Yuji!!! Yuji!!! Yuji!!!
I repeated his name inside my head as I chased the figure that had disappeared in the distance. Who else could it possibly be? Black uniform, pinkish hair, red sneakers.
It was definitely him.
I lost him from my sight after a few seconds, but I still roughly knew the direction he had been heading. That was enough. I ran toward the area and began jumping across rooftops, pushing my legs with bursts of cursed energy reinforcement.
Wind rushed past my ears as I moved from building to building.
After a few minutes of running, I reached the area where I had first seen him. I stopped on top of a building and scanned the streets below.
Nothing. Yuji was nowhere to be seen.
I frowned and jumped down into the street, beginning to check the nearby roads and alleys. I moved through the abandoned blocks carefully, peeking into broken storefronts and intersections while trying to sense any traces of cursed energy.
Still nothing. I continued searching around the area, but something strange quickly became obvious.
There were almost no curses here. That was unusual for current Shibuya.
Which meant something important.
"Ah…" I muttered quietly.
This area had already been cleared.
Yuji and Choso must have passed through here earlier and wiped everything out before moving somewhere else.
I climbed back onto the roof of a nearby apartment building and looked toward the edge of the district, trying to find somewhere that still had visible cursed spirit activity.
After a minute of scanning the skyline, I noticed it.
A section of the city where the air felt heavier, where curses drifted in the distance like ugly shadows gathering together.
"Bingo." That had to be where they went.
I immediately rushed toward that direction, leaping across buildings again. The path toward that area was almost completely empty of cursed spirits, which only made me more confident in my guess.
If Yuji and Choso had passed through here, then they would have probably wiped out everything along the way.
After a few more minutes of moving, I finally saw him again.
Far in the distance. Yuji.
He was entering an apartment building.
I slowed down and watched him disappear inside.
"Why is he entering an apartment…?" I muttered.
Maybe he was taking a break. Or maybe they were checking the building for curses? I don't know.
Either way, this was my chance. I walked toward the building casually, trying not to look suspicious. Four minutes later, I reached the entrance and stepped inside.
The building was quiet. Too quiet.
I began checking each apartment floor one by one, opening doors and peeking inside rooms. Most of them were empty, with furniture left scattered around like the residents had evacuated in a hurry.
On the sixth apartment I checked, I finally saw them.
Yuji and Choso.
They were walking away from the apartment and heading toward the underground subway entrance nearby.
"Got you," I whispered.
I jumped out of the window and followed them from outside, landing quietly on the street below before heading toward the same subway entrance.
I quickly descended the stairs. But the moment my feet touched the bottom step, something felt wrong.
Danger.
Every instinct in my body screamed that I should move.
But at the same time, something told me not to.
From the corner of my eye, I saw him.
Choso.
He was standing right beside me.
Both of his hands were raised next to my head, and a thin line of blood was already forming between his fingers.
Piercing Blood.
If I moved even slightly, my head would probably explode.
Choso spoke in a low, rough voice.
"Why are you following my brother and me?"
I slowly turned my head.
Yuji was standing on the opposite side of the corridor, staring at me cautiously.
Both of them were clearly wary.
"I… I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I just noticed you both earlier and thought maybe I could ask if I could hunt curses together with you. It would be safer… I only awakened my powers recently."
I looked at Yuji with the most pitiful expression I could manage.
Choso didn't believe me for a second. Not even a little.
"I… uh… could I follow you both?" I asked again awkwardly.
Yuji stared at me for a moment and thought about it.
"No," he finally said. "But we can escort you somewhere safe."
I panicked.
"Please allow me to follow you!" I said quickly. "I promise I won't be a burden! Please, please, please…"
Without thinking, I grabbed Yuji's hand and started begging.
Yuji looked incredibly uncomfortable.
He tried refusing me again, but after a few seconds, he sighed.
"…Fine."
I immediately brightened.
Hurray.
The first part of the plan succeeded.
Yuji looked at me and spoke.
"My name is Itadori Yuji. This is Choso."
Choso gave a small nod, though he still looked suspicious of me.
"I'm Ikuyo Kita," I said happily. "Nice to meet you, Yuji. Choso."
Yuji looked at me seriously.
"Don't do anything risky."
I nodded quickly.
"I won't. I'll just follow you and help."
After that, we exchanged some information.
They explained Choso's blood manipulation technique and how he fought, while I told them about my flame manipulation cursed technique.
Once introductions were finished, we began hunting curses together.
Yuji acted as bait.
Choso and I waited under a bridge while Yuji ran through the streets above us, deliberately attracting the attention of every curse nearby.
