Chapter 93 – Origin
At the base in Kanagawa Prefecture.
After taking a bath and changing clothes, Itadori Yuuji came to the small room that resembled the previous tactical meeting room.
The two general human corpses that were forcibly transformed by Inui into cursed spirits have been retrieved and sent to the high school for research.
As if still recovering from the recent battle, Itadori Yuuji had a towel draped over his head and sat on the sofa with a dejected expression.
“Still feeling guilty?”
Lin Qi entered, noticing the young man’s distracted look, and tossed him a drink.
“Kind of.” Itadori Yuuji received the drink, about to thank him before realizing something strange, “Wait, isn’t this beer!?”
He shot Lin Qi a puzzled look and said, “I’m not old enough to drink.”
“It’s fine, it will make you feel better.” Lin Qi opened his own can of beer and raised his cup in a toast, “This is one step towards becoming an adult.”
“Soliciting minors to drink is a crime.” Yukinoshita Yukino immediately gave him a sharp glance, “Resident Crab-san is looking for a new shell to live in?”
“Don’t worry about such trivial matters.” Lin Qi pulled out a bottle of strawberry milk and handed it to her, “This is hush money.”
With an exasperated roll of her eyes, Yukinoshita Yukino accepted the strawberry milk and turned to Itadori Yuuji, “Yuuji, don’t become like Lin Qi, relying on alcohol to numb yourself.”
She paused, then added, “We’ll let this slide this time.”
Itadori Yuuji stared at the can of beer for a while before opening it and gulping down the contents.
“Well done, just like that.” Lin Qi praised.
After drinking one can of beer, the first-time drinker Yuuji felt his cheeks redden quickly and started chatting, “Snow之下 Senpai is impressive; so decisive when acting.”
“Are you insinuating I’m a cold-hearted person?”
“Of course not!” Yuuji denied loudly, then his voice dropped, “I just think it’s really admirable that you could act so quickly… unlike me who hesitated for so long.”
“My strength comes from saving others. That was what my grandfather told me, practically his last words.” He laughed self-mockingly, “But, I failed to save anyone in both the juvenile hall and this time either.”
“The recent events made me realize how weak I really am—not just physically, but also mentally…”
“Before you were telling me, our school had a student who was murdered by the criminal,” looking at Itadori Yuuji with his hands resting on his knees, Yukinoshita Yukino softly said.
“Ah, I see.” An expression of bewilderment flashed across Itadori Yuuji’s face, unsure why she would bring this up at this moment.
“I had to kill him.” Snow之下 stated flatly.
“What?” Itadori Yuuji instantly tightened his breathing.
“Much like when you killed the modified human, my schoolmate was also transformed and gained curse energy and technique, but with a parasite curse lingering before he finally lost consciousness and was controlled by the curse.”
“He told me to escape.”
“Afterwards, his body was completely overtaken by the curse which attacked me.”
“After some fighting, I ended up killing him.”
Yukinoshita Yukino spoke in a detached tone, as if recounting a distant story.
“This is cruel…” Itadori Yuuji’s voice became hoarse as he crushed the empty beer can.
Regardless of whether it was Okaasaki Masa from juvenile hall or the unfortunate individual today, these were all strangers to Itadori Yuuji, making him feel distressed and angry.
He couldn’t imagine how helpless and despairing it must feel if someone he knows had been transformed and he had to kill them himself.
No wonder Senpai Snow之下 is so decisive nowadays; she must be suffering greatly herself.
Only he, acting so pitiful…
“Lin Qi once told me that being a spell sorcerer is a thorny path lined with blood, a long journey ahead that is hard to foresee.”
“As hard as it is, one can’t avoid death.” Yukinoshita Yukino, glancing at the engrossed Lin Qi, continued, “Lin Qi once told me that getting used to death is unavoidable.”
“But I probably will never get used to death.” The teenage girl lowered her gaze, her voice fading, “I will feel sorrow, anger, helplessness…”
“The only thing I can do is accept it and bear these heavy emotions to continue moving forward,”
“I believe it’s right to do so.”
“So, keep pushing forward, Yuuji.”
Yukinoshita Yukino looked seriously at the boy with red hair.
Itadori Yuuji stared blankly at her with an open mouth, too stunned to speak. He felt something inside him ignite at her words, boiling and surging through his body.
“Accept, bear, and move forward…”
Mumbling to himself as if in a daze, Itadori Yuuji suddenly clenched his fist, his slumping expression replaced with determination.
“You’re right, Snow之下 Senpai,” Itadori Yuuji straightened up, firmly saying, “I’ll keep going and get stronger, strong enough to stop all the wrong deaths!”
He scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, “Sorry for showing such a pathetic side to you both.”
“Give me a bit more time, I’ll become stronger.”
Yukinoshita Yukino opened the straw and sipped her strawberry milk leisurely, “Honestly, your strength doesn’t concern me.”
“Don’t say things like that in times like this!” She exclaimed.
Rain outside had stopped with clouds parting and sunlight filtering in, illuminating the entire space.
Lin Qi stood behind the two with his phone put away, smiling at the harmonious scene, his eyes resting on Snow之下.
Unlike before, Yukinoshita Yukino has grown a lot, to the point where she now mentors juniors.
As he acknowledged her growth, Lin Qi accidentally met her peeking glance.
“Teacher Lin Qi,” Snow之下 immediately commented, “aren’t you supposed to say something?”
“Didn’t you cover everything?” Lin Qi shrugged, “Well said.”
“Isn’t guiding students part of your job as well?”
“It’s fine. From now on, consider myself your assistant.”
…
Dismissal time, and the road to becoming a jujutsu sorcerer:
放学，然后成为咒术师
