Chapter 14

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Being told that so earnestly by Kamo Noritoshi left Higuretsuki uncharacteristically embarrassed, but it did remind him of something.

Higuretsuki asked the kappa curse spirit, which was still pretending to be dead, “Do you know Yukimura Seiichi?”

The little green monster’s cold, vertical pupils shifted from side to side, as though it were thinking very seriously.

After a long while, it opened its mouth.

“Guh… gurrr… guh…”

Higuretsuki looked disgusted and added more details. “A very handsome person, with slightly wavy blue-violet hair. He came here a few months ago.”

The kappa curse spirit replied, “Guh… gurrrr…”

After thinking for a moment, Higuretsuki took out his phone and brought up a photograph—a group picture of the regulars from Rikkaidai’s tennis club.

He enlarged the person in the center and held the phone in front of it. “Take a look. Do you remember him?”

At last, the kappa curse spirit stopped gurgling. Its cold vertical pupils brightened.

“Like… like… play… play together…”

“Hey, you bad little kappa!” Higuretsuki thumped it on the top of the head. “You cursed him just because you liked him?”

The kappa curse spirit was struck so hard that its eyes spun into mosquito coils, yet it still tried to defend itself.

“Not… not on purpose… find… find him…”

“Ha!” Higuretsuki knocked on the kappa’s head several more times. “You did it on purpose, too?!”

Todo Aoi and Kamo Noritoshi stared blankly at the scene before them: a tyrannical jujutsu sorcerer bullying an innocent curse spirit. For a moment, neither of them knew what to say.

“No… no… mmm…” In its panic, the kappa curse spirit became even less intelligible, and finally burst into aggrieved tears.

“You have the nerve to cry?!” Higuretsuki’s brows shot up as he raised his hand again.

Kamo Noritoshi advised, “Stop. It was never very bright to begin with. If you keep hitting it, you’ll make it completely stupid.”

The kappa curse spirit wailed, “Waaah… waaah…”

Higuretsuki snorted a couple of times and refrained from hitting it again, though he could not resist mocking it. “You can’t even cry properly.”

Which one of them was the evil curse spirit, exactly?

“Get to the important questions,” Todo Aoi said solemnly. “It’s getting late, and I have something important to do afterward.”

Higuretsuki was curious. “What’s so urgent, Todo-senpai?”

“I’m going to Tokyo to attend Takada’s handshake event!”

The muscular young man revealed an expression of girlish anticipation. It was almost painful to look at.

“Is she a young idol?” Higuretsuki asked.

Todo nodded, wearing an expression even more solemn than the one he used during missions. “The event will be starting soon. Being late is absolutely unacceptable!”

Kamo Noritoshi was speechless inside. He wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed the words.

He would simply pretend he had not heard that.

Higuretsuki, however, seemed to understand completely. “Then let’s hurry this up!”

Kamo Noritoshi felt completely out of place among the next generation of the jujutsu world.

How could such an absurd reason possibly earn anyone’s sympathy?

“Tell us everything!” Higuretsuki quickly slipped into the role of interrogator. “Where did you come from? Why were you hiding here? Have you ever hurt anyone?”

The kappa curse spirit answered, “Gurrr… river… no… play… play…”

Higuretsuki gave a grunt. “At least you’re being honest. Do you remember who turned you into this?”

This incident was clearly the result of human interference. Yet the person behind it had hidden themselves exceptionally well; even after all this time, the jujutsu world had not managed to catch so much as a trace.

The higher-ups at Jujutsu Headquarters were deeply dissatisfied, especially the injured Grade One sorcerer—but all they could do was rage helplessly.

“Gurrr… guh-guh…”

The little green monster stared at him in confusion, then began gurgling again.

Kamo Noritoshi said, “I’ve been meaning to ask—Higuretsuki, you seem to communicate with it rather smoothly.”

The creature spoke by forcing out words one at a time, in a voice resembling a monster’s roar, and its pronunciation was hardly clear. Yet this human and curse spirit had no difficulty understanding each other.

