At the Bulgari Hotel, on the top floor, inside one of the bedrooms of the presidential suite.
Asou Akiya leaned back against the headboard, his knees drawn up, a laptop resting across his thighs. On the screen, a video was playing again.
He wore a pair of small in-ear headphones, repeatedly watching the conversation between Getou Suguru and his parents.
His mother's refusal to speak.
His father's attempt to have a conversation—yet using entirely the wrong approach.
And then, when Getou Suguru's emotions erupted, the hatred he directed toward his parents, and the anger he aimed at Asou Akiya.
The final scene captured by the surveillance camera showed Getou Suguru reuniting with Gojo Satoru. After the two spoke, they brushed past each other and parted ways. Getou Suguru walked alone toward the end of the street, as if he had no intention of ever turning back to the home that had raised him.
"So the end of this story is actually an open ending about running away from home?"
"Not bad."
Asou Akiya did not feel any negative emotions from being cursed at. On the contrary, he wished Getou Suguru had cursed him more viciously, and had become even more furious.
After all, that guy had even scattered the "ashes" he had buried in the grave.
Getou Suguru was a model example of someone who perishes in silence.
An emotional outburst kept within controllable limits was the life-saving remedy before Getou Suguru walked down a road of no return.
He closed the laptop.
Outside the door, Ieiri Shoko knocked. After receiving permission, she entered the room. "I'm not interrupting you, am I?"
"How could you be?" Asou Akiya let out a soft laugh. "No matter when you come, Shoko, you would never be a disturbance to me."
"Tch…" Ieiri Shoko clicked her tongue. "The more I look at you, the more unsettling you become. Be careful—when your birthday comes around next year, everyone might start avoiding you."
Asou Akiya looked troubled. "There's no need to wait until next year. Right now I'm thinking about how to coax Getou back."
"You're always shutting yourself up in your room. Don't you like getting some sunlight?" Ieiri Shoko walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and, with a swift motion, pulled the curtains wide open. The beauty of the sunset at dusk poured into the room in golden reflection. In the city below, white-collar workers were finishing their busy day, sorcerers were stealing moments of leisure amid their duties, and yet they had still found the time to put together a uniquely creative birthday celebration.
She was very satisfied with the suite—each person had their own bedroom, enjoying supreme VIP treatment through the Gojo family's connections.
"For safety's sake." Asou Akiya raised a hand to shield his eyes from the dazzling winter sunlight. After adjusting to the brightness, he cast his gaze toward the horizon glowing with dusk. "To be honest, I am still a living creature of the sun who prefers the world of daylight."
"Shoko, come here."
At his gesture for her to approach, the heels of Ieiri Shoko's shoes pressed small indentations into the carpet as she walked over.
She came to the bedside to look at the classmate who had not shown his face all day.
"Asou, I've heard that Getou is very angry with you."
"That's only natural."
"Getou scattered your ashes. Do you think that's only natural too?"
"Of course. I deliberately bought a fragile urn."
"You're ruthless."
"Well, we're sorcerers. Without a certain ruthlessness, we wouldn't survive. As long as he doesn't actually kill me, there's no problem."
Asou Akiya responded flawlessly to Ieiri Shoko's pointed remarks. His emotions remained steady and composed, earning her quiet admiration.
"This presidential suite—looks like it'll just be the three of us staying here tonight." Ieiri Shoko teased him. "Did you miscalculate? If we want to see Getou, we'll probably have to wait until school starts on February 10."
Asou Akiya replied, "Gojo will be able to find him."
Ieiri Shoko shook her head. "And what's the point of finding him? He may not want to see us."
Asou Akiya picked up a chocolate-flavored Bulgari dessert from the bedside and took a bite, replenishing his mental energy. "Then it's time to use the trump card."
Ieiri Shoko raised an eyebrow. "What trump card?"
From beneath the cushion behind his back, Asou Akiya pulled out an unopened novel.
Ieiri Shoko recognized it. At the start of the school term, Asou Akiya had given her a copy of that same novel as a gift when they first met.
"Will that really help? The protagonist just happens to share the same name, that's all."
"It will help," Asou Akiya replied. "It depends on who uses it."
