JJK: Wheel of Time

"...Jujutsu High is not a place for someone like you to loaf around!"

In the corridor, Maki finished her last sentence to Okkotsu Yuta, and judging by his expression, her words had undoubtedly struck a nerve.

The panda beside them couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up, "Maki, stop it!" Toge also chimed in, indicating for her to back off. Didn't she see the new student looking so dejected?

"Got it, so annoying," Maki replied, shouldering her weapon box and walking away.

The panda comforted Okkotsu Yuta, saying, "Sorry, don't take it too seriously. She sometimes thinks she understands others too well."

Okkotsu Yuta lowered his head. "It's okay; after all... what she said is true."

Shin walked over and patted his shoulder. "Don't be fooled; Maki is actually very gentle with her companions..."

"Shin... Shuichi!"

Maki's angry shout came from ahead, and Shin Shuichi quickly excused himself. "I need to find Gojo-sensei, I'll be off now!" He waved to the others and hurried away.

---

"This task is a bit special; it involves curses and possibly curse users as well, but at most, they should only be level two to level one. If Shuichi can complete it, he just needs a recommendation and to pass the assessment to be promoted to level one."

Gojo Satoru said this with an air of ease before continuing, "Also, your technique is advantageous against curse users, so this is your solo mission; no problem, right?"

Of course, Shin had no issue with it. Even if a promotion to grade one or even only semi-grade 1, the rewards for tasks of different levels were not comparable.

"I'm fine with it, but I need a melee curse tool. Do you have one, Teacher Gojo?"

Gojo nodded. "There's one in the school's forbidden storage. I'll register it for you later."

Shin then obtained a knife-shaped curse tool. Although technically, it still belonged to the school, he also received the task information and was ready to set off.

The auxiliary supervisor accompanying Shin Shuichi was a beautiful woman named Nitta Akari, with long golden hair. It was hard to gauge her exact age, but she looked quite young, lively, and cute.

The task location was a small town where five adult women had gone missing without a trace. Local police had been investigating the case, but when the last victim fell victim, one of the few surveillance cameras on the street had caught the strange scene.

The bizarre occurrence led them to seek professional help, and Shin wasn't too surprised. Typically, curses are invisible not only to ordinary people but also to surveillance cameras and the like.

It was probably this abnormal situation that made the police realize the case was far from ordinary, which prompted them to report it. After arriving in town, Nitta Akari filled Shin in on the details of the case.

"So, that means there are still traces of curses in town, and because the victims' patterns were too regular, it's suspected that a curse user is involved?"

Nitta Akari nodded seriously. "Yes."

Shin stroked his chin, contemplating. A curse user could be understood as a jujutsu sorcerer who had "fallen." They typically engaged in malicious behavior, such as the currently notorious curse user, a former student of Jujutsu High and special grade sorcerer—Suguru Geto.

It is said that he rebelled after slaughtering 112 villagers in a single village and even went on to kill his ordinary parents. Such heinous actions led to his designation as a curse user, subjecting him to execution.

However, as of now, he seemed to still be alive. There might be some story between him and Teacher Gojo... after all, they were classmates.

Shoving aside these tangled thoughts, Shin focused on the commonalities among the victims in this case.

First, they were all young, beautiful women, aged between twenty and twenty-five. Second, all of their deaths occurred in the dead of night, and their bodies showed signs of abuse. The scene was described as horrifying; even Shin, who was used to the terrifying and disgusting sights of curse spirits, could barely handle it.

"If the killer is human, it seems they have some psychological issues. These victims showed no signs of being violated. According to forensic evaluations, they were all harmed while still conscious at the crime scene. Though their bodies were severely mutilated, no parts seemed to be missing..."

This was not an act of lust; the five had no overlapping lives, so it wasn't a vendetta either. Was it truly a perverted serial killer, one who killed solely to unleash dark desires? And a curse user at that!

Based on the current clues, if it was a curse killing, the pattern wouldn't be like this; it was more likely they all had something in common, like having been to a certain place.

"Let's first see if there are traces of curses."

With that, Shin and Nitta Akari began their patrol in the town. However, after nearly an afternoon, aside from a few areas of residual cursed energy, they found nothing unusual.

The locations of the residual cursed energy had no common ground and were quite far apart, making them temporarily valueless.

"Could the killer be hiding?" Nitta Akari raised a question, but Shin quickly dismissed it.

"Not likely. These curse users are generally difficult to control with the negative emotions that come with cursed energy. In a sense, they're just madmen... though most sorcerers seem a bit that way too."

"With five victims and nearly continuous killings, even when the police were investigating at their most vigorous, the killer didn't stop. This suggests they must be extremely arrogant."

"Right, with power that exceeds ordinary people and can control others' lives and deaths, it would be strange for these murderers to behave otherwise."

After a moment of silence, Shin suddenly said, "Ms. Nitta, I have an idea..."

Nitta Akari, who had been troubled about how to catch the killer, perked up. "Please, go ahead!"

