November 18th, 2018,

  “I’ll be there tomorrow around noon; let me know if anything happens while I’m on my way.” Repeating the text he had received yesterday aloud with the best mocking impression he could muster, the young man let out a sigh of irritation as he finished.

  He looked at the empty road leading to the secluded forest he had been watching since Halloween. The place had been surrounded by a barrier that made it so anyone trying to enter ended up getting lost and turning away. The road in front of him was the only exception to the enchantment. Making it the only way in or out of this section of the woods.

  After concluding that his senior was nowhere to be seen, the boy let himself fall down onto the grassy floor. Attempting to find some comfort near the gateway while he waited. He reached down into his pockets, aiming to get his phone, and accidentally grabbed onto the barrier spikes he was making sure stayed unbroken. Feeling them, he was reminded of the weight of the responsibility he had been trusted with.

  After Principal Yaga had been killed, the sorcerer had been approached by a grade one and had been told to keep watch over what might be called Yaga’s sanctuary. Unbeknownst to the sanctuary’s current guardian and most of sorcerer society, the miracle that had given rise to a fully independent cursed corpse was no miracle. It was a formulaic process that Yaga had figured out how to replicate by means he had kept hidden.

  As it turns out, he had been creating such cursed corpses for quite some time and sheltering them here. From what the grade two sorcerer had been told, this place was a town of a kind, a place where those cursed corpses lived with ordinary people. Apparently, Yaga was able to make a downloaded copy of someone with their personality and memories; using this method, he was able to reunite those still alive with those departed.

  It wasn’t true resurrection, though if he was being honest, he didn’t think what Yaga had been doing was far from it. The existence of this home and Yaga’s ability were kept secret from the higher-ups for a simple reason: it could be used to create an autonomous army with no will of their own. One could topple a nation or perhaps the entire world with such might; without a doubt, such an ability would be considered special grade. Instead of using his power to do such things, he instead used it to help those unable to move on and reunite them with those they lost.

  How benevolent of him.

  The sorcerer got to his feet from his lackadaisical position on the floor. Walking over to the small tent he had set up for himself as a place to sleep, he set down the barrier spikes inside and picked up the weapon he had brought with him. It was a hatchet that had been wrapped within a white cloth mottled with black cylindrical spots. There was no one around to object to him taking the weapon of the deceased, so he had done so with Nanami’s cursed tool.

  If Yaga was still around, he could bring you back, right?

  The sorcerer sighed at his thoughts, lamenting about what could’ve been; it wouldn’t do him any good. Taking the hatchet with him, he walked over to what he had designated his practice area. It was nothing special, just an ordinary area of the forest with the trees more close together than one another. The trees in question had large gashes found across them; one in particular had come crashing down to the ground.

  Holding the hatchet in front of him, the sorcerer focused intently on the tree before him. After a split second had passed, what he was waiting on appeared. Visible only to him, a vertical line with ten tallies was present across the tree's trunk. It had taken a few days, but he had managed to figure out how to both create and determine precisely where he wanted the line to form.

  Stepping forward, he swung the hatchet at the tree, aiming for the spot where the ten marks across the line matched up in a seven-to-three ratio. As the hatchet collided with the tree, a loud splintering sound rang out; a giant gash had been marked into the tree a few feet deep. Surprisingly, it was deep enough to cause the tree’s structure to collapse, making the sorcerer dodge to the side before he was crushed by the timbering wood.

  It was strange how much the damage dealt seemed to vary. After striking the trees in the beginning, his technique had been sloppy, and sometimes he even missed the ratio point. As time went on, however, he had gotten the aim of properly aiming at the correct spot; in correlation to this, the strength of his blows seemed to increase. From what he could assume, there was leeway in the area that had to be hit around the forcibly created weak point. The closer one got to the exact spot the weak point was created, the stronger the strike would be.

  This was the third time he had managed to bring down a tree in a single strike; the other two times took place the day prior. He didn’t know if there was an even higher level he could reach with getting precise with the weak point, but given the consistency of the damaged delt, he doubted it. Besides, working on attacking trees even more accurately wouldn’t get him very far.

  They were stationary and sturdy, while he had been focused on mastering the basic essentials of the weapon's function; the trees had made an exceptional target. That being said, hitting a moving target in the proper location with the precision he needed to maximize damage is an entirely different matter.