He stepped down from the bed and went to the wardrobe, taking out his Tokyo Jujutsu High autumn uniform jacket.
Only then did Ieiri Shoko notice that he was already wearing the lower half of the school uniform. With just the jacket slipped on, he could head out at any moment dressed exactly as he did for class. A premonition stirred within her.
"You're going to see Getou?"
Asou Akiya put on the jacket and fastened the buttons, carrying himself with effortless elegance as he answered, "Yes."
Ieiri Shoko asked, "Aren't you afraid of getting beaten up?"
Asou Akiya replied, "As long as the script is still in progress, he can't lay a hand on me. Don't underestimate his curiosity."
Ieiri Shoko looked puzzled. "Didn't you already die in the script?"
Asou Akiya smiled. "Can't someone who has died come back to life? This is the jujutsu world, after all. Such things may be rare, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. If you don't believe me, go ask about the Gojo family's records."
Clearing his throat, Asou Akiya formally introduced himself:
"I am Asou Akiya. My original body died ten years ago, but the spirit medium 'Granny Ogami' accidentally obtained part of my corpse. By casting a technique on her grandson, she summoned down the bodily information and a portion of the soul information of 'Asou Akiya,' allowing 'me' to be temporarily resurrected."
Asou Akiya continued, "Granny Ogami is a veteran curse user who specializes in exploiting the weaknesses of others. She is an enemy of the twenty-six-year-old Getou Suguru, who is devoted to exterminating curse users. Her goal is to kill with a borrowed blade—using my hand to deal a heavy blow to Getou Suguru. If she could eliminate Getou Suguru in one stroke, that would be even better, but Granny Ogami does not have that much confidence in 'me.'"
Ieiri Shoko applauded lightly. "You've woven that story so masterfully. Are you determined to deliver him a fatal blow right on his birthday?"
Asou Akiya replied, "No. 'I' switched sides."
Ieiri Shoko said, "Wait a second—what kind of plot twist is this now?"
Holding the novel in his hand as he headed for the door, Asou Akiya said coolly, "Shoko, let me tell you a little piece of jujutsu world trivia."
"A spirit medium is a profession that is extremely prone to backlash."
"Not just anyone can be summoned through a seance."
[My soul…]
[…is not something that Granny Ogami's grandson can possibly withstand.]
Fushiguro Toji had been able to seize control of Granny Ogami's grandson's body and kill Granny Ogami. Asou Akiya's sixth sense told him that he could accomplish the same.
An obscure piece of knowledge from the jujutsu world: a third-rate soul cannot control a first-rate body because the body will devour the soul.
By the same logic, a third-rate body cannot suppress a first-rate soul because the soul will devour the original owner.
After all, he was a transmigrator who had effortlessly taken over this body.
A mere spirit summoning? That would be courting death.
The official guidebook states that such a method is not true resurrection in the proper sense; at most, it counts as exploiting a loophole. The revived Fushiguro Toji was no longer the same person he had once been.
Otherwise, Asou Akiya would have thought Granny Ogami was practically a godsend delivered straight to him.
After all. who wouldn't want an extra resurrection coin? Unfortunately, he had not yet discovered such a fallback.
…
When he left home, Getou Suguru had not a single coin on him, and the phone he carried did not have direct payment functionality.
He seized an apartment that had been sealed off due to a supernatural incident, exorcised the curse within, and turned it into a temporary refuge for himself now that he was homeless.
He had no appetite and did not wish to eat.
Getou Suguru set up a [Curtain] to conceal cursed energy, preventing any unwelcome intruders from disturbing him.
Afterward, he lay on the sofa in the apartment, his eyes vacant, his vitality drained away. For over twenty hours he had neither eaten nor drunk a single drop of water, and his lips had grown dry.
Even without looking in a mirror, he knew that he was in terrible condition.
"I've just had the worst birthday of my life."
There had been no birthday cake, no candles to make a wish over; instead, what he received was the resolve to sever all ties with his family in a single stroke.
"This isn't what I imagined…"
On Gojo Satoru's birthday, they had reconciled and spent an entire day celebrating together.
"Does he hate me…?"
