After successfully unshitting his pants, Sora went down to review the contract. It was a completely normal contract, and instead of the old man's signature, there was a stamp that read "Kyoto Nura," which Sora assumed was a company name.
He made sure to read through the contract multiple times, trying to find any way he might be getting contractually molested, but to his surprise and relief, he found none.
True to his word, the old man returned a week later, somehow waiting for Sora in his own house as if he owned the place.
"You really don't respect doors and walls, do you?" Sora sighed at the sight of the old man casually lounging on his sofa.
"Of course not, kid. That'd be boring," the old man chuckled like a madman.
"Well then? Ready to sign your soul… uh, your spirits over to us?" he asked, the slip seeming weirdly intentional. He was clearly messing with the young kid in front of him.
"Sure... it's not like I have a better way of making cash..." Sora sighed, hoping he had read the contract correctly.
"Right then, from now on, you'll call me 'Boss', kid." The old man grinned.
"I refuse," Sora stated with a completely deadpan expression. "I will either call you 'Old Creep' or use your name." He continued, his face still devoid of emotion, even though he was shitting bricks on the inside.
This old man could be a huge clue to where he was, and he was willing to take that risk.
"Creep? What do you mean by 'creep,' brat?" the old man shouted in outrage.
"Didn't you break into a house where only an eleven-year-old kid lives? Sounds like something only a creep would do," Sora shrugged, causing the old guy to sputter in a mix of outrage and disbelief.
"Fine, fine... call me Old Man Nura, if you really must." He conceded, still not revealing his true name, but at least it was something.
Unfortunately, that name yielded no good results. The only slightly relevant name that popped up was Nurarihyon, but that name was rather popular in fiction in Sora's past life, so it didn't really narrow down the possible worlds he had been sent to.
It could have just been a fake name the old man was using. Either way, Sora was no closer to figuring out where he had been transmigrated.
To make matters worse, he had forgotten many things. It had been over ten years since he was reborn, and he couldn't just look back into his old world to figure things out. He would have to properly question the old guy next time they saw each other.
Little did Sora know he would not see the old man for the next few years. For the last three years, the old man had communicated mostly through grunts and letters, which irritated Sora more than it should have.
At least the money was good, and his training was progressing well. The grunts the old man sent were at least good for that much.
In the meantime, he found a place where he could easily afford a decently large house for himself near Tokyo in a town called Kuoh. That name definitely rang a bell, but he had no idea where he had heard it.
The person who reincarnated him claimed he would send him to a world of which he only had surface knowledge, so it made sense he needed to go to the only place he actually knew existed as a piece of fiction from his old life.
Unfortunately, he would have to transfer schools, especially since all the Kuoh schools were, for some weird reason, all-girls schools. So, his new school would be in Tokyo proper.
He didn't mind, though; at least he could try some of those European restaurants.
It was time to create a bit more chaos as a goodbye "gift" to his old school. The plan was set in motion, with all morals and adult sensibilities forgotten as his first scheme came to fruition.
He had always found chemistry classes fun, even in his past life, primarily because he learned how to make shit catch on fire or explode. However, that element was sorely lacking in these very structured classes, prompting Sora to teach his classmates a few fun recipes.
Who knew that mixing three parts aluminum powder with eight parts iron oxide would produce something so exciting? Using magnesium strips to start the reaction generates thermite, a substance capable of melting train tracks.
If you leave a small box full of this with unsupervised thirteen-year-olds and some instructions, you can expect yet another visit from the fire department… and the police, too.
Thankfully, getting rid of the evidence is easy; the hard part was avoiding burning down the school in the process.
In the end, the only casualties were a few chairs, some desks, and the principal's car. Miffed about his fun being cut short, Sora left a bit of thermite on the engine of that car. Now there was a hole that went straight through it. Sweet property destruction.
Seeing that no one connected him to the entire Thermite incident, Sora escalated from things that burn to something that could potentially improve lives infinitely: drugs.
No, not meth; that's for amateurs.
Instead, he decided to focus on a substance so peculiar that most people in Japan wouldn't even recognize it as a drug. After all, who in an orderly society would suspect paint thinner to be so addictive?
Thus, good old toluene became Sora's project for the school science fair. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to have it circulate among visitors and judges, but what could he do? A few people high on what was essentially methylbenzene had never killed nobody... at least not yet it didn't.
With this last stunt, which the school quickly tried to sweep under the rug to avoid looking negligent, Sora moved away, eager to uncover some clues in the city of Kuoh.
"You really have to move, brat?" asked old Nura as Sora was packing up, his voice a mix of sadness and annoyance.
