The revival of the golden age of jujutsu, or perhaps its second coming. On a certain spring day, those words had long since become a cliché.
Eight years had passed since the spring of 2009, when the Strongest Generation and the Most Excellent Generation graduated. Under the continued reign of the Special Grades, the number of sorcerers killed in the line of duty within the jujutsu world had been steadily declining.
Amidst this, a man passed through the gates of the Tokyo Jujutsu High for the first time in a long while, responding to a rare request for cooperation from the school.
Dressed in a well-tailored silk kimono and wearing traditional sandals, his presence caused many staff members he passed to straighten their posture and bow deeply.
Naoya Zen'in—Head of the Zen'in Clan and Special Special Grade Sorcerer.
He was known as the Godspeed Sorcerer, spoken of in the same breath as Satoru Gojo, the Strongest Sorcerer, and Suguru Geto, the Universal Sorcerer.
Normally, due to the delicate power balance of the jujutsu world, he based his activities at the Zen'in estate in Kyoto. The reason he had traveled all the way to Tokyo was because he had been summoned by those of equal status to himself.
"Hey, hello there, Naoya. Sorry about this."
"Hello. You told me to get here right away, so I practically ran. What's going on?"
"You're as fast as ever, Naoya. I literally just hung up the phone with Suguru, didn't I?"
"Well, unlike Satoru, Naoya is actually serious. Anyway, here is the business at hand. An unregistered Special Grade cursed spirit was suddenly observed yesterday evening."
"And what's more, it's currently possessing a high school boy. Honestly, it's a total anomaly. We suspect the boy might have formed some kind of Binding Vow with the curse, so we figured we should show him to Naoya, since you're the expert on Vows."
Indeed, the ones getting straight to the point after welcoming Naoya were Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo, who had now spent eight years settled into their roles as teachers at Jujutsu High.
Geto seemed to be the type to dress for the role, appearing every bit the 'teacher' in slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie. On the other hand, Gojo was still wearing a high school uniform. If he weren't so handsome, he would be an old guy dressed in all-black who the PTA would report to the police in a heartbeat.
In reality, however, this uniform was not a standard one. It was a suit of chainmail woven from fine rings of a material called Ouchi, only 0.1mm in diameter, making it a monstrous piece of armor that nullified all physical attacks.
As Naoya walked down the hallway flanked by Gojo-sensei and Geto-sensei, many students and teachers called out to him. To the people at the Tokyo school, the young man known as Naoya Zen'in was seen more as the 'alumnus representing the Most Excellent Generation' than as the Head of the Zen'in Clan.
"Ah, Naoya-san. You're here."
"Megumi-kun. You've gotten big. Did you grow again?"
"I've grown to 172."
"That's crazy. You're gonna pass me at this rate. I've stopped growing entirely."
"Naoya, aren't you 178 right now? You're actually kind of small."
"Satoru, that's just because you and I are huge. Normal people don't have to duck to get through classroom doors, you know?"
"Gojo-sensei, the Japanese average is 171.5, so Naoya-san is plenty tall."
"Seriously?"
The one exchanging these words as he passed by was Megumi Fushiguro, the next head of the Zen'in clan and a third-year middle schooler in the middle of a major growth spurt.
Because Naoya had lived with and cared for him when he was young, the two had a great relationship, to the point where Megumi publicly stated, 'I can respect Naoya-san more easily than my own old man.' From Naoya's perspective, however, seeing him get taller every time they met—and seeing his face look more and more like Toji's, becoming a handsome heartbreaker—gave him slightly complicated feelings.
Or rather, while Megumi seemed to unconsciously avoid thinking about it, he was clearly popular with both Hana, who was his age, and Tsumiki, his step-sister. To Naoya, who had spent his student days in a grey, joyless fashion, this 'rose-colored' life of Megumi's was nothing but a source of envy.
'I wonder if he'll end up getting stabbed in some messy love triangle,' he thought about his blood relative. As usual, Naoya Zen'in's personality was absolute trash.
After parting ways with Megumi, they headed across a connecting corridor toward the high school's holding cells. Along the way, the natural enemy of a trash-heap like Naoya appeared before him.
"Oh, look, it's Naoya's beloved child bride."
"Satoru-kun, clench your teeth. I'm going to crush your balls."
"Why?! I'm against violence!"
