistant bottle before rushing it to Gojo Satoru's room.
None of their rooms had the air conditioning turned off. That way, anyone returning to campus after a mission could immediately get some proper rest.
Five minutes later, Asou Akiya went to Zen'in Naoya's room and knocked on the door.
Zen'in Naoya pretended to be dead.
Sensing the cursed energy through the door, Asou Akiya confirmed that Naoya genuinely had no intention of moving.
"I'll let you off this time. But if you pull this again, I'll just open your door myself."
After hearing Asou Akiya's footsteps fade away, Zen'in Naoya let out a long sigh of relief and sprawled across his bed in the shape of a starfish.
"Picking up kids, raising kids... isn't that women's work?"
"A man should be doing a man's job!"
Completely devoid of any sense of responsibility, Zen'in Naoya promptly threw the matter of raising Fushiguro Megumi to the back of his mind.
When Asou Akiya arrived at Hanaboshi Kindergarten to pick up Fushiguro Megumi, most of the other parents had already come and gone.
Megumi was always among the last children to leave the kindergarten.
He was so quiet and well-behaved that it made Asou Akiya uneasy.
Seeing that it was Akiya who picks him up again, Megumi instinctively asked, "Where's Uncle Naoya?"
Smiling, Asou Akiya refrained from saying anything bad about him.
"He's tired from work and is resting at school. He'll come pick you up next time."
Megumi believed him and obediently held out his hand.
Asou Akiya naturally took the child's hand and slung Megumi's schoolbag over his own shoulder.
"I'll carry it."
The walk home wasn't long.
Before long, they arrived back at the house. Asou Akiya opened the refrigerator and found it stocked with fresh vegetables and meat, proof that the housekeeper hadn't been slacking off and had been buying fresh ingredients for them.
"We're out of fruit. I'll have Naoya bring some over tomorrow."
He looked at Megumi and asked, "What kind of fruit do you like?"
Standing on a little cat-shaped step stool, Megumi washed his hands and answered,
"I'll eat anything."
Asou Akiya thought for a moment. "You don't like fruit that's too sweet. Next time I come across some good local specialties, I'll bring them back for you."
Megumi's little face flushed red.
His picky eating had been found out.
Asou Akiya prepared dinner for the two of them and was enjoying a rare moment of downtime when a new mission notification arrived from Yaga-sensei.
That evening, he and Zen'in Naoya were to head to a rural area on the outskirts of Yokohama to exorcise a Grade 3 cursed spirit born from a local landslide. If all went as expected, they would be back the following morning.
A Grade 3 cursed spirit...
Even if you try to overestimate it, it wasn't anything particularly dangerous.
Looking at Megumi, Asou Akiya asked worriedly, "I won't be able to stay with you tonight. Are you afraid of the dark if you're by yourself?"
Megumi shook his head. "I'm not."
Asou Akiya smiled slyly. "Naoya and I are about to head to Yokohama. My hometown is there. Would you like to come out with us for a little trip? Megumi, do you want to see what our work looks like?"
Fushiguro Megumi's eyes lit up.
This world had monsters called cursed spirits, and his two uncles were the people who fought those monsters.
Asou Akiya encouraged him gently. "Go ahead. Tell me what you're thinking."
Megumi answered in a tiny voice. "I do."
He wanted to.
Very much.
The moment Zen'in Naoya climbed into the company car, he spotted the little sea urchin-haired boy in the back seat, hugging a pillow.
"Why is this brat here?!"
Asou Akiya replied matter-of-factly, "Business trip."
Sitting upright with both hands neatly resting on his knees, Megumi imitated the posture of an adult. "Field trip."
Zen'in Naoya stared at Asou Akiya in disbelief. "He's only three years old, and you're taking him to exorcise cursed spirits?"
"Of course not." Asou Akiya explained, "He's just coming along for the outing. You'll be responsible for keeping him safe."
"...You really trust me too much." Zen'in Naoya's expression twisted.
This was the Ten Shadows Technique User!
Did he have any idea what the Ten Shadows Technique meant to the Zen'in clan? What it was worth?
