[Deep beneath Tokyo Jujutsu High, the detention cell.] [Talisman papers and cursed inscriptions coat the walls all the way up to the ceiling.
It seems to employ some kind of barrier technique logic, making it impossible for anyone classified as a curse inside the cell to escape on their own.
Consequently, this place is routinely used for sealing, confinement, and carrying out secret executions.] [You have been brought here by Ms.
Gojo.] [“Pretty terrible, right?
Look at her.
Ever since she got to Jujutsu High, she’s barely eaten a thing.
She just sits in this cell all day refusing to leave, and she even actively petitioned the higher-ups to execute her.
Says she needs to atone for her sins.”] [You look at the monitor screen.
Yuna Okotsu looks a whole size smaller than when you first met her.
Her already slender frame and limbs could honestly be described as sickly and fragile right now.
She curls into a ball on the chair, chin resting on her knees, sitting motionless for ages.
Only her dull, lifeless eyes occasionally shift, filled with a bleak haze.] [“I told her that as long as she uses the curse she carries properly, she can help people.
I told her that instead of rushing to give up right now, it wouldn’t be too late to decide after she’s given it her all…
Based on how this girl usually is, that should have been enough to temporarily lift her spirits.
Granted, that’s assuming things were ‘how they usually are.'”] [What do you mean by “how things usually are”?
You ask Ms.
Gojo.] [“You know, *that*.
Didn’t someone just use his irresistibly delicious body to tempt this poor girl earlier?
Before she met you, Yuna could still separate herself from that Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit.
She could comfort herself by thinking, ‘I didn’t want this to happen, the curse is just acting outside of my control’…”] [“But you’re different.
The one who hurt you wasn’t Rika; it was an act born purely from her own deep-seated desires.”] [“A lack of ability can be fixed with training, but if your core nature is rotten, you’re beyond saving–that’s probably how she’s looking at it.”] [“Though personally, I think it’s totally normal…
I mean, I’m Satomi Gojo, right?
Even I look at you and get the sudden urge to take a couple of bites, let alone a little girl like her.
There’s no way she could fight it.”] [“…Hey, don’t run away!
I didn’t say I was actually going to eat you!”] [“Anyway, her mind has already been pushed to the absolute limit by that vengeful spirit, so she subconsciously internalizes all the blame.
As long as you’re alive and standing near her, that intense appetite will constantly remind her that she’s a criminal–someone who doesn’t deserve to smile or live happily in this world.”] [“In a sense, you could say you’re her natural kryptonite.”] [“Which is exactly why I called you here, Rui.”] [A terrible omen washes over you.
Whenever Ms.
Gojo uses that specific tone of voice…
it never means anything good.] [Smiling playfully, Satomi Gojo pushes open the door to the detention cell.
The screech of the hinges sounds exceptionally grating in the hollow underground space.] [Yuna Okotsu looks up listlessly.
She doesn’t really react to seeing Ms.
Gojo, but the exact millisecond her eyes land on you, her entire body freezes.] [“Tachibana…
Tachibana-kun…”] [You want to wave and say hi, but the moment you lift your hand, she instinctively shrinks back.
Her face goes completely pale, looking exactly like she expects you to step up and strike her.] [“I’m sorry…”] [The text-book apology.
She has fully entered her soft, submissive, grumpy-cat phase.] [“Alright!
While I’d love to leave you two young people alone to flirt, we actually have official business to discuss.
Let’s hear some applause, come on!”] [Completely ignoring the thick, suffocating tension in the room, Ms.
Gojo starts clapping all by herself…
When absolutely no one joins in, she puffs out her cheeks in annoyance and grumbles, dropping her hands.] [“Tch, you were way cuter when you were a kid…
Back to business.”] [“Tomorrow, you two are going on a mission together.”] [And there it is.
Your bad feeling has officially been validated.] [“The location is an abandoned hospital in Sendai City.
Oh man, this is a real pickle.
There are reports of multiple Grade 1 and Grade 2 Cursed Spirits popping up, and it just so happens every other sorcerer is on vacation.
How terribly inconvenient~ If Rui goes alone, he’ll probably get totally bodied and killed by a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit~”] [Honestly, while Yuna Okotsu is still hesitating, you’re the one who’s about to lose his mind first.] [What kind of setup is this?
If she doesn’t go, you die.
If she does go, she loses control and tries to eat you?] [“I…
I can’t go, I shouldn’t go…
If I’m there, I’ll only end up hurting Tachibana-kun again.
I know I will.”] [“It’s totally fine!
You know, Rui isn’t actually that fragile.”] [*Did you crack a smile when you said that, Ms.
Gojo?
You literally just said I’d get killed by a curse if she doesn’t go.*] [Yuna lowers her head, the tips of her fingers turning white as she tightly clutches the fabric of her skirt.] [“I’ll go.”] [After a long silence, she finally responds in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.] [“If…
if Tachibana-kun really is going to die because I’m not there…
then, I’ll go.”] [You wanted to say something, but looking at her expression–she looks like she’s about to break into pieces.
Aside from sheer terror, is there maybe a tiny hint of resentment mixed in there too?] [This exact phenomenon has been thoroughly documented in EVANGELION pilot Shinji Ikari.
When even the seemingly easy escape route of “death” is stripped away, she is forced to face reality completely defenseless.] [Right now, Yuna Okotsu is entirely powerless.] [There are only two paths left before her: either give up completely and rot, or hiss like an angry cat…
It’s just that this stray “grumpy-cat Yuna” has been out in the rain for far too long; she doesn’t even have the energy to hiss.
Honestly, letting her completely throw caution to the wind and throw a massive tantrum might actually work wonders.] [Can someone teach Yuna how to curse at people?
Every time she tries to talk tough, she gets too embarrassed.
Yuna squeezes her fists, her face turning bright red, only to softly whisper: “I’m sorry, meow~”] [Ultimately, you swallow your words.
Whether it’s comfort or lectures, anything you say right now will probably just turn into a fresh layer of mental pressure.] [Better to just let her process things on her own for a bit.] —