Chapter 42: The Boy Named Junpei
Kanagawa Prefecture, Kawasaki City.
A thin drizzle fell from the overcast sky, veiling the old city streets in a damp gray haze.
Yami walked alone beneath a black umbrella, moving through the tangled alleyways with unhurried steps. He had left his guitar case in a station locker nearby. Wrapped in black cloth, Shiranui now hung at his waist. It was still conspicuous, but in a chaotic neighborhood like this, a stranger carrying a sword often invited less trouble than one might expect.
"The filth ends here."
He stopped at the mouth of a narrow dead end alley where rainwater had pooled into a shallow black mirror. Most of the traces had already been washed away by the rain, but not the smell. That unique stench still clung to the air, clear as a brand to his sharpened senses.
Then his ears twitched.
From another alley two blocks away came the muffled sounds of impact, followed by a boy's suppressed cry of pain.
Yami recognized that sound immediately.
Bullying.
Deep in a dim, narrow alley, Junpei Yoshino lay hunched in the muddy water.
His school uniform was smeared with dirt and stamped over with footprints. Several boys in the same uniform surrounded him like a pack of dogs. At their center stood a blond delinquent, a cigarette butt burning between his fingers, rain hissing softly against the ember.
"Hey, Junpei," the blond boy said with a sneer, crouching slightly to look him in the eye. "I don't like the way you're looking at me today."
He lowered the cigarette until it hovered near Junpei's face.
"What? Still thinking about your mom? The one who only knows how to cook?"
The boy's grin widened.
"How about I head to your place right now and let her have a taste of this too?"
"Stop…"
Junpei gritted his teeth so hard his jaw trembled. His eyes were bloodshot, his body shaking from equal parts pain and rage.
Humiliation.
Hatred.
Despair.
The dark emotions rotted inside him, expanding until they threatened to split him apart from within.
If only he had a little more strength.
Just a little.
He would kill them.
He would absolutely kill every one of these bastards.
"Oh?" The blond boy caught the murderous glint in Junpei's eyes and only laughed harder. "You wanna kill me?"
Instead of fear, excitement lit up his face. He drove his foot hard into Junpei's stomach.
"Then do it, trash!"
Junpei's body arched violently. A choked gasp tore from his throat as his stomach twisted in pain.
The blond boy lifted his leg again, ready to stomp him harder.
Then footsteps sounded from the mouth of the alley.
Slow.
Steady.
Unhurried.
It was such a small sound, yet it somehow cut through the rain and silenced the alley in an instant.
The blond boy paused and turned around instinctively.
A boy stood at the entrance, holding a black umbrella.
Black hair. Red eyes. Strange flower patterned earrings swaying faintly in the rain.
He did nothing.
He merely stood there.
And yet the temperature in the alley seemed to plummet.
"Get lost."
Yami did not draw his sword. He did not even spare them a proper glance.
Just one sentence.
But the pressure behind those words carried the killing intent of a man who had cut down countless abominations. It swept through the alley like the arrival of winter itself.
The blond delinquent's legs started shaking on the spot.
In his eyes, the boy standing there was no longer human. Behind him, it was as if a blazing sun had risen in the rain, fierce enough to burn their souls to ash.
"M monster!"
He stumbled backward in terror.
The others broke even faster. Screaming, tripping over one another, they scrambled out of the alley without daring to look back.
In seconds, the place was empty.
Only the sound of rain remained, drumming softly against puddles and concrete.
Junpei forced himself to lift his head.
He stared at the figure standing in the dim light, backlit by the rain beyond the alley.
"Who… are you?"
Yami folded the umbrella and stepped toward him. Then he extended a hand.
"Tokyo Jujutsu High," he said. "Yami."
Junpei looked at that clean, slender hand, then instinctively curled his own muddy fingers inward.
"I'm dirty…"
"They're the dirty ones. Not you."
Yami did not withdraw his hand. Instead, he caught Junpei by the wrist and pulled him to his feet.
Warmth spread from that grip.
Junpei's cold body trembled slightly.
Ten minutes later, the two of them sat across from each other inside a ramen shop called Ichibanboshi.
Steam rose from two bowls of tonkotsu ramen set between them. Rain streaked down the windows, blurring the street outside into a watercolor smear of gray.
Junpei kept his head lowered as he ate.
He devoured the noodles in large mouthfuls, like someone who had forgotten what it felt like to sit somewhere warm. The hot broth slid down his throat and settled in his stomach, driving out the chill from his body, though not the heaviness in his chest.
After finishing the last bite, he finally looked up.
"Why did you save me?"
His voice was quiet, but it carried an edge of disbelief.
"We don't know each other."
Yami set his chopsticks down and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.
"I know enough."
Junpei stared at him, confused.
"Why?"
Yami glanced out at the rainy street beyond the glass.
"Because life is heavy."
His voice was calm, but it carried an unmistakable certainty.
"No matter how small a life is, it shouldn't be trampled on."
Junpei's fingers clenched in his lap.
"But they're alive too," he said bitterly. "So why can they treat other people like that?"
"Because they haven't met me yet."
Yami turned back and looked directly into Junpei's eyes.
For a moment, Junpei forgot to breathe.
Those red eyes were clear. Not cold, not empty. Just steady. As if they could see everything festering inside him and still remain calm.
"If the law can't punish them," Yami said, "then I will."
Junpei's breath hitched.
"But Junpei," Yami continued, his tone sharpening slightly, "don't let hatred swallow you."
"If you cross that line, you won't be any different from them."
Junpei froze.
Something about those words cut straight through the noise in his mind. The restlessness, the anger, the fantasies of revenge that had been swelling inside him all day, all at once, seemed to lose their shape.
It felt strange.
Like standing in winter sunlight.
He lowered his head slightly.
"Yami… kun," he murmured, as if trying the name out.
Then Yami suddenly rose from his seat.
His gaze snapped toward the window, and in an instant, every trace of warmth left his expression.
Junpei felt it too late. The shift in the atmosphere. Something had changed.
"What's wrong?" he asked instinctively.
Yami picked up the sword from beside the table and left a few bills under the bowl.
"Something that likes playing with souls followed us."
Junpei stared blankly at him.
Yami gave him a small, almost reassuring smile.
"Stay here. Don't move."
He glanced at the bowl in front of Junpei.
"Your ramen will get cold."
Then he turned and walked out into the rain.
Through the rain streaked glass, Junpei watched his figure disappear around the corner.
In the shadows just beyond the shop, a blue haired youth leaned lazily against the wall.
Stitches ran across his face like a mockery of craftsmanship. His smile was light, amused, almost childlike, and wholly wrong.
Mahito.
He glanced first toward the direction Yami had gone, then toward Junpei inside the shop, and let out a soft laugh.
"Oh?"
He licked his lips.
"I thought I'd only found an ordinary little toy. But it turns out I drew out something interesting."
His eyes gleamed with greedy curiosity.
"That red soul looks delicious."
Outside, the rain began to fall harder.
Somewhere in the maze of alleys ahead, hunter and prey were about to meet for the first time.
And this time, Mahito was no longer the only one doing the hunting.
.....
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