“Huh? But it’s speaking quite clearly,” Higuretsuki said cautiously. “Kamo-senpai, you can’t understand it?”

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“…I can understand it.”

After asking a few more questions, the outline of the whole matter gradually emerged.

When the kappa curse spirit appeared at South Shonan Elementary School, it had probably only recently become a curse spirit. It happened to encounter Yukimura around that time, and because it was unfamiliar with its new state, it accidentally cursed him.

It wanted to find him, but limited by its intelligence—or lack thereof—it had done nothing but wander around the school every day, hoping to find the human it had liked back then.

As for the person behind the incident, however, it knew absolutely nothing.

“According to that explanation, there shouldn’t have been only one victim. Ordinary people can see you as well,” Kamo Noritoshi said skeptically. “How did you keep yourself from being exposed?”

The vertical pupils glanced at him, but the creature ignored the question.

Higuretsuki rapped it on the head with a bent finger. “Answer him!”

The kappa curse spirit looked pitiful, tears glimmering in its eyes.

“Not… not like… hide… like… play…”

When it said “like,” it shakily lifted its thin arm and pointed first at Higuretsuki, then at his phone.

Higuretsuki accused it, “Wow. I didn’t realize you were so shallow. You only want to play with handsome people. If someone isn’t good-looking, you don’t even bother with them!”

Kamo Noritoshi: “???”

Why did he feel personally insulted?

Higuretsuki also realized that his words had sounded wrong and hastily tried to remedy the situation. “Look more carefully. Kamo-senpai is so handsome. You don’t like him either?”

The kappa curse spirit actually began examining him seriously. Before long, the three of them heard it click its tongue disdainfully, then spit at Kamo Noritoshi.

If Kamo had not dodged quickly, it would have landed on him.

Higuretsuki: “…”

Todo Aoi: “…”

Kamo Noritoshi: “…”

The next second, his eyes opened wide. A blood-red cross appeared over his left eye, and his voice brimmed with murderous intent.

“Can I exorcise it right now?”

In all his life, he had never been humiliated by a curse spirit in such a manner!

Higuretsuki was horrified. “Calm down, Kamo-senpai! It’s still a living being!”

Kamo Noritoshi: “…Higuretsuki, what exactly are you acting out?”

“Sorry. It just felt like the right moment to act,” Higuretsuki said with a mischievous grin.

“Judging from its condition, we won’t get anything else out of it,” Todo Aoi said. “Let’s just take it back.”

Higuretsuki put away his joking expression. “Could you two senpai leave it to me?”

The two men looked at him, waiting for his reason.

“It suffered an undeserved tragedy in the first place. The little monster’s innate kindness has overcome the curse spirit’s instinct to kill, and it has no intention of harming anyone.”

The young man’s voice grew compassionate. “I think… we can give it a chance to atone.”

Kamo Noritoshi looked suspicious. “You aren’t planning to exploit it, are you?”

“I’m not. I haven’t. Don’t make wild accusations!” Higuretsuki denied all three charges, his voice gradually choking with emotion. “I only want to give it a chance to keep living!”

He might have been more convincing if he had not been so theatrical.

Still, there was some truth to his words. If they took it back and handed it over to the higher-ups, it would have no chance of surviving after they had squeezed every last bit of value from it.

Kamo Noritoshi frowned. “The higher-ups won’t agree, and you’ll get yourself into trouble.”

Higuretsuki was unconcerned. “Then they can come and find me.”

“You two senpai don’t need to make things difficult for yourselves,” he added with a blink. “Just say that I insisted on taking the monster away, and that you did everything in your power to stop me, but failed!”

Todo Aoi said strangely, “We did everything in our power to stop you, but failed? I’m afraid saying that would bring my career as a jujutsu sorcerer to an end.”

Higuretsuki protested, “I’m not that bad, am I?”

“Have you forgotten how badly you were beaten in physical training?” Kamo Noritoshi asked calmly.

Higuretsuki’s face twisted, as though he had developed a toothache.

“With your third-rate physical skills, the only person you can beat is Nishimiya.” Todo Aoi slapped him across the back, making him stagger. “If you want to take it, then take it. It’s not a big deal.”

Higuretsuki steadied himself and said emotionally, “Todo-senpai!”

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Kamo Noritoshi sighed. “It’s a time bomb. We don’t know when it might explode. You can’t stay on guard over it forever—”

He suddenly stopped, having thought of a possibility.

Sure enough, the next moment Higuretsuki said, “All I have to do is turn it into my familiar.”

He crouched in front of the kappa curse spirit and asked gently, “Would you like to become my familiar? If you refuse, you’ll be exorcised.”

It was difficult to say whether this counted as respecting its wishes or threatening it.

The kappa curse spirit’s green head, pierced through the neck by a Sealing Arrow, struggled to nod.

“Willing… play…”

A hint of delight colored its rough, eerie voice.

Higuretsuki muttered, “All you think about is playing. Could the curse spirit fused with you have been born from the resentment of children who weren’t allowed to play?”

After completing the contract, Higuretsuki wiped the spiritual power from the arrow and pulled it free.

Blood sprayed out, but the curse spirit’s powerful regenerative ability stopped the bleeding almost immediately. The round hole closed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The kappa curse spirit’s technique was called Shadow Stalking. It could hide within any shadow, move through them at tremendous speed, and evade detection.

Higuretsuki had it slip into his own shadow, and the three of them headed toward the school gate.

Suddenly, Higuretsuki stopped and asked with some difficulty, “Senpai, do you think the higher-ups will pay me for this mission?”

Todo Aoi was surprised. “You still want a reward?”

Kamo Noritoshi shattered his unrealistic fantasy. “How is this any different from slapping Jujutsu Headquarters in the face? Even if they give you a reward, it won’t be much.”

Higuretsuki muttered dejectedly, “Something is better than nothing…”

They walked a little farther, but he still could not get past the issue in his heart. He stamped his feet twice.

“Gurrr, you owe me a lot of money now. Considering your status, you can work like a beast of burden to repay me.”

Kamo Noritoshi was stunned.

So he really was planning to enslave a curse spirit?

Wait—

“Gurrr?”

“It’s my familiar now. I can’t keep calling it ‘the kappa,’ can I? It’s always gurgling, so this name suits it perfectly.” Higuretsuki praised himself. “I put a lot of thought into it!”

What?

Where, exactly, was the thought?

The kappa named Gurrr poked half its head out, tears filling its eyes.

“Good… beast… burden…”

Higuretsuki was pleased. “That’s right. You need to work hard as my beast of burden.”

Although he still felt heartbroken over the large reward he had lost, gaining a free laborer was at least some compensation. It was better than nothing.

With the matter there settled, Higuretsuki took a car driven by Nitta Akira to Kanai General Hospital.

Since he had no intention of exorcising Gurrr, Yukimura’s curse would have to be removed by the kappa itself.

While in the car, Higuretsuki sent Yanagi Renji a message briefly explaining what had happened, so they could prepare themselves mentally.

Yet when they actually saw the legendary kappa, Yukimura and Yanagi Renji still stood frozen for quite some time.

“Don’t be afraid. Gurrr is my familiar now.” Higuretsuki bent down and gave it a push. “Hurry over there, and remember to apologize properly.”

It looked exactly like a naughty child who had done something wrong and been dragged over by a parent to apologize. The resemblance was striking.

The kappa named Gurrr swayed over to Yukimura and forced out its words one at a time.

“Hand… some… play… sor… ry…”

Higuretsuki translated, “It says it wanted to play with you because you’re handsome, but accidentally cursed you, and it’s very sorry.”

Then he turned around and lectured the kappa again. “An apology alone isn’t enough. He’s also your creditor, so you need to work hard as his beast of burden.”

Those words left Yukimura and Yanagi Renji just as shaken as Kamo Noritoshi had been.

Yanagi Renji gave his childhood friend a long, profound look, as though he were meeting him for the first time.