In the script arranged by Asou Akiya, Getou Suguru was a beast who killed his own father and mother, someone who in the future would likely become a curse user.
"Are my… so-called righteousness and lofty principles nothing but a burden to Satoru?"
After Getou Suguru considered the possibility that the one person who could see straight through him might hate him, he sank even deeper into utter despair.
Who could possibly hear his silent cry for help?
Satoru and Akiya must surely think him despicable and shameless, narrow-minded, unable to take a loss, even hostile toward the very family that had treated him well.
Aside from being born with the technique of Cursed Spirit Manipulation, he was practically worthless. He had lived his life into becoming an orphan by his own hand.
Outside the [Curtain].
"So this is the place? You're certain he's here alone, shutting himself off?" Asou Akiya asked the white-haired man beside him.
"I wouldn't mistake the lingering traces of Suguru's cursed energy. He was a little slower than usual in cleaning up the evidence," Gojo Satoru replied from behind his blindfold, his hair standing up in arrogant defiance, his choice of words maintaining the persona set within the script.
"We're speaking outside the script right now," Asou Akiya teased. "Hearing you refer to yourself modestly as 'watashi' when talking to me feels just a little unfamiliar."
Gojo Satoru was already able to look down at him; with discreet height-increasing insoles hidden inside his dress shoes, he appeared even taller and more imposing.
As he spoke, his sharp canine teeth flashed in and out of sight, carrying a strong sense of intimidation. His lips were cherry-blossom pink, almost jelly-like in color—the shade of lipstick accentuated perfectly the tantalizing allure of a face only half revealed.
"When you wrote the script, why didn't you consider that I wouldn't be used to it either?" he shot back.
"Hah. The whole point is the contrast—it's charming."
Their bickering did not last long. Asou Akiya made a small gesture as though cheering himself on. "Gojo, if I end up getting beaten up, remember to come rescue me."
"No way. I'll just watch you get beaten to tears," Gojo Satoru replied.
Asou Akiya prepared to step into Getou Suguru's territory.
Suddenly, Gojo Satoru blocked his path. Changing his mind once more, he said, "Revise the script. I'll go in with you."
Seeing the darkened, almost corrupted look on Getou Suguru's face earlier, Gojo Satoru was not entirely at ease about letting his little tangerine walk in alone to suffer.
Asou Akiya said, "Gojo, you're too tall. Lower your head a little."
Gojo Satoru bent down slightly.
Unable to resist, Asou Akiya reached out and ruffled Gojo Satoru's white hair, smiling with narrowed eyes. "I'm not afraid. As long as I'm alive, that alone is already a victory over the version of myself who died in the script. The twenty-six-year-old Getou Suguru couldn't handle the 'me' within the script, and naturally, the sixteen-year-old Getou Suguru can't handle the me who stands outside of it. The only person who has ever been able to break my script and do something I couldn't predict has always been you."
Gojo Satoru hesitated. "Am I really that amazing…?"
A second later, he accepted the compliment without reservation, brimming with confidence. "Yeah, Akiya's right. I really am that amazing!"
"Gojo, help me keep watch outside. Don't let anyone come near. I'll be responsible for coaxing Getou back. Tonight, we'll gather at the Bulgari Hotel for dinner."
Asou Akiya passed through the [Curtain] and stepped into the apartment, a site thick with cursed energy.
Inside, Getou Suguru's eyes snapped open.
"Asou Akiya." The bones of Getou Suguru's fingers cracked audibly as he clenched them.
The professional birthday troublemaker—the culprit who had caused his parents to learn about the jujutsu world—had arrived.
"Ding-dong—"
The apartment's doorbell rang, releasing a clear, pleasant chime.
"Are you there?"
Outside the door, Asou Akiya called out, his voice warm and gentle, completely unlike a vengeful spirit come to claim a life. "I've come to kill you, Getou."
Getou Suguru: "..."
Is there something seriously wrong with the birthday script you wrote?!
"Surprised?"
Separated by the door, Asou Akiya anticipated Getou Suguru's intention not to open it and continued speaking.
"After all, I've been dead for ten years. Even I was rather surprised that I could come back to life. The curse user who helped 'resurrect' me was an old woman. Age has made her cunning; her intentions were far from good. Once she realized that I possessed self-awareness, she fled in panic."
