My Youth As A Sorcerer Sucks, Chapter 44.

Chapter 44: Yumiko's Lamentation 2.

—OoOoO—

Haruno never thought that holidays would be such a joyful occasion. If it was her old self, just sitting around doing nothing all day was the peak of boredom. In fact, hanging out in a cafe didn't make any impression on her at all. However, that perception changed once she became a jujutsu sorcerer and officially took on her first mission.

Enjoying a cup of coffee in a café after risking her life in a life-and-death battle was the best feeling. No, it was more than that. The tension that had built up during her training period was also relieved.

'As expected, the relaxing sensation can only be felt deliciously after beating your butt half to death. I wouldn't be able to get that if I didn't cross over to this side.'

The pleasure of relaxing could only be felt when someone knew how difficult hard work was. Unfortunately, Haruno was a genius who didn’t even need to shed a drop of sweat to solve the most complicated problems in her life. However, since she learned a world full of curses, Haruno finally understood what hard work really was. She was a talented girl, but jujutsu society was a world that couldn't be conquered with just her talents alone.

'In fact, there are a lot of unique things there. And considering the cursed spirits as well, I could be swallowed up by this world if I let my guard down even a little.'

Haruno sighed and sipped her black coffee slowly. A bitter sensation stung her tongue, sending a strong stimulus to her brain to make her focus more. Her slender fingers danced across her smartphone screen. Every now and then, a light smile would appear on her face when she read the silly messages sent by her colleagues.

In the past, Haruno would die of boredom even if there wasn't anything to entertain her. Usually, she would look for prey to fill her time, and Yukino was often the victim of her nosiness. However, even though this world was filled with terrible curses and ugliness, Haruno managed to find peace.

At this point, Haruno truly learned that life wasn’t just about fun and excitement.

"Sorry, I'm late. Did I make you wait?”

A man's baritone voice caught her sense of hearing. Even without turning to the source, Haruno knew who the voice's owner was simply because he had recently been rent-free in her head. However, she reflexively followed where the sound came from.

“Oh, Hikigaya-kun? It's fine, it's fine. But I've been waiting a long time, though.”

Hachiman didn’t immediately reply. He looked at Haruno flatly while resting his butt on the seat. The boy reached for the phone that was in his pocket.

"Aren't you the one who came too early? It's still 10 minutes before our appointment," said the boy, looking at the time on his cellphone.

"Oh, really? Doesn't that mean you’ve to come earlier? Shouldn't you be an example of a good Japanese, Hikigaya-kun?” Haruno answered while teasing him.

“Don't be ridiculous. I even tried to leave as soon as possible after my club activities finished. Rather than that, how about you stop bothering people for just one day?”

Haruno pinched her chin using her fingers, pretending as if she was thinking.

"That's impossible, isn't it? That won't happen, and that's not me at all.”

Hachiman looked at Haruno in disbelief. The corners of his lips were pulled down, and his fish eyes looked increasingly like dead fish.

"Besides, I've been sleeping all day since I came home from completing the mission yesterday, you know?" Haruno continued while sipping her coffee, "And that's my best record for doing nothing."

Hachiman snorted softly as he glanced at the barista's corner to see if his ordered coffee had been ready.

'My first impression of Haruno-san, she was like a flirty nee-san. However, the more I get to know her, sometimes she’s so similar to Gojo-sensei in every aspect. And this is number one bullshit. I can't believe my life is surrounded by such people.'

It was what Hachiman thought. However, if you want to look at it from a different point of view, it just meant that Haruno was starting to feel comfortable around Hachiman. Hence, the layers inside her began to erode naturally, one by one, when she was with the boy.

"So, why did you call me here, Haruno-san? Please don’t say you called me here on a whim."

The corners of Haruno's lips turned upward. She leaned forward, one hand upright on the table to support her head.

"Can’t I call you just like that even if there's no reason?" the girl replied teasingly.

“Normally, I’d say yes. But you know that's not what I mean, right?”

Haruno smiled slightly at the reply. She then leaned against the seat and brushed her hair back, which had fallen down and blocked her ears.

"Well, if you really don't want to be called without a reason, you can just not come," replied Haruno.

After being slapped by the answer, Hachiman felt like his throat was constricted. It was perfect logic, which dumbfounded him. However, luck was still on his side when the waiter came to deliver the coffee he had ordered.

“One cup of coffee latte. Please enjoy your time.”

“Thank you,” Hachiman replied while slightly bowing his head.

