Sōjun Minamoto led Riko Amanai back to the dormitory attic.
They walked in silence.
"Actu... actually, it's fine," Riko Amanai suddenly said.
"What?"
"It's okay if you don't want to teach me…"
Sōjun Minamoto turned to stare at her.
She had been acting out of sorts lately, like a new student thrown into a whole new world. A little erratic, a bit off. Everyone understood, though—no one blamed her. Had he gone too far earlier and upset her?
"Uh, w-what's wrong?" Riko Amanai shrank back under his gaze.
"There's no turning back now." Sōjun Minamoto snapped back to himself and decided to take a more serious tone.
The Star Plasma Vessel wasn't chosen randomly—Tengen sensed her from birth, like a destiny preordained by the heavens. That kind of fatalism intrigued him...
Truthfully, he wanted to study her.
"Oh, th-thanks," Riko Amanai mumbled.
See? She still thanked him.
Sōjun Minamoto walked ahead.
Riko Amanai trailed behind, head bowed low, the corners of her mouth twitching upward—
Got him!
...
Since he had decided to teach, Sōjun Minamoto wasn't going to do it half-heartedly.
He called Riko Amanai over, and the two sat across from each other at the coffee table.
"Alright!" Sōjun Minamoto suddenly straightened, his expression turning serious and thoughtful as he fixed his gaze on her. "Before we begin, answer me one question:
Jujutsu Sorcerers constantly face death—not just their own, but also that of others torn apart by curses. Sometimes you even have to rip open a cursed body yourself. This line of work isn't easy. It demands a certain level of madness and motivation. So, what drives you to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer?"
He opened with a question about motivation, just like Masamichi Yaga would. It was a tradition in the Yaga lineage—give the other person a last chance to back out.
Riko Amanai sat up straight, furrowed her brow, then lit up.
"Because... it sounds fun?!"
What?
Fun?
Sure, why not.
Sōjun Minamoto clapped and laughed. In that case, he'd teach her his way.
"When emotions fluctuate too strongly, Cursed Energy gets wasted for no reason. So, you need to learn how to control your emotions—or more precisely, how to control your Cursed Energy through those emotional waves. Your task is to extract energy from even the faintest emotional sparks."
"How do I do that?" Riko Amanai looked confused.
So dumb.
"Think of something that made you angry, or sad, or that you regret—any memory that stirs emotion. Recall it, and the power will reveal itself. You just have to catch it."
Riko Amanai closed her eyes and sank into her memories.
Her brows furrowed, hands clenched into fists, her face filled with anger—then quickly shifted to joy, and then surprise. She opened her eyes, slightly frustrated. "I saw it... but I couldn't grab it."
Already?
Was the first emotion anger?
Sōjun Minamoto felt a spark of interest, though his face stayed calm.
"Not angry enough."
Her emotions weren't deep enough, and her control was weak. She was just putting on a show.
Riko Amanai tried again, fists clenched at her sides, straining, her face twisting with effort. But the tension faded quickly.
"No good. Still not enough."
She really was angry, but it shifted into sorrow. Poor girl—an orphan, unable to remember her parents' faces, forbidden from doing so many things. Her fate decided from the moment she was born...
Then her mind drifted to Misato Kuroi and her new friends at Jujutsu High—
"Hahaha, that's hilarious!"
Sōjun Minamoto raised a brow, leaned forward, and pressed a hand to her head. Blue sparks flickered. Blades of soul energy pierced in, slicing and rearranging fragments of memory.
Her memories were sparse, happy or sad.
Riko Amanai suddenly saw Misato Kuroi, everyone from Jujutsu High, her school friends—all at the beach again, laughing and playing. She scooped seawater and splashed them.
"Hahaha!"
She laughed watching them soaked—
Then, their expressions changed. They turned away without a word.
Hey, don't go!
Let me splash you back!
Panic hit.
Wait up!
She chased after them, tried to block them. But they walked right through her like she wasn't there, moving faster and faster.
She refused to give up.
Again and again, she got in their way—only to be ignored, left behind.
She finally caught up with the slowest—Sōjun Minamoto—and reached for his shirt, but her fingers passed through thin air.
Exhausted, all that remained was helplessness.
If no one can see or hear you... what's the difference from not existing?
Her deepest fear must be loneliness.
Huff... huff...
She watched them walk farther and farther away, bent over and gasping.
Sōjun Minamoto suddenly stopped.
Her heart leapt. She looked up, biting her lip.
He turned around and stretched. "Time's up. Mission complete. Man, pretending to have fun is exhausting!"
Riko Amanai lowered her head again.
So it was all fake?
...
"Feel that power." The familiar voice pulled her back. She did as instructed, watching the strength just inches away—but always out of reach.
Her swirling emotions nearly overwhelmed her. It felt like her heart was roasting over open flames. Every time she was about to lose control, that voice would chime in—steady, reliable. She began to trust it, even depend on it.
After all, he was keeping watch.
Riko Amanai focused all her will on reaching that power. Bit by bit, her fingertips inched closer.
Then—she grasped it. Held it tight. Strangely, it didn't feel all that special.
Everything fell into place, like it was meant to happen.
She opened her eyes, dazed, tears streaking down her cheeks.
She looked down at the black curse in her hand...
"Congrats. Surgery was a success." That familiar, teasing voice spoke again.
"What did you do to me?!" Riko Amanai shot up and slammed the table, yelling.
Sōjun Minamoto didn't know what illusion she had just experienced.
It was a Cursed Spirit from their previous mission at the western-style mansion—its Barrier technique could interfere with perception. He'd just tweaked it to stir up emotions.
Riko Amanai didn't care about any of that. She was seriously mad. She clung to his clothes, refusing to let go.
Sōjun Minamoto leaned back slightly to keep some distance. "Maybe wipe your nose first?"
That small comment hit hard. She froze, then quickly covered her face and ran to the bathroom.
Watching her go, Sōjun Minamoto thought: She's really got talent.
...
When the half-soul finger began to crumble, Sōjun Minamoto slashed down several times.
"Consciousness division complete."
A swirl of blue mist gathered in his palm, within it, strands of silver-white floated—entwined and separating—
A thread of consciousness extracted from Tengen's soul.
"The soul's basically stabilized!" the other Sōjun Minamoto said, looking into the Barrier at the remaining half of the soul finger. The Cursed Energy still clinging to it showed the soul inside was just as stable.
The two exchanged a grin. As expected of you.
Tengen stood beside them, unable to hide his excitement. Having been involved from start to finish, he knew how hard-won this success was.
He looked at Sōjun Minamoto. At first, he had taken the lead, but as the experiment progressed, the younger one took over completely—even designing the Barrier technique. Tengen couldn't keep up with his thinking and could only offer suggestions.
The talent was unreal.
The two Sōjun Minamoto merged into one. Together, they turned to Tengen.
"When will you start the evolution?"
Tengen went quiet.
"I need time to adjust... Let's do it the day after tomorrow."
At last, he said:
"We'll officially begin the night after tomorrow."