I kept looking at Panda for a moment before speaking.
"I am sorry for doing that."
Panda looked at me quietly, his round eyes studying my face for a second before he shrugged slightly.
"It's alright," he said calmly.
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.
"So… uh… how do you all know each other?"
I asked Yuji. I already knew the answer, but hearing it from them felt different somehow.
Yuji looked at me and replied casually.
"We went to the same school. Panda is our senpai."
"Oh… alright."
I nodded slowly before glancing back toward Hakari and Kirara, who were standing near the door. Megumi, who had been watching me quietly for a while, suddenly spoke.
"Kita… do any of our plans change?"
I shook my head.
"No, I don't think it sho—"
Suddenly, a loud chime interrupted me.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong!
All of us looked up as a small white bird-like shikigami appeared in the air.
"A player has added a new rule to the Culling Game!"
Its mechanical voice echoed through the room.
"Rule 9: Players shall be able to view the following information on other players:Name, points, number of rules added, and current colony."
"I am Kogane! A liaison between Players and the Culling Game!"
Then suddenly another one appeared.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong!
Both Kogane floated in the air and stared at each other for a moment, as if confused.
The second one stopped speaking first.
The first Kogane spoke again.
"I am speaking as the personal liaison attached to the Player Itadori Yuji."
Then the other one turned toward me.
"I am the personal liaison attached to Player Ikuyo Kita."
Yuji and Megumi exchanged a glance and nodded slightly. We had already talked about the Culling Game earlier, so none of this shocked them.
Yuji had been forced into the game because of the cursed object inside him.
As for me… I was apparently one of the people with latent sorcerer potential but without a sorcerer's brain. Kenjaku had awakened my abilities and thrown me into the Culling Game as a forced participant.
Lucky me.
I looked at my Kogane more closely. It looked like a small yellow shell with red wings and a red tail.
Honestly… it looked pretty cool.
"Kogane, can you show the player list?" I asked.
Yuji asked the same thing of his own Kogane, so both of them began displaying floating panels of information.
Hakari, Megumi, Kirara, Yuji, Panda, and I all gathered around the lists.
We scrolled all those names.
Players. Sorcerers. Curse Users. Reincarnators...
I already knew most of the big ones from the story.
While I was scanning the names, I noticed Megumi staring at me.
When I looked up, he was already looking at me with a serious expression.
"Kita-san…" he murmured quietly.
"You were right."
His voice trembled slightly.
"Everything you said… It's all happening."
Before I could react, he suddenly grabbed my hands.
Then he bowed his head slightly.
"Please, Kita-san… please help me save my sister."
His grip tightened.
I realized his hands were shaking.
When he raised his head, his eyes were glossy, like he was barely holding himself together.
Seeing him like that… hurt.
Megumi was always calm. Quiet. Controlled.
But right now, he looked desperate.
I gently freed one of my hands after a moment.
Then I stepped closer.
Without saying anything, I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into a hug.
"You don't even need to ask," I said softly.
"I would have done it for you anyway."
For a second, he froze in surprise.
Then his arms slowly tightened around me.
His face buried into my hair...
My face was buried into his chest due to him almost being 20 cm taller then me.
And I felt his body shake slightly as he began to sob quietly.
Behind us, Hakari, Yuji, Kirara, and Panda stared with their mouths slightly open.
Especially Yuji.
Megumi almost never showed his emotions like this.
I rested my hand on the back of Megumi's chest, gently brushing his back while he calmed down.
"It's going to be alright," I whispered quietly.
"We'll save her."
It took a little while before he finally pulled away.
His eyes were red, but he looked calmer.
Much calmer.
After that, we began moving toward the colonies we had discussed earlier.
Yuji called Choso, and we met up with him near the entrance to Tokyo No.1 Colony.
For some reason, Megumi walked with us almost the entire way, even though his route was supposed to be different.
None of us mentioned it.
Choso, Yuji, and I would enter Tokyo No.1 Colony.
Megumi would return to Jujutsu High to meet up with Maki.
Hakari would head toward Tokyo No.2 Colony, just like in the original show.
We stopped near the barrier.
The air around it shimmered like heat over asphalt. It was black like a liquid wall.
I turned toward Megumi.
"We're entering now, Megumi-san."
Yuji stretched his arms lazily.
"Take care, Fushiguro."
Choso simply nodded silently.
Megumi nodded once.
But his eyes weren't on them.
They were on me.
"Be careful, Ikuyo-san."
Yuji blinked.
His friend hadn't even replied properly to him.
Megumi was only looking at the girl.
I gave Megumi a small smile and waved.
Then I stepped forward and entered the barrier.
Yuji and Choso followed soon after.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, the culling games officaly starts now.
Also brother, may I have some comments?