The boy stared flatly at the coffee with the beautiful foam decoration. It was an aesthetic work of art. However, the Hikigaya boy took the small spoon from the saucer and coldly stirred the masterpiece.

“That's why I said, 'normally, I would say yes', right?”

It was a very soft reply from Hachiman, but it succeeded in making Haruno's eyes bulge for one second. Those words seemed to say that Haruno was in the 'exception' category, which made him fulfill her calling even for the most ridiculous reasons. Unfortunately, the boy was in a hurry to drink his coffee to hide his expression, so he missed seeing the dumbfounded Haruno.

Not wanting to give the woman a chance to reply, Hachiman continued his words.

"But you just texted me like, 'can we meet now?' and that made me overthink. I thought you were in trouble or something.”

Haruno smiled at that. Deep inside, she still wanted to tease Hachiman. However, Haruno understood that it would only make the man before her uncomfortable if she put too much pressure on him.

Haruno may be nosy, but she knew how to capture the boy's heart. Closed and intellectual guys like Hachiman tended to be more attracted to girls who were on the same frequency as him. Meanwhile, if she had been labeled annoying, it would have been difficult for her to enter his life.

In fact, the interactions or events that got her involved with him were almost all based on Hachiman's sense of responsibility. As such, if Haruno continued to press without considering Hachiman's response, their relationship would only end as a professional one between colleagues.

“Actually, I found this nice café a while ago, but haven't had the chance to visit it yet. When I tried it, I remembered that you also like coffee."

“Is that so?” the boy replied.

Hachiman then took another sip. He smacked his mouth slowly to get a more detailed taste.

“Well, the coffee is good. The combination of savory flavors is so unique," said Hachiman, who then looked at Haruno, "But isn't this too expensive? 1200 Yen for a cup of coffee latte?”

“I didn’t know you’re quite picky about prices. I thought you didn't care about that, considering your high income," Haruno replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Having a high income doesn't mean I’ve to live extravagantly, right? After all, it was only recently that I had a lot of money. Previously, I also depended on pocket money, you know?"

"Understanding how difficult it is to earn money makes you wiser when it comes to spending, huh?" replied Haruno with a meaningful smile, "I heard you want to be a househusband? For your information, if I wanted, this onee-san could earn a million in a month even without my parents' help. So, I can support you and guarantee your dream of being a househusband."

Haruno leaned forward again and supported her head with one hand on the table. Her eyes looked at the boy with a seductive look.

"Just sharing information with friends," added the girl.

For a moment, Hachiman choked and felt like an idiot who had forgotten how to breathe. His face felt hot, and his throat was so dry that swallowing saliva was difficult. Haruno's words kept playing over and over in his head like a broken record. The sound around him suddenly became quieter, so he could hear his heartbeat beating so fast.

It was difficult for him to control himself in that condition. However, his years of training in socialising under Gojo Satoru paid off. Hachiman raised the cup and brought it closer to his mouth. The warm sensation of the coffee touched his lips and tongue, stimulating his brain, which had previously shut down. However, he was in no rush to take a sip. He deliberately bought as much time as possible to calm down.

"Please don't say such stupid words that others may misunderstand," the boy replied as he put down his cup.

On the surface, Haruno only showed a thin, beautiful smile. However, after seeing Hachiman's reaction just now, her inner self smiled so wide, a victorious smile. Even so, she simply dropped the topic and returned to the original subject of conversation.

“But seriously, though. I can treat you if you feel it’s too expensive.”

Meanwhile, Hachiman snorted in disappointment at how easily the girl changed the topic as if what she had just said had no weight at all.

“It's not like that. I just don't understand people willing to spend thousands of Yen for coffee that tastes only slightly better than Max Coffee, which is ten times cheaper."

“But I thought you were a coffee lover? That's why I invited you here."

Hachiman shook his head at the statement.

“I'm not. I just like coffee in general. If anything, you might call me a Max Coffee fanboy.”

The guy with eyes like a dead fish looked straight at Haruno. No sound or response followed the statement. It made Hachiman ponder momentarily, trying to find out what the other person was trying to do.

“You know what, you don't need to do this, you know?”

The words that suddenly came out made Haruno raise an eyebrow. Seeing that, Hachiman continued.

“I know you want to try to return the favour by doing all this, but you don't need to. Me saving you and your friend is a form of my responsibility for my work. In fact, your father also gave me large sums of money periodically because I was willing to train you and was asked to look after you."

Hachiman sighed and intended to end his long words.

