Jujutsu Kaisen: I Can Manipulate Time.

Kamihara Hajime.

Hajime had just fallen asleep after playing games late into the night when he received a call from Megumi Fushiguro. The voice on the other end was a bit distorted, but what Megumi said next instantly sobered Hajime.

"My sister suddenly fainted again. I've already called an ambulance, you…"

Hajime barely caught the rest. He quickly got up and rushed to the Fushiguro residence. Megumi's face was clearly panicked. Before the ambulance arrived, Hajime tried to use Reverse Cursed Technique to treat Tsumiki, but found it had no effect.

The effect of Reverse Technique was barely better than nothing. Despite Hajime's full effort, Tsumiki's eyelids only fluttered briefly as if about to wake, then she fell back into unconsciousness. The only good news was that her vital signs remained stable, almost as if she were merely sleeping.

After she was sent to the hospital, a series of examinations and tests revealed no cause—only that everything appeared normal. Yet, she remained unconscious, unable to wake, leaving the doctors baffled.

But Hajime quickly realized something was wrong, detecting the aura of a Curse on Tsumiki. His attempts to dispel it were completely ineffective.

"Could the previous coma have been caused by the same thing? This is troubling."

Hajime urgently sought help from Gojo Satoru. Not long after, Gojo appeared at the hospital. After examining Tsumiki, his expression turned serious.

"It's a Curse, and an unknown, troublesome one. At least for now, I have no idea how to resolve it. We need to find the source. Has she been to any unfamiliar places or encountered any Cursed Spirits recently?"

Megumi sat on a chair in the corridor outside the ward, head lowered. After a moment, he said, "No… She hasn't gone anywhere else recently. There are no traces of Cursed Spirits near school or home either."

The only silver lining was that Tsumiki was merely unconscious, not in immediate danger. Gojo arranged for investigation of the places she had recently visited. With no way to dispel the Curse, the best option was to have her cared for at a private hospital owned by the Gojo family.

Seeing Megumi so silent, Gojo approached and patted his shoulder. "Megumi."

Megumi looked up. "Gojo-sensei, if I go to Jujutsu High, can I become strong enough? I feel far from strong enough to protect those I care about."

Gojo regarded the determined young man who had inherited the Zen'in family Technique. "Yes, you can, Megumi. You're talented. The desire to protect those you cherish is good. Although Jujutsu Sorcerers gain power from negative emotions, they also need beliefs like this to support them."

As Tsumiki was taken away, Megumi packed his things. Hajime stood beside Gojo and broke the silence. "Sensei, this seems more likely a Curse Master's doing. If she had accidentally encountered a Curse, there wouldn't be no clues like this."

Gojo nodded. "This isn't an ordinary Curse. If it's not a direct curse by an enemy, it's probably a random act."

"So the culprit might be hard to find?" Hajime asked, expressionless.

"A Curse like this must serve a purpose. As long as they keep acting, they'll leave traces."

Gojo gestured for Hajime to follow. "Let's go. By the way, Hajime, when do you plan to become Special Grade?"

"Soon, once I master full-time Reverse Cursed Technique. Gojo-sensei, does anyone at Jujutsu High know New Shadow Style? Since I can't learn Domain Expansion anytime soon, I want to start with Simple Domain."

"Yes, your future second-year homeroom teacher, Atsuya Kusakabe, specializes in that. He's a Grade 1 Sorcerer without a cursed Technique! Since Kinji Hakari and others were suspended, he probably has free time. You can learn from him."

Hajime had heard about the suspensions of the two second-year seniors due to conflicts with the conservatives during the previous Hyakki Yagyō incident.

He didn't know the details and didn't ask Gojo. Those older sorcerers were skilled at setting traps and political games.

The beginning was no longer important; the key was Kinji Hakari got caught in a vulnerable position. The suspension was likely a political balance.

After returning to Jujutsu High in the car driven by Ieiri, the morning sun had already risen over the mountains. After helping Megumi settle into his dorm and other matters, Hajime, who hadn't rested all night, lay down briefly.

Still full of energy, Hajime's sleep was short now; if necessary, he practically didn't need to sleep at all.

Still, it was wonderful to hide under covers during winter, and endless work and entertainment got boring, so Hajime enjoyed the emptiness of sleep every day.

