Me, Yuji, and Megumi set out soon after. Tengen had given us the rough location of Hakari's fight club, so at least we weren't wandering around completely blind.
Megumi and Yuji changed their clothes before leaving, since they were still wearing their Jujutsu High uniforms. Walking around like that would have been suspicious.
As for me… well, there wasn't much I could do except take a shower and change my clothes.
I ended up wearing a blue skirt and a black shirt.
Honestly… a week ago, I was a man. Or at least I used to be one.
Now I was standing here, wearing a skirt.
I stared at myself for a second.
…You know what?
I honestly didn't care.
This felt like making a character build in a game. If I were reincarnated as a cute girl, then I should fully commit to the build.
No half-measures. Cute girl route it is.
Anyway, we were currently walking out of the Jujutsu High barrier.
For some reason, I felt like I was forgetting something.
We continued walking.
The three of us walked side by side down the road.
After a few minutes, I started skipping while walking.
Not running. Not hopping.
Just skipping.
Megumi noticed immediately.
He stared at me for a few seconds but didn't say anything.
Yuji watched me for about a minute… then suddenly started skipping too.
Now both of us were skipping down the road like elementary school kids.
Megumi walked silently behind us for about fifteen minutes.
Then he snapped.
"Can you two take this seriously?"
Yuji stopped skipping.
"…Sorry."
I also stopped.
"…It was fun, so it was worth it."
Megumi rubbed his temples.
We made some small talk while walking, but Megumi kept giving me weird looks.
Honestly… I probably messed up earlier.
After I dropped that massive information bomb at Tengen's place, Megumi had started treating me differently.
Every time he talked about something related to the Jujutsu world, he looked at me like I might already know something.
My lies were starting to crack a little.
Thankfully my "binding vow future vision" excuse was strong enough to hold everything together for now.
Yuji, on the other hand, seemed confused.
He kept glancing between me and Megumi.
"Why does Fushiguro trust you so much?" he eventually asked.
Megumi immediately replied.
"I don't."
"But she helped us," Megumi continued calmly.
Honestly… fair.
No matter what people said about Megumi, the guy was sharp.
Eventually, we reached Tochigi Prefecture.
After about an hour of walking through the area, we arrived at an abandoned multi-story parking garage.
The place looked shady as hell.
Perfect place for an illegal gamble house.
As soon as we stepped inside, a voice echoed through the garage.
"Go home, brats. This isn't a place for kids to hang around."
Another man spoke from the shadows.
"We'll count to three. If you're still here, we'll beat you."
I scoffed.
"I doubt it." I said to myself
Even if Hakari himself showed up, a 3 vs 1 fight against us would still be tough.
Megumi stepped forward.
"We need money," he said calmly. "Let us enter the fights held here."
One of the men suddenly did that classic anime punch where his fist stops right in front of someone's face.
Megumi didn't even blink.
The man smirked.
"First rule of fight club is to never talk about fight club. So tell me… who told you about this place?"
"After that," the other guy added, "you'll get your beating."
Megumi replied without hesitation.
"I don't know. I killed him."
The two men blinked.
Megumi continued like he was discussing the weather.
"It was about a month ago. He was the type of guy who talked a lot."
The two guards leaned closer and whispered to each other.
Megumi pressed further.
"I'll fill his slot. Or would you rather I lay you out in front of the bookie?"
I stared at Megumi.
Honestly… that was smooth.
Even knowing the story beforehand, I probably couldn't have pulled that off.
I was too soft… and honestly, I couldn't keep a straight face like he did.
I nodded to myself.
Alright.
Fraud accusations against Megumi?
Officially revoked.
A phone rang.
One of the men picked it up, listened for a few seconds, then looked back at us.
"…Alright. You're in."
Then he pointed at me.
"But she is the one fighting."
"…Me?"
I pointed at myself.
Megumi looked surprised.
Which made sense.
Among the three of us, I was technically the least experienced fighter.
Megumi immediately stepped forward.
"No. I'll fight."
The man stared at him.
"Boss specifically asked for him," he said while pointing at me.
"…Why me?" I asked.
The man shrugged.
"Boss likes guys like you."
"…What?"
"Yeah," he continued casually. "He prefers feminine men."
I stared at him. "…But I'm a girl."
Saying this felt so weird...
The man shrugged again.
"Doesn't matter. You still fit the type."
…
For fuck's sake.
I took a deep breath.
"…It's fine," I said.
The guards nodded, and after a minute, it was officially settled.
We stepped back outside the main building area.
Yuji immediately looked at Megumi.
"Fushiguro… that was risky. Your bluff went way too far."
Megumi shook his head.
"That's not true. If curse users are participating too, there should be a huge turnover."
Then he added,
"And more importantly… Hakari-senpai is here."
Megumi turned to me.
"Kita-san… how are your fighting skills?"
Before I could answer, Yuji spoke.
"She's fine. She learned pretty quickly when she trained with Choso and me."
I nodded.
"I'll be able to hold my own against them."
Megumi seemed satisfied.
"Good." He looked toward the building.
"Itadori, snoop around the building. I'll search the parking lot."
Then he looked back at me.
"Kita-san… please be careful."
"I will. Don't worry."
Megumi nodded.
"I'll try to find Hakari-senpai today. But if things get too risky, I'll pull back."
Then he started talking quietly with Yuji about his sister and the Culling Games.
Eventually, we separated.
10 hours later
I was sitting alone in a metal chair.
This place had a weird old VHS underground fight club vibe. The fluorescent bulb's buzzing made everything fit even better
Dim lights. Cheap speakers.
And a bunch of shady-looking spectators.
A man stood in front of me.
"There are only two rules," he said.
"No running away."
"And no using Cursed Techniques."
"…Why?" I asked.
He shrugged.
"Most of the viewers aren't sorcerers. They can't see Cursed Techniques anyway. Makes the fights boring for them."
…Fair enough.
I nodded.
Then I hesitated.
"Uh… what's the boss like?"
The man smirked.
"You curious?" I nodded.
He chuckled.
"He'll definitely want to meet you later."
"…Why?"
"Because he likes girls like you."
Why does Hakari suddenly sound like a massive pervert?
I sighed.
The man gestured for me to follow.
We walked through several abandoned corridors until we reached a bright light coming from the arena.
"That's your opponent," the man said.
And yeah…
I already knew who my opponent was supposed to be.
But knowing something and seeing it in real life are two very different things.
A large figure slowly walked out from the light.
I stared.
Standing in front of me…
…was a panda.
Standing on two legs.
I blinked. Before grinning.
Alright, let's go.