“My point is, you don't need to feel like you’ve to return the favour because I received more than enough compensation.”

“Do I look like that cheap in your eyes?”

Haruno's quick and firm reply made Hachiman jump slightly. The woman closed her eyes, took a deep breath, let it out roughly, and looked back into the boy's eyes. Hachiman saw the woman's sharp gaze. However, as soon as she closed and opened her eyes again, her gaze returned to normal.

“Well, you're not completely wrong. There’s no denying it. As much as possible, I want to repay the debt to whoever was the hero who saved me. You're not wrong at all. Hell, you may have noticed that my initial intention in asking out on a date then was to find out information about the supernatural world. So, basically, it was my own fault. But as I got to know you and was involved with you more, I learned many things from a different perspective," Haruno replied.

Hachiman didn't expect to get such a reply. He was prepared to receive an expression of disappointment or even anger from Haruno. However, the woman showed her class by not responding to Hachiman's frontal remarks. Her composure didn’t waver, and her mouth could produce words fluently, even though she had received sarcastic rejection from Hachiman.

Haruno leaned back against the chair and stared at the cafe ceiling awhile. For a few moments, silence fell over them. However, Hachiman chose to wait for the woman to continue her words.

“I used to think life is about fun and excitement. That's why I liked to tease Yukino-chan and even you when we first met," said Haruno after looking back at Hachiman, "But after we dated and toured the Boso Peninsula, you left a strong impression on me. After I got to know you better, your perspective on life, which was so contrasting to mine, made me want to get to know you more. I want to know what kind of person Hikigaya Hachiman is.”

Haruno gave the boy a little smile.

“So, a part of me indeed wants to pay my debt to you and Maki-chan for saving me. But another part of me wants to know better what kind of person you are," Haruno said in a closing statement.

To be honest, Hachiman didn't expect Haruno to say such unexpected words. His eyes stared at Haruno intensely, looking for a hint of lies while trying to hide his awkwardness. However, Hachiman found no trace other than the honesty that Haruno was trying to convey.

“I told you to not say something that might make others misunderstand, didn’t I?” he replied, looking away and covering his mouth with his palm.

Haruno smiled and sighed softly.

"But put that aside, your aid in saving me and being my guardian means much more than you can imagine."

Haruno's gaze turned more serious.

“Yoshino Junpei, wasn't it, who reportedly died because he was tricked by that cursed spirit?”

Hachiman nodded and replied, “His body was transformed into a transfigured human when Nanami-san faced that creature.”

It actually happened when Yoshino Junpei fought Itadori Yuuji. However, the information about Yuuji was confidential, and only a few of Gojo Satoru's trusted people knew about it. Therefore, Hachiman put aside the boy's name and only included Nanami Kento.

“It made me realise I was lucky because you, Maki-chan, Shizuka-chan, and even Gojo had saved me. I can't imagine the what-ifs situation. Maybe I’ll end up like Yoshino Junpei, don’t you think so?”

Hachiman lowered his head slightly and imagined the scenario. However, before he could express his opinion, the boy heard Haruno's weak words.

"When your normal days end and you suddenly see scary supernatural creatures, beset by confusion and unawareness that you have uncontrollable power, that must have been a very scary experience."

—OoOoO—

Yumiko's goal after a stressful day was to hang out together, following Ebina and Yui's invitation. Even though she didn't feel like going, Yumiko agreed to come in the end, considering it had been almost a month since they had gone to the cinema together. Moreover, the film they would watch was the premiere of Death Island, starring the famous young actress Momoshiro Chiyoko.

The faces of the other visitors were sparkling and filled with excitement, which seemed in sharp contrast to Yumiko's mood. The girl just sat with her head bowed and a gloomy expression. She thought her complexities had improved as her mind felt calmer at school. However, as soon as she left and went to the cinema, various feelings weighed on her mental state again.

'At this point, I want to be at school forever.'

Yumiko sighed weakly. Her palms rubbed her face roughly.

“Am I that desperate? It never occurred to me that I’d want to live in a school of all places," the girl muttered.

"Yumiko, are you okay? Your face is a little pale," Yui, sitting beside her, asked.

Yumiko shook her head weakly, but no confirmation came out of her mouth. Instead of answering the question, she actually asked a question back.

“What time does the movie start? I want to get into the studio immediately. Waiting here is so boring.”

"It should be about five minutes, and the studio will open," replied Ebina, sitting next to Yumiko, “Anyway, I’m sorry. I didn’t know Hayama-kun had a club meeting and couldn't come over."