Shin looked at Nitta Akari, who was dressed in a women's suit. Her figure was decent, and while her appearance was not breathtakingly beautiful, she could be considered a beauty in the eyes of the average person. Her golden hair also looked quite stylish and vibrant.

"You fit the killer's hunting criteria perfectly: young and beautiful. If you're simply seen alone on the street at night, the wandering predator won't pass up such an opportunity. Plus, your cursed energy isn't outstanding, so it wouldn't raise the killer's suspicion; it's just..."

Nitta Akari contemplated for a moment, then displayed a determined expression. "I'm willing to cooperate. Since a curse user is involved, the sooner we catch them, the fewer people will be harmed!"

Shin nodded. "But you don't need to worry too much, Ms. Nitta. My technique focuses on speed. I'll keep you within my sight, and once I confirm the killer's identity, you just need to distract them for a few seconds, and I'll be right by your side."

Nitta Akari nodded to indicate she understood, and the two began discussing a specific action plan.

---

Night fell, and there were hardly any people left on the street—only a few drunks, night owls, and those who worked regardless of night or day might still be wandering.

At this moment, a beautiful young woman with golden hair was swaying as she walked along the roadside. Dressed fashionably, wearing bright makeup, and slightly unsteady due to apparent intoxication, she had likely just left a bar.

In the dead of night, a beautiful young woman walking alone naturally drew the attention of those lurking in the shadows with ill intent.

The woman was Nitta Akari, feigning drunkenness from the alcohol she had consumed, which was likely mostly an act. Before long, a man appeared in the darkness, following her.

Nitta Akari wondered if this man could be the killer, and the footsteps drawing nearer felt increasingly menacing.

Before long, the man trailing her seemed unable to resist any longer and suddenly quickened his pace. A low, somewhat lecherous voice called out, "Miss, are you drunk? Do you need help?"

Feeling a bit anxious, Nitta Akira remembered her disguise, maintaining the demeanor, movements, and tone of someone who was drunk.

"Who are you... If you don't leave, I'll call the police..."

The man continued to follow Nitta Akira for a while, but upon seeing she was still somewhat aware and could potentially call the police, he abandoned this "prey" and disappeared back into the darkness.

"Not using cursed methods to incapacitate myself, and giving up on the target when it didn't seem to go well—he's probably not the killer." Nitta Akira calmly assessed in her mind, then pretended to head toward her "home."

However, shortly after, Nitta Akira heard footsteps behind her again. She turned to look, only to find the same man from earlier. It seemed he was unwilling to give up so easily and had returned.

With important matters at hand, Nitta Akira didn't want to be entangled with this ordinary person who likely wasn't the killer, but she had no good solution for now. After all, she was merely pretending to be an ordinary person, and she couldn't guarantee that the killer wasn't lurking in the shadows...

So she pretended to be frightened and quickened her pace toward the illuminated streetlight, the man following her also picking up his pace, trying to call out to her.

So, she pretended to be frightened and hurried toward a well-lit area. The man following her quickened his pace as well, even calling out to her.

The footsteps grew closer. Just as Nitta Akari was considering whether to break character and deal with this man, she spotted a taxi parked on the street ahead. A regular-looking middle-aged office worker had just gotten out.

"If I go over there and ask for help, it should scare off the man following me," Nitta thought as she quickly walked toward the taxi.

The office worker had already left, and the taxi hadn't driven away yet. Maybe the driver thought Nitta, walking quickly toward the car, wanted a ride.

When she got to the car, the man following her hesitated. Nitta bent slightly to speak to the driver but froze when she saw him. The words she had planned to say instead came out as, "Hello, I need a ride..."

The driver's face wasn't clearly visible, and without asking where she was going, he smiled and said, "Get in, beautiful."

The back door suddenly swung open, and before she knew it, Nitta was sitting in the backseat. Her mind, like rusted gears, struggled to turn, and her body felt as if it were weighed down by a thousand pounds.

'Damn it, he's the killer!' Her eyes, which she could still move, spotted something strange. As the taxi started moving, the old car's frame seemed to be seeping with some dark, unknown substance.

"I can't call for help... what do I do?"

She struggled to notify Shin Shuichi of the situation but failed despite her efforts. Though she hadn't given up yet, she could only hope that Shin would notice something was wrong.

Based on the killer's usual patterns, she probably had a little more time until they reached his chosen crime scene. Looking at the rearview mirror, Nitta saw the driver's sinister grin, which chilled her to the core. Thinking of the previous victims' gruesome deaths, a wave of fear began to take over her.

Shin, who was hiding nearby, saw Nitta get into a taxi, effectively getting rid of the man who had been following her. He had been planning to cancel the operation if she couldn't shake off the man.

But she got into a taxi? Why would she do that? Moving around in a taxi wouldn't lure out the killer... The only explanation was: there was something wrong with that taxi.

°°°

A/N: Send some stones for these new and pitiful fic.

If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon

Link: Patreon/Moziel