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CHAPTER START---
---London…
Standing in line with men and women, Taiyo knocks his final arrow and draws the string, forgoing his years of training as his boredom gets the better of him.
And once more, he seemingly sporadically releases the arrow, scoring another perfect shot on his target.
The crowd remains silent, not wanting to disrupt anyone's concentration, but eyes are wide as he's already walking away from the mixed lineup and back to his equipment.
The other competitors do their best to zone out everything and everyone that isn't their target, but some can't help but glance at the arrows in the middle of his.
All six arrows were knocked, drawn, and fired into the middle of his target before most could even fire their second.
Walking back to his gear, he stores his bow in the case, after posing for the cameras and showing off his sponsors, then relaxes into his seat and takes out his phone.
Reading the latest message, he looks up and combs through the crowd, eventually spotting Suguru Geto in a plain white button-up shirt, accompanied by Mimiko and Nanako, who are wearing jeans and sweaters.
The trio was sitting in the crowd looking directly at him, and Taiyo couldn't help but be grateful that all the cameras were on him and not the crowd.
---One Hour Later…
Sitting in a corner booth at the restaurant of his hotel, Taiyo sips his fruit juice and stares at the lobster on his plate as if it offended him.
"Tastes exactly how I expected…" he mutters before drenching it in butter and taking another bite.
He then senses a now-familiar Cursed Energy signature enter the room, shoving aside the urge to look back, then continues eating.
'I should have ordered the roast duck,' he thinks as Geto and his daughters arrive at his table.
"I didn't order for you, since I have no idea what you even like."
"I'm sure this place has something we'll enjoy," Geto says after he and the girls get seated. He then signals the server over to them and places an order that seems too perfect not to have been rehearsed.
"Did you read the menu online and practice that?" Taiyo asks.
"No, but all these places have much of the same."
Mimiko nods. "Humans aren't as unique as they think."
"But it does taste good," Nanako says before taking out her phone and waving it at Taiyo. "Can I get a picture with you?"
"This is a secret meeting, so…no."
"Awe," she sulks and goes to scroll on her phone, while Mimiko speaks up.
"Why did you want us here? Are you a pervert?"
Taiyo rolls his eyes, very thankful she spoke in Japanese so nobody around them understood her.
"Jujutsu Research, nothing more. Besides, your dad asked to meet, I just set the price."
"You'll have to forgive the girls. They're a bit hyper, excited for a concert later."
"Have fun with that. Now, can we get to what you wanted to talk about so I can take some notes and go pack? My flight for Oslo leaves in a few hours."
"Enjoying this tournament circuit?"
"Eh. It's the old world, I'm beyond it."
"Some people think your speed-shooting today was a gesture of disrespect toward your competition."
"What competition?"
Geto smiles. "So it was."
"No, I just got bored and wanted it to be over. There isn't anything there for me anymore. After all, they're only human."
A few minutes of idle chatting later and the server brings out their food, setting a plate of sliced roast duck and dressings in front of Geto, a seafood pasta dish for Mimiko, and a baked pie that Taiyo didn't recognize for Nanako, with a small slice of chocolate cake on the side.
They eat and drink for a moment, then Taiyo gets to the point.
"So, what do you want?"
"Your fight with Satoru. How many more do you have?" Geto asks.
"Three more."
"You do realize he was playing around with you, right?"
"It became apparent when he destroyed my understanding of Jujutsu at the end."
"But even considering that, you did better than most could."
"Including you?"
Geto doesn't respond, only giving Taiyo a knowing smile.
"I doubt you're asking me to remove Gojo from the board, so?"
"I'd never ask for that. But, together, with a bit of time and training, your addition to my faction would be enough to upset the balance of the Jujutsu Society. We could make a change in whatever way we wanted."
"And destroy all the humans in Japan. Why would I agree to this?"
Geto frowns, narrowing his eyes at Taiyo. "Jujutsu is dark and twisted, as is its foundation, Cursed Energy. The people who use it are even more so, and the monsters…the worst. Imagine a world without Cursed Spirits."
"Destroy all the humans that release Cursed Energy, and you upset the balance in a bad way, meaning no more Jujutsu either."
"In exchange for a world with no Cursed Spirits, that seems fair."
"Tch. You hate humans so much, but in that world, you'd be nothing more than a human."
Geto's face twists in disgust, then relaxes. "If becoming one of those monkeys is the cost of a world without monsters, then…I may be willing to make that trade."
"But Jujutsu Society won't. In fact, they only want to expand, under their control, of course. That's what each faction wants. And what you're proposing will turn all of them against you."
"Is that not worth it?"
"Ending over 100 million people," Taiyo shakes his head. "Can you really go through with that?"
"To create a better world, yes, I can."
"That…is too much blood for me," Taiyo lies. "Besides, that's not what this is about."
"Oh. Then tell me, what is this about?"
Taiyo narrows his eyes at Geto. "You know, the only way this plan happens is with Gojo gone. But even if you had the power, you don't know if you have the conviction to do it. But you believe I'll have both."
"Is not wanting to murder your best friend such a bad thing?"
"It is when your only alternative, me, isn't allowed to do it."
"A Binding Vow?"
"Not yet, but he has one free slot. The others he's already used, to protect you…"
Geto leans back in his seat, not expecting his friend to have gone that far to protect him.
"The man has been watching your back all these years, even going as far as making deals with me and threatening the higher-ups in case they send me after you. And yet, here you are, making his life harder, and planning his death."
Taiyo shakes his head, casting a look of disgust at Geto.
"I wouldn't wish a best friend like you onto my most hated enemy…"
Mimiko and Nanako cast worried looks at Geto while he sulks in his seat, pushing his food around with the fork as Taiyo finishes eating.
Taiyo then takes out a small notepad and flips to his notes on Souls and the resonance between them before turning to the girls.
"Alright, I need to leave, so let's get your food boxed to go, then we can head back to my room to get this over with."
Mimiko glares at him. "Pervert…"
Minutes later, both Mimiko and Nanako are still fully dressed but lying on the ground of Taiyo's hotel room.
Coated in a thin layer of sweat as they hold onto each other, shaking uncontrollably as pain wracks their bodies.
Sitting on his bed, Taiyo observes them and continues writing in his notebook.
He records everything, comparing their twin Souls to that of Maki and Mai's, studying their resonance and their response to his attempt at separating them.
'I can certainly separate them, but I don't have enough finesse to do that without killing one of them. It would likely have the same result as just killing one of them anyway. I need more training, then I should be able to split them apart and cause one of them to fully awaken.
But I'd need one of them to enter a Binding Vow. But only one of them, since their Souls are connected, for this matter, one has the authority of both through resonance.
For Mimiko and Nanako, I'd have to pick one to awaken and the other would effectively have a warped soul. That would make her incapable of using Jujutsu, but still the same otherwise.
The other would be fully realised.
For Maki and Mai, if I awaken one, because of Maki's Heavenly Restriction, they'll both awaken, how interesting.'
"What exactly are you researching?" Geto asks as Taiyo finishes his notes and grabs his bag.
"The potential of Jujutsu, nothing more."
Taiyo says as he leaves the room, heading to his next competition…
END CHAPTER---
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