“It's fine. It's not like it was fault or something," she replied, shaking her head.

The blonde girl took a deep breath. She got up from the bench and was about to leave her place.

“I want to get some snacks while the line is quite empty.”

Yumiko left without waiting for a response. However, Yui, who was watching her, silently tilted her head in confusion.

'The line is empty, she said? It's hectic, tho?' Yui thought.

The short-haired girl stared at Yumiko's departure. However, her brows furrowed in astonishment when she saw the direction her friend was heading.

—OoOoO—

How many times had she sighed today? How many times did she massage her temples in a day? She had even lost count of how much she had complained. Yumiko would never declare herself a suffering person, but she always tried to be positive. However, if she was honest, if there was a place where she could scream as much as she wanted without any distractions, she would immediately go there.

It was an anomaly she couldn't explain. Yumiko felt that her body was much more energetic than usual. However, mentally, with strange things haunting her, her sanity felt close to zero. Just imagining it made her remember the ghost's appearance in the mirror before leaving for school this morning, making her hair tingle.

Yumiko was standing at the back of the line, but it wasn't very crowded, so it wouldn’t keep her friends waiting long. However, suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder, followed by Yui calling her.

“Yumiko.”

The blonde girl looked at her friend with a questioning look.

"Do you need anything?"

Yui shook her head slowly and replied, “What are you doing just standing here? Didn't you say you wanted to buy some snacks?”

“Yes. That's why I'm here, isn't it?”

Yui became even more confused when she heard the reply. She thought Yumiko was joking, but her serious expression made it hard to assume so.

“But the line is over there, you know?” Yui said, pointing to one side of the cinema.

Yumiko's gaze automatically followed the direction her friend was pointing. Her eyes caught the lively and active queue full of buying and selling activities. Several people appeared to receive the popcorn and soda they ordered, and the cashier accepted money as payment. There was nothing wrong with that, but it immediately disturbed Yumiko.

'Wait. If the line’s there, then what's the line here?'

Yumiko immediately turned her body back to the row before her. Looking from behind, it was a normal queue. However, as if they were attracted by the sound of her rapidly racing heart, everyone before her turned around.

Yumiko's eyes widened instantly, and oxygen seemed to stop filling her lungs. In response to the shock, she immediately fell to the floor with her whole body shaking.

“Yumiko? What happened?" Yui asked worriedly.

The blonde girl turned to Yui with halting movements. She looked straight into those confused eyes.

'Yui didn’t see it?'

Still breathing heavily, Yumiko looked around the cinema lobby. She was surprised to see people who were not bothered by the creatures.

'Seriously, didn't they see it? Can no one see it? Is this just my illusion?'

When seen from behind, they look like humans. However, when seen from the front, they were far from humane. They didn’t have faces, but their mouths were on their stomachs. Apart from that, there was a tear like a zipper from the tip of the head to the chest. If you peek inside, there was something like a tentacle with sharp spines.

One of the creatures that Yumiko identified as a ghost approached her and looked down. A heavy breath came out of its mouth, which was in the stomach, and it hit her face, which was sitting down. There was an unpleasant smell, and suddenly, the contents of her stomach seemed to rebel and want to come out.

Yumiko bowed her head deeply. Her beautiful blonde hair fell down to hide her pale face. Her hand covered her mouth, trying to keep herself from throwing up anything in the cinema.

'No way, no way, no way, no way. What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck? There's no way all this is an illusion.'

Yumiko's body shook more violently than before. Yui, who witnessed that, started to panic, and she once again tried to look at the area Yumiko had previously looked at. However, nothing strange caught her eyes.

"Yumiko, what's wrong with you?" Yui asked while helping her up.

The blonde girl shook her head weakly without daring to lift her head. Maybe other people couldn't see it, but right now, the figure that haunted her was following her while trying to peek at her face from the side.

The sound of an announcement about the studio that would screen the film they were watching echoed throughout the cinema, diverting visitors' attention. Yumiko glanced at the creature and realised that the so-called ghost was also distracted. Taking advantage of that, she broke away from Yui and accelerated her pace.

'I must go home now. No, if that's the case, I'll be alone, and who fucking knows what will happen to me? It’s not good, but it's worse than being here.'

Yumiko's mind was a mess with all the disasters that hit her. It was difficult for her to make rational choices. If anything, she just hoped that light would soon shine through the dark fog that haunted her.