  He had been aware while he was practicing that he needed to find another person to practice with, but his options had been severely limited, stranded out here in the middle of nowhere. So despite his awareness of the inadequacy of his practice, he continued on with striking the tree daily. It was evident that every day he was improving little by little, though he desperately wanted to jump to the next level, so to speak. There was probably very little time left before everything would be settled. He had to improve by then and contribute more than he had been able to at Shibuya. All he had done on that day was serve as someone Shoko had to heal; if he had been stronger, would Nanami still be al--

  Honk

  Turning his head in the direction of the noise, it seemed the man the sorcerer had been waiting for had finally arrived… in a rather… unique fashion. Driving down the dirt road, he had, through some methods, commandeered a bus. From what he was able to tell from his position, his senior was the only person present in the vehicle. It made the grade-two sorcerer wonder where in the world he had managed to get such a vehicle.

  He reached the end of the road and began to slowly drive up the hill. Turning the bus to the right as he did so before driving back in the opposite direction. The boy could only watch with mild amusement as the bus conducted a slow three-way turn so its front end was facing the way it came. After the turn was completed, his senior turned the bus off and exited the vehicle. His signature trench coat and sword both on his person.

  “Where did you get a bus, Kusakabe?”

  “I bought it, Ino.” It was a simple answer to a simple question. Though this simplicity is precisely what left Ino so confused.

  “You bought… a bus.”

  “Grade one sorcerers get paid well; I’ve never really had a need to buy anything till now, so my savings have been collecting dust.”

  “That makes… sense. Why did you get it though?”

  “It’s efficient for mass transportation. Wait here while I go get everyone.”

  Kusukabe began walking towards the entrance to the forest hideaway and, by extension, Ino. The meaning of what he said and his intentions were very clear to him; even still, it took him a few moments to process what it meant for them. He only found his voice by the time Kusukabe was five or so feet in front of him.

  “You’re going to move everyone?”

  “Yeah, I am. Good chance this country's about to become ground zero for the greatest cataclysm in recorded history. If the merger happens, then everyone in Japan is going to die, so I’m going to get everyone here out of the country as a precaution against a worst-case scenario. I’ve rented out some billionaires jets so the cursed dolls won't draw attention. I made the preparations as soon as Yaga died. I’ve just had to go run around doing crowd control, so I haven’t been able to come here to get everyone till now.”

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  “I see, good thinking, Kusukabe.” Having listened to his reasoning, Ino couldn’t deny it made sense.

  “It’s nothing; you’re welcome to join them if you want, Ino.”

  “What?”

  “If you want to get out of here before it’s too late, you should go with them. Utahime called me yesterday and told me things went even further south. No offense, Ino, but at the level the opponents we’ll have to best to prevent the merger are at, I doubt you would be able to contribute much of anything. You should just take your leave along with anyone you care about and hope for the best,” Kusukabe spoke slower than before as if to accentuate his point. He reached into his pocket and fished out a lollipop for him to chew on after he finished speaking.

  He’s not wrong…

  Ino was aware of his own deficiencies more than anyone else. He had pushed himself to overcome such weaknesses and earn his mentor's approval to become a grade one sorcerer. He had foolishly thought that he would be able to prove himself worthy of standing beside Nanami that Halloween night, finally earning his spot amongst the grade one sorcerers. Only for him to amount to nothing that night, merely being known as one of the lucky few who survived that tragedy.

  In his report of what had happened to him that night, Shoko had told him the identity of the person who had treated him like a punching bag after he had told her the man possessed no cursed energy. Toji Zenin, the monster who had brought the strongest sorcerer to the brink of death a decade ago. She had told him in an attempt to reassure him there wasn’t anything they could do against someone of that level, though it did nothing to ease his sense of weakness.

  Toji Zenin would be even weaker than the kind of people they would have to defeat in order to save Japan. Ryomen Sukuna, and maybe even Kenjaku, commanded strength that was beyond the one who had broken away from cursed energy. Contending against such titans, there was very little he could realistically do.

