"Hear the latest? The transfer student joining us today," Panda said, leaning in to share a bit of gossip with Toge and Maki. "Word is, he 'stuffed' four of his classmates into lockers."
The three were walking side-by-side. Maki, in the middle, adjusted the strap of the newly acquired katana cursed tool on her back. She arched an eyebrow. "Did he kill them?"
"Mayonnaise," Toge Inumaki muttered with his hands behind his back, posing an enigmatic question.
"No, just severely injured, apparently," Panda replied.
"Doesn't matter. If he acts out, I'll beat him into submission," Maki said. She had zero patience for those who bullied their classmates. "Speaking of which, we haven't seen Gojo-sensei in a while."
"Bonito flakes." Toge's cryptic food-code was something only Panda, a fellow "oddity," could truly decipher.
"True, true. That's why Hasegumo-sensei is covering the classes for a while."
"I assume you all know who I am by now."
Standing behind the lectern, Hasegumo felt quite at home. He pushed up his glasses—his chosen symbol of 'intellectualism' for the day—and cleared his throat. "But, for formalities' sake, let's do a self-introduction."
"Special Grade Sorcerer, Hasegumo. Hobbies: Cola and martial arts."
"Specialties: Basic cursed energy manipulation and taijutsu."
"My dream: To reach the absolute peak of martial arts."
...
"Gumo-sensei!" Panda was the first to raise a paw. "It's okay to call you that, right?"
"Of course."
"Aren't you already the 'Strongest Sorcerer'?" Panda continued. "Doesn't that mean you've already achieved your dream?"
"Not even close." Hasegumo offered a small smile. "First, you have to understand that martial arts and jujutsu are not the same thing. Furthermore, being 'the strongest' doesn't mean you've reached the 'peak.' In both martial arts and jujutsu, there are no limits."
"Where's Gojo-sensei?" Maki asked, her hand raised. Having witnessed the battle between Hasegumo and Satoru, she was actually looking forward to being taught by a close-quarters specialist like Hasegumo, but she was curious about Satoru's whereabouts.
"Supposedly there's been a spike in Special Grade incidents over in Hawaii, so he's on an overseas assignment for a bit."
"Questions later," Hasegumo said, clapping his hands together. "Let's introduce our new transfer student. Give him a warm welcome, everyone."
A smattering of half-hearted applause followed. Only Panda, feeling a bit guilty for gossiping earlier, tried to keep a rhythm going, but he stopped once he noticed the other two weren't participating.
"I heard he was a 'troubled youth,'" Maki said, resting her chin on her left hand while her right hand draped over her knee, idly swinging one leg. "I'm not in the mood to roll out the red carpet for someone like that."
"Eh? Where'd you hear that?" Hasegumo narrowed his eyes at Panda. Who else could possibly get intel from Principal Yaga? "Panda, have you been spreading rumors?"
"Uh..." Caught red-handed, Panda immediately feigned ignorance, rolling his eyes upward to look as harmless and "ordinary" as possible.
"Well, it doesn't matter. You'll get along once you spend some time together. I think he'll fit in perfectly with you lot," Hasegumo said, turning toward the door. "Come on in."
...
The atmosphere in there feels freezing...
Yuta Okkotsu, who had been waiting outside, felt his social anxiety peaking. After several rounds of self-encouragement, he finally steeled his resolve and turned the doorknob.
As Yuta stepped into the classroom, each footfall felt like a heavy mallet striking the hearts of the three students. Step. Step.
The sheer volume of cursed energy leaking from him, combined with the presence of the cursed spirit, Rika Orimoto, looming behind him, caused the three inexperienced sorcerers to instinctively reach for their weapons.
"My name is Yuta Okkotsu..." Yuta's eyes widened as he saw a long blade buried deep into the chalkboard right next to his head.
"Is this some kind of test?" Maki growled, her hands tight on the hilt of her sword, ready to take his head at any moment. "You're cursed, aren't you? This is a school for studying curses. Cursed people don't belong here."
...
"In Japan, more than ten thousand people go missing or die under mysterious circumstances every year."
"Most of these are caused by negative emotions originating from the human body—in other words, 'Curses.'"
Hasegumo watched the tense standoff and realized he'd skipped a few crucial steps in the orientation. He quickly stepped in to explain.
"Some of these are malicious acts by curse users. To combat a curse, you must use a curse. This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College—a place where we study curses in order to exorcise them."
"Why didn't you tell me that before...?" Yuta asked, looking utterly dejected.
"You're only telling him now?" Maki's trio thought simultaneously. The new teacher was starting to look dangerously unreliable.
"Sorry, sorry." Hasegumo rubbed the back of his head with an apologetic grin. "First time teaching, you know? It's natural to lack a bit of experience."
...
"So, that's the gist of it."
"This is Yuta Okkotsu, a boy cursed by Rika-chan, the girl who loved him most," Hasegumo concluded.
He glanced at the three students, who now had various lumps on their heads thanks to Rika's "protective" intervention, and suppressed a laugh. "If you attack Yuta, Rika Orimoto's curse will trigger instantly. So, everyone, be careful."