—OoOoO—

Two people sit in a café with an authentic vibe and calming, jazzy musical instruments. Not paying attention to whatever was happening outside, they continued to chat with expressions that always changed according to the topic. However, the boy's flat and frowning expression dominated since the person he was talking to was difficult to predict.

The short-haired woman rolled her wrist to look at the clock.

“Wow, I didn't expect we actually spend almost two hours just chatting.”

With that much time, of course, they didn't just order coffee. In fact, several clean plates and plates that still contained the remains of french fries were on their table. Two empty parfait glasses and three bottles of mineral water, which also looked almost finished, accompanied them during that time.

"You keep bribing me with food whenever I want to go home."

“Oh, did I? I just ordered some snacks because I still wanted to stay, tho?” Haruno leaned over the table, “Isn't it of your own free will to stay here, Hikigaya-kun?”

As if caught off guard, Hachiman was at a loss for words to reply to the woman and could only bite the inside corner of his lips. Meanwhile, Haruno smiled with satisfaction at seeing that reaction. She wanted to continue teasing the boy before her. However, her enjoyment was interrupted when a visitor who had just entered the café diverted her attention.

Specifically, it wasn't the person that attracted Haruno, but something that circled around him, tightly binding his stomach.

“Oh, that guy is cursed,” Haruno muttered.

Hachiman turned his body, following the direction where Haruno was looking.

“A cursed spirit in the form of a worm. I bet he has had indigestion for days."

"There is a clinic near here, and I saw him taking out medicine when he was about to take his wallet. I think he just got treatment from there."

Hachiman didn't seem bothered by what he saw, so he turned around to sit normally. No, if it was his usual self, he would probably use a method to get close to the poor guy and exorcise the cursed spirit. However, he gave up his plans when he saw Haruno start to collect and compress a red energy ball on her index finger.

Haruno didn't put too much cursed energy. After all, what was circling the man's stomach was only a cursed spirit that was even unranked because it was so weak. The attack speed was relatively slower than raw cursed energy attack shots. However, because it was naturally filled with positive energy, even a minor attack could exorcise it easily.

The complexity of the man's face seemed to gradually improve. He turned his head around, confused because his body suddenly became lighter out of the blue. However, his attention was diverted when a cashier handed over his order. With a look of still disbelief, he took his order and left the café.

"Isn't your control getting better? At this point, when it comes to shooting raw energy, your efficiency will probably be better than mine," said Hachiman.

“Well, thanks to Alter, I have two brains and two consciousnesses in one body. So, Alter controls the cursed energy when I fight or do motor activities."

Hachiman narrowed his eyes. The method Haruno used sounded familiar.

'It's like when I use black flash at will. However, suppose she uses the two consciousnesses that naturally exist in her body. In that case, I manipulate my brain with illusions to calculate all the variables to get the black flash for sure. In my case, it really makes my brain tired quickly, but if it's Haruno-san, she should be able to pull it off better than me.'

Hachiman was known as the only sorcerer who could activate black flash at will. However, his method wasn’t much different from injecting hallucinogens into his brain, but with high levels of control. It could change perception to create artificial consciousness to calculate the variables to achieve black flash. However, if he used it continuously, it could impact his brain.

“Haruno-san, there’s a move I want to teach you.”

Haruno's eyebrows drew upward when she heard the narrative.

"However, since you can't practice this using dummies or sparring opponents, you'll have to spend time hunting cursed spirits with me…."

Hachiman's cheeks suddenly felt hot when he said that last sentence.

"... And also with Komachi, of course," continued the boy.

The corner of Haruno's lips tugged in amusement at seeing Hachiman suddenly nervous. However, the girl didn’t interrupt him and let the boy finish his words.

“But don't worry. We’re entering a season where cursed spirits will appear in abundance. So, it won't be as difficult as you think.”

"I thank you because you want to teach me something, which seems to be a move or method that you created with your hard work….”

Haruno hung up her words a little.

“…But the season where cursed spirits will appear a lot? It’s the first time I've heard of this.”

"Well, in short, just like pests that plague certain periods, cursed spirits also have the same pattern. And in one year, summer and winter are when tons of cursed spirits will spread.”

Hachiman took Haruno's silent response seriously. He took that as a sign to continue explaining.

“Summer often makes people more sensitive. The scorching sun, dehydration, rising electricity bills due to air conditioner usage, and so on are problems experienced by almost all Japanese people. Not to mention the pressure from mid-term exams experienced by students and the headache of opening the second quarter, which torments office workers. These seemingly trivial things will cause quite a significant increase in cursed spirits.”