"It's your fault for stepping on a landmine you knew was there, Satoru. Naoya is still a virgin because he's been holding back since the wedding, saying, 'Normally, a high school girl is still just a brat.'"
"Suguru-kun, you really haven't fixed that habit of letting things slip, have you?"
"...Ah, sorry."
"Hey, what's with the whispering? Do I have something on my face?"
"If anything, it's not on your face, it's on the ring finger of your left hand."
"Ah, I see. Satoru, don't bully someone else's husband so much."
The one saying this while carrying a naginata she had been using for training was Maki Zen'in. She was a beautiful girl with a ponytail, dressed in what appeared to be a black-and-white Gothic Lolita Magical Mai-chan Dress.
Though she was a trendy high school girl, her body was the result of awakening as a 'perfect Physical Gifted' in her childhood. Having been trained by Toji Fushiguro, who possessed a similarly ultimate body, she had become a monster capable of overwhelming cursed spirits with raw physical strength alone.
Unlike Toji, however, Maki was a girl. Her ultimate physique seemed to apply to the concept of a 'feminine body' as well, as she had grown to possess an incredibly curvaceous figure. Her bust and hips far exceeded those of an average pin-up model, yet her waist was like that of a top model. Her physical structure went beyond a Greek sculpture and reached the level of a moe figurine, yet her overall aura was that of a 'female apex predator,' which spoke volumes of her combat power.
To Naoya, this girl was the most mysterious existence. Mai, who had followed Naoya to the Kyoto school after middle school graduation, looked at him with eyes clouded with thick, heavy passion that was terrifying. Her obsession with growing her body into a massive bust size that she knew Naoya liked was horrifying, but he understood it. He could interpret it as her being a 'yandere.'
On the other hand, Maki was far too casual. She showed no resistance to the marriage, yet she didn't seem particularly obsessed with him either. She was so refreshingly blunt that he wondered if her sister had absorbed all the heavy, murky parts of their shared psyche. To Naoya, she was an incomprehensible and somewhat awkward presence.
In reality, Maki didn't think too deeply about it. She simply figured, 'Naoya is a good guy, unlike the rest of the Zen'ins, and I don't hate men who work hard, so I guess I'm fine with being married to him.' Because Mai's feelings for Naoya were so incredibly intense, Naoya was simply overthinking things, suspecting that Maki must also have some kind of 'hidden bomb' waiting to go off.
Of course, Naoya himself had no way of knowing that.
"I see Maki-chan is in Kusakabe-san's class. That's a relief, in more ways than one."
"Why are you looking at me, Naoya? Do you have a problem with my education?"
"If a high school grad who hasn't even been to university is the teacher, of course I'd be worried."
"I actually got a degree through a correspondence university, and Shoko has a medical license because she passed the exam properly, even if she fudged her age... but Satoru hasn't done anything like that."
"You're a high school grad too, Naoya!"
"Unfortunately for you, my classmates and I got our degrees through a separate route after graduation."
"No way?! Even Haibara?! Since when?!"
"No, Satoru. Haibara used to watch the correspondence university programs with me all the time, remember?"
"I thought he was just watching the shows!"
"Make sure you study hard so you don't end up like this, Maki-chan."
"Yeah. I'll use Satoru as a great 'what not to do' example."
Exchanging banter that hadn't changed since the old days was the best he could do. Naoya still couldn't quite gauge the right distance to keep.
---
A short while later, Naoya and the others were inside a holding cell for curse users, located just past the school's cursed warehouse.
"No, Rika-chan?! ...Eh?"
"I see. That's one hell of a scary girlfriend you've got there."
"Gyahahaha! Naoya got punched right in the face out of nowhere!"
"Hmm. I expected her to go wild the moment the seal was broken, but I wonder if she attacked Naoya because of his sheer cursed energy volume? And as I thought, I don't feel like I can consume this cursed spirit named 'Rika-chan.'"
The powerful cursed spirit Rika Orimoto had manifested and struck the young man in the kimono right on top of the head, yet he stood there perfectly unharmed, speaking nonchalantly. Watching this was a suspicious silver-haired man in all-black with a blindfold, laughing, and a young man in a shirt and slacks who looked like the most normal of the bunch despite his unique hairstyle with a single stray bang.
And then there was the boy confused by the sudden turn of events—Yuta Okkotsu.
For the cursed boy, the beginning of his unforgettable days started with that incredibly impactful sight.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]