Jujutsu Kaisen: Nozomi no Sora

With the visit concluded, the three individuals from Tokyo had completed their mission.

The image of Xuan Yi crying uncontrollably when he and Xin Ji looked at his hands, which were no longer wrapped in bandages, not long ago still lingered in Xuan Yi's mind.

However, the inexplicable anxiety in my chest did not subside; instead, it was like a string that was stretched tighter and tighter, making a piercing buzzing sound in my heart.

"What am I still worried about...?"

He knew perfectly well that he would never doubt anything he had done—saving Shunping and Xinji, changing what would otherwise have been a terrible future of death, was absolutely the right thing to do.

But precisely because it is correct, and precisely because so much has been changed, the road ahead has become an impenetrable fog.

Lu Suo escaped, the real person was sealed, the process of death and rebirth was cut short by his own hand, and the events at the Eighty-Eight Bridges also deviated from their original course...

The world is hurtling headlong into the unknown. He is gradually no longer the bystander who observes the plot from a god-like perspective, but a player who has personally overturned the chessboard once.

He had no idea what would happen next.

This wariness of the "unknown" weighed heavily on my heart like a cold stone.

"Did Xuan Yi not sleep well? He looks so pale." The panda tilted its head, its furry face full of worry.

Xuan Yi quickly composed himself and smiled, "Really? I didn't feel anything at all!"

"Your current state is really similar to Yi Gu's back then," Panda said, arms crossed, nodding seriously. "You must have something on your mind! You should talk about it! Although Panda isn't smart enough to give you advice, talking about it will make you feel better!"

The dog-like creature, Thorn, looked at him and uttered a single word: "Wasabi?"

Xuan Yi was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'm fine, I'm probably just tired lately!"

Panda thought for a moment and said, "Oh, okay then. If there's any local specialty you'd like me and Dog Roll to buy for you, just let us know. Your first-year classmate will probably throw a huge tantrum if she doesn't get a souvenir!"

Xuan Yi unconsciously recalled Wild Rose's furious expression and smiled awkwardly: "Okay... I'll remember, Panda Senior."

"We're off now, have fun!"

Dog Curl waved his hand, and Xuan Yi watched the two leave, letting out a soft sigh.

With two reliable seniors around, I don't feel so depressed anymore.

However, when he turned around, a petite figure blocked his way.

Holding a broom, Nishimiya Momo stood there, her lovely face now filled with suspicion, staring intently at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Where exactly did you learn this tsukumogami technique?"

Xuan Yi was stunned. Looking at the girl in front of him who was dressed like a little witch, he felt as if he had just been warned by her.

—It seems we need to work out the hostility first.

"On the way here, I saw a pretty nice cake shop around the corner." Xuan Yi scratched his chin and tentatively suggested, "How about we go there and chat while we eat?"

Momo Nishimiya's previously tense face visibly wavered the moment she heard the word "cake".

"...Lead the way." She turned her face away and uttered the two words curtly.

Amidst the aroma of cream, Genichi recounted everything about his relationship with Nishimiya Sousuke.

"So you're here to see Sosuke-nii!"

Immersed in the sweet taste of cream, Momo Nishimiya no longer harbored any hostility from before.

"Are you two very familiar with each other?" Xuan Yi asked.

"We weren't that close, really, since he used to work in Tokyo doing window work and rarely came back to Kyoto."

Xuan Yi's heart skipped a beat. It was because he didn't want to hide behind his outstanding juniors from the Kyoto clan as a support staff member!

"No, because the wages are higher in Tokyo." Momo Nishimiya cut a piece of strawberry cake without looking up.

"Really?"

"Absolutely true."

Xuan Yi was speechless for a moment, but an unexpected voice suddenly entered his ears.

"Nishio-kun?"

Xuan Yi looked up and saw that the waiter in front of him had a familiar face.

It's Kobayashi Kiri.

"Miss Kobayashi? What are you doing here?" Xuan Yi asked in surprise.

"What, is Xuan Yi the type who has female confidantes all over the country?" Xi Gong Tao teased with a playful look, a little cream still stuck to the corner of her mouth.

"No, Miss Kobayashi was Mr. Nishimiya's colleague before..." Genichi quickly explained, then looked at Kobayashi Kiri, "But why did you come to Kyoto? And..."

