Time rewinds a little.
Following his conversation with Hakari, Yuta spent that evening in his room at the Jujutsu High dormitory reflecting on himself. He sat alone, facing the manifested Rika.
She possessed a giant single eye and a powerful, ferocious body that looked like countless muscle fibers twisted together. This form bore no resemblance to the beautiful young girl, Rika Orimoto, from days past; it was a shape born from the curse young Yuta Okkotsu had blindly cast.
Looking at her like this, it would be a lie to say he felt no fear.
However, through learning jujutsu and growing as a person, Yuta now understood deeply that Rika's appearance existed for his sake.
Why was she so massive? To serve as Yuta's shield.
Why was she so powerful? To serve as Yuta's spear.
The love of the girl named Rika Orimoto had become a curse, manifesting as the body of a cursed spirit that continued to protect Yuta even now.
Having realized this truth, Rika was no longer something for Yuta to fear.
"Thank you, Rika. For protecting me all this time. For helping me."
"Ehehe... Yuta..."
"But I'm a boy, too. So... from now on..."
Yuta whispered as he gently stroked Rika's forehead, and she leaned into his touch, seemingly soothed by the affection.
The two lovers spent that quiet moment marking a turning point in their lives. The following morning, they visited Naoya, who served as their overseer.
---
One more month passed.
It was June, and the investigation into Yuta Okkotsu's background had concluded. With his history brought to light, the final piece of the puzzle was in place.
At twilight, as the setting sun cast long shadows after school, the students and staff of Jujutsu High were dressed in traditional Japanese attire. They waited quietly in the grand hall of the Gojo estate where a banquet had been prepared.
Maki and Mai were technically wearing their magical girl outfits, though the designs had been altered with traditional Japanese patterns to fit the occasion. Naturally, no one present was brave enough to criticize them for it.
Sitting in the seat of honor was Yuta Okkotsu.
As he waited, the sliding doors opened. Accompanied by Suguru Geto acting as the matchmaker, Rika Orimoto appeared, draped in a white cloth meant to signify a bridal veil.
This ceremony, held during the transition between day and night according to ancient traditions, was, quite simply, a wedding.
Naoya had provided the bridal gifts—including a paulownia chest filled with high-quality silk fabrics—as an investment with a high expected return, effectively betting on Yuta Okkotsu's future success. The women of the house had already inspected the contents to verify that the bride was worthy of the family.
This archaic ritual was a form of ghost marriage. It was a matrimonial ceremony between Rika Orimoto, who had died and transformed into a cursed spirit, and Yuta Okkotsu, the one who had cursed her and kept her bound to this world.
The consent of both families was obviously impossible to obtain. However, Naoya had discovered a minor jujutsu lineage distantly related to Rika's clan that had married into the Zen'in family back in the Enpo era. Using this, Naoya sat in the seat for the bride's side as Rika's relative. For the Okkotsu side, since their lineage traced back to Sugawara no Michizane, the Gojo family—who shared the same ancestor—sat as Yuta's relatives. It was a forced arrangement, but they successfully maintained the form of a proper wedding.
For the water-mixing ritual, they used water from the wells of both the Gojo and Zen'in estates. Every preparation for the ceremony was perfect.
The exchange of the nuptial cups was set to be performed with Naoya and Satoru acting as the respective heads of the houses. The intention was to keep the ritual strictly between sorcerers.
Following the smooth completion of the nuptials, a grand reception was held to celebrate.
Since it had been declared that alcohol would be served to anyone who had reached their coming-of-age, Hakari and Kirara were genuinely enjoying the party, in high spirits from drinking premium sake. Among the faculty, Yuki Tsukumo, who loved jujutsu research, Utahime Iori, who loved drinking parties, and Satoru Gojo, who was peerless when it came to joined-in mischief, were making a massive scene. The atmosphere of a celebratory banquet was perfectly maintained.
Amidst this, the matchmaker, Suguru Geto, stood to give the closing remarks. "The banquet is nearing its end, but..."
There was a clear reason why Suguru Geto had been chosen as the matchmaker.
It involved his Cursed Technique Reversal: Spirit Creation.
In response to Yuta's earnest wish, Rika had spent the last month pouring her heart and soul into mimicking it. Having succeeded in a perfect mimicry, she placed a binding vow upon herself to never mimic, reproduce, or use the technique again, thereby forcibly expanding its target.
What followed was the union between the human, Yuta Okkotsu, and the Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit, Rika Orimoto.
To put it simply—it was their wedding night.
---
Now, regarding that wedding night.
Unlike modern times, they followed old customs where the women of the house waited outside the sliding doors to ensure the deed was done, but the actions of the joined couple were not so different from the present day.
They exchanged kisses, embraced one another, and became one.
The purpose of this ritual was to achieve a true union through these steps. If it were merely about the act itself, a grand wedding wouldn't have been necessary.
During the nuptials, under the arrangements of Naoya and Satoru, the sorcerers from both families in the adjacent rooms had never stopped chanting incantations for Rika Orimoto.
These were words of praise for Rika as a bride; they were prayers, blessings, and curses.
Through these, for just one night, Rika's body as a cursed spirit underwent a further transformation.
The massive frame meant to protect Yuta shrank to the size of a normal human.
The brute strength meant to be his spear transformed into supple limbs.
Though her essence was certainly a curse, for this one night, within the bedding, Rika's form was that of a seventeen-year-old maiden—a girl Yuta knew well, yet had never seen like this.
"Rika... thank you. For marrying me. We'll be together forever and ever from now on. I'll give you... everything I am."
"Thank you too, Yuta. For letting me live. For marrying me like this. For staying with me forever. I'll give you everything I am, too."
As they exchanged such sweet curses and shared their love, a torrent of cursed energy so intense it shook the Gojo estate erupted from their bodies.
The energy was so great that even with Special Grade sorcerers maintaining barriers at full power, an earthquake report of level two was issued for Kyoto. The power melted together and converged, slowly giving birth to a form of love over the course of the night.
The result of this great ritual that crossed the border between the shores of the living and the dead would only be known the next morning, after Yuki Tsukumo—who had been supporting the barrier from the inside while watching the situation with extreme excitement—finally deactivated the technique.
Behind the closed sliding doors, the owner of the quiet breathing was...
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