"No can do, old man. I just feel like I should be there... I don't know why, but I'll figure it out," Sora replied, a small smile tugging at his lips.
The strange old man was helpful and even nice when he wanted to be.
"Just sayin'. My boys and I won't be able to protect you there. Our territory doesn't extend that far," he warned, but there was clearly something he wasn't sharing.
Sora sighed. Over the years, he had become quite sure that the old man truly was Nurarihyon, a real yokai
Were there more yokai leaders like him in Japan? It certainly seemed like it, but no matter how many times he asked, Nurarihyon never gave him a clear answer.
"Look, young man..." Nurarihyon said, for the first time speaking completely seriously. "The world, this world, is much bigger than you imagine. To understand it, you need to figure it out on your own... just know that the safety net won't be there anymore after you move away." He explained, but his words weren't very helpful to Sora.
"You mean like... strong people? Evil people? Not-even-people-but-kinda-people?" Sora asked, trying to salvage at least some information.
"Hufufufu... Yes, Sora. Yes to all of that," he chuckled, still clearly withholding vital information.
"You're not being very helpful..." Sora muttered. "I guess I'll have to be prepared for anything, from weird yokai to alien invasions..." He conceded that Nurarihyon wouldn't say more, mostly for his own amusement in watching Sora fumble through the world.
"If you know nothing, you'll cause so much unintentional chaos. Especially once they all notice you... You've grown pretty strong, kid," Nurarihyon admitted, his wicked grin fading again.
"I'm actually not sure I could win if you knew about my tricks, you know. That hurts my pride a little." The old man said with a hint of a grin, half proud and half annoyed. "Just take at least some things seriously out there, and you'll be fine." That was the last piece of advice Sora received.
"I always take things seriously..." Sora grumbled under his breath, causing Nurarihyon to laugh uncontrollably.
"Really, now? I've seen what you did in that school of yours. Funny, definitely... But nowhere near serious," he said amid his laughter, making Sora pout.
"You burned so much weed you completely hotboxed the toilets, getting a good portion of the male population there high. From what I've heard, it was impossible to see your own outstretched arm," Nurarihyon reminded him.
"That was once..." Sora countered quietly.
"How about when you used the large compass as a javelin and the blackboard as a target? Or the time you somehow managed to take a shit directly into the principal's document drawer? Or when you completely covered your teacher's new Ford with pizza slices while yelling: 'Hocus Pocus, there's Pizza on your Focus?' Or maybe... the time you smuggled your homemade booze into the staff room and got half of the teachers drunk?" Nurarihyon counted on his fingers, clearly prepared to share more, but Sora stopped him.
"Alright, fine, fine. I might have a problem with staying serious..." He admitted with a childish pout. "I'm still just fourteen... no need to get serious just yet," Sora grumbled under his breath, displeased at the very thought of having to be serious for long periods of time.
"Being silly is fun…"
The process of moving was surprisingly quick. The worst part was dismantling his basement distillery and ensuring it arrived at the new address safely. The new house was larger and, for some inexplicable reason, cheaper than the one Sora sold in Kyoto.
Over the next week, he settled in, familiarizing himself with the surroundings and, at first, not finding anything too strange.
Maybe Nurarihyon was just being paranoid, and there was no real danger at all.
However, his peace didn't last long. Sora was returning home from one of his outings around the city; the sky was already dark, so he decided to take a shortcut through an old factory area.
These places were usually quiet, and most people tended to avoid them. As he walked casually through the dimly lit area, he had no worries until a loud crash suddenly broke the silence, sounding as if a car had just smashed against a wall.
He stopped, realizing he wasn't even close to the road, and his instincts screamed at him to dodge.
Just as he leaped to the side, a large boulder landed where he had been standing, heavy enough to crush a truck.
Sora looked around, ready to confront whatever he had stumbled upon.
"What's that? A brat that actually dodged?" a rough and raspy voice cut through the night. The voice was about as pleasant as sandpaper used to wipe one's ass.
Sora was undeterred, and shot back an insult. "Horrible Batman voice impression aside, what in the mother of Mc'Lovin' fuck are you?" he asked, hoping the attacker would reveal himself.
Whoever it was clearly possessed great physical strength, as indicated by the massive stone.
The silence deepened, the attacker seemingly unable to appreciate such a basic reference. Another attack came Sora's way, this time a direct melee assault, as a truly massive club struck the ground, cracking the concrete as if it were cheap plywood.
"Little brat dodged Aragami's attack again," the voice said, still raspier than the author's after a metal concert. (No, seriously, RIP my voice.)
