Chapter 187: Megumi's Growth, Toji's Shadow
Bang!
The dull impact of flesh hitting the ground broke the quiet of the courtyard, sending several birds fluttering from the nearby trees.
A five year old boy with spiky black hair rolled across the neatly trimmed lawn seven or eight times before finally coming to a stop.
"Cough… cough…"
Megumi Fushiguro pushed himself upright.
Dirt and grass clung to his face and clothes. His breathing was ragged, his chest rising and falling hard.
Yet the look in his dark eyes was far too fierce for a child his age.
He stared directly at Yami.
"Too slow."
Yami stood in the center of the courtyard wearing a loose black training uniform, an ordinary wooden sword resting in one hand.
His expression was calm.
"You're thinking too much before you move."
Megumi gritted his teeth.
"Your body stiffens every time you decide on your next attack. In a real fight, no one is going to wait for you to choose the perfect stance."
Ever since Suguru Geto's supposed defection and Satoru Gojo's departure overseas to take on a constant stream of missions, Yami had become one of the strangest presences at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
He still trained Kento Nanami and Yu Haibara.
He regularly checked on Maki after bringing her away from the Zenin Clan.
But most of his remaining time had gone toward another child.
Megumi Fushiguro.
With Gojo's financial support, Megumi and his older sister Tsumiki had completely escaped the unstable life they had once known.
They now lived in a large house with a private courtyard, had someone to take care of their daily needs, and attended one of Tokyo's better private schools.
But comfort had not dulled Megumi.
If anything, Yami's strict training had begun drawing out something buried deep within him.
Something sharp.
Something instinctive.
Something that reminded Yami of another Fushiguro.
"Again."
Megumi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
Then his fingers formed a hand sign.
Cursed Energy gathered around him.
"Divine Dogs!"
The shadow beneath Megumi rippled.
Two shikigami emerged from it, one black and one white.
Despite Megumi's age, the Divine Dogs were already large enough to resemble adult wolves.
They lowered their bodies and bared their fangs at Yami.
Megumi had successfully awakened the Ten Shadows Technique, one of the most prized inherited techniques of the Zenin Clan.
Even the higher ups had already begun paying attention to his talent.
"Go."
The Divine Dogs moved.
One attacked from the left.
The other from the right.
Their approach cut off Yami's easiest retreat routes.
Megumi disappeared behind them.
Yami's eyes sharpened slightly.
There.
Instead of following directly, Megumi used the dogs' bodies to hide his movement.
He lowered himself, moved through Yami's blind spot, and waited for the shikigami to force an opening.
A trace of approval entered Yami's gaze.
So similar.
Megumi's personality was colder and more reserved, but his instincts in battle were disturbingly close to Toji Fushiguro's.
He observed.
He waited.
He used terrain, line of sight, and his opponent's attention.
And once he saw an opening, he committed without hesitation.
The black Divine Dog lunged first.
Yami shifted half a step.
Its jaws snapped shut beside his shoulder.
The white dog followed immediately.
Yami rotated his wrist.
The wooden sword turned in his hand.
Tap.
The hilt struck the back of the Divine Dog's neck with precise force.
Its body collapsed into shadow and dispersed.
That was the opening Megumi had been waiting for.
His small figure appeared above Yami.
Somewhere during the exchange, he had picked up a sharp piece of metal.
He held it in both hands.
His face had gone completely still.
No hesitation.
No childish fear.
Megumi drove the metal downward toward Yami's throat, using the force of his fall to increase the strike.
The timing was excellent.
He had attacked at the exact instant Yami finished dealing with the white Divine Dog.
For a normal opponent, the combination might have worked.
Yami smiled.
"Better."
Megumi's eyes widened slightly.
"But still not enough."
Yami moved his foot.
His body shifted backward by barely half a meter.
The metal shard missed his throat.
Clack!
Megumi struck the ground instead.
Before he could recover his balance, the tip of Yami's wooden sword was already resting against the side of his neck.
Megumi froze.
The remaining black Divine Dog stopped as well.
Silence returned to the courtyard.
Megumi released the technique.