Xuan Yi scrutinized Xiao Linwu's attire, hesitating to speak. She was wearing a cake shop waitress apron, her hair simply tied back, a stark contrast to the cold and composed investigator she had been in the branch office by the window.

Kobayashi Kiri scratched her head sheepishly: "It's kind of embarrassing to say, but part of the reason was out of spite! Because Mr. Nishimiya always treated me like his lackey, so I decided to move to Kyoto and make something of myself here, and then—"

She puffed out her chest and raised her head arrogantly.

"If we bump into each other someday, I can look up at him and loudly say, 'You don't look like you're doing so well either!' Hahaha!"

That childish, defiant demeanor caused both Xuan Yi and Xi Gong Tao to fall silent.

"Just kidding! Actually, there were some changes at home, so I had to leave Tokyo..." Kobayashi Kiri waved her hand, her eyes dimming for a moment, but quickly brightening again.

"So that's how it is..."

Xuan nodded, but his gaze lingered on Kobayashi Mist for a moment longer than usual.

The afternoon sun slanted down, falling on the ancient stone-paved road.

As Xuan Yi walked out of the cake shop, he inexplicably felt a chill on the back of his neck, and his steps unconsciously slowed down.

"Feed me." Nishimiya Momo chewed on a toothpick provided by the shop, glancing at him suspiciously. "You've had a long face since earlier. Could it be that you're upset because I ate two extra pieces of your cake?"

Xuan Yi shook his head, his brows still unconsciously furrowed: "Of course not... Senior Nishimiya, don't you think Miss Kobayashi is acting a little strange?"

"Something's not right?" Nishimiya Momo paused, tilting her head to think hard. But after a long time, all she could recall was the waiter's overly enthusiastic smile and somewhat clumsy mannerisms. "I didn't think much of it. He seemed like an ordinary person!"

Xuan Yi was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice slightly: "Although it's very faint... there are remnants of a spell on her body."

"A spell?" Xi Gongtao's eyes widened, but her face showed suspicion. "Could you be mistaken? Low-level cursed spirits occasionally roam around in places like this, but they don't harm people. Maybe they've picked up the scent of those things."

Xuan Yi thought for a moment. That aura was indeed too faint, so faint that it was almost impossible to detect, as if it had been deliberately cleaned up, or as if it was a wisp of something that had been accidentally leaked.

Maybe I've really been too tense lately...

"Brother Sosuke should be at the main family residence around this time. I can take you there."

She slowed her pace, but didn't turn around.

"But once we get there, what happens next is no longer my concern."

Xuan Yi followed half a step behind her, and looked up at her upon hearing this: "What do you mean by that, senior?"

Xi Gongtao turned her head away, her tone tinged with impatience: "Stop talking nonsense. If you don't want to go, then don't come along."

Xuan Yi didn't ask any more questions, and simply followed quietly.

After passing through several inconspicuous alleys, the surrounding noise seemed to be isolated by an invisible barrier.

The two eventually stopped in front of an old wooden building. The facade was dilapidated, and the dusty shop windows were filled with old items whose age was hard to tell. A mottled sign hung on the door frame, with most of the paint peeling off, but the words "pawn shop" could still be vaguely made out.

"This is it." Xigong Tao stopped and raised her chin.

Nishimiya Momo pushed open the door and entered, the hinges making a dull creaking sound.

Xuan Yi followed him inside, and a scent of old paper mixed with sandalwood wafted towards him.

The store was dimly lit at this time, with heavy curtains filtering out most of the sunlight, leaving only a few rays of dim yellow light falling on the shelves.

Those strange, dusty objects are displayed quietly—a pocket watch with missing hands, a porcelain bottle with cracked glaze, a broken comb wrapped with red string—silently accumulating the years that have passed.

Welcome!

A charming voice came from the inner room, languid yet clearly cutting through the stillness in the air.

The curtain was lifted by a fair hand, and a woman wearing a light kimono stepped out. Her black hair was styled in a traditional bun, and a gold-threaded earring hung from each earlobe, swaying gently with her steps.

She held a slender pipe in her hand, and as the tobacco smoke flickered, her eyes and brows revealed a composure that had seen it all before.

"Stop staring! Idiot! This is the next head of the Nishimiya family, Nishimiya Munemasa," Nishimiya Momo said in a low voice, her face expressionless.

Xuan Yi was stunned.

The head of the Nishimiya family... is a woman?