  As Ino finished his self-assessment, he looked at the weapon that rested in his hand; it wasn’t a parting gift by any means. In fact, the way Ino had come to receive this token of his mentor was rather crude. Even still, the boy felt a guiding hand pushing him. A sense of direction born from his desire to continue what Nanami had left behind. Ino knew Nanmi would never have something so selfish of him, but he would take up the mantle regardless.

  “No, I think I’ll stay. You’re right about me not being able to do much, but just because I can’t doesn’t mean I shouldn’t. I’m a Jujutsu sorcerer. It’s my responsibility to fight till the end.”

  Kusukabe responded to his determination with little more than a sigh, chewing on his lollipop before beginning to move forward past him.

  “Suit yourself, just don’t go carrying your title to the grave like everyone else.”

  Everyone is probably going to die.

  The middle-aged sorcerer walked through the forest, stepping over twigs and leaves as he did so. The occasional animal came into view, be it a deer or bird. He didn’t know just how big or small the town he was looking for was, so as he walked, his idle thoughts began to reflect the situation he was facing.

  Sukuna’s been incarnated into Megumi; in likelihood, he’s able to use ten shadows in addition to his normal technique. He’s only at around seventy-five percent of his power, but the last four or five fingers are probably in that ice woman’s possession. Meaning he’ll be at one hundred percent next time our forces collide. Not only is there him; there’s the ice woman. Her overall output, cursed energy, and cursed technique are all incredibly proficient. She’s easily a special grade sorcerer; then there’s Kenjaku. The only saving grace is he’s had that body for about a year, meaning in terms of overall cursed spirits, his amount can’t be anywhere near as close as Suguru’s. Not to mention he used up a special grade curse when fighting Yuki; he can’t have many left. Rankings are threats by strength; it probably goes Sukuna, Ice Women, Kenjaku.

  Kusukuabe picked the empty stick out of his mouth as he finished the thought, putting it in his pocket before replacing it with a new lollipop.

  We have the advantage in overall manpower, but they have the edge in quality. Both Kenjaku and Sukuna can use domains for sure, and it’s likely the ice woman is capable of one as well. Our number’s advantage means fuck all when you take that into consideration. No matter how you slice it, people are going to die even if we do win. Most likely a lot.

  The grade one sorcerer let out a sigh as the realization came to him. He had no illusions or hopeful beliefs about the coming storm. They were about to fight a war against some of the strongest sorcerers in the history of the world, maybe just the strongest sorcerer in history when it came to the demon king. Expecting to fight a war with no one dying was like hoping to walk in rain without getting wet.

  The harshness of his profession and the countless lives that were lost in it had never seemed more daunting; he had always done his best to slack off and stay as far away from danger as he could. He was simply a grade one sorcerer; he knew his limitations and had no intentions of pushing past them. Anything beyond a grade one curse or above-average curse user, he would tuck tail and run—at least… he thought he would.

  “Marco!”

  “Polo.”

  “Polo.”

  “Polo.”

  Hearing sounds of a childish game to his left. Kusukabe began treading in that direction, finally having found what he was looking for. The sounds of children began to grow louder as he approached; his view of them was obscured by countless trees. Finally he stepped past the tree line and made his way to what seemed like a clearing.

  It seemed like it was the size of a few football fields, trees running along the outer rim serving as a barrier of a kind. Modern houses with brick paths running between them. Looking around, he saw a group of three cursed dolls and one human playing a game of Marco Polo. All the cursed dolls looked humanoid enough. They were only about three feet tall, and their heads were each a different kind of animal: deer, bird, and frog. They were too engrossed with evading the person who was acting as Marco to notice him, so he continued forward.

  Walking through the small town on the brick path, Kusukabe took note of how a fair amount of the houses were missing an indicator of which family they belonged to. It seemed Yaga had built this safe haven with the intention of expecting more people to become residents later on.

  Kusukabe came across the occasional cursed doll as he conducted his search for one particular home. They all looked around the same and were playing different games with each other; the ones who saw him didn’t pay him any mind and just continued on with what they were doing.

  After a minute or so of walking, Kusukabe finally came across the home he was looking for. A nameplate was present on the side of the house; he took a brief pause after reading it. Steeling himself for the coming conversation, slowly he walked up to the door and knocked on it a few times tentatively. A moment later a voice he never thought he would hear again rang out.

