Chapter 38: Shrine

Chapter 38: Shrine

"Ding-dong."

Kamihara Hajime, who had pressed the doorbell of the Fushiguro house, stood outside, with White Wolf squatting on the ground beside him. He had already envisioned the "surprise" scene he would create shortly.

However, after pressing the doorbell three times, no one opened the door. Kamihara Hajime, puzzled, pulled out his phone to check. It should be a holiday now, but today was the weekend. Could they have gone out to play?

After a moment of thought, Kamihara Hajime dialed Megumi Fushiguro's number. It rang twice before connecting. Before the other party could speak, Kamihara Hajime asked, "Megumi, where are you? I'm back, but you're not home."

There was a moment of silence on the other end. Just as Kamihara Hajime was about to frown, Megumi Fushiguro's voice finally came through: "My sister and I are at the hospital."

Kamihara Hajime's expression changed: "Is it Tsumiki? What happened to her? Send me your address."

"It's nothing, she just feels a bit unwell." Megumi Fushiguro, who was about to say something, was quickly interrupted by Kamihara Hajime, and then could only reluctantly send the hospital address.

Kamihara Hajime, who had hastily hung up, first put the gifts he brought back into his home, leaving White Wolf behind. Then, Kamihara Hajime activated his Technique and rushed towards his destination. The hospital was not far, and they had sought medical attention nearby.

Coming out from an unmonitored corner, Kamihara Hajime headed straight for the room number Megumi Fushiguro had given him. Pushing open the door to the single patient room, the people inside looked over at the sound. Sitting on the bed was a gentle woman. When Kamihara Hajime entered, she was talking to a boy sitting by the bed.

Her eyes immediately brought to mind her gentle smile. The boy next to her had a familiar sea urchin-like hairstyle, and his face, as he looked over, showed great surprise.

"Hajime, you came so quickly."

Tsumiki motioned for Kamihara Hajime to sit down. Seeing that her complexion was fine, Kamihara Hajime finally relaxed a little, then looked at Megumi Fushiguro beside him.

"Why did you come so fast? It hasn't been long."

Ignoring the puzzled Megumi Fushiguro, Kamihara Hajime took the apple Tsumiki was about to peel from her hands. The rosy, plump apple was peeled in an instant in Kamihara Hajime's hands.

He then placed the neatly cut apple slices on a plate and handed them to Tsumiki. Only then did Kamihara Hajime ask Megumi Fushiguro, "What happened to Sister Tsumiki that she had to go to the hospital?"

Megumi Fushiguro frowned and said, "Sister said she felt a bit unwell these past few days. I thought it was just a cold or something, but today at home, she suddenly fainted."

"I quickly brought her to the hospital for a check-up, but the results aren't out yet."

This time, it was Kamihara Hajime's turn to frown. He remembered that Tsumiki didn't have issues like low blood sugar. Why would she suddenly faint out of nowhere?

Tsumiki, while eating an apple, also offered some to both of them, and hearing their worries, she smiled and reassured them, "It's fine, didn't the doctor say before that they couldn't find anything wrong?"

"Then let's wait for the examination report, Sister Tsumiki, give me your hand for a moment."

Tsumiki obediently extended her right hand to Kamihara Hajime. The latter held Tsumiki's wrist and used Reverse Cursed Technique. No matter what the problem was, he would treat it first. It was a pity that it was a pathological issue; if it were a fresh wound, he would have simply reversed it.

Tsumiki felt a warm sensation emanating from her wrist, as if a current of energy entered her arm and then permeated her entire body. That languid feeling was like basking in warm sunlight.

Moreover, she immediately felt her slightly weak body improve significantly. She exclaimed, "Hajime, how did you do that? Is that some kind of Cursed Technique? It's amazing!"

Kamihara Hajime's subsequent smugness earned him a speechless glare from Megumi Fushiguro. Chatting and laughing, Kamihara Hajime began to recount interesting anecdotes he had encountered after going to Tokyo Jujutsu High, occasionally making Tsumiki giggle. Megumi Fushiguro feigned indifference but listened very intently.

When he mentioned his return and discussed Megumi Fushiguro's plans to enroll in Tokyo Jujutsu High, the protagonist showed dissatisfaction and immediately began to speak.

"Megumi!"

Under Tsumiki's serious gaze, Megumi Fushiguro closed his mouth, turned his head, and went back to peeling apples. Tsumiki, very interested, asked Kamihara Hajime about his life at Jujutsu High, and he told her everything in detail.

Afterward, they stayed at the hospital until the afternoon. The examination report came out, showing everything was normal. After asking the doctor, the answer was similar, only stating it might be due to fatigue or other reasons. Coupled with Tsumiki's current much-improved condition, they decided to go back.

After returning, Kamihara Hajime even stewed a soup with pork ribs bought from the supermarket. Amidst Tsumiki's praises and Megumi Fushiguro's calm, scathing remarks, Kamihara Hajime became exasperated and ladled a large bowl for Megumi Fushiguro, supervising him until he drank it all.

"Mission? You're planning to take me with you?"

Hearing Megumi Fushiguro's question, Kamihara Hajime nodded as a matter of course: "Gojo-sensei asked me to help you prepare. I thought practical combat would be faster."

Megumi Fushiguro asked again, "What about sister?"

Kamihara Hajime patted his shoulder: "I've already made arrangements. It should be arriving soon. I'll take you to complete the mission, and someone will come to temporarily look after Sister Tsumiki."

Soon, just as Kamihara Hajime had said, a temporary nanny arrived. The service company was highly skilled, professional, and safe. The only drawback might be that it was a bit expensive, usually providing services for wealthy families, but this was nothing to Kamihara Hajime.

"Let's go, the faster we get this done, the sooner we can come back."