"My cursed energy can probably last until midnight tonight—barely enough time to have a conversation with you."
"You don't have to open the door."
"I'm afraid that if I see you, I might lose control and kill someone."
"As a puppet, being able to break free from the one pulling the strings behind the scenes is already a stroke of fortune. I have no desire to cross blades with a friend."
"Getou, can you tell me? Have you grown taller? Has your hair grown longer? Have you achieved the great cause you were pursuing?"
Asou Akiya spoke gently, every word a blade that drew no blood.
Getou Suguru felt as though even the dead could be provoked into sprouting an extra mouth from sheer fury. Grinding his teeth, he replied, "No. Just stay outside. I don't want to beat you up either."
Asou Akiya asked, "Then have you read the novel I wrote for you?"
Getou Suguru: "A novel?"
Asou Akiya: "Before I died, I left you a novel. It was written on January 10, 2005."
Getou Suguru: "..."
Asou Akiya: "You can buy it in any major bookstore. The protagonist's name is 'Suguru.' Shoko and Gojo have both read it. When you were browsing in bookstores, did you ever notice it? The title is The Strongest Demon King Reincarnated as a Modern Master Onmyōji"
Getou Suguru: "..."
All of a sudden, a chill shot up from the soles of his feet.
That has to be fake.
They only met in March 2005—how could Akiya have written a novel about him two months earlier?!
This must be the publishing house and the Gojo family pulling strings behind the scenes!
"Getou, do you know the cause of my death?"
"You died saving my parents."
"No. I would never save your parents. I know you resent them, and I value my own life above all else. Why would I sacrifice myself for something not worth it?"
"!!"
"I was forced to sacrifice myself for you to witness. I was too close to you—so close that I became a target."
Asou Akiya pressed his forehead against the door. Through the crude peephole, his enhanced vision allowed him to see the shrunken interior of the apartment. He did not blink. His pitch-black eyes projected an intangible yet chilling sense of presence toward Getou Suguru.
Asou Akiya pressed his forehead against the door. Through the crude peephole, with enhanced vision, he could see the shrunken interior of the apartment. He did not blink; his pitch-black eyes projected an intangible yet sinister sense of presence toward Getou Suguru.
The "Akiya" who had returned from the dead carried with him an ominous atmosphere. Goosebumps rose along Getou Suguru's arms.
"Getou."
"I died in winter."
"It didn't snow that day. Your mother closed my eyes for me and said—"
"Asou-kun, you're far too much of an obstacle."
"Suguru-kun is the little piglet I gave birth to and raised myself."
…
There is a kind of ghost story that, even when entirely fabricated, is terrifying beyond measure.
At the Tombs of the Star Corridor, Tengen listened to the ghost story through the [Curtain]. All four of her eyes widened stiffly in fright. Not daring to waste a second, she exercised her authority over Japan's great barrier and, at the fastest speed possible, located Getou Suguru's biological parents to check whether there were any abnormalities.
No stitches.
No traces of a brain having been replaced.
Everything was normal.
A lingering sense of fear crept over Tengen, leaving her both shaken and wryly amused. She had actually been frightened by a sixteen-year-old boy.
Fortunately, this was only a story fabricated by Asou Akiya. Getou Suguru was not that person's descendant, and Cursed Spirit Manipulation was not a technique that any sorcerer could produce at will simply by having a child.
She thought to herself: [Even Kenjaku wouldn't stoop that low, would he?]
[Asou Akiya, can that reckless mouth of yours give it a rest? The jujutsu world is not a suitable place for telling ghost stories!]
So in this script titled "High School Reunion Ten Years Later," the reason patricide and matricide appeared was because Getou Suguru wanted to eliminate the enemy who had replaced his parents and avenge them.
Tengen's declining impression of Getou Suguru inexplicably improved by quite a bit.
So this was the truth, after all.
…
Kenjaku: Sigh.
Kenjaku: If it weren't for the fact that I can't give birth, no matter what, Suguru-kun would have to call me "Mom."
—
Author's Note:
Happy May Day!
—Yu Wei, happily bouncing around like a fish.