Jujutsu Kaisen: I Can Manipulate Time.

"Ding-dong."

Kamihara Hajime stood outside the Fushiguro residence, his hand lowering from the doorbell. White Wolf sat at his side, tail twitching, seemingly as curious as his master. Hajime had already imagined how surprised they would be when the door opened.

But after pressing the bell three times, there was still no response.

Frowning, Hajime pulled out his phone. It was the weekend—he was certain they would be home. Had they gone out for the day?

He called Megumi. It rang twice before connecting.

"Megumi, where are you? I'm at your place, but no one's answering."

A pause.

Then Megumi's voice came through, calm as always. "We're at the hospital."

Hajime's expression shifted. "Tsumiki? What happened? Send me the address."

"She just felt a little unwell." Megumi hesitated, but before he could downplay it further, Hajime cut him off.

"Send it."

Once the message arrived, Hajime stored the gifts he'd brought in his apartment, left White Wolf behind, and vanished.

He moved through the streets like a whisper of wind, the application of his Technique shortening the trip to mere minutes. Arriving at the hospital, Hajime slipped through an unmonitored side corridor, heading straight for the room Megumi had mentioned.

Inside, the soft murmur of voices halted as the door opened.

Tsumiki sat up in bed, speaking gently to the boy beside her. The moment she saw Hajime, her face lit up.

"Hajime-san, you came so fast."

Hajime stepped in, relief washing over him when he saw that she looked stable. He gave a polite nod and then turned to Megumi.

"You could've mentioned it earlier."

Megumi raised a brow. "It's only been a few hours."

Ignoring him, Hajime walked over and took the apple from Tsumiki's hands. With practiced ease, he peeled it in seconds, slicing it neatly before setting the plate beside her bed.

"What happened?" Hajime asked, eyes flicking back to Megumi. "Why did she faint?"

"She said she'd been feeling off for a few days. I thought it was just fatigue or maybe a cold. But then she collapsed at home, so I brought her in."

Hajime's brows furrowed. As far as he remembered, Tsumiki had never had health issues serious enough to cause this.

Tsumiki, nibbling on an apple slice, smiled gently. "It's nothing serious. The doctors already said they couldn't find anything wrong."

"Even so," Hajime said, kneeling beside her. "Let me see for myself. Give me your hand."

Tsumiki extended her arm without hesitation.

Hajime placed two fingers on her wrist and activated his Reverse Cursed Technique, allowing a warm flow of energy to course into her body. It wasn't a wound, so he couldn't reverse it outright—but even so, the surge of vitality seemed to wash away her fatigue.

Tsumiki exhaled softly. "That feels amazing... like sunlight. What kind of technique is that?"

"Trade secret," Hajime said, his grin smug.

Megumi rolled his eyes.

As they chatted, Hajime regaled Tsumiki with amusing stories from his time at Tokyo Jujutsu High. She giggled, her laughter light and melodic. Megumi pretended not to care, though he hung on every word.

Eventually, Hajime turned the topic toward Megumi's future.

"I heard you're enrolling soon. That true?"

Megumi's eyes narrowed. "I haven't decided."

Tsumiki gave him a pointed look. "Megumi."

With a sigh, he fell silent and went back to peeling another apple.

Later, when the test results came in, the doctors confirmed there was nothing physically wrong with Tsumiki—just possible stress or exhaustion. Given how much better she was feeling, they were cleared to leave.

Back at home, Hajime even prepared pork rib soup, impressively cooked from scratch. Tsumiki praised him generously, while Megumi offered backhanded compliments that made Hajime dramatically ladle a double portion into his bowl just to spite him.

---

"Wait... you're bringing me on the mission?" Megumi asked, pausing with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth.

Hajime nodded casually. "Gojo-sensei wants you to prepare for Jujutsu High. Experience in the field's the fastest way."

Megumi's eyes narrowed. "What about Tsumiki?"

"I've made arrangements. Someone's coming to watch over her. Should be here any moment."

Right on cue, a woman from a high-end caregiver service arrived. The company was top-tier—safe, discreet, and typically reserved for the ultra-wealthy. But Hajime didn't even blink at the cost.

"Come on," he said, slinging the instrument case carrying his three cursed swords over his shoulder and calling White Wolf to his side. "The sooner we deal with this, the sooner we're back."

Megumi eyed the darkening sky. "We're going now?"

"It's close. If everything goes well, we'll be back by tomorrow."

A short taxi ride and a generous tip later, they arrived at the edge of a forested mountain range.

"Hey, you two," the taxi driver called out before pulling away, "I hope you're not thinking of exploring too deep. Some folks said they saw ghosts up here not long ago. Scared the hell out of them."

"Thanks," Hajime said as the car pulled away.

Megumi glanced at the forest. "Is this a suicide hotspot?"

"Kind of. It only got that reputation in the past couple of years." Hajime pulled up a video on his phone. "But recently, someone came exploring and accidentally caught a cursed spirit on camera. Video was deleted quickly, but it got flagged by one of the Windows. Gojo-sensei assigned me to check it out."

The footage showed frantic, shaky movement through dense trees, with distorted whispers echoing in the background. Even through the screen, the fear was palpable.

Hajime removed the cursed swords from the case and handed Onikiri to Megumi. "Keep this on you, just in case."

The deeper they moved into the woods, the more unnatural the air felt. Silence weighed on them like a blanket.

White Wolf suddenly stopped, ears alert, staring ahead.

Hajime narrowed his eyes and gripped the hilt of Totsuka-no-Tsurugi.

"No cursed energy," he muttered. "Not a spirit. So who's wandering around here at this hour?"

He motioned to White Wolf to move quietly and took a wide angle to flank from the side. Soon, a flickering flashlight beam came into view.

"You guys..." he called out.

A scream followed from the other side, sharp and panicked. Megumi frowned behind him.

"Wait," Megumi said. "They're human."

The flashlight swept toward them, revealing a group of seven.

A woman with short hair snapped, "Shouldn't we be asking you that? You scared us half to death!"

Before tension could rise, a tall, composed young man raised a hand. "Sorry about that. We're just here for an adventure. My friends were startled."

One of the girls hissed, "Shujun, they've got swords!"

Even the group's leader, Shujun, seemed shaken as he took a second look—especially at White Wolf, whose calm gaze made him hesitate.

Hajime ignored the stares, checking the navigation on his phone.

The black-haired woman in their group stepped forward, curiosity piqued. "You're not heading to Yaga Shrine, are you?"

Hajime paused mid-step.

That was the destination.

According to reports, several thrill-seekers had vanished near the shrine. It was the shrine caretakers who'd notified the police. Hajime had hoped to encounter the target before reaching it—but now they'd run into a civilian group first.

Seeing that the two boys didn't deny it, the woman continued, "It's dangerous to go alone. Why don't we go together?"

The others exchanged wary glances but eventually nodded. Despite their gear, Hajime and Megumi still looked like teenagers—harmless compared to the urban legends surrounding the area.

Besides, the girl swore White Wolf was just a husky—one of those friendly, dopey breeds trending online.

Hajime considered it.

More people might attract the cursed spirit quicker.

And so, with a faint nod, he accepted.

Nine people—and one very capable dog—ventured deeper into the forest, heading toward Yaga Shrine together.

---

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