Megumi Fushiguro looked at the darkening sky, his expression somewhat strange: "At this time?"

Kamihara Hajime, carrying a custom-made instrument case containing three curse swords, while beckoning White Wolf, explained, "It's not far. If all goes well, let's resolve it by tomorrow."

Indeed, it wasn't far. After taking a taxi and paying generously, Kamihara Hajime and Megumi Fushiguro arrived at their destination in just under an hour: a rather pristine mountain forest.

"Young men, you don't look like you're here to commit suicide. If you're here for adventure, I advise you to leave quickly. A few days ago, some young people reportedly encountered ghosts here and were scared out of their wits."

"I don't know if that video is real or fake…"

Bidding farewell to the kind taxi driver, Megumi Fushiguro looked at the deep forest and asked curiously, "Is this one of those suicide spots? Is your mission here? Is it some kind of legend again?"

Kamihara Hajime stepped onto a small path and walked into the forest, while looking at the navigation on his phone. He casually replied to Megumi Fushiguro, "Not really. This place only started trending as a suicide spot in the last two years. I received the mission because someone exploring here actually hit the jackpot and allegedly encountered a Cursed Spirit."

"Based on the video they leaked, which was quickly deleted, it caught the attention of 'Window,' our intelligence personnel. And because of the location, Gojo-sensei assigned this mission to me."

As he spoke, Kamihara Hajime played the video on his phone, which was no longer searchable online. Looking at the terrified, constantly shaking perspective in the footage, it was easy to feel the extreme fear of the person at the time, as if it could be transmitted through the screen.

Taking out the three curse swords, he threw the instrument case by the roadside to pick up later. Kamihara Hajime then handed Onikiri to Megumi Fushiguro: "Take this for self-defense."

As the two delved deeper, the forest appeared even more eerie in the deep night, but for Jujutsu Sorcerers who were beyond ordinary, it was nothing. Among the two, Kamihara Hajime generally spoke little during missions, and Megumi Fushiguro's nature also kept him mostly silent. Thus, apart from the crunching sound of their feet on dry branches and fallen leaves, the two remained quiet.

As they walked, White Wolf, who had been leading the way, suddenly stopped and looked ahead with a slight sense of alert. Kamihara Hajime, of course, also noticed the situation there, his hand already on the hilt of Totsuka-no-Tsurugi.

"No Curse aura, not a Cursed Spirit. . . Who would be wandering around here so late?"

Thinking this, Kamihara Hajime gestured for White Wolf to advance stealthily, while also walking towards the diagonal opposite. After a short while, Kamihara Hajime saw the beam of a flashlight flickering in the forest.

"You guys…"

Kamihara Hajime's sudden voice elicited a chorus of frightened screams, even making Megumi Fushiguro frown.

"Wait… the ones opposite seem to be people!"

Among the group of seven, a man who appeared much calmer spoke up. Then, the flashlight from the opposite side shone over, and seeing the two teenagers, they gradually calmed down.

"What are you doing here?"

Hearing Kamihara Hajime's question, a short-haired woman on the opposite side angrily said, "Shouldn't we be asking you that? We couldn't see anything, we thought we met…"

Her words were cut off mid-sentence by a young, somewhat handsome man who seemed to be their leader, who spoke to ease the tension: "Don't mind her too much, we're here for an adventure. My friends were suddenly startled and spoke a bit harshly. Please bear with us."

"Shujun, they both don't have any lighting tools, and they seem to be carrying swords!"

The smile on Shujun's face stiffened, and that quiet dog on the ground? Or was it a wolf? His heart suddenly pounded, and his breathing seemed to become difficult.

"Don't mind them."

Kamihara Hajime picked up his phone and continued to follow the navigation. The group of seven looked at the two strange teenagers, who were clearly not some ethereal ghosts. Remembering the recent news about this place and all the bizarre incidents, they wondered if these two were also just here for the excitement. A black-haired woman, the prettiest among the seven, spoke up: "You're not going to Yaga Shrine, are you?"

Kamihara Hajime's departing steps immediately halted. This shrine was indeed one of the mission locations, quite close to the new suicide spot where the incident occurred. This shrine was a small-scale shrine, about several decades old.

According to intelligence, when those adventurers went missing, it was the shrine's people who reported it to the police. Kamihara Hajime had originally planned to walk all the way, hoping to encounter the unknown mission target along the way.

But fate had other plans; instead, he encountered this group of people whose purpose was unknown. Seeing Kamihara Hajime and Megumi Fushiguro's silent acquiescence, the other party continued, "It's very late. It might not be safe for you to walk alone. How about we go together? We're also heading there."

As soon as she spoke, her companions had various expressions. Although Kamihara Hajime and Megumi Fushiguro looked strange, they were at least human, and their youthful appearance, coupled with their own group of seven, made them feel a bit more at ease. Also, who carries such knives out these days? It was a bit too conspicuous. If they were ill-intentioned, they would carry daggers or short knives. Could they be cosplaying and looking for thrills in this area?

Moreover, seeing how relaxed the two were, they believed these were props bought online, similar videos they had seen before. They also clearly saw White Wolf's appearance—definitely a husky. They recognized this popular large dog online; wasn't it just a pure big silly guy? They were almost scared, thinking it was a wolf.

Perhaps out of goodwill towards the two teenagers, the group of seven also reached a consensus and decided to go to Yaga Shrine with Kamihara Hajime and his companions. Megumi Fushiguro remained silent, letting Kamihara Hajime decide everything.

Kamihara Hajime merely pondered for a moment before agreeing. With nine people, the probability of being attacked by a Cursed Spirit might be higher than just the two of them. So, the two people and one dog joined their group and headed towards Yaga Shrine together.