Jujutsu Kaisen: Nozomi no Sora

When the curse on the entire building was completely exorcised, the sky, which had been darkened by the "tent," gradually brightened.

The moment Xuan Yi stepped out of that building, he belatedly realized that without that sticky, chilly feeling, breathing became much easier.

Before he could even catch his breath, a scene in the courtyard made him pause slightly.

Kiyotaka Ijichi was carrying a large net, sweating profusely as he chased after several flies that were flying around everywhere.

"Wait—don't fly that way!"

Those low-level cursed spirits clearly showed him no respect, flapping their wings and flying around haphazardly. Ichiji chased after them for a long time, his steps faltering, and finally, after missing them for the third time, he awkwardly scooped them up in a net.

"Gotcha..."

He caught his breath, supporting his knees. When he looked up, he saw Genichi and Nishimiya Sōsuke walking out of the building, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Huh? Is it over already?"

"Of course it's over." Nishimiya Sousuke said calmly. "Did you think we were going to stay in there overnight?"

"That's not what I meant..." Ijichi quickly waved his hand, "It's just much faster than I expected."

After saying that, he looked down at the net bag in his hand, his expression showing a kind of weariness that comes with being used to working overtime.

"Mr. Nanami made a last-minute request, and I need to deliver these small items to him as soon as possible. I have to head to Kanagawa now."

"Nanami Kento?" Nishimiya Sousuke glanced at him.

"Yes." Ichichi nodded. "I also took time out of my busy schedule this morning to come all the way from Kanagawa. It's 40 kilometers one way, and I've already made three round trips so far... So, I'm afraid I won't be able to take you back to the vocational school anymore."

He said this in a very calm tone, so calm that it was even a little heartbreaking.

"I see." Nishimiya Sousuke scratched his head. "Then I'll have Ms. Kobayashi come and pick us up."

Upon hearing this name, Ijichi's expression suddenly froze.

"Eh... Mr. Nishimiya probably doesn't know yet."

"Know what?"

"Ms. Kobayashi has already resigned."

The air suddenly became quiet for a moment.

Nishimiya Sousuke paused for two seconds, then frowned.

"Why wouldn't I know about this?"

"Because Mr. Nishimiya, your handover work is almost complete." Ijichi adjusted his glasses and explained cautiously, "And Ms. Kobayashi... strictly speaking, isn't exactly your direct subordinate, so..."

Nishimiya Sousuke raised his hand and scratched his hair, a look of annoyance on his face.

"Seriously... even if they're just regular colleagues, couldn't they at least say goodbye properly?"

Ichiji didn't say anything.

At times like these, he usually doesn't know what to say.

Fortunately, Nishimiya Sousuke didn't dwell on it for too long. He quickly seemed to have suppressed his emotions and let out a sigh of relief.

"Fine, let's take the tram back then!"

"that……"

Xuan Yi suddenly spoke.

Nishimiya Sousuke turned to look at him.

Xuan paused, thinking about how to say it more naturally.

"Mr. Nishimiya, please go back first. Aren't you going back to Kyoto? You must still have a lot of things to organize." As he spoke, he took out the black pendant he always carried with him and handed it to him. "I have some personal matters to attend to, so I won't be going back with you. This... is also for you."

"That's true." Nishimiya Sousuke wasn't too surprised. "I had already bought the Shinkansen tickets."

He reached out and took the pendant, but the next second he handed it back.

You should keep this.

"Huh?"

Xuan Yi was stunned.

"Although there isn't much magical power inside, it has still been nurtured for a period of time," Nishimiya Sousuke said casually. "It might come in handy when we're on a mission in the future."

Xuan instinctively wanted to refuse.

"This won't do, it's too expensive..."

"It's not that exaggerated." Nishimiya Sousuke interrupted him directly. "At the end of the day, it's just a piece of ordinary black iron, not worth much. Just consider it a gift from me to you since we met."

He said it so naturally that it became harder for anyone to refuse.

Xuan Yi looked down at the small pendant in his palm and remained silent for a few seconds.

"But you're leaving soon, and I won't be able to properly see you off."

"Alright, stop being so sentimental." Nishimiya Sousuke patted his shoulder and laughed. "These things are insignificant to adults anyway. If you really care, just let me know next time you come to Kyoto."

After saying that, he waved his hand and turned to leave decisively.

"I'm gone."

Xuan Yi stood there, looking in the direction Nishimiya Sōsuke had left, feeling inexplicably empty inside.

Well...

We haven't known each other for very long.

But when it really came time to part ways, it still felt a bit sudden.

"Well... Nishio-kun, I'll be going now."