After saying that, Hachiman smiled faintly as if he had happy news.

"Even though it sounds troublesome, it can be a source of money, especially if you get a mission to guard children confirmed to have awakened their powers."

“Guarding the children…? Why?” Haruno asked.

“Well, it's a program that's been running for about four years. The moment someone newly awakens their powers, they will become an easy target for the cursed spirits since our cursed energy is tastier than normal humans.”

“Didn't you say that sorcerers were like apex predators and cursed spirits naturally wouldn't fight us unless they were high-grade curses?”

Hachiman was about to reply to the question, but Haruno still had things she wanted to say.

"I understand that, in the end, they are just children who have awakened their powers. However, if the increase in cursed spirits during certain seasons is only dominated by weak curses, wouldn't they dare to get close to even weak sorcerers?”

“I know what you mean. Cursed spirits aren't a big deal unless, as you say, they are high-grade. However, the concern is keeping them from getting out of control and harming others with their cursed techniques.”

“Ah…,” muttered Haruno.

Hachiman leaned his back against the chair, arms crossed in front of his chest. He stared at the cafe ceiling as if his mind was surfing somewhere.

"This is a story from Gojo-sensei. Maybe around ten or eleven years ago, two children were locked up by the villagers because they got out of control, and their powers hurt several people. Gojo-sensei didn't explain the details, but the village was wiped out overnight for some reason."

Hachiman sighed and straightened up in his seat, then looked straight into Haruno's eyes.

“Those who’ve just awakened their powers are very sensitive. Their perspective, reality, and body condition undergo significant changes. Weak cursed spirits are not a serious problem. But if they get distracted and get out of control, it will be a disaster."

Haruno swallowed her saliva roughly.

"And if that happens, the worst possibility is that they have to be tried under jujutsu law?" asked the woman.

Hachiman closed his eyes tightly. He didn't want to imagine that. Even though they were basically victims of uncontrolled power, jujutsu law was a traditional law with many loopholes.

“Yeah. Even if it was unintentional, even if it was caused by those who were previously ignorant, but if there are already casualties due to a cursed technique that went out of control, you must be prepared with the possibility of execution in mind."

—OoOoO—

After everything she experienced, Yumiko ultimately decided to stay with Ebina and Yui at the cinema. She thought she wouldn’t be able to go home alone. After everything was finished, she would ask them to take her home right to the front of her house.

Or at least, that was the plan.

'Even they are here too?'

Initially, everything seemed normal. However, after the movie had been playing for a few minutes, several furry ball figures with long tails emerged from behind the screen and hung on the ceiling.

Yumiko was reluctant to look at them. However, the unique behaviour of those creatures made her occasionally steal glances. Unfortunately, it was a mistake because her gaze met one of them.

“SHUUUUU…”

The creature swung and landed right in Yumiko's front seat, surprising the girl. The thing she identified as a ghost apparently had no eyes, but she knew the figure was looking at her intensely.

Her racing heartbeat even competed with the sound system from the cinema. Cold sweat poured down her body as she felt the creature's presence alone was enough to skin her alive.

'What exactly is that creature? Ghost? Specter? Why nobody can see it? Am I really crazy?'

Yumiko couldn't sit comfortably as the creature dangled in front of her. However, lucky for her, because the movie was showing a tense scene, she had a reasonable excuse when someone caught her anxiety.

Her grip on her school skirt tightened as her complexion worsened. At this point, being in this place would drive her completely crazy.

Yumiko poked Yui's hand with her index finger. When the short-haired girl gave her attention, she moved closer to Yui.

“Yui, I feel under the weather. I'll go home first," she whispered.

"Are you okay? Do we need to take you?”

Yumiko shook her head and replied, "Thanks, but no. I can go alone.”

Without waiting for Yui's response, Yumiko immediately packed up her bag and got up to leave. She walked hunched over the rows of people sitting to watch the big screen. It was a bad feeling when she had to be a nuisance to those enjoying the movie. However, Yumiko didn't care anymore, and what came to her mind was how she could get home as quickly as possible.

The presence or absence of Ebina and Yui didn’t matter at all. In fact, if she went home alone, she could walk as fast as possible without getting involved with her friends, who were distracted by whatever they might encounter along the way.

