“Teacher, what about Sukumi’s other fingers?” “Hmm—looking at your current state, brat, the most you can do is disgust Sukumi.
Exorcising her is out of the question.
Even so, you still want to go fight her?
Don’t tell me…
you actually get a kick out of seeing a girl looking completely filthy and defiled?
My, what a twisted sense of humor.
Too bad for you, your teacher has the protection of the Limitless, so I never have to touch that kind of stuff~” At any rate, after finishing his contact with Sukumi’s finger, Rui was led out of the Warehouse by Satomi Gojo.
“The next simulated target…
at this point in time, she should be attending middle school in Sendai.
Shinkansen tickets are pretty expensive, though.” The schedule for students at Jujutsu High was relatively loose.
Most days only had classes in the morning, and for the rest of the time, as long as there were no missions, they could allocate it freely.
Thus, the following morning, Rui boarded the train running from Tokyo to Sendai.
——The Tiger of West Junior High, Yuji Itadori.
Considering the unique characteristics of this world, her name was probably no longer “Yuji,” but generally speaking, her personality and background shouldn’t have changed.
She had most likely still made a name for herself by beating up a bunch of punks, so she shouldn’t be too hard to find.
Today was a weekday, so the train was practically empty.
Rui only spotted a listless old woman sitting in the corner, holding a cardboard folder in her hands.
Adopting the mindset that ‘it’s always faster to ask a local,’ he walked over: “Grandma, excuse me, but do you happen to know if there’s a middle school in Sendai called West Junior High?
I’m not from around here, so I’m not really familiar with these abbreviations.” …
*Have I lived a fulfilling enough life?* Wasuna Itadori wondered to herself.
Her daughter-in-law had passed away early, her son’s whereabouts were entirely unknown, and what should have been a happy family was now reduced to just a grandmother and her granddaughter.
As for that solitary granddaughter, she had even deliberately distanced herself from the girl due to her own worthless pride.
Seeing the girl’s healthy, energetic smile would only contrast against how weak, pathetic, and isolated she herself currently was.
Today, she had gone to a major hospital in Tokyo for a checkup.
It was stage two lung cancer.
Her granddaughter was a wonderful child, which was exactly why Wasuna didn’t want the girl to end up bound to taking care of her.
She had already done everything she was supposed to do in this life; now, the very last thing left was to quietly await death.
The girl’s youth shouldn’t be squandered on something no one cared about.
For the remainder of her time, she just wanted to stay perfectly peaceful for a while.
If she had to name a regret, it would be not getting to see her granddaughter fully grow up—to grow to an age where she could pursue things based on her own desires, whether that meant an ideal, happiness, or anything else entirely.
Just then, she heard someone nearby asking a question: “Grandma, excuse me, but do you happen to know if there’s a middle school in Sendai called West Junior High?” If this had been any normal day, she might have just ignored the person entirely, but having just learned of her impending death, she didn’t even possess the energy to lose her temper with someone.
“…What are you going to West Junior High for?” “You could say I’m going to…
see a friend?
I have a friend who goes to school at West Junior High, a girl.” Wasuke’s brow furrowed, suddenly sensing that something was slightly amiss.
“The person you’re talking about, what’s her name?” *Why is this old lady asking for such specific details?
Even if I tell her the name, it’s not like she’d know her,* Rui thought to himself.
“Uh, I’m not entirely certain about her given name…
but her surname is Itadori.” “…” “…?” Why did she suddenly go dead silent too?
“—You.
Once we get off the train, come home with me.” “Huh?” What on earth was the meaning of this?
…
After twisting and turning down a few narrow alleys, Wasuna Itadori led Rui into a rather cramped little house.
*—My name is Wasuna Itadori.
The girl you spoke of is my granddaughter.* Back on the train, she had revealed her identity to Rui in that incredibly blunt manner…
At that point, what else could Rui even say?
If he ran away now, the old lady would probably call the police and have him locked up as a stalker.
Not that he felt particularly guilty anyway; after all, classmate Itadori genuinely had a finger of Sukumi sealed inside her body, planted there by Kenjaku when she was a baby.
Strictly speaking, he was just fulfilling his duties as a jujutsu sorcerer.
“What exactly is your relationship with Yujina?
If you were truly friends, there’s no way you wouldn’t even know her name, let alone the full name of her school.” “…Internet friends?” “Then why would an internet friend travel all this way specifically to see her?
Furthermore, not knowing her address means you came out here completely unannounced without telling her yourself, right?
Why do that?” …Rui was starting to slightly regret spinning that lie about Itadori being his friend earlier.
With the old lady running him through this strictly logical, intense background interrogation, anyone would be breaking out into a nervous sweat.