"Anyway, I don't know much about the three of you yet. Why don't you introduce yourselves to our new classmate?"
"Maki Zen'in. I specialize in exorcising curses with cursed tools." Maki was still fuming. The new teacher was just as irresponsible as Gojo, and she'd been pummeled by a curse because of it.
"Toge Inumaki, a Cursed Speech user. To prevent accidental activations of his technique, he only speaks in food ingredients," Panda explained on Toge's behalf. "And I'm Panda. Nice to meet you."
"Kelp."
"Three people and... a panda?" Yuta walked tentatively from the podium toward the group. "Also, why is there a panda?"
Hasegumo wasn't aware that Gojo's current teaching style had become incredibly reckless—dragging kids into the school in the morning and throwing them at curses by the afternoon.
Following his own experience at the college, Hasegumo led the four-man cell to the training grounds for a proper lesson.
"I know a little bit about your backgrounds," Hasegumo said, stretching his arms. He looked at Maki. "You don't have any cursed energy, right?"
"Yeah. So what?" Maki muttered, wondering if he was about to discriminate against her.
"No judgment here," Hasegumo said, as if reading her mind. "I want to start with a demonstration on the application of cursed energy. Since you don't have any, I'd like you to assist me with the teaching."
He pointed to the sword case she was holding. "Use that blade. Try to cut me."
Maki didn't hesitate. She drew her sword and swung with a powerful vertical strike. However, Hasegumo didn't budge. He stood there calmly, watching the blade stop inches from his face.
"Wh... Why didn't you dodge?" Maki couldn't see any sign of tension in his muscles. Trusting her instincts, she had pulled the strike.
"Because you didn't have any killing intent. I knew you'd stop," Hasegumo replied. "Swing with the intent to kill me."
"I see." Maki felt a spark of irritation. Even if you're the strongest, don't look down on me. "Fine. This time, I won't stop. Is that okay?"
"Of course." As he spoke, golden cursed energy enveloped Hasegumo's body, flickering like tiny sparks of lightning dancing around him.
"Here I come!" Maki swung a horizontal slash, no longer caring about Hasegumo's plan. She just wanted to land a hit.
Clang!
Hasegumo raised a single finger to his forehead, effortlessly blocking the sharp edge.
Maki's temper flared at his blatant disregard. She gripped the hilt with both hands, raised the sword over her head, and brought it down again.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sounds of metal striking stone echoed through the field. Maki attacked relentlessly, but Hasegumo parried every blow with just a single finger.
As they fought, Hasegumo's voice remained steady. "Even though you can't use Reverse Cursed Energy, the principles of standard cursed energy application are the same."
"In close-quarters combat, you want your cursed energy to perfectly match your physical output to inflict maximum damage. But that isn't easy. Cursed energy originates in the gut; the process of moving it to other parts of the body is called 'Flow.'"
His finger was starting to ache, but for the sake of looking cool, Hasegumo surreptitiously switched to his left hand to continue parrying.
"From the gut to the shoulder, then to the arm and the fist... because there is a 'Flow,' there is inevitably 'Lag.'"
"The idea of making energy flow isn't wrong, but you can't let your thinking be limited by it. Watch the cursed energy on my body."
Maki swung again, but this time Hasegumo didn't use his finger. In the eyes of Toge, Panda, and Yuta, the cursed energy that had been clinging to his legs suddenly surged upward.
Clang! A massive concentration of cursed energy once again repelled the blade.
"A common technique among high-level sorcerers is to treat the body as a single unit. Instead of drawing from the gut and controlling it with conscious thought, they treat the fist itself as the source of the cursed energy. This is a technique used to bypass 'Lag.'"
"For you lot, mastering this would put you at the threshold of Grade 1. However, this method has a flaw... your output is capped. After all, the gut generates energy much faster and in greater quantities than anywhere else."
Hasegumo ducked, dodging a slash aimed at his neck. Suddenly, all the visible cursed energy around him vanished.
Unlike other sorcerers who struggled to contain their energy during combat, Hasegumo's energy remained perfectly sealed within his body, even while being bombarded by Maki's cursed tool. Only the constant clanging told the audience that he was still reinforcing himself.
After years of grueling meditation, Hasegumo's mental state had become as tranquil—and as still—as a plant. His control had reached its absolute zenith. At this moment, the energy within him was so quiet it was unnerving.
"A truly top-tier sorcerer, beyond the necessary physical reinforcement, first learns how to make their cursed energy 'Quiet.'"
"At the moment of impact, you then control the energy to 'Flow.'" He threw a punch toward Maki's stomach. Before anyone could even perceive a flicker of cursed energy, Hasegumo's fist suddenly ignited with golden light. "By switching from 'Absolute Stillness' to 'Absolute Motion' in an instant, you make it impossible for the enemy to predict your movements through cursed energy."
Maki was sent flying back a dozen meters, but as she moved, she felt a gentle force enveloping her, protecting her body. She landed softly on the grass.
Hasegumo lowered his fist, ending the lecture. "And that's the general idea."