Ijichi coughed lightly beside him, picked up the box containing the fly heads, and prepared to leave.

But Xuan Yi seemed to suddenly remember something and immediately called out to him.

"Mr. Ichichi."

"Um?"

"Going back to the vocational college now is actually a bit early," Xuan Yi said sincerely. "Could I go with you?"

Ichiji paused for a moment.

Xuan Yi continued to add:

"I've heard from Gojo-sensei that Nanami Kento is a very reliable adult. Since I have this rare opportunity, I'd like to go and see for myself how the seniors carry out their missions."

That sounds just like something a motivated and ambitious first-year student would say.

Although the truth is—

Xuan Yi, of course, knew what would happen next.

Kanagawa, Nanami Kento, the movie theater incident, Yoshino Junpei.

If he doesn't follow the past now, he'll just have to wait for things to happen on their own later.

It feels terrible to know something bad is going to happen and not do anything about it.

After a brief hesitation, Ijichi nodded.

"In principle, it's not impossible." He pushed up his glasses, his tone suddenly becoming serious. "However, you're just going to observe; you absolutely cannot interfere with their work. If Mr. Gojo Satoru finds out, I'll get a scolding."

Although I get scolded quite a bit every time.

"I see."

And so, Genichi followed Ichiji and boarded the train bound for Kanagawa.

6:25 PM.

The four met in a university office that had been temporarily requisitioned.

Several maps and documents were pasted on the blackboard. Nanami Kento, dressed in a suit and tie, stood in front of the blackboard, holding a pointer, and meticulously analyzing the intelligence they had gathered.

"Recently missing persons and those who have died mysteriously have all been compiled into a gruesome report by 'Window'."

The distribution of the remains can, to some extent, pinpoint the criminals' hideouts.

When Yuji Itadori heard this, his eyes lit up.

"Okay! Shall we just charge in?"

"No." Nanami didn't even pause. "It's only 'to a certain extent.' I'll continue the investigation. As for Itadori-kun—I have other work for you."

After he finished speaking, his gaze fell on Xuan Yi, who was sitting next to Hu Zhang.

"If Genichi is willing to help, that would be even better."

Xuan nodded.

Nanami took a photo out of her pocket and stuck it on the blackboard.

"The boy in the movie theater at the time, Junpei Yoshino," he said. "He attended the same high school as the victim. Judging from the surveillance footage and his behavior, it's highly unlikely that he was a curse caster. However, if there was some kind of connection between him and the victim, that's another matter."

Xuan Yi followed up with a question:

"Does Mr. Nanami want us to investigate him?"

"That's right." Nanami nodded. "I've already handed over the specific follow-up arrangements to Iji Tomori. Now, I'll have to trouble you to make the trip."

"yes!"

Dr. Huzhang answered with great enthusiasm.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned to look at Ijichi.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever met any other assistant directors besides Mr. Ijichi."

Ichiji smiled, but there was a hint of bitterness in that smile, typical of a corporate slave.

"After all, I'm the only one who knows that Itadori is still alive... so many things can only end up like this."

"I see," Itajimaru said, looking enlightened. "Let's go then!"

The three of them left the office.

Just as he reached the top of the stairs, Ijichi seemed to be thinking about something, and suddenly stopped. He hesitated for a few seconds, then leaned back into the office and said in a low voice, "Mr. Nanami."

"What is it?"

"It's not 'to some extent,' is it?" Ijichi said softly. "You already know the location of the criminal, right?"

Xuan Yi stood behind the wall, listening quietly.

Nanami remained silent for a moment, then slowly exhaled.

"certainly."

He spoke very calmly, as if he were simply stating a fact that had already been written in a report.

"If the perpetrator wanted to, he could have left the scene without leaving any trace. But now these traces are too obvious—so obvious that it's like they're trying to lure us in."

Ijichi's expression changed slightly.

"The risk of going alone, and the risk of going with Itadori-kun." Nanami's voice remained calm. "I simply chose the former... because he's still a child."

There was a moment of silence behind the wall.

Xuan Yi turned his head and glanced at Hu Zhang.

Itadori's expression changed slightly for a moment, but the next second, he put on that overly sunny smile as if nothing had happened, turned around abruptly and rushed into the door, giving Ijichi a push from behind.

"Nanami-sensei! I almost forgot to mention! Take care on your journey!"

Ijichi was pushed so hard that he stumbled and almost fell inside.

Nanami remained silent for a few seconds.

"Itadori-kun," he said slowly, "I'm not a faculty member, so please don't call me teacher."

"Then let's go with Nanamin!"

"I'll beat you up."