After returning, he greeted Panda and Maki, who were already up and training. Then he went to find Atsuya Kusakabe.

After explaining his goal, the middle-aged man with messy hair, thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a lollipop in his mouth readily agreed.

"This style can be learned at Jujutsu High if you want, with some merit. You'll be fine. Want to start now?"

Hajime nodded. "Yes, I'm mainly interested in the Simple Domain of New Shadow Style, and want to learn other techniques too."

Kusakabe led Hajime to an empty room and began explaining the philosophy and basics of New Shadow Style with a wooden training sword.

Hajime quickly mastered the moves. He focused on Simple Domain and the technique of combining Cursed Energy with cursed tools.

"It's constructed using Cursed Energy like a barrier technique, without involving the Sorcerer's Technique. The difficulty is lower, but the effects are fewer. No wonder some call it the 'Domain of the Weak.'"

Hajime maintained the stance of sheathing his sword. The Simple Domain, initially only a few meters around him, took shape.

This felt interesting. Hajime sensed that if an attack landed within his Simple Domain, he would automatically counterattack under the Domain's 'wriggling' effect. Most importantly, it neutralized sure-hit effects inside enemy Domains.

Kusakabe thrust a sword like lightning, rippling like a breeze on water. Hajime felt an "anomaly" intrude within the few meters around him.

Without activating his Technique, Hajime's wooden sword left its sheath unnoticed. Though struck later, his blade arrived first, hitting Kusakabe's attack side and easily neutralizing it.

Kusakabe sheathed his sword. "You're talented, worthy of being that guy's student. Use the techniques as reference; practice more for the rest."

He bit the candy in his mouth, which looked like a cigarette, and sighed at Hajime's learning speed with no other emotion.

There are always geniuses in this world, aren't there? Kusakabe, who had never awakened a Technique, understood this long ago but didn't care. He just wanted a peaceful life.

Moreover, such gifted people often endure the first storms that fall from above.

"Let's go, time to eat."

With a wave, Kusakabe called Hajime, who was still practicing, then left first.

Hajime checked the time; it was noon. He returned to his dorm for a quick shower, then called Megumi, who had woken up, to meet at the cafeteria.

The cafeteria food was ordinary, not bad but above average. The daily menu was mostly fixed, with limited choices.

Few people ate there since many were on missions. For example, Gojo was often absent; Hajime had practically never seen him in the cafeteria.

Upon entering, Hajime saw Panda and others sitting together. He waved at Panda, then took Megumi to the counter. Megumi swiped Hajime's student ID, though cash was accepted.

After ordering tonkotsu ramen and tempura, Hajime sat with his tray and saw Panda wink at him. "Hajime, is that the Megumi Fushiguro you mentioned?"

Yuta Okkotsu and Inumaki Toge looked curious. The previous new classmate had trained with Nanami Kento and hadn't fully recovered from an earlier incident. Although improving, they hadn't grown close.

As for this new junior, who had grown up with Hajime, a natural familiarity arose.

When Megumi joined with his tray, Hajime gestured for him to sit and said, "Megumi Fushiguro, I mentioned him before. He's next batch. Gojo-sensei asked me to bring Megumi here early."

He introduced everyone: "Panda, you know him." Panda smiled and greeted Megumi.

"Inumaki Toge, a Zouge user, very strong! But he usually uses limited words, so ask Panda to translate."

"Seaweed," Inumaki bowed slightly to Megumi.

"Yuta Okkotsu was Special Grade before. I think Yuta will return soon. Pity you missed meeting Yuta's girlfriend."

Yuta greeted Megumi politely. Then came Maki.

"Zen'in Maki, skilled with cursed tools. You'll rely on her for training. You two know each other, right?"

Maki glanced at Megumi and nodded. "Barely, saw him once as kids."

Noticing curious looks, Hajime realized he hadn't told them Megumi's original surname was Zen'in. Oh well, not important.

Though Megumi wasn't outgoing, after brief intros, the group became more harmonious, chatting about recent events over the meal.

Nothing major, except Yuta mentioning Gojo had sent him abroad on a mission.

"Yuta, don't forget souvenirs!"

Having seen Yuta's strength and knowing he had learned Reverse Technique, they felt reassured and joked with him.

"No problem."

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Y'all be stingy with Powerstones.... (⁠＠⁠_⁠＠⁠;⁠)