Shun had just finished paying when his phone buzzed with a text.
Kurumi glanced over. "What's wrong?"
"A junior of mine just arrived in town," Shun said, slipping the phone back into his pocket.
The message had been from Fushiguro Megumi. Looked like Satoru had given him a heads up before sending him to Sendai City.
Of course, Megumi had not texted to ask for help, but to confirm whether his own mission would interfere with Shun's.
He wanted to coordinate first, get familiar with the situation. It would also make it easier for him to retrieve the cursed object.
"Your junior? He is a sorcerer too?"
Kurumi handed the bag of groceries to Shun.
He took it without thinking.
Only after accepting it did he realize something was off.
Why was he automatically taking whatever she handed him?
Still, since he had already taken it, he did not bother saying anything.
"Yeah," Shun nodded.
"Then invite him over to the apartment. I will cook him a good dinner!"
She puffed up with enthusiasm, like she was about to show off her full power.
Shun glanced sideways at her.
Why was she this excited?
"Constantly hanging around jujutsu sorcerers is not good for you," he said.
A normal person was not supposed to see cursed spirits.
But the more you touched that side of the world, the more likely you were to encounter them.
"Oh? So you do not want me to meet other sorcerers. Are you jealous?"
Her tone turned teasing.
"Jealous? I think your head must be full of water," Shun said flatly.
"You are so mean when you insult people," Kurumi huffed.
Shun ignored it. "Anyway, for your own sake, avoid anything related to curses if you can."
Seeing his expression, Kurumi nodded obediently.
Then she hesitated and asked quietly, "Then... will you still come home for dinner?"
She really looked like a little kitten begging not to be abandoned.
Seeing the hope in her eyes, Shun sighed. "I will bring him over."
"Mm!"
Kurumi brightened immediately.
"Come on, let's go home."
Watching her practically bounce with joy, Shun could not help a helpless little smile.
What exactly are you so happy about...
...
After dropping Kurumi back at the apartment, Shun grabbed a cab to the meeting point Megumi had sent,
...
Sendai Station Pedestrian Deck
The massive elevated pedestrian deck outside the west exit of Sendai Station served as the focal point of the city.
Once Megumi arrived in the city, he had come straight here.
Not long after, Shun reached the plaza as well.
He quickly picked Megumi out of the crowd.
About 175 centimeters tall, black hair with a faint bluish tint, sticking up in untamed spikes.
The standard Tokyo Jujutsu High uniform, dark blue high collar jacket, dark blue wide leg pants, brown shoes.
Who else could it be but Fushiguro Megumi?
Honestly, Shun had serious doubts about the person who had designed this uniform.
How had they managed to come up with something that ugly?
He even thought his old high school uniform back in his previous life had looked better than this.
"Fushiguro," Shun called as he walked up.
"Gojo senpai."
Megumi's attitude toward Shun was respectfully earnest.
When Gojo Satoru had first brought him in, it had been Shun who looked after him most of the time.
Megumi had always admired how deeply Shun understood curses and how skilled he was at developing techniques.
He had also received plenty of guidance from him.
"Mm." Shun nodded. "Do you know anything about the cursed object you are here to retrieve?"
Megumi shook his head, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"Not really. It is just a mission the higher ups threw down," he said. "I only found out you were in this city after I arrived."
"I see."
Shun rubbed his chin.
"Senpai, I heard you are currently dealing with that rumored Nightmare," Megumi said.
He had clearly heard about Shun's mission too.
As a curse that had surged into notoriety in recent years, Nightmare had caused quite a stir in the jujutsu world.
When Megumi found out that Gojo Shun was the one facing her, all he could think was, " As expected of Gojo senpai."
Shun nodded. "That curse is very unusual. When you are retrieving the cursed object, you need to be extremely careful."
"If you run into her, forget everything else and run with everything you have."
"Is she that bad?"
Megumi stared at him, shocked.
This was the first time he had heard his senpai talk that way.
"Nightmare is far too special," Shun said quietly. "Compared to the curses we normally deal with, she barely feels like the same kind of being."
The cursed Kurumi felt more like his own system curse than a regular cursed spirit.