"Speaking of which, why did Fujinuma go from fully believing in supernatural events to suddenly dismissing them the moment Yukinoshita-senpai said we were from the Occult Club?"
On the way to Yatsuhashi Bridge, Itadori Yuji asked curiously.
"That was a pretty fast change of attitude, don't you think?"
"Probably because the Occult Club at any school tends to give off the impression that it's just playing around or staging things for fun," Fushiguro Megumi said flatly.
He could kind of understand.
If he weren't a jujutsu sorcerer and had no knowledge of curses or spirits, and then someone randomly came up to him saying, "I'm from the Occult Club, and the weird things you've seen are caused by ghosts," he probably wouldn't believe it either.
Maybe she had been feeling a little paranoid, but after hearing that, she convinced herself she was just overthinking things.
"That's pretty much a stereotype at this point," Itadori Yuji said with an awkward smile.
After all, before swallowing Sukuna's finger and being forced to transfer to Jujutsu High, he had been a member of his school's Occult Club.
Thinking about it now, if he hadn't picked up that sealed Sukuna finger and handed it over to his club seniors, he might still be a regular student at Sugisawa Third High.
He wondered how his seniors were doing now.
As those thoughts crossed his mind, the faces of his former clubmates appeared in his head, and he found himself smiling slightly.
The black sedan sped down the road and soon arrived at the so-called "suicide hotspot," the area near Yatsuhashi Bridge.
After pulling over, the four of them got out of the car.
Based on Shiori Fujinuma's description, she was most likely cursed and had already started showing signs of an imminent curse-related death.
Yukinoshita Yukino decided that Kugisaki Nobara, who was familiar with curse-related killings, should stay behind and watch over her in secret.
The rest of them headed to Yatsuhashi Bridge to investigate.
"Alright! Let's get started!" Itadori Yuji said enthusiastically, holding a roll of sturdy nylon rope.
"Where do you guys plan to start the investigation?" Nitta Akari asked curiously.
"Didn't Kyoshi Fujinuma mention that, back in the day, delinquents used to do bungee jumps off Yatsuhashi Bridge to test their courage?" Yukinoshita Yukino said calmly. "So, of course, we should try jumping first."
Huh!? With that rope!?
The young assistant supervisor with short-dyed yellow hair looked at the nylon rope in Itadori Yuji's hands, stunned and speechless.
The rope looked strong, but it didn't seem elastic enough. If they jumped straight down from the bridge, the impact...
Before Nitta Akari could think any further, Fushiguro Megumi had already taken the rope from Itadori Yuji, estimated the bridge's height, and tied one end securely to the bridge while fastening the other end around the pink-haired boy's legs.
"Hey, Fushiguro, you sure you got the rope length right?"
Although Itadori Yuji was full of energy at first, the moment he stood on the railings of the bridge and looked down, a deep fear, almost like an instinct, washed over him.
"Probably," Fushiguro Megumi said flatly.
"Probably?! What if I fall to my death?!"
Itadori Yuji turned his head sharply, but his body had already tilted forward uncontrollably, and he tumbled off the railing.
Fushiguro Megumi quietly withdrew his hand and leaned over the railing, watching as Itadori Yuji's figure moved further away. The rope beside him unraveled quickly until it suddenly pulled tight, stopping Itadori's fall.
A loud scream echoed up from beneath the bridge.
A sharp screech followed—it was Nue.
The owl-like shikigami swooped past Itadori Yuji in a low glide.
This was exactly why Fushiguro Megumi dared to push Itadori Yuji down, even with only a rough guess of the length and height.
Even if the rope was too long, the shikigami would be there to catch him in time.
Still less than a meter from the ground, the pink-haired boy hadn't recovered from the shock. His heart pounded in his ears, his vision flickered, and his back was soaked with cold sweat.
But as he gradually calmed down, an indescribable rush surged through him. The thrill, fueled by adrenaline, made Itadori Yuji let out an excited yell.
He bent down to untie the rope from his ankle, then flipped over smoothly and landed on the ground with ease.
The three people from the bridge took a side path to get down. Nitta Akari looked at Itadori Yuji, who was not only fine but also seemed to have enjoyed it a little, and couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement.
If it were her, she would have collapsed to the ground, legs too weak to stand.
Come to think of it, this guy's physical abilities were almost scary.
Normally, getting yanked mid-air by a non-elastic nylon rope like that would cause some serious injuries, but Itadori was completely fine.
"So, did you notice anything?" Yukinoshita Yukino asked while also carefully sensing the surroundings.
"Uhh…"
Itadori Yuji scratched his head, then rubbed his chin, closing his eyes in deep thought. After a moment, he opened them again, still looking completely clueless.
"Not really."
"I didn't sense any curses or cursed spirits around either," Fushiguro Megumi added, retracting his gaze.
"So that means jumping off the bridge isn't what triggers the curse…" Yukinoshita Yukino murmured, pausing for a moment before asking, "Is it possible that someone has already been cursed, but because the curse is still lying dormant, we can't detect it yet?"
"That wouldn't happen to a sorcerer," Fushiguro Megumi explained. "Curses attach to cursed energy. If a sorcerer gets cursed, there's no way they wouldn't notice it, even if the curse is still in its dormant stage."
Compared to Yukinoshita Yukino, who had only recently started learning, Fushiguro Megumi had a much deeper understanding of jujutsu. After all, he had been trained by Gojo Satoru since childhood.
Though Yukinoshita Yukino had already surpassed him in raw strength, which was a bit frustrating, Megumi felt a little better when he remembered that her teacher, Hayashizaki, was even stronger than Gojo—and way easier to get along with.
The one who really made him feel pressured, however, was Itadori Yuji.
His inhuman physical abilities, his ridiculously fast reflexes, and his sharp instincts in battle—
This guy was improving at an insane rate.
"Hey, Megumi,"
Fushiguro Megumi suddenly recalled something Gojo Satoru had once said to him.
"Your strength and talent are no less than Yuji's. The only thing missing is your mindset."
"Megumi, do you even know how to go all out?"
Go all out…?
What kind of question is that? Is he saying I haven't been fighting seriously?
Fushiguro Megumi couldn't help but curl his lips in frustration.
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