Over in the neighboring Gojo clan, a child born with the Six Eyes had been protected from the moment of birth. The entire clan had guarded that one child, terrified he might come to harm while he was still young. Until seven-year-old Satoru was finally brought before the clan assembly, no one outside the immediate family even knew what he looked like.
And now, by comparison, Fushiguro Megumi didn't even have a Grade 1 sorcerer guarding him.
For the first time, Zen'in Naoya felt as though the Zen'in clan had utterly lost to the Gojo clan.
Asou Akiya misunderstood what he meant. "Don't worry. Thanks to Toji's upbringing, Megumi's socialization is actually quite good."
Zen'in Naoya bristled. "I wasn't worried about that!"
That night, Fushiguro Megumi sat pressed against the car window, his eyes shining with excitement.
Zen'in Naoya, meanwhile, couldn't relax for a single moment. He kept part of his attention fixed on Megumi the entire time, terrified that some Special Grade cursed spirit might suddenly appear out of the darkness and swallow the Ten Shadows whole.
Fushiguro Megumi couldn't be crippled, and he couldn't die, otherwise he would be implicated!
Asou Akiya drove while Zen'in Naoya protected Megumi.
Asou Akiya looked after the child while Zen'in Naoya went out to exorcise the Grade 3 cursed spirit.
Afterward, Asou Akiya found them a room at a countryside inn—a traditional Japanese room with tatami flooring. The three of them spread out their futons on the floor, with Megumi sleeping in the middle, clutching his little blanket tightly in both arms, completely at ease.
As an added bonus, he served as a buffer between Asou Akiya and Zen'in Naoya, who were forever butting heads.
Thanks to the constant fear that something might happen to the Ten Shadows, Zen'in Naoya didn't sleep a wink all night.
"...God damn it."
If Fushiguro Megumi had actually been his own son, he would have accepted it.
The problem was that they were uncle and nephew—and there was still the issue of inheritance between them!
He just couldn't swallow his resentment.
Toji!
How the hell did you end up falling for some woman outside the Zen'in clan?!
And Dad!
This is all your fault!
If only the technique he'd inherited had been the Ten Shadows Technique instead of Projection Sorcery!
The next morning, Zen'in Naoya watched Asou Akiya help Megumi get dressed, his heart full of resentment.
This bastard took impeccable care of every aspect of the kid's daily life, yet he'd never so much as leave Naoya an extra bite of food for free!
Zen'in Naoya spat out the most vicious curse he could think of.
"Akiya-kun, you're so good at taking care of kids... Don't tell me you were the carefully raised legitimate daughter of some prestigious family in your previous life?"
Megumi couldn't understand what he meant and looked at Zen'in Naoya with innocent confusion, puzzled by the malice written all over his face.
Asou Akiya's expression didn't change in the slightest. "My previous life? I was definitely a man. But I can't say the same for you."
Zen'in Naoya shot to his feet. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Asou Akiya smiled gently as he delivered the killing blow. "Naoya, if you don't know something, get out more and ask around. Your face looks more like a girl's."
Zen'in Naoya had been called weak, he had been called arrogant, and he had been criticized for being extravagant and spoiled, but in his entire life, no one had ever implied he looked effeminate.
His mind went completely blank.
Standing in an utterly unfamiliar realm of comprehension, he pointed at Asou Akiya with a trembling finger, unable to get a word out.
Asou Akiya lightly patted the back of Megumi's head.
"Come on. Don't pick up the way your Naoya-ojisan talks."
Megumi earnestly asked, "Akiya-ojisan... does my face look like a girl's too?"
He looked slightly confused.
"Some of the kids in my class say my name sounds like a girl's name."
Asou Akiya reassured him, "Don't worry. You take after your father, and your dad was an exceptionally handsome man."
One adult and one child headed off to check out of the inn, leaving Zen'in Naoya standing there as though he'd just exploded on the spot.
"I do not look like a girl!"
After their brief trip together, Asou Akiya and Fushiguro Megumi grew even closer.
Spending time together and communicating with each other was one of the best ways to deepen a relationship.
Throughout the trip, Zen'in Naoya had also served admirably as the perfect negative example.