Finally, Sora got a good look at the attacker: a large man with a mix of red and pitch-black skin, sporting a single horn on the side of his head.
"Oni? Aww, I was hoping for an Ogre... I've always liked Shrek way more than you guys," Sora mocked, not bothering to take the situation seriously. This Oni was nowhere near as fast as Nurarihyon.
"But let's dance. I haven't had a chance to fight anyone strong in years." He grinned, settling into a relaxed fighting stance, his hand outstretched and already conjuring bubbles at a rapid pace.
"You know... Inside everyone, there are two kidneys, and I'm going to take one," Sora taunted as the bubble passed through the Oni's body, seemingly without effect. The Oni didn't even bother trying to dodge it, too.
"Puny human..." the Oni growled, beginning to approach without a hint of hesitation.
He swung his club wildly, but Sora summoned a bubble shield around himself, which absorbed the attack.
Sora made the shield pop itself only moment after the weapon connected with it, causing a violent crack. The resulting invisible explosion warped and distorted the Oni's club until it completely disintegrated, making him take a step back, both confused and enraged.
Sora decided to distance himself from his opponent, thinking it would at least give him a chance to test his bubbles on a 'willing' subject.
The Oni steadied himself, ready to charge again, but Sora already held the bubble containing the kidney he had stolen. Casually, he reached inside the bubble and squeezed the kidney, causing the Oni to double over.
"Hmm, so whatever I steal is still connected to the original owner. Even the sensation transfers..." Sora pondered, squeezing it again experimentally.
"What?! Puny human! Me... Aramaki strong. Aramaki killed the weak master. Aramaki is the strongest there is!" the Oni yelled, struggling to talk coherently his thoughts.
Whatever he was high on was clearly muddling his mind. Sora suspected it was some form of magical meth. Though for someone this large to get high... that would be a truly impressive fuckton of meth. He wondered if supernatural beings could even get high.
Many important questions like that raced through Sora's mind, but he was distracted long enough to miss Aramaki standing up and charging at him.
"Oh yeah. This is still happening..." Sora sighed and punched the stolen kidney.
"Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself?" he asked, delivering another kidney shot with each question.
"It's you who's hitting me..." came the pained voice of the large Oni.
"Not really, man. You brought this on yourself," Sora shrugged. "Now, are we done? I just want some questions answered." But the Oni was already fleeing the scene by the time Sora stopped talking.
"A hunter! A hunter is after Aramaki!" the Oni cried out as he ran, more or less chanting to himself as he escaped.
"Ugh, really? Not even with his own kidney as a hostage..." Sora sighed as he watched his opponent flee. "Is everyone deathly allergic to explaining anything to me?" He sighed with defeat.
The Oni had attacked Sora for merely walking the streets; who knows what would have happened if he had targeted someone else?
"Whatever… this one is actually malicious, so let's see..." Sora shot a single bubble at the retreating giant, observing the effect.
The bubbles connected, tearing the Oni apart with their invisible spinning explosion, leaving no trace of his body behind.
The only thing left was the stolen kidney. With no place to return to, it was now to stay wherever Sora would leave it.
"Great... I don't think eating it is a good idea either," Sora grumbled.
But now he had a goal: there might be more people like Amegaki or whatever his name was. Maybe some of them would rather talk than try to kill him.
At least it seemed his power truly was no joke. That old man Nurarihyon was clearly in a different league compared to this Oni.
"I guess I should get rid of this, too," Sora said, absentmindedly disintegrating the last remaining part of Aramaki. He still had to get home; this world's version of One Piece was publishing a new chapter, and he wanted to read it.
Over the next few weeks, Sora trained and honed his physical body. His bubbles were powerful, but it wouldn't matter if his head was ripped off before he could react.
The biggest bottleneck was his young body. Even with all the knowledge from his past life, he barely figured out that he could enhance himself using what Nurarihyon described as life force.
It was a bitch to learn, though. He only figured it out after enduring torturous physical training from one of Nurarihyon's underlings. It was absolutely worth it, though. His reaction time skyrocketed, and so did his speed and strenght.
Sora still had no idea why everyone thought it was such a big deal that he could use it.
Despite the enhancement, he struggled to lift a boulder as large as the one Aramaki threw at him. Throwing it so casually was completely out of the question.
After another tiring training session, Sora finally committed to training all the time, not just on and off like before.
He had hoped his bubbles could carry him for quite a while, but it seemed he was mistaken.
"Watch out, world. I'm activating the Dao of Profound Shitpost," he grinned, cheering quietly for himself as he walked home.
His progress was fast, at least he hoped it was.