Hardening his resolve, he simply stared straight back, refusing to flinch as he locked eyes with the old lady: “Because I wanted to meet classmate Itadori.
Is that not allowed?” “…Is that so.” To his surprise, the old lady’s expression actually softened a bit.
She scrutinized Rui from head to toe, shaking her head as if finding the situation amusing, before picking up her phone and dialing a number.
“Hello?
You’re at school, right?
Come home around noon…
What do you mean, cram school?
Just skip it, I have an important matter to ask you…
Hm?” She paused for a moment.
“No, you’ve misunderstood.
My body is perfectly hearty…
How did you even find out I went to the hospital for a checkup?
Sigh, I told you, grandma isn’t suffering from any illness, why do you refuse to believe me…?
My health really isn’t failing, stop overthinking.
You’re already such a big girl, can you please not cry so easily?” An anxious voice could be faintly heard bleeding through the receiver before the call abruptly ended with a sharp beep.
The old lady cleared her throat, turning back to face Rui: “What’s your name?” “Rui Tachibana…” “Let me double-check something first.
You claim to be her online friend, so I take it you two met through playing *that thing*, right?” *That thing?* *Ah, pachinko, right…* Rui internally noted that Itadori would still be hitting the pachinko parlors even sixty-eight years into the future.
If the old lady wanted him to convince Itadori to quit gambling, she was probably placing her hopes in the wrong guy.
But the old lady’s very next sentence was: “Those various subculture circles of yours—I’m old, so I don’t really understand them.
If she wants to dress up in those flashy, gaudy pink-and-black frilly dresses, I can’t really control her either…
But if you dare introduce her to what you people call ‘blade-playing’ or ‘od-ing’, then I’ll drag these old bones of mine to hell before I let you off the hook.” [LanLi: Explanation below at the bottom.] Rui: “?” Wait, are you seriously talking about playing pachinko here?
The old lady shot him a strange glance: “What are you playing dumb for?
My granddaughter only loves one specific game, the one inside the arcade.
What was it called…
I think it’s called Maimai?” Right at that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the entryway.
Before the door could even swing open, a highly penetrating, crisp teenage girl’s voice pierced through first: “Grandma?!
Are you okay?
You said you went to the hospital but refused to tell me the results no matter what, why do you have to be so stubborn—huh?” A pink-and-black color-blocked ruffled skirt, the hem of her dress trimmed with delicate lace, wearing white bubble socks and white sneakers that made a distinct *clack-clack* sound as she walked.
Yet, framed between her sharply cropped pink hair—exactly like Sukumi’s—was a remarkably bright, cheerful face.
Quite the polar opposite of Yuna Okotsu, she belonged to the exact tier of girl who looked naturally adorable the moment she smiled.
*(Image)* He felt like she and Miss Okotsu should honestly swap outfits; she should be wearing the school uniform, while Yuna Okotsu wore the Jirai-kei fashion.
That would fit perfectly onto their actual personalities.
“Um…
who are you?” She stared at Rui in utter confusion.
The perfectly healthy, wholesome Jirai-kei girl, Yujina Itadori, makes her grand entrance!
— LanLi: 1.
The Fashion (Jirai-kei) When Wasuke mentions the “flashy, gaudy pink-and-black frilly dresses,” she is describing the exact outfit Yujina walks in wearing: a pink-and-black color-blocked ruffled skirt, lace trim, and bubble socks.
In Japan, this specific look is heavily tied to the Jirai-kei aesthetic.
Jirai-kei aka “landmine-type,” is a Japanese fashion and subculture aesthetic.
It combines hyper-feminine, “cute” clothing with a dark, edgy twist.
The name stems from internet slang for a “landmine girl”—someone who appears sweet but possesses an emotionally unstable or obsessive personality.
2.
“Blade-Playing” and “OD-ing” Because the Jirai-kei subculture is heavily associated with dark, edgy internet culture, mental health struggles, and toxic dependencies, the old lady has heard the worst stereotypes about it.
”Blade-playing” (Cutting/Self-harm): In the edgy internet circles associated with Jirai fashion, self-harm (often romanticized or discussed online) is a known stereotype.
”OD-ing” (Overdosing): Overdosing on over-the-counter cough medicines or pills is another tragic trope frequently associated with the “darker side” of the Jirai-kei online community.
3.
The Reality: Maimai Then comes the hilarious punchline.
Yujina isn’t doing any of those dark, dangerous things.
The only “subculture” she is actually obsessed with is playing Maimai at the arcade!
If you aren’t familiar, Maimai is a wildly popular rhythm game by SEGA that looks like a giant, glowing washing machine.
Players touch a circular screen and hit buttons around the rim to the beat of high-energy music.
It requires insane physical speed, coordination, and stamina.
— (Complete)