As they drove through downtown Yokohama, Asou Akiya spotted advertisements around the city and recalled what had happened the previous year.
"The Yokohama Summer Festival is coming up again..."
He got out of the car and bought some local specialties.
Afterward, he handed the driver's seat over to Zen'in Naoya while he lowered his head to browse his phone, a smile gradually spreading across his face.
Photos kept appearing in the group chat shared by the four classmates.
Everyone was busy, but they still remembered to share snapshots from their missions.
Gojo Satoru, in particular, posted so frequently that he practically flooded the chat.
Asou Akiya took a photo of bustling downtown Yokohama and sent it to the group.
—+—
[Tokyo Jujutsu High Same-Year Quartet]
[Asou Akiya: Everything's going well. I picked up some Yokohama specialties for everyone, so don't forget to come see me and claim yours~]
[Getou Suguru: You're on a business trip? How does it feel to be back in your hometown?]
[Asou Akiya: Same as always. I don't feel much of anything.]
[Ieiri Shoko: Is Zen'in-kouhai behaving himself?]
[Asou Akiya: I'll show you a picture. He's our driver at the moment... though he's wearing a face like thunder.]
[Ieiri Shoko: Hahaha.]
[Gojo Satoru: I'll head back and find you in a bit. I haven't run into any of you lately. This sucks.]
[Ieiri Shoko: What about Getou? When are you coming back?]
[Getou Suguru: Soon! I'm doing my best!]
—+—
At one mission site, Getou Suguru had Playful Cloud tucked under one arm as he furiously typed away on his phone, determined to make it back as soon as possible. For the moment, he abandoned close-quarters combat and directed his cursed spirits to fight other cursed spirits instead. The area around him bore the scars of the battle he had already fought.
At another mission site, Gojo Satoru relentlessly blasted cursed spirits with alternating Blue and Red.
Since Hollow Purple was far too destructive, he had never used it outside.
It remained his trump card.
Only when he encountered unfortunate minors would he finally slow down.
Whenever he did, the supervising assistant—who had gone from astonishment to taking it completely in stride—used the opportunity to clean up the scene while carefully recording every one of Gojo Satoru's actions in the mission report.
For the first time, they felt that Gojo was finally starting to resemble a normal jujutsu sorcerer.
Gojo Satoru crouched in front of a middle school student who couldn't stop sobbing.
He appeared approachable.
In reality, he was perfectly calm.
He gazed at the ordinary child whose family had been wiped out.
He couldn't empathize with the child, nor could he understand familial love.
Using the Six Eyes, Gojo Satoru estimated the child's age.
Male, about thirteen or fourteen years old.
He rested a hand on the boy's head.
Strangely enough, the boy cried even harder.
He wasn't afraid of Gojo Satoru at all.
Yet even after standing on the brink of death, he hadn't awakened cursed energy.
Remembering that Asou Akiya would soon be back from his business trip—and had even brought local specialties for everyone—Gojo Satoru found himself in the mood to say a little more.
"I've got a friend who went through something similar to what you did."
"He told me that, back then, all he wanted was a little comfort, but no one gave it to him. So he hoped I'd treat every kid under fourteen the way I'd treat him."
"I'm loyal to my friends."
"So I agreed."
"When you've cried enough, wipe away your tears... and find a new direction to start over."
"Life and death are decided by fate. If you've survived, then you've already been fortunate."
The boy's sobs gradually subsided.
Through eyes blurred with tears, he could no longer make out the sun.
The white-haired youth before him, radiant and self-assured, seemed like a second sun rising after heaven and earth had collapsed, driving away the cold darkness.
"Big brother..."
"What... was that thing?"
It was the question Asou Akiya had never been able to ask.
The question he had never received an answer to.
Gojo Satoru answered it in his place.
"It was the malice born from the human heart."
The cursed spirits that came from ordinary people.
Gojo Satoru didn't hate ordinary people, he was simply stating a fact.
...
Akiya, you've saddled me with this troublesome side quest, and I've completed it pretty well.
To keep things fair, hurry up and dump one on Suguru too!