  “Takeru, can you go get that please?” Her voice was muffled by the door as she spoke, but such a thin barrier didn’t hinder the joy Kusukabe felt from hearing it again.

  “Sure thing, Mom.”

  A moment later the door began to creak open, turning inwards towards the house as it did so. Looking down, Kusukabe met eyes with the person who had opened it. It was another cursed corpse standing at a few feet tall; its head had features of a bear with pointed ears at either side of the upper end of its face.

  “Uncle Atsu?” Takeru uttered the name of the individual who had visited them aloud to express his surprise at seeing him.

  “Hey, Takeru, It’s good to see you again. Mind if I come in?”

  “Sure thing, Uncle Atsu.”

  Having been invited, Kusukabe took a step into the home. Closing the door behind him as he entered, taking his shoes off was his next action. While he had been outside, the home had looked impressive, and that impression held up now that he had entered it. He was standing in what he presumed to be the living room. The walls were made of well-polished wood, and some furniture was sprinkled about. There was a couch and recliner facing a television in the corner of the room. Pictures were strung about on the wall; some were new photos, and other Kusukabe recognized. He had been the one who took a fair few of them after all.

  “Let’s go see Mom, alright, Uncle Atsu?” Pulling on Kusukabe's pant leg, Takeru looked up at him and smiled with wide eyes.

  “Alright.”

  Kusukabe followed after him, crossing the living room and entering a small hallway before exiting into a kitchen. It wasn’t anything overly lavish, but it was still a nice room; there were cupboards and shelves that lined the walls. A kitchen counter connected to a stove that was in the corner of the room. A pot of something Kusukabe couldn’t identify was simmering on the stove and being attended to by a woman; she had her hair tied back in a bun and was overlooking the pot while stirring it.

  “Takeru, who was it at the do--”

  Looking up at the noise she presumed to be her son, the woman's voice gave way halfway through her question. The shock overriding her mind from his surprise appearance gave way to a silence forming.

  “Hey Sis, there’s... Something important I need to talk to you about.”

  Having reunited with the family he had intended to part with for the rest of his life, Kusukabe began the process of saying goodbye forever all over again.

  “So that’s the situation with the merger.”

  Kusukabe was sitting down on the couch with his sister beside him. He was leaning down into his legs and remained attentive in his posture as he explained everything that had transpired after Halloween. He made sure to stay light on the finer details, such as who and how many people had died, but he mentioned it in passing; that much would be enough for her to understand.

  “Is that one student you were training alright?”

  “Miwa? Yeah, she’s fine…”

  As far as I know

  Kusukabe held himself back from adding those five words of further context. Ayumi didn’t need to, nor did he want her to know that he had bailed as soon as he could to come here. He should have come first thing after Shibuya, but he couldn’t find the time to sneak away while the entire country started to burn down. So he had decided to follow Inumaki and take up the low-risk job of clearing the barriers of people.

  Besides, there was nothing else he could do; odds are some of the reincarnated sorcerers were special grade. A confrontation between him and someone of that caliber would be like trying to rein in a hurricane: a fruitless endeavor.

  “Anyway, I've made arrangements to get you and everyone else here out of Japan, Ayumi.”

  “… Everyone?”

  Her eyes drifted to the window as she spoke, towards her “son,” who was playing with another child outside.

  “Everyone,” Kusakabe confirmed his intentions with a smile as he placed his hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

  “I’ve rented out a bus and some rich schmuck's plane to get everyone here to Africa. There’s a certain sorcerer and his clan who are on good terms with Jujutsu High. I’ve made a deal to have you and everyone else stay there for an indefinite period of time. The living conditions should be around the same as they are here, if a little worse.” Kusakabe didn’t mention that every week they stayed there, he would be paying them a million yen. He wouldn’t run out of money for a few years, but if he needed more, groveling to Mei Mei was always an option.

  “What about you, Atsu?” Her voice was barely a whisper as she spoke, looking down into her lap.

  “Don’t worry; I’ll keep my promise. I’m just going to help out everyone with preparing before the big showdown. I’ll come join you and everyone else once it’s done, alright?”

  Kusukabe would do whatever he had to in order to survive. He didn’t know if the promise he had made to his sister was a blessing or a curse. Perhaps it was both?