The shikigami sank back into his shadow.
His shoulders dropped.
"I lost again, Brother Yami."
The metal shard slipped from his hand and landed in the grass.
Yami lowered the wooden sword.
Then he walked over and ruffled Megumi's spiky hair.
"You're five."
Megumi frowned immediately.
"And?"
Yami almost smiled.
"You used your shikigami to control my movement, concealed yourself behind them, attacked from my blind spot, and forced me to move."
He tapped Megumi lightly on the forehead.
"For someone your age, that's ridiculous."
Megumi's eyes brightened.
Only slightly.
He quickly looked away.
"But I still lost."
"Of course you did."
Megumi's face darkened.
Yami continued before he could complain.
"If you could beat me at five years old, I'd retire."
Megumi looked back at him.
Then his expression became serious again.
"I need to get stronger."
Yami studied him.
Megumi clenched his fists.
"If I'm weak, I won't be able to protect Tsumiki."
His voice was quiet.
Far too heavy for a child.
"I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me."
He looked down.
"And I don't want to be a burden."
The sliding door behind them opened.
"Megumi?"
Tsumiki stepped into the courtyard carrying two glasses of iced barley tea.
She was a few years older than him, with a gentle smile that seemed completely out of place beside the battered lawn and Megumi's dirty face.
"Brother Yami, you too."
She held out the drinks.
"You should both rest for a while. Megumi, don't push yourself too hard."
Megumi looked at his sister.
At her relaxed smile.
At the way she stood there without knowing anything about the future waiting for her.
His fists tightened.
Yami noticed.
And for an instant, memories of the future surfaced in his mind.
Megumi Fushiguro had possessed extraordinary talent.
Yet he had spent much of his life chained by self doubt.
He tried to save others while placing almost no value on himself.
He failed to protect the person he cared about most.
Tsumiki died before his eyes.
And then Megumi's own body was taken by Ryomen Sukuna.
His Ten Shadows Technique became a weapon in the hands of the King of Curses.
His own flesh was used to kill the people he cared about.
A future more cruel than death.
Yami accepted the tea from Tsumiki.
"Thanks."
Then he crouched in front of Megumi.
Both hands settled firmly on the boy's shoulders.
Megumi looked up at him.
Yami's dark red eyes were completely serious.
"Megumi."
The boy straightened instinctively.
"Remember this."
"As long as you keep moving forward…"
"As long as you sharpen yourself…"
"And as long as your will doesn't break…"
Yami tightened his grip slightly.
"No one gets to decide what you lose."
Megumi stared at him.
"No person."
"No Curse."
"No monster."
Yami's voice remained calm.
"You protect what matters to you with your own strength."
Something shifted in Megumi's expression.
The fear he rarely admitted.
The uncertainty.
The question of whether he would ever be strong enough.
For once, they seemed a little farther away.
Yami made a silent promise.
He would not allow the same tragedy to happen again.
Megumi would not become Sukuna's vessel.
The Ten Shadows Technique would not become a weapon turned against everyone he loved.
If the King of Curses ever set his sights on Megumi again, Yami wanted him to discover that the boy he had chosen as prey had grown into something capable of biting back.
"Brother Yami…"
Megumi looked directly into his eyes.
Then he nodded hard.
"I understand."
His hands tightened into small fists.
"I'll become stronger."
His voice gained confidence.
"Strong enough to protect Tsumiki."
He glanced toward his sister.
"And everyone else too."
Tsumiki smiled, though she clearly had no idea what kind of conversation had just taken place.
The setting sun poured across the courtyard.
The shadows of Yami and Megumi stretched long over the grass.
Yami looked at the boy beside him.
Megumi's growth had already exceeded his expectations.
The Ten Shadows Technique was awakening quickly.
More importantly, the combat instinct inherited from Toji was beginning to surface.
Cold judgment.
Efficient movement.
A willingness to use every available advantage.
If that instinct could be combined with the full potential of the Ten Shadows Technique…
Then the Megumi Fushiguro standing before him might grow into someone far different from the one Yami remembered.
Someone capable of changing the outcome of the war that waited in the future.
…..
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