Within minutes, a swarm appeared.
Hundreds of curses.
Yuji sprinted toward the bridge with the entire horde chasing him like a tidal wave of monsters.
The moment they reached us, Yuji yelled
" Choso Ikuyo"
Choso attacked.
"Piercing blood."
Sharp stream of blood shot forward and cut through the first line of curses.
At the same time, I created several flaming arrows and launched them into the swarm. Explosions of fire tore through the crowd as curses burned and dissolved one after another.
I had developed this technique after I watched Choso. He was honestly surprised. This technique worked by creating a long line of flames and releasing them when they hit the target. The result is a massive explosion and burn damage. It was hard to aim at, but for a group of mindless curses, this was perfect.
Yuji jumped away from our techniques. He attacked the curses that slipped past our onslaught.
Each of his punches destroyed a curse instantly.
The battle didn't last long.
Within seconds, the entire swarm was gone.
But the atmosphere between us remained cold. Yuji barely talked.
He moved like someone carrying something heavy inside his mind, and even when he smiled, it looked forced.
He was hiding it well, but I could feel it.
Depression, and I know what caused it.
So I tried making small talk with him whenever I could.
Sometimes he responded.
Sometimes he just nodded quietly.
The day passed like that.
Despite everything, I felt much safer with Yuji and Choso around. When we stopped to sleep, one of them always stayed awake while the others rested.
Choso was still wary of me, so he never allowed me to stay awake alone while both of them slept.
I woke up again the next morning.
November 6th.
We continued hunting curses throughout the district, and honestly… I felt like I was fitting in better than I expected.
Maybe a little too comfortable.
After finishing another hunt, we began walking back toward the temporary base area.
Choso looked unusually calm.
He seemed proud watching Yuji fight, occasionally glancing at him like an older brother admiring his sibling's strength. At the same time, he had noticed something else too: Yuji was talking slightly more because I kept bothering him with random conversation.
Choso seemed glad about that.
But our peaceful walk didn't last long.
Suddenly, all three of us froze.
Someone had appeared above us.
Standing on top of the bridge.
Naoya Zenin.
He looked down at us lazily.
"Megumi-kun ain't here?" he said casually. "Am I the first one to arrive? Is that really possible… he's way too slow."
Then his eyes moved toward our group.
"Who's this girl and that man?" He asked
Yuji suddenly spoke.
"…Were you just talking about Fushiguro?"
Naoya tilted his head slightly.
"What are you all doing anyway?" he asked casually. "You three stick out too much."
He smiled.
"Not gonna try to escape?"
"Escape?" Yuji repeated.
Naoya looked amused.
"What, you don't know? You've been sentenced to death."
He shrugged.
"After all, you lost Satoru-kun's protection."
Choso instantly tensed.
"Huh?!"
Naoya continued talking like he was discussing the weather.
"My business is with Megumi-kun, so I don't really care whether you three live or die. But since I don't want you running around spreading information…"
He smiled coldly.
"I'll break your legs now."
Yuji stepped forward.
"What do you want with Fushiguro?"
Honestly, I felt kind of left out of the conversation.
Choso would obviously protect Yuji no matter what happened, but I was just… there.
Like the extra member of the group nobody asked for.
And Naoya would definitely attack me.
Great. I sighed internally.
Guess this means I have to prove myself. Yuta and Yuji would trust me more if I were to fight now.
Naoya suddenly answered Yuji's question.
"I need Fushiguro to die."
He stretched his neck lazily.
"It would be great if he could write a few lines before dying… but I heard Megumi-kun has been looking for you."
Before anyone could react—
Naoya disappeared.
He reappeared behind Yuji and punched him directly in the head.
Yuji dropped instantly.
"Yuji!" Choso shouted as he rushedforward immediately, attacking Naoya.
But Naoya was too fast.
He vanished again and appeared behind Choso, landing several brutal punches before Choso could react.
I created a flaming arrow and threw it at Naoya.
He dodged effortlessly.
Then suddenly—
He was behind me.
"Huh—"
"Woman," he scoffed.
His fist slammed into my face.
The world spun as I crashed into the ground.
Naoya looked down at me with disgust.
"Shame. Your beauty is your only quality."
He shrugged.
"If only you knew how to behave and worship a strong man like me, you might have had a better life."
Then he turned away and continued beating Choso.
"…Fuck," I muttered from the ground.
That hurt.
He's insanely fast.
I slowly pushed myself up with shaking legs.
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End of chapter I think this chapter was the best one so far.