However, luckily, Yumiko didn't know all the figures that haunted her were only fourth-grade and third-grade cursed spirits at best. In fact, most of the curses she encountered were unranked because of how weak they were. Such cursed spirits weren’t aggressive or tended to attack humans directly. They were also not cursed spirits who had enough strength to leave the place where they were born. The best they could do was curse people and consume the cursed energy and human life force.

Therefore, even though Yumiko was intimidated, none of the cursed spirits she encountered harmed her directly.

—OoOoO—

Yumiko's journey back home wasn't as bad as she imagined. Even though she still felt that something was watching her and that anxiety couldn't be lifted from her heart, at least she didn't see anything on the way to her house. However, the girl wouldn’t be careless by thinking everything would be fine. Because of that, she didn’t slow down her walking speed at all.

'Just a few more blocks and I'll be there.'

Even though it was a summer night, her body temperature felt colder than before. Her hair hadn’t stopped standing ever since she stepped out of the cinema. Imagining that soon she could shut herself up in her room, her eyes suddenly felt hot and heavy. The clear liquid seemed to flood her eyes and flowed out without her being able to control it.

Yumiko rubbed her eyes roughly with her hand as she continued walking. Her composure started to crumble when there was no one around her. Sobbing sounds that she couldn't control escaped her mouth.

'Why has my life become like this? What did I do wrong? What in I did wrong?'

As if responding to herself starting to sob, Yumiko felt a thick liquid about to come out of her nose. Not wanting to seem any uglier, she quickly sucked it back inside.

Yumiko accelerated her steps to be faster. However, she bumped into someone when she was about to turn at a T-junction because she ignored her steps. It wasn't a hard impact, and they only took half a step back in response to maintaining body balance.

Without intending to make small talk, Yumiko bowed her body slightly.

“I'm sorry, I should have been more careful.”

Just like that, Yumiko immediately turned around and was about to leave the scene. However, the man quickly grabbed her wrist.

“Excuse me?” Yumiko asked as kindly as possible.

She looked at the man. His face was blurry because the night was dark, and the street lights weren't helpful. However, Yumiko was sure that the person she bumped into was a man in his late 30s with a white shirt and black pants. A faint smell of alcohol also wafted from his body.

“Are you going to just leave? Didn't you see my cigarette fell because of you?" said the man, pointing to the asphalt.

Yumiko tilted her head, following the man's pointing finger. However, in the next second, she straightened her head and stared at him sharply.

"First of all, please let go of my hand. Second, smoking carelessly is prohibited, especially doing so while walking. Technically, it wasn't my fault, and I don't have to be responsible for anything that happens to your cigarette."

Despite her mental breakdown due to being haunted by strange creatures, Yumiko could send a firm gaze to the man. It wasn't like her psychological condition had returned to normal. It's just that, after being faced with terrifying creatures, arguing with a middle-aged man didn't make her afraid at all.

However, the man before her also seemed to show an unpleasant expression.

“This girl dares to speak impolitely to adults.”

The man tightened his grip on Yumiko's wrist.

"Did your parents never teach you manners?"

“Hey, stop it. I can report you for sexual harassment," Yumiko threatened him.

"Sexual harassment, you say? Kids these days just a little touch and immediately play the victim. You’re really spoiled. Back in my day, you won't be able to survive in society with such an attitude."

"I don't care about your memories. Quickly remove your hand before I scream. I live in this neighbourhood and people know me. Once I scream, you’ll be dragged to the police," Yumiko replied curtly.

The man snorted in annoyance, but his grip on Yumiko's wrist tightened. With one free hand, he took another cigarette from his shirt pocket and put it in his mouth. His hand then went to his trouser pocket to reach for the lighter.

The man lit his cigarette and took a deep drag. Without emotion, he exhaled all the smoke into Yumiko's face. The blonde girl coughed as the pollution entered her respiratory tract. She wanted to leave immediately, or at least stay away, but he wouldn't let her.

“You think I'm afraid of your lame threats.”

The man finally released his grip on her wrist. Seeing that, Yumiko wanted to leave immediately, but she knew that he wouldn't just let her run away.

The man rolled up his sleeves, showing his firm muscles. However, that wasn't what made Yumiko's eyes shake. Those strong arms looked covered in tattoos, and they weren’t just any tattoos. Yumiko wasn't very familiar with the art, but she knew enough to know that those unique patterns were only owned by certain groups.

Not wanting to rush into speculation, Yumiko tried to peek at the man's body through the collar of his shirt. Even though the street lamp was the only light source, she could vaguely see the intricate painting engraved on his shoulder.

“A yakuza?” Yumiko muttered.

The man smiled dismissively.

"I didn't understand why the oyabun sent me around here, but who’d have thought I’d find a hot chick?"

The yakuza directed his hand to stroke Yumiko's chin. However, the girl avoided it by pulling back her head.

“Oh, you still have some guts?” he asked mockingly.

Yumiko clenched her fists and jaw tightly. Her eyes trembled, and clear liquid seemed to leak from the corners. Her mouth would occasionally open and close again as if she wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat.

Yumiko lowered her head, and at the same time, tears fell, attracted by gravity.

"I've had enough with this shit," muttered the girl.

Yumiko then looked at the man suddenly, showing her messy face.

“I've had enough of all the ghosts terrorising me since this morning!! And now a fucking Yakuza?!” she shouted in frustration, “Don't mess around with me!! Can't you all just go and die?!”

The man's eyebrows rose because he didn't expect the girl to scream like that. However, that wasn't what surprised him.

“What? Ghost? Are you high right—.”

The man stopped when he felt the atmosphere around Yumiko become more intense. It was as if he could feel the girl's negative emotions spilling into the atmosphere. The strange feeling subconsciously made the hair on his neck stand up.

“H-hey, are you okay?” he said while trying to touch Yumiko's arm.

However, the blonde girl quickly and violently waved her hand and swatted the sturdy arm away.

“Don't touch me, you dirty bastard!!”

The man was shocked when Yumiko shouted harshly at him. Moreover, he was also pressured by the intimidation that the high school girl showed.

'What's this? Am I scared?'

Something the man couldn't see. If only he had eyes that could see supernatural things, he would have discovered that Yumiko's body was now covered in bluish energy, dancing wildly.

Cursed energy was what scared the man. Even though the uncontrollable energy on Yumiko's body wasn't that amazing compared to the scale of jujutsu sorcery, for an ordinary human, the cursed energy that radiated was enough to intimidate him into freezing on the spot.

Yumiko's mental condition was far from stable, making something that had just been awakened in her body uncontrollable. Various stimuli automatically made her brain call up information Yumiko had never known.

And unfortunately, that was the only defence system for the girl at the moment.

The yakuza man suddenly smelled a faint odor of gas. It surprised him beyond belief. He was about to leave immediately, but the smell of the gas became stronger in a very short time. Not only that, but the lighter in his pocket suddenly broke, spilling the liquid gas inside and creating a pungent odour.

It made him panic because there was a lit cigarette in his mouth.

However, chemical reactions work faster than his brain, and….

Boom!!

The explosion, which wasn’t too big but made a loud sound, occurred due to the interaction between sparks and petroleum gas and lighter gas, which somehow leaked. Generally, the explosion only ended if there wasn’t enough energy for the combustion reaction. However, as if it had been amplified by supernatural power, the blast caught the yakuza man and burned him alive.

Meanwhile, Yumiko was also thrown back about two metres. However, there were no wounds on the girl's skin. If anything, it was just some parts of her uniform that were slightly burnt.

Yumiko fell to her knees with her eyes wide open. Her whole body shook violently at what had just happened. The adrenaline that took over made her heart beat so fast.

Her eyes couldn't escape the sight of a man whose whole body was burning alive and rolling around to put out the fire. With weak movements, the man crawled over to Yumiko. However, the excruciating torture made him no longer have the energy to do so.

With all his desperation, the man's hand tried to reach Yumiko, who was still sitting stiffly.

“Ple… as… e, he… lp… me.”

What the man said couldn’t be heard clearly because his vocal cords were burned. However, Yumiko could understand that completely. Her brain felt frozen, unable to process all the information flooding him. If anything, only one thing came to mind.

'I've got to go. I've got to fucking go.'

With that, she tried to get up while her whole body still shaking. Never mind taking the first step, just standing straight was difficult for her. As such, her right hand supported her body on the wall. With heavy steps, Miura Yumiko tried to escape from her twisted fate.

—To Be Continued—

Author Note: Hello, long time no see. I’m really sorry I couldn’t update the One Way Home. This July was so crazy, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe at all. But now, in August, it should be less busy. So, I hope I can update as much as possible.

Anyway, this chapter initially wasn’t this long. But when I rechecked it, the Hachi-Haru dialogues that I used to hype Yumiko’s condition were pretty weird. So, I rewrite almost all of them again. And yeah, I hope you can enjoy this chapter.

The next update will be One Way Home. See you and stay safe.