Chapter Text
"What am I supposed to do?"
With that question, everything came to a grinding halt. Shinju lost her balance and fell on her butt, Rika was frozen in place mid-swipe, Kin looked up from his work in shock, and Yasu could only stare at her cousin dumbfoundedly. Hisao was the only one whose expression remained unchanged.
"You're supposed to train," Yasu stated. She held up her tattoo gun. "Y'know, like practice for the real deal."
"And how do I do that?" Tomu innocently asked.
Thankfully Rika walked over to the pinkette. "Don't tell me you haven't figured out your cursed technique," she sighed.
"Is that supposed to be important?" Tomu checked.
Yasu could only facepalm and groan loudly as Rika and Shinju stared at Tomu with wide eyes, all while the bluenette got back on her feet. Hisao let out a yawn as his shadow changed back to normal. As for Kin, he hurried over to the group, looking just as surprised as the two experienced sorcerer girls.
"Your cousin figured out what she could do almost instantly," Kin stated. "Why haven't you done the same thing?"
Tomu scratched the back of his head. "Well I-"
"I'll let you do whatever you wanna do to me! And I'll agree to any twisted thing you come up with if you heal-"
Tomu winced at the sudden voice in his head. Was that...his voice? Why did he sound so scared?
And why did his heart suddenly feel like a lead brick?
"Hey. Tomu," Yasu spoke up as she snapped her fingers in front of his face. "You gonna answer Hayashi or not?"
"Huh?" Tomu muttered as his cousin withdrew her hand. "Right..." He cleared his throat. "I was more worried about...someo- something else."
That's right... This whole mess started because Tomu was unusually worried towards Asumi! He swallowed that rusted arrowhead because he thought the brunette died, then he comforted him right before he joined the others for training. He never really had time to think about his combat style!
"Let's train together."
Why did he even say that?
"Well this certainly screws things up," Rika sighed once more. "I better speak to Uncle Iwao about this recent devel-"
"No need. I took care of the intruder."
That voice came from a rather thin-looking man carrying some kind of blanket bundle. He looked intimidating, his black hair styled into a buzzcut and his amber eyes were narrow, indicating a serious gaze. He was wearing a black muscle shirt, white jeans, and some kind of black combat slippers. And if Rika was addressing him as an uncle, Tomu concluded this man was probably another one of those Okkotsu people.
"What intruder?" Rika asked.
Iwao let out a chuckle as he smirked. "I spotted this slippery little slime curse at the public bathroom," he explained, shifting the blanket bundle in his arms to reveal some kind of...
...pale indigo creature...with long dark brown hair?
Tomu's eyes widened in shock. "Shimada?!" he panicked as he ran over to Iwao. "What happened to you?!"
"Ah, so this is some kind of rice curse," Iwao mistook. "Were you the one who brought it here?"
Tomu was about to respond when Yasu interrupted. "Did you just say 'Shimada'?" she asked. "Like that perfect pretty boy from our school? Why's he here?"
"It's...kinda a long story," Tomu sheepishly admitted.
"No, it's not," Rika chimed in. She turned to face her uncle. "I was the one who brought him here, after recruiting Nakai and Ishii for the clan. His parents were killed and his body was transformed into some kind of hideous beast. I was hoping Great-Uncle Iori could somehow heal him." She saw the slime squirm in Iwao's grasp. "How did he even end up like this?"
"No clue," Iwao answered. "I was about to wash up for today's mission when I could've sworn I saw a girl I didn't recognize. Next thing I knew, the girl was gone and I found this thing using one of the shower stalls."
All conversations from then on were drowned out. Tomu could only stare at the slime who was supposedly Asumi Shimada. The pale indigo color matched the same shade present on his hideous crocodile form. And that hair. That long, dark brown hair... It remained unchanged. There were also faint traces of eyes and a mouth, which seemingly furrowed from severe stress.
Was he scared?
Tomu shoved Yasu aside as he fast-walked towards Asumi. And just like before, he held out his hand towards the slime-shaped person and gently touched him. Asumi stirred a little and his 'face' stared at Tomu. Things were calm for a while as the gelatinous blob finally relaxed.
Then a few minutes later, the blob regained a familiar human shape. Iwao set Asumi back on the ground as he shakily stood, using the blanket bundle to cover his body once more. Yet despite this recovery, it took a while for Tomu to actually withdraw his hand, his face tinted pink. Once Asumi was finally calm, he looked around the courtyard in awe. And then, he said four unexpected words.
"Is this...Jujutsu Tech?"
Rika immediately went on the offense. "Not anymore," she stated. "But how did you know this was originally a school?"
"Huh?" Asumi muttered. His gaze switched towards Rika. "Are you...talking to me?"
"Yes," Rika responded. "Now answer my question. How do you know about Jujutsu Tech?"
"I-I..." Asumi stammered. Then he suddenly winced in pain as he stared at his hands. He was completely unaware of how his non-answer wasn't a good response.
Rika let out a sigh. "That would be your cue, Hayashi," she said. "Do you happen to recognize this anomaly?"
Kin walked over to Asumi and proceeded to check his face. But why was he doing that? Did it have to do with reincarnations? Tomu was about to ask when he felt a sudden tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Shinju standing next to him. Did she know he was about to say?
[Did Okkotsu tell you about the sorcerer who came here two years ago?] Shinju signed.
"She did," Tomu answered. "Is Hayashi...?"
Shinju nodded. [He claims to be an ancient Jujutsu sorcerer called Kokichi Muta,] she signed. [His puppets look just like my great-grandmother's special relic, so I trust him. And because his memories are what we use as a guide for pointing out reincarnations, he is kind of like a big deal for our group.]
Speaking of Kin, he was cupping Asumi's chin as he tried to inspect his face. Then without warning, he released his grasp and adjusted Asumi's hair, styling it a bit so his chin-length bangs covered his right eye. That somehow triggered something because Kin's eyes widened in surprise.
"I do know this face," Kin revealed. "This boy is the reincarnation of Junpei Yoshino, someone who once got himself involved with Mahito's attacks."
"Are you sure?" Rika checked. "Official records state only Kento Nanami was involved at the time."
"Trust me," Kin insisted while Asumi fixed his hair. "Yoshino was the catalyst behind Yuji Itadori's mental decline. I saw everything through my puppets' eyes. It would be wise to let him stay with us."
"Very well," Rika agreed, although her slight frown indicated she was still wary. She turned towards Asumi. "My great-uncle can help set up your living arrangements. Are there any relatives he might need to contact?"
"Probably my aunt," Asumi answered. "I haven't heard from her since my parents..." He was unable to finish his sentence.
"Then she might need to help you move," Rika said. "Come with me. I can take you to Great-Uncle Iori."
As Rika escorted Asumi to the clan's building, Iwao cleared his throat. "Well now that the outsider's being taken care of, time for your missions. Ishii, you and Hayashi are coming with me. You need to know how communication puppets can be useful for fieldwork. Inumaki and Kaneko, you two got the day off, so try to make the most of it. And as for Nakai, head over to Mayumi for your mission-"
"He can't fight," Yasu blurted out.
That outburst surprised Iwao. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, my dopey cousin doesn't know what his combat style is," Yasu clarified. "And he's flabby, so I don't think he can punch."
"Hey, I'm not flabby!" Tomu defended. "I just..." He sheepishly glanced at his arm. "...never work out."
Iwao could only facepalm. "Well that's just great," he groaned. He took out his phone and started texting. "I better tell my sis about this info. She can handle this mission by herself."
"So what about me?" Tomu asked.
"I'll have to drop you off with an old friend," Iwao answered. "Someone who